YCHW Ch 71

“Your Majesty. They say a young tree has withered and they are planting a new one. Is there a particular species you desire?”

“No. I do not know much about trees, so please take care of it.”

Even if they were called trees, they would all be small, ornamental ones. Although he knew that it was a rule not to plant large trees to prevent the threat of assassination, he was still disappointed.

He thought of the zelkova tree where he had taken shelter from the rain with Hwi, and the hackberry tree from which a swing had been tied. The magnificence of the giant trees, lush and green with leaves.

The sunlight pouring in from the open window was quite warm. Yoonso stared blankly at the scenery, which clearly showed that early summer was approaching. The gap between the changing of seasons was extremely short, so now it would reach the middle of summer in the blink of an eye.

As he was contemplating the flow of the seasons, a eunuch announced the arrival of the concubines. Yoonso straightened his back and greeted those who entered.

“Today, I wish to make a proposal. What do you think of creating an opportunity for the Gwi-ins who have not yet blossomed to interact with the Yongrin?”

“May I ask what intention you hold?”

“I have checked the records of past pairings, and there were a few cases where Gwi-ins who had just blossomed were afraid of copulating. Since the Yeongchunhwa have minimal contact with the Yongrin and maintain their distance until they blossom, I believe it is inevitable that they find them unfamiliar, even though they are taught to protect the Yongrin. So, would it not be good to give the Gwi-ins time to grow close to them from a young age and open their hearts?”

Hyunbi lowered her eyes and fell silent as if carefully considering Yoonso’s proposal, then she spoke.

“I understand Your Majesty’s profound wisdom, but this could have side effects.”

“What side effects do you speak of?”

“Isolating the Yongrin and the Yeongchunhwa is also to prevent the Yongrin from taking the Yeongchunhwa as they please, but it is also to guard against them falling in love. If one falls in love at a young age, they may become reluctant to mate with a Yongrin other than that person. Or, a Yongrin with ulterior motives might emerge, aiming for just that.”

Yoonso slowly nodded his head. It seemed that in the end, all problems that arose between the Yongrin and the Yeongchunhwa came down to the human heart. This also meant that it was difficult to find an excellent solution.

“Armchair theorizing is truly easy, is it not?”

Yi Sowon, who had been crestfallen ever since his slip of the tongue, finally seemed to have straightened his shoulders and threw in a comment. Yoonso pictured a small puppy, growling preemptively because of its size, over Yi Sowon’s face and glanced at him.

“If Yi Sowon has a wise opinion, I can listen closely.”

Yi Sowon pursed his lips coyly. With his baby fat not yet gone, his cheeks were still plump and fair. If only he wasn’t so sarcastic, he would be truly cute… Yoonso swallowed a sigh and turned back to Hyunbi.

“Then, spending a long time together would be out of the question.”

“When the time comes and they go to the Hell Picture and witness the reality, they too will be able to accept their grave duty, so please do not worry.”

“…I see.”

As someone who had not yet even set foot in the Hell Picture, Yoonso could not add anything else. Just as he was about to conclude that they should contemplate this topic a little more, a voice spoke.

“Forgive me, but my humble opinion is different. The Yongrin are also more at ease when receiving treatment from Gwi-ins they are close to, and it is more welcome for them to volunteer from the heart rather than to accept it as an unavoidable necessity for state affairs. Especially the Gwi-ins who have just come of age and…”

“How rude. This is not the place for Captain Jang to interject.”

Hyunbi cut off Huije’s words coldly and firmly, but Huije, though somewhat deflated, did not back down.

“However, Your Highness, do you not also pity the Gwi-ins and cherish them more than anyone? Yet you always speak in such a way, I worry that no one will know your heart…”

“That is also not your concern, so know your place.”

Hyunbi glared at Huije, her eyes creased. The corners of Huije’s eyes, which were long and slanted downwards, always made her look as if she were smiling, but her expression instantly fell. She then bowed her head deeply and stepped back.

“I am sorry for my rudeness. Please, forgive me.”

Her hair, tied up high and swishing in the air, looked like the drooping tail of a dog. Except for when she had stopped Yi Sowon’s verbal gaffe, this was the first time Hyunbi had revealed her displeasure so directly, so for some reason, Yoonso anxiously looked back and forth between the two.

Hyunbi’s face returned to its usual placid expression as if she had never been angry. Yoonso cleared his throat and began.

“Well… it would be good to contemplate a little more whether there might be a better way regarding this matter. Now, let us stop here and rise.”

Since they had planned to look around the Yeong-won together today, it seemed like a good idea to move a little earlier to change the atmosphere. Yoonso left the Ja-yeongjeon with the concubines.

The sunlight was warm. The sky was clear and bright, making him want to take these people on an outing. As he walked, scattering the wish that would only end as a wish, he saw court ladies gathered in the flowerbed. It seemed they were now replacing the withered tree.

What kind of tree was that, he wondered idly, and was about to look away.

“What is this!”

One of the court ladies suddenly shrieked, drawing everyone’s attention. As all the court ladies surrounding the flowerbed froze, Court Lady Jo approached.

“What is it?”

“M-my, My Lady, here, th-this, a doll…!”

A doll? Yoonso followed behind Court Lady Jo with a puzzled expression. Reaching the flowerbed and confirming the object the court lady was pointing at, Court Lady Jo’s face became deathly pale. She immediately dropped to her knees, and the other court ladies followed suit, lowering their postures.

The courtyard instantly became as quiet as if it had been doused with cold water. Yoonso, hurrying to the flowerbed at the strange sight, discovered a single, dirt-covered doll that had just been unearthed.

A piece of paper with two characters written on it was attached to the human-shaped straw doll, and several needles were brutally stuck into it. Yoonso, without any agitation, looked down at the characters with a seemingly placid face and asked Court Lady Jo.

“Whose character is this?”

The older court ladies were dumbfounded, and the younger ones looked as if they had knelt without knowing what was going on. Just as Yoonso was about to ask the bewildered-looking Court Lady Jo again.

“The Emperor’s…”

Turning his head toward the voice, Hyunbi continued to speak without taking her eyes off the doll.

“childhood name.”

Yi Sowon gasped, clamping a hand over his mouth. Seongbin, even in the midst of this, showed no expression and was simply looking down impassively.

Yoonso’s eyelids closed slowly as if collapsing, then lifted. Yoonso once again checked the characters on the paper, where needles had been stuck with the clear purpose of a curse.

「永莞」

Yeong-wan.

Wan…

Wan.

The flow of the air felt as if it could be clearly perceived through his cheeks. Even though he was standing properly in place, the world spun before his eyes as if it were turning upside down.

Yoonso turned a half-circle, his gaze piercing through to the court ladies seated in a row behind him, and among them, to Wan, who was maintaining a peace that was solemn to the point of being grave. His empty pupils lost their way and dropped downwards.

He couldn’t believe it at all and still didn’t understand, but the person who had to sort out this situation was none other than himself. Yoonso’s lips parted several times before he pressed a hand to his forehead.

With so many witnesses, it was impossible to hide this matter. Cursing the emperor, even without opening the law books, was clearly high treason. The doll was found in his courtyard, he himself wrote those characters, and the point of the knife was aimed at him. To try to conceal and downplay it would be tantamount to admitting guilt.

“First… call the people from the Ministry of Justice and have them investigate this matter to reveal the whole truth of the incident.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The Emperor… must also be informed of everything.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

No one dared to say a word. It was an unprecedented situation where a doll cursing the emperor was discovered in the empress’s palace, so it was only natural.

Yoonso tried to retrace how things had come to this step by step, but realizing it was useless for now, he stopped. Only Wan’s resolute face, saying she could do anything for her family, came to mind, and a hollow sigh vanished inside his mouth.

If he revealed that he had written the name characters for Wan, Wan would not be able to avoid punishment in any way. Should he then pretend he knew nothing about it? But the handwriting for ‘Wan’ was clearly his own. ‘Yeong’ was written in imitation, but in any case, if they compared the handwriting…

Wan wouldn’t have done it alone; there must be a mastermind behind it. Was she threatened? Could he coax Wan and turn the arrow toward that mastermind? His head felt like it would break from racking his brain on how to clear his name and save Wan as well.

Before long, officials from the Ministry of Justice entered the Jiseogung. They paid their respects politely to Yoonso and then confirmed the doll. And at that moment, Wan shot to her feet, came before the assembly, and prostrated herself before anyone could stop her.

“I-I, under the command of Her Majesty the Empress, buried the doll there. I have committed a crime punishable by death! I beg you to spare my life!”