**Chapter 11: The Vanished Queen**
The arrow flew from the darkness behind Taegang.
At that instant, the guard who had been following him pulled the Queen into an embrace and dodged, but the arrows came in succession. The assassin’s arrows were clearly aimed at her.
Taegang shouted toward the direction from which the arrows had come:
“Halt!”
Taegang paid no heed to the assassin and ran toward Hwayeon. Though their eyes met, she did not recognize him.
“Y-You…?”
Stunned, he could not speak, and reached out his hand toward her. But Hwayeon quickly stepped back as if she had encountered a molester.
As Hwayeon looked at him in terror, the man with her took her in his arms and leaped down from the bridge.
While Taegang stood frozen in shock, the two vanished into the darkness.
The royal guards jumped down below the bridge to pursue them, but soon lost track.
*’She definitely saw me, but she looked at me as if I were a stranger. Why is the Queen, who should be at the detached palace…?’*
After ordering a search around Hyogyo Bridge, he headed straight for the detached palace.
The guards at the palace, startled by the King’s midnight appearance and heavily armed royal guards, even dropped their weapons in shock.
He passed quietly through three gates and entered the courtyard of the pavilion where the Queen resided. The moonlight fell upon the courtyard, where sparse withered weeds could be seen.
Taegang approached the stone steps. He allowed only his royal guard to follow.
Through the light seeping from the main room, he saw the shadows of three women. They appeared to be huddled together, looking at something.
On any ordinary day, he would have assumed it was the Queen, her nurse, and Court Lady Jeong chatting together.
Without removing his *mokhwa* (official hat), Taegang stepped onto the wooden floor and flung open the door of the main room.
Indeed, inside, a young woman in plain white clothing was painting, with her nurse and Court Lady Jeong watching at her side. When they saw him, they were so startled that they pressed their foreheads to the floor.
The young woman, about seventeen, who had been holding a brush, stared blankly at Taegang, then noticed the reactions of the nurse and Court Lady Jeong and prostrated herself flat. The brush, still laden with ink, fell, splattering ink onto her plain skirt.
“Block the doorway.”
The royal guard entered and placed a folding screen to cover the entrance, then withdrew.
Taegang approached the woman in plain clothes, grabbed her by the hair, and examined her face again. The terrified woman’s eyes, pale as paper, bore an astonishing resemblance to Hwayeon.
Hwayeon had no sister.
“Who are you?”
When she was too terrified to answer properly, Taegang glared at Court Lady Jeong.
“Sh-She is the Queen’s cousin. When Her Majesty left the palace, Mun So-ae happened to visit…”
Taegang released Mun So-ae’s hair and questioned the nurse.
“Doesn’t the Queen have no uncles on her mother’s side? How does she have a cousin?”
“Sh-She is a maternal cousin. She is Mun So-ae, daughter of Mun Shin-wook.”
“Her age?”
“Eighteen years old.”
“The entrance of outsiders to the detached palace is forbidden. How did she get in?”
“Knowing that Her Majesty had moved to the detached palace, So-ae came of her own accord. She told the royal guards she was a maidservant from a noble household and entered.”
Taegang circled So-ae, who trembled like an aspen tree. Indeed, with her face partially concealed, her petite and slender build resembled Hwayeon enough to easily deceive the guards—even the commander would not have dared to stare directly at the Queen’s face.
“Once in, it’s hard to leave—so why did you come in?”
“I wished to stay by Her Majesty’s side.”
“And you dared to impersonate the Queen?”
“I-I have committed a crime punishable by death.”
Mun So-ae prostrated herself and pleaded:
“Yo-Your Majesty, it was I who imitated Her Majesty and deceived you. Please put me to death and spare the other palace attendants.”
Though young, she had a deep sense of loyalty.
“Court Lady Jeong, when did the Queen leave the palace?”
“F-Four days ago… after hearing that the matron of her family home was gravely ill, she said she would go briefly…”
“For four days, you did not inform me of the Queen’s disappearance?!”
“It seemed it would cause great trouble if the Dowager Queen found out…”
“No matter the reason, you should have searched for the Queen first!”
“Please put us to death…”
The nurse and Court Lady Jeong burst into tears and bowed their heads.
“Silence. Will taking only your lives solve anything? If this matter leaks out, dozens—no, hundreds—of innocent lives will perish.”
Only then did the three women prostrate themselves on the floor, shedding thick tears.
“The nurse and Mun So-ae might be ignorant of the world’s ways, but why did you, Court Lady Jeong, who was seasoned in the palace, act this way? Did you go along with them and lead things to this state? You should have informed me!”
“I believed Her Majesty would return soon…”
“Even if she returns now, the Dowager Queen will use this as a pretext to bring down greater disaster. If it reaches her ears that the Queen, who sought refuge in the detached palace, was roaming the streets, there will be no way to preserve her life.”
Mun So-ae, too shocked even to cry, sat dazed, fidgeting with her ink-stained skirt.
The nurse, like a condemned criminal, pressed her forehead to the floor and wept.
Even Court Lady Jeong, who was well-versed in palace affairs, was equally at a loss.
“If I had not come today, how long were you going to hide it?”
“P-Please put us to death, Your Majesty…”
“How did you deceive the royal physician?”
“We showed her only the Queen lying down, saying Her Majesty was in a sensitive state, and sent her away.”
“The physician didn’t recognize the Queen either?”
“We placed a wet towel on the forehead, so we were able to deceive her.”
Taegang pressed his forehead and sighed.
It was too soon to tell these people whether Hwayeon was alive or dead. If they knew the missing Queen was alive, they might grow careless and cause another incident.
“Court Lady Jeong, did she go alone to her family home?”
“N-No.”
The nurse answered, trembling.
“She went with Cha Gil-dong.”
“Cha Gil-dong? A servant of her family?”
“Yes, he was once a servant, but the Queen’s father had his status elevated, and now he works as a medicinal herb gatherer.”
“How did Gil-dong infiltrate the palace?”
“He disguised himself as a laborer when firewood was being transported…”
Taegang clicked his tongue.
“I ordered the guards to keep strict watch, yet the security is this lax. Even if an assassin had infiltrated the palace to harm the Queen, they would have succeeded with ease.”
Court Lady Jeong bowed her head and reported:
“Actually, on the day Her Majesty disappeared, there was a small commotion when a thief broke into the detached palace.”
“A thief? In the palace where the Queen resides?”
“Yes. They apparently tried to scale the wall but were spotted by the guards and fled.”
“You hid even that from me. You wretches!”
If the matter had been reported to the palace, the commander would have been dismissed immediately, and the guards would have received severe punishment.
He barely suppressed his anger and questioned further:
“Court Lady Jeong, are the outside court ladies trustworthy?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I brought only those with tight lips and loyal hearts.”
“Meaning there are no spies from the Dowager Queen’s palace?”
“That is correct.”
Taegang let out a slightly relieved breath.
“Nurse, does the Queen’s sister-in-law know about this?”
“Sh-She does not know yet. One letter of inquiry came, and I replied that His Majesty had sent a royal physician, and that the matron’s condition was improving.”
“And then?”
“I imitated Her Majesty’s handwriting and wrote that she was well.”
“Well done. Deceiving the sister-in-law will also deceive the Dowager Queen’s spies. Once I replace the guards, no one will recognize the Queen. Until I find Her Majesty, you must keep the secret.”
“We will guard it with our lives.”
At his gesture, Mun So-ae approached and prostrated before him.
“So-ae, until the Queen is brought back to the palace, I need a fake Queen.”
“A-A fake Queen?”
“We must deceive the spies watching the detached palace. I will find her as quickly as possible, so do not worry—from now on, you must properly impersonate the Queen.”
“A-Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You must learn and practice the Queen’s eating habits and preferences, the way she reads, eats, walks, and even her posture—from the nurse and Court Lady Jeong. If you do, I will forgive the crimes you have committed so far.”
“Your grace is boundless.”
Taegang gave her detailed instructions:
“Keep books close at hand, take a walk in the rear garden once a day, and every few days, eat the honey rice cake and five-color dumplings I like. Occasionally, make snacks with the court ladies in the cold pantry. That way, the Dowager Queen’s spies will be deceived as well.”
“I will keep it in mind.”
“The foods the Queen makes well are honey rice cake, sesame brittle, *maejakgwa* (honey cookies), and rice cake balls. She especially loves five-color dumplings and *omijafachae* (five-flavor berry punch).”
Recalling the Queen happily eating five-color dumplings made his heart feel as if it were being torn apart.
“When she is in a good mood, she touches her left ear; when embarrassed, she wrinkles her nose slightly. When walking with me…”
Then, Taegang paused. He could not show tears before the palace attendants. His anxiety over what might have become of Hwayeon made his mouth run dry.
Leaving the detached palace, Taegang immediately spurred his swift horse toward the main palace. The cold wind lashed his bare face, now uncovered by his hat, like a whip, but he rode at full speed.
