Chapter 25

“I will go to Donhu Palace.”

The Emperor gave the command to the fussing eunuch. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Yeon-oh’s heart ached more from the command that Woo Seonjae would go to Dam So-ui than from the worry that he had caused an incident by injuring the Emperor’s face.

Hearing the sounds of the Emperor’s party moving away, Yeon-oh cried and cried. He pushed away the hands trying to help him up and only wept. He did not want to cry, but there was no way to stop the tears that poured out.

When he was finally able to suppress the weeping, it was deep night.

Court Lady Dong observed Yeon-oh nervously while preparing the bed. Yeon-oh felt pathetic and deeply ashamed of his own situation. Even after crying so much, he had to continually wipe away the tears that still trickled out, as if he had no pride left.

A loud knock sounded at the hall door outside. Court Lady Dong, who was tidying the bedding, rushed out.

“Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Dowager, seeks Consort Gyo-bi (his surname Gyo plus his rank Bi).”

The eunuch’s voice reporting the message was more solemn than ever.

There were many difficulties within the Imperial Harem. And the incidents Yeon-oh had created were even more numerous than that.

*******

The Empress Dowager sat on the main platform inside her inner chambers and received Yeon-oh.

“I greet Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager, may you enjoy great fortune.”

The moment the ritual bow was completed.

SWISH!

A teacup flew toward him, creating a cold gust of wind. The porcelain shattered, ringing out a sharp sound.

CLANG!

Looking at the luxurious teacup falling at his feet, Yeon-oh felt the stinging warmth of the spilled tea water and an even hotter pain.

The elderly Court Ladies of the Empress Dowager’s hall briefly glanced at Yeon-oh’s chin.

The sturdy faces of the experienced and aged Court Ladies showed no change. However, contrary to their stiff expressions, they exchanged worried glances with each other. The Court Lady standing right next to the main platform softly reported to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager raised her hand and dismissed the Court Lady.

“You have injured the Emperor’s face! Do you have more than one life?”

This was a situation where he should immediately confess his guilt. Yeon-oh lightly touched his chin and confirmed that the broken teacup had cut his skin. The wound was not deep, but the pain of the cut felt hot and throbbing.

“Am I not already a dead person?”

Instead of begging for forgiveness or asking to be killed, he uttered a blunt and insolent remark.

“Consort Cheob-yeo, you have only been promoted to Consort Bi for a few days, and have you completely forgotten the hierarchy…? Or have you finally realized your true situation?”

The Empress Dowager, who had been sternly discussing the rank hierarchy, laughed brightly. Yeon-oh felt no emotion toward the Empress Dowager’s mockery, as his own situation was so ridiculous.

Looking back, it seemed everyone in the concubine’s palace knew the truth, except for Yeon-oh himself.

The Gyo Clan concubine was desired by the Empress Dowager, and Dam So-ui was the concubine desired by the Emperor. The Emperor, instead of bringing in a Gyo who could bear an heir as the Empress Dowager wished, used the fact that Yeon-oh was the legitimate son of the Gyo Clan to bring him in.

The Empress Dowager had initially permitted Yeon-oh, but she must have planned to force Yeon-oh to withdraw through unfair treatment before his entry and bring in a Gyo woman who could bear an heir for the Gyo Clan.

How distasteful he must have been to them, coming to the concubine’s palace so foolishly after drinking the Baekhong.

“…”

Yeon-oh neither answered nor paid respect. The Empress Dowager laughed haughtily, looking at Yeon-oh who, despite his feigned indifference, had clearly realized he had been tricked.

“The Emperor has a heartless disposition. How did you fall for the obvious trick of such a person? Did He perhaps put a lot of effort into you because you were the legitimate son of the Gyo General’s Household? How inept.”

The Empress Dowager smiled elegantly and spewed malicious words.

“Are you pleased?”

There was no color in Yeon-oh’s face at all.

“If you have realized your situation, leave the palace now.”

The Empress Dowager commanded the pale face with grim severity.

“You issue the Baekhong to me and make me drink it, and yet You tell me to leave the palace? Was it possible for a concubine to leave the palace just because she wished to?”

Yeon-oh chuckled and looked exasperated.

The Empress Dowager, having long been a royal elder accustomed to life in the Imperial Palace, was skilled at managing the concubines, but her sense of reality was different from that of an ordinary person. Having wielded too much power, she didn’t concern herself with the trades and agreements between the interested parties.

“Shall this palace send you out? Wouldn’t it be better to leave voluntarily?”

This applied to matters of life and death as well. The Empress Dowager’s words were asking if she should be the one to have him killed, or if he would die on his own accord.

“Empress Dowager.”

“Why do you call Me so? Do you not understand this palace’s words? What did the Gyo Clan teach you that, as the legitimate son of the Gyo General’s Household, you are so tactless?”

The Empress Dowager, who spoke of death while smiling and admonishing, did not seem human.

“Empress Dowager, listen carefully. The Gyo Clan does not wish to be an Empress’s family. You might assume this is because the Gyo Clan is dull in politics and stubborn, yes? That is not entirely wrong. That stubborn family does not lack for external relatives, and if their legitimate son dies and leaves the palace, they will not send another descendant to the concubine’s palace in this generation.”

The smile gradually vanished from the Empress Dowager’s face. In contrast, a smile bloomed on Yeon-oh’s face.

“Are you threatening this palace?”

“For this wretch to threaten the Empress Dowager? Preposterous. I heard that the Empress Dowager’s maternal family, the Mu clan, has few descendants. The Head of the Household, who is much older than the Empress Dowager, has taken many concubines to make the Mu mansion noisy, yet the daughters die young shortly after birth, and there is only one son. I believe the young master is only six years old? Is the young master well?”

Yeon-oh had studied the information about the Harem members that the Gyo General’s Household had gathered before his entry. He hated having to memorize the situations and histories of other families while being nagged by his father and family.

“That is not your concern.”

“How worried the Empress Dowager must be. What if he suffers an accident, like my parents and sister, while riding in a carriage? But you cannot keep him inside the house forever. Is there not a pond in the Mu mansion famous for its beauty? I have heard that accidents involving falling into the water sometimes happen there.”

The Empress Dowager threw down the jade ornament on the tea table. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] But unlike the teacup, it flew far away from Yeon-oh.

“Will you not shut your mouth!”

“I apologize deeply.”

“You talk nonsense, but what can you do while confined inside the concubine’s palace?”

The Empress Dowager smiled, having regained her composure.

“What do I need to do? Having observed the attitude of the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Family, the Gyo Clan, though insensitive to politics, will have already made a decision. On the contrary, if I were to do something, there is a possibility that the Empress Dowager’s desired outcome might be achieved.”

The Empress Dowager frowned her fine brow at Yeon-oh’s words.

“The Gyo General’s Household had a misguided obstinacy. If you will not accept your situation and leave the palace, Consort Cheob-yeo, then you must fulfill this palace’s wishes. Attendants, bring in the Ja-an-hong!”

The Empress Dowager commanded with a stern face.

“I obey the command.”

The Court Ladies moved swiftly and silently. They returned, holding an elegant wooden stand on which a medicine bottle rested.

“You know from drinking the Baekhong. If the Baekhong is a medicine that prevents a man from being with a woman and having children, the Ja-an-hong is a medicine that allows a man to bear children. Drink it, and give the Emperor the heir from the Gyo Clan that this palace desires.”

The Empress Dowager said, wearing a brilliant smile.

“….T-There is such a thing in the world….”

Yeon-oh tried to back away, seeing the Court Lady holding the medicine bottle approach. The Empress Dowager was forcing his hand, intent on punishing Yeon-oh for disobeying her wishes.

“Since the Baekhong exists, why do you think the Ja-an-hong is a lie? Both, if they do not suit one’s constitution, are said to endanger one’s life. I understand your fear. However, there is no other way. I was unable to properly understand the stubborn Gyo Clan, and now this is the only recourse.”

“Empress Dowager.”

“If you cannot drink the Ja-an-hong, write it in your own hand. Promise that you will leave the Imperial Palace somehow within a month, and I will quell my urgent feelings.”

“Please, do not do this.”

Yeon-oh had never heard of anything called Ja-an-hong. He had never heard of Baekhong either, but the Ja-an-hong was truly preposterous. The Empress Dowager called it Ja-an-hong, but he could not know if it was truly Ja-an-hong or perhaps poison.

“Along with the promise, hand over the Name Plaque that the Gyo General’s Household must have given you. The highly capable legitimate son of the Gyo General’s Household, who became a Consort Bi just days after being a Consort Jae-in, surely has ways to leave this place other than dying. You can leave the palace and relay this palace’s wishes to the Gyo General’s Household properly.”

As the Empress Dowager finished speaking, the Court Lady holding the medicine bottle approached Yeon-oh. Behind her was a Court Lady holding a table with writing tools. The Court Ladies and eunuchs surrounded Yeon-oh in a narrow circle, forming a wall.

“Empress Dowager!”

Yeon-oh looked up at the main platform, seeing no path for escape.

“Decide.”

There was no choice to be made from the options the Empress Dowager had presented. Yeon-oh could not leave the Imperial Palace like this. He had to find Geumgye and Jeokju, whose whereabouts were unknown, and look after them. And having already become a concubine, returning to his former life was impossible.

More than anything, he did not want to retreat as a defeated person. He had been poisoned with resentment toward the Emperor, the man who had tricked him, and he did not want to flee without having accomplished anything.

He hated being a powerless loser.

“…”

Yeon-oh took the medicine bottle extended by the trembling hand of the Court Lady. He hoped that, as the Empress Dowager said, it was indeed the Ja-an-hong and not poison.

Although the side effects of Ja-an-hong seemed no different from poison, perhaps it was better than poison.

The moment he decided, Yeon-oh tilted the bottle and drank the contents.

“Consort Gyo-bi!”

The Empress Dowager, who had been smiling leisurely, sprang up from the main platform and screamed.

The medicine, with its bitter and nauseating taste, passed down his throat. A fire seemed to blaze up inside his body, followed by a chilling coldness, as if barrels of ice had been poured over him.

His entire body was throbbing with pain. He felt feverish, yet also overwhelmed by the chill of a cold sweat. His body convulsed ceaselessly as he struggled for breath.

The medicine bottle slipped from Yeon-oh’s weakening hand. A Court Lady extended the wooden stand and caught the bottle.

Clatter.

The moment the medicine bottle dropped onto the wooden stand, Yeon-oh’s body also collapsed. The Court Ladies and eunuchs hastily reached out their hands toward his falling body.

Confused faces turned toward the main platform.

“Imperial Physician! Send for the Imperial Physician immediately! Consort Gyo-bi! Consort Gyo-bi! Why are the Gyo Clan people so stubborn…!”

The Empress Dowager, who had been sitting elegantly like a beautiful ornament on the high platform, shouted roughly and rushed toward Yeon-oh. As he lost consciousness, Yeon-oh had the frivolous thought that the Empress Dowager could also run, and he closed his eyes.

His mind went blank, and his thoughts ceased.