***
Does His Majesty visit often? What do you think His Majesty thinks of you, Mama? Have you served His Majesty since becoming pregnant? Aside from attending his bedchamber, does he call for you separately?
While Father asked Wol various things, Sansan sat blankly on the stool, just quietly looking down at the teacup in his hand. Every single question Father asked was difficult to understand.
His Majesty is Wol’s husband, so why would he ask such things? Since she’s his wife and even pregnant with his child, he would naturally visit Wol often and show her affection.
Thinking this to himself, he stared at the small yellow flower floating on the cold tea. The flower in the flower tea was lovely, the teacup was lovely, and the stool he sat on was lovely. That wasn’t all. The arhat bed where Father and Wol sat was the most splendid and lovely thing Sansan had seen in his life.
Everything inside this Yeongnyeong Palace was simply lovely. Not just Wol, but even the court ladies serving Wol were all lovely without exception. Reaching that thought, Sansan’s ears turned slightly red. It seemed that in this place, whether objects or people, there were only lovely and precious things—this place called the imperial palace.
Then how lovely must its master be? Sansan vaguely tried to picture in his mind the Emperor whose face he didn’t even know.
Since he was Wol’s husband, if he were a commoner, he might have been called ‘brother-in-law,’ but he was the Empire’s Emperor. Even the inadequate Sansan knew that one must not dare regard the Son of Heaven as a brother-in-law. Also the fact that the nephew or niece his sister would give birth to could never truly be his nephew or niece.
He felt somewhat hurt, but Sansan soon shook his head to scatter such useless thoughts. Wol’s happiness was important; such things weren’t important at all. Even if he’d become an existence whose future couldn’t be promised, if he constantly thought of her in his heart and prayed for her blessings, it was the same as being together.
Sansan hoped that Wol would continue living in such a precious place, receiving the affection of a precious person, giving birth to a precious child, and living preciously like this forever.
“So you’re saying it’s been quite a long time since you attended his bedchamber.”
“Still, he calls me occasionally to ask if there’s anywhere… uncomfortable.”
Hearing Wol’s words spoken in a small voice without confidence, Father and Mother simultaneously let out big sighs. At that sound, Sansan’s gaze reached Wol, who sat with her head slightly bowed. As Mother repeatedly clicked her tongue, the shadow on that lovely face deepened.
“What use is all that? If you can’t see His Majesty, both you, Mama, and our family are nothing but kites with severed strings. The same goes for the child in your belly. How could you possibly protect it?”
“Originally, His Majesty does not sleep with pregnant women….. After giving birth, again,”
“What if another noble consort appears in the meantime?”
Lee Ja-yoon asked in a cold voice. Sanwol couldn’t give any answer. Even if she could, there was nothing Sanwol could do.
Sanwol herself questioned whether she had ever received favor in the first place. There had definitely been days when she attended the Emperor’s bedchamber every day. But that hadn’t lasted beyond a month.
After that, she was the same as the other concubines. The child had only entered by luck. Still, since she was pregnant, he called her once a month to inquire about her physical condition, so she should be grateful even for that much.
As Sanwol continued remaining silent, Yoon Yun-gyeom let out an even louder sigh as if displeased. Seeing him, Lee Ja-yoon beat her chest with her fist and continued speaking. The couple were working together to corner Sanwol.
“What Mama needs now is a supporter.”
“……A supporter?”
Sanwol stared at Lee Ja-yoon with a face that showed she had no idea what that meant. Lee Ja-yoon and Yoon Yun-gyeom exchanged glances.
“Sansan.”
“……Yes?”
Sansan, who had been watching Wol with a worried face, flinched in surprise at Mother’s sudden call and answered in a trembling voice.
“I have important matters to discuss with Mama, so go out for a while.”
“……”
Sansan didn’t want to leave. Unlike when they first reunited, Sanwol’s expression wasn’t good. He didn’t want to leave his sister with her darkened complexion alone with Mother.
Before Wol entered the palace, Mother would often raise her hand against Wol. Of course, the same went for him. Though Sansan thought that now Wol was Concubine Yoon Mama so she couldn’t do that anymore, he couldn’t feel at ease at all.
“Can you not hear your mother’s words?”
Lee Ja-yoon pressed Sansan with an even fiercer voice than before. Sansan had tears welling up as if he’d cry any moment but still wouldn’t get up from the stool. Then,
“Orabeoni, it’s okay, so why don’t you go outside and look around for a bit?”
Sanwol intervened and spoke as if soothing Sansan instead.
“But,”
“This kind of talk is…… more uncomfortable with you here, orabeoni. Okay?”
Since they were blood siblings who used to cry together while applying medicine on days when they’d been beaten by Mother, how could they not know each other’s hearts? Sanwol forced a smile as if to reassure Sansan. At that, not even knowing what kind of talk “this kind of talk” was, Sansan nodded and reluctantly lifted his bottom from the stool.
“If you go back the way we came, there’s a pear tree—you saw it when we entered, right? I thought you’d like it if you saw it, orabeoni, so I took care of it diligently. Go there and look around.”
Sansan nodded toward Sanwol again. Then, leaving the tea room behind, he dragged heavy steps toward the inner courtyard he’d seen when entering. Several of Sanwol’s court ladies followed behind Sansan.
***
“Young master, please sit here and have some refreshments.”
The pear tree was even more spectacular up close. It was large in size, and its branches spread widely in multiple directions, making it seem as if a curtain had been hung with pear blossoms. But to enjoy that beauty with peace of mind, Sansan was very worried about Sanwol left behind in the rear hall.
Why were Father and Mother tormenting Wol like that again when they were meeting after two years? What wrong had Wol done? A child he might not know when he’d see again after leaving the palace.
The one who led Sansan, who had been pacing restlessly under the pear tree with drooping shoulders from various worries, was the court lady Yeongchae. Yeongchae brought Sansan to a table placed under the pear tree. Cold tea and gwapyeon were prepared.
Sansan’s gaze was momentarily captivated by the appearance of yellow and red gwapyeon cut into bite-sized pieces so prettily. That made sense, since gwapyeon was Sansan’s favorite food.
“Mama specially requested it be made. It tastes best when eaten cold, so please eat quickly, okay?”
Hearing it was something Sanwol had prepared, Sansan bit his lower lip painfully from the suddenly surging sorrow. It was because he suddenly recalled that he too had prepared gui-byeong, which Sanwol loved most. Feeling Sanwol’s heart, one side of his chest ached.
“Wol likes gui-byeong the most.”
Hearing that random statement, Yeongchae’s eyes widened. Looking at her face that seemed to ask what he meant, Sansan quickly wiped the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes with his finger.
“Concubine Yoon Mama really likes gui-byeong. I wanted to make it for her too, but they said I couldn’t bring it.”
Though it was rambling speech, Yeongchae, who had been briefed by Sanwol about Sansan’s condition beforehand, responded with “I see” and gave appropriate responses while seating Sansan on the stool.
“When Mama has no appetite, you can give her gui-byeong.”
“This servant will remember and certainly do so.”
“……Yes.”
Sansan, who added in a gloomy voice, put a yellow gwapyeon in his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, his chest welled up again at the sweetness that melted smoothly along with the coldness.
He hadn’t eaten gwapyeon since Wol entered the palace. It was originally a precious snack, and aside from Wol, there was no one else who knew he liked this.
Sansan wiped his tears once more and this time brought red gwapyeon to his mouth. That’s when it happened. Crash—a sharp shattering sound came from the direction of the rear hall.
“Are you truly, truly in your right mind?”
A voice even sharper than the sound of the teacup breaking followed. It was Wol’s angry voice, something he rarely had occasion to hear.
At that terribly unfamiliar resonance, Sansan stood up from his seat with an unstable face. Even without knowing what was happening, only the thought that he should quickly go to Sanwol came first. It was the moment he was about to turn his body toward the rear hall.
“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor arrives.”
Crack—along with the sound of a whip striking the ground with momentum to split it, a eunuch’s resounding voice announcing the Emperor’s arrival shook the air of Yeongnyeong Palace.
Two more whip cracks followed, and finally Yeongnyeong Gate opened with a heavy sound.
Sansan, who had been floundering not knowing what to do, saw Yeongchae beside him perform a kowtow saying “We pay our respects to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. Long live, long live, long long live,” and he too threw himself flat on the bare ground.
Footnote:
Stool (좌돈) – Drum-shaped backless chair
Arhat Bed (나한상) – Wooden furniture used as chair and napping bed, long sofa-like with table in middle
Gwapyeon (과편) – Fruit jelly made from boiled cherries, apricots, quinces, hawthorn, etc. with honey/sugar and mung bean starch
Kowtow (고두) – Deep bow with forehead touching ground
