The Hated Male Concubine

#135 

“That reminds me…”

Yihan, who was writing down the order for the reports from all over the nation that needed to be answered, suddenly stopped writing and spoke. Eunuch Oh, assisting him from his side, looked up. The emperor’s gaze was on the inkstone on which Eunuch Oh was grinding the ink stick.

“Wasn’t there a good inkstone among the things sent from Seoju?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Shall I change this to that?”

Eunuch Oh stopped moving his hand and asked. Yihan only stared at the inkstone without answering for a while. The moment Eunuch Oh tried to ask again if he didn’t like the current inkstone, Yihan stopped looking, placed a new paper in front of him, and began to write something down. Eunuch Oh’s expression distorted subtly as he looked at the letters that were written quietly. Ignoring him, Yihan soon put down his brush and held out the paper to Eunuch Oh. 

“Order someone to deliver this to Seojeong Palace… With that inkstone.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Be careful not to get ink on the paper!”

He held out the letter as if it were nothing, but he grumbled as soon as Eunuch Oh tried to grab it. Somehow, it occurred to Eunuch Oh that the Emperor’s dignity seemed to be diminishing day by day, but the Emperor’s face looked obviously happy as he said that.

Eunuch Oh, who was also anxious when his master was in agony and wandering, wondered if this was a good thing and carefully took away the emperor’s letter with his hand that didn’t touch the ink stick.

“Tell him to go quickly.”

He decided to think it was a good thing, including the emperor’s additional order.

***

“Look at that. Some of them are blue.”

Hwawoon, who was watching the fish swarming for food, said in an excited voice. He seemed to be fascinated because it was a color that didn’t exist in the pond of Jeongan Palace. So Jeong, who was standing next to him, answered with a light smile. 

“When we go back to Jeongan Palace, I’ll tell the Department of Internal Affairs to fill up the pond with some fish of that color.”

“No, there’s no need to go that far…”

But even as he answered, Hwawoon’s eyes were still toward the bright-colored fish. When So Jeong was about to say something more to Hwawoon, a eunuch ran from behind and stood in front of Hwawoon. 

“Greetings, Your Highness Yeonbin. I came under the orders of His Majesty.” 

“His Majesty? Get up first.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What business has His Majesty sent you for?”

Hwawoon asked, unable to hide his excitement from the moment the word ‘His Majesty’ flowed out of the eunuch’s mouth. The eunuch immediately bent his back and held out what he had brought toward Hwawoon. It was a small box and a letter on it, not something that looked luxurious. A smile spread on Hwawoon’s face as soon as he saw the familiar letter. The eunuch said,

“His Majesty told me to deliver these to you, Your Highness.”

When Hwawoon, somewhat feeling impatient, reached out his hand and tried to receive the items, So Jeong hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Your Highness.” So Jeong took the letter from the eunuch first, handed it to Hwawoon, and then received the box. Hwawoon hurried to open the letter. 

[You never write a letter first these days, making me wonder if you don’t have an inkstone to grind the ink stick, so I sent it.]

The contents of the letter with a single line were words that made him wonder how unexpected it was. However, Hwawoon, who read that single line, looked extremely happy. So Jeong, being the quick-witted he was, opened the box. Inside was a glossy black inkstone.

“This is so precious…”

“Your Highness, please show your gratitude for His Majesty first.”

While Hwawoon was taken aback by the inkstone, which looked very luxurious at first glance, So Jeong opened his mouth again and awakened him. Only then did Hwawoon speak to the eunuch waiting in front of him.

“Well done for sending these. Tell His Majesty that I thank him from the bottom of my heart for this precious gift. I will write a reply and send it immediately.”

“Yes, Your Highness Yeonbin. I will leave now.”

Hwawoon watched the eunuch leave for a moment and then turned to the inkstone he received. He couldn’t tell where it was made, but it was clear that it was made for the emperor to use. He was worried if he could accept it, but on the other hand, he kept smiling because he remembered a line from the emperor’s letter. 

He must have been sulking because Hwawoon never sent him a letter recently. 

Hwawoon, leaving a smile that couldn’t be hidden no matter how hard he tried, said to So Jeong.

“Let’s go in now.”

He had to hurry up and write the reply.

***

“Why did you do something unnecessary?”

Yihan let out a disapproving voice as he looked at Yeon Juwon, who remained under his command.

“Did you notice that?”

Yeon Juwon smiled lightly, bowing his head. Yihan clicked his tongue once as he saw his nonchalant face.

There was a commotion at the gathering of all the ministers. The emperor criticized Yeon Juwon for making an absurd opinion. The atmosphere in the Great Hall naturally froze in an instant. It was really rare for the emperor to shout at Yeon Juwon, not anyone else. When the emperor told everyone except Yeon Juwon to leave, there were doubts on the face of the leaving ministers.

However, the atmosphere between Yihan and Yeon Juwon facing each other was completely different. Yihan, who was looking at Yeon Juwon’s smiling face, opened his mouth. 

“You said something stupid that you wouldn’t do even by mistake, so how could I not notice? It was obvious.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy in playing along with me.”

Yihan shook his head once at the sight of Yeon Juwon bowing deeply and continued with a somewhat lowered voice. 

“Do you really need to go that far?”

“…”

“I doubt there’s any point in doing this kind of act in the first place.”

“Your Majesty. People are simpler than they look, and they tend to fall for what they see… Aren’t they the ones who thought that the Yeon family would fall because His Highness Yeonbin couldn’t do the right thing?”

“So, since I often visit Yeonbin, there will be a group that will praise you too much because of that?”

“We tend to worry more as we get older, Your Majesty.”

Juwon’s unwavering answer made Yihan quiet and think for a moment.

Juwon wasn’t wrong. Those who would react sensitively to the change in the emperor’s attitude toward Yeonbin wouldn’t just be inside the palace. Until now, except for Yeonbin, the empress and other concubines were on good terms, and the emperor was also treating them fairly, so the ministers were not much swayed and wary by that. But the situation had changed. Rumors had spread that Yeonbin, Yeon Hwawoon, the son of the emperor’s most trusted and cherished person, was suddenly monopolizing the emperor’s love.

Until now, Yeonbin had been treated coldly to the extent that it was openly said that the only power to stop Yeon Juwon’s lead was his son. In other words, it was equivalent to saying that no one could keep the Yeon family in check in this nation. However, if the son of that family also captured the emperor’s heart, who could stand up to the Yeon family? Even if they did not show it on the surface, the ministers must have thought of those in power who could stop even the emperors from moving at their will in history.

The only fortunate thing was that Yeonbin was a man and could not give birth. No one would think that Juwon pushed his son into the palace because of that. So, Juwon was sure that most of them would believe the uncomfortable atmosphere between the emperor and himself today.

Juwon, who was calmly accepting Yihan’s silence, said first this time, 

“Your Majesty.”

“…”

“Did His Highness Yeonbin really change that much?”

The asking voice was so heavy compared to before. He remembered Sukjin, who couldn’t relax and be happy at the news that their son was receiving the emperor’s attention. She was confused by the sudden change in her son, and on the other hand, she wanted to be happy that her son would have a better life in the palace. But she was also worried that if her son regained his memory, he would go back to his past self and have more difficult days. Even though Juwon always told her indifferently that the emperor would take care of it, how could he feel at ease inside?

To Juwon’s question, the emperor thought for a moment and answered.

“It is somewhat unreasonable to say he has changed. I feel like I’m dealing with someone else.”

“… Is that so?”

“Come to think of it, Yeonbin went through a lot of big trouble one after another… I can let you meet him if you want.”

Not long after the drowning accident, there was another accident at the banquet. Originally, it was difficult for a concubine to meet their family members once they entered the palace unless they got pregnant, but it was not impossible at all. In addition, since Hwawoon was a man, it was impossible for him to get pregnant, so it would not be against the custom to let his father, an important figure Yeon Juwon he was, meet him once. 

However, Yeon Juwon shook his head after agonizing for a while.