Jabbering Deep (1)

Sungho proceeded to open the parchment paper, which he found scented with lilac and gooseberries. The sweet scent with a little touch of vanilla from the lilac, and the pungent herbal, sugary yet smelled a bit acidic of the gooseberries rushed their way inside his nasal.

Although he was greeted by the perfume when he unfolded the letter, he found it rather addicting and evoking.

'A pleasant afternoon, Concubine Eun. It is a nice day to watch the cherry blossom trees while they wither, isn't it? I'm viewing them from my study room.'

"Hm." A neutral response obtruded out from his mouth while he read the beginning of the letter. Sungho did not read the text twice but three times, trying to convince himself that he might have interpreted it wrong.

'I heard from a maidservant that Her Highness happened to be ill for a week and a day prior. It scared me because I thought Concubine Eun would back out from what we agreed the night before you went sick.'

Now that he was recalled about it, Sungho remembered he had agreed to spend time with Concubine Gi, and they should have been enjoying each others' company if he did not get sick.

"Sick?" Sungho repeated the word as it caught his attention. His gaze averted from the context before shifting to Chun, his brows were drawn together as his nose lifted. "I was sick?"

"... Yes, Your Highness." Chun clasped her hands on her skirt. "We didn't tell anyone about what happened, yet, the maidservants started spreading the word that you've turned ill and we simply went with the flow."

He went silent. Sungho could not understand the reason not to spread the truth that he was poisoned that night from the simple feast. There might be questions forming inside his head, Sungho chose to read the other texts written in the letter.

'Speaking of which, I came to visit Grand Concubine Jin the day after yesterday. I craved to talk to her after we haven't had a heart-to-heart conversation for a very long time. And I'll tell you this, Concubine Eun. I was touched by how warm we shared our engaging discussion.'

"... She's chattery even in the letter," was Sungho's comment, and proceeded to trail his eyes down the writings.

'We talked about many other things before I brought up the rumour that you got sick after the feast. But the Grand Concubine seemed to believe you were ill earlier than we had started. I guess I wasn't aware of it? Or I was not sensitive enough to notice?'

By the time he read this text, Sungho became sensible of the meaning it was trying to deliver to him.

'I hope you will recover from the flu in a flash of thunder, Concubine Eun. If you are ever able to write a response, then I'll be more than happy to have it.'

"Chun," Sungho called immediately after he finished reading the letter and folded it like how it was before when he had received it. "Who ordered you to not say a word about what had happened to me?"

"I-I'm sorry, Your Highness—"

"Why are you apologizing? I'm only asking."

He watched the court lady nodded before giving him her reply. "It's the soldier. He told me we should wait for your orders or your brother's before we spread a word about it."

"Daewon?"

A nod again and Chun mouthed, "... Yes. In my opinion, it was the right choice to be silent about it, Your Highness. I didn't tell a single soul yet someone protruded that you had the flu and needed to be bedridden for one to two weeks. It was very suspicious."

"Okay," was his short answer in understanding.

Sungho held the letter in his hand, not wanting to place it on the table since it was still wet. With the contents in the letter signified as the clues, he became well informed and was enlightened.

Who would have thought that they would dig this deep and scheme?