“Here, somewhere……”
Sansan steadfastly rummaged through the bedchamber he’d used, undeterred by the cold that seemed to pierce his flesh. He’d definitely put it somewhere, but couldn’t quite remember. Enduring the cold, he searched inside for over one sikgyeong. Then he finally found what he’d been looking for in the drawer next to the side-by-side placed armchairs.
It was a brocade pouch that fit snugly in Sansan’s slender hand.
“I, I found it.”
A faint smile rose and disappeared on Sansan’s face. He quickly shoved it inside his sleeping clothes. Then he retraced his path back out.
What caught Sansan, who had been walking quickly without lingering attachments, was the pear blossom tree that remained with only bare branches. How could that pretty, large tree have become like that—Sansan couldn’t take his eyes away with a distressed heart, thinking that tree was just like Sanwol.
The tree becoming like that, Sanwol becoming like that—it was all his fault. With his teeth clenched, Sansan hastened his steps again. Just like when he came, when returning he also wandered around the Six Palaces in circles for a long time, getting lost.
But he eventually returned to Mianggung Palace. Even if slower than others, even if taking a bit longer, if you don’t give up and keep trying, you can do it. Those were words Sanwol had often said to him.
Sansan quietly entered his bedchamber.
“Heu, c-cold……”
Immediately climbing onto the bed and pulling the thick gold brocade over himself, he gently caressed his feet that seemed frozen solid. They were covered in dirt everywhere with blood seeping out in places. Though those bare feet proved he’d gone out without wearing shoes, Sansan was completely unaware of this.
When his body warmed up a bit, he got up from the bed again and carefully drew the thick curtains all around. The moment he was certain he was completely alone, he finally took out the brocade pouch he’d kept in his chest again.
He traced the flower pattern with his fingertips a couple times, then took out the paper inside. When he unfolded the paper that had been folded several times, a clump of white powder appeared. Sansan dumped all of it into the water cup placed on the drawer at the head of the bed.
A while later, something dropped onto the water cup held in Sansan’s hand. It was a tear. Sansan, who seemed to hesitate a bit, soon gulped down all the water in the cup as if determined.
***
Mianggung Palace was turned upside down. Since early morning, Sansan had been vomiting continuously.
The palace people noticed something had gone wrong when they saw Sansan’s feet were covered in wounds, but decided to hide this for now. Yeongchae and a few others washed Sansan’s feet, applied medicine, and put thick socks on him.
“Where did you go in the middle of the night?”
“……No.”
“……You must have gone to relieve yourself at night and bumped your feet somewhere in the dark. Right? If His Majesty sees this for no reason, he’ll be angry, so it seems better not to take off the socks. Okay?”
“Mmhm.”
Yeongchae, with a pale face, coaxed her master who kept sweating cold sweat in this season. Sansan nodded obediently as always.
“By the way, did you eat something wrong? I think we should call the Imperial Physician…… This is already the fourth time, Mama.”
“I-I’m fine. I think I ate too much yesterday. I got greedy for no reason. There’s nothing more unseemly than being gluttonous, and I’m embarrassed others might find out. If I just sleep a little like this, I’ll be fine. Okay?”
Sansan desperately stopped Yeongchae. Yeongchae stared at such a Sansan with dubious eyes.
Of course, Sansan had eaten a lot of this and that yesterday. Sansan, who had lain down for a long while after receiving Imperial Physician Do’s treatment, requested breakfast himself and for once cleared it all. After that he only slept, then woke up at night and even finished every dish on the dinner table. Then he went straight to bed.
“……Then you must tell me if you feel really bad while resting, okay?”
It seemed like severe indigestion, but when he himself said he was fine, was there a need to call the physician for no reason and show he was sick?
When Sansan was sick, the only ones who suffered from the Emperor’s pressure until he fully recovered were the palace people who attended him closely. Yeongchae also had no desire to voluntarily escalate something that could quietly pass unnoticed. It was also a day when the Emperor hadn’t come.
Yeongchae, pretending to be reluctant, withdrew from the bedchamber leaving the exhausted Sansan. She thought it would all calm down after about two shichen. Until then, that is.
When Yeongchae felt things were truly going wrong, it was around the time Sinshi had almost passed. She’d waited thinking he’d get better once the vomiting stopped, but strangely Sansan’s body temperature only kept dropping. The palace people who had been clinging to Sansan, massaging his whole body trying to raise his temperature, finally gave up and called Imperial Physician Do.
“Mama, what did you eat?”
By this time, Sansan’s consciousness had already become hazy. Sansan couldn’t answer properly. Of course, even if his consciousness had been intact, he wouldn’t have answered correctly.
Not long after Imperial Physician Do arrived, the Emperor burst into the bedchamber, opening Miyang Gate as if smashing it.
“What on earth is going on?”
“I rushed over upon hearing that Mama’s condition was poor…… Your Majesty, though it is extremely presumptuous to say, overnight Mama’s liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys—all the internal organs’ qi and blood have become completely twisted. This subject has not yet ascertained the cause.”
“Move aside!”
The Emperor pushed Imperial Physician Do aside and lifted Sansan, who lay on the bed as if dead, supporting his collapsing upper body in his arms.
“San-ah, San-ah! Come to your senses. San-ah! Why are you like this? Hmm? San-ah, San-ah!”
Sansan had no strength to answer. He just swayed as the Emperor shook him. The palace people of Mianggung Palace, who had been watching nervously, all knelt on the floor with Yeongchae at the forefront.
“Your Majesty, these slaves have committed crimes worthy of death. The other day Mama overate, but since Mama insisted it was fine, we only thought that was so and waited. Please kill these slaves, Your Majesty.”
“Shut that mouth! How dare you just watch until your master became like this without even informing me? Overeating couldn’t cause this! Someone, drag all of them to Sinmyeongsa at once. Go there and torture them thoroughly until they spit out the truth.”
“Your, Your Majesty! Spare us! Mama, Mama! Spare us!”
“Spare us. Truly these slaves know nothing! Spare us. Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
As soon as the imperial command fell, Mianggung Palace’s palace people were dragged out screaming in a rush. The Emperor didn’t even glance at them, only shaking Sansan, trying to bring back that dim consciousness.
“San-ah, San-ah! Come to your senses. You must not lose consciousness. What did you eat wrong? Hmm?”
However, Sansan wouldn’t open his eyes at all.
***
“A few days ago, Wanui Han came and visited Mama.”
Following Lee Ja-yoon’s testimony, Wanui Han was sent to Sinmyeongsa.
“L-last night Mama went somewhere alone. But this slave also doesn’t know where he went. Spare me, spare me.”
Yeongchae, receiving torture, finally confessed her negligence. Her head was cut off.
“There are palace eunuchs who stand guard at night, but this slave also doesn’t know why they weren’t standing guard. This slave doesn’t know. This is unjust, unjust.”
The heads of several head eunuchs from the Internal Affairs Bureau who assigned and supervised the palace eunuchs’ duties were also cut off.
After that, countless tortures and false accusations continued. Innumerable people repeatedly pointed at each other and died. It was the second day of Sansan hovering between life and death.
Several physicians clung to him simultaneously and barely held onto his breath, but in truth there wasn’t a physician who didn’t know it was hopeless. Already all his qi and blood had been severed. Imperial Physician Do and all the physicians designated their direct disciples and wrote their wills in advance.
Sansan regained consciousness very occasionally. The Emperor, who had halted all government affairs, stayed by Sansan’s side and desperately asked every time he opened his eyes.
What did you eat, why did you go to Yeongnyeong Palace, who did you meet there, I won’t punish you so tell me. Who gave you what? San-ah, San-ah. Please tell me. This detestable! No, no, San-ah. I’m not trying to scold you. Come to your senses. Hmm? San-ah, Sansan-ah.
With a crazed face, the Emperor only kept calling for Sansan repeatedly.
Footnotes
2) Jarikki: Water prepared at the head of one’s bed to drink during the night.
3) Sinshi: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
