Cheondeokjeon

Throne Room

General Moon knelt before the throne as So frowned down at him in displeasure. "You may rise." So commanded. The general got to his feet, feeling the tension within the room.

"General Moon Sung Kyun, I am promoting you to Grand General. You will replace Grand General Park in the Northern Territories." So informed Jung's new father-in-law.

Baek Ah handed the royal decree to General Moon who accepted the scroll with a bow. "I am honored, Pyeha." General Moon replied. The strain of awaiting his punishment for helping Lady Hae break the king's orders outweighed his pride in his promotion.

"You do understand that I must make an example out of you." So said quietly, his ire dissipating. Sighing, he shook his head at General Moon. "I know too well how persuasive she can be when she feels she's right. However, you put both her and your daughter in danger and the throne in a difficult situation. You will have to be punished for that."

"Yes, Pyeha." General Moon said somberly, resolute in his acceptance.

"Baek Ah, I order General Moon to receive twenty lashes for his dereliction of duty." So stated, his jaw tightening. "His punishment is to be carried out immediately by the captain of the guard."

"Yes, Pyeha." Baek Ah said as he ordered the captain of the guard to enter the throne room. General Moon bowed again to So as the guards led him out the room.

So watched him go with a speculative gleam in his eyes. "His punishment might not be enough for the ministers." Baek Ah warned his brother.

"I am not crippling one of my best generals for them nor will I ever allow them to touch Soo." So glowered at the mention of his court ministers and their demands. "Do you have everything ready for my visit to our eighth brother?"

Baek Ah handed the scrolls over to So for his signature. "Everything is going as planned, Pyeha."

"Good." So lifted his eyes up from the scroll and for the first time Baek Ah felt a chill. He hoped never to be the recipient of that wolfish stare.

Home of Prince Wang Wook

"Wangja-nim!" Wook glanced up from his calligraphy at the panicked young serving maid who had just rushed into his library followed closely by his mother and sister.

"Pyeha has arrived and he has brought several palace guards with him." Queen Hwangbo rushed over to her son, placing her hands flat on his desk. Princess Yeonhwa held back, eyeing her mother with a calculated stare.

"It is possible that he wants to discuss aligning his interest with ours." Yeonhwa said casually as she took a seat, motioning for the slave girl to prepare tea for So's arrival. Before the girl could leave the room, the door was opened by a guard. Wook stood up with a cautious air as So strode into the room. Yeonhwa quickly got to her feet as Queen Hwangbo moved to stand next to her daughter. Both women greeted him with a deep bow.

"Pyeha." Wook inclined his head before So. "How may the Hwangbo clan be of service to your majesty?"

So eyes locked on Wook's as the guard placed a scroll before Wook. "I believe you should read the decree first, then we can discuss what I require of you."

Wook picked up the scroll, pursuing the content. Queen Hwangbo watched as her son set the paper down, his complexion pale. His desolate eyes met So's. "Are you here to arrest me?"

"No!" Screamed the former queen. Princess Yeonhwa caught her mother as the woman started to collapse. So barely spared a glance at the women as he brought his attention back to his half brother. "As long as you cooperate, I will only charge you with treason and order you to remain imprisoned within your household. You may never venture outside the walls of this gate ever again."

"And what about my mother and sister?" Wook inquired, utterly defeated. Princess Yeonhwa hid an expectant glint in her eyes as Queen Hwangbo glared at So.

"They will be safe." So replied as extra guards appeared, surrounding the women and assisting them out of the room. "The guards will escort them to Shinju tonight."

"You did this because of Hae Soo." Wook stated as he watched his family being torn apart. Preparing to leave, So stopped and regarded his half brother.

"Yes. Because of her, I will not execute you like I did Wang Won." So answered, his gaze hard on Wook. He gathered himself to leave, then stated without turning around. "Do not think I don't know about your meeting with Jung at the Damiwon. If I had my way, I would purge your entire clan for what you did to Hyejong and to Hae Soo."

Manwoldae

A week later

"Princess Kyung Hwa of the Oh Clan has arrived." Eunuch Yi announced to So as he opened the door to the antechamber admitting the a tall, lanky girl of fifteen. With her hands crossed over the other, she gracefully moved forward, bowing low before So.

"Pyeha." She acknowledged So with a shy smile. A blush stole across her cheeks as she raised her eyes to the king's face. Her expression intelligent, unguarded, and kind, reminding him of Hyejong, her father.

"Are you sure you wish to return to the palace, niece?" So gave her wry smile in greeting. His hands clasped behind his back as their eyes met.

"Yes, Pyeha, I'm sure." She firmly assured him. "I'm happy to be of assistance." With a show of gratitude, she bowed again. "Thank you for saving my life that day. And for bringing those who caused my father's death to justice. Not just for my father's spirit, but for my mother and her clan."

"He was my brother too. I could not leave his death unanswered. And I promised that I would bring peace to their spirits." So vowed just as Eunuch Yi opened the door followed by Hae Soo's entrance, her purple silk chima gently swishing as she warmly welcomed the princess to Manwoldae.

Soo curtsied, then clasped the girl's hands in her own. "Aigoo, you've grown so pretty. The last time I saw you, you were just a girl and now you're a young woman. How time flies." She sighed with a warm grin, then she nodded smartly at So. "Pyeha."

"Lady Hae." Kyung Hwa giggled softly in surprise at the sight of the pregnant former head court lady. "How I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Soo exclaimed happily which waned as her eyes grew sad. Memories of the day Hyejong died at the hands of Wang Yo flooded back causing a shadow to cross over her face. "I am so very sorry for what happened to your father. He was my dear friend and if I had known... I shouldn't have been so trusting."

"I know you would have stopped that girl if you had known, Lady Hae." Kyung Hwa reassured Soo with a gentle smile. "I don't blame you for what happened to my family. I'm here to aid you and the king as best as I can with my presence. I'm happy for you. I hope the baby is a boy."

Soo laid her hand on the small curve of her rounded belly and began to open her mouth to thank So's first wife when So coughed, raising a brow. Both women turned around as though they remembered he was in the room. "Soo-ya." He said her name gently not liking that she still felt guilt over Chae Ryung's betrayal of her trust.

"Pyeha, would you like to have tea with us?" Soo asked, smiling up at So.

"I would love to, but I have to decline." So said ruefully as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I have to return to my duties at Cheondeokjeon. I still have a nation to rule." He playfully grumped as he released her. "I will be back late tonight."

"I will wait up for you." Soo replied softly up at him. He grinned down at her then turned and left the room. Kyung Hwa's cheeks reddened again at the exchange between the lovers. She blinked up as Soo hooked arms with her, leading her down the hall toward the tearoom. "Come with me. Lady Han is assisting your attendants with getting your quarters prepared so you can settle in. You're probably hungry and tired after traveling for so long."

"Thank you, Lady Hae." Kyung Hwa responded as she relaxed. It was so easy to forget about the battle to come around Soo's bright personality. No wonder he loved her so much.

Cheondeokjeon
Throne Room

The next day

"Pyeha, we request you send Princess Kyung Hwa back to the convent." A minister bellowed out from the court. Behind him came a cry of assent from other factions and clans. "The Oh clan was purged along with the Park clan during Jeongjong's reign. Your power will suffer if she is allowed to remain."

So silently stared down the dissenters. He had been well prepared for the uproar as he allowed them to vent their frustrations at his maneuver around their game to control him.

Minister Ahn moved forward before the throne. He calmly bowed before So, then inquired, raising his head to look So in the eyes. "And does Pyeha intend on keeping his vow to marry the Hwangbo clan if Lady Hae does not deliver a boy child?"

So smiled coolly at the minister. "I do not remember vowing to make my sister queen."

Taken aback, the older man remained silent as the room exploded into another round of cries for the king to take back his words. "Then do you plan to make your first wife your queen?" Minister Ahn asked.

"Who said she was accepted back into the palace as my wife?" So countered back, calmly quelling the challenge. "However, that is my decision to make. Not yours." He impatiently waited for the outcry to die down to dull grumbling before continuing. "Upon information I recently obtained implicating Prince Wang Wook in a treasonous plot, I have issued a decree for his arrest and for him to be imprisoned within his household."

"Pyeha!" Minister Ahn frowned, startled by the news. "...but Wang Wook has served the throne faithfully under your father and brothers. And what about Queen Hwangbo and Princess Yeonhwa?"

"The queen and my sister have been given refuge with the Shinju Kang clan." So answered, pacifying the court and daring the man to step over the line. "Are you sure you wish to discuss this further?"

The room got deathly quiet as the official could do nothing but bow before the throne. "No, Pyeha." Minister Ahn backed away from So. "Then you are all dismissed." So stated as the eunuchs rushed to open the doors as the ministers filed from the room. So reflected on a conversation he had with Soo a couple days before the exile of Wang Wook as they relaxed with each other in the library at Manwoldae. He had asked about the future history of Goryeo and the kings to come after him and she had narrowed her eyes in concentration.

"Gyeongjong. Seongjong. Then Mokjong." Soo said, leaning back in her chair and counting off on her fingers. "I can't keep up after Mokjong." Suddenly her eyes widened, flying to his. She sat up straighter, placing her hand against her lips. "Oh!"

"Gyeongjong?" So asked, frowning at her over the teak wood desk.

"Wang Ju, your son with Yeonhwa." She said quietly, a flush of recrimination stained her cheeks as she realized how much she had changed his history. And at how much she had just revealed. "I shouldn't say any more, Pyeha."

"Even if I command you to do so, Hae Soo?" So inquired but she merely shook her head despondent, refusing to answer. So had dropped the subject, not wishing to upset her even more. During the early evening, they stood upon the balcony overlooking the peach orchard. He had noticed the weighted silence between them. "I apologize, Soo-ya. I should not have asked about the future." He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his hand naturally resting on the swell of her stomach. "Please forgive me." He whispered in her ear.

"I do, So-ya." Soo sighed, her eyes staring off into the distance. "I just don't know if I am worth forgiving for what I have done."

"There is nothing to forgive, Hae Soo." He assured her. "You are meant to be here. I have no doubts there. And the decisions I have made are my own."

"But I..." A worried frown cross her face as So stopped her words. "Not another word. You have been the best thing to have happened to me and I would not be the king I am now without you."

"Yes, Pyeha." She sighed with a smile, snuggling into his embrace.

Later that evening, So cornered Ji Mong in the observation tower. "You finally remembered I exist." Choi Ji Mong defiantly said, barely glancing up from his star charts as So walked into the tower. "Have you enjoyed yourself by changing history? Princess Yeonhwa should be Queen Daemok by now. Hae Soo should be forgotten."

"You're the one who changed history when you brought her into my life." So shot back at the astronomer.

"It's a mistake I deeply regret." Choi Ji Mong sighed before as he stood up, pasted on a fake smile and greeted So. "Pyeha, how may I be of assistance?"