CH 115

Even if Yeon Songwoon entered the palace, the empress would not have pushed her away with unnecessary vigilance, but if that happened, the emperor would have had to look more carefully at the atmosphere surrounding Yeon Juwon. It was not because Yihan did not believe in the loyalty of Yeon Juwon, but because he was an emperor who knew the horror of power. 

The fact that Yihan did not refuse the request of Juwon and took his son, not his daughter, as a concubine was tantamount to the emperor seeing Yeon Juwon’s will to not put any useless seeds of trouble. As a result, Yeon Juwon sent his son to the palace to prove his unchanging loyalty, and the emperor cleared the seeds of doubt by allowing it. Everything that happened in the imperial palace inherently contained a million different meanings under one apparent will. 

“Yeon Juwon is going to be walking around with a heavy heart.” 

Jaran murmured leisurely, taking out her earrings herself. Seon looked confused about why the name of Yeon Juwon suddenly appeared, but Jaran kept her mouth shut. That man sent his cranky son to the palace and used that son as a shield to lower his authority, but that shield suddenly became a weapon, so he must be worried in a bizarre way about his son getting loved.

How many people were affected by that one man, Yeon Hwawoon? Jaran was also one of those people. She was able to release a little bit of the burden that she had been carrying for a long time thanks to the man who didn’t even know about it.

***

“How could these people be so thoughtless…” 

Yeon Juwon, who once again sent back all the gifts from famous merchant guilds and all kinds of places, was very irritated today. He wondered if those people didn’t feel tired even though he had never accepted their gifts. Perhaps they wanted to feel relieved that they had shown their sincerity regardless if Yeon Juwon accepted the gift or not. 

Juwon’s footsteps as he walked alone in the garden were heavy. Others thought that the Yeon family was having a festival because the son, the only headache of the Yeon family, was now getting wings, but the reality was completely different. Yeon Juwon had not been able to sleep well at night recently.

The son who was taken as a concubine was gaining the emperor’s attention. If he were to assess if it was love, Yeon Juwon thought it would never be, but anyway, it was a great achievement considering the old days when his son held the reputation of being the only concubine to be treated coldly. Since his son had worked so hard to win the emperor’s heart, what happened recently must be good for him. As a father, Juwon knew he should be happy about it. 

“Huft…”

A sigh fell to the ground. Sukjin’s voice, asking if someone’s nature would really change if he lost his memory, and the choices he made in the past when he pushed his son into the palace while knowing what kind of ending would be for his son were tangled in his head. Even though life is constantly moving in unexpected directions, Yeon Juwon was baffled as to how something so dramatic could happen.

If so, what path would these changes lead to the rest of Yeon Juwon’s life? 

Just as no one intended for this moment to happen, it was equally difficult to imagine the rest of his life. 

***

“It’s so annoying!” 

Ahjin grumbled in a very grumpy voice while approaching Seoseo, who was carefully examining the flower bed to see if there were any plants that were withering or drying. Whenever their master smiled at the flower beds, Seoseo felt proud as if her life was worthwhile, and these days, she had been putting all her heart into taking care of the plants in the garden. Seoseo asked, looking back at Ahjin. 

“What’s wrong? Did Lord So do something wrong again?” (TL: I only realized that Sojeong, the suspicious eunuch, was supposed to be So Jeong.)

Seoseo pointed out the reason and asked even though Ahjin didn’t say anything in particular. Most of Ahjin’s irritation after So Jeong’s arrival at Jeongan Palace was due to So Jeong. 

“Don’t even mention it. It was just recently that he acted like a cowardly idiot, but now he’s like a fox with nine tails.” 

As if that had not calmed her irritation enough, Ahjin flicked at the stalks in front of her sulkily. Startled, Seoseo hurriedly grabbed Ahjin’s arm, blocked her, and gave her a side glance.

“Why are you venting out in the wrong place?! They’re plants that His Highness loves.” 

“Is that the problem now?” 

“So what happened?” 

“Well, he gave His Highness an ornament for the wooden sword.” 

Ahjin was now fuming again, and it seemed as though smoke came out of her nose. Seoseo, who glanced to see if the stem Ahjin used to take out her anger a while ago was okay, asked again in an unconcerned voice. 

“So what?”

“He said that he was so grateful to His Highness for his warm welcome in spite of his rudeness, that he wanted to do something in return, even if it was only a small thing, so he made it himself. But then he held out a very crude ornament, but His Highness was so happy that he accepted it and put it on his wooden sword.”

“… So what?” 

“So what?! I told you His Highness put that crude thing on his wooden sword! I mean, who is he to make His Highness use that pathetic thing? His Highness can get any luxurious and beautiful decoration for the sword handle if he tells the Department of Internal Affairs.”

“But… You said His Highness was happy.”

“Of course, he was happy because he’s kind-hearted. I’m sure that’s what he was aiming for. He must have pulled up a trick to look good in front of His Highness…!”

As Ahjin even shook her two fists, Seoseo carefully opened her mouth with a clueless face because she really didn’t understand. 

“Is that… bad?” 

“What?” 

“I mean… It’s only natural that the people of Jeongan Palace want to look good to His Highness… and… It’s a good thing, right? If that makes His Highness happy… I don’t understand why you’re so angry…” 

“No, that’s…!” 

Frustrated, Ahjin raised her voice again to Seoseo, who still didn’t understand even though she had explained it so far, but she suddenly found that she couldn’t continue talking. This is because what Seoseo said was true.

It was natural for palace servants to be loyal to their masters and want to look good. Ahjin had never been interested in a sword, so she didn’t even think of putting accessories on the wooden sword. Meanwhile, So Jeong prepared a gift sincerely, considering Yeonbin’s love for the wooden sword. Of course, an ornament made with the skill of a mere eunuch would be lacking for the palace master, but if the master liked it and was pleased with it, it would be irrelevant. Nevertheless, Ahjin was so angry and annoyed about it that she came out here and threw a tantrum. 

When Ahjin showed signs of hesitation, Seoseo continued to talk in a subdued voice.

“From what I see… The person who has been taking care of His Highness alone at the closest place is being jealous because she has to share that place with someone else?”

“Wha-what do you mean by jealous? Why would I? Do you know how different His Highness is towards him and me?”

Ahjin’s face turned red in an instant. She remembered the days when she was upset just to see So Jeong in the places where His Highness usually spent time alone with her, even though So Jeong didn’t do anything. Ahjin thought it was only because So Jeong’s first impression was not good. 

“You’ve taken care of His Highness alone, but now that you have to share it with the head eunuch who appeared out of nowhere, you must be angry.” 

“Well, no… I’m not…!” 

But Ahjin’s voice faded as she answered. Seoseo burst into laughter. Ahjin was the closest aide to Yeonbin, and Yeonbin did not hide his trust and depended on Ahjin very much, so there were many people who looked up to and envied Ahjin at Jeongan Palace. 

It wasn’t only in Jeongan Palace. Yeonbin’s reputation in the imperial palace was getting higher, and the more often the emperor visited Jeongan Palace, the more people outside Jeongan Palace envied Ahjin. Ahjin was simply the only one for Yeonbin.

But now, So Jeong joined most of the places where Ahjin was alone with Yeonbin. A head eunuch was originally a person who was responsible for everything in a palace and moved as the hands and feet of the palace master, so So Jeong was qualified to be the closest aide to Yeonbin like Ahjin. 

Looking at Ahjin’s face, which was clearly getting paler, Seoseo shook her head. Since most of the court ladies of Jeongan Palace were very young, Ahjin always seemed like a reliable adult to them, but when she saw her today, Seoseo felt closer to Ahjin. 

***

“Didn’t you sense something over there just now?”

Seocheon, who was guarding the outside of the courtyard of Jeongan Palace, suddenly turned his head to the presence felt from the back. Jamun, standing half dozing, shook his head with sleepy eyes because it was well past dawn. He didn’t even have the energy to speak out. Jamun, who was especially sleepy, could not adapt to the night shift, so he would suffer whenever it was his turn. 

“I’ll be right back.” 

However, when Seocheon moved, Jamun opened his eyes wide. 

“Where are you going? It’s not patrol time. You can get into trouble if you walk inside Jeongan Palace for no reason.”

“But I have to see if there’s anything suspicious.” 

“Don’t bother. People like us should just stay put if possible. It’s not any other place, but a concubine’s palace, so don’t make any problem and just stay still. There was no sound, okay?”