Chapter 34

At the eunuch’s shout coming from a distance, the concubines hastily set down their teacups, rose from their seats, and paid their respects.

“We greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings.”

“We greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings.”

The elegant sound of the concubines simultaneously paying their respects echoed in the room.

“We greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings.”

Yeon-oh paid his respects belatedly.

“Y-Your Majesty… We greet Your Majesty… May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings…”

Dam So-ui, who had been kneeling alone and begging for mercy, spoke in a choked voice, finally bursting into tears at the end. The Emperor, who raised Dam So-ui up, turned to look at Yeon-oh, who was in the seat of honor.

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

“Your Majesty, what brings you to the Harem? I thought you would be in the Royal Study.”

Dismay spread across the faces of the concubines who were bowing, stunned by Yeon-oh’s audacity.

The Emperor was equally dumbfounded. He trembled slightly, handed the imploring Dam So-ui over to an eunuch, and strode toward Yeon-oh. A mere few steps were enough.

“What is this, right now…”

“I didn’t expect a busy Emperor to come to such a humble place. If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared a teacup. This concubine is lacking and failed to make preparations in time. I apologize.”

At Yeon-oh’s composed words, Seonjae, who was about to unleash his fury, suppressed his anger and was utterly speechless. Frowning deeply, he spoke in a frighteningly low whisper:

“Consort Gwi-bi, what were you doing just now?”

“This younger brother, no, this concubine, has not had the chance to form friendships since coming to the Harem, so I was strengthening our ties by serving tea to the concubines.”

Yeon-oh’s voice was as calm as it had been when he was cornering Dam So-ui.

“Why did you make Dam So-ui kneel?”

“It was to become closer to Dam So-ui. This concubine was only playing a prank, and it seems I went too far.”

The Emperor grimaced and smiled. “Do you wish to die?”

“I apologize. However, Your Majesty, even if this concubine’s prank was excessive, is it wrong for me, a Gwi-bi, to make a So-ui kneel? Is the Imperial Palace protocol I was taught incorrect? Even if I played an excessive prank, I did not know that a Gwi-bi making a So-ui kneel was a crime punishable by death. What protocol did this concubine violate?”

The Emperor was so flabbergasted that he forcibly suppressed the hollow laugh that was about to escape him.

“Consort Gwi-bi, do you not think behaving insolently toward Us right now is a capital offense?”

The man’s voice was low, as if rising from a dark, deep place.

“I humbly apologize. By the Emperor’s boundless generosity, please forgive this foolish concubine. When this concubine was in the Gyo General’s Household, I must not have completely erased the memory of Your Majesty introducing yourself as ‘Young Master Seon’ and treating me like an older brother from the neighborhood.”

“Gyo Yeon-oh. When did We ever introduce Ourselves as ‘Young Master Seon’—”

Seonjae, who had involuntarily raised his voice, stopped as he felt the gazes of those around him.

“Oh, I know. Even then, this foolish concubine was at fault. It is all the fault of this inadequate concubine. However, in this concubine’s short and dull thoughts, I wonder how it would have been if Your Majesty had corrected the other person’s misunderstanding. Furthermore…”

“Will you not shut your mouth!”

“I apologize.”

Yeon-oh closed his mouth with a face that clearly had much more to say. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Seonjae, about to unleash a rebuke at that face, let out an exasperated sigh and turned away.

“Let’s go.”

The Emperor strode ahead with large steps, followed by the eunuchs and the lesser eunuchs supporting Dam So-ui, who then exited.

Yeon-oh watched the sight calmly.

“Your Majesty, please go carefully.”

Yeon-oh only bowed perfunctorily, merely bending his knees, as the tail end of the Emperor’s party disappeared. Hearing that, the concubines began to pay their respects one by one.

“Consort Gyo-gwi, thank you for the noble flower tea. We shall withdraw now.”

One of the concubines, who had been watching the mood, spoke carefully. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Yeon-oh slowly nodded his head.

“Consort Gyo-gwi, we withdraw.”

“Consort Gyo-gwi, we withdraw.”

They bowed one by one, following Hyang-bin, and left the hall.

“We withdraw.”

In a situation where he could think of nothing, Yeon-oh whispered quietly to Jin Mi-in, who was paying his respects, barely audible. “I will send flower tea to your palace soon.”

“I am honored, Consort Gwi-bi.”

Jin Mi-in respectfully bowed and withdrew.

The empty hall was engulfed in silence.

Yeon-oh threw himself onto a chair as if collapsing. He shook his head to dismiss the sound of servants attempting to enter to clean the hall. He merely let time pass for a long while in the silence.

******

Cheonghan-jeon, the Emperor’s private office, held the chief ministers. The time was nearing late evening. Darkness began to settle in the distant sky.

Eunuchs entered, set down the lit lanterns, and hung portable lamps throughout the room.

“Your Majesty, are there any further commands?”

The Administrator of the Privy Council (a second-rank official belonging to the Privy Council), who had finished his report, spoke before withdrawing.

“Insolent.”

The Emperor, seated at his desk, spoke softly. The face of the Administrator of the Privy Council, who was about to leave, turned white.

“Please chastise this subject for his fault…”

The Administrator of the Privy Council hastily knelt and tried to beg for forgiveness.

“Hmm!”

The Chief Administrator (the highest-ranking official of the Privy Council, a second-rank position), who had entered with him, cleared his throat to draw attention. The moment his eyes met the Administrator of the Privy Council, who was begging for forgiveness, the Chief Administrator quickly shook his head.

“Your Majesty.”

Wan Taegam, who had been standing back, stepped forward and called the Emperor. Seonjae, lost in thought, turned his head and followed the eunuch’s gaze to look around the room.

Amidst the chief ministers who were warily looking around in the awkward atmosphere, the Chief Administrator spoke.

“The important matters are finished. Shall we stop here for today?”

The Chief Administrator, the head of the Privy Council, was the focal point of the Gyo Clan in the capital. He was a man with an unremarkable appearance that made people drop their guard. The Chief Administrator waited for the Imperial command with a face bearing a faint smile.

“Chief Administrator, do you intend not to take the post of Minister of War?”

At the Emperor’s words, a hollow, faint smile surfaced at the corner of the Chief Administrator’s mouth.

The moment Seonjae saw that smile, he furrowed his brow.

“Enough. Whose turn is it? Continue.”

“It is this subject’s turn.”

The Chief Administrator walked forward with a subtle smile and began his report. Seonjae was about to instinctively press his hand to his forehead but slowly curled his fingers into a fist, barely restraining himself.

The indigo martial robe flew toward the wall.

…! Wan Taegam gazed wistfully at the precious martial robe. The Emperor had canceled his dinner and planned to go riding. Whatever was bothering him, he dismissed all the eunuchs and palace servants and ultimately threw off his clothes.

“Insolent. The uncle and the nephew, every single one of them is insolent! They pretend not to know the nobility of their birth on the surface, but they are a Clan who know very well that they are superior.”

The Emperor was tall and imposing. He had the best physique among his brothers, and there was no one larger than him even among his nephews of similar age. He was a man who knew well the intimidation his physical size conveyed.

While the eunuchs and palace servants would not dare to speak carelessly, it was truly fortunate that the Emperor had dismissed them before losing his temper. If powerless palace servants had faced the Emperor as he now paced menacingly, throwing off his martial robe and making sounds, several would have collapsed in fear.

“Are you referring to Consort Gyo-gwi?”

Wan Taegam picked up the martial robe and draped it over the armrest of a chair. Seonjae, who had been restlessly pacing the room, spun around so fast that it made a sound.

“Who else but that bastard would dare be insolent to Us!”

“Your Majesty.”

“That insolent… He made a person kneel and then claimed it was a prank when asked why? Ha! And then he asks what protocol he violated? Of course, he didn’t violate protocol. What kind of person is he that he would violate protocol? To act so cruelly the moment he became a Gwi-bi.”

Wan Taegam merely watched the raging Emperor’s mood.

‘I wonder if it was truly that cruel?’

He felt that no matter how he phrased that question, it would displease the Emperor.

“When did I ever introduce Myself as ‘Young Master Seon’ to him? He calls Me ‘Young Master Seon’ and then tries to blame Me for it!”

Seonjae argued heatedly while looking at the Imperial censer, the pride of the Imperial Family.

… Realization dawned on Wan Taegam’s face.

He finally understood.

The reason for the Emperor’s discomfort and occasional bursts of anger after returning from Giryung Palace was precisely that.

“He says it’s all his fault, that he’s inadequate, but there’s no way he means it. He’s being sarcastic that We deceived him. ‘I wonder how it would have been if it had been corrected’; he’s picking a fight over why We didn’t correct him. The audacity…”

The Emperor, who had been pouring out words with a menacing laugh, suddenly fell silent.

“How despicable.”

Wan Taegam, who had been nodding secretly, watched Seonjae’s quiet back, holding his breath.

“Because We made his uncle kneel, he made Dam So-ui kneel. Is he daring to challenge Me?”

Seonjae, who had stopped all movement for an instant, spoke softly. The man, muttering to himself, fell into thought again. At the Emperor’s unusually calm reaction, Wan Taegam cautiously spoke.

“Your Majesty.”

“Is this what he meant by ‘I will make you regret it’?”

A fierce smile surfaced on Seonjae’s face, then quickly vanished.

“Are you referring to Consort Gyo-gwi?”

Wan Taegam attempted to speak with composure.

“I will go to Giryung Palace.”

At the Emperor’s words, Wan Taegam prepared an informal robe instead of the martial robe he had discarded. The man, who briefly waited for the eunuch’s hands to tidy the fasteners and ties, strode off toward the Harem.

The Emperor’s hands were empty. He held no bow, no sword, no spear, no weapon whatsoever. Yet, the way he walked made him look as if he were setting out for a hunt.

“Your Majesty…! The Imperial carriage has been prepared…! Your Majesty!”

Numerous eunuchs and palace servants hastily trailed behind the man who walked with long strides.