Chapter 14

Thump.

Yeon-oh tapped the palanquin wall, making a sound to show he was conscious. Although he was not yet well enough to move, he didn’t want his maidservants to be more distressed by the Chief Eunuch’s words.

“Young Master!”

“Young Master, are you alright?”

Geumgye and Jeokju poked their heads through the gap in the open curtain.

“My head hurts too much.”

Yeon-oh tried to speak normally.

“It must be because the palanquin is swaying. How dare they carry the palanquin like that! The pill I gave you while you were unconscious will help suppress the fever and headache a little. You can take one more if there is no improvement.”

Geumgye said, adjusting Yeon-oh’s disheveled attire. She comforted the sniffling Jeokju next to her with a light nudge.

“Jeokju, wipe your tears.”

“Yes, Sister.”

Watching the two look after each other, Yeon-oh realized anew how much he was loved by the Gyo General’s Household and his two elder brothers. He could tell how much care they had taken to choose the people who would stay by his side.

Despite his initial worry about having unfamiliar children nearby, the two looked after him wholeheartedly and were affectionate toward each other.

“Young Master, can you stand up?”

“Of course.”

It was a joy to have good people by his side.

“Nasty Chief Eunuch.”

Jeokju grumbled in a small voice, rolling her eyes where she could not be seen, hidden by the palanquin curtain. A careful hand pulled the red cloth back down over Yeon-oh’s face.

Yeon-oh smiled slightly as he stepped out of the palanquin, even though it was not the time for it. Geumgye also couldn’t fully suppress the slight upward curl of her lips.

The Chief Eunuchs paid their respects to Yeon-oh as he disembarked from the palanquin.

“Please proceed.”

The entrance to the Imperial Gardens was secluded.

“Consort Gyo is proceeding!”

At the Chief Eunuch’s announcement, a figure in a blue ceremonial robe emerged from inside the Imperial Gardens.

“We greet Consort Gyo. Consort Gyo, may you enjoy great fortune. Was your journey here not too arduous?”

The greeting offered by the person who came to meet Yeon-oh was impeccable. A moderate height, a baritone voice. A gentle-looking man with soft, slightly drooping eye corners.

The person was a man, wearing the blue ceremonial robe of a concubine.

The one who came to welcome the new concubine was wearing a blue cloth over his head, draped according to etiquette, but his face was revealed. His smiling face was handsome, but he was clearly a man.

Yeon-oh had been told there were no male concubines currently in the palace.

“…”

Yeon-oh found it difficult to speak.

“Consort Gyo, welcome. This concubine is Dam So-ui. Since the Consort is currently a Consort (Jae-in) but will soon become a Noble Consort (Gwi-bi), I have paid the respect due to a Noble Consort. This younger brother will escort Consort Gyo to his residence.”

Dam So-ui smiled gently and extended both hands forward. Yeon-oh absentmindedly placed his hand over the hand extended toward him. Dam So-ui’s hand, with Yeon-oh’s on top, moved affectionately before being withdrawn.

Yeon-oh also withdrew his hand, matching the elegant movement.

“Dam So-ui.”

Contrary to his complicated emotions, Yeon-oh’s voice sounded normal.

“Yes, Consort Gyo.”

Dam So-ui smiled kindly and paid his respects. Dam So-ui, wearing the ceremonial robe of a concubine coming to greet a new one, wore a white jade pendant hanging from his waist.

It was a jade pendant that Yeon-oh remembered.

The white jade pendant the Emperor wore when he came and went from the Gyo General’s Household.

That pendant and the one Dam So-ui was wearing looked exactly the same, as if they were a pair.

“The Imperial Palace etiquette is splendid.”

“You praise me too much. Please come this way. It is far to Giryung Palace (Palace of the Auspicious Dragon). This way.”

Dam So-ui’s gaze, as he turned to lead the way, briefly fell upon Yeon-oh’s waist. A horn phoenix-patterned ornament was hanging from the waist of his red wedding attire.

Yeon-oh said nothing, but the horn phoenix-patterned ornament on his waist made him feel incredibly ashamed. While horn was not insignificant, it was incomparable to the white jade pendant.

It seemed one could tell what was more precious and who was treated with more importance just by a single pendant.

“When did Dam So-ui enter the palace?”

“I could not receive a separate auspicious day. I entered the palace hastily, just before the turn of the year. I just barely avoided New Year’s Eve.”

Dam So-ui replied with a slight embarrassment. If he entered just before the turn of the year, there was barely a month’s difference from Yeon-oh’s entrance date.

The Imperial Family had sent a Court Lady to the Gyo General’s Household to teach the manners and rules of the Imperial Palace and concubine ranks. The Etiquette Court Lady had constantly nagged Yeon-oh, saying the time was too short for what he had to learn.

Could it be that everything the Court Lady said—that she worried Yeon-oh might make a mistake in the palace due to his rushed etiquette learning—was a lie?

Yeon-oh felt bewildered and emotionally stifled.

The Gyo General’s Household had wished for Yeon-oh to be granted the title of Noble Consort (Gwi-bi) upon entering the palace. The Imperial Family had assured them that the Noble Consort title was certain, but suggested that it would be better for him to enter as a Consort (Jae-in) first and gradually raise his rank, rather than being named Noble Consort upon entry.

The plan was for a rapid promotion: Consort, then Consort of the Second Rank (Bi), and then Noble Consort (Gwi-bi).

The Imperial Family’s words, that it was a grand promotion since he would become Noble Consort in less than three months, were now questionable.

Unlike Yeon-oh, who entered the palace as a Consort at the request of the Imperial Family, Dam So-ui, who had entered barely a month ago, was already a Consort of the Third Rank (So-ui).

A person who ignored auspicious days, was quickly brought into the concubine ranks, and was already a So-ui.

In contrast, Yeon-oh would only be promoted after several months, according to the rules set by the Imperial Family. No, even that was uncertain now.

With every step Yeon-oh took toward the Imperial Gardens, he felt an excruciating, knife-like pain in his heart. He knew something was terribly wrong.

However, the realization came too late.

*******

“This way.”

Giryung Palace was deep within the Imperial Palace, as it was the residence of the concubines. Even among the concubine residences, Giryung Palace was on the inner side, impossibly far from Daehwamun, the palace’s first gate.

Unlike other areas that seemed intentionally vacated for the new concubine, the surroundings of Giryung Palace were already sparse, as if sparsely populated from the start.

Except for its remote location and slightly worn, desolate appearance, Giryung Palace was still a large and dignified building. The gate was open, awaiting its new master.

“Thank you for your kindness, Dam So-ui.”

Before entering the building, Yeon-oh paid his respects to Dam So-ui for guiding the way.

“Please proceed.”

Dam So-ui simply acknowledged Yeon-oh’s respect and stepped into the building.

As Dam So-ui went inside first, Yeon-oh, who hesitated at the high threshold of the building, was gently helped by Geumgye and Jeokju, who followed close behind.

At that moment, a respectful shout rang out in the courtyard in front of the building.

“We greet Dam So-ui. May Consort So-ui enjoy great fortune.”

“We greet Dam So-ui. May Consort So-ui enjoy great fortune.”

The Chief Eunuch and palace servants waiting for the owner first paid their respects to Dam So-ui, who currently held a higher rank. Dam So-ui was startled to see the Chief Eunuch and palace servants bowing to him.

“Stop. Today is Consort Gyo’s wedding day, and it is his first day at Giryung Palace, so you must greet the master first.”

Dam So-ui, who had restrained the Chief Eunuch and palace servants, looked utterly apologetic. Yeon-oh, who was entering the building with the help of his maidservants, pretended not to notice his flustered expression.

“We greet Consort Gyo. May Consort enjoy great fortune!”

“We greet Consort Gyo. May Consort enjoy great fortune!”

The Chief Eunuch and palace servants, who were already kneeling in the courtyard, bowed even deeper, welcoming Yeon-oh.

Their attitude suggested they found it completely normal to start the initial greeting of Giryung Palace’s master by paying respects to Dam So-ui, who had only guided him.

“…”

Yeon-oh could neither kindly ask them to rise nor scold them. On the first day of the wedding, the concubine in the bridal attire had to receive the greetings in the courtyard and immediately proceed to the bridal chamber.

Dam So-ui watched the first meeting between the master of Giryung Palace and the palace servants nervously before moving.

“This way.”

With a graceful movement, Dam So-ui pulled back the thick curtain. The path leading into the bridal chamber, decorated with red silk, was revealed. To Yeon-oh’s eyes, the magnificent red path looked like the final barrier pushing him toward a distant abyss.

“Consort Gyo, may you enjoy great fortune.”

“Consort Gyo, may you enjoy great fortune.”

As Yeon-oh was about to step into the bridal chamber. His two maidservants, who had been kindly standing by his side, paid their sincere and respectful respects.

Despite it being against etiquette, Yeon-oh turned his head instinctively.

Geumgye and Jeokju were watching Yeon-oh, who was about to enter the bridal chamber, with radiant smiles while bowing. Unable to speak, Yeon-oh only gave a short nod and stepped inside.

Rustle.

The thin, transparent silk and several layers of thick curtains were drawn one after another. Then, the building’s door closed with a cautious sound.

“Haa, ha…”

The moment the door closed, Yeon-oh let out the long breath he had been holding. His body, which had shown upright and tidy movements except for the moment he lost consciousness, swayed dangerously to the side.

The heavy throbbing pain pressing on the back of his head, which he had tried to ignore, surged rapidly as his tension released.

Yeon-oh staggered with precarious steps and sat on the edge of the lavishly decorated bed. He ripped off the beautiful red silk that covered his face as if tearing it away.

“Haa, ha, haha…”

He was not foolish enough to sit patiently and wait in front of the table that held the ceremonial wine (Hap-hwan-ju) he was supposed to share with the Emperor. Something had been wrong since the morning he left home and his family tried to stop him.

No, everything had been wrong since the moment he met the Emperor.

All the man’s actions toward him were lies. His familiar calls, the memories of the nights he suddenly visited, the smiles that pretended to be affectionate.

The sense of isolation and neglect he was now feeling was completely real, and he felt no expectation whatsoever that the Emperor would come for the first night of their wedding.

The unscheduled Baekhong. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The Chief Eunuchs’ cold attitude toward him. His remote building, deep inside the palace, as if he shouldn’t be seen. The previously unheard-of male concubine who had entered the palace hastily before him.

Every situation unfolding before him was completely different from what he had expected. By all accounts, the treatment was the bare minimum of courtesy.

Though he couldn’t fully know the man’s true intentions, the Emperor’s words asking him to be his person were not because he had affection for him. They were merely words given to him to be used for some purpose the Emperor required.

Looking at the current situation, it seemed his usefulness had ended.

He felt utterly foolish for his past self, who had spent sleepless nights with a pounding, fluttering heart due to the man’s deceitful words.

“Haha. Serves me right, Yeon-oh. You idiot. On your wedding night, you’ve become a eunuch.”

Feeling a heavy stone pressing on his heart, Yeon-oh pressed his chest with his hand. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The luxurious wedding attire under his hand softly rustled. Despite the intricate embroidery, it was pleasantly smooth without any coarse feel on his fingertips.

The softness of the lavish wedding attire, made of the most precious silk the Gyo General’s Household possessed and stitched with everyone’s affection, made his suffocated heart ache even more.