The next day, the moment dawn broke, Ha-hyeon received an official imperial decree. A eunuch unrolled a scroll and recited its contents in a solemn voice.
“To Jaein Sa, We bestow the rank of Yeong-ui of the Senior Third Grade, and the title name of Songbaek.”
Songbaek was a name taken from an old saying — that one only knows a pine and cypress do not wither when the cold of winter comes — and according to Wol’s explanation, it was a weighty name more befitting a stalwart man than a concubine.
But then again, there could be nothing more absurd than bestowing a title evoking flowers and butterflies upon a concubine with a frame rivaling any man. Ha-hyeon found the name to his liking.
“Furthermore, the quarters in which he resides are hereby given the name Byeoksong Palace, meaning the palace of the green pine, and he is commanded to conduct himself in a manner worthy of it.”
It was truly a remarkable thing. The Emperor’s concubines numbered well over a hundred. Among all those women, for someone who had entered at the lowly rank of Jaein to receive a unique title name in one stroke — and leap two ranks all the way to Yeong-ui — was something that had never happened before and likely never would again.
In modern terms…. It would be something like an intern getting a department head title overnight along with a private office? It was genuinely a personnel appointment that would go down in imperial palace history…….
Sa Ha-hyeon sat at the writing desk with his head in his hands. Three new names had appeared out of nowhere, and his head was throbbing from it. Every one of them was difficult, the corresponding Chinese characters had an absurd number of strokes, and all three felt vaguely similar in a way that made them impossible to memorize.
“Wol-ah, wait. What was my title again? Songgang…… something…… ho?”
“No. It is Songbaek. My lady.”
“Then what is the name of our house?”
“It is Byeoksong Palace.”
“Right. Byeoksong Palace…. And the rank was Yeong-uijeong, wasn’t it.”
“Not Yeong-uijeong — Yeong-ui, my lady.”
Ha-hyeon frowned deeply and wrote his title name, rank, and the newly received palace name one by one on a sheet of paper.
“You wrote it wrong. It is Songbaek, Yeong-ui, and Byeoksong Palace. You absolutely must memorize these. Are they not names bestowed by His Majesty himself? If you were to misspeak them even by accident, there is no telling what trouble might befall you.”
“I know. I know that — I’m just saying it’s not sticking.”
He could have just sent more meat. Why give a heap of names you can’t even spend anywhere, and give me a headache on top of it. One name was plenty.
But wait — was my real name actually Sa Ha-hyeon to begin with…….
On the day he received the decree, Sa Ha-hyeon spent the entire day doing nothing but committing the names fully to memory. And when the Emperor came that night, Ha-hyeon did as Wol had advised — he took the time to express just how overjoyed and grateful he was to have received the title and rank. What he actually wanted to say was whether ranks could be returned like merchandise — but there was no way to say that with a straight face.
***
“Yeong-ui! Look at this! It looks like they slaughtered an entire cow!”
And so the next morning, Wol was in such high spirits from the crack of dawn that she looked ready to break into a dance. Even the form of address had already shifted seamlessly to Yeong-ui.
“When are we ever going to eat all of that?”
A cart was loaded to the brim with fresh red meat. The entire population of Byeoksong Palace — Ha-hyeon, Wol, and the two new maidservants — totaled four people. It was enough meat to eat three meals a day for close to a month. He was almost worried about what would happen if His Majesty’s gifted meat were to spoil. But Wol seemed entirely unconcerned with Ha-hyeon’s troubled expression.
“His Majesty has a reputation for being a tyrant, but could it be that he is actually a wise and benevolent ruler to the people of the Daehyeon Empire? He is sharp, and he knows how to read people.”
Ha-hyeon wasn’t listening.
“What do we do with all this. We’ll have to get rid of it before it spoils.”
“I’ll go hand some out!”
“To whom?”
“I’ll bring some to the servants at Jinmi Hall, and to the lower-ranking officers I pass on the way. If we show goodwill at a time like this, won’t it all come back to help us later?”
Jinmi Hall was the place that oversaw all the food in the imperial palace. Since Ha-hyeon’s meals now came from Jinmi Hall as well, winning favor with its servants by giving them meat didn’t seem like a bad idea. However, the amount looked quite a lot for Wol to carry alone.
“I’ll go with you.”
“What?! Absolutely not!”
Wol waved her arms in alarm.
“How could Yeong-ui go to a place frequented by the lower staff! You must maintain your dignity. And besides, you stand out even when you’re doing nothing. I’ll go quickly on my own, so please rest in your room.”
“Then at least take one of the girls with you.”
“No. I’m perfectly fine on my own. I don’t want to make a fuss either.”
“Alright. But be careful.”
***
But the Wol who had left that way did not return even as noon passed and the sun began to sink low on the horizon. No matter how vast the imperial palace, she should have been back long before now.
Ha-hyeon was already thinking of sending one of the maidservants out to look for her when the gate opened limply.
“Wol-ah?”
The moment Ha-hyeon stepped out into the courtyard, he froze on the spot. Wol was in a terrible state. The neatly combed hair she’d had when she left was now disheveled, her clothes torn and ragged. And worst of all, one entire side of her face was swollen a raw, angry red. Wol looked completely out of her mind.
“What happened to you. Who did this.”
Wol seemed to snap back to her senses at Ha-hyeon’s voice and turned her head quickly.
“It’s nothing…… I just tripped on the way back.”
Sa Ha-hyeon couldn’t contain his anger. His gaze moved over Wol’s swollen cheek and tattered clothing. It was such a small face — barely the size of a fist. Where could there possibly be room to strike, that someone had laid hands on her?
“……Was it the Jinmi Hall servants?”
Ha-hyeon didn’t even know where Jinmi Hall was. But he could not stand still looking at Wol like this. Wol grabbed Ha-hyeon’s arm as he moved to step outside the gate.
“Please, my lady, hold yourself back. It wasn’t the Jinmi Hall servants — it was the servants of Consort Hwa.”
“Consort Hwa?”
And who was Consort Hwa? This wasn’t some idol survival program, but with over a hundred concubines, there was no way to keep track of them all.
“She outranks you. They accused me of — a mere palace girl daring to divert gifts bestowed by His Majesty…. It was likely just a petty excuse to start trouble, but I was afraid that if I fought back, the fire would spread to you, so I just bowed my head and apologized…….”
Unable to finish her words, fat tears fell one after another from Wol’s eyes. The meat she had brought was said to have been knocked into the dirt and ruined. Ha-hyeon knew Wol’s character well. She was a girl with a straight spine and iron will — and to think she had kept her mouth shut and just endured it — simply imagining how she must have felt turned Sa Ha-hyeon’s stomach.
“Step aside. I can’t just let this go. Knowing that you’re my person and still hitting you — that’s the same as picking a fight with me. What rank is this Consort Hwa? Never mind. Rank or no rank, we’re settling this face-to-face. God, I’m so angry I can barely see straight.”
“Pardon? What did you just say?”
“I said I’ll handle it. So will you let go of me?”
“You cannot, Songbaek. Please. In this vast imperial palace, we only have each other. His Majesty is not always by your side. If you provoke Consort Hwa and end up being poisoned, what then?!”
“But look at your face. How could anyone do this to an unmarried girl’s face like this?”
The red nail marks were vivid against her pale cheek. Dark, scabbed-over blood had crusted on top of them — it was almost certain to leave a scar.
“What does a scar matter. I am fine. It has been a long time since I left my homeland without expecting to return alive. As long as the princess and her family are safe, it does not matter what becomes of me.”
At Wol’s cry, Ha-hyeon dropped his head. The reason Wol was stopping him this hard was because she knew that if he stepped in, it would only make things worse. The helplessness of having no power — it cut straight to the bone. His chest ached. Ha-hyeon carefully reached up and stroked Wol’s swollen cheek.
As he quietly looked at her, a face he had buried in the far corner of his memory suddenly overlapped with hers. It was the face of his younger sister — the one who had passed from this world before him, before he ever fell into this strange place.
Wol had been a maidservant serving their teacher’s daughter, someone Ha-hyeon had never met before the day he disguised himself as the princess. And yet, strangely, from the very first moment he saw her, he had felt a warmth and concern for her that he himself found puzzling. Perhaps, without realizing it, he had been seeing the shadow of the family member he had lost in this girl.
The face of the sister he had failed to protect shimmered over Wol’s wounded cheek. Ha-hyeon bit down hard on his lip.
“That must have hurt so much.”
Wol placed her own hand over Ha-hyeon’s hand, which was cradling her cheek. Just from her expression, Ha-hyeon could tell it meant — I am alright, please do not worry.
It was at that moment, as Ha-hyeon was gently stroking Wol’s cheek. A long shadow crept through the open gap of the gate like a snake and fell over them both.
“What a fine sight this is.”
Sa Ha-hyeon and Wol startled and turned their heads. Wei Wuyuan was standing there — without a sound, without any sign of his approach.
Ah! Your Majesty — please knock!
It was the most perfectly compromising situation imaginable.
