The Hated Male Concubine

#162

“Your Highness, please take your medicine.”

Ahjin supported Hwawoon’s lethargic body, sitting him up and leaning him against her, then held out her hand to Seoseo, who was holding a medicine bowl. Seoseo, who was crying, snorted and passed the bowl to her.

“Shouldn’t His Majesty let us call in the doctor? He even knows how weak His Highness is!”

Clutching the empty tray tightly in both hands, Seoseo had an unusually angry expression on her face.

Hwawoon’s health had been deteriorating gradually ever since he was confined, and today, it had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Under normal circumstances, they would have called the doctor to check his condition long before it got this bad. However, with everyone being unable to come and go due to the restrictions, seeking medical help was impossible. They tried to get him to drink the concocted medicinal herbs they had received earlier, but there was no improvement. Now, they had even run out of these herbs and were relying on the medicine sent by Jeongbin.

Hwawoon’s body burned with fever, and he shivered as though trapped in ice. Whether it was from the pain or a nightmare, tears continued to stream down his cheeks, and he struggled to breathe. Ahjin and Seoseo felt a sense of helplessness, as there was nothing more they could do. After managing to get Hwawoon to drink his medicine, Ahjin gently laid him back down and stood up. The meaning behind her eyes, as she looked down at Hwawoon, remained inscrutable.

“What should we do if His Highness continues to get worse like this? Unnie, what should we do?”

Seoseo asked, trembling anxiously. She had thought that all the hard days had gone since the Emperor stayed in her master’s bedroom every day. She had thought the future would be full of happy things for her master, but this happened out of a sudden. Seoseo couldn’t believe that the Emperor, who was so kind and compassionate, would turn his back on her master like this.

“Seoseo.”

Just then, Ahjin, who had been looking at Hwawoon’s face in silence, opened her mouth. Her voice was so heavy and grave that Seoseo stopped whining and looked at Ahjin.

“Take good care of His Highness.”

“Unnie…?”

“I’m going to go out for a while.”

Seoseo, taken aback by the unexpected statement, instinctively felt uneasy and grabbed Ahjin’s wrist.

“Where, where are you going, Unnie? We can’t go out because of His Majesty’s order…”

“Seoseo, if I’m not there, you’re the one who has to protect His Highness from the closest place. You know that, right”

“Why… why are you saying that? Why aren’t you here…?”

Seoseo sobbed uncontrollably. She wasn’t sure of Ahjin’s intentions, but she could sense a determined resolve in her. Seoseo could tell it wasn’t going to be a good thing.

Ahjin squeezed Seoseo’s hand on her wrist and spoke.

“Seoseo, I’ve been saved from hell because of His Highness. Therefore, I have to do anything for his sake.”

“Let’s… let’s do it together, Unnie? We just need to serve him well by his side, don’t we?”

Ahjin’s gaze focused back to Hwawoon, who was still unable to regain his senses. Of course, he could have gotten better after suffering for a while like this. But Ahjin’s instincts, having watched Hwawoon who had a weak body for so long, kept warning her that he was in grave danger if she didn’t call for a doctor immediately. Maybe it was just her anxiety since she wasn’t a doctor, but she couldn’t afford to be complacent when it came to something as important as Hwawoon’s life.

“No matter what, I’ll find a way to get a doctor here. Take care of His Highness.”

Ahjin squeezed Seoseo’s hand once more, then released it and turned to leave the bedroom.

***

“Miss Ahjin, please calm down. Why are you acting so recklessly?”

Jamun, looking flabbergasted, held his hands out in order to calm Ahjin down. However, the expression on Ahjin’s face in front of him was so calm that it was hard to believe that she was holding a dagger to her own throat. A trickle of blood began to run down her neck where the dagger’s tip touched, yet Ahjin continued to speak without a hint of concern.

“His Highness is in critical condition. If I don’t take action, things will truly go awry. Please… just let me go this once. If you don’t, I’ll resort to telling His Majesty, even if it means ending my own life right here.”

“Miss Ahjin, please don’t do that. We can talk about it…!”

“Hasn’t His Highness Yeonbin also been kind to all the guards in Seojeong Palace? If His Majesty knows that I’ve caused such a ruckus, he won’t punish you severely for sending me out. So please… let me go just this—!”

Ahjin didn’t get to finish her sentence. A powerful force suddenly struck Ahjin’s wrist, and the dagger she was holding clattered to the ground. As she wrapped her other hand around her painful wrist and turned her head, Ahjin saw an impassive-looking Seocheon. His hand was holding a sword that hadn’t been removed from its scabbard.

“Guard Seocheon!”

“Even if you call the doctor, he will never come here unless with His Majesty’s permission. Are you going to go out and implore His Majesty?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes! If anything goes wrong with His Highness, I’m as good as dead anyway.”

Ahjin said as she stared at Seocheon with a sharp gaze. It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand them. They must be afraid of the punishment they would receive if they sent her out without permission. However, Ahjin had to do something. She couldn’t just leave her master like this. The Emperor, even if he had misunderstood something, was not one to ignore her sick master like this, so she must see him.

Just then, Seocheon spoke up.

“If you leave, everyone here will get involved.”

“…”

“… I’ll go, so you, Miss Ahjin, stay by His Highness Yeonbin’s side.”

“Will… you?”

“Seocheon!”

Jamun, bewildered, called out Seocheon’s name loudly. He knew that Seocheon had acted strangely in matters involving Yeonbin before, but this was really crossing the line. However, Seocheon didn’t even look back at Jamun; he simply fixed his gaze on Ahjin.

Ahjin squinted her eyes. She was surprised as she didn’t expect it, but she also wanted to know what Seocheon’s intention was. If the one offering help hadn’t been Seocheon, she would have bowed down to him, but she was bothered by the way he’d looked the last time he had asked about her master’s condition. As Ahjin didn’t reply immediately, Seocheon spoke.

“I just need to inform His Majesty that you’ve conveyed His Highness Yeonbin is in critical condition, and if we don’t act, something terrible might happen to him. Is that acceptable?”

“… Yes. Thank you. Please inform His Majesty.”

In the end, Ahjin could only bow her head and accept Seocheon’s offer. Doubts lingered in the back of her mind, but at this point, there seemed to be no better option. Saving her master’s life was of utmost importance, regardless of the cost.

Seocheon bowed to Ahjin and departed from Seojeong Palace. Ahjin anxiously watched the spot where he had disappeared for a long while.

***

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

At the road taken by the Emperor’s palanquin, a commoner guard knelt down and raised his voice. It was Seocheon. The Emperor’s guards immediately held their swords against Seocheon who dared to block the Emperor’s palanquin. Yihan raised his hand, and the palanquin came to a halt. Eunuch Oh stepped forward and shouted.

“Who are you to dare to block His Majesty’s path?! Do you wish to die?!”

“Your Majesty! I am a guard from Seojeong Palace!”

Yihan, who had been leaning against the palanquin with a tired face, straightened his back at the mention of Seojeong Palace and stared at the guard, who was kneeling in front of him. Even with his head bowed, he looked vaguely familiar.

“How dare you in front of His Majesty!”

“That’s enough.”

The Emperor’s voice, low and heavy, made Eunuch Oh back away after shouting once more. The emperor continued.

“Raise your head.”

Upon the emperor’s command, Seocheon slowly lifted his head, still gazing at the ground. Eunuch Oh, the first to recognize Seocheon’s face, gasped, but Seocheon’s expression remained impassive. Yihan squinted and stared at Seocheon’s face, his brows furrowing. He recalled when and where he had seen that guard and from whose lips he had heard the name once before.

Suddenly, a fire ignited within him. Yihan vividly remembered Yeon Hwawoon’s voice calling out the name “Seocheon.” Yihan had unquestionably heard that name when Yeon Hwawoon had talked about the people he had lived within the guards’ residential area during his time as “Hawoon.” This was also the same man who had rescued Hwawoon when he had fallen into the pond.

Yihan began to wonder if that guard had already known something. Had Hwawoon confided in him something that Yihan had been unaware of until now? Was that why he had saved Yeon Hwawoon, who had inadvertently led Hawoon to his death, and why he now stood before him, boldly obstructing his path and mentioning Seojeong Palace?

Yihan’s hands trembled as he gripped the armrests. A fever surged through his body. He wished he could leap out of the palanquin and seize the man by the collar. As he considered this, Yihan suddenly realized the intensity of his emotions and bit his lip. There was no concrete proof that Hwawoon had actually disclosed everything to this man first, and yet Yihan felt such anger simply based on an assumption. His confidence in the belief that he could never become like the previous emperor, even if he had a favored concubine, crumbled in an instant.