Translator: Nox

Chapter 9

Episode 9. At Bihyeon Pavilion, Lee Hyang (1)

Yangssi poked Yunseo’s cheek once, then muttered to herself as she sat down.

“Could it be because of these beautiful eyes that our Crown Prince, who practices abstinence though he is no monk, has shown interest?”

“Oh! You are sending her to the Crown Prince.”

There’s plenty of room to push if it’s Lee Hyang. Isn’t he the abstinent Crown Prince?

Yunseo was finally relieved.

Noble Lady Yang gestured for the Palace Ladies who had finished attending to her clothes to withdraw.

“It would be troublesome if your skirt gets wrinkled, so listen while standing.”

Noble Lady Yang scanned the maid Kwon Ga’s slender figure, which was beautifully revealed in the navy skirt and jade jeogori with red cuffs, and said coldly.

“Since the Crown Princess passed away, His Highness the Crown Prince has kept away from women. Last winter, two Seunghwi were newly brought in, but he barely held them once, if at all, and that was the end of it.”

One of them was Kwon Seunghwi, the youngest sister of my son Prince Hannam’s wife.

I had spent a long time trying to ensure Kwon Seunghwi would become pregnant and eventually the Crown Princess.

What’s the use, when the Crown Prince doesn’t even spare her a glance.

Noble Lady Yang looked up at Yunseo, her neck seemingly unbothered, and said.

“So, let’s fulfill your wish and my wish together. For the past few months, you are the only woman the Crown Prince has spoken to kindly.”

It was a grave misunderstanding.

“···That is not the case, Your Ladyship.”

It’s because of the gold ring the Crown Princess used to wear.

That damned gold ring that doesn’t take me back to the modern era, no matter how many hundreds of times I wear it!

“Not the case? If not, how dare you use His Highness the Grandson to speak to His Highness the Crown Prince? I have already spoken with Eom Sangjeon. Tonight, he will ensure you are able to serve His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Eom Sangjeon was the eunuch Eom Chachi of the Royal Secretariat.

He was considered one of the most loyal eunuchs in Joseon, alongside Kim Cheoseon of King Yeonsan’s reign, a man who later died striving for Grand Prince Danjong.

Why would such a eunuch be plotting to push someone like me into the Crown Prince’s chambers? A honey trap should be used for those with absolute beauty like Yang Guifei, Xi Shi, or Consort Shin.

Yunseo, who was thoroughly self-aware, scoffed inwardly.

“Why is Eom Sangjeon involved in such a matter?”

“Why do you think? He wants to nurture someone who can protect His Highness the Grandson. No one in this Palace acts without reason. Everyone sometimes collaborates, and sometimes betrays, to achieve their own desires.”

“But I…”

“Today, you stepped forward for the Grandson in front of His Majesty the King and Queen. You did so brilliantly, even winning the King’s favor. That is why Eom Sangjeon has decided to use you importantly.”

“Even if it were never to happen, what good would it do for you if I were to become the Crown Princess?”

“If you rise to become the Crown Princess, you will later become Queen, and then Queen Dowager, and you will hold the royal seal that can appoint the next king. I need someone like that for my sons.”

Oh, what great foresight.

Indeed, there was an opinion that if there had been a Queen Dowager when Munjong passed away, Grand Prince Suyang would not have been able to usurp the throne so easily.

However.

“My family is insignificant. My mother remarried. There are countless great families, and I am merely a Palace Lady.”

“One must have big dreams. Look at Consort Shin. Her mother was a servant, and she herself was a palace maid, yet she became Consort Shin. You are not a commoner, even if you are poor.”

Noble Lady Yang clicked her tongue.

But dreaming of something impossible is, in professional terms, called ‘delusional disorder.’

Yunseo, who was about to just leave and deal with it, decided it would be bothersome if this continued, and revealed her true feelings.

“I will go to the East Palace and meet His Highness the Crown Prince, but I will not share his bed. I will become like Park Sanggung, Your Ladyship.”

Park Sanggung had planned to take a day off to go on a trip to Geumgangsan with Nosandae, the estate manager, a couple of geishas skilled in singing and sword dancing, and some musicians.

If one wants to become something in the Palace, one should become a Sanggung like that. Why become a concubine, who has so many duties and immense responsibilities, and can face banishment to the cold palace at any moment the monarch changes his mind?

As Yunseo firmly refused, Noble Lady Yang laughed as if it were amusing.

“Oh my, sharing a bed is not something you decide; it is His Highness who decides. Just because you bloomed like a flower today, there is no guarantee His Highness will pluck you.”

To speak such cold words in such a sweet tone.

Does everyone who lives in the Palace become an elegant viper like Noble Lady Yang?

Curious, Yunseo asked to convey a message to Park Sanggung that she would visit for about an hour.

After hastily filling her stomach with clear soup.

She walked rustlingly through the darkened Palace and went to the East Palace.

“Eom Sangjeon, the maid Kwon Ga is here."Hyeo Sang-gung, who had brought Yunseo to the East Palace, announced from a small corridor next to Jaseon Hall."

Then, a shadow appeared on the paper door, and the eunuch Eom Naegwan, whom she had seen earlier, emerged.

"Hyeo Sang Palace, you may leave." Kwon Ga, come inside.Then Hyeo Sang whispered in Yunseo’s ear.

“Do not forget that tonight is the greatest opportunity of your life.”

And then, holding up the lantern she had brought, she disappeared into the darkness.

“Where is our Grandson?”

As soon as she entered the room, Yunseo asked about Hongwi’s well-being.

“He is sleeping in the Seoondol room of Jaseon Hall. The Crown Prince held him and put him to sleep earlier, so do not worry.”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyang truly cares for his son. Then the conversation will go well.

It was when Yunseo was reviewing the story she had to tell the Crown Prince, point by point.

“His Highness will surely like her.”

Eom Sangjeon, who had meticulously examined Yunseo, let out a satisfied snort.

“The ring was given by Madam Haeryeong, wasn’t it? It was given to His Highness the Crown Prince in a mother-of-pearl box with an elegy, along with the ring, because the Madam was mourning separately for Consort Shin at home, to the point of harming herself. So, it is only natural.”

There was a very big bone hidden within the lengthy explanation.

“Are you advising me to explain it to His Highness like that?”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha!”

Eom Chachi Sangjeon, whose intention had been discerned, laughed heartily, his upper body shaking.

After laughing for a long time, even shedding tears, Eom Sangjeon became serious again.

“···Noble Lady Yang praised you, saying you were a bold maid. Let’s talk slowly over a cup of tea. His Highness is currently busy reading memorials and petitions, so he has no time to meet you right now.”

Eom Naegwan smoothly proceeded with the process of cooling the water from the bronze kettle boiling over the brazier into a bowl, and then pouring the cooled water into a small teapot containing tea leaves to brew the tea.

‘I had the preconception that eunuchs would be thin and effeminate in their physique and voice.’

Having truly come to Joseon, I saw that Eom Naegwan, and other eunuchs, were no different from ordinary men.

They only lacked beards; rather, they were tall and had long limbs, making them close to the conditions for a unisex handsome man by modern standards.

“Come in.”

The tea Eom Naegwan poured into a light sky-blue porcelain cup had a refreshing grassy aroma and a sweet aftertaste.

“It’s good tea.”

“It’s Seolcha picked at Sanggye Temple on Jirisan. His Highness shared a little of what was presented to the royal court.”

When he said ‘His Highness,’ a distinct sense of proud loyalty was evident.

“Do you know that the candle placed next to the throne in the Grand Audience Hall broke on the day His Highness the Grandson was born?”

This gentleman is bringing up that story again. Noble Lady Yang had also spoken of it, not hiding her fear.

However, Yunseo thought differently about that omen.

When the king’s carriage falls, it is a big event, but what is a broken candle holder?

“Do you know the term ‘self-fulfilling prophecy,’ Sangjeon?”

“······?”

“It means that when a sign appears, people become fearful that such a thing might happen, and they start acting with that possibility in mind. Thus, the event eventually occurs. Because you, Sangjeon, and Noble Lady Yang fear that candle incident, aren’t others also noticing it sensitively and distancing themselves from our His Highness the Grandson?”

Eom Chachi slapped his knee.

“This is why you are you. You are you.”

“······?”

“Someone who gets angry for the Grandson, and can step forward in front of superiors for the Grandson. And someone who can boldly investigate and confront what lies behind the phenomenon. Listen, maid Kwon Ga.”

Eom Sangjeon’s gaze became as profound as a serpent that had lived for a thousand years.

“For the string I’ve grasped not to be rotten, I need someone like you. So!”

He meant that because Yunseo genuinely cared for and wanted to protect the Grandson, he, too, for his future survival and glory, would push Yunseo to become a concubine, and eventually the Crown Princess.

However, Yunseo scoffed inwardly.

Are there no other ways to protect Hongwi than becoming a concubine? Everyone has such poor imaginations.

“Alright. I understand well that we must have a common goal of protecting the Grandson and work together. I will work with you. However, I will also set one condition.”

“Just state it.”

Now even using semi-formal speech. Eom Chachi had truly decided to treat Yunseo with special consideration.

“When I occasionally need to leave the Palace, please issue me an entry pass without asking questions.”

“···Huh?”

“I will not become a concubine, Sangjeon.”

“No, maid Kwon Ga.”

“Emotions are fickle. Moreover, this Palace is a place where one can take countless beautiful women like flowers with just a reach of the hand. Therefore, I will achieve my goals by grasping tangible things, not such an empty status.”

With knowledge of the future and mountains of wealth, she declared confidently.

“Oh, oh, oh!”

But for some reason, Eom Sangjeon looked at Yunseo with an even more trusting expression, rather than disappointment.

“Didn’t you say that you can’t know what kind of person someone is until they are put to the test, like Madam Park?”

“No, did Your Ladyship also convey such words?”

“You are the same. The Palace makes people greedy, making them rush towards power like moths drawn to a flame. I will watch. To see what path you will take. What kind of self you will discover on this path.”

Eom Sangjeon’s eyes gleamed cunningly, and he chuckled.

---

“Madam gave you that ring?”

As he entered the eastern room of Bihyeon Pavilion, the Crown Prince’s study, Lee Hyang asked without even lifting his head.

On the spacious desk, memorials that had been processed and those yet to be processed were piled up to his eye level.

It was already close to the third watch of the night (11 PM).

When did he sleep, starting his Palace life before 4 AM?

Moreover, even though there was no one else attending him except for a young eunuch, he was still impeccably dressed in a red Dragon Robe and Ikseongwan.

Knowing that he would die from boils on his back, Yunseo felt her chest tighten.

The dead wife and the living husband are both playing tricks on me!

“If you keep yourself wrapped up like that day and night, boils will easily form. Please wear something lighter, even when you are alone. Doesn’t your skin need time to breathe?”

“······?”

Lee Hyang looked up at the sudden barrage of nagging.