Episode 3. Did You Strike Our Young Lady?
For lunch, colorful noodles garnished with bright toppings were served, and for dessert there was jeonggwa—lotus root and chestnuts simmered in grain syrup.
"Geoga court lady."
The Head Court Lady of the Royal Cuisine was respectfully attending to the meal beside Hongwi when Hongwi called out to Yoonseo, who was lying prostrate in front of her.
"Yes, Young Lady."
"Eat this."
Remembering her earlier promise to give her some jeonggwa, Hongwi pointed at the plate holding the sweets.
"…Yes, Young Lady. Thank you."
What a good child, our Hongwi.
That afternoon the entire palace seemed restless.
"His Majesty returns to the palace tomorrow. The gisaeng from the Court Music Bureau will sing, and performers will show all sorts of talents to welcome him. Everyone's rushing to watch—from the Six Ministries Street all the way past Dongdaemun. They say it's packed with people already."
Such a good spectacle, but we can't go out to see it. If only we were on the night shift, we could sneak out. Yun-ga said this with a face full of regret.
But to Yoonseo—a modern person who had experienced everything from concerts to movies and all kinds of dazzling and bizarre entertainment—things like a gisaeng's song or a clown doing handstands were hardly exciting.
With an uninterested expression, Yoonseo made a suggestion to Hongwi.
"Young Lady, shall we play fishing?"
If she stayed still any longer, she felt like she might collapse face-down and fall asleep.
"Let's fish. And play throwing-rocks too."
Hongwi bounced up and down on her short legs.
The cloth tied around her head fluttered lightly, and the child's eyes sparkled like jewels.
Seeing the child glowing with such vitality made Yoonseo's chest tighten with emotion again.
So she deliberately muttered gruffly.
"Brat… ridiculously cute."
Still, whenever she had a moment, Yoonseo ran to the privy.
Entering the small latrine in a corner of the Eastern Palace, she first opened the mouth of the five-colored silk pouch tied to her waist.
Then she pulled out the gold ring—still sticky with clumps of pine pollen for some reason—and tried putting it on the fourth finger for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
It seemed it simply wouldn't work during the day.
Come to think of it, she remembered the Crown Prince Lee Hyang mentioning something about Jinseong last night.
He had said the Jinseong star had shone brightly.
So perhaps when that star shone brightly again, putting the ring on would send her back.
Holding on to that hope, Yoonseo trudged back toward Hongwi's residence.
"Ah!"
Seeing a group of court ladies and maids approaching from the front made her back stiffen with tension and cold sweat run down her spine.
It was the reflexive fear response of the body of "Court Lady Kwon."
Wondering what could make this body so tense, she looked closely.
From the other side, one maid saw Yoonseo and hurriedly ducked behind another taller maid.
"!"
That was her.
That maid had been the one who, yesterday afternoon, had handed several pine-pollen dasik to "Court Lady Kwon," saying she had gotten them from the outer kitchen.
The gluttonous Court Lady Kwon had placed them in this silk pouch, then eaten them behind the paper door after Hongwi had fallen asleep.
With the feeling of her stomach burning, she had thought, I'm dying.
As her last act, Court Lady Kwon had crawled to Hongwi's side, thinking she would at least see her Young Lady's face once more before dying.
At the moment her consciousness faded, Court Lady Kwon had sobbed and muttered,
"Our poor young lady… ah, our poor young lady."
The grief of Court Lady Kwon, who loved the little Royal Grandson like her own child and had to die leaving her behind—
And the resentment of the Crown Princess trapped within the ring, who wanted to prevent her son's tragedy—
Resonated across time and space.
And strangely enough, Yoonseo's soul had been pulled into the dead body of Court Lady Kwon.
The group of court ladies and maids passed by Yoonseo in a rush.
The middle-aged court lady wearing a green dangui glared at Yoonseo—who was standing blankly without even offering a greeting—and walked past.
Her look seemed to say she was letting it go only because she was busy.
Should I grab her and beat the truth out of her?
No.
There was no proof.
Well, there was evidence—but these crumbs wouldn't serve as decisive proof.
But someday, you will die by my hand.
Using every piece of knowledge she possessed, she would uncover the truth and catch her.
With a chilling gaze, Yoonseo stared at the back of the maid's head as she hurried away at the very rear of the group.
And with a heavy heart, she realized that the shadow of death had already begun hovering over Hongwi.
"Let's fish!"
When Yoonseo returned to the hall, Hongwi—standing on the wooden floor—brightly shouted in delight.
Yoonseo tied thick thread to a long tree branch that the errand boy Bangja had found. She attached a small stone to the end for weight and placed it in Hongwi's hands.
"Throw it toward the middle of the pond."
The pavilion where Hongwi lived had a structure similar to the inner quarters of a noble household.
Square walls surrounded it on all sides, and in the center of the north side stood the main building—Hongwi's sleeping chamber and study separated by a wooden hall.
Servants like Bangja and the female attendants who ran errands and did various chores lived in small rooms in the outer corridor beside the gate.
And on the eastern side of the spacious courtyard was a small pond.
When Hongwi announced she would play fishing, not only Nursemaid Yun-ga but also the maids responsible for cleaning, laundry, candles, and lanterns—and even the servants—came out to watch.
Hongwi gripped the stick tightly, bending and straightening her short legs as she prepared to cast the line.
"Fishy, here I come!"
Calling out to the fish in her childish lisp, the Royal Grandson cast the line.
The colorful carp scattered quickly into the water plants.
Watching them, Hongwi clapped her hands and burst into delighted laughter.
Hearing the adorable laughter of the little child, the watching maids and servants cheered and applauded.
"How splendid, Young Lady!"
"Throw it again!"
Proudly, Hongwi bent and straightened her legs again, preparing for another cast.
"You… when did you learn how to play so well with the Young Lady like that?"
Nursemaid Yun-ga looked at Yoonseo with suspicion.
Her gaze seemed to say: You used to be a bit dull—why are your eyes suddenly shining like this? Did you eat something strange?
Because the soul inside had changed.
Since she couldn't say that, Yoonseo simply gave a vague smile and looked back at Hongwi.
"What are you doing?"
From the gate, two boys about five or six years old entered, each followed by a line of maids behind them.
The boys were young royals, dressed in dark purple danryeong robes with golden belts tied around their waists.
"Have you arrived, Young Lord of Myeongrye Palace? Young Lord of Huirak Hall?"
Nursemaid Yun-ga hurried forward and bowed deeply.
The other palace servants also bowed low in greeting.
Who are they?
As Yoonseo wondered, knowledge related to them surfaced naturally in her mind.
The Young Lord of Myeongrye Palace refers to Dowon-gun, the eldest son of Grand Prince Suyang. The Young Lord of Huirak Hall refers to Damyang-gun, the youngest son of Lady Kim, the king's favored concubine.
Lady Kim would later become Royal Noble Consort Shinbin Kim.
Shinbin Kim would rise to become King Sejong's most beloved concubine—someone who climbed from a slave of the Inner Treasury Office to the highest rank of First-Grade Consort.
Historical knowledge she had carefully studied because of Crown Princess Kwon and King Danjong flashed through Yoonseo's mind.
I shouldn't have studied history. Knowing all this must be why I got thrown here!
Irritation rose again, but her body had already moved on its own toward Hongwi.
She had clearly seen Hongwi shrink her shoulders upon seeing those two boys.
"Our Hongwi is fishing. Big brother will help you."
Unexpectedly, Dowon-gun behaved maturely, acting like an older brother while helping Hongwi fish.
"The fish are coming!"
Damyang-gun—Lady Shinbin's youngest son—ran to the opposite side and stomped his feet, sending the fish hiding in the reeds swimming toward the Royal Grandson.
Dowon-gun stood behind Hongwi, placing his hands over hers as she held the fishing rod, swinging the stone-weighted line through the air.
Hongwi doesn't seem to like this very much.
In case anything happened, Yoonseo stepped closer, ready to pull Hongwi away from Dowon-gun's grasp.
The fishing line struck the pond's surface forcefully.
"Wahaha!"
The children clapped their hands with delight.
Hongwi's eyes trembled slightly, the corners of her mouth twitching.
It was nothing like the carefree smile she had shown earlier.
It was an anxious smile.
You must be the cause.
Yoonseo carefully observed Dowon-gun's expression.
Even his eyes aren't smiling. That tiny brat already knows how to fake a smile with just the corners of his mouth.
Dowon-gun had been the royal family's first grandchild, receiving enormous affection before Hongwi was born.
Unlike Crown Prince Lee Hyang—whose carefully chosen crown princesses had both been deposed for jealousy and same-sex affairs, leaving him unlucky in marriage—
Grand Prince Suyang had married a girl from the immensely wealthy Yun family of Hanyang and presented King Sejong and his queen with the long-awaited first grandchild.
When Hongwi was born, what must that child have felt—after monopolizing the elders' affection?
Even among siblings, the birth of a younger child can cause enough stress to make the older one regress like a baby.
But here, the cousin who had been born was the Royal Grandson destined to inherit the throne.
And Dowon-gun was none other than the eldest son of Grand Prince Suyang.
When boys of five or six play together, they instinctively try to establish a hierarchy.
If that instinct turns toward our Hongwi…
Yoonseo stood close enough to grab Hongwi in a single step, her nerves completely on edge.
This time Damyang-gun took the fishing rod from Hongwi.
"Watch carefully. You spin it like this."
He swung the fishing line high through the air.
"Oh my, the young lords have arrived. Go bring some refreshments and sweet rice drink."
Court Lady Park, who had appeared before anyone noticed, instructed the servant Bangja.
The children soon dropped the fishing rod and began splashing pond water at one another in playful chaos.
With Court Lady Kwon firmly guarding her side, Hongwi shed her earlier anxiety and ran around on her short legs, splashing water too.
"There's steamed rice cake and surichwi rice cake here. Have a bite while you play."
When Court Lady Park called out, the gluttonous body of Court Lady Kwon reflexively moved from Hongwi toward the small tray piled with rice cakes.
And in that single moment when Yoonseo looked away—
Hongwi came running toward her, clutching her head and on the verge of tears.
"Anajeo… anajeo…"
Her lips trembled sorrowfully.
At that moment Yoonseo felt a burning pain in her chest.
"Young Lady, what happened?"
Yoonseo consciously tried to ask gently.
In her normal life, Yoonseo had been a psychologist known as "Overly Kind Ms. Yoonseo," famous for her endless patience.
But the moment she saw the child on the verge of tears, her mind went completely blank.
"Did the Young Lord of Myeongrye Palace… hit you?"
She asked through clenched teeth.
"U-uh… anajeo…"
But Hongwi only buried her face in Yoonseo's chest and sobbed quietly.
It seemed she had already been taught the ridiculous philosophy that a gentleman must never tattle.
Yoonseo immediately picked Hongwi up.
The small body—not even a meter tall—was trembling.
"Haa!"
Yoonseo's own body began trembling as well.
In her thirty years of life, Kwon Yoonseo had felt such heart-rending anger only twice.
"Young Lord of Myeongrye Palace… did you strike our young lady?"
The moment she asked in a stiff voice,
the entire courtyard fell silent, as if someone had pressed a mute button.
"Did you strike the head of our Royal Grandson?"
Yoonseo asked again coldly, looking down at Dowon-gun, the son of Grand Prince Suyang.