Chapter 156: Seo Yeon

Seon-Ho dragged me to settle in the concubines as we had no choice but to put up with them in the meantime. We looked at them but they were just as bratty and spoiled as Nam-Kyu was, in fact, they were just different versions of her. We both could see where this was going to go; they would go to any length to seduce my husband all around But we still had to settle them in so we had no choice but to stay until we had met them and their families.

They were no less than Chun-Ae's family but they relied on them for their income and status in society. Da-In came up to my husband and greeted him warmly and tried to hug him but he grabbed me violently and walked past her, leaving her frozen on the spot humiliated once again. They all looked confused until Seon-Ho made it public for the first time that I was his main wife with his legitimate children and I always would be. This shocked everyone but there was nothing they could do or say by the look he gave everyone when they tried to say something. And when they talked to him about the situation he kept me close to him, holding my hands in full view of everyone to see.

The concubines still tried to impress; they presented their dishes for him to eat which he split with me to share, upsetting everyone. We just wanted to get out of there fast so we could rush to our home and be with our children who we promised we would take out. I was in such a petty mood that I made a show of adding salt to their food, which I knew noblewomen took offence to. Nam-Kyu looked like she had been slapped in the face and demanded an explanation for my rude behaviour. I just replied that salt was our nation's staple food, just like my husband's position in the palace and our new home situation, that it should always be taken seriously. Seon-Ho just laughed and held onto me tighter, his burdens leaving him already.

We made our way home as quickly as we could without my husband conversing with his new concubines even once. Our children had begun to cling to us even more but it was only to be expected. We took them out into the market until late at night which we never usually did as we had them on a routine. Of course, I managed to convince my husband that we should set days for them to play as well but never this late. We held them into our arms over our shoulders and walked back slowly hand in hand like we always did, discussing our new future and his plans to go head to head with the prince soon so we could be rid of a potential tyrannical ruler that would come for our family as soon as he was crowned king. We put the kids to bed and locked ourselves in our bedroom until the morning.

We had to spend most of our week with the concubines which completely interfered with our routines and schedules, but my husband's ever-growing reputation was on the line. No matter how upsetting it was we all had to comply. I did not want the children to be exposed to them under any circumstance and I made that clear to Seon-Ho. He totally agreed with me and we left them at our home with servants when they weren't being schooled, as well as hiring some of my old work colleagues that I trusted to watch them as their nannies.

We still had to deal with the problem of the concubines who wanted to serve my husband in bed. But whenever he had to spend nights over there in general or after long workdays he managed to scare them off by inviting his whole group of army officials and had them stay over regularly overnight where they were free to sleep with the concubines if they wanted to as well, completely destroying Da-In's plan to use them to bring my husband back to her. But we still had to deal with her.

I had already dropped off the kids to my sister-in-law so I was ready to meet my husband as his residence. I walked into the mansion unannounced and saw my husband passed out in the living room. As I made my way to him I couldn't help but notice Da-In making him food...and putting something in his drink. I felt my temper rise but decided to stay silent for now. I sat on top of him and kissed him before sleeping on top of his chest for her to see. He stirred in his sleep but told him not to wake up and pretended to sleep to see what other tricks she thought she could pull on us.