“Why aren’t you answering? Let’s hear what you think. Unless you’re desperate to get married, is it truly proper to marry before your grown older brother?”
This was, in truth, the Emperor’s misdirected venting and also his spite. He viewed Sanwol as bearing the greatest responsibility for his relationship with Sansan reaching this point. If it were up to him, even greatly punishing her wouldn’t satisfy him, but there was something slightly weighing on his mind about doing so. So he was revealing his twisted feelings like this.
Naturally, Sanwol, who had no way of knowing this, not only didn’t understand the current situation but wanted to kick off from this spot and leave immediately from the unbearable shame. Of course, if only she could.
But there was absolutely no way she, a mere daughter of a Minister of Public Works Jusa, could do that. Sanwol barely controlled her heart before opening her mouth again.
“……I respectfully submit, Your Majesty. This young lady’s thinking was short. Please forgive me.”
Though she could have added a word that her older brother had circumstances preventing him from marrying, Sanwol just plainly said only that it was her fault. The Emperor, displeased by that too, struck the armrest of his throne with his left hand.
“I don’t want to see your face, so go back and reflect in confinement.”
Having finished speaking, the Emperor kicked off his seat and stood up. Watching that, a tear finally fell from Sanwol’s eyes. Head Eunuch Han gestured to a palace eunuch to send such a Sanwol out, then immediately approached close to the Emperor’s side.
“Your Majesty. More than half still remain……”
“What a waste of time. I don’t think anyone who pleases my heart will appear even if I look further. Mama, I have urgent business, so I shall return to the side hall. Han-ho-ya, have someone summon Imperial Physician Do to wait.”
Having thrown down only what he wanted to say, the Emperor left with long strides. Head Eunuch Han, who had been unable to do this or that in his predicament while watching him, ultimately chased after him quickly as if there was no other choice. The Empress Dowager, left alone, could only exhale a deep sigh and declare she would conclude the selection, having no other recourse.
***
—Smack!
The sound of fiercely striking a cheek rang through the inner courtyard.
“Useless thing.”
The moment Sanwol shook her head to the question of how it went, Yoon Yun-gyeom swung his arm. Looking down at his daughter who had fallen to the inner courtyard’s dirt floor from the fierce recoil with contemptuous eyes, he said that.
Sanwol clenched her teeth while only staring at the ground. Yoon Yun-gyeom, whose anger wasn’t relieved by one strike, this time raised his foot.
“F-Father! How can you, ahk!”
Just as he was about to kick Sanwol’s belly, Sansan squeezed in between. Sansan, kicked in the back by his father’s foot, soon collapsed forward onto Sanwol. Without even catching his breath, Sansan crawled as is and grasped his father’s right foot with both hands.
“D-don’t hit her! Father, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Hngk, please don’t hit Wol-i.”
“These nauseating creatures! To have given birth to such damned bastards as children—I must have sold the country in my past life.”
As Yoon Yun-gyeom spoke trembling with rage, Lee Ja-yoon, who had been standing nearby watching the situation, slowly approached and stroked his shoulder.
“Husband, please calm your anger first, yes?”
“I told you from early on to act more gently toward men, didn’t I? This damned bitch. If I don’t torture you severely, I’ll change my surname, change my surname! Let go, wife. If that bitch had listened to her father’s words, there’s no way she wouldn’t have been selected with that face.”
“Just a moment, husband. Just a moment, yes? I heard something. According to what I heard from neighbor Lady Yeom, not a single maiden was selected this time. Wouldn’t it be good to hear about what happened first?”
Lee Ja-yoon continuously stroked Yoon Yun-gyeom’s shoulders and chest, calming him. It wasn’t from a heart caring for her daughter, but because she thought understanding the situation came first. Sanwol’s appearance was itself a precious treasure of the household. Recklessly damaging it would only be bad for themselves.
“How long will you sprawl there? Hurry up and get up, and confess in detail everything that happened at the palace without omitting anything.”
She scolded Sanwol, who had been sprawled on the ground with Sansan until then, while watching Yoon Yun-gyeom’s mood. Sanwol wiped her older brother’s cheeks, which were dripping tears, then rose.
After struggling to suppress the small rebellious feelings arising, Sanwol recited the conversation with the Emperor from several shichen ago as Lee Ja-yoon wished. Fortunately, Sansan was crying about being in pain and couldn’t pay any attention to what his younger sibling was saying.
“So he told you to reflect in confinement?”
When Sanwol finished her story, Lee Ja-yoon asked. Watching Sanwol nod slightly, Lee Ja-yoon made a sound of contemplation as if lost in thought.
“That eunuch bastard is no help in life after all, no help! Aigo!”
Yoon Yun-gyeom struck his own chest with his fist as if his chest would burst. Only then understanding he was being blamed, Sansan dejectedly shrank his body.
“His Majesty isn’t someone who would just say anything carelessly, and if he told you to reflect in confinement, it doesn’t seem completely hopeless, husband. If it were mupae, it would just be mupae—what other reason would there be to specifically tell you to reflect in confinement?”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes. Perhaps telling you to reflect in confinement means to wait after marrying that one off quickly? Isn’t he originally someone who values principles and has no errors? Though I don’t know how on earth he knew of San-i’s existence, now seems to be the time to hurry and grasp what Your Majesty wants and take measures, rather than getting angry.”
“Hmm…… Even so, what means are there right now to marry off that eunuch bastard? No matter what, we can’t bring in a lowborn as a daughter-in-law to our Yoon family, and we can’t deceive and bring in a proper family’s daughter either……”
“I have an idea. Let’s go inside first, husband. The outside wind is still cold.”
With hope that Sanwol wasn’t completely without prospects easing his rage a bit, Yoon Yun-gyeom pretended to be unable to resist and moved his steps to Seoibang, led by his young second wife’s hand.
Only after both parents had disappeared did Sanwol take her dejected older brother’s hand and head to Seosangbang.
“Why are you so dejected? Does it hurt a lot where you were kicked?”
Sansan just shook his head silently. Then after a long while, he asks Sanwol.
“……Is, is it because I’m a eunuch that you, Wol-i, couldn’t become a concubine?”
His large eyes were already brimming with tears. Sanwol exhaled a deep sigh.
“It’s not Orabeoni’s fault. And did you forget? You were crying this morning too saying you didn’t want to become a concubine. It worked out well, right?”
Sanwol smiled at Sansan as if it were nothing. Then she flopped down on the bed.
“I’m tired from riding in the carriage back and forth all day. I’m hungry too. But they won’t give us food, right?”
Untying the outer sash that had been tightly binding her waist, Sanwol smiled good-naturedly once more.
Originally, in commoner households from the second month through spring wasn’t a time when food was abundant. Though it wasn’t so scarce as to starve to death, everyone had to hold out until the next harvest, so it was a time when everyone saved food.
In this season, the two siblings also rarely had days when they could eat their fill. Moreover, today she hadn’t even been selected, so there was no way their mother would provide dinner.
So it was just words Sanwol muttered half-giving up, but Sansan suddenly clapped his hands with an “Ah!”
“Wol-ah, wait!”
As if remembering something he’d forgotten, Sansan left Sanwol’s sleeping chamber with quick steps. Soon he returned holding an earthenware pot in both hands.
“E-eat this!”
Watching her older brother grinning widely while holding out the bowl to her, Sanwol exhaled another deep sigh.
“You didn’t eat breakfast?”
Inside the earthenware pot were cold rice, a bit of vegetables, and three or four dumplings. It was the breakfast Sanwol had also eaten before going to the palace.
“Yeah. You were going far, so I thought you, you might be hungry.”
“Isn’t Orabeoni hungry?”
“……Yeah, I stayed home all day doing nothing. So I’m not hungry.”
Sanwol pulled Sansan, who was reciting exactly what their mother usually said, to sit beside her.
“……Let’s eat together.”
She immediately picked up a dumpling and offered it to Sansan’s mouth. Seeing Sansan accept and eat it reflexively, Sanwol also popped a dumpling into her own mouth.
“It’s delicious. Right?”
When Sanwol asked while eating the dumpling, Sansan also nodded with a foolish smile, saying yeah. Muttering that His Majesty has no eye for seeing, our Wol-i is the prettiest in the world, Sanwol laughed with a snort.
Sanwol and Sansan gave and took, sharing the small amount of rice with each other. Fortunately, Sansan seemed to have immediately forgotten about being kicked in the back by his father or words about eunuchs and marriage. But Sanwol, for whom that wasn’t the case, kept swallowing sighs inwardly at the uncomfortable thoughts that kept arising.
Footnotes
Siheyuan (사합원) – traditional Chinese courtyard house structure
Yupae (유패) – being selected in concubine selection
Mupae (무패) – not being selected in concubine selection
Seochogan (서초간) – Sansan’s bedroom within Seosangbang
Seoibang (서이방) – Yoon Yun-gyeom’s room
