Chapter 44

The Emperor was a relentlessly dedicated man. He dealt with memorials with an unwavering posture until dawn. In a single night, he personally wrote replies on 200 memorials and occasionally wrote edicts.

The man who arrived late in the evening only left Giryung Palace at Ogyeong (오경, between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.), when the dawn was breaking. He headed straight for Cheonghanjeon without closing his eyes.

Consequently, Yeon-oh stayed up all night. With the help of Court Lady Dong, he lay down on the bed for a moment, closed his eyes, and when he opened them, it was already time for morning greetings. He wasn’t going to collapse just from staying up one night.

However, perhaps due to the physical and mental exhaustion since entering the Imperial Palace, he kept sighing. Furthermore, the excessive tension from attending to the Emperor had compounded his fatigue. A faint dizziness and a tingling sensation from an indeterminate part of his body arose.

Yeon-oh, who kept nodding off while sitting in the bath, managed to eat a few dried apples while dressing and emptied two cups of hot, strong tea to wake himself up. If he were to fall asleep or stumble while paying respects to the Empress Dowager, the consequences would be uncontrollable. However, even after downing two cups of strong tea, he wasn’t completely awake.

The Empress Dowager said nothing about the dazed Yeon-oh. The morning greetings were quickly concluded. The gazes and expressions of the other concubines were difficult to gauge as good or bad. Yeon-oh, in a state of semi-consciousness, leaned on Court Lady Dong and returned to Giryung Palace as soon as the greetings were over.

“Everyone withdraw.”

Yeon-oh, returning to his hall, dismissed his attendants and took a nap. He felt much better after a short sleep, but he was soon roused, attended for a meal, and dressed again. It was immediately time for the evening greetings to the Empress Dowager. The day was over, though he had done nothing. Yeon-oh, returning from the evening greetings, inadvertently muttered.

“Impossible.”

The Emperor’s luxurious yeon was parked in front of Giryung Palace.

******

Inside Yeongsan-jae of Giryung Palace, a faint rustling sound quietly echoed. Thin paper unfolded, making a delicate noise. Yeon-oh took out a san-yak-go he had tucked into his sleeve cuff and ate it. It was purely for survival.

He belatedly felt grateful to Court Lady Dong, who had slipped small, packaged san-yak-go and dried apples into his sleeve and hand before he entered the study. Was this what a young eunuch’s life was like?

The Emperor had stayed at Giryung Palace for three consecutive days. The man who left Yeongsan-jae at dawn was said to have stopped at Cheonghanjeon, immediately changed his clothes, and gone hunting. He then spent the entire day conducting state affairs in the main office, had dinner with the Empress Dowager, visited the Empress who was ill, looked in on the concubines, and then came here. Despite having such an exhausting and tight schedule, the Emperor showed no sign of fatigue, even though it was past Samgyeong (삼경, before 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.). He had already finished 90 memorials.

He didn’t know what kept the Byeongpil Taegam standing outside so busy, but it seemed likely that the Emperor’s direct Royal Secretaries were busy with tasks the man had ordered. The Emperor would write edicts to the Royal Secretaries several times, even while personally writing replies on the memorials with the Jupil.

Seonjae, putting down the Jupil, discovered Yeon-oh secretly munching.

“Consort Gwi-bi, what are you eating all by yourself?”

This was not the first time he had seen Yeon-oh rummage through his sleeve cuff to take out and eat a snack alone.

“I apologize.”

Yeon-oh made no attempt to hide it. The face that calmly apologized was even a little defiant. I have to survive, too.

Seonjae beckoned with his hand toward the face that seemed to be expressing that very sentiment. In the meantime, Yeon-oh checked the memorial he had just replied to and neatly put it in the paper box.

“Do you have a co… Why! [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Why are you doing this!”

The man’s large hand plunged right into Yeon-oh’s wide sleeve. Yeon-oh’s face, plastered with sleep and fatigue, snapped wide awake.

“You didn’t offer me even one.”

“No, don’t…!”

“Why shouldn’t I.”

Seonjae rummaged through Yeon-oh’s sleeve and took a handful of san-yak-go. The man who had snatched what belonged to another had no guilt on his face. Instead, he gave a reproachful look to Yeon-oh, who hadn’t told him about having so much food all to himself.

“It’s mine.”

“I shared my late-night snack when it was brought in.”

Seonjae said confidently, unwrapping and instantly eating two of the san-yak-go he had taken. Yeon-oh’s face grew darker with regret every time a san-yak-go disappeared.

“…”

Yeon-oh was curious how many san-yak-go were left, but he did not make the careless move of shaking his sleeve. He only had the childish thought that it was a relief he had already eaten all the dried apples.

“Consort Gwi-bi.”

“Do you have a command?”

Seonjae didn’t pay much attention to the slightly sullen voice. He looked at the paper box containing the memorials that Yeon-oh had organized. The memorials in the box were better organized than when they were originally submitted to him. This wasn’t just about the memorials being lined up in order. They were arranged according to the nature of the government office and the correlation of the memorial content. He couldn’t find a single misplaced document while they filled four boxes yesterday and two today. Thanks to this, Seonjae was able to pour out a flood of interconnected issues when he returned the memorials to the chief ministers this morning and pointed out the problems.

“Why didn’t you enter officialdom?”

“I had little interest.”

Yeon-oh said impassively in response to the Emperor’s question.

“How distinguished you are.”

Seonjae’s face was deeply scowled as he spoke. The fact that Yeon-oh had organized the memorials according to their relation to each other and their respective government offices meant his scholarship was not low. It was common for people to pretend to know as much as they showed. But it was both surprising and enviable that he could be indifferent despite having the ability, showing no interest.

“I apologize.”

Yeon-oh couldn’t tell what part of him had displeased the Emperor.

“I shall write an edict.”

“I shall prepare the wandae (arm strap/cuff).”

Yeon-oh bowed at the Emperor’s command. As he approached the study door, the eunuchs standing outside opened the door.

“Prepare the ink.”

“Yes, Mama.”

The eunuchs guarding the door moved with an unwavering posture despite the late hour. While the Byeongpil Taegam ground the ink, Yeon-oh quietly protested to Wan Taegam, who entered the study to check on things.

“I heard His Majesty went hunting at dawn?”

“His Majesty lightly goes hunting every dawn.”

Yeon-oh could not hide his shock at Wan Taegam’s words. Despite his surprise, he took the seup (拾, arm brace/archer’s cuff) from the wooden box.

Yeon-oh chose a dark green seup to match the Emperor’s green everyday official attire. The outer surface was dark green silk embroidered with silver thread, and the inside was lined with soft leather. The edges of the seup wandae had loops made of tortoiseshell.

“I shall withdraw.”

The eunuchs who had finished grinding the ink softly withdrew.

Only Wan Taegam remained, watching Yeon-oh secure the wandae onto the Emperor’s right arm. Yeon-oh neatly folded and organized the Emperor’s wide, draping right sleeve, then wrapped the seup he had brought around the arm to keep the sleeve from fluttering. A complex emotion flickered in Seonjae’s eyes as he watched Yeon-oh cross the silk cord through the tortoiseshell loops attached to the seup‘s edge and tie a knot. Wan Taegam’s expression, watching this, was also subtle.

“Is it uncomfortable?”

Yeon-oh, having finished the knot, asked the man whose face was looking down at him.

“No.”

“It is finished.”

Yeon-oh, checking the knot again, stepped back.

“It’s not according to etiquette.”

Seonjae muttered, feeling his right arm with the seup wandae. It was a grumble like a complaining child. The man had mumbled the same thing the first time Yeon-oh had fastened the wandae.

The Emperor wrote dozens of edicts. The number of memorials he wrote replies on in a single night was also considerable. The Jupil was a comparatively thin and delicate brush. In contrast, when writing edicts on new paper, he needed to use a brush that was thicker and larger than the Jupil. The Emperor’s attire was very voluminous, so he had to be careful with the sleeves when writing to prevent the clothes from being damaged and the wet ink from smearing.

“Your Majesty’s physique is large, so your sleeves are much longer than others’. Etiquette is important, but practicality is also important. You write so many edicts; if you wait for the ink to dry on the paper, the day will be completely over.”

Seonjae mumbled with a slightly softened face at Yeon-oh’s words.

“What would you know?”

“These days, when everyone is busy writing, they fix their sleeves with a wandae. Would anyone dare lecture on etiquette to Your Majesty, who is busy writing to issue countless imperial commands?”

“What would Young Master Gyo, who grew up pampered in the Gyo General’s Household, know?”

The man said the snarky words while already writing the second sheet of the edict. Yeon-oh was bewildered every time the Emperor said he had grown up pampered in the Gyo General’s Household. Isn’t the Imperial Family, the Imperial relatives, the ones who grow up pampered?

However, it was not something he could argue about. Although he felt wronged, he shut his mouth and backed away.

The bell announcing that half of Samgyeong had passed gently rang.

“Young Master Gyo, you may retire now. But empty everything in your sleeve here.”

Seonjae tapped the edge of the desk with his hand.

“No, I will not.”

Yeon-oh’s eyes were burning, but he forced himself to stay alert. Having become a concubine, there was no way he could leave the Emperor in the study and go to sleep.

“Why, you don’t want to hand over what’s in your sleeve?”

Seonjae looked askance at Yeon-oh, who had just lectured him at length about why etiquette wasn’t important but was now stubbornly enduring with a face drawn with fatigue.

“No.”

Yeon-oh shook his head. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Approaching the desk with slight hesitation, he took out the san-yak-go he had hidden in his sleeve and placed it on the desk. He placed four, then two, then the final one, and then checked his sleeve by vigorously shaking it, which Seonjae watched in disbelief.

“Nothing in the other sleeve?”

“No, there is not.”

“Let me see.”

Seonjae reached out a hand to the sleeve he hadn’t touched.

“There really is no…”

It was then that Yeon-oh’s eyes, speaking and weakly struggling, slowly closed. Seonjae threw the brush he was holding and extended his arms, catching Yeon-oh’s collapsing body with his entire being.

“Gyo Yeon-oh…! Yeon-oh. Young Master Gyo! Are you outside? Bring the Imperial Physician at once!”