In truth, Sansan wasn’t entirely uncurious about how much Gang-i ate, whether he ate well, or if there were any difficulties when feeding him, but no matter that he was pregnant, Sansan was still a man. He couldn’t very well say he wanted to see the bare chest of a woman he had no connection to.
Given these circumstances, it would be nice if the wet nurse court lady would at least report the nursing matters to Sansan in some detail, but perhaps she thought he wouldn’t understand even if told—she never reported unless asked first. In places where the Emperor wasn’t present, Sansan was always excluded, knowingly or unknowingly.
“…They’ll take good care of things on their own. Since he’s His Majesty’s son.”
“But can you just trust and leave such an important matter as nursing entirely to them? It’s not like you’ve known them long. If it’s alright with you, shall I go and look after it?”
“…You?”
“Yes. He’s the son Unnie gave birth to—what would I refuse? If Orabeoni doesn’t mind, I’ll go take a look. Okay?”
Looking after nursing every three to four hours was no easy task. It would be difficult even for a birth mother. But Wanui Han’s eyes looked far too resolute. It was also something that had been weighing on Sansan’s mind all along.
Who was Gang-i? Wasn’t he the child his precious younger sister had given birth to in exchange for her life? There couldn’t be even the slightest problem.
“…It will be too hard on you.”
“Hard? As long as Orabeoni is okay with it, Mianggung Palace is spacious with many empty halls, so I’ll be fine.”
Wanui Han smiled brightly with her exceedingly beautiful face. In the end, Sansan nodded even though he knew it would be troublesome for her.
***
‘Aah! Ah!’
‘Shh, lower your voice.’
At the dead of night when all light had vanished, the low moans flowing from beneath a small pavilion in the northeast of the Garden of Harmony soon disappeared without a trace. Even the moonlight hid behind night clouds, making nothing visible.
In that complete darkness, a young man and woman were having intercourse. From behind the woman who had turned around with her face hidden against a pillar supporting the pavilion, a sturdy man repeatedly thrust his hips upward with tapping sounds. The woman bit her lips tightly and suppressed her moans.
The man, who had put his hand inside the woman’s jacket that wasn’t disheveled in the slightest, pounded away while firmly grasping the large breasts that filled his palm.
‘Haah, haah.’
When the man who had finished his business withdrew his body, the skirt hem that had been rolled up and held high fell with a rustle to the floor, covering the woman’s buttocks. The woman, who had come to this place without even wearing undergarments for a secret meeting with the man, gasped repeatedly to calm her surging excitement.
‘Are you continuing to take the yulmu?’
‘Hooh, haah, yes.’
‘Take this.’
The man handed the woman a handkerchief. Though it was silk, it didn’t look like a new item.
‘…What is this?’
‘You said you had measles when you were young?’
‘Yes. But then,’
‘Shh, hold your tongue.’
‘……’
‘Since you’re close to him, there will surely be an opportunity.’
The woman, who had been silent for a moment, nodded slightly after some time. She stuffed that handkerchief inside her jacket.
Just then, a cold night breeze passed by the two with a desolate sound. The bare tree branches surrounding the pavilion swayed in the wind. Whether that wind had shaken the clouds too, a ray of moonlight that had disappeared descended upon the woman’s face.
‘…When can I see you again?’
Even in the dimness, the woman with a graceful figure like a willow branch, Wanui Han, asked.
‘If you finish the task well and wait, I’ll send word. You must absolutely never make contact from your end first. Understand?’
‘…Yes.’
Hearing Wanui Han’s answer, the man grasped the woman’s bony shoulder once and released it. As if that gesture were some kind of consolation. Then he turned his back and walked away.
Wanui Han stood still for a while in the spot where the man had disappeared, fiddling with her shoulder that the man had grasped with her hand. Though it was an extremely brief tryst without even a single kiss, with this she could live on for another while.
***
“Waaah, waaahn.”
When Wanui Han entered the side hall where the Eighth Imperial Prince was nursing, the crying of an extremely upset Gang-i burst forth just at that moment. He kept coughing, as if something had gone down the wrong way.
Seeing this, Wanui Han immediately approached the woman who was nursing with a coldly hardened face. One of the wet nurse court ladies who had been nervously watching from the side quickly took Gang-i and held him.
“You wretched woman! How dare you care for His Highness the Eighth Imperial Prince like this!”
Wanui Han struck the wet nurse’s cheek without hesitation. The wet nurse, who had been in a state with her jacket removed and her chest exposed, fell from the sitting stool and rolled on the floor.
“I-I have committed a crime worthy of death, Wanui Han Mama. Please forgive me!”
The wet nurse immediately prostrated herself and bowed her head without even having time to adjust her jacket. The women who entered the palace as wet nurses for the Imperial Princes and Princesses were naturally not originally from court lady backgrounds, but were selected from common households.
Their status was much lower than court ladies, so they would tense up even just seeing a wet nurse court lady, yet she had enraged no less than the Emperor’s concubine. The woman rubbed her two hands together above her head in fear.
Watching this, the wet nurse court lady clicked her tongue inwardly. These were things that could easily happen when nursing a baby who was only a hundred days old. The wet nurse had committed no crime.
However, no matter how much of a low-ranking concubine, a concubine was still a concubine. Since she was in no position to dare step forward and speak up, she bowed her waist, feigning obedience.
“The servants are lacking and have failed to properly attend to His Highness the Eighth Imperial Prince. However, since His Highness the Eighth Imperial Prince has not yet nursed sufficiently, I humbly plead, would it not be better to postpone punishment for a while, Mama?”
Even after hearing the wet nurse court lady’s advice, Wanui Han, who hadn’t forgiven the wet nurse, suddenly reached out and snatched Gang-i from her and held him.
“Just because Bi Jin Mama is unwell and cannot oversee everything in detail, there must absolutely never be any careless treatment of His Highness the Eighth Imperial Prince. Understand?”
Wanui Han spoke while patting the small back as if soothing Gang-i, who had already stopped crying. At her fiercely threatening tone, the wet nurse repeatedly nodded her head.
“H-how could there be any question! I will keep it in mind and obey, Mama.”
Watching the wet nurse bow to the floor once again, Wanui Han untied the handkerchief she wore around her neck like an ornament. Holding Gang-i with one hand, she grasped the handkerchief with the other hand and carefully wiped his wet face.
The handkerchief touched his long eyelashes beaded densely with tears, his nose wet with snot, and his mouth area soaked with breast milk and saliva.
“Continue nursing him. With Bi Jin Mama’s permission, from now on whenever His Highness nurses, I will observe and watch over it. Your punishment will be postponed to a later day, so first you must concentrate on faithfully carrying out your duty.”
“I will keep it in mind, Wanui Han Mama.”
“I will keep it in mind, Wanui Han Mama.”
“I will keep it in mind, Wanui Han Mama.”
The wet nurse court ladies and wet nurse all bowed in unison. The wet nurse, who received Gang-i back from Wanui Han, nursed Gang-i with movements even more careful than before. She patted his small back, hoping he would suckle well without incident.
Meanwhile, Wanui Han, who had gone to sit on the Arhat bed, pretended to supervise while keenly observing the Eighth Imperial Prince, Gang-i, with persistent eyes.
***
When the Emperor irritably set down his spoon on the table while eating dinner, the palace servants attending him all bowed their heads with expressions that said what was coming had come. This time even Sansan fidgeted restlessly and stared at the Emperor with anxious eyes.
“…Gang-i seems really quite sick, Your Majesty.”
Gang-i, who had already been crying when the Emperor entered Mianggung Palace, was still wailing even now after being moved to the side hall on the opposite side.
“H-his head was like a ball of fire…”
Sansan stamped his feet nervously and added more words to the Emperor who stared directly at him without saying anything.
“Then would it be fine to send him to the side hall?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked if you’ll eat properly once you send the child out.”
“Ah…, th-that…”
Sansan needlessly fidgeted with the hand holding chopsticks, clenching and unclenching. Then he ended up dropping them to the floor. With an immediately dismayed expression, he only stared down at the fallen chopsticks before biting his lips tightly once.
“…Y-you must be tired, so wouldn’t it be alright to go sleep in another residence today? I ate a snack so I’m not hungry.”
The Emperor, who had been silently listening to Sansan’s words, soon burst into laughter as if dumbfounded. The faces of Mianggung Palace’s servants turned deathly pale all at once. Though they heard it clearly, they doubted their own ears. A concubine had dared to issue an order to leave to the Emperor. Head Eunuch Han, thinking this would be a disaster, stepped forward first.
“This is presumptuous. Bi Jin, get on your knees immediately and to His Majesty—”
However, the Emperor raised his hand to stop such Head Eunuch Han. He lifted his chin once while looking at Sansan as if telling him to continue.
“That is, today especially my bottom is chafed and hurts…”
“Is that all?”
“I-it won’t be good for Won either.”
At that moment, the Emperor struck the table hard and pushed away all the dishes within reach. All kinds of sounds made by gold, silver, and ivory vessels hitting the floor pierced sharply and keenly into the ears of everyone present.
