After waiting and waiting, when he anxiously glanced his eyes upward, he made direct eye contact with the Emperor who had been staring at him intently. It was also then that the Emperor snorted.
“What marriage for a eunuch?”
“Huh? H-how did you know?”
He seemed to have forgotten that he’d been completely naked last night. Of course, even if that weren’t the case, he’d already been impregnated and had a child before, so such a reaction was peculiar. No matter that he himself had no memory of it.
Unable to know such circumstances, Sansan became tearful, thinking that being a eunuch was so obvious just from looking.
“I-I’m a eunuch, but still, he said he’d take me as a son-in-law…”
However, that person’s head had been cut off last night. At the old man’s severed face that flashed like lightning, Sansan unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.
“The reason you have no ovaries is because you are a Cheonin. Since you were originally born to carry a Yang-in’s seed, you don’t need seed so you have no ovaries—don’t be ashamed of that anymore.”
“…”
“And if you mention marriage or anything like that again next time, I won’t overlook it and will have you whipped. You should behave well while I’m being lenient. How dare you—when Zhen has publicly declared that he will give you his seed, to whom could you possibly marry? Stay quietly in the palace and properly learn how to revere the Emperor.”
The Emperor spoke while lifting Sansan’s chin with his finger. Though he didn’t understand everything the Emperor had said, Sansan, who had roughly sensed how the situation was going, barely held back his desire to cry and opened his mouth again. He still had a lingering desire to deny the situation.
“…Then, wh-when can I go home?”
“Why do you keep playing dumb and feigning ignorance? Zhen knows full well what Head Court Lady Gwak already told you. From now on, the palace is your home. You will be buried in the palace even after death, so you can never return. Forget everything you left behind. From now on, think only of Zhen—that’s what I’m saying.”
Sansan’s heart dropped straight to the floor.
***
**10. Those Who Wait**
“And thus the taxation system came to be as it is now. If His Majesty had not poured such determination into the tax reform at the beginning of the year, there would still be countless people starving and fleeing to the mountains and seas. With the people’s livelihood stabilized as never before and even the imperial household’s financial foundation solidified, it is truly a natural result that everyone now praises His Majesty as a sage ruler.”
Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince Yeom Yeong had been lecturing intensely since early morning with Sansan seated before him. His assigned task was to inform Sansan one by one of Emperor Yeonghwi’s achievements from his ascension to the throne until today, and to make him memorize them.
When the lecture began, Sansan’s eyes always sparkled brightly. However, he usually couldn’t last even half a shichen. Even when explained as simply as possible, more than half was incomprehensible talk, and sitting still without moving for several shichen was practically torture for Sansan.
In truth, Sansan had been dozing off since earlier. Yeom Yeong, who remembered how Sansan had struggled to keep his bloodshot eyes wide open, felt sorry for him. Having stopped his lecture for a moment, he cleared his throat with an ahem, then scratched his eyebrow unnecessarily before opening his mouth again.
“Shall we take a short break, young master?”
The story of eradicating pirates to secure safe sea routes, efficient control of local officials through strengthening central administrative functions, protection of the people through strict legislation and enforcement, and even bold tax reform and purges of corrupt officials.
It seemed he’d covered too much material since morning. Even though Yeom Yeong had learned of Sansan’s condition in advance, since he had no experience teaching such people, there were bound to be inadequacies.
“…I’m sorry, Grand Tutor.”
Sansan, who had woken from his doze, smiled sheepishly with an embarrassed face. Looking at the gentle Sansan, Yeom Yeong felt a complicated feeling settle in one corner of his heart.
“Not at all, young master. Let’s rest a bit and then proceed more slowly.”
Myeong-ok, who had been watching how things were going, immediately had the palace maids bring in gwapyeon and cold tea as if she’d been waiting. Since the Emperor would come to have lunch in about half a shichen, she prepared just enough to tide him over without being excessive.
Sansan picked at the gwapyeon placed before him bit by bit and ate it well. It was because the gwapyeon made from strawberries and tangerines tasted so good.
On days when Mother’s heart was unusually generous for some reason and there was plenty to eat at home, Sanwol would occasionally read the mood and make gwapyeon for him, but even so, this was the first time he’d eaten gwapyeon this delicious since coming to the palace. He didn’t know how it could suit his taste so perfectly.
‘Our Wol-i would really love it if I brought some to her…’
Looking at the completely emptied gwapyeon bowl with lingering eyes, Sansan thought that.
“From now on, the palace is your home. You will be buried in the palace even after death, so you can never return. Forget everything you left behind.”
Sansan’s eyes, which had sparkled momentarily while eating snacks, quickly sank again with a gloomy energy.
That day, the Emperor had stared at Sansan who only shed tears for a long while, then left him there and went out. It was the same afterward. Whenever he tried to bring up similar words, the Emperor would get angry and whoosh, leave, so there was absolutely nothing he could do.
So Sansan was eating, sleeping, and studying at Mianggung Palace as the Emperor ordered. In truth, there were quite a few aspects of living in the palace that were novel and good.
First of all, he could eat three meals a day, and they were feasts with meat side dishes at every meal. No one scolded him for eating a lot, and the Emperor even placed side dishes on his rice, telling him to eat more.
Also, he didn’t know what cold was at night and dawn. The gold-embroidered bedding on the bed was heavy with plump cotton stuffed full, and on top of that there was soft fur laid down, plus the thick silk curtains surrounding the canopy bed and even a brazier. Far from being cold, he’d even kicked off the gold-embroidered bedding in his sleep because he was hot.
For Sansan, who in seasons like this with lingering cold always slept with Sanwol overlapping their blankets to cover themselves with two layers, this was truly a new world.
Also, being given an education was really good. Of course, though he’d learned this and that from Sanwol, having a tutor and studying with a specific subject like history or yin-yang decided was the first time in his life.
Though it was too difficult and sometimes he wanted to run away, that was all due to his own lack of patience, not because he disliked studying.
But even so.
Sansan wanted to go home. All the good treatment he was receiving for the first time in his life was like clothes that didn’t fit, and he thought only of Sanwol every moment. When eating delicious things, when he lay in a warm bed but couldn’t fall asleep, he thought of his younger sister.
He wished it had been Sanwol in this position instead of him. If it had been Sanwol, all this treatment would have suited her like her own clothes. After thinking that once, his heart became even more uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, watching the dejected Sansan, Yeom Yeong was recalling the Emperor’s request.
“He’s a foolish thing who lived confined only to his room, so there’s far too much he doesn’t know. He only knows that Zhen is the Emperor, but doesn’t know what kind of Emperor, why he should be revered, and how great an honor it is to serve such an Emperor—he doesn’t properly know a single thing. Sit him down and teach him everything so he understands. If he doesn’t understand well, teach him repeatedly until he memorizes it. Do you understand?”
Yeom Yeong barely suppressed a sigh that was about to burst out. Of course, the Emperor was excellent as an emperor. He dared to assert that he was the greatest person of this era who combined both civil and martial arts.
But as a man, he seemed quite lacking. Yeom Yeong unconsciously shook his head from side to side.
Having risen to Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince through his wisdom, even without much effort he easily grasped the Emperor’s intention in telling him to teach this young lord before him about his greatness. It meant to simply brainwash him to devote his whole heart to the Emperor.
As someone who received the imperial household’s salary, if the Emperor said to do it, what choice did he have but to do it, but having to do so to a young lord this innocent and who happened to be a bit more lacking than normal was truly not something he wanted to do.
“This is my first time having a tutor. I’m so grateful. After we eat lunch, I absolutely won’t doze off. Truly!”
At Sansan greeting him like that as he finished the morning class, Yeom Yeong’s conscience pricked again today. So he barely acknowledged the greeting and hurriedly escaped from Mianggung Palace. His reluctance to face the Emperor was also great.
