"I miss you... Yeonhwa..."
The next day
Early one morning, a court lady got out of her palanquin in front of Seolhwa's house.
Perhaps she is the court lady who serves His Majesty... and has come to judge the candidate who will sit in the position of the queen today...
"Where is your majesty?"
"She's in the annex... Oh, and even though she's my adopted daughter, I raised her like my own. Please take good care of her."
"No matter how high a position you are as the Left State Councillor, how can you possibly sway the selection of a spouse for Your Majesty, the Queen Mother of a nation and the supreme ruler of all people, based on the words of your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty, there is no woman worthy of the title of Seolhwa."
"You raised her like your own child... Aren't you worried about sending her to the palace where the wind and rain blow every day?"
As expected of a court lady, the court lady possessed unwavering loyalty and conviction. She was not swayed by money or power.
"Miss, this is Lady Jimil. May I come in?"
"Eat"
"yes..."
"Have you come to judge me...? Are there any scars on my face or body? Are I wise? Are I sincere?"
"If you were to call your family the second best, it would be a sad family... It is only natural that you are a daughter of a noble family without any scars on your face or body. Whether you are wise or have a good heart can be confirmed through letters without me having to come here."
"Then why did you walk like this?"
"I have come to do something that cannot be judged without seeing you face to face."
"Then, since you are facing me, judge me."
"If you become the queen, you will enter the palace. Aren't you afraid?"
"Isn't this a light position that you can avoid out of fear?"
"You will be His Majesty's consort. Do you have any questions for me, the court lady?"
"I'm curious... what kind of person was the previous poor woman?"
"He was truly a brilliant and kind-hearted man. He valued those around him more than himself."
"Mama must have been precious to someone too... I feel so ashamed that I took away her happy life..."
“Is there anything else you would like to ask?”
".... Are you surprised that I didn't ask you anything about Your Majesty, such as what Your Majesty likes and dislikes, or what kind of person Your Majesty is?"
"May I ask why you didn't ask?"
"Asking such a thing would be asking because you want to be loved by His Majesty... Isn't the position of the queen the one in which you should least expect affection from His Majesty?"
"Why?"
"If I hope for affection from Your Majesty, she will try to seduce the concubine and wrap Him in her skirt. Is it the duty of the queen to blind His Majesty's eyes, ears, and heart?"
“Isn’t that something that should be expected of a woman?”
"It is not the position of a woman, but of the queen. As the head of the royal household, the concubine, who is His Majesty's woman, should also know how to embrace and, rather than darken His Majesty's eyes, ears, and heart, should she not only enlighten but also assist in becoming a virtuous ruler, isn't that the queen's duty?"
"Do you not wish for His Majesty's affection?"
"I will wait until Your Majesty gives me Barabbas. Even if you don't see me till the end, there is nothing I can do... If you were afraid of living alone, would you and I be sitting across from each other now?"
"I bow to Your Majesty..."
"....I see you passed your examination..."
"I will send the palanquin within a week, so please come to the palace, Ma'am."
"Okay, but I have something to ask you."
"Please ask."
"What was judged?"
"This is Mama's sincerity. While Mama was speaking, I saw her sincerity in her eyes."
"You're not really a court lady."
"Also, you are the first person to ask me about poverty."
"What's so great about that... Come on, I'll see you off."
After Lady Jimil left, my father smiled broadly for the first time in a long while, and for the first time in our house, we spent the day without him shouting. The next day, my father gave me some money to buy clothes to wear on my return to the palace.
"Miss Seolhwa, what clothes will you choose?"
"Normal clothes... Seol, is there anything you want to wear?"
"What would a punk like me need?"
"Seol, you're not a servant, you're my friend. I need to pick out some clothes for you. Where should I look? Ah...."
"Are you okay, Miss?! No, you should have been looking straight ahead when you walked. Our Miss Seolhwa almost got hurt!"
"Seol-ah, stop!"
"Oh... I'm sorry,"
"No, our baby got hurt too! We were both at fault, but why are you yelling at our baby? Are you okay, baby?"
"Nanny, I'm fine... I feel sorry for you, Miss."
"No, we didn't know each other and collided, so how could it be one side's fault..."
"But what kind of clothes are you looking at?"
"I was just looking at some pretty clothes for this child to wear. What kind of clothes are you looking for, baby?"
"I was looking at what I would wear when I go to ruin someone's wedding."
I feel like I shouldn't get close to anything (pupil earthquake)
"Ah... yes... S, Seol-ah, what do you think of these clothes? Don't you think they're okay?"
"Okay, okay, miss! Buy it and go home!"
"Yeah! Yeah...haha..."
A slightly awkward atmosphere hung over Aegi's words, and Seol-i and Seol-hwa quickly picked out their hanbok and went back.
"Are you really okay, Seohwa?"
"Yeah... It's okay, to this extent... But I'm talking about the girl who was hit by the country earlier."
"Yes, why that girl?"
"No, I just thought he looked like a kid I saw before..."
"You too, baby~ There are many people in the world who look like you."
"Yeah... If it weren't for that kid, he'd be a really nice person."
Seolhwa, who had left the place, stopped on her way home and told Seol-i to go home first, then turned around and headed somewhere.
"You must come home on time, Miss!"
"Yeah, I'll go in first, I'll be stopping by for a bit."
Seolhwa headed to the cliff she had often visited since parting ways with Seok-kwon. Below, a sea of beautiful colors was visible, and the view from the top of the cliff was truly breathtaking.
"Your Majesty... how are you..?"
"The girl still regrets that mistake... I should have run away like my older sister... I should have told her the truth, not lies... I should have looked for another way..."
"I still feel so guilty for causing you so much pain and sorrow with the girl's death."
"But, since I cut you off like that, because I cut you off so badly, you will miss me less now, won't you? Will it hurt less?"
"I am getting married, girl. I am getting married to His Majesty, the founder of this Joseon Dynasty... But, I am afraid. The palace where my father is is so cruel and terrible... And above all,
"I'm afraid I'll have to meet you, Master."
"Your father was a high-ranking official, so I'm sure you've held a high office too... We'll probably meet again someday... Both you and the girl have probably changed a lot since then, but you probably think I'm no longer in this world, but if you recognize the girl, please just pass me by... If you grab me, I don't think I'll be able to shake you off any longer...
"I bow down to you for the last time..."
Seolhwa bowed to the air, approached the edge of the cliff, and was about to turn around when the cool breeze hit her, when someone grabbed her hand from behind.
"What are you doing now!"
"D, Do-ryun... what are you talking about?"
"Are you trying to die now? How can you throw away your life so easily?"
"Dying? Me? I was just being caught in the wind... And now, will you let go of my hand? I'm still a virgin..."
"Ah... I'm sorry."
"Okay, then the girl is off..."
Seolhwa passed Heon and headed home. Heon, seeing that Seolhwa had gone far away, spoke with sad eyes.
"You really look like the Yeonhwa of old... enough to be mistaken for Yeonhwa... If you were alive, I hope you wouldn't have sad eyes like that woman... Yeonhwa, my eternal pain and woman."
When Seolhwa returned home, she picked up the norigae she had received from Seok-kwon from her jewelry box before going to bed.
"I'll just keep it as a memory. I won't take it out when I go back to the palace. If I ever leave the palace again in the distant future, I'll quietly take it out again... Stay safe..."
Time passed relentlessly, and Seol-hwa entered the palace in a palanquin sent from the palace. The palace before Seol-hwa was magnificent, yet at the same time radiating darkness. Seol-hwa, who got out of the palanquin, first spoke to the court lady.
I brought up the subject.
"From today onwards, I am the maternal ancestral palace of Mama."
"Please take care of me... But where is the villa?"
"The villa is where the concubine used to stay... The queen does not stay in the villa, but in the main palace."
"Before I go to the main palace, I want to visit the villa... I heard that the tomb of the Empress Dowager is located in the villa that burned down... Shouldn't I pay my respects?"
The tomb in the villa was far too small and utterly unmaintained to be the crown princess's. It seemed as if no one had visited it for years. Not even the king, her husband, or her family had visited it. The tombstone read, "Doseohwa." Seolhwa cleared the overgrown weeds from the tomb, straightened her posture, then bowed twice with her hands folded in front of her.
“Is your Majesty at peace there...? I haven’t been able to meet you, but I’ve heard that you were a wise and kind person... Can I fill the void you left behind...?”
"Do...seo...hwa...she must have been a daughter from a very noble and prestigious family.
How many hours have you spent in this palace, swallowing your tears alone...? I sincerely hope you find peace there..."
"Han Sang-gung..."
"Yes, mama"
"Has Your Majesty ever visited the tomb of the poor queen?"
"....you didn't find it"
"I will not be going to see Your Majesty today either, so please understand."
"Yeah? But the wedding ceremony is tomorrow."
"Well, what should I do...? Tell them that I am the one who will stop by the ancestral palace in Daejeon to pay my respects..."
At Seolhwa's words, Jo Sang-gung had no choice but to head to Daejeon alone. Her mind raced, trying to come up with an excuse for why Seolhwa hadn't sought out His Majesty. As she walked, these thoughts swirling around her, she found herself in Daejeon. Han Sang-gung, who had been examining Seolhwa before she retired to her chambers, smiled faintly at her fidgeting and asked,
"Is it because of Miss Seolhwa?"
"Yes, Lady Han."
"I had high hopes during the selection process, but I never thought it would really happen... Your Majesty, I will tell you, so you should go back."
"Yes, mama..."
When the ancestral palace went away and Han Sang-gung returned to the bedroom, Heon asked as if he had been waiting for it.
"What did you do as soon as you entered the palace?"
"I stopped by the tomb of the queen consort of the palace and paid my respects."
"As soon as I entered the palace, I stopped by the tomb and paid my respects... and to the concubine at that..."
"Yes...Your Majesty"
"Why... even if she's an adopted daughter, if they're relatives, the blood of the Left Sang family flows through them, so she has no desire for power? Isn't that strange?"
"As I said before, she had no desire for power or material wealth, and was a young lady who was especially wise and virtuous, a perfect fit for the position of queen."
"The Left Minister's bloodline is growing in the palace! He is trying to weaken the royal authority and manipulate power as he pleases... In this situation, the Left Minister's adopted daughter is also the queen... That's absurd!"
"If you please..?"
"I must go see the Queen Dowager."
"Your Majesty, the Queen Dowager is also the maternal aunt of the Left Senior State Councillor."
"Before she was the left-handed aunt, she was Jim's grandmother!"
If the adopted daughter of the Left Crown Prince, Yun Dae-hwan, were to be installed as queen, royal authority would be inevitably weakened. All ministers would align themselves with Yun Dae-hwan, and the court and politics would fall into his hands. To prevent this, Heon's pace towards his grandmother, the Grand Queen Dowager, accelerated.
"Grandma, may I come in?"
"Please, Your Majesty. How can Your Majesty find this old woman?"
"Grandma, please help me"
"Oh... Your Majesty, your face is filled with worry."
"The daughter of the king on the left cannot sit in the queen's seat."
"How long will you leave the position of Queen vacant?"
"The royal authority will be weakened."
"Leaving the position of Queen vacant is also an insult to the royal family, Your Majesty."
"If you allow me, I will take a daughter from another family."
"Please take the daughter of the left-handed man as your queen... Just do as this old woman tells you, Your Majesty!"
"Hey, how did Grandma..."
"Your Majesty! The fact that you are in this position is also the work of this old woman. In order to safely secure your position from the position of Crown Prince to the position of Yongsan, I eliminated the previous king's concubines and also eliminated your brothers, starting with the Queen."
"Was the person who got rid of Momama the grandmother!!"
"Lower your voice, Your Majesty! Your Majesty's mother didn't die because of my grandmother, but because she couldn't bear it herself! Thanks to you, Your Majesty, you are now sitting on the throne. So, just stay still, in the place where this grandmother laid the groundwork, just like back then."
"To Grandma So-son, I would like to say something as the king of this country, not as a grandson. Joseon will change, without fail..."
"It's something that's been protected for hundreds of years. Your Majesty, it won't change overnight. And even if it does, the King I know will never change. So, please hold on to your position."
"Everything that has been preserved for hundreds of years cannot change overnight. So, please lose them one by one, Grandma. The sense of loss of losing everything, one by one! The sense of destruction that comes from losing everything, I will definitely give it to you, Grandma."
"If your Majesty touches this old woman, he will no longer be able to keep his position as Majesty."
"I will endure it, so run wild, run wild, until you lose everything. But after you lose everything, just..."
