NLP 9

**Chapter 9: Who Are You?**

It was a message that her mother was critically ill and wished to leave her final words.

In the letter from her eldest sister-in-law, Hwayeon’s tears fell drop by drop, smudging the writing completely.

“Mother is gravely ill… She must have heard news of me.”

“Your Majesty the Queen, please remain calm. This servant will go briefly. Cha Gil-dong is waiting before the side gate of the 별궁 (detached palace).”

“No. I will go myself. Bring me servant’s clothing.”

“It is too dangerous. The Dowager Queen’s eyes and ears are everywhere.”

“It will be fine if I go alone. Who would spy on a servant girl, not even a court lady?”

“Your Majesty…”

“I couldn’t be at Father’s deathbed. If I lose Mother like this too, I will bear a lifelong grudge. It’s not far from here. Just one hour—no, half an hour—you wear my clothes and sit in the main room.”

“You must return within one hour.”

Hwayeon changed into the servant’s clothes her nurse had brought, braided her hair, and tied it with a purple ribbon. After tucking a small silver knife into her bosom, she covered her face with her nurse’s jade-colored overcoat and slipped out through the side gate of the detached palace like a servant on an errand.

Indeed, Cha Gil-dong was hiding behind a tree and greeted her in surprise.

“Your Majesty? Why are you dressed like this…?”

“Shh. Mother is critically ill—how can I not see her?”

“Please be careful. This servant will lead the way.”

Just as she followed him and hurried into the alley, she spotted five suspicious men climbing over the wall of the detached palace.

“They must be assassins. I need to return to the palace.”

“It’s too dangerous. You cannot go back now.”

“The palace attendants will get hurt.”

Cha Gil-dong picked up a stone, threw it toward the palace, and shouted:

“Thief!”

At that, the royal guards guarding the palace rushed toward the side gate, and Hwayeon fled with Cha Gil-dong to the end of the alley.

“Cha Seobang (Mr. Cha), I must go back to the palace. Tell my mother I will come tomorrow.”

“Not now. The guards will spot you.”

Just as Cha Gil-dong tried to stop her, two tall men appeared from the alley. One of them, dressed in a servant’s garb, kicked Cha Gil-dong, who was blocking her way, sending him to the ground.

Hwayeon, startled, tried to dodge but hit her head against the stone wall. A heavy impact struck the back of her head, and her vision went dark.

“Miss, are you all right?”

A young man shook her, but she collapsed completely.

—

For merchants, the year-end was the busiest and most profitable time.

For Oh Seung-hoon, deputy manager of the Boksung Trading Company, which ran a fabric shop in Yuk-uijeon (the Six Official Markets), this day had also been busy.

In the morning, he stopped by the Minister of Personnel’s residence to offer large dates and ginseng. At noon, he was summoned to the residence of the Chief State Councilor to present the finest silk imported from Qing to the Noble Lady and her daughter-in-law.

In the afternoon, he toured the fish markets at Baeogae and Chilpae, and was on his way home to Nakseonbang with his guard, Kim Jin-cheol.

The detached palace, usually dark and empty, was lit with torches, so he deliberately passed by it. Then he noticed a woman wearing a pressed-down overcoat enter an alley, followed by a middle-aged man.

*’Could he be harboring ill intentions toward that woman?’*

He followed them, and when the woman tried to leave the alley, the man spread his arms to block her. He looked like a molester.

Seung-hoon dashed into the alley faster than Kim Jin-cheol and knocked the man down with a kick. The man collapsed completely after a few more kicks.

But the woman, trying to dodge, hit her head against the wall and fell. When he approached, he saw she was a pretty young maiden with a ribbon in her hair.

“Miss, are you all right?”

The maiden looked at him for a moment, then soon lost consciousness, barely breathing. Though dressed as a servant, she had delicate, slender hands and graceful bearing, like a noble lady in disguise.

Seung-hoon was momentarily flustered but quickly ordered Kim Jin-cheol:

“Let’s take her to a physician immediately.”

“Sir, if we take an unconscious maiden with a head injury to a physician, we might be mistaken for her assailant.”

“Then are you saying we should leave her here?”

“Take her to Asan-daek’s (Madam Asan’s) house.”

Asan-daek was a relative from his mother’s side who helped with his trading company’s affairs.

When Kim Jin-cheol tried to carry the maiden on his back, Seung-hoon stopped him and lifted her himself. She was so slender and light that he was surprised. She also seemed to have a slight fever.

By the time they arrived at Asan-daek’s house, about half an hour away, sweat had formed on his forehead and the back of his neck. The maiden’s breath had been brushing against his neck the whole time, and her soft chest pressed against his back.

“Master, what happened? Why are you carrying an injured maiden?”

“I found her injured on the road. Check if she has any wounds on her head.”

Asan-daek, startled, examined the maiden’s head and body.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s any tear or serious injury.”

Seung-hoon finally let out a sigh of relief. Then he wiped the sweat from his face and neck with a towel Asan-daek handed him.

“Master, is she a maiden you’ve been keeping hidden?”

“No. I saw her for the first time on the road today.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it a secret from the Head Manager.”

Since Asan-daek had raised him, it seemed easier to let her think that way. Of course, when the woman woke up, he would tell her the truth.

Asan-daek hurriedly cleared a small room, laid out fresh bedding, and put the maiden to rest.

Under the lamplight, the unconscious maiden looked as beautiful as a fairy carved from white jade.

Even Asan-daek covered her with a blanket and said pitifully:

“Master, I’ve never seen such a lovely maiden. You’ve avoided even the top gisaengs of Hanyang, and now you’ve hidden a beautiful young lady. Do you think she dressed as a servant because her family might find out?”

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

His trading company had a skilled physician named Cheon Seobang, so he decided to bring him to treat the maiden.

Seung-hoon left the maiden in Asan-daek’s care, went home, briefly reported the day’s work to his father, and withdrew. Of course, he kept the maiden’s matter a secret.

After that, he returned to Asan-daek’s house with Cheon Seobang.

Cheon Seobang examined the maiden and said:

“Her pulse is fast—she is shocked and exhausted. I will prepare Gami Soyosan, which is good for blood nourishment and calming the nerves.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

After Cheon Seobang went to the kitchen to prepare the herbal medicine, Seung-hoon examined the maiden’s face and hands.

She had flawless, fine skin, well-shaped brows, lustrous thick hair, and delicate hands that looked as if they had never done any rough work. She did not appear to be a gisaeng who had not yet put up her hair.

Her soft lips seemed to draw him in, and he quickly rose. He hurried out of the room and leaned against a pillar by the door for a moment. His heart fluttered like petals trembling in the spring breeze.

Then he heard the maiden sobbing in her sleep from inside the room. Seung-hoon went back in and looked at her.

She was crying, reaching her hand out from under the blanket.

“Mother… Mother…”

Seung-hoon had lost his birth mother to illness five years ago. Sympathizing with her heartbreaking longing, he grasped her hand as she desperately called for her mother in her sleep.

Her tears seeped into his chest and moistened his heart.

Whoever she was, whatever her circumstances, he would protect this woman.