CH 131

Seojeong Palace was in a frenzy. This was because precious gifts came in endlessly. It all started with Officer Jung from the Department of Internal Affairs personally stormed in with magnificent items from the early morning. The best of the items Officer Jung brought were obviously the items the emperor told him to send, but apart from that, he rambled on and on about how much care and attention he’d put into packing the items. 

And it wasn’t from the Department of Internal Affairs only. From the Tailoring Bureau to the Astronomical Observatory to the trading company that managed the Imperial Family’s animals, many of which Hwawoon didn’t even know the names of, they all rushed to send their precious things to Seojeong Palace. Officer Jung said that there were only a few because they were at the secondary palace, and he proudly assured that there would be more if they were at the main palace. Of course, Hwawoon, who never expected this, thought it was a relief that he was at a secondary palace.

Hwawoon wasn’t the only one who lost his soul. The situation was even more serious for courtiers who had never experienced this since they served Yeonbin. In the first place, Jeongan Palace had far fewer courtiers compared to the other palaces. The number of eunuchs had fortunately increased as So Jeong came in as the head eunuch, but because the majority of Jeongan Palace were young inexperienced court ladies, Ahjin had to do most of the things alone.

The whole court, not to mention Ahjin, who had suffered so much, was overcome with joy at the incredible situation, and they moved around with big smiles. They were so excited that they were still making a fuss even though no one came anymore in the afternoon, and the work of organizing the items was almost finished.

Having finally organized the bustling Seojeong Palace, Ahjin sent everyone back and was alone in the bedroom with Hwawoon. Suddenly, Seoseo’s voice which she heard a while ago came back to mind, making her giggle. There was a broken bowl, so Seoseo went to the Department of Internal Affairs to get a new bowl. There, a young eunuch, who always ignored her, changed his expression and manner. Seoseo chattered about it cheerfully as if she felt relieved to have an indigestion of ten years gone down.

Ahjin bit her lip nervously as she felt like she would burst out laughing at this rate. She was happy that no one could dare to ignore Yeonbin, and she was happy that the children of Jeongan Palace could go anywhere without being intimidated, but what made Ahjin the happiest was that her master finally spent the night with the emperor.

By nature, the human mind cannot be seen with eyes. Therefore, a servant who served a concubine as her master had no choice but to guess the emperor’s love by calculating how often the emperor came to her master. There were many nights when Ahjin secretly felt frustrated because the emperor didn’t spend the night with her master even though the relationship between the two had improved noticeably.

Her master, who apparently had no greed at all, didn’t seem like he had ever had such a thought, but Ahjin couldn’t follow him to not care about it.

Then Ahjin suddenly raised her head to look at Hwawoon. Her master, who was as quiet as a person away from the world when he had brought such a huge storm. When the gift came in, he looked embarrassed and awkward, but now he was indifferent about it as if it was a lie that Seojeong Palace had been in a frenzy. While most people would be thrilled with their newfound status, Hwawoon continued to sit and read a book as if he still thought he was nothing. 

I guess this is the reason His Majesty can’t help but adore him. Ahjin, who twitched her nose for no reason, hurriedly shook off her thought, and when Hwawoon, who was reading a book on a chair, twisted his body as if he was somewhat uncomfortable, she asked carefully.

“Your Highness. Would you like to lie down for a while?”

Hwawoon finally looked up from his book and asked back, “Huh?” Ahjin then whispered again. 

“Well… You don’t look well.”

“Oh…”

“Are you all right…?”

Ahjin spoke carefully, not wanting to embarrass her master too much. Although it was not the first night, it must have been a burden on her master because it had been a while since he spent the night with the emperor. Moreover, he was such a weak master. It was fair for Ahjin to be worried. Hwawoon closed the book as he couldn’t concentrate anymore and smiled at Ahjin. 

“Yes, I’m okay. And in case His Majesty comes…”

Hwawoon’s cheeks turned red as he continued. He had been holding a book in his hand, but in fact, he couldn’t flip over the page. His attention was focused on when the emperor would come, even though he knew that there was still time left for the luncheon. His head was reasoning in advance that the emperor may not be able to come because he had other schedules, but his heart was already impatient for the emperor to come.

Hwawoon fell into his thoughts, not seeing that Ahjin was looking proud at him. What happened last night kept coming to his head unintentionally. He had been like this all day since he woke up in the morning. 

Last night, he made countless unexpected remarks and actions. Feeling overwhelmed with the unfamiliar sensations, he begged, wanting it to stop. But he also felt afraid that warmth would really move away from him, so he pulled the firm shoulders closer and begged for a kiss. When the lips and tip of his tongue landed several times on the wound on his shoulder, his body trembled out of control due to the numb sensation that struck his whole body. Feeling the sensations that came back again to life for a moment, Hwawoon wrapped himself and exhaled to calm down.

At that moment, So Jeong came inside with a slightly flushed face and said.

“Your Highness! His Majesty is on his way here!” 

A bright smile spread across Hwawoon’s face as he scrambled to his feet. There was still time before the usual luncheon time, but no one cared about it.

***

“Are you okay?”

Yihan, who had only been playing with chopsticks in front of all kinds of delicacies, asked Hwawoon in a subtle voice. Likewise, Hwawoon was barely eating. He opened his eyes wide and soon answered.

“… Yes, Your Majesty. I’m okay.”

“Well… I was worried if I had gone too far yesterday…”

Both Yihan, who said that, and Hwawoon, who listened to him, blushed. Yihan had tried his best to restrain himself because he didn’t want Hwawoon to be in pain or scared because it was like the first for him, but a man’s instincts wouldn’t always work out as he wanted. Hwawoon’s face, panting with a face soaked in tears at the end, kept coming to his mind.

Yihan hoped that it was a good time for Hwawoon, too. Like himself, who couldn’t concentrate on anything all day because he kept thinking about that night. Just like himself, who kept smiling and almost ridiculed himself in front of the ministers when he remembered who he held in his arms last night. Yihan hoped that Hwawoon also had an exciting time last night, one that made his heart flutter when he thought about it. 

Yihan’s question brought back all the embarrassing scenes that he had been replaying in his mind earlier. Hwawoon tried to organize his mind and hastily answered.

“I… I’m fine, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm…”

Yihan looked down and frowned slightly because he couldn’t easily judge if Hwawoon’s repeated okay was the truth or if he was just saying it because he was pretending to be okay. 

“Your Majesty, I… I… I liked it.”

Hwawoon’s ensuing words, however, made Yihan almost drop his chopsticks, and he looked at Hwawoon again. Hwawoon could not face the emperor and continued to talk while looking at the distant place. 

“It was such a… dreamy night for me, but…”

“Oh… Ah…”

“You must have been uncomfortable because I’m very bad at it…”

Hwawoon felt intimidated this time. Aside from sharing a bed, Hwawoon, who had never even pecked anyone, was genuinely concerned about it. The Emperor must have had a lot of experience, and it constantly worried him that the emperor might have been uncomfortable with his utterly clumsy self.

“No!”

At that time, a loud sound struck Hwawoon’s ears. When Hwawoon, startled, turned his head, he saw the emperor with a red face looking at him with his eyes wide open. Before Hwawoon could say anything, Yihan continued. 

“What… What do you mean by that? Far from being uncomfortable, I liked it so much that I only thought of you all day…!”

There was an ambiguous silence between Hwawoon and Yihan, who closed his mouth only after he had said everything he had to say. Their gazes, averting from each other because they were embarrassed, were looking around the air. That atmosphere was not so bad and smiles kept decorating their faces.