Chapter : 10 — If Our Yeonhwa Had Been Alive Too
The Temptation of Flowers
At the Chief Eunuch’s words, Court Lady Lee’s eyes flashed.
It was the moment when her suspicion had turned out to be true.
But the Chief Eunuch’s following words were even more astonishing.
“In all my years in the palace, I have never seen or even heard of a woman receiving such love.”
“What do you mean by that?”
His words suggested that it was more than simply having feelings for Yeonhwa.
There was something beyond favor in the way Hyun looked at Yeonhwa.
The Chief Eunuch had experienced something he had never witnessed in the former King, nor in the King before him.
“Until now, His Majesty was a man who never once gave any woman his attention. Not even the Queen Consort. Since she is the girl His Majesty has taken into his heart, will she not become someone exceedingly precious?”
“I am deeply sorry.”
“Take good care of her. Having such a girl under your protection is also a blessing for you, Court Lady Lee.”
The Chief Eunuch’s words contained many implications.
With those meaningful words, he left Court Lady Lee.
—Song Yeonhwa. She will become a woman who will be remembered throughout the history of Joseon.
The Chief Eunuch had not the slightest doubt about that thought as he returned to Gangnyeongjeon.
And so, dawn arrived.
Perhaps because she had slept more comfortably than usual, or perhaps because of the medicine she had taken in Gangnyeongjeon, Yeonhwa woke up early.
Careful not to wake Honggeum, who was still asleep, she quietly went outside and headed toward the kitchen.
She placed the lit kindling into the furnace and blew gently on it.
Pleased by the warmth rising from the fire, Yeonhwa softly closed her eyes.
“What are you doing? You really have it easy, don’t you?”
The palace maids of the kitchen did not allow Yeonhwa even a moment of leisure. At the forefront of them was Sibi.
“Even after getting punished like that, do you still want to be lazy? What? You haven’t even fetched the water yet!”
Seeing the girls glaring at her with Sibi leading them, Yeonhwa let out a deep sigh.
“What? What’s with that expression?”
When Sibi picked a fight with her, looking dissatisfied with everything, Yeonhwa relaxed her expression.
“I’ll go now.”
She picked up the empty water jar and left the kitchen.
At that moment, Yeonhwa remembered what had happened the previous day when the fire in the furnace had been extinguished. She turned around to go back into the kitchen.
Then she heard their voices and stopped.
“What did you give her yesterday?”
“Here!”
Sibi pulled out a jade tablet and showed it to them.
“Gopdan was grinding her teeth in anger.”
“But do we really have to go this far? It’s not as though she received His Majesty’s favor.”
“Still, isn’t that Yeonhwa girl really cute? All the palace maids who enter the King’s chambers lose their minds, but she isn’t affected at all, is she? Even if she hasn’t received His Majesty’s favor, they did spend the night together.”
“Exactly. The way she acts so high and mighty makes me sick.”
“She deserves whatever happens to her.”
As Yeonhwa heard the girls’ snickering laughter, her hands began to tremble.
“Let’s put the fire out completely this time. I hope she gets kicked out of the palace altogether while we’re at it.”
Sibi finished speaking and was just about to pour a bucket of water into the furnace.
“Stop.”
Yeonhwa threw down the water jar she was carrying and grabbed Sibi’s wrist—the hand holding the bucket.
“Ah!”
The bucket of water overturned, soaking Sibi as Yeonhwa stopped her. Sibi’s expression became fierce.
“What is this?! Hey!!!”
Furious, Sibi pushed Yeonhwa, knocking her to the ground. Then her hand immediately grabbed Yeonhwa by the hair.
“Ah!”
“Who do you think you are to hit me?! Do you want to learn just how fierce I can be?”
—If anyone lays a hand on you again, make sure you tell me. I will not let it go.
Yeonhwa remembered Hyun’s warning from the previous day.
She grabbed Sibi’s hand that was clutching her hair and glared at her.
“Don’t touch my body. I said don’t touch me!!”
“How ridiculous! Who do you think you are to order me around?”
At Sibi’s signal, the other girls surrounded Yeonhwa, pulling her hands away from Sibi’s wrist and pressuring her.
“Ahhh~~!!”
The fight grew increasingly violent as screams filled the kitchen.
“What are you all doing?”
At that moment, Court Lady Lee entered the kitchen and shouted at them.
Seeing Court Lady Lee, Sibi backed away from Yeonhwa with a smile as though she had just encountered her savior.
“Your Ladyship, you see, Yeonhwa—”
Smack.
Court Lady Lee’s furious palm struck Sibi hard across the cheek.
Unable to withstand the force, Sibi’s body crashed to the floor, causing the eyes of the surrounding girls to widen.
Yeonhwa was just as shocked.
“Your Ladyship!”
Sibi covered her cheek and looked at Court Lady Lee with tearful eyes.
“How is it that you girls never know when enough is enough? You foolish things who cannot even distinguish right from wrong.”
Court Lady Lee let out a deep sigh.
Then she helped Yeonhwa, who was still unable to get up, to her feet.
Could it be because of the Chief Eunuch yesterday?
A reasonable suspicion took root in Yeonhwa’s mind.
“You really are a stubborn child.”
Regardless of Yeonhwa’s visit to Gangnyeongjeon, Court Lady Lee intended to let her take a break from kitchen duties for the time being.
She had been hated and punished by Court Lady Lee, and had even collapsed.
Yet despite all that, Yeonhwa had stubbornly returned to the kitchen.
Court Lady Lee thought her foolishly persistent.
“I have asked the Royal Clinic to prepare some medicine for you, so take care of yourself for the time being.”
At Court Lady Lee’s words, even the maids who were present looked bewildered.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Return to your quarters.”
Court Lady Lee ignored Yeonhwa’s response and gave the order.
With no other choice, Yeonhwa left the kitchen.
Only then did Court Lady Lee distribute Yeonhwa’s duties among Sibi and the other girls.
Suddenly having free time, Yeonhwa found the unfamiliar idleness strange.
After spending the morning that way, her body felt stiff.
“Ah, this is suffocating.”
Finding it boring to remain inside her room, Yeonhwa took a book and went outside.
She headed toward the secret place she often visited whenever she was having a difficult time.
Then she remembered the day she had first met Hyun there.
Even if she had not dropped the ring, they would never have met.
She was lost in other thoughts for a moment when she hurried her steps and failed to avoid someone who suddenly came around the corner.
“I’m sorry.”
The man whose arm had brushed against hers saw the book that had fallen from Yeonhwa’s hands and bent down to apologize.
“It’s all right… Ah.”
Yeonhwa also bent down to pick up the book, only to bump her forehead against his.
“Are you all right?”
At the man’s concerned voice, Yeonhwa touched her forehead and raised her head.
The man also pulled his head back after speaking, then picked up Yeonhwa’s book again.
The moment he saw Yeonhwa’s face, his pupils widened as though he had been struck by an unexpected shock.
“I’m fine.”
His gaze, captivated by her large, dazzling eyes, soon moved to Yeonhwa’s small lips, red like a cherry.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Her small lips moved again, and a beautiful voice flowed from them like a song.
Her white skin and large, clear eyes created an image of pure innocence.
In contrast, her bright-red lips were sensual in a way that seemed almost out of place with such a face.
The beautiful appearance of Yeonhwa, made up of such opposing qualities, pierced deeply into the man’s heart.
The throbbing pain in his forehead seemed insignificant compared with the aching pain in his chest.
“N-No, nothing. I was moving too hurriedly and was discourteous to you, Court Lady.”
He lowered his eyes awkwardly as he spoke, and Yeonhwa also lowered her head.
But when he saw that Yeonhwa was not leaving, his heart began beating faster.
No matter how beautiful she was, a palace maid was the King’s woman.
What was he hoping for?
Just as he was admonishing himself and trying to control his feelings, Yeonhwa’s lips moved again.
“My book…”
“Ah! I’m sorry.”
Even he thought the situation was absurd.
He let out a hollow, low laugh and held the book in his hand out toward her.
“Thank you…”
“Yeonhwa? Is your name Yeonhwa?”
Before even handing over the book, the man looked at her with startled eyes.
“Yes, it is. Why do you ask?”
At her puzzled expression as she tilted her head, he unexpectedly burst into laughter.
Yeonhwa looked as though she thought she had encountered the strangest person in the world, and he found it rather adorable.
“Song Yeonhwa. It is a beautiful name. I only asked because it is the same as the name of a child I know, so please do not concern yourself with it.”
At his words, the color drained from Yeonhwa’s face, and she quickly snatched the book from his hand.
“Yes.”
Bowing her head, Yeonhwa hurried away from the spot as though fleeing.
Watching her retreating figure as she hurriedly avoided him, the man slowly lowered the corners of his mouth.
“If our Yeonhwa had been alive too, she would have been exactly that age.”
He remembered the image of a little girl running toward him, calling him oppa.
He even remembered the promise he had once made to her—that one day he would become a fine adult and protect her.
That beautiful child.
His eyes filled with longing.
Meanwhile, Yeonhwa, who had fled as though trying to escape the man, patted her chest.
—You must never attract the attention of anyone from the royal family or any high-ranking person.
Remembering the words of her adoptive father, she patted her chest again.
She had never imagined that there could be someone who remembered her.
But when she thought about it, even that no longer mattered.
She had already caught the attention of the King, the man who occupied the absolute highest position in the royal family.
And she had taken that King into her own small heart.
Yeonhwa’s clear eyes turned toward the bright blue sky.
What should I do now?
Her eyes, filled with fear as she looked toward the silent sky, were pitiful.
It was around sunset, when dusk was beginning to settle over the land.
“Is Yeonhwa here?”
When the voice of a Court Lady from the King’s private chambers was heard, Honggeum, who was in the quarters, opened her eyes wide and looked at Yeonhwa.
Unlike before, Honggeum’s eyes were filled with joy.
“It seems His Majesty is looking for you.”
At her words, Yeonhwa also blushed shyly.
“This time, don’t make any mistakes. Take good care of His Majesty.”
Honggeum encouraged Yeonhwa, giving her strength.
Yeonhwa softly nodded and opened the door.
The sharp gaze that had met her the first time she saw her was nowhere to be found. The Court Lady from the King’s private chambers was calm.
“Follow me.”
Yeonhwa lowered her head and followed behind her.
Today was just like that day.
Two palace maids came to her side and removed her clothes.
Yeonhwa stepped into the warm water, steam gently rising from it.
The maids carefully wiped Yeonhwa’s body with soft cloth.
They washed her with great care.
After thoroughly cleaning her body, they dressed her in fine clothes and even trimmed her fingernails and toenails, just as they had done that day.
“There is something you must remember.”
“Please tell me.”
“There is a certain etiquette you must observe when meeting His Majesty.”
