“Mama, this son will take his leave now. Let’s finish the conversation we were having at a later time.”
Though he’d stopped by to discuss the matter of appointing an Empress, looking at Yun’s face made him think it wasn’t the right day. At the Emperor’s appearance of standing up after not even being there long, the Grand Empress Dowager rose in confusion.
“Why are you leaving already? Since Yun is here for once, at least have a cup of tea together before you go.”
“He came to see Mama, so what would this son do interfering? Please rest. Then.”
The Emperor glanced at the troubled Grand Empress Dowager and turned around. Then suddenly he turned back again and gave his son another look. Yun, who had just stood up from his seat to give his respects to his father, met that gaze as if puzzled.
Having gone back in time, Yun, who hadn’t yet reached his coming of age, had already exceeded six cheok in height at only eighteen. The Emperor, who casually swept over the frame that resembled himself and the pretty face that probably resembled his birth mother, seemed to ponder for a moment but ultimately turned his back on Yun again without saying anything.
“Please go safely, Father Mama.”
Yun saw the Emperor off with impeccably proper and respectful etiquette. However, the Emperor had known about the resentment piled up inside him even before the incident occurred. That resentment had swallowed up everything about that child.
Of course, he could give advice. Since nothing had happened yet. But would it be meaningful? Wasn’t it a grudge that couldn’t be helped even with the Grand Empress Dowager’s sincere affection?
Such a thing—it would be meaningless for him to touch it when he had no particular affection. The Emperor concluded his judgment that way.
Not even knowing that his very coldness was what kept fanning the flames of anger in the child’s heart.
***
“Young master, young master Sansan—. Where are you? Yes? Please make some sound, please.”
The palace maids of Mianggung Palace had already been wandering around the imperial garden for well over a shichen. Scattered in groups of three to five, searching only secluded spots while unable to make loud noises in case it reached the Emperor’s ears.
“What should we do? What if we can’t find him before His Majesty comes for dinner?”
One young palace maid asked the palace maid standing next to her tearfully. The palace maid who was like an older sister to her squeezed her hand tightly and shook her head.
“They say words become seeds. Don’t even say such ominous words.”
Young master, young master. The palace maids moved away again, repeatedly calling for their master in low voices.
Around the time their backs had moved far into the distance, two shoe tips poked out slightly from behind a large rock and then went back in. It was Sansan.
Sansan, who had been crouching in the narrow space, quickly stretched out his tingling legs once and then hastily pulled them back to his chest again before anyone could see. Then he rested his chin on his gathered knees.
He’d wanted to be alone, but there was no place to be alone. So after eating lunch, Sansan just tossed out a word that he’d go for a brief walk while everyone was busy cleaning the palace, and fled to the imperial garden. He hadn’t returned since then until now. Even as time passed, he didn’t want to return to the palace.
Last night when he’d done strange things with the Emperor in the bathtub, the hole that had been poked here and there had ended up getting torn. The Emperor moved the crying Sansan who said it stung to the bed and personally applied medicine. With candles lit here and there, in front of all the palace servants.
The strange acts had also been done without dismissing the palace maids to begin with. Sansan was so ashamed of that entire process.
They must have all seen everything.
Feeling like tears would come out again, Sansan bit his lower lip hard. In truth, Sansan hadn’t wanted to show his lower parts without ovaries even to the person who would become his wife. To borrow his father’s words, it was one kind of cripple, so he wanted to hide it for his entire life if possible.
Even though he tried to hold back and hold back, when tears finally burst out and sniffling sounds were leaking out little by little. Again there was a rustling sound from behind the rock.
“Who are the Mianggung Palace people looking for?”
“You know, that young master…”
When one asked, the other answered in whispers. They were palace maids who had come out under the pretext of running errands for their masters but came to the imperial garden to kill time instead of returning right away.
“Well, they say His Majesty eats meals with him every day.”
“Really? Not attending to him from the side, but eating together?”
“That’s what they say. Since those people from Mianggung Palace chatter excitedly about it every day, there’s no way not to know.”
“His favor must be great. I heard he hasn’t even received bedding yet.”
“But I’m not really sure. Is it really favor?”
“You! This is the first time since entering the palace that I’ve heard His Majesty eat meals together with anyone. If that’s not favor, what is?”
“No, it’s that the young master’s father is in prison right now. They say the family was completely destroyed. Can that happen if he truly favors him? I don’t think so.”
“Really? That is a bit strange. Looking at the Mamas who received favor before, he rather elevated the status of their families…”
“That’s what I’m saying, aigoo—. But well, it’s none of our business. Who are we to worry about whom? Let’s go now. We’ll get scolded for being late.”
The palace maids left again, chattering to each other the whole time just as when they’d arrived.
Sansan, who had inadvertently overheard the conversation from behind the rock, was too shocked to know what to do. After blinking in a dazed state for a moment, he repeated the story he’d just heard in his head.
Father was in prison. And the family…
Destroyed? Was that the word? He didn’t know the term. It didn’t sound like a good thing. The sniffling sounds grew louder. Sansan, who had vigorously wiped his flowing tears with the back of his hand, finally stood up abruptly.
“Y-Your Majesty, where, where should I go…”
Muttering to himself incoherently, he crawled through the gaps in the kudzu vine branches that were tangled low between the two rocks. In the cold weather, the bare vines that hadn’t yet sprouted leaves were like tangled thorns. The branches scraped here and there on his white cheeks, making small scratches.
Perhaps because his heart was anxious, getting out was harder than getting in. Sansan had to struggle in a crawling position for quite a while. Then finally, when he’d pushed through all the vine branches and come out, Sansan, who was hurriedly standing up, collided violently with some silhouette that had just appeared around the rock.
“Auk!”
He tumbled backward and fell on his bottom. But there was no time to be in pain. Sansan tried to stand up again and run.
If only there hadn’t been a hand that roughly grabbed him and made him kneel.
“How insolent.”
“Ah, auk!”
“State which palace you belong to.”
At the force that roughly twisted his arm and pressed it down against the middle of his back, Sansan became completely flattened to the ground.
“Hey! Prince Yun is asking you a question, how can you not answer!”
The eunuch who had been pressing down on Sansan pressed him down once more with even stronger force, even though Sansan was already flattened against the dirt floor.
“Ahhh! It hurts. Please, let me go. Heuuk, I, I l-live in Mianggung Palace, ahut.”
“Mianggung Palace, you say?”
“Yes, yees. It hurts so much. Please, please forgive me.”
“Hmm… Soyunja. Lift that thing’s face so I can see it.”
The eunuch grabbed Sansan’s half-tied hair with his other hand and pulled it up. Sansan, whose head was forcibly lifted, looked up at the man standing like a post in front of him with wet vision.
The face of the man standing with his back to the midday sunlight was completely hidden in shadow and invisible. Instead, he could tell it was a very tall man. Though not as much as the Emperor, it was a build large enough to frighten Sansan.
“I-I was wrong. Please forgive me, okay?”
Sansan begged indiscriminately without even knowing what he’d done wrong to end up like this. He was afraid of being kicked by those feet.
“So the one Father Mama bestowed Mianggung Palace upon was such a young girl?”
“I-I’m a m—”
“Y-young master! Young master!”
Just as Sansan was about to protest that he wasn’t a girl, two palace maids came running from over there, loudly calling for young master.
“Huff, huff. Wh-what is this!”
The two palace maids who had quickly approached looked alternately at their master lying on the ground and the person standing with hands behind his back in front of him. Then with expressions of dismay, they knelt on the ground with a thud.
“We greet Prince Yun. May Prince Yun live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years.”
“We greet Prince Yun. May Prince Yun live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years.”
“So you’re palace servants from Mianggung Palace.”
Of the two palace maids, the one who was a bit older crawled forward slightly and opened her mouth.
“Yes, that is so. If we may ask, what wrong has our young master committed?”
Young master, is it. Yun muttered quietly and curved the corner of his mouth slightly.
Footnotes
Six Cheok (육척) – Height measurement (~180cm)
Father Mama (아바마마) – Formal address for father/Emperor
