Chapter 31:
A secluded room in the Damiwon was prepared for an emergency meeting after the incident at the pavilion in which Hae Soo had accidentally uncovered the manipulation of materials about to be used for the mini palace being built.
Hae Soo was requested to attend the meeting and is brought by Lady Oh outside the room. As they walk through the corridors, Lady Oh stops several meters from the door, taking Hae Soo to a corner.
"Hae Soo Ssi, I don't know how you are well learned in the crafts of ceramics or if you have really befriended a merchant in the market but please listen to me well. I urge you to save yourself but if you could minimize the help you can give, then do so." Lady Oh cautions, "Every favor gained from the court asks something in return. Every gift is binding. Do not make the mistake of accepting one or giving away anything. No one person in that court has a pure intention and that includes my nephew, the king's adviser."
Though Ji Mong had asked Lady Oh to look after Hae Soo, she doesn't trust her nephew not even a bit, remembering that Ji Mong had once drown Hae Soo in the outer pool of her Damiwon. She doesn't understand her nephew's intentions and it is not helping that Ji Mong contradicts his own action and not explain anything to her.
"I really wished we didn't have to come to this." Lady Oh could only touched Hae Soo's cheek with a motherly affection.
Inside the private room, Wook and Mu sit at the tea table while Ji Mong stands by the window, looking outside. This group used to be him, the seja and the 4th prince. Now Wook occupies the position So used to have and Ji Mong doesn't like it.
Lady Oh sits Hae Soo in front of the two princes while she stands on the other side of the window. Breathing the air from the outside helps her to think clearly.
"Hae Soo-ya, may I ask how you come to be in possession of such knowledge with the ceramics?" Mu touches the sample of roof shingles at the table, "This kind of ceramic is not a popular one. I doubt they even sell this anywhere?"
Ha Jin could not answer. She did read from the books that the technique of creating a fine form of Goryeo Celadon ceramics had only been perfected by the 12th century. Its height of appreciation is around 12th-13th century. It is only 9th century at the moment and the local artisans are just learning its art form. She herself was surprised to see such exquisite form at this era.
"With all do respect wangsejanim, how she knows doesn't matter." Ji Mong covers for his little queen. He didn't know Ha Jin had a love for ceramics. In which case, they can't reveal that Ha Jin probably knows about it through her education in the 21st century. "How to trace it should be our focus. By now, the ministers or whoever is behind this are cleaning their mess, we wouldn't be able to catch them if we only stand here and waste our time."
"Then are you sure that this one is really locally produced?" Wook asks addressing Hae Soo, "I have gone through our books of inventory for the last one month, the import of these materials had been extensively recorded as produced and bought from Shanglin Lake in Zhejiang province. Are you telling us that this didn't come from there?"
Ha Jin is starting to be scared. The gravity of the situation is finally settling upon her. She thought that she would only be scolded for slipping on a comment. She didn't know she would uncover a corruption with her one sentence slipped.
"I don't know." Ha Jin answers in a small voice
"Mal haji mara! (Don't say that!)" Ji Mong exclaims out of worry, he then lowers his voice taking a calmer tone, "Hae Soo Ssi gung-jung-e geu-reo-ge mal hal sue ops-eub-ni-da. (You can't say that to the royal court.) Do you think the king would just let you be excused after you challenge a minister's word?"
"I never meant to challenge the minister's word." Ha Jin clasps her hands together in her lap, stopping it from trembling.
"But you did." Mu explains, "Whether you meant to challenge the minister or not is irrelevant. Could you at least tell us where do you think we could find this kind of ceramics? You need to helps us so we could get you out of this mess."
"Hae Soo-ya I know you're scared right now but if you could trust me, I promise to protect you." Wook promises sincerely.
Ji Mong holds his self from giving a sarcastic laugh, exchanging stares with his aunt. They don't trust the 8th prince's word at all.
Ha Jin racks her brain for every information she had learned about Goryeo Celadon ceramics.
In early Goryeo dynasty mud kilns are mainly spread across the south-western parts of Korea. The earliest kilns they've excavated are located at Yongguni but that dates back to only 10th century.
The primary producers of Goryeo Celadon Ceramics from 9th century to 14th century would be the Gangjin kilns site?
"I am not really sure but if you could try Gangjin-gun at Jeollanam-do (1), it might yield results. The areas near the sea, probably Yongunri,(2) contain a few mud and brick kilns. Look for the mud kilns." Ha Jin takes the roof shingle ceramic into her hands, "This type of ceramic can only be baked in a mud kiln."
"Araseo." Mu nods, turning to the astronomer, "Ji Mong-ah secure the owners of these mud kilns that Hae Soo is talking about. Do it carefully and fast. For the sake of the lady, we can't lose our chance."
"Yie wangsejanim." Ji Mong answers.
A week after, the Hoegyong Hall is filled with royal officials and royal family members gathering to hear the judgment upon the incident of material replacement for the mini palace. The tense air is a bound and everyone is keeping still, even their breathing are controlled. For lack of movement from the people present, the Hoegyong Hall looks as if it's populated with statues instead of people.
Pieces of ceramic roof shingles were piled in a pillar beside King Taejo, where everyone can see it.
Hae Soo is present as a witness and came with Myung Hee and Lady Oh. Lady Oh comes in and takes her place, standing beside Queen Shinjeong at the king's left, one stair lower at the throne.
Myung Hee was left outside the corridor as Hae Soo was ushered in the aisle. She stands alone. Though her heart is pounding hard in her chest, she maintains her poise and gracefully bows to the king, pulling a proud smile on Lady Oh, which she expertly hid.
Two merchants, owners of mud kilns from the Joellam-do had been summoned in the court under the seja's invitation. Ji Mong had brought them by himself after they traced which mud kiln site had produced the ceramic in question. It wasn't an easy route since all trails left by the inventory are going to China, they had to discard all the information written in the book. If Hae Soo didn't tell them where to look, they wouldn't find the site of the mud kilns at all.
The two merchants kneel confidently at the aisle, having no idea that the goods they had produced were used as a substitute material to replace what should have been a precious and expensive ceramics from China. Ji Mong had only informed them that the king had come across their ceramic and found it beautiful that the king would like to personally meet them. Careful to not let them know anything is a missed whilst they hide and deny that they are the producers of the ceramics.
Yo had taken out all the in between people he had used as a bridge so as not to trace the transaction to him. He maintains a stoic face, knowing that even if this go awry, the sole responsibility will fall to the two ministers who had presented the ceramics to the king. Though Wang Ryeom Shiek is his uncle, his mother had expressly told him to throw away his uncle.
"Hae Soo Ssi, could you identify this ceramics again for the court." Ji Mong asks, standing straight beside the king, his hands are at his back, clasping it tightly together.
"Yie seonsaengnim." Ha Jin answers, trying not look around. Mu and Wook had coached her well on what to say when she is questioned in the court. Unnecessary movements should be avoided since their father is good at finding weakness through a telltale gestures. She repeats what she had already said over at the lunch feast.
"And you know this because?" The king asks, watching Hae Soo intensely.
"I have befriended a local merchant at the market who had graciously showed me the ropes but this friend of mine cannot produce an exquisite work like this yet. This particular ceramic is too refine and advance on its own." Ha Jin sticks to the lie of Baek-Ah for both of their sake. Baek-ah even brought her to the shop, where she first encountered a celadon ceramics, to straighten their lie but to her dismay, the stall is already closed. They went around asking question about the merchant but no one can tell where the merchant is.
"Does any of you know this lady in front of you?" King Taejo addresses the two merchants kneeling with a smile on their face. Both were happy to the compliment Hae Soo had just made. The two look at Hae Soo, trying to remember if they have ever met the lady but none of them had ever seen her before.
"Anibnida pyeha, we've never met a lady who is well educated with our craft." The first merchant answers returning the compliment to Hae Soo.
"And you say this," King Taejo takes a piece of roof shingle in his hand, "is a work produced from your kiln?"
The two merchants look-up to see the tile King Taejo is holding. Ji Mong takes two from the pile and hands it to the merchants, who examine it meticulously.
"Yie pyeha," The second merchant answers this time, "Not long ago, our kilns were commissioned to produce a ceramic that closely resembles the famous Yue wares from the Tang Dynasty. Since it was a massive order, my own kilns-only 10 and our potters won't be able to accommodate such order in only a span of six months so I went over to a friend of mine, which is this other person" pertaining to the other merchant beside him, "and had also commissioned his kilns of 8."
"And who made the order?"
"The truth is…" Now the 2nd merchant is starting to be nervous, "pyeha, I have no idea. Only a messenger was sent to us and we did the transactions with that messenger alone."
"And have you found the messenger?" King Taejo addresses Ji Mong.
"Sungohabnida pyeha I wasn't able to find the messenger." Ji Mong freezes, answering truthfully.
"Can you prove that this ceramic is of yours?" King Taejo asks the merchants again.
"Yie pyeha," The first merchant dismantles the cylinder at the middle of two concave tiles and turns it over, showing a hollow opening on the other side of the cylinder "We usually mark our craft."
He shows the hanja characters of his business, marking the inside of the cylinder. It's small and well concealed but true enough to claim it as their work.
Ji Mong takes another roof shingle and dismantles it the way the merchant did and shows King Taejo the initials inside. He takes another one and then another, all of it showing the same marking.
A murmur spreads from the ministers and officials all wanting to get a look at the roof shingles Ji Mong had dismantled. The princes and princesses didn't bother to murmur or even look, all of them anxious. They all know what's going to happen next.
"Hae Soo Ssi,"
At the mention of Hae Soo's name, all the princes, Ji Mong, the queens and even Lady Oh tense at their feet.
"What clan are you from?" King Taejo confirms.
"Cheo-yo?" Ha Jin was surprised to be suddenly addressed again, "Hae Clan pyeha."
"But I heard you aren't officially registered under Hae Hyeonhui's household."
Ha Jin doesn't know that nor grasps the implication of not having a family she's registered into. She was told Hae Soo had been living under Myung Hee's household since she was five but that is all Ha Jin knows so she doesn't answer.
"Which house takes responsibility for the lady in question?"
Now everyone shuts their mouth, returning to being a statue they were. King Taejo watches over his sons, testing their loyalty, waiting for them to come forward and save the girl this time the way most of them did in the past but no one answers.
There is however a slight trembling in his 14th son's demeanor and this doesn't escape him. Baek-Ah, from the side, can see Jung is about to do something stupid. Though he'd like to take responsibility for Hae Soo too, the king is asking for a house not just his own self. Baek-Ah would be willing to risk his life but not his clan. Mu and Eun struggles with the same dilemma.
Ji Mong seeks his aunt's eyes, willing her to take responsibility for his little queen. He might be able to whisper at the king's ear every now and then or manipulate people to do his will but legally he is only an adviser so he doesn't have that power but his aunt is a 5th ranking consort. She holds the highest concubine status. She can take her under her wing.
Lady Oh waits for the 8th prince to make good of his promise to Hae Soo that he would protect her no matter what.
Though Queen Shinjeong holds the vote of the Haes, she looks the other way, not risking her position. Yeonhwa stays still looking far ahead and Wook struggles with what to do. Hae Soo is his responsibility after all.
"Not one from my sons?" King Taejo's face is a mask hiding his intentions
"Pye…" Jung starts
"Pyeha," but Guen Sun's voice is louder, drowning Jung's. He comes out from the line of the ministers, taking all the attention. "The 4th prince household will take responsibility for Lady Hae Soo."
"Eh?" Ha Jin turns to look at the stranger. She doesn't know the ajeossi at all.
Wook steps out of the line and stands beside Hae Soo, "There will be no need for that pyeha, Lady Hae Soo is my wife's cousin. She belongs to my household."
Queen Shinjeong balls her hand in her seat. His son's affection for the girl will get them in trouble.
"The Hwangbos will take the lady?" King Taejo repeats, making sure everyone heard it correctly.
"Yie pyeha." Wook answers, nervous but definite.
"Kuereom, for expressly standing behind your words and proving yourself, Lady Hae Soo will be granted a land outside the territory of Hwangbos in the north." King Taejo awards Hae Soo a favor.
Eh? I will be given a land?
Ha Jin looks at the 8th prince, asking if what they heard is correct. Wook signals for her to go down on her knees and thank the king.
Ha Jin does so, "Your grace knows no bounds pyeha."
Wook goes back to his line, finally able to breathe. Ha Jin follows, standing behind him. Mu smiles at Hae Soo, he can finally write back to his 4th brother.
"And as for these merchants,"
The merchants' ears peak, both of them still on their knees with their heads bowed, hiding their smiles. Since the lady had been given a reward, it seems both of them are also getting a gift.
"For providing these beautiful pieces of ceramics and fooling the king, these two and every potters who had worked in their kilns will be hang in the plaza."
Every minister and royal officials gasps but the royal families stayed stoic, all of them aware that someone will have to be punished for the uncovered corruption.
"Pyeha! Pyeha! Forgive us, we know nothing of it." The merchants begged.
"Let it serve as a reminder to everyone that every foolish deed will be meted with utmost punishment." King Taejo will not be moved.
Ha Jin pales as the horror of what has to happen settles upon her. She pushes in between Wook and Yeonhwa, about to beg the king. "Pyeha…"
Wook grabs Hae Soo, his arm keeping her in place while his other hand covers her mouth. He stops Hae Soo, "Kaman isseo Hae Soo-ya. (Stay still.) There's nothing you can do about it. Let it go."
The princes look away, the ministers keep still and Ha Jin could only struggle in Wook's arms. Her screams muffled while the pleading merchants are drag away by royal soldiers.
After the whole royal court is dismissed, the royal family and the chancellors remain. It is not just the merchants who will be punished but King Taejo wants to keep the dignity of the royal family so he keeps the assembly to only the concerned officials.
Minister Wang Ryeom Shiek and Minister Park Sul Hui replace the kneeling merchants in the aisle, their forehead deep in the ground, begging the king.
"We really didn't know that the materials were replaced." Minister Park Sul Hui explains.
"Minister Wang Ryeom Shiek and Minister Park Sul Hui will be stripped of their government position and will be confined in their hometown, unless they want to spend their time in our prison then they will be welcomed to do so." King Taejo hands out the punishment for the two ministers.
"Our 3rd prince..."
"Pyeha, my son…" Queen Yoo tries to reason with the king, she can't let the heir of their clan be disgraced.
"Will be demoted to ministry personnel and will be replacing the 8th prince." King Taejo cuts into his queen's argument, "Unless, he also wants to abandon altogether his position in the court and be confined in your hometown too."
"Anibnida pyeha, I will do as you wish." Yo grits his teeth together, holding his anger in.
"Our 8th prince…"
"Our 8th prince was able to trace the real materials pyeha…" Queen Shinjeong reasons out for her only son.
"With the help of the lady, the seja and my adviser." King Taejo also cuts in his second queen's sentence, "The 8th prince will thereby be given the Revenue Rites position and be granted with one favor."
"Huh?" Wook couldn't help but be surprised. He is being promoted.
King Taejo unexpectedly smiles, "You don't want the position?"
"Anibnida pyeha," Wook lowers his head in gratefulness, "I do not deserve such favor from you but I will do my best not to disappoint His Grace.
A sweet smile breaks into Queen Shinjeong's face, replacing the worried look she just had a while ago. Now her son stands in equal footing with the seja. If they could secure their hold of the Chancellery position once again then Wook will be the most powerful prince in the court.
Damn it!
Ji Mong curses. He was too focused with cutting off the power of the Chungju Yu Clan that he didn't foresee the rise in power of the Hwangbos. He kept taking for granted the Hwangbos since it was the Chungju Yu clan who were the most powerful clan in the original lifetime.
Queen Yoo eyes the 8th prince with anger. They too had underestimated the Hwangbos, she will have to do something or they might just find their clan pushed out of power.
Since two ministers vacated their seat, Won's position of half seat becomes full, replacing his uncle. Eun's position remains the same since his grandfather, Minister Wang Gyu, wasn't reprimanded. Though their guarded group fell, everyone kept their mouth shut, withdrawing their support from each other the moment their hides our exposed. They minimize the punishment to only those who are caught red handed. Yo would remember to repay the favor to Minister Wang Gyu later. They can't be the only ones punished.
In all these, Guen Sun only stays quiet, observing the play of power exchanging hands. Since they hold the Chancellery seat, they are still untouchable. If only the 4th prince would take their clan's seat in the court and combine it with the military position he commands, they could easily seize the throne anytime they want.
"Ah, I heard that the Gyeongju Kim Clan and Naju Oh Clan are requesting a military presence to help them fend off the attacks of the pirates in the Yellow sea, is this true Mu-ya? Baek-Ah-ya?" King Taejo confirms what he had already talked about with his first son and his adviser.
"Yie pyeha, if our military forces in the north could spare us a little help, we would really appreciate it." Mu doesn't know why their request had to be brought-up now since this isn't the proper time to discuss the matter but he answers truthfully anyway.
"Then you shall have the 14th prince and his platoon under your service." King Taejo commands.
The command is not so much as job but a punishment to the Chungju Yu clan and everyone sense it. By virtue of clan association, even if the 14th prince doesn't hold a minister personnel position under his 3rd brother and has nothing to do with the incident, Ji Mong sees the opportunity to send Jung away. Whispering to the king's ear, he subtly suggest to King Taejo to met out a punishment for his 14th son to teach the Chungju Yu clan not to be too greedy for their own good.
"Pyeha," Queen Yoo speaks out, "Pyeha jebal, not my 4th son."
"I shall go in behalf of my 14th brother, pyeha." Yo kneels in front of the king, anxious for Jung.
Jung holds his anger in. He doesn't want to go but, "I shall carry out your command as you wish pyeha."
"Guereohara. (Do that.)" The king will not rescind his word and Ji Mong only hides his smile well.
Ha Jin collapses in her bed inside her quarters at the 8th prince' household. After the assembly at the court, Wook deposits a shock Hae Soo in Myung Hee's arm and arranges for a servant to take Myung Hee and Hae Soo home since he still has to attend their meeting.
Myung Hee brushes Hae Soo's hair as she lies on her side facing the wall. Hae Soo's precarious standing for the last two weeks had woke Myung Hee up from her grieving state and had made her attend to Hae Soo. Now the situation is reversed.
"Hae Soo-ya…"
Ha Jin pulls her blanket to her head, covering herself. The king's decision to reward her and hang the innocent merchant and potters hang heavily on her conscience. She doesn't understand why they have to be punished when it wasn't them who changed the materials. They were only subcontractors who knew nothing of how their products would be used.
"Unnie," Ha Jin trembles underneath her blanket, "I don't want the land. I don't need it. Can we just give it back and ask that the merchants be sent back to their hometowns instead?"
Myung Hee could only breathe deeply. She doesn't know how is she going to explain to Hae Soo that the royal court operates that way, that the king's command is firm and absolute. It can't be bargained with. Hae Soo was lucky enough to escape her accidental challenge of the ministers' words. If they weren't able to find those merchants, Hae Soo would be the one hanging in the plaza and not them. The ministers from the powerful clans might be stripped of their positions but the king will never throw away his own sons even if they commit a grave mistake.
"How about you rest here in our home for a week. I'll let Oh Sanggun know that we will be keeping you for the time being." Myung Hee keeps Hae Soo in their household and prevents her from coming across the hanging in the plaza that will happen by the end of the week.
Ha Jin will not get out of her bed for the next few days, nor will she talk to anyone. The hangings in the town plaza will commence and the punishments for the ministers and the Chungju Yu clan will be met. The princes will come to take turns in visiting but Hae Soo will not leave her room for any of them.
Chae Ryung once came to inform Hae Soo that a letter had came in for her but Hae Soo is asleep. She puts down the sealed letter in her tea table and leaves.
After the royal assembly in the palace dismisses, Guen Sun comes home to their household and finds his mistress in the garden, lying on her back, her eyes close, her body still, her black hair spread around, a dark contrast against the green grasses. She looks as if she's luxuriously asleep but Guen Sun knows it's one of those days when his mistress is lost inside her mind. It would be better to leave her be whilst he too might find himself at the receiving end of his mistress' mad lashing out.
Lady Shinjuwon had come to populate their garden here with the same plants she used to grow in their palace up north. Together with Monk's hood, she grows a berry shrub, commonly known as belladona, for it's medicinal and poisonous content.
Guen Sun leaves to take a long rope from their storage room and comes back to tie the poisonous plants that are too close around his mistress. He makes sure his own skin doesn't touch even the ovate leaves or the pale purple bell shape flowers.
When he's done, he stand by the nearest foyer and wait for his mistress to wake. It would be hours before Lady Shinjuwon will come to her own senses. Once she does, Guen Sun will let her drink a tonic and take her inside her darkened quarters.
The next day, Lady Shinjuwon and Guen Sun visits the palace and have an audience with the king.
"Shinjuwon Soyong what brings you here in the palace?" King Taejo asks warily. He heard his consort still refuses to live inside the palace and had settled in her clan's household instead.
"I would like to make good of your word and ask for the favor you have bestowed upon me." Lady Shinjuwon answers, her head still bowed.
King Taejo tenses but maintains a stoic face, "and what would my lady want?"
Lady Shinjuwon looks-up and only smiles, a sweet sickly one.
One afternoon, the seja comes to visit with the astronomer and Myung Hee receives them in the pavilion, serving afternoon tea and dasik (3). They gather on a tea table prepared by the servants.
"How is the lady doing?" Ji Mong asks as he takes one of the dasik and looks it over, distracting his self from the state of his little queen.
"Joesonghabnida seonsaengnim, wangsejanim, our Hae Soo is still under the weather. If you could extend some more patience with her, we would really appreciate it." Myung Hee apologizes, ever polite.
"Anibnida, we only came because we worry that the lady isn't taking the gift from the king quite well." Mu warns Myung Hee. They're all anxious for Hae Soo's sanity but if Hae Soo doesn't accept the king's gift, she might be viewed as ungrateful and be punished for it.
Myung Hee only looks away, unable to answer.
"She doesn't want it, isn't it?" Ji mong voices what everyone is avoiding to talk about, "Even if she doesn't accept it, it will not undo what is already done."
"How about you receive it under the name of your clan for now and transfer it to Hae Soo's name later." Mu addresses Myung Hee and asks curiously, "Ah, Myung Hee Ssi, May I ask? Why is Hae Soo not registered under your family name?"
"Hae Soo?" Like everyone else, it never occurred for Myung Hee to ask her parents, "I didn't know Hae Soo is not registered under our family household. I guess because she had always been a member of our family since she became an orphan, nobody bothered to put her under our registry."
"Then maybe you should put her under your registry now." Ji Mong suggests. They can't let his little queen be clan less from now on, "Just in case something like this happens again."
But putting Hae Soo under Hae Hyeonhui's registry is not as easy as just writing her name in an official paper and handing her the seal of their family. Putting her under their registry means she's going to be deemed as another heir of the Haes, another candidate who can hold the power of Haes in court, another daughter to marry off strategically to another clan.
Like a light bulb flashing in their head, it just clicked to the three the realization of why Hae Hyeonhui had never put Hae Soo in their registry.
"Maybe you should forget what I have just said." Ji Mong suddenly becomes nervous. Though having a clan means protection for his little queen, it will also put her as a primary pawn to everyone's game in the court. It would be better to protect her the way he's doing right now and let the 4th prince takes over once the time comes, less strings attached and more freedom for his little queen.
But the idea will play around Myung Hee's mind, tempting her to make a mistake.
Jung hangs outside Hae Soo's quarters' for the last whole week. He kept trying to see if he could talk to Hae Soo to say goodbye but Hae Soo refuses to see anyone, even her cousin. Today, he comes knocking in her room with Mokrans in his hand. Hae Soo doesn't answer as usual. He opens the door to take a peak and sees Hae Soo lying on her side, facing the wall. Tentatively, he comes in quietly and closes the door behind him. He had never been inside Hae Soo's room with just the two of them.
Her room smells faintly of that lemony citrus scent from the Mokrans he had been bringing her. Chae Ryung had put it into a bowl of water to float, the way Hae Soo does whenever she comes home with those flowers in hand.
Jung crosses the room looking around, familiarizing his self with it, her vanity table by the side, with her box of dwikkoji open, a few tapestry decorating the walls. He passes her tea table at the center of her room, a bowl of water with a few floating Mokrans is sitting on top of it. He stops in front of it and puts down the Mokrans. Carefully cutting the flowers from its stems and leaves, he refills the bowl with flowers and let it float. He was going to leave the table when he noticed an envelope beside the bowl. He takes it to move it away from the bowl since it might get soaked with the water. He turns it over, seeing the unbroken seal. It's his 4th brother's. So doesn't look like the kind of person who writes a letter to someone without getting a letter first. Jung wonders if Hae Soo wrote him another one but he had been with Hae Soo for the last few months, he's sure Hae Soo never sent another letter for his 4th brother.
Jealous, his hands automatically balled, raffling the part of the envelope he is holding. He looks at Hae Soo, still with her back to him. He secretly takes the letter and puts it inside his jeogori, ensuring Hae Soo doesn't get this letter too.
"Na-ga (leave), I don't want to eat." Hae Soo dismisses Jung thinking it was just Chae Ryung who brought her another dinner.
Jung jumps in his feet. He thought he was caught taking the letter but since it looks like Hae Soo had mistaken him for Chae Ryung, he quickly arranges his jeogori and flattens the letter behind it. He walks towards her bed, sitting gently beside her back. He then touches her shoulder,
"Hae Soo-ya."
Ha Jin opens her eyes, surprise to see Jung inside her room. With her wearing only her nightclothes, it is unfitting to see anyone, let alone a boy. She abruptly sits up, pulling her blanket with her and moving away from Jung.
"Wangjanim, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Hae Soo in her layered but thin sokgot, Jung realized how inappropriate it is for him to be here. He too suddenly stands up, turning red and looking away. His heart pounds in his chest and every part of him become conscious of her proximity.
"I… your door… I mean…" Jung trips in his word, the embarrassment making him blush in scarlet red. "I should… probably… leave."
He turns to walk away but remembers that it is his last time to see her so he stops and calms himself. He turns back to Hae Soo but avoids looking at her, "I'm leaving."
"Yie kkuk habnida. (Yes you should.)" Ha Jin answers misunderstanding Jung.
"I mean my father is sending me and my platoon to the south to take care of some business." Jung explains, his voice trembling from the pain of sudden parting from his Hae Soo again. This time it isn't his choice, "I'm leaving and I don't know how long before I come back."
Ha Jin should feel relief that Jung is leaving on his own and that she doesn't have to continue breaking his heart but part of her somewhat suspects that the astronomer might have something to do with his sudden going away since she wasn't able to end their relationship at the timeframe he had given her. With everything that happened in the palace for the past two weeks, Ha Jin didn't have the time to see Jung or even examine why the astronomer wanted her and Jung to break-up. Ji Mong's words confuse her. He called her his little queen and talks about her prince. He even mentioned drowning Hae Soo. It didn't made sense to her. All she knows is that she feels an irrational fear towards the astronomer
"I'm sorry to hear that. Please keep safe." Ha Jin doesn't know what to say so she wishes Jung a safe journey instead.
Jung waits for Hae Soo to say more, to promise him that she would write or she would wait but Hae Soo only looked at her blanket.
"Hae Soo-ya…" Jung starts,
"Joesonghaeyo wangjanim," Ha Jin's hand shakes underneath her blanket, grasping for the right words to say to end whatever they have.
Jung sits back in her bed, "Don't please, Hae Soo-ya I'll come back in time for your apprenticeship to end. I'll climb high enough in the rankings and we could get married after. I'll make you my first and only wife the way you wanted to. Just give me sometime. Please."
"Jung wangjanim," A sad smile appears in Ha Jin's face, appreciating the prince's effort. She tried to love Jung, she really did. She likes Jung and given more time, she might fall for Jung but somehow everything about him feels wrong at the moment. It's as if her heart had already decided a long time ago that it would only beat for one person and only it can recognize who that person is and it's not Jung. Even when Ha Jin had mistakenly associated Jung with the prince in her dreams, her heart knows. Her heart remembers.
Ha Jin touches Jung's cheek, cupping it, "Let's stop now."
"No!" Jung captures her hand and stills it in his face. He shakes and soon his tears well in his eyes and slides down in her hand.
Ha Jin takes away her hand not letting Jung guilt trip her again. She already have a lot of blood in her hands, she can't have Jung's heart in her hands too.
Jung pulls at her hand and embraces her, taking care to put the blanket around her body as a respect. He might be too persistent but he will not touch Hae Soo inappropriately, "If you finally get back all your memories and you still don't want me then I'll allow you to end it. Until then, I'm holding you to your promise of marrying me."
He breaks their embrace and takes something out of his sleeves, handing an envelope to Hae Soo, "It's the letter you gave me when I left for the north last year. I promised to show you your real handwriting didn't I? That's how your hand writing looks like before."
Ha Jin looks at the envelope in her hand. Jung stands and leave.
"I won't be here when you come back so please I hope you find someone you would be happy with. Mianhaeyo." Ha Jin cuts the string, clear and well.
Jung didn't bother to turn around, a bitter smile appearing in his lips. He clasps at his chest, holding himself together. He reaches the door and exits, leaning at the door as soon as it closes. The pain comes like a blow on his ribcage, sucking the wind out of his lungs. He puts his one foot forward, one step away from his Hae Soo. Two steps away. Three. He quickens his steps and starts running. Running from the words his Hae Soo had just said, running from it all.
That night, he rides out of Songak, leaving his platoon behind.
Ha Jin returns to the Damiwon the next day. She had only been given a week to rest and she had been away for more than a week. Woo Hee and Soon Deok gather around her the moment they see her, asking how she is doing. She doesn't answer and just went through her day mechanically.
After fetching Hae Soo to the Damiwon, Myung Hee enters the palace to officially receive the land granted to Hae Soo, following the advice of the seja and the astronomer. She takes the land and registers it under their clan's name. She then visits her mother in law to have an afternoon tea with her.
Inside Queen Shinjeong's quarters, Wook and Yeonhwa are also present. They had just come from their class and found Myung Hee visiting their mother.
"How is my daughter-in-law these days? It's nice to see you up and about again." Queen Shinjeong addresses Myung Hee with a smile.
"The 8th prince had been kind and patient to me. I am really grateful." Myung Hee answers ever polite.
With her losing the baby, her relationship with her in-laws had also been strained. They all walk in eggshells, exchanging only polite words, feeling the cracks in their political alliance.
Wook wants to get over the tea ceremony fast, not wanting his wife and his family inside one room. His mother might bring-up the baby issue and Myung Hee might also talk about divorce.
Of course Yeonhwa doesn't disappoint. She had told on them, right after she overhears their argument about divorce.
"Myung Hee-ya," Queen Shinjeong's eyes flicker at Wook for a moment and comes back to Myung Hee, "I have heard that you and your husband are having arguments lately. It is only natural for married couples to have arguments after they experience a bumped in the road. I hope you both settle it by staying together. It is easier to carry a burden with two shoulders rather than one."
Queen Shinjeong is against the divorce. They can't have their alliance with the Haes end now, they need the Chancellery seat so Wook can challenge the seja's seat in time.
Wook tenses and Myung Hee trembles. The two of them haven't talked about it again after their argument. With Hae Soo getting entangled in the court, both of them threw their selves with taking care of Hae Soo, setting the issue aside.
Wook reaches to Myung Hee's hand but Myung Hee takes her hand out of his. She stands-up and kneels in front of Queen Shinjeong, her forehead touching the ground.
"What are you doing Myung Hee-ya?!" Wook tries to coax Myung Hee to stand but she will not be moved.
"If you won't allow the 8th prince to divorce me then please let him take my cousin as a second wife."
Everyone freezes.
"Hae Soo might still be finishing her apprenticeship and she might not be legally under my family's registry but I can list her under our registry and make her officially a Hae. She is young, still in her prime. She can give you the heir I cannot have."
Outside Queen Shinjeong's quarters, the king and his adviser are passing to visit the queen's quarters. King Taejo had heard that Myung Hee had entered the palace and claimed the land he had gifted Hae Soo with. He wanted to know what Hae Soo plans to do with the land so he came to visit his second queen, knowing that Myung Hee is having an afternoon tea with her. They arrived in time to hear Myung Hee's plea.
Ji Mong's hands ball at his side. If seeing Hae Soo and Jung together made him see red, Myung Hee's suggestion makes him ready to murder at the moment. Myung Hee had just outlived his usefulness to him.
"Kueman hara Myung Hee-ya." Wook commands, "Let's talk about this at home."
He holds her wrist, pulling her up, not bothering to be careful with her. He had been nice to Myung Hee, even devoted to her but she and his mother and his sister keep forcing his hand. He can't believe the ridiculousness of Myung Hee's suggestion.
"We're leaving," Wook bows to his mother, keeping his manners.
It takes a few minutes before Myung Hee's suggestion sinks to Queen Shinjeong, finding the logic sound. If Myung Hee can make Hae Soo an official heir to their clan, then marrying her to her son is now strategically beneficial to them. Since Hae Soo is only a noble by title, they were planning to use the favor she earned in the court to bargain it to another powerful clan to marry her off and bring in a new alliance but now that she is a possible heir to the Hae clan, then they should take her as their own, binding the Haes to them once more.
"Jamkkanmanyo." Queen Shinjeong stops his son from walking away, her tone of voice serious and commanding.
Wook stills by the door, "My wife and I will talk about it at home."
He pulls at Myung Hee again not waiting to be dismissed.
Wook deposits Myung Hee to her quarters, closing the door behind him. His anger cresting at the moment, "Why would you tell my mother that?! Waeyo?!"
He had never been this angry at Myung Hee before.
"Are you out of your mind?! Do you even know what you're saying?! You want me to marry your cousin?"
He steps towards her, grabbing her at the sides. His composure cracks, his self-control breaking. Every word that comes out of him is punctuated with ire directed towards his wife and Myung Hee only looks away.
"I don't see what's wrong with what I have just said." Myung Hee shrugs Wook's hold on her but it will only tighten, "You don't think I don't know? That I don't see? The way you look at Hae Soo with longing in your eyes, the way you say her name with fondness, the way you worry about her that is overly familiar and out of line? You don't think I know?"
Myung Hee matches Wook's anger letting herself feel, just once, the jealousy she should be feeling towards Hae Soo. Her voice breaks as she admits it to herself, "You… love… her…"
The tears comes in Myung Hee no matter how much she holds it in, "You love her and it's killing you that you can't have her… and it's killing me to watch you do it…"
"So you're just going to let me marry her, is that it?!" Wook tried hard to hide his feelings for Hae Soo to not hurt Myung Hee. He thought he was succeeding, now he knows he failed. He releases Myung Hee.
"Why not?!" Myung Hee grabs him this time. "I can make her a Hae. She can give you a child. Your clan can have our Chancellery seat in the court. Isn't that what your mother wants. Why she agreed to marry you to me."
"Keuman hara Myung Hee-ya! Kueman! Jebal…" Wook also shouts. Myung Hee's words make a lot of sense to him. He wants to stay with Myung Hee and he wants to love Hae Soo freely. Myung Hee is giving him a chance to have both but somehow it still feels wrong to him.
He grabs Myung Hee's hands on him and keeps her at arms length, "Myung Hee-ya… I'm sorry if I have ever hurt you… Please know that it was not my intention to do so. Let's just make the matter rest already. I don't need the Chancellery seat. My position is high enough to protect my clan and you. Let's stop here. You don't have to worry about my clan. Let me worry about them on my own. They are not your responsibility."
"It is! You married me for it." Myung Hee shouts. She doesn't understand why Wook wouldn't just take it. It's hard enough for her to acknowledge it. It is harder that Wook is making her beg him to do so. "Just marry Hae Soo and be done with it. Please. It will also put her out of reach of anyone in the royal court. We all know she would have been the one punished if you weren't able to find those merchants. You found an escape goat for her but how about next time? She won't survive the court without a household to protect her."
"Myung Hee-ya," Wook closes his eyes, tired. He's not getting anywhere with Myung Hee. He pushes her away and leaves, not wanting to hear any of it anymore.
Inside the sky tower, Ji Mong paces back and forth. His mind is consumed with anciety on how to put a stop to Myung Hee's proposal. Even if he gets rid of Myung Hee, the proposal is already with the queen. He can't believe his suggested good intention to Myung Hee will backfire on him.
I shouldn't have let Lady Myung Hee live. Damn it! She should be thankful to me that I have cured her of her illness and this is how she repays me? Marrying my little queen to that sly fox of a prince who acts as if he is a victim in all of these!
Ji Mong chuckles sarcastically.
Just my luck! Should I just gut myself and leave this lifetime already. It doesn't seem like it would get better anyway. Have I chosen the wrong lifetime to change?
Ji Mong curses some more.
The seja arrives by the stairs and find Ji Mong in a state of murderous intent, "What's wrong? You look like hell?"
Ji Mong suddenly kneels in front of Mu, begging, "Wangsejanim jebal, please rescind your father's order to make your 4th brother stay in the north. He needs to come home already. Jebal."
"What are you talking about?" Mu is taken aback by the sudden request of the astronomer. "Rise and explain to me what's going on."
Ji Mong refuses to stand, "Lady Myung Hee had requested for Queen Shinjeong to allow your 8th brother to marry Hae Soo. Please put a stop into it."
"Mwo rago? Lady Myung Hee wants his husband, to take Hae Soo as his second wife?" Mu repeats, clarifying the confusion.
"Yie wangsejanim, please don't let Lady Myung Hee do that to Hae Soo. She's your 4th brother's woman! You promised you would marry them when you finally sit in the throne. Please put a stop in it." Ji Mong begs once more, reminding the seja his playful words after they first met Hae Soo.
Mu thinks about it for a second. Myung Hee didn't seem like the kind of person who would play with the powers in the court but he can only think of one reason why Myung Hee suddenly wants to marry Hae Soo to his 8th brother. It's their fault for suggesting making Hae Soo a legal heir to the Hae clan. They had just made Hae Soo a pawn on everyone's game in the court.
"I can't rescind my father's word. Only the king himself can do that." Mu reminds Ji Mong. He too is racking his brains on how to stop the marriage agreement from falling through.
With the favor Wook had just earned from their father, he doesn't need the queen to arrange the marriage by herself. If Wook uses his favor to ask, then the king is only obliged to grant him his request.
"The Hwangbos will become the most powerful clan if they gain the Chancellery seat of the Haes and when they do, your 8th brother can easily pushed you out of your seat as the seja."
"Wook is already holding an equal power as mine, what can calling back my 4th brother do, to stop the plans of the Hwangbos?" Now Mu, too, realizes how much they have underestimated Queen Shinjeong's clan.
"If your 4th brother takes the Chancellery seat of his adoptive family and retains his position as military commandant. He becomes more powerful than your 8th brother."
"More powerful than me." Mu adds.
"But you know your 4th brother will never betray you. He would never covet your seat as the seja." Ji Mong reminds Mu of how loyal So is, "He swore to protect your seat and he would keep it with his life on the line. So please help me bring your 4th brother back."
"I can't break my father's decree." Mu repeats once more. He also wants his 4th brother back but his hands are tied.
Understanding the seja's position, Ji Mong stands up and bows to Mu, asking to take leave.
"Oedi kayo? (Where are you going?)" Mu asks.
Ji Mong doesn't answer and decides to take the matters in his hand. He rides out of the palace and into the north. He's taking the 4th prince home, consequences be damned.
Ji Mong arrives in Anju around afternoon after riding for two days with only a few hours sleep in between. His eyes are bloodshot, his demeanor tired. He doesn't have a plan on how will he convince the 4th prince to come home but he will drag him back to the palace if he has to.
He goes straight to the tent where So and Gen. Park are having a meeting. Gen. Park stands up, surprised to see the adviser in his garrison. So turns around as Ji Mong reaches him and grabs his arm to pull him out of the tent. He didn't bother with greetings and the two were both taken aback by the urgency in his actions.
"Ya! Mu-seun il-i-ya? (What's going on?)" So asks as he shrugs Ji Mong's hands on him but Ji Mong refuses to release him.
"U-ri jib-e ka-yo (We're going home.)" Ji Mong answers straightforward. Looking around for a horse to put the 4th prince on.
"Seonsaengnim, what's wrong? Did something happened in the palace?" Gen. Park addresses Ji Mong, walking beside them. Like So, he too, is lost with the adviser's strange and meddlesome actions.
"Jib-e? Wae? Ya! (Home? Why?)" So fully takes his arms from Ji Mong, momentarily catching Ji Mong's attention. "Did my father called for me? I'm at the middle of negotiations…"
"Who cares?!" Ji Mong cuts into So's sentence, shouting. He comes closer, grabbing So's jeogori fearlessly. "Forget the Khitans. You will come home now or you will lose my little queen again!"
"Who?!" So and Gen. Park look at each other confused, the advisor's words not making any sense.
"Lady Myung Hee had just put in a request to Queen Shinjeong to marry off Hae Soo to your 8th brother." Ji Mong pulls at So's collar, making him look at him, "You will come home now and put a stop into it! I don't care how you do it. If I have to sell your soul to the devil to get it done, I will. I'll be damned to let you lose her after everything I've done for the both of you."
In Ji Mong's haste to make So come home, he no longer takes caution with the words he says. He slips into addressing Hae Soo as his little queen and he is near as to disclosing there past lives to the 4th prince.
So could only hear the words 'Hae Soo is marrying his 8th brother'. He stops listening after that as anger boils in him and his possessiveness drowns out everything else. Hae Soo is his woman. No one is marrying her to anyone but him.
So slaps Ji Mong's hands away, his demeanor changed. If Ji Mong looks mad, So looks murderous. So starts looking for his horse to leave.
"Jamkkan! (Wait!) Both of you stopped!" Gen. Park commands, the only one who still has his sanity. He grips So's arm tight, momentarily stopping him from moving away. "I understand that the lady is important to you but you can't leave without your father's order. That would be a desertion of your post. The king will punish you for it and you will be powerless against your 8th brother. Let's think about it for a second. Lady Hae Soo is still doing her apprenticeship so until then your 8th brother can't marry her yet. You still have time."
"He can. The 8th prince would only need to use the favor the king had bestowed upon him and it will null every decree against it." Ji Mong explains.
So pulls away, not listening to the general.
"Or you can write a letter addressed to the king stating that our 4th prince did not deserted his post but you are temporarily sending him back." Ji Mong suggests.
Gen. Park and So look at each other. A letter like what they had sent for Jung, when they forced the 14th prince to go home.
"Araseoyo. Now you're making sense. Wait for me here."
Gen. Park quickly goes back to his tent to draft a letter while the two readies to ride back home.
By the end of the week, Ha Jin comes home to their household fetched by the 8th prince. It's been a while since Wook came in the Damiwon to see her that Ha Jin was surprised. He takes her to his horse and ride out of the palace on a different route, one that will not pass the plaza.
It's Ha Jin's first time to ride with the 8th prince and she feels flustered to be sitting beside him with his arms around her. Wook urges his horse fast, his heart tripping on his chest. Hae Soo is too close, he hopes to hide the pounding of his heart with the racking movement of the horseback riding. He feels exhilarated to be riding out on the open, a welcome change from the dreary atmosphere inside his walls.
They arrive in their household with dark clouds covering the sky and a damp wind breezing around them. It looks like rain is coming tonight.
Ha Jin was invited to have dinner at the Daechung, something they haven't done for months now. When she came in, Myung Hee is sitting with Wook, the table set for three. Myung Hee gestures for her to sit at their middle and Ha Jin obeys.
"How is your apprenticeship so far?" Myung Hee asks smiling at Hae Soo.
"Unnie, it's nice to see you finally out of your room." Ha Jin is genuinely happy to see her cousin back to her normal routine. "Mianhaeyo, I made you worry these past few weeks. I promise to never put you through it again."
Ha Jin trains her eyes on the table, embarrassed. She struggles to not chew her lips the way Lady Oh had disciplined them.
"Gwaenchanhayo Hae Soo-ya. I'm just relieved to see you safe." Myung Hee touches Hae Soo's hand over the table and smiles.
The three starts eating and an awkward silence fall upon them. Ha Jin shrugs it off, thinking it must be because they haven't eaten like this for a long time.
"Oh Sanggun had informed me that she keeps finding you meeting with the 14th prince in her Damiwon. You are not seeing the 14th prince, are you?" Myung Hee opens up a conversation, watching Hae Soo. When she fetched Hae Soo at the Damiwon at the beginning of the week, Lady Oh had updated her with what's going on with Hae Soo, including her secret meetings with Jung and Baek-Ah. "I told her, there is no need for her to worry since you are only friends with the 14th prince, right?"
Ha Jin nods, avoiding Myung Hee's eyes.
"Johayo (Good), a betrothed lady shouldn't be seen in the company of men. You should also meet the 10th and 13th prince less." Myung Hee tells Hae Soo.
"Eh?" Ha Jin looks up from her food. Shocked. "Yak-hon? Nugeunde? Na-ya? (Betrothed? Whose betrothed? Me?)"
Wook tenses and Myung Hee nods in between sipping her soup. Wook is still on the fence if he wants to agree or not but he lets Myung Hee do whatever she wants just to keep the peace between the two of them.
He stands-up about to leave, he doesn't want to endure the awkwardness among them or witness the next argument that will surely come. Myung Hee grabs his hand and stops him from leaving. She too doesn't want to endure what is to come but she wants to get through this now and fast before she loses what little strength she has to say it out loud.
"After your apprenticeship and you are deemed worthy of marrying a prince," Myung Hee trains her eyes to Wook even when she is addressing Hae Soo, "You will marry the 8th prince and become his second wife."
"Museun…il-i-ya? (What…are you talking about?)" Ha Jin looks from the 8th prince, whose avoiding her gaze, to Myung Hee, who looks as if a knife, had just gutted her in the stomach. "Ani… you're not serious right? You're not making any sense unnie. Why would I marry your husband? You're already married to him."
Myung Hee looks at Hae Soo, her tears threatening to show. It was hard enough to beg the 8th prince, does she really have to beg her too. Doesn't anyone see this is also hard for her?
Ha Jin stands-up, confusion and fear playing in her eyes but she will not agree to Myung Hee no matter what, "Aniyo, I am too young to get married! I will marry…"
Slap!
Myung Hee's palm came in contact with Hae Soo's cheek, fast and hard.
"Myung Hee-ya!" Wook grabs Myung Hee's hand away from Hae Soo.
"I did not raise you to become an impertinent child." Myung Hee shouts, her composure breaking. She trembles with so much anger, Ha Jin and Wook have never witnessed Myung Hee like this, "You will do as you are told or I will disown you like an orphan that you are!"
Ha Jin touches her cheek, the sting from the slap less painful than the words Myung Hee are throwing at her. She can't believe her cousin had just hurt her, let alone forcing her to marry her husband. She never thought Myung Hee would be this unreasonable and irrational. Tears well from her chest and out it came in her eyes, accusing and hating.
"Ka Hae Soo-ya. Oso! (Leave now!)" Wook commands, dismissing Hae Soo.
Ha Jin looks at her cousin with unbelieving eyes, the pain written all over her face. She runs to the door and out into the courtyard, where the rain had started falling. She stopped for a moment, looking over the sky, it looked gloomy and dark the way she feels inside. She closes her eyes, her tears mingling with the rain. She blindingly runs once again, not minding the rain that is coming heavy and soaking her wet. She had no place in mind, she only wants to run, away from the ridiculousness of what her cousin is demanding from her, away from the stinging slap that still rings in her head, away from all of it. Away.
She abruptly bumps into something, the blow making her bounce back. Arms suddenly surround her, securing her confused state. It's not something but someone. She looks up to a towering and steady presence, seeing a face partly hidden by a mask, looking at her with such tenderness. The look she'd been longing to see. Ha Jin raises her hand to touch his face, making sure what she's seeing is real.
"What took you so long?" Ha Jin asks recognizing the 4th prince.
So melts in Ha Jin's palm, seeking the warmth he'd been dreaming about. His hands slide down to her waist, pulling her to him. Ha Jin lets herself be enveloped in So's comfort. Her arms coming-up naturally to hold-on to So tightly. She presses her ears on his chest, hearing his heart pounds in contact against her. Her own heart remembering the same beat, mirroring his.
All around them the unforgiving rain becomes a curtain of assurance as the two lost souls find each other once more.
So's hand strokes her back while the other comes up to her face, tipping her chin towards him. He gazes at her intensely before leaning further to whisper an inch from her lips,
"I'm home…"
Footnotes:
1 Gangjin country at South Jeolla province. This is the present name of the place, it might have a different name during Goryeo.
2 Yongun-ri, Daegu-myeon is the first production site of celadon in Gangjin.
3 Dasik - korean tea cookies enjoyed only by nobles and royalties.
Preview:
Next chapter, So will make a deal with the devil. Wook will make his move. Some So/Hae Soo moments (OM! I'm not really good at writing fluff scenes T_T but I will try.) Let's breathe first before we plunge further :)
If Jung makes you see red, let's find out how dark Wook can get.
