Chapter 101

“Oh my god! I didn’t expect they would throw a barrage of questions at me. Did you have the same experience, Kyoyoung?”

Calling her friendly, she asked as if she played the baby.

Looking at her with a kind smile, Kyoyoung was accepting.

“Well, I was really put on the spot when I saw them for the first time, but as I was the Crown Prince’s second wife, they didn’t ask me too many questions. If they had done the same thing to me, I think I would have gotten sick for some time.”

Though Kyoyoung spoke politely, it was a bit of a joke. Having heard her exaggerated description of her experiences, Kyosul could guess how hard a time Kyoyoung had on that day.

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“By the way, you have to pull yourself together because the envoy of the Ulyoung Kingdom will soon arrive,” Sassi said.

Kyosul quickly got up at her remarks and screamed, with her face turning white.

“Do I have to accept the envoy delegation?”

As she asked with so much surprise, Sassi and Kyoyoung couldn’t help but laugh heartily. They could stop laughing only when she blushed in embarrassment.

Sipping tea, Sassi said, “Well, you don’t have to care about other minor kingdoms, but Ulyoung Kingdom is an empire, so not only the Crown Prince and you but also other princes of the four palaces have to greet them. I’m going to be here, so why don’t you go and welcome them with Princess Kyoyoung?”

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Letting out a sigh at her remarks, she was about to cry while frowning. Only now did she realize that Kyoyoung’s dress was too colorful for their tea gathering.

“Are you already fully prepared to greet the envoy delegation?” she asked.

“Yes, I am. I think you had better order the court ladies to prepare you quickly.”

“Got it.”

She had no choice but to do as instructed when Sassi and Kyoyoung prodded.

At that moment the nanny came into the room urgently.

“Your Highness!”

“I’ve just heard about it. You want me to pretty myself up to greet the delegation from the Ulyoung Kingdom, right? Please call the court ladies quickly.”

But the nanny was confused about her reaction.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m telling you I have to get dressed up, do my hair and put on make-up to greet the delegation.”

“Oh, that’s not why I’ve come to see you, Your Highness!”

Not only Kyosul but also Sassi and Kyoyoung turned their eyes toward the nanny, surprised by her unexpected reply. Catching her breath for a moment, the nanny grabbed Kyosul’s hands in great excitement.

“Your Highness! I hear he is coming here as part of the delegation to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday!”

“Who is coming?”

Kyosul asked in embarrassment when the nanny hurriedly kept repeating that he was coming.

“I mean your brother in the Hwa Kingdom. Prince Mingung is visiting the Mok Kingdom.”

Though Prince Mingung was her half brother, he thought the world of her and treated her very kindly when she was in her motherland.

As his longing for Kyosul became deeper since she got married to Bipaan in the Mok Kingdom, Prince Mingung volunteered to visit the Mok Kingdom as an envoy. Although several top-ranking officials raised objection, he was determined, and he finally got King Chong’s approval.

As he left early to arrive on the second day of the national holiday, which was when they began to accept foregin delegations, Prince Mingung was soon entering the imperial palace of the Mok Kingdom.

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Prince Mingung was Yonjonyo’s son, who was King Chong’s concubine. He was the king’s third son. And Kyosul was King Jong’s only daughter, who was born to the king and Queen Taeryong.

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Although he was the son of a concubine, King Chung knew Mingjung was cut out to be a great king, so he chose him as his successor. As the royal family members had a good relationship with each other and deeply loved their half brothers, they gladly accepted the king’s decision and celebrated him.

As the atmosphere of the royal family was amicable and she was the king’s only daughter, she was loved more than anybody else. Prince Mingung doted on her, in particular. So, he wanted to go to the Mok Kingdom to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday and check out with his eyes whether she was living well there.

“Your brother is here, Woorum!”

Mingung called her childhood name.

When he thought she went all the way to the Mok Kingdom alone on that day, he was choked with tears. Entering the imperial palace of the kingdom at last, he recalled the day when he got King Jong’s approval with difficulty.

In fact, all the princes of the Hwa Kingdom wanted to come and see Kyosul. Even the six-year-old prince, who was the youngest among his brothers, insisted on going. So, all the princes gathered and competed in the central palace of the Hwa Kingdom to be chosen as the envoy. After all, he was chosen as the winner, and won the privilege of being the king’s envoy.

While smiling at the faces of those princes who were sad and jealous after they were defeated, Mingung was so overjoyed at the thought of meeting her beloved half-sister Kyosul and mounted his horse in haste.

After passing through the outer castle of the Mok Kingdom, he could see the magnificent grandeur of its imperial palace. Only the Emperor and the princes of the four palaces were allowed to pass through the main gate of the Imperial Palace. So, Mingung got off the horse, talked to the eunuch on standby and headed for the second largest gate.

Following him, the long procession of the envoy’s delegation entered the palace.

***

Overcome with joy at the prospect of seeing her brother, Kyosul kept her place beside Bipaan, not knowing how tired she was.

Except for the delegation of the Ulyoung Kingdom, she didn’t have to keep her place because all other delegations were from smaller kingdoms than the Mok Kingdom. Bipaan thought that Kyosul would also leave just like the wives of the princes when the foreign envoys went back to their guesthouses. But when she didn’t leave and kept her place next to him, Biapaan looked at her with a curious expression.

When she heard that Kyosul’s brother Prince Mingung would come, Kyoyoung didn’t leave the place either. When Kyosul wouldn’t leave, Oran, who was about to return to the West Palace, came back and sat beside Prince Dukwol. As she didn’t know exactly why Kyosul stayed, Oran didn’t leave, naively thinking Kyosul was staying to curry favor with the Emperor. On the other hand, Prince Binsung went back to the North Palace right away to stay with Heyjin and baby girl Koryun right after he greeted the envoy of the Ulyoung Kingdom.

Watching Prince Mingung’s delegation entering the palace, she uttered a little exclamation when she noticed the flag of the Hwa Kingdom. Bipaan slightly turned his head after finding out why she kept her place until late.

The chief internal officer in charge of the palace events shouted loudly, “Prince Mingung of the Hwa Kingdom has just arrived!!”

The top ranking officials present there were shocked and began to whisper among themselves.

It was the first time and unprecedented that the prince of a kingdom like Mingung would come as the special envoy to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday.

Earnestly waiting for him, Kyosul was already welled with tears. She couldn’t take her eyes off from him as if she saw him in several years.

“Brother…”

As soon as the delegation of the Hwa Kingdom went out of the Central Palace, she stood up and ran to Prince Mingung waiting for her at the main gate and hugged him.

“Woorum! I haven’t seen you for a long time. How have you been?”

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Mingung still called her by Woorum, her childhood name.

When he called her like that, she felt as if she was back to her motherland.

Clinging to him like a child, she nodded eagerly when he asked her tenderly, holding her in his arms and caressing her hair.

The nanny, standing behind them, greeted him, slightly tears in her eyes.

“I’d like to offer you my heartfelt greetings, Prince Mingung. I feel sorry for you as I have not served her well enough. ”

“No, don’t say that, nanny. I could worry less as you’re around her all the time. I was convinced you would take care of her well all the time.”

After praising the nanny, he pulled his arm away from her. He then raised his hand and lowered his head to examine her face here and there.

She felt shy for a moment and caught his eyes with a smile.

“You cried again, Woorum! I can imagine you must have cried a lot in this strange place. Do you like the food here? It looks like you live luxuriously here. Have you made lots of friends to your liking? Is the Crown Prince treating you well?”