Chapter 96: The Spring Planting
The spring planting was the largest we had ever attempted. Acres of permafrost, thawed by my Ki, tilled by the soldiers, planted with seeds from my greenhouse. By the time the first shoots appeared, the entire frontier was watching.
"This is what we're building," I told Woo-jin, as we walked through the new fields. "Not walls. Not weapons. Life. Growth. A future."
He took my hand, his fingers warm around mine. "You've changed everything, Chae-won. This world. Me. You've made us something new."
I leaned into him, watching the sun set over the fields. "We've made each other something new."
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Chapter 97: The Emperor's Death
The news came in the summer: the Emperor was dead.
He had died in his sleep, the official announcement said, surrounded by his family, his long reign ended peacefully. But the rumors that followed told a different story: poison, a struggle, a son who had grown impatient.
The Crown Prince was now Emperor. And his first act was to summon the Northern Duke to the capital.
Woo-jin read the summons in silence, his face unreadable. I sat beside him, my heart pounding.
"If you go—" I started.
"I know."
"If you don't go—"
"He'll call it rebellion. He'll have an excuse to move against us." Woo-jin set down the summons, his hands steady. "I have to go."
"Then I'm coming with you."
He turned to me, his eyes sharp. "Chae-won—"
"I'm coming with you," I repeated. "We face him together. That's what we promised."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he pulled me into his arms, held me close. "Together," he said. "Always."
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Chapter 98: The Journey to the Capital
The journey to the capital took three weeks—three weeks of watching the stars shift, of feeling the warmth of the Empire's core worlds grow stronger, of preparing for whatever awaited us.
Woo-jin spent the time reviewing intelligence, planning contingencies, preparing for the worst. I spent it in the ship's small greenhouse, tending the plants I had brought with me—a piece of Bukseong, a reminder of home.
Scholar Choi traveled with us, her data slates packed with documentation of my techniques, my methods, my work. "If he tries to claim you're using forbidden rituals," she said, "I can testify. I've seen everything you do. There's nothing forbidden in it."
"You're risking your career," I said.
"I'm risking my life," she corrected. "But it's worth it. What you're building—it's worth it."
The night before we reached the capital, Woo-jin found me in the greenhouse. The plants were thriving—peppers, herbs, a small ginseng that had traveled with me from Bukseong.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
I looked at the plants, at the man beside me, at the ring on my finger. "I'm ready."
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Chapter 99: The Capital
The capital was everything I had imagined and nothing I had expected.
It was vast—a city of towers and gardens, of palaces and temples, of millions of lives intertwined in the complex dance of imperial politics. And at its center, the Imperial Palace, a sprawling complex of gold and silver, of walls that had seen centuries of ambition and betrayal.
Our ship landed at the diplomatic docks, and we were met by a delegation of courtiers—their smiles polite, their eyes sharp. The new Emperor would see us tomorrow. Tonight, we were to rest.
Our quarters were luxurious—silks and spices, a garden courtyard, servants who appeared at the touch of a bell. But I saw the guards at the gates, the subtle surveillance, the way our movements were noted and recorded.
"We're prisoners," I said, when we were alone.
"Guests," Woo-jin corrected, but his voice was grim. "For now."
I took his hand. "Tomorrow, we face him."
"Tomorrow," he agreed. "Tonight, we rest."
We lay together in the strange bed, in the strange room, in the heart of the Empire that had tried to destroy him. And I held him close, and I felt his warmth, and I knew: whatever happened tomorrow, we would face it together.
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Chapter 100: The Audience
The Imperial Palace was a maze of corridors and courtyards, of guards and courtiers, of layers upon layers of power. We were led to the throne room—a vast space of gold and marble, of light that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere.
And at the end of it, on a throne that dwarfed the man who sat upon it, was Emperor Yi Hwan.
He looked different from the Crown Prince I had met—older, harder, the charm replaced by something colder. His smile, when he saw us, did not reach his eyes.
"Duke Baek. Duchess Han." His voice echoed in the vast space. "Welcome to the capital."
We knelt, as protocol demanded. But Woo-jin's hand found mine, hidden in the folds of our robes, and I felt his warmth.
"Rise," the Emperor said. "I have heard so much about your work, Duchess. About the miracles you perform on that frozen world."
"I am a farmer, Your Majesty," I said, keeping my voice steady. "The only miracles I perform are making things grow."
He laughed—a cold, practiced sound. "Modest. I like that." He leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "But we both know it's more than that. You healed the Duke. You broke a curse that was meant to be permanent. You did something that no one else in the Empire could do."
"I did what any healer would do, Your Majesty. I used my gift to help someone who was suffering."
"And what else can your gift do, Duchess?" His voice was soft, dangerous. "Can it feed an army? Heal the sick? Strengthen the weak? Can it—" He paused. "—give me what I need to secure my throne?"
I met his gaze. "My gift is for growing things, Your Majesty. For healing the land. For feeding people. It is not a weapon. It is not a tool of conquest. It is simply—" I took a breath. "—what I am."
The room was silent. The courtiers watched, their faces unreadable. The guards stood motionless. And Emperor Yi Hwan looked at me with an expression that might have been respect, or might have been calculation.
"You are loyal to your Duke," he said finally. "I understand that. I admire it, even. But loyalty can be misplaced. The Duke's father was loyal to his cause, and it destroyed him. I would hate to see the same happen to you."
Woo-jin stepped forward, his hand still in mine. "My father's cause was rebellion. My cause is peace. My wife's cause is life. We have no quarrel with the Empire, Your Majesty. We only wish to live in peace, to grow our crops, to feed our people."
The Emperor studied us for a long moment. Then he smiled—a different smile, almost genuine.
"Then you shall have it," he said. "For now."
He rose, signaling that the audience was over. As we turned to leave, he spoke one last time: "I will be watching, Duchess. Watching to see what you become. What you build. And when you are ready to share your gift with the Empire, I will be waiting."
We walked out of the throne room, hand in hand, the weight of his words heavy on our shoulders. But we were together. And as long as we were together, I believed we could face anything.
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End of Part Two: The Blossoming Star
To be continued in Part Three: The Golden Harvest ( Chapters 101-150)