Chapter 145: Seo Yeon

I was to continue my job the following week. I could feel the tension coming from everyone in our circle who heard the Prince's offer for me, even his brother Bang-Won looked annoyed even though he was trying to hide it. But before we could leave we were being called out by a woman who looked familiar to me. She was trying to reason with him on our way out to take her in as a concubine in public! I soon recognised her as King Da-In! She was already visibly suffering terrible gossip and backlash for 'this humiliation' but my husband walked past her before lecturing her that a 'high class kiseng begging to be taken in as a concubine in public to try and gain sympathy was only tainting both of their reputations; something he could never tolerate. He then lectured her to leave him alone in peace and not to sow discord between himself and his first wife by always seizing the opportunity to make a scene, which was a crime in our nation. And he did this in one of the busiest places in the Palace, putting her to shame in front of everyone; royalty and servants alike.

All the while I was wondering when on earth they had met up again without telling me. Seon-Ho then took me by the hand in front of everyone and lead me back to our carriage and began avoiding my gaze and questions. Seon-Ho took me straight home...where we found Kang Nam-Kyu once again somehow wearing the finest clothing and adorned in more jewellery than her own skin waiting for us outside our gate. She was kicking up a storm, screaming at our servants, demanding to be let in. Anger took over me but one look on my husbands face reassured me that I had no reason to worry at all. He just took me in his arms as he made way towards our gate and barked at the servant to let him in, ignoring Kang Nam-Kyu completely as she looked at us with haughtiness and dominance. But before she could get a word in my husband had already shut the gates on her like she didn't even exist and carried me to the study where I could get some rest while he worked. He always wanted me in the same room as him no matter what I was doing. We only just settled in when we heard that woman screaming for me; shouting to the public that I was the reason 'her husband' wouldn't even look at her. She must be after my man because she had no support. This is the very last thing we needed; another reason to tie him down to the palace when we were so desperate to escape to my father's village and live out our days in peace.

I woke up a few hours later to see that Seon-Ho had not moved an inch, never mind leaving the room to sort the girl out. I knew he wasn't having a go at me for joining the palace again because he didn't want me to ask anything about Da-In, so I joined him by opening his scrolls and summarising key points with options he could take from the information presented to them. This went on for a while until we heard that the girl had turned hysterical with degradation and was actually trying to gather her families men to break down our gate but most of them and her servants had fled due to her families lost favour leaving her with fewer servants than she was used to. She started screaming and shouting like a lunatic until Seon-Ho finally allowed the gates to be open to see what she wanted. He grabbed me by the arm without saying a word and placed me on his lap after he instructed some servants to see her in but not to allow her to unload her things in his mansion.

Kang Nam-Kyu stormed in completely soaked in the rain and her clothes 6 inches deep in mud. She looked completely enraged the moment she locked her eyes on me; we could hear a scuffle outside of whatever servants she had left trying to bring in her things despite my husbands warning. She froze when she saw how close I was to my husband; it was unusual of course for couples to display such affection in public as we did but we were young and didn't really care. He didn't look at her once as he buried continued working while I served him hot tea once he complained of a cold wind in his room. I didn't raise my head to look at her after that but she was not even granted a seat and Seon-Ho had a full cup of tea before addressing her...asking her who she was and how dare she make a public scene in front of his estate like a commoner. But before she could answer I had my female servants serve us hot food, something I didn't really allow. I had always kept the two sexes of servants separate but I was just as upset at the situation although I tried not to show it. My husband gave me an amused look as I tried to avoid his gaze. I rarely showed my jealousy but when I did my husband milked it for all it was worth, I knew he was going to hang this over my head for a while.

We only had a bite to each before Nam-Kyu unleashed herself like a banshee, screaming at her injustice about her being abandoned. She had the audacity to beg my husband to defend her by begging an audience with the King and going ahead with their marriage. At this point I had lost all patience and I slapped her, accusing her of the crime of sowing discord between a newlywed couple when the King and his Queen refused their audience, so I asked her what connection she had to my husband now? When he had never even met her for years. I asked her what made her feel so entitled to my husband to refused to acknowledge her existence. She looked at me like a demonic creature as she reeled from my slap, before my husband ordered her to be taken to the Palace to answer for her behaviour, including the insults she hurled at the Queen for abandoning her family for all to hear. My husband then took me by the hand and dragged me to our bedroom so she could watch. But out of nowhere she had pulled a dagger and she went for me. Luckily Seon-Ho caught it just in time and threw her across the floor like it was instinct. He went over to her and almost killed her but I then ran to him and managed to stop him and pull him away, before ordering a servant to tie her up and send her to the Queen along with all that witnessed the incident.

Seon-Ho was so angry that he was almost in a kind of trance, before grabbing me roughly to see if I had been harmed. It honestly scared me a little but I had to try and stay calm and get him out of it. I just got him dressed and ready for bed, and held onto him as he fell asleep...wondering how bad he would really be if something bad really did happen to me. I made my way to the kitchens to prepare his supper before making my way to my wing that he had meticulously prepared for to suit my taste. I dropped to the floor, amazed at his earnestness before gathering myself to unpack my things.