"So daughter, I see that you have managed to already make a mess of your one and only advantageous marriage, just as we were coming to you to make a match for your siblings as well!" "Slow down mother, I am being sent off as a concubine to the man who will marry The Princess and…" "So we still have the chance to find parings for your siblings? The ones with titles from rich families, and the ones who actually work like you ex=husband rather than the lazy ones who just flounder around in brothels and…""Ok, ok mother! I understand! I have just returned to my chambers for goodness sake, can you give me a few minutes to collect myself!" "Is that how they teach you to talk to your parents, child!" "Or maybe you should teach your children some skills instead of being dependant on other people! Humans are not naturally reliable people and…" "Oh please! Who do you see amongst the noble folk that teach their own children? They have tutors for that and I am sorry if we could never afford that for you, that is why we are…." "Seo Yeon was brought up in poverty ever since birth, and yet she is proficient in the Chinese language, she has the manners and etiquettes of a noble woman and her face…it is unlike any other maid that I have ever come across! It is anything but plain and…no wonder The Lord Nam is enchanted by her, but each and every single day? He doesn't get bored of her like other men do if they were stuck with one wan for the rest of their lives…!" "Who are you mumbling about now, child! Why don't you just…" Coming here to this yangban was the only proper break that I got to take from my leech of a family, tis degenerate family of mine who sent me to work as a mid as soon as I could walk and only came to find me to take away my earnings, and now here my mother was, looking over at my gifts whilst my ageing father slept soundly in my bed without a care for anyone in the world apart from himself.
"…it is already an honour for us to leisure around with the gifts that The Lord Nam provided for us, so I suppose that you would not mind if I take a look at your remaining gifts, do you?" "Mother! I need them to take with me, otherwise what prestige will I have when I am in the palace! The Princess is already quite obsessed with The Young Master Nam and she will spare nothing to torture me if I do not show off some wealth…!" "And you can always get some more from your husband you dimwit! Honestly! You know how to do everything but seduce a man, don't you! You stupid little…" Seduce? I wonder who seduced whom first? Was it really The Lord Nam who seduced his best friends sister first? It was the one and only time that I had seen…well, heard of any lust in the man; when it was any circumstance that was related to her. Or…was it Seo Yeon who seduced her brother's best friend first? I was told of the crush she had on him in their childhoods, and yet she was really rather reserved with her husband in front of us. She wouldn't do anything more than hold his hand or his arm in front anyone, but they both continued to stare at each other all damned day long! A beauty who kept staring at you like that, I wonder which man could not help but feel special or aroused even. Maybe it was her who seduced him from the start, but who knows? I didn't even know their full story, so how could I even hope to compete with her?
"…your father still has the awful habit of gambling and drinking with his old friends and he does still owe some debt and…" "Men who have no money in the first place have no rights to create debts over some damned games! My siblings are still living in filth over our father being ripped off every single week and you still only pay attention to my brothers when you can remember to do even that!" That was indeed my mother; an old hag with no filter for her mouth and her unruly mind! I already knew that she sold the gifts my husband gave her to feed my fathers various vices so that she didn't have to suffer anymore beatings from him! And my poor siblings…I should have not have forgotten about them. I should have had a stash of gold put away for them in my absence long ago….or maybe it wasn't too late? Who said that I would be sent off as soon as my husband came home? There were so many preparations to make and officials from the palace to deal with on behalf of The Princess that I should still be here for an entire week or so. That gave me plenty of time to get back on my feet and fix my mistakes so maybe I would not have to leave this home at all. Yes it was cold and lonely without his personal presence, but I could at least try to catch glimpses of him when I could just to observe him when I could. I could watch him train himself every single morning just before dawn before he headed off to work, I could smell the eggs that he had for breakfast every single morning and I could see him sneaking into his quarters and out again with the books that his wife kept on buying every few weeks and reading them so seriously that he hated being disturbed. In fact, it was the only time that he dismissed the servants around him….yes, it was the only time indeed when he had his guard completely down…
"My Lady? The Big Madame Nam calls upon your parents for a meal altogether to discuss your future and their plans and…" "Very well, take them away and hey can use the sedan chair for my father, since I will use it anyways. And as for myself, I wish to retire to bed, I have a lot on my plate right now, and…"
"…my my, this sure looks different from when I am walking on the ground like the other common folk that I am typically surrounded by! But now I have a nice sedan chair and clothes to match and I can be comfortable as I am carried here and there! I have such a nice view and sturdy servants to rely on now; I just hope that my useless daughter will not mess up a second time and make me loose all of this comfort that I deserve! The Lord nam must have greatly favoured my dear daughter to gift here all that she has now!" "Yes Madame, you have birthed a good daughter with a great fate indeed. Please step over here and pay your respects to the family before you sit with them." "Pay my respects! But we are of the same age with the same status now, so why should I have to pay my respects to them at all!" "Madame! They are from a century old clan, and therefore…" "Less talking and more walking! Let us go quickly before we miss our expensive meal! And my very first, as well! I wonder what it will taste like! My daughter's chambers has draws filled up with pearls and jade pieces and so on! I even think she has the same gifs as the main wife does! And she always generously gifts me all of it!" "Madame, please keep your voice down! The Nam's detest loud people!" "…all my of life, I have never sene such precious gifs before! If I hadn't birthed her, then where else would we get a taste of such expense! So she should be more devoted to me and help out her family, just like every other daughter does, isn't that right slave?" "My Lady!" "It is just a matter of time when my daughter gives me a grandchild, and then…"
"…And just what on earth are all of the servants doing here! Do you have any idea who I am?" "Men, arrest the concubine in front of us and carry out the orders to search her chambers extensively!" "You arrogant animal! How dare you search a woman's chambers without a warrant! My husband is…" "It is his family who have made the allegations about you My Lady! So if you find our service unsatisfactory, then you can take up the matter with them! Now step aside!" "His family? The Nam family? What on earth…"
"…Good afternoon Madame…" "My Lady; you are of unknown origins and of lowly status, so I have no interest and getting to know you at all. You are excluded from our lunch banquet, and will remain standing during our integration, is that clear to you?" "What? Interrogation? Lowly status? But my daughter…." "My daughter's nephew always take care of those who looks after his wife in his absence, that is how deeply infatuated he is with his wife, but that is another story for another time. Now then, let us get straight to the point shall we? Do you recognise these peculiar dolls in front of you?" "Dolls? What would I know about such things? And such ugly ones at that as well." "Indeed they are such ugly dolls that somebody in our household found appropriate to place in all corners, right near specific bedchambers! Do you still feign ignorance before us!" "Madame! I have absolutely no idea what is going on here! This is only my second time in this yangban and I have never left my daughter's quarters…!" "There are specific birthdates that are written on these fabric dolls…" "But I am illiterate…!" "It just so happens to be our daughter=in=law's birthdate! We have already had a person of the temple take a look at it and we have come to discover that the dolls have bloated bellies pinned full by silver needles! If this is not witchcraft, then I do not know what is! You are deliberately trying to kill our daughter=in=law who has finally borne us some fruit, all because of your own daughter's inability to gain favour from our grand=nephew!" "Madame! Are you implying that I am a witch of some sort upon our first ever meeting! Just because I am a lowborn, it does not mean that I shall become your pawn in whatever dirty work you are involved in! And in doing so, I met certainly shall not allow you to tarnish my daughter's reputation upon entering the palace! Now let me out of here! Let me go!" "Your spells are so dangerous that they can certainly cause lifelong infertility! How can we let a suspect like you go since you are the only one in this household with a motive to do such evil! Harming others to die is already a heavy crime, so I shall see what becomes of you with the charge of witchcraft!" "You cannot do this to me! I am innocent!" "Lifelong infinity to cut off future heirs is a crime punishable for up to 9 generations! Your whole family will pay for your crime!" "You corrupt bitch! You just want to eradicate every lowborn that you come across, don't you!" "Well I cannot really deny that, and neither can your daughter when we find more evidence in her quarters. Now, will you want to give up now, or shall we drag your girl by the hair over here to account for your crimes? Forget the palace, your family will have nowhere to hide in the village of mine! I know every single family here well enough to know if they are hiding refugees or not!" "Refugees? I was born in this land along with my children and my husband! Who exactly are you calling a refugee!" "So tell me, has your daughter found happiness to have been so bold to act on this heinous crime, even though she has no backers here? Even The Mistress Han has dropped her as soon as she realised her worth and…" "The Mistress Han…?" "…and the fact that you leech off of your daughter's rewards really doesn't help you at all! We have already confiscated everything back off of you when we call the General Inspectors to do a thorough public investigation into your case." "Public…" "Your daughter can never escape suspicion and doubt once all of this is over; so what do you want to do? Will you take the fall for your daughter or shall we drag her into this and ruin her life until the day she finally gives up on herself?"