HE IS THE CROWN PRINCE?!

Princess Cheongyeon and Princess Cheongseon arrived at the pavilion and met with Deokim, Kyunghee, Bokyeon and Younghee.

Cheongyeon was chubby with lovable facial features. She was active and always on the move. In contrast, Cheongseon who was two years younger had a tall and slim figure with small lips on her face. She was always calm and serious. However, she get worried easily. Together, they completed the transcription for The Tale of Kwak Jang Yang. It was a story set in the Tang Dynasty about a man named Kwak Jang Yang. After going through lots of struggles in life, he battled through and became rich. While having success in his life, behind the scene were the fights between his wife and his concubine at home. He abandoned his first wife but later, he regretted it. It was a popular fiction at the time. The transcription was finally completed and the princesses left with the books to present to their grandfather, the King. The four court ladies were left alone.

"The Queen really likes Deokim. Everyone is praising you." Kyunghee said after a long while.

"Honestly, I don't even know if | should leave my name on the books. I didn't do much" Bokyeon said.

"Me, too. My writings were all corrected by Deokim." Both Bokyeon and Younghee felt guilty.

"I did my part." Kyunghee said with loud and clear voice.

What she said was true. From the start till finish, Kyunghee worked seriously and made good use of herself. With the calligraphy pen, ink and good quality paper, her writing was neat and her transcription was concise. As a serious person, her sense of responsibility was very strong. Although she pushed her friends really hard during the process, it was also her strength to pull everyone together and get the job done. 

"Stop talking nonsense. Without you all, it won't be done." Deokim tried to recognise everyone's contribution.

"Anyway, I can't believe we finished transcribing a really long story."

"It was fun. I like stories between a man and a woman. If it was a story about the King and the traitors, I will probably get a headache from it."

Bokyeon added, "The evil concubine got what she deserves and died at the end. That feels good."

"I hate these books because they draw you into them. I don't know why all the men in these novels abandoned their wife and then regretted it afterwards. They caused their own troubles." Younghee said even though, the truth was she really like The Tale of Kwak Jang Yang. Kyunghee reacted right away, "It's not his fault. It was the evil maid's fault. Blinding the man with her tricks."

"That's right but he was the one who chose the witch as his concubine. He wasn't stupid." Bokyeon said.

"If she's using seduction, who can resist?"

"If he can't even control himself, he should stay far away from her at the beginning."

"So the problem is allowing him to have a concubine?"

Bokyeon couldn't find the words to reply Kyunghee.

Deokim said, "Pushing all the blame onto the woman doesn't seem fair. Regardless, it was his choice. He cannot deny his responsibility for this outcome."

Deokim thought it's frustrating to see how these stories were all defending the man. Whenever the man made a mistake, actually repeated mistakes, they only blamed on someone else but themselves.

She likes novels but the more she reads, the more she disagrees. You could say, none of these stories can understand a woman's true feelings. In the novels, the decent woman often appears as someone who was enduring and listening to the man. On the other hand, the concubine often appears as an opportunity taker or cheater. There was no middle ground. Although these stories were popular among women, they weren't written for women.

"Finding an excuse and blinding himself from facts, that's not a real man."

"You're speaking strangely again." Younghee said while rolling her round eyes.

However, she wasn't confident enough to continue her talking. Deokim stood up and said,

 "I need to go to Head Lady Cho's library. I need to find new books to transcribe and sell to the bookshop."

"We've just finished transcribing?" Kyunghee frowned,

 "Stop it. If you keep working overnight, your health will deteriorate."

"In the past, my brother used to take care of me. It wasn't easy for him neither."

Deokim thought, unless they have an additional public exam next year, there's still along time until her brother could take the exam. She needs to work on new books, so that she could earn some extra money.

"Quick, Kyunghee! Without you, I can't get in." Looking very annoyed, Kyunghee stood up.

Bokyeon and Younghee waved their friends goodbye.

Head Lady Cho was able to wield her power inside and outside the palace. With her ability to oversees the secret affairs of the royal family, she likes to wear it like a badge of honour. Trusted by the old King, she was given a building in the palace as her residence. It was supposed to be a treatment only for the royal consorts. Head Lady Cho had a huge library. With the massive collection, even some of the royal consorts would come and borrow books from her. Court ladies were constantly monitoring her library. Deokim used to sneak into the library. She would went in and out of the library quickly so that she won't get caught. However, since she befriended Kyunghee, she no longer needed to do that. Head Lady Cho were friends with Kyunghee's family, so Kyunghee was allowed to come in anytime for

books.

"How about this one? It's popular lately. The bookshop went out of stock."

Kyunghee showed Deokim The Tale of Jung Su-jung she found on the shelf.

"No, this is like a copied version of The Legend of Hong Kye-wol. The contents were almost the same."

"No joke! A man pretending to be a woman and a woman pretending to be a man are all in one book! This is good honey for the readers."

Kyunghee waved the book in front of Deokim but she stubbornly refused because The Legend of Hong Kye-wol was her all time favourite book.

"Look! They have Ok Su Seon."

Ok Su Seon was a romantic love story about a courtesan and a nobleman. There was a scene written with lots of passion. The nobleman was studying day and night. Unable to put his love aside, he dashed out and ran into the snow. It was a scene that brought a lot of tears.

"I don't like this book. A courtesan and a nobleman should not be encouraged?" Kyunghee teased.

"It's because you don't have much feelings."

At the age of fifteen, Deokim spent all night trying to understand all the writing in the book because Ok Su Seon was written by a nobleman in old language style. Every word was difficult. It took her lots of effort to finish the book.

Deokim sighed. She remembered Bokyeon wants to read Ok Su Seon but she wasn't capable enough to read it. If she transcribes this book, she also get to read the book again for herself.

"Not bad. Although it's a famous book, there aren't many transcribed copies. If I do a good job, they will like it."

Kyunghee asked, "How's the book selling? Which bookshop is buying your books?"

"It's close to my hometown. I used to go there often with my mother when I was young."

"Even though it's close to your home, just be careful of these businessmen."

"I am just selling books. Don't worry."

"Don't be silly. They think court ladies are easy minded. You could be their target."

"You're worrying about me? I am so touched!" Deokim smiled and Kyunghee blushed.

"Anyway, we better go. If we take too long, they'll think we're stealing." Deokim said while she spotted the court ladies monitoring the both of them.

Not long ago, someone got caught for stealing. She was beaten almost to death and was kicked out of the palace. Kyunghee nodded with agreement.

"Even though she's the Head Lady, if she takes bribes openly, isn't that too obvious and dangerous? The officials are not complaining?" Deokim asked.

"The King is showing his favouritism. What does she need to fear?" Kyunghee said proudly.

Kyunghee borrowed <Ok Su Seon> for Deokim. The court ladies monitoring the library did a thorough body check on both of them before they let them go.

"I heard that Head Lady Cho almost received the King's grace'when she was young." Kyunghee

came out of the library and whispered to Deokim.

"What? Why was that?"

"But she was ugly and got rejected." 

Deokim stuck out her tongue, "You're so bad!"

"No, it's not nonsense. It really happened." Kyunghee frowned,

 "When they were about to fall in love, His Majesty's heart was stolen by another woman. Although Head Lady Cho was pretty, she couldn't compete with this other woman's beauty."

"Who?"

"Noble Consort Yeongbin. The royal consort who passed away not long after we entered the palace."

That was the day Deokim sat on His Majesty's lap! Although memories from that day became vague over time, that encounter still sat at the bottom of her heart. The odour from the dead body that lingered in the air. The unbelievable encounter with the old and fragile King! The pale face of the forever sleeping Yeongbin who had her mouth filled with rice grains and a pearl. From a 9th rank court lady, she climbed her way up and became a 1st rank concubine. After death, the king personally wrote her funeral oration. She was well treated till the end of her life. But somehow, it actually feels more mournful.

The memory of that day was Deokim's secret. She told Younghee but she didn't believe one word she said. As years went by, even she doubted herself about what happened on that day. Whenever she doubts herself, she would look into her closet to make sure Yeongbin's books are still there. At least, it wasn't a dream.

"A court lady received the King's grace and gave birth to the Crown Prince. This is alegend." Kyunghee sighed.

"What's so good about it?"

"What?"

"The King's grace."

 Deokim went into her deep thoughts, 

"Until the day you die, you have to rely on the King's affection. Although it sounds good, in the end, you're just putting your life in the hands of another person who have you like a colourful flower in his hand."

A royal consort's life in the palace was never easy. Even if you gave birth to a child, the child was considered as the children of the King and the Queen. You will never hear the word, "Mother" from your own child. In all the ceremonies and events, you would be placed at the side and treated as unimportant. In order not to get into any troubles, you have to be extra careful with what you eat, what you write and what you say. If the King you serve passes away, you will be asked to leave the palace or be placed faraway in abandoned palace buildings until the last breath of your life. No matter how much affection the King could give to a consort, after death, the Queen would still be the ultimate winner. The Queen will be buried next to the King while all the consorts will be buried alone in the cold graveyard. Hearing that the old King often visits his concubine's grave, it was actually heartaching. Although Deokim personally heard from the King how much he loves her,one question still came into her mind.

"The King loves Yeongbin, but what about Yeongbin? Does she love the King?"

Although everyone thought the same for the royal consorts. Maybe they would compare who was prettier than the other but no one dares to doubt whether the consort really loves the King. With one simple hand gesture by the King, without any hesitation, her clothes would get removed. Using the phrase,

 "All women must fall for the King" to justify his actions? The jade given to the concubine to wear on her head was nothing more than a heavy stone."

"Are you crazy?" Kyunghee slapped Deokim's shoulder, 

"The moment when a court lady enter the palace gate, she must fall for His Majesty."

Deokim felt a chill in her body and kept her mouth shut.

"Anyway, His Majesty fell in love with Yeongbin. He put Head Lady Cho aside but he supported her all the way till she reached the highest position as the Head of Court Ladies."

They said, if you don't have any connections and valuable possessions, there was no way to challenge the role of the Head Court Lady. At the very least, you need a family background like Kyunghee.

"Ah... If so, why don't you try to become a Head of Court Ladies?"

Kyunghee's father does silk and ceramic trading with China. A busy businessman who spend his days setting up connections with people inside and outside the palace. He gained some power. With a wealthy family, she could just get married into a good family and have children, but she became a court lady.

"Lately, my father also has this thought on his mind."

Kyunghee bit her lips and continued,

 "When I entered the palace, my family wasn't well off. Since I left the family, money started pouring into the family. What can I do? I couldn't go back."

Deokim could feel Kyunghee's pain. It was obvious that Kyunghee did her sacrifice for her family. Her sacrifice changed too quickly and too easily. Her sisters who weren't as pretty as Kyunghee all married into good families and they had children.

While Kyunghee will be alone for the rest of her life and all she could do is to watch the life of her sisters that she was supposed to have as well. Kyunghee doesn't want Deokim's sympathy.

"What about you? Aren't you tired of supporting your brothers?"

"This is why I became a court lady."

Kyunghee frowned,

 "We almost died from transcription this time. Why did you ask Younghee and Bokyeon to join us? They were the obstacles. The amount of mistakes they made, was the amount of extra work you needed to do."

Although the hard days were gone, Kyunghee revealed her concern.

 "You still need to share money with them. Why did you work so hard to do good deeds for other

people?"

Maybe it wasn't the busiest time of the day, there were no other court ladies around. Deokim and Kyunghee stopped in the middle of the path. Under the bright sunshine, Kyunghee's beautiful white face shines even more.

"Because your heart is too soft, this is why I am always nagging you." Kyunghee said.

"No, it's not that."

Deokim did a light kick with her shoe and said, "What you said is right. They're not really helpful."

Kyunghee seized the opportunity and continued,

 "I don't even know why I worked so hard for money. Even if I earn lots of money, I will only be trapped in here and die away. My nephews will receive a good amount of inheritance."

This reminded Deokim of her eldest brother with a newborn child a few months ago. Deokim said, "As a court lady, we don't get to make a lot of our own decisions."

On the way to the Gate of Heunghwamun, Cheongyeon talked a lot in their casual conversation.

"I heard that you like to joke around a lot."

 Cheongyeon started humming.Then, she added.

"Do you have plans for today?"

"I am tired. I don't have anymore energy to think."

 Deokim replied without thinking carefully but it was the truth.

"I like living in the palace. I can play with the court ladies and servants. Those were the days

without any worries."

"You've got worries now?"

"Of course not! I am not Cheongseon."

So she was itching to talk about Princess Cheongseon.

Rumours were spreading around that Princess Cheongseon's husband, Lord Jung was causing some troubles inside and outside the palace. Although Deokim was curious, she knew very well, Cheongyeon wasn't the right person to ask.

"If I tell you one of my concerns, would you tell me one of yours?" Cheongyeon

made a strange suggestion.

"My concern is always the same."

 Deokim thought, I better say something unimportant, 

 "I've been looking for a dog hole to hide in the palace for three years but I still haven't found it yet. The defence is so tight in the place."

"It's really not much fun, right?"

"Living in the palace for the rest of my life, what is there to worry about?"

"Did you take a look at the male officials?" Cheongyeon lowered her voice as if she wanted to do some match-making. 

"Did you see any good man around? I won't tell anyone."

Under what condition can Deokim trust her words? Deokim just smiled and avoided the question.

Cheongyeon jumped straight into her own story. 

"Maybe a court lady's life is a good life. What is marriage? In the end, you don't have anything left for yourself. Children are crying day and night. The in-laws are really strict, too. I just want to go back to my childhood."

"Is this your family concern?"

"Yes, after I gave birth to my children, my life became meaningless."

 Cheongyeon sighed, 

"I want to run away somewhere. Just being alone to feel the breeze in the mountain or the sea. Just to reorganise my thoughts. Maybe I can find happiness again just like when I was a virgin."

Coming from Princess Cheongyeon, this is strange. Her husband, Lord Gwang was known as the perfect groom across the entire Joseon. Under the regulations, he could not hold an official position directly in the administration office but yet, he never neglects his studies and he was known to be righteous and clean from bribes. Being the royal grandson-in-law, he was not allowed To take in any concubines. However, there were many cases of royal son-in-laws cheating on their princesses but Lord Gwang wasn't one of them. He was the most honest. To this extent, he still couldn't capture Princess Cheongyeon's heart?

There were some rumours that said Princess Cheongyeon has changed. Although she appeared as a bright person, she also has another side of her. They said after she gave birth to her first child three years ago, she had a dramatic change. She often ran away from home. Thanks to the royal family and her in-law's family, they managed to cover it all up. Up until now, she didn't cause any major problems yet.

"You're leaving alone. Would you like to ask Lord Gwang to accompany you on your journey back home?" Deokim asked.

"Ah... A scholar knows nothing about romance."

Lord Gwang was indeed a very straightforward and righteous man but he knew nothing about a woman's heart. All he needs to do is to listen to her words and accommodate her thinking to make her happy. It seemed like there are lots of men who don't understand this one simple theory.

"I want to fall in love like the people in the books. If only my husband is half as good as Jik-kyung from <The Tale of Wol Ha-seon>, how good is that?"

<The Tale of Wol Ha-seon> was another popular novel. Jik-kyung fell in love with the beautiful Wol Ha-seon. In order to refuse his family's marriage arrangement, he left his government job and also, his reputable family. Taking Wol Ha-seon with him, they ran away and lived their life in hiding. The King was looking for Jik-kyung and they were under the pressure of being discovered. Afraid of being Jik-kyung's burden, Wol Ha-seon jumped into the sea and ended her life. Then, Jik-kyung lived his life in sadness. After reading the story, Deokim closed the book and started scolding,

 "What did poor Jik-kyung do wrong?"

"For him, the purpose to live is to study." Cheongyeon sighed.

"Rather than borrowing the book, it would be good to own a copy and read it myself. The books they sell in the bookshop often have people ripping out the important pages. It annoys me so much! Can you transcribe for me?"

 Cheongyeon made her request.

Deokim thought, it's great to earn extra money but keeping this connection with a princess, would this cause any troubles?

"Omo... Hold on... Look over there!"

Something grabbed Cheongyeon's attention. She stopped and pointed to a person with a big build in front of them.

"Brother! It's me, Cheongyeon! Your Highness!"

She raised her voice and waved with excitement. The Crown Prince was dressed neatly in the blue dragon robe with his crown. It seemed like he just left the main hall. As the royal grandson, lately, he has been assisting the King with the state's matters in the administration office.

Cheongyeon ran towards the Crown Prince. Deokim followed after her.nAs Deokim got closer to the Crown Prince, her heart started to pound faster. Having eavesdropped from the dirty window in the storage room for the past few years, an image has been painted on her mind. In the filthy storage room, the never seen Crown Prince was like her daydream. Somedays, he would be the handsome young man with clear skin as white as a rabbit. Somedays, he would be the very kind and reliable man that women can lean on. The excitement of finally meeting him was just too overwhelming.

"Why are you always in the palace lately?"

That doesn't feel right. The Crown Prince didn't even give his kind greeting.

"Ah, brother! Aren't you happy to see me?"

"A married woman should not be wandering around. You should watch yourself."

He said coldly.

Gradually, Deokim started to realise the Crown Prince wasn't the same as her imagination. She didn't dare to look into his face but he seemed much taller than she expected. Besides that, he was nothing close to a rabbit. His shoulders were so wide, he was more like a tiger.

"His Majesty asked me to come in today."

"What is this about?"

The voice was definitely from the Crown Prince. Deokim doesn't know why but it was all too strange to her. She felt a sense of trouble. Her sense of trouble was always accurate.

"Your Highness, do you want to see what His Majesty has generously rewarded me?"

"Did you thank His Majesty?"

"Yes, I did. We did the transcription for him and he's very happy."

The Crown Prince stood emotionless while Cheongyeon laughed loudly.

"Anyway, brother, you are really someone with no fun at all! You hate all the fiction stories and folk's tales."

Cheongyeon was a few steps away from Deokim. She grabbed Deokim's shoulders and pushed her forward to join in the conversation. Deokim was startled.

"Stop your nonsense." The Crown Prince replied with a very serious voice.

Even though Deokim bowed her head, she sensed the Crown Prince's eyes were looking directly at her.

"Where does this court lady belongs to? Why is she not doing her job but following the princess around?"

Upon hearing his scolding, Deokim felt dizzy. Uncontrollably, she lifted up her head and looked directly at the Crown Prince. She saw his dark brown eyes. It was that man. That terrible man who tried to bribe her! Deokim was in shock. At the same time, the Crown Prince gave an unusual expression. He as like a leaf that has fallen into the calm water and struggling to stay afloat. However, only Deokim saw this little change in his facial expression.

It was all a lie. Why would someone so arrogant have such a beautiful voice? It was too hard to believe. However, the person in front of her right now was actually wearing the blue dragon robe. Is this a joke? Deokim tried to find an excuse for herself. Looking back, when she first saw him, she did suspect this man was the Crown Prince. However, she fell into her own imaginations, she was the one who denied the possibility. She convinced herself that they were two different people and how his appearance doesn't match with the voice... But it was definitely the Crown Prince's voice.

Deokim wanted to slap herself in the past. The very rude man came into the storage room. She scolded him. She threw coins at him. She even pointed at him and waved her fists around him. She also pushed his back while kicking him out. What else did she do?

Strangely, the Crown Prince who was supposed to give punishment stayed very calm. Maybe he didn't recognise her? Maybe that little change in his facial expression was towards the mere court lady that he always looked down on. Maybe it was such a trivial matter, he doesn't remember anything about their encounter. If so, there was no need to remind him.

"Brother, don't you care? She's a court lady from the East Palace. How can you not recognise your servants?"

Deokim wanted to take a look at his reaction but she thought, she better not. In the silence, the Crown Prince made a dry cough.

"Anyway, I am too busy. You should leave as soon as possible."

The Crown Prince took a few steps forward. Then he turned around and went the opposite direction. He disappeared like the wind.

"What's the hurry?" Cheongyeon stuck her tongue out behind his back.

"No... What's wrong with your face?" Cheongyeon saw Deokim's face. It was so red as if someone had just strangled her.

"You must feel so frighten to see him. What do you think? He is a very strict person but he is manly and cool." Cheongyeon nudged Deokim.

Now, the matter of life and death depends if the Crown Prince could recognize Deokim. It bothered her so much, she almost spill it all out but no, she better not. She kept her head down.

"Looking at you right now, it reminded me when I first met my husband. He was a chestnut. He just looked at me and mumbled!"

Cheongyeon just as tactless as Bokyeon continued talking about herself.

Looking back, this was a romantic first encounter. A man with hidden identity came across a reckless girl. This often appears in love stories. Last time, she read about how a King disguised himself as a commoner and fell in love with a girl that casually treated him like a commoner. The woman scolded him, not knowing he was the King. When she found out, she was in total shock and asked for forgiveness. This was how the story goes. Deokim thought about this thousands of times, what if this happens to her. However, when it happened in reality, she didn't feel good at all. Will she be taken away for beatings? There was no way the King will fall for her.

"Is Deokim here? Good news! Aigoo..." Lady Seo came into the room while

catching on her breath. Not noticing Deokim curled herself on the floor, Lady Seo almost trips over Deokim.

"What are you doing!" Lady Seo got angry, "You didn't even lit the candle. Why are You in the dark?"

Deokim always talked non-stop but now, she sat herself up quietly.

"Did something happen? Did you cause any troubles?"

"I was just sleeping."

"You didn't even change your clothes?"

Lady Seo started frowning. Looking at the floor with no bedding set up, her suspicion grew. Deokim got scared and decided to change the topic.

"You were saying something? What's the good news?"

"Ah, that's right! This is the best news ever!"

Lady Seo took a moment, 

"From tomorrow onwards, you don't have to go elsewhere to work."

"Are they giving me some strange jobs again?" 

Deokim stared at Lady Seo. Her eyes were filled with distrust. Not long ago, they sent her to an empty hall in the King's Palace to scrub the floor.

"No! You will be living a busy life. This is what it means." Lady Seo started dancing

around.

"In the morning, you can work in the annex. Later in the day, you can come into the main building and serve His Highness. How's that? Are you happy?"

"Ah... No, why out of a sudden?"

"I don't know exactly. I only heard the Crown Prince made an order to fill up all the court lady vacancies. Maybe he needs more people for convenience."

.... He made the order personally?"

"Yes, I don't know why though."

All this time, Lady Seo were frustrated that her apprentice wasn't being put to good use.

 "I am so happy, I don't know what to say!"

She gave Deokim a pat on her shoulders and indulged into her optimism. Staying optimistic was actually her talent.

"My Lady, I am not ready yet."

"Not long ago, you were complaining about boredom?"

"You know me. I am reckless. If | work around His Highness, I might make him angry?"

"Aigoo... If you don't start arguing with him, it's not as scary as you think." Lady Seo added, "You're so hard to please."

Feeling satisfied, Lady Seo did a stretch and set up the bedding. Then, she went into her blanket. Deokim followed.

"Right, did everything go well with you today?" The half asleep Lady Seo likes to ask the same question every night before she falls asleep.

"Why not?"

"Why not? You're shameless..."

"I don't intend to start joking today."

Exhaustion took over Lady Seo. She fell asleep before she could hear Deokim's whisper, 

"Until now."

Two mornings ago, an incident happened to Lady Seo. She put her foot into a sock and discovered it was filled with tadpoles.

TO BE CONTINUED…