Chapter 71

Smiling brightly in a long time, Ohyulje nodded and said, “Isn’t it only right that as the father of the baby, you give a good name to her? So, what is the baby’s name?”

“Well, I combined one word from my name and another one from her name. So, it consists of ‘so’ meaning ‘bright’, and ‘ah’ meaning ‘elegant.’ I would like to give the name Soah to her.”

Binsung’s childhood name was Sotae Danmok, and Heyjin’s childhood name was Pyoah Hajin. So, Binsung took ‘so’ from his name and ‘ah’ from her name to make her name. Thanks to his frequent visits to Ruhae and his counsel, he created that name.

Ohyulje gave out a hearty laugh at Binsung’s words and approved the name.

With a bright expression, Binsung approached Heyjin and hugged her lovingly.

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Despite the presence of the Emperor and the Queen, he didn’t care, which made them think he was not yet mature enough.

Soah didn’t go to sleep and kept blinking her eyes until the long and tedious ceremony of naming her was over. Finally, the naming ceremony was over, and another final ceremony to give an official title to the baby was waiting for them. Unlike the baby’s name, the official title was decided by the emperor well in advance in consideration of the baby’s fate as well as the time and location of the baby’s birth.

The royal fortune teller presented a red paper roll wrapped in silk cloth to Ohyulje. He received it and opened the paper with the official title of the baby. He announced to Soah as follows.

“Let me give her the official title ‘Koryun,’ who was born as the first baby of Prince Binsung and Princess Heyjin on a certain day in a certain month of the year. I hope she can grow up as the woman who can renew the old and learn the new by harmonizing oldness with roundness, given her official title ‘Ko’ meaning ‘old,’ and ‘ryun’ meaning ’round.’ So let me give her such title.”

That was the last ceremony.

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As if she was not yet tired, Soah was looking in the air with sparkling eyes and moved her little lips without knowing that the emperor gave her the official title of ‘Koryun.’

Then the Emperor and the Queen wished the baby all their best once more. The emperor’s two concubines also said words of blessings to the baby. When they left the maternity center, the princes of the four palaces came up to her bed.

Bipaan looked at Koryun blankly, when she turned her head to him. When he felt she was looking at him, he thought she was too young to focus her eyes on him. But strange enough, her blue eyes didn’t move, fixed on him. He even felt her expression wasn’t like that of a baby because of her strange act.

“Your Majesty!”

Calling Bipaan, Heyjin offered Koryun to him.

“Would you want to hold Soah?”

She made an unexpected request.

With an embarrassed expression he stared at Heyjin. Instead of avoiding his eyes, she looked him in the eye. In fact, he couldn’t refuse her request on a day like this.

Nodding his head, he awkwardly received Koryun.

His gaze was directed toward at Koryun’s deep blue eyes.

“You are the third person who has held Koryun after my wife and me.”

Overcome with joy, Prince Binsung approached him and babbled.

It was not the first time Bipaan saw a baby. When Prince Dukwol’s baby was born, he attended and witnessed the naming ceremony on the tenth day of its birth, but it was the first time that he held a baby like this. The baby wasn’t heavy. He looked at her fist-sized face, round eyes, flat nose, thin eyebrows and her wiggling ten fingers.

After looking at Koryun for a while, he turned his eyes toward Kyosul.

“Would you want to hold her?”

“Pardon?”

Kyosul hesitatingly moved back at his sudden suggestion.

Then she shook her head hastily.

“No, not me, Your Majesty. I can’t come near to her because I have a cold.”

She was standing at a distance all along while the naming ceremony was taking place. Though she wanted to see Koryun up close, she couldn’t for fear Koryun might catch a cold from her.

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Bipaan looked at her in her arms again. Just born, she was small and feeble. Even a little disease was very dangerous to a baby. That’s why they had to go through all this cumbersome ceremony.

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Looking at Koryun, he nodded and said, “I forgot for a moment that you had a cold.”

Though he said that carelessly, she felt pretty dejected. He forcibly pulled her out of the bed even when she had a cold. Nonetheless, he completely forgot about it, which clearly showed that he was not interested in her at all.

Though she didn’t expect anything from him, she just felt bad about it when he acted so mean like that.

‘As expected, you’re a heartless man!’

She clenched her molar teeth tightly. She almost forgot his cold-bloodedness because he was kind enough to help her stand by extending his hand to her room at the Dongbi Palace the other day.

In no time, Bipaan handed Koryun back to Heyjin. Koryun didn’t cry at all even when several others held and touched her. She waved her little hands with a smile in Heyjin’s arms. Though it was always difficult to decipher her mysterious smile, Koysul could feel how much she loved her baby from her smile.

When Bipaan moved away from her bed, Prince Dukwol and his wife Oran came forward, followed by the other princes of the four palaces in the order of their rank.

When Dukwol and Oran approached her bed, their little son, Mu, crawled his way to Heyjin, climbed on her bed and grabbed her.

“Your Highness, I would like to hold the baby.”

Stunned by his sudden act, Dukwol and Oran quickly took Mu’s hands away from her. Dukwol lifted him up, but Mu extended his hand to Heyjin and Koryun and repeatedly asked to hold her. “You only asked the Crown Prince to hold her. I would like to hold the baby. Please.”

Oran took her son from Dukwol and held him tightly.

Then she gave Mu a good scolding by saying, “You shouldn’t do that. What if the baby falls out of the bed?”

“I won’t let her fall down. Mom, please allow me to hold the baby. Please!”

Mu, holding her arms, whined again. No matter how she tried to dissuade him, Mu was not persuaded. Tapping him lightly, Oran let out a deep sigh as he continued to whine.

In fact, it was the West Palace, Prince Dukwol and Oran’s place, that paid the most attention to Heyjin’s pregnancy. Though he was only the fourth in line to succeed the throne, Prince Binsung would certainly stand in the way of Mu becoming the official grandson of Emperor Ohyulje. So, the Dukwol couple played all kinds of dirty tricks. They even hired a court lady to poison Heyjin to disable the baby boy’s pennis if she gave birth to a baby. As their dirty conspiracy to poison the princess was revealed, the imperial palace was plunged in big chaos. They felt it a great regret that Heyjin and her pregnant baby were safe.

Heyjin delivered a baby, and the baby was a girl. It was if the heavens helped them.

As Heyjin’s baby was a girl, the West Palace was willing to welcome her.

As such, Dukwol and Oran were much relieved until recently. Then, today, their little son Mu showed an erratic act in the presence of Princess Heyjin. As they overindulged too much while raising him, Mu was stubborn, resisting even their parents’ order. As Mu played the baby, crying and throwing a tantrum, Oran took him and left with him after bowing out to other princes.

While watching Oran and Mu bickering like that, Dukwol spoke to Heyjin with a smile, “Please forgive my son’s silly actions.”

“It’s alright, Prince Dukwol. I’m happy because he seems to like my baby girl.”

“Thanks for your generous understanding. Let me head out first.”

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Dukwok quickly turned his eyes to Binsung who was fully smiling with joy. The happiest man in the world today, Binsung gladly appreciated his greetings.

“Yes, please take care. Brother Dukwol, I see your son is crying. Don’t scold him too much.”

Without answering properly, Dukwol turned even before Binsung finished talking. Bowing slightly to Bipaan first, he walked out to the door.

Kyosul, who moved back and watched Dukwol blankly, caught his eye by chance. She got goosebumps the moment she noticed his sparkling black eyes even though he was trying to smile at her.

As Kyosul stepped back in great surprise, Bipaan looked at Dukwol and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Dukwol gently bowed to him and Kyosul once and said, “I just wanted to say hello to the Crown Princess. I hope you can recover quickly as you have a cold.”

Having said that, Dulwol left the maternity center quickly.

Kyosul watched his back until he closed the door.

His smile at her while leaving the place troubled her mind.

‘He looks like a kind person….’