Eps 17 : King’s Concubine
Yeon Hee looked at her reflection in the mirror. A dark shadow adorned her eyes, causing her to take a deep breath. Meanwhile, two ladies-in-waiting were helping her put on a hair ornament, trying to hold back a smile when they saw the Queen worrying about her appearance on the first day after the wedding. Unbeknownst to the two ladies-in-waiting, from behind the reflection, Yeon Hee noticed the attitude of the two young ladies-in-waiting.
"Your Majesty, your servant, Court Lady Jo. Please allow me to enter your room."
Court Lady Jo's voice outside the door made Yeon Hee turn her attention towards the door. After giving permission, the door opened, and a woman with a plain jade-green dangui entered the room. Court Lady Jo bowed respectfully to Yeon Hee, who then sat across from her.
"Your Majesty, I have notified the palace elder's residence about your arrival later to convey good morning greetings. It is just..."
Court Lady Jo raised her head and seemed hesitant to continue. Court Lady Jo realized that there were still two young ladies-in-waiting helping the queen to decorate herself. As an assistant, Court Lady Jo doesn't want to bring down Queen Jung's self-esteem on the first day after her wedding.
Aware of the hesitation that Court Lady Jo showed, Yeon Hee raised one hand as a sign for the two young ladies-in-waiting to stop helping her.
"You can go. Court Lady Jo who will help me get ready," Yeon Hee ordered.
The two ladies-in-waiting nodded obediently and immediately left the room, leaving Yeon Hee alone with Court Lady Jo. Seeing that the two young ladies-in-waiting were no longer in the room, Yeon Hee nodded briefly so that Court Lady Jo could continue her speech, which had been interrupted earlier.
"Your Majesty, it seems that the rumors regarding last night's events have spread. I had seen some maids whispering about you. Please forgive the servant who neglected to serve you," Court Lady Jo reported while kneeling as low as possible in front of Queen Jung.
A lopsided smile appeared on Yeon Hee's face after getting the report. As he had expected, especially after seeing the attitude of the two young ladies-in-waiting, what happened last night had spread throughout the palace. Even on her first day as Queen of Joseon, small pebbles have blocked Yeon Hee's path.
"There is no need to apologize to me, Court Lady Jo. The walls and grounds of the palace have ears and eyes. So, none of this is your fault."
"But, Your Majesty, this is your first day reigning. How are you going to get through it? "Even I firmly believe that the Royal Queen Dowager as well as the Queen Dowager have heard of this rumor."
Yeon Hee can sense that Court Lady Jo is really worried about her. Yeon Hee's shady smile rises while her expression looks calm even though her heart is beating fast.
"There's nothing to worry about. This is only the beginning, Court Lady Jo. The future will be more painful than this."
Court Lady Jo was flabbergasted at Queen Jung's casual reply. Court Lady Jo was really surprised by the figure of the woman in front of her. The Queen Jung that she met last night and the one she met today appeared to be very different people.Court Lady Jo could even see a flash of confidence in the Queen's two beads.
"After all, I deliberately acted weak yesterday. Act like I'm a girl who can be treated as she pleases."
"Your Majesty, how come you can act like that?" You shouldn't have let the king be cold to you last night. You should definitely avoid it if you can."
"No! This is the palace, Lady Jo. You must know better than me what a palace is like. You must be willing to be stepped on to know who your enemies are, Court Lady Jo."
Court Lady Jo was pensive for a moment as she absorbed Queen Jung's words. Inwardly, Court Lady Jo confirmed everything. Yes, during her years of living and serving, Court Lady Jo knew very well what a palace was like. And, in her heart, Court Lady Jo's admiration for Queen Jung was hidden.
"Now, you better help me get ready. I have to show my courtesy to the palace elders," Yeon Hee ordered, which immediately received a short nod from Court Lady Jo.
....
Queen Jung and her entourage of ladies and gentlemen moved from the Central Palace to the pavilion, where the two queen mothers lived. On her first day as queen, Jung Yeon Hee chose to wear a brightly colored dangui—a royal hanbok. Her face was covered with light make-up, thus exuding her natural beauty. Not to forget, her hair wore several decorations, making her appearance look elegant and simple.
Several ladies and gentlemen or palace officials who passed him suddenly stopped and bowed to pay their respects to the queen. But, without looking back, Queen Jung knew that, as soon as she left, the ladies and gentlemen of the palace would definitely gossip about her.
Yeon Hee doesn't care; she keeps moving. Until she set foot in the courtyard of the palace elder's residence, Yeon Hee reflexively stopped. Yeon Hee looked straight at the red-robed figure who was walking towards her. Yeon Hee sat in silence, waiting for the figure to approach her.
"Your Majesty," said Yeon Hee softly while bowing respectfully.
"Ah, I didn't expect to meet you here, My Queen," Yi Baek replied in a contrived tone of surprise. Yi Baek even flashed his crooked smile at Yeon Hee. The man clearly intended to mock Yeon Hee.
"I thought you wouldn't have the courage to go give the greetings to the Royal Queen Dowager and Queen Dowager," Yi Baek added with an amused chuckle.
Hearing her own husband's taunts, Yeon Hee tries hard to keep a smile on her face. Really, she could already tell that King Yeongan wouldn't just stop trampling on her pride after last night's events. Clearly, Yeon Hee could see the mocking look in Yi Baek's two eyes.
"I don't want to be seen as a queen who has no manners. As a new member of the royal family, I should greet the elders," said Yeon Hee in a calm tone.
"Ah, this is very interesting," Yi Baek murmured, nodding his head. Slowly, Yi Baek stepped closer to Yeon Hee. The grin returned to frame his handsome face. Not to forget, both hands reached out to wrap around Yeon Hee's tiny waist.
"Your Majesty...." Yeon Hee hissed as she looked up at Yi Baek.
Meanwhile, the ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs stepped back and bowed their heads so as not to see what King Yeongan had done to Queen Jung. Yi Baek leans in closer and whispers in Yeon Hee's ear.
"Seeing your bravery, it makes me even more interested in playing with you, My Queen. I'm curious how prepared you are to face me in the future.And... will you end up begging me to give you an heir like Crown Princess Souin did? Because, as I know, you must have a certain purpose with the Queen Dowager. My Queen, I hope you are prepared for my game."
Finished whispering like that, Yi Baek unwrapped his arm around Yeon Hee's waist and took a few steps back so that he could see Yeon Hee's expression clearly. Satisfied to see Yeon Hee, who could only freeze on the spot, Yi Baek just walked away, leaving Yeon Hee.
Yeon Hee's hands trembled from holding back her turbulent emotions. Yeon Hee then turned and glared at Yi Baek's back, which was getting further and further away from her sight. Without anyone knowing, Yeon Hee's hazel eyes flashed dangerously.
Yeon Hee turned around quietly and continued on her way so that she could quickly fulfill her obligations to the palace elders, convey her morning greetings, and choose to hurry back to the Central Palace to calm down, if necessary, to plan her strategy.
...
Yeon Hee's desire to calm down after the incident in the courtyard of the palace elders pavilion failed. Upon returning to the Central Palace, Yeon Hee finds ten other palace women waiting for her arrival. For a moment, Yeon Hee was silent to analyze the palace ladies, until Court Lady Jo whispered their identities to Yeon Hee.
The ten palace ladies were the concubines of King Yeongan. The woman belonged to her husband, Yi Baek. Yeon Hee then realizes that their arrival at the Central Palace is to salute her, who has become a queen. As if she had no choice, Yeon Hee ordered Court Lady Jo and her ladies-in-waiting to prepare tea and some snacks.
And here there are Yeon Hee was sitting on her throne and staring at the cup of wild flower tea that was billowing thin steam in front of her. Meanwhile, ten other concubines sat neatly in front of her, waiting for her to say a word.
"Your Majesty, allow us concubines to salute and welcome you as the leader of the inner palace," said Concubine Kim Suk-Ui, leading the other concubines to bow respectfully to Queen Jung.
Yeon Hee nodded curtly in return of the concubines' respectful greetings. One by one, Yeon Hee watched the faces of her husband's concubines. Until her gaze fell completely on Concubine Kim Suk-Ui, who represented the concubines, Yeon Hee looked closely at concubine Kim Suk-Ui. Based on the previous brief introduction, Yeon Hee finds out that the woman with the surname Kim is King Yeongan's highest-ranking concubine.
"I am flattered that all of you have come to visit me as you are now. In the future, I will definitely need your help to arrange the inner palace into a comfortable place for all of us," said Yeon Hee as she lifted her tea cup.
"We will be happy to assist you. You don't need to worry, Your Majesty," said Concubine Kim Suk-Ui with her head down.
" Your Majesty doesn't need to worry, especially so far; Kim Suk-Ui is very skilled at pleasing the king," said Consort Lee So-Yong with a meaningful smile.
Yeon Hee's movement freezing as she was about to take a sip of tea stopped hearing Concubine Lee So-Yong's words. Yeon Hee immediately cast a dangerous and sharp gaze at the woman wearing a bright green dangui. Despite giving off a sharp glare, her expression was the exact opposite of that of a smile.
"Ah… Kim Suk-Ui is so skilled at pleasing the king? It looks like I need to learn a lot from him. Is that true?" Yeon Hee asked
"Of course, Your Majesty. Whenever the king wanted to visit our room, we all always asked Kim Suk-Ui for her opinion. "I am sure Kim Suk-Ui will definitely give you advice, Your Majesty," said Concubine Park Suk-Ui.
"What Park Suk-Ui said is true. After Crown Princess Souin died, it was Kim Suk-Ui who took over all duties in the palace. Kim Suk-UI is also the one who takes care of and strengthens us all to be strong. In fact, I thought that Kim Suk-Ui would be appointed as...."
"Choi So-Won, please pay attention to your words in front of Your Majesty the Queen. It's not appropriate to say things like that in front of the queen," said concubine Kim Suk-Ui, sharply warning concubine Choi So-Won, who seemed to want to raise the war flag with Queen Jung.
Realizing her words, Concubine Choi So-Won immediately bowed as low as possible to Queen Jung, who was still wearing the same expression. His romance was etched with silence and a smile.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty." "I didn't mean to say that."
Yeon Hee took a sip of her tea to moisten her dry throat. Yeon Hee chuckled and then spread a cold aura through her sharp eyes.
"It's okay. I really appreciate the advice given by concubine Park Suk-Ui as well as concubine Choi So-Won. I believe Concubine Kim Suk-Ui has dedicated her life to serving the king as best she can. It's just, as anyone must remember, that serving the king as well as possible does not necessarily make anyone able to occupy this throne that I sit on. So keep that in mind, and be careful with the words you choose."
The concubines were rendered speechless after hearing Queen Jung's sharp response.They were all surprised that Queen Jung could change her aura so quickly. One by one, the concubines trembled at Queen Jung's cold stare.
"I'm quite tired today. You can leave my room. "I need to rest," said Yeon Hee, who took another sip of tea from her cup.