chapter nine

Meanwhile, after the members of his cabinet left, the king held his three brothers captive so they could mull over the next step of action to take.

King(messaging his temples) "if it's really one of the race causing trouble, what line of action should be employed?(he said asking no one in particular)

The three brothers sat still for a while contemplating their answers

Second brother "I think it's best we wait for the knights we sent out before coming to any conclusion since it will be unwise to randomly suspect any of the race"

Third brother"I agree with the second brother, we should wait and hear from the knights first and if indeed it's one of the race causing trouble, we will have to make sure they are severely dealth with in order to avoid same problem arising again "

The place became quiet as they turned to look at the fourth brother seeking his opinion 

Fourth brother (looks at his elder brothes and sighs) "although you all are correct, but if it turns out that one of the race is causing trouble then rather than going into hasty conclusions, wouldn't it be better to investigate the root of the problem and find out if there are any other hidden accomplices, then we can summon the river god to proclaim judgement on such individuals"

Looking at each other and shaking their heads in agreement, they animously agreed that once again their youngest has proven to be a person who thought more with his head than his fist.

King"alright, you are all dismissed for the time being, I will make sure to call for you once the knights returns"

Leaving the throne room, the two elder siblings discovered that their youngest seem unnecessarily jovial the moment he stepped out and it also seemed like he was rushing somewhere.

Second brother (with an amusing smile)"fourth, is there a special occasion, hmm I don't think so, then where exactly are you heading to?"

Fourth brother (with a smirk that showed he was about to be naughty) "ha-ha you old men(sarcasm) would not understand. While you can only go home to your wives and brawny sons, I have three beautiful women waiting for me (laughs) I should probably get some hawthorn and lotus cake for my beautiful yeol-wool(sighs contentedly) no matter how much I look at her, she reminds me of the early years when I met my wife (pointing to his brothers) you all must have forgotten but back then she was the fairest of them all, of course that's until my little girl showed up (quickly walks away with out giving his brothers a chance to say whats on their minds)

Third brother (shaking his head in amusement) the fourth brother always seem to amaze me, you hardly hear him talking much except when his speaking about his daughters, then again, who asked us to only have sons and not daughters,(sighs) at this rate, the fourth brother will probably give up his life for his daughters if possible, especially the little fairy(shakes his head again) tut..tut..tut at this rate, the fourth brother has completely turned into a daughter pleaser, I even feel sorry for the man who will want to get married to her (he smiles while thinking of the days ahead).

...........

Although it was just a casual speech, it is important to note that the third brother had just predicted the future. Then again, that will be a future event.

..........

Back to the present

Second brother (with an unsure expression, he sighs deeply while contemplating) looks at his immediate younger brother who was giving him a look that asked if everything was ok) "I'm just thinking is it really ok for the fourth brother to pay more attention to the younger daughter?"

Third"what is wrong with that, every family has a child they favor more than the other, besides the fourth brother doesn't leave the other out when getting something for both of them, also, they are women what could go wrong?

Second "you probably must have not heard a wise saying that says 'a jealous woman is like bitter gourd'. Anyway I really do hope he's not making a mistake"

Third (stroking his non-existent beard) I can understand what you mean but you also need to consider where the fourth brother is coming from, in the whole palace, the little girl is the weakest of them all, while we are all dragons, she on the other hand is just a weak fairy (coughs) of course am not looking down on her but it's also true that unlike us who have been trained in the art of war, the little girl is more like a canary hidden in a garden. Besides, Chung-Jo is strong enough to know how to go about things like this, even my son who I've always been proud of has received his own share of beating from her(shakes his head sadly)

Second brother (pats his younger brother on his shoulder and solemnly said) "remember, strength does not signifies wisdom. If I've not learnt anything from the fourth brother, I've learnt that much (he shakes his head and walks away)

Third brother (scratches his head) "hopefully all will be well"

Although the three brothers are always seen around the palace, they didn't live in the palace. If the palace is said to be centered at the heart of the city then each of the brothers had an apartment one street away from each other.

For the fourth brother to get to his house, he will have to pass through the busy street which was where he got the snacks he was going to share with his family.

Meanwhile, in the fourth prince mansion the personal maid of Yeol-wool had gone to check on her 'Miss' . Knowing her young Miss, she wouldn't have stayed indoors for a long time due to her desire to always walk around the house but early today her young Miss had given an order that no one should bother her nor come into her room without being asked to. Immediately she gave the order she went in and since then no body had seen her come out, she could not take it anymore especially since it's so late, she had held herself back when it was time for lunch and now it's time for dinner, she could not allow her young Miss to starve. So she went in only to find her young Miss missing, she raised an alarm and now the whole mansion was bustling with people running around looking for the young Miss'. They could not reach out to the lady of the house cause she had gone back to her home for an urgent matter and is yet to return and the fourth prince was still at the palace attending to official matters. This was the scene the fourth prince met when he arrived at his mansion.