Chapter : 03 The Lotus Reunited
“My family name is Jeong, and my name is Gopdan.”
The Queen Consort, who had been examining Gopdan’s face closely, slightly raised the corners of her lips.
Was she eighteen at most? Her youthful appearance made her look nothing more than a young girl.
She was not ugly, but neither did she possess any beauty that particularly stood out.
The Queen Consort nodded and then gave a nod to the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber.
“You must serve His Majesty with all your heart.”
“I-I shall obey your command, Your Highness.”
Gopdan, extremely nervous, carefully stepped back.
Once the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber and the court maid withdrew, Court Lady Park, the Queen Consort’s personal court lady, approached her.
“Will you be all right?”
“What else can I do if I am not? All I can do is hope that girl will give birth to a prince…”
If she conceived at once, there would be no need to bring in any more court maids.
If that happened, there would be nothing more to wish for. But children were gifts bestowed by Heaven.
A deep shadow fell across the Queen Consort’s face.
“It is chrysanthemum tea. Please drink it. It will help Your Majesty relax.”
The Chief Eunuch served Hyeon the tea and helped him prepare for the consummation.
Hyeon was already deeply uncomfortable, and he did not believe that something as simple as chrysanthemum tea would make him feel at ease. However, since an heir was essential to the prosperity of the royal family, Hyeon silently drank the tea.
Once his preparations were complete, Hyeon made his way to the separate palace quarters prepared for the consummation.
Of course, each step felt as heavy as a thousand or ten thousand measures of weight.
As soon as he entered the room, a neatly prepared table of wine and food awaited them, meant to ease the awkwardness of the night.
The Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber asked whether he would like her to pour him wine, but Hyeon shook his head.
The court lady cautiously bowed her head and left the room. Soon afterward, a woman dressed in beautiful clothing entered.
Hyeon’s mood became extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing the nervous girl with her eyes lowered only made him feel worse.
Was this the weight of being a king?
The girl standing before him looked like a sacrifice offered to him. And that sacrifice, too, was one of his people—like a child of his own.
“Come closer.”
At Hyeon’s voice, Gopdan hesitated before gently rising and approaching him.
When Gopdan had entered the room, she had been unable even to lift her face, but she could feel the king’s majesty.
The atmosphere settled heavily, and the silence stretched on.
“Do not tremble.”
At his unexpectedly gentle voice, she raised her head and looked at Hyeon, only to lower it again immediately.
In the brief glimpse she caught of him, Hyeon had a gentler face than she had expected.
Gopdan’s heartbeat quickened.
Her fear and anxiety had not completely disappeared. Yet the king, who was reputed to be virtuous and excellent, possessed an even more remarkable appearance.
Gopdan thought that if this one night meant she could serve him by his side for the rest of her life, she had to endure her fear.
Besides, was he not the man admired by every woman within the palace?
“I-I beg your pardon, Your Majesty.”
When Gopdan cautiously opened her mouth, Hyeon reached out and pulled at the ties of her jeogori.
As one layer of clothing slipped away, Hyeon carefully laid her down upon the bedding.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have sighed dozens, no, hundreds of times more. But thinking of Gopdan, who was suffering through this situation even more than he was, he endured it without showing his feelings.
Gopdan recalled the instructions she had received from the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber.
She went over each of the Eight Prohibitions in her mind, remembering that she must neither meet the king’s eyes nor make a sound, and waited for time to pass.
Just as Hyeon was about to take Gopdan, who lay completely still, she pressed her lips together and squeezed her eyes shut while staring at the ceiling.
Hyeon saw the movement clearly.
His hand stopped before it even reached Gopdan’s inner garment.
Then he turned his head away.
When Gopdan cautiously opened both eyes at the strange feeling of emptiness, the man who should have been before her was gone.
“Quickly put your clothes back on and return to your quarters.”
“Y-Yes?”
Gopdan looked at Hyeon, who had already risen, and slowly sat up.
“Court Lady Kim.”
Hyeon called for the court lady guarding the royal bedchamber.
No sooner had his voice fallen than the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber appeared through the open door and prostrated herself.
“Your Majesty, I beg your pardon for asking, but are you perhaps uncomfortable?”
The court lady’s hands trembled slightly. She could not tell what had displeased him during the consummation.
Hyeon turned his head again and looked at Gopdan.
“Take that girl back to her quarters.”
“Your Majesty, is it perhaps that the girl brought before you does not please Your Majesty?”
The court lady assumed Gopdan was the most likely reason.
After all, there were many beautiful women in the palace, and since the king had chosen such an utterly ordinary girl, she could only assume that was the reason.
“No. It is because my body is not feeling well. Take that girl back safely.”
“Your Majesty, but…”
“And today’s matter was entirely by my own will, so do not scold or reprimand that girl. This is a royal command.”
Hyeon plainly conveyed his wishes and left the quarters.
“I shall go to the main palace. I must finish reading the memorials I could not review earlier.”
“Pardon me? Not to Gangnyeongjeon…”
“There are matters I have yet to deal with, and they are giving me a headache. Follow me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Chief Eunuch looked at the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber with a bewildered expression before following behind Hyeon.
By Hyeon’s command, Gopdan was not scolded by the court lady. However, because of what had happened, Gopdan had to endure the ridicule of her companions.
Since she had received everyone’s envy for being chosen to receive the king’s favor, the rumors about her being sent away spread just as quickly.
“With looks like hers, do you really think she could please His Majesty?”
“Even Her Highness is pathetic. She put a girl like that in His Majesty’s quarters. How foolish.”
And the events of the previous night were drawing not only criticism toward Gopdan, but also toward the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber.
“So she failed to receive His Majesty’s favor.”
The Queen Consort spoke as she placed the persimmon-leaf tea she had taken a sip of back onto the table.
“I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness.”
“There is no need.”
The Queen Consort replied with an exceedingly cold expression.
The fact that the consummation had failed was certainly worrying, but it was better than His Majesty developing a favorite woman.
After worrying herself sick throughout the night, the Queen Consort instead appeared relieved.
“Find another girl.”
“Yes? Then, this time, perhaps someone a little more beautiful…”
“Court Lady Kim. Do you think His Majesty is a man who seeks out women for their beauty?”
The Queen Consort cut the court lady off immediately.
“I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness.”
At the Queen Consort’s gesture, the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber withdrew.
Once she was left alone, anxiety filled the Queen Consort’s eyes.
Hyeon was not a man who showed interest in women. But the particular gentleness he possessed concerned her.
When facing the ministers of the court, Hyeon possessed the spirit and cold decisiveness of a white tiger.
Yet the Hyeon whom the Queen Consort had known since childhood was, at heart, compassionate toward other human beings. Moreover, toward those weaker than himself, he treated them with consideration and kindness.
The difference between Hyeon’s manner of governing the country and his manner of treating people was stark.
If such a Hyeon were to sleep with a beautiful woman and develop even the slightest feeling of affection for her…
As though she did not even want to imagine it, the Queen Consort shook her head and picked up her persimmon-leaf tea again, trying to calm her troubled heart.
However, the Queen Consort’s belief that it was fortunate the consummation had failed did not last long.
Having witnessed the king repeatedly fail to consummate his marriage for the same reason, the ministers seized the opportunity and began pressing their demands.
“What could possibly be more important to the royal family than an heir?”
“That is precisely so. You must bring in a royal concubine at once.”
At the ministers’ words, Hyeon pressed his forehead firmly with his index finger.
At their words, the Chief State Councillor and Queen Consort’s father kept his mouth tightly shut.
“What is it that you ministers want me to do?”
Hyeon glared at the ministers with a look that asked what other words they intended to use to torment him.
“Would it not be better to take the daughter of a high-ranking and reputable family as a secondary consort rather than choosing a woman from among the palace maids?”
“What are you saying? This concerns the affairs of the Inner Court. Her Highness the Queen Consort, who already comes from a high-ranking and reputable family, is handling the matter of an heir properly, is she not?”
The ministers began their battle of wills.
“The affairs of the Inner Court shall be left to the Queen Consort. You may all withdraw.”
As though he did not even want to think about such matters, Hyeon spoke.
At once, several ministers, including the Left State Councillor, dropped to their knees.
“Please consider the royal ancestral shrine and the foundations of the state. An heir is an important matter upon which the safety and prosperity of the royal family depend.”
“Left State Councillor!”
“Your humble servant dares to stake his life on this request. Although I am now a servant of Your Majesty, as a Grand Councillor appointed by the late king, I beseech you to think of the late King and not take the matter of an heir lightly.”
Hyeon slowly closed his eyes.
Until the very moment the late king closed his eyes for the last time, he had worried about Hyeon, who had no children of his own.
Even when he lay upon his sickbed, Hyeon had been unable to give him the grandson he had so desperately wished for.
In the end, Hyeon could not even overcome the will of the Chief State Councillor, the Queen Consort’s father, and was forced to concede to the Left State Councillor.
“Please drink.”
Hyeon entered the quarters prepared for the consummation.
But because the consummation felt like an unwanted chore, he was utterly exhausted.
The affairs of the main palace alone were enough to give him a headache, with the ministers pressuring him every day to take the daughter of the Minister of Personnel as a royal concubine. On top of that, facing another woman who entered the room with a body as stiff as a club every time was also an ordeal.
“Shall I pour Your Majesty some wine?”
Hyeon raised his hand as if to say it was unnecessary, but then thought that perhaps he should at least borrow the strength of alcohol.
Lowering the hand he had half-raised, Hyeon spoke.
“No. Pour it.”
At Hyeon’s unusual response, the court lady’s face brightened, sensing a good sign.
She smiled brightly and poured wine into his cup.
—If His Majesty does not drink wine tonight either, serve him the tea we prepared.
Remembering the Queen Consort’s instructions, the court lady felt relieved that she had completed her task.
“Your Highness, everything is ready.”
At the voice of a court maid outside, the Court Lady of the Royal Bedchamber rose, paid her respects to Hyeon, and stepped outside.
Soon afterward, a woman of exquisite beauty entered the room.
Without realizing it, Hyeon let out a small laugh.
Though he had drunk some wine, seeing the nervous woman made Hyeon pour himself another drink.
“What is your name?”
Perhaps it was because the wine had created a more relaxed atmosphere.
Or perhaps he felt sorry for making her wait while he finished his drink.
Until now, Hyeon had never asked the names of the court maids he encountered.
What use was there in knowing the name of a court maid with whom he would spend only one night?
“I-I, this humble servant, S-Song-ga… Yeonhwa is my name.”
Hyeon’s hand, which had been tilting the cup, suddenly stopped.
A voice that somehow sounded familiar.
And a name that felt familiar.
Hyeon turned his head toward the woman.
