Chapter 99

Yeon-oh followed the retreating figure of Consort Bi with his gaze. He was surprised by her quick acceptance of the situation, and equally astonished by the ruthlessness of turning away from those she had kept by her side and commanded for years, simply by giving them a brief glare.

Although he had made a threat, Consort Bi’s attitude showed that she didn’t care what happened to Wang Hak and So-mok. Her clear intent was to prepare for the fact that the two had become her weakness.

The reality of the Consort Palace. The words the world uttered with a click of the tongue resonated once more. Consort Bi and Yeon-oh had no great past enmity. It was highly likely that Consort Bi initiated these actions without any special purpose, simply because Yeon-oh crossed her and appeared to receive the Emperor’s favor.

It was a truly trivial reason.

According to Yeon-oh’s understanding, everything started, as he had guessed, from the moment the Giryung Palace wall collapsed.

Consort Bi had intended to punish Yun So-hwa for her rudeness, and Yeon-oh unintentionally interfered with that. Yeon-oh visiting the Handan Palace with the Empress must have been completely unexpected and unpleasant for Consort Bi.

A consort palace wall collapsing was clearly a bad omen. It was a suitable act to cause trouble for Yeon-oh. However, the collapse of the Giryung Palace wall surprisingly did not bring great misfortune to Yeon-oh.

Yeon-oh, not being the party concerned, found it difficult to know precisely where Consort Bi’s plan began and ended.

However, immediately after the wall collapsed, Wang Hak was not on the list of eunuchs in charge of the wall repair. Some time later, Wang Hak was added to the list in charge of the repairs for some reason and began to frequent the Giryung Palace to fix the collapsed wall.

Just before Wang Hak was added to the list, Yeon-oh and Consort Bi had exchanged sharp words lightly in the Empress’s palace. It was absurd that she demolished the wall of another consort’s chamber because he interfered with her business, but she also sent someone to cause the strange incident of the pavilion tree burning because he did not meekly submit to her provocation but instead fought back.

It was So-mok who delivered Dam So-ui’s golden phoenix hairpin to Mo-hwa. So-mok said Consort Bi had given her the golden phoenix hairpin.

Either Consort Bi herself or her close court lady must have done the deed while visiting Dam So-ui’s chamber. Alternatively, Dam So-ui himself might have dedicated the golden phoenix hairpin to solidify his relationship with Consort Bi and then deliberately made a fuss. Since the act of losing the golden phoenix hairpin and making a noisy fuss did not match Dam So-ui’s personality, Yeon-oh suspected that Dam So-ui might have cooperated with Consort Bi.

Even when Dam So-ui spilled hot tea on Yeon-oh in the Empress’s palace, he did not tremble as he had before. Yeon-oh suspected that his act of feigning pity and begging for forgiveness for his crime might have been aided by Consort Bi’s advice.

There was another point of suspicion against Dam So-ui.

It was Wang Hak who gave Mo-hwa the layered-fruit pills, and Wang Hak received the pills from a maid in the Donhu Palace. Since Consort Bi ordered the Donhu Palace maid to deliver them, the principal culprit was Consort Bi, and it was highly probable that Dam So-ui provided the layered-fruit pills.

Dam So-ui was in the position of receiving medicinal herbs from the Dam clan and offering them to the Empress. He was in an easier position than others to bring medicinal herbs into the consort palace.

However, it was not easy to involve Dam So-ui and make him admit guilt at this point. The layered-fruit pills, while causing illness, were difficult to classify as poison. Since the maid of the Donhu Palace delivering the pills did not necessarily mean Dam So-ui had given the order, Dam So-ui could easily escape implication.

The moment Consort Bi left the inner chamber and the door closed, Yeon-oh, who had been deep in thought, relaxed his expression and opened his mouth. A low voice rang out toward So-mok.

“I will have Wang Hak guarded at the Palace Administration Office.”

“I am undeserving, undeserving…”

“From now on, the maid So-mok will reside and work in the Giryung Palace. The Giryung Palace maids might torment you or ostracize you. This Consort cannot help you with that much.”

Yeon-oh said, rising to his feet.

“I will do well, Gwi-bi Mama! I will do whatever Gyo Gwi-bi Mama commands, no matter how base or arduous the task. Please, just spare his life…”

It was clear whose life So-mok was referring to. The court maid’s devotion to her lover was both touching and curious.

“You should withdraw now, too. Court Lady Dong, decide So-mok’s residence and give her supplies.”

“I accept your command.”

Court Lady Dong politely paid her respects to Yeon-oh. Conversely, her face, when turning to So-mok, was filled with displeasure. The cold look and gruff voice were chilling.

Yeon-oh, left alone, muttered to himself.

“Is everyone like that after dating for over a thousand days?”

He suddenly checked how long his own first love had lasted, only to get annoyed. It was a period so short as to be insignificant, which made him chuckle wryly. His smiling face soon faded into a bitter contemplation of the cruel reality of the complexly entangled Imperial Palace.

The Okwon Garden in the Seonin Palace was cool even in midsummer, provided a breeze blew. A garden centered around large trees unfolded to the south, and water channels connected the entire garden and the large pond.

The Emperor Seonjae and Consort Hyeok played baduk (Go) in the pavilion overlooking the refreshing pond.

It had become routine for the Emperor to play baduk when he visited the Seonin Palace in the afternoon. Waiting her turn, Consort Hyeok laboriously broke the silence.

“The weather is terribly hot these days.”

“It is.”

“The heat even continues late into the night.”

The Emperor merely nodded, saying nothing further.

“…”

At the Emperor’s silence, Consort Hyeok also closed her mouth.

“…”

A long silence followed again. For a while, only the sound of placing stones on the baduk board was heard. Seonjae, looking at the baduk board, noticed Consort Hyeok’s discomfort, despite her peaceful appearance.

Even after realizing it, he played a few more moves.

Consort Hyeok found the ensuing silence in front of the Emperor difficult but did not open her mouth again. While continuously checking the Emperor’s mood due to her discomfort, she desperately tried to appear unconcerned.

Finally, the Emperor broke the awkwardness.

“Everyone seems to be struggling with the heat. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] I commanded the ice from the royal icehouse to be delivered to the Consort Palaces; did you receive it?”

“Yes, we received it well. We placed some in the pavilion to lower the temperature inside the rooms and distributed some to the court maids who are struggling with the heat.”

Consort Hyeok answered the Emperor’s question without hesitation.

“To even care for the court maids, it is fitting that Consort Hyeok is spoken of as having great virtue in the Consort Palace. How are things in the Consort Palace?”

“The Empress has lifted the period of self-reflection, allowing Yun So-hwa to resume paying her respects to the superiors. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Among Yun So-hwa’s maids, one child was ill, and Gyo Gwi-bi asked the Empress Dowager to allow her to retire to her hometown along with the sick maid from the Giryung Palace when she sent her away.”

Consort Hyeok reported what the Emperor already knew with a cautious attitude. It was a fact that anyone with quick access to news in the Imperial Palace would know.

Seonjae cast his gaze upon the baduk board. Neither the black nor the white stones could claim superiority.

Although he had told Consort Hyeok multiple times not to hold back against the Emperor, the result was a similar draw no matter which color she played. The outcome was predictable no matter how much longer they played.

“Let us stop here for today. I shall take my leave.”

Seonjae rose from his seat, leaving the baduk board, which had barely been played.

“Please go safely, Your Majesty.”

Consort Hyeok’s protocol in seeing off the Emperor was flawless. Seonjae merely nodded in reply and left the Okwon Garden.

His footsteps, after completely leaving the Seonin Palace, gradually slowed.

Seonjae stopped where the Donghwa Garden was visible. Eunuch Wan approached the Emperor, who was looking back as if assessing the direction of the Seonin Palace.

Approaching the Emperor, Eunuch Wan motioned for the eunuchs of the royal presence, who were following in a long line behind him, to retreat far back.

“Are you contemplating the Imperial Noble Consort (Hwang Gwi-bi – A rank below Empress but above all the other even Gwi-bi)?”

Eunuch Wan spoke toward the pensive face in a lowered voice. Seonjae nodded quietly.

“The Empress does not have much time left.”

Eunuch Wan also cautiously bowed his head to express agreement with the melancholy voice.

“Does Consort Hyeok not manage the Consort Palace well?”

“Consort Hyeok is not bad. However, she cannot be said to be good either. The reason I entrusted the tasks to Consort Hyeok until now is that her work is clean, and the Empress is watching over her from behind. The power bestowed by the position of Empress cannot be easily dismissed. I am not confident that Consort Hyeok can manage well alone.”

All the Imperial Consorts were from good families. Any of them could rise to the position of Empress or Imperial Noble Consort without issue.

“If it is difficult to entrust everything to Consort Hyeok, why not appoint someone else as the Empress or Imperial Noble Consort and continue to entrust the household affairs to her, as now?”

“Consort Hyeok is respectful to the current Empress, but would she be so if I established another Empress? It is impossible to know Consort Hyeok’s true intentions. She never speaks her thoughts or feelings first. Even if she has something to say, she only says things everyone knows, and she never initiates the things she truly wants to say. It is difficult to deal with a secretive person. It is not easy to face someone whose true intentions cannot be known unless one is extremely cautious.”

“That is certainly true.”

Eunuch Wan continuously nodded slightly at the Emperor’s words.

“The Empress has never caused a major problem despite being tormented by the late Emperor and his consorts for years. It must be because the Empress grasped her situation well and acted accordingly. Isn’t it because she is such a person that she has had no trouble with Consort Hyeok? Most importantly, I will not bring in a new Empress.”