The Hated Male Concubine

“Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“How is Yeonbin?”

Before the concubines could finish their greetings, the Emperor gestured them to raise up urgently, approached the bed and asked. His voice was uncharacteristically frantic. In the guest room in the Empress Palace, Hwawoon, who collapsed after the morning greetings, laid there and got his pulse checked. 

The Empress immediately called the imperial doctor and sent someone to Jungcheon Hall. And Yihan, who had just come out of the morning inquiry earlier than usual, heard the news right away and rushed to the Empress Palace.

Inside the room, it wasn’t just the Empress, but also Sukbi and Jeongbin. Hwawoon collapsed while they were all together, and everyone was so worried that they couldn’t leave.

“Please sit down and talk, Your Majesty.”

The Empress, Jaran, spoke cautiously to Yihan, who stood and peered around the bed despite the fact that a chair had been provided for him to sit. Realizing that everyone was standing instead of sitting because of him, Yihan made a reluctant move and sat down in the chair. His heart, which had been pounding since he heard the news, was still racing. He thought Hwawoon had been feeling much better recently, but hearing the news of his sudden collapse made him anxious and nervous, and he couldn’t stand it.

How could you be so weak? Why do you torture my heart like this? A storm of emotions, unknown whether they were sadness or sorrow, swirled inside him. Yihan thought of all the food and medicine that Eunuch Oh brought in every day to strengthen his body. He even thought to himself that in the future, he should make another one and send it to Yeon Hwawoon when Eunuch Oh brought it to him. At that time, the doctor took a step back from the bed and knelt before the Emperor.

“What is it? Why did Yeonbin suddenly lose his consciousness?”

At the question, the doctor became flustered and hesitated to answer, “Well, Your Majesty, it is…” Yihan’s heart dropped to rock bottom. Is his condition serious? Is he suffering from a very severe illness? He suddenly thought of the story of Jeongan Palace’s male concubine who was weak and died early from his illness. Yihan wondered if the problem was with the palace’s location. While the Emperor was caught by his fear and unable to say anything, Jaran spoke on his behalf. 

“How dare you hesitate. Hurry up and tell His Majesty about Yeonbin’s condition.” 

“Yes, Yes…! Well… His Highness Yeonbin is not particularly sick…”

“He’s not sick, but why is he not conscious?” 

This time, the Emperor raised his voice. The doctor, having bit his lip once, finally said, his voice trembling.

“It’s only a decline in his vigor…”

“Vigor?”

“He’s a weak person, and I suspect he’s been pushing himself too hard lately, Your Majesty…”

“Yeonbin is a concubine. Why would such a person push himself too…!”

Feeling frustrated with the unreasonable answer from the doctor, Yihan raised his voice even higher but then stopped talking. Yihan wanted to ask what would make someone who spent most of his day in his palace, someone who always had to take care of his body, to push himself to the point of collapsing. However, what happened in the nights after they moved to Myeonghawon flashed through his mind.

It wasn’t like he had never done it before, but there was something so different about a night with Hwawoon that once the night started, it was hard to let him go. The heat in his body didn’t subside throughout the night, and with each passing day, Hwawoon seemed to get used to it, albeit in small ways, so Yihan thought he was okay. Yihan suddenly remembered when Hwawoon would say, ‘please,’ ‘stop,’ while shivering in those nights. It suddenly occurred to Yihan that the self-control he had exercised because he knew his body was weak might not have felt that way to Hwawoon at all.

The emperor remained silent, suddenly blushing faintly, and an awkward silence slowly settled into the room. Everyone could guess the reason for Yeonbin’s collapse. The doctor prostrated himself before the emperor as if he had committed a crime worthy of death. Jaran was the one to break the silence.

“So, this means he’s just exhausted and there’s nothing wrong with him?”

“Yes, Empress. He just needs to take his medication, eat well, and recuperate for a few days. But…”

“But?”

“But… Well… His Highness has to take a complete rest…”

Sweat was now dripping from the doctor’s forehead. The Emperor lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hand. In other words, Yihan shouldn’t pester Hwawoon at night for the time being. Holding back the laughter that threatened to break out, Jaran said.

“All right. I understand. You may go now. Prepare the medicine and send it to Seojeong Palace.”

“Yes, Empress. Your Majesty, I will take my leave now.”

The Emperor lost his words, his hand was still covering his eyes. The Empress nodded on his behalf, and the doctor quickly rose to his feet and left the suffocating room.

“We’ve found out that nothing’s wrong with Yeonbin, so we’ll take our leave, Your Majesty.”

This time, Sukbi raised herself and spoke to the Emperor, who still could not raise his head. Jeongbin, next to her, also raised up and looked at Hwawoon, who was still unconscious. She seemed to have a lot to say, but she was barely holding it together. Her squinted eyes slanted up as she stole a glance at the Emperor without anyone knowing. She wondered why he had pushed Yeonbin to the point of collapse while knowing full well that his body was too weak. However, as a concubine, she could not dare to say such things to the Emperor.

“Very well. You guys should go back too.”

This time as well, it was Jaran who sent them out instead of the Emperor. Biyoung, unable to contain her laughter, exchanged a quick glance with Jaran, and then left the room with Songhyun, whose cheeks were puffed up.

“Your Majesty.”

After sending out all her subordinates with her gaze, Jaran called the Emperor. Yihan’s shoulders jerked.

“I think Yeonbin is happy with whatever you give him.”

“That’s…”

“So I hope you can be more careful with him, Your Majesty.”

In other words, Yeonbin, a concubine, would not dare to refuse the emperor, so you should restrain yourself. Of course, Jaran didn’t say it so blatantly, but it certainly sounded that way to Yihan’s ears.

In fact, the Emperor himself was flustered as well because he had never been this frantic and impatient about someone. For Yihan, all this time, sleeping together did not differ from any other duty an emperor might have. But that wasn’t the case with Hwawoon. Once their lips met, an unbearable thirst washed over him, and no matter how many times he drank Hwawoon’s breath, he was still chasing after it. In his defense, though, he was restraining himself in consideration of Hwawoon’s body, but Hwawoon was an exceptionally weak person, so it must have been hard for him to spend every night like that.

“Yes… I’ll do so…”

The emperor’’s body shrank slightly as he answered. When he glanced over again, Hwawoon’s face was still pale, causing him to feel a surge of guilt.

“Your Majesty.”

Just then, he heard Eunuch Oh’s voice from outside the door, and Yihan’s expression darkened. Yihan knew why Eunuch Oh called him. Today, he was supposed to hear a report from the Minister of Finance after the morning inquiry. But the Emperor had rushed all the way here, so the Minister of Finance must be waiting for him in Jungcheon Hall without knowing anything.

Instead of answering, Yihan stood up and sat down on the bed where Hwawoon was lying. He knew the Empress was watching, but he couldn’t afford to care. His heart had been broken when he heard Hwawoon collapse, and he felt even sorry knowing that he was the reason of it. Yihan held Hwawoon’s bony hand, trying to steady his turbulent emotions.

If he could, he would stay with him until he woke up. Yihan realized that he had a newfound desire within him, one that he wanted to put above his duties and responsibilities. Just the other day, Yihan was seized with anxiety, thinking that if he ever had this kind of feeling, the heavens would open up and the earth would shake, but now, looking at Yeon Hwawoon’s face, he could so naturally recall the love emotion. Thinking about how he wanted to be by his side when he was sick and postponing his appointment with his minister.

“Your Majesty, you may rest assured now. I will take care of Yeonbin and send him back once he wakes up.”

Jaran, who had gotten a general idea of the situation from Eunuch Oh’s voice, stepped forward and said. Yihan nodded.

Yihan knew well that he had to fulfill his responsibilities as the emperor, especially if he wanted to keep Yeon Hwawoon in his heart. Love cannot grant the emperor any indulgence. It should not. Yihan knew better than anyone else that as the Emperor, he should not use personal feelings as an excuse.