The Hated Male Concubine

Lying on the bed, Hwawoon looked down at his hands. It had been a while since the emperor returned, but Hwawoon couldn’t take his eyes off while continuously clenched and relaxed his fists because that person’s warmth seemed to remain in his hands.

The voice of the emperor, who said that he had not thought that far without nitpicking him, lingered in his ears. Yet there was more. Even though the atmosphere was like thin ice that both Eunuch Oh and Ahjin were frozen, he reached out his hand to him, who was kneeling, and did not hold him responsible until he left.

The corner of his lips kept stretching up without him knowing. His fingertips throbbed and his face also furtively flushed. His heart was strangely full, and he felt like running to the streets where he had lived and screaming, ‘our Emperor is very a benevolent man,’ if he could.

No, no, maybe that was not what he really wanted to say. The reason why Hwawoon was so happy, excited, and unable to sleep wouldn’t simply be because the emperor was a wise emperor.

So, Hwawoon—he felt like he was recognized.

That his choice wasn’t wrong. Even though he had gone through many things, it was by no means wrong for him to walk down a long road to stay next to the emperor. Therefore, he didn’t need to regret anything.

He felt like that was recognized—feeling that he had proved it. Even if he went back to that day, he could be so sure that Hawoon would come to this place where the Emperor is without hesitation.

Hence, Hwawoon smiled. The emperor’s voice, touch, and breath were all so vivid that it was a night when he seemed to be unable to sleep.

***

“Eunuch Oh.”

The Empress, who was sitting facing Yihan and was having a luncheon, suddenly called Eunuch Oh in a heavy voice. And Yihan, who had been barely eating while thinking about other things, turned his head as well and looked at the Empress. Jaran didn’t look at Yihan and then said to Eunuch Oh, who answered, “yes, Your Majesty.” while bowing his back.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything until His Majesty’s face became so bad?”

Yihan opened his eyes wide at the unexpected words from the Empress, and Eunuch Oh immediately kneeled and said while bowing his head.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress. Please punish this person for failing to do his duty properly and for his lack of devotion to His Majesty.”

“No, no…”

Yihan hesitated, being flustered by the grave atmosphere between the Empress and Eunuch Oh while he himself didn’t even think about it, then quickly continued,

“It’s not like that, Empress.”

“Your Majesty, did you have a good sleep last night?”

“Well, that…” 

“Your complexion is not good enough to be seen at a glance. I’m sure you’re not having a good lunch because you don’t have any appetite.”

Every word the Empress said really touched on Yihan’s current state so accurately that Yihan got speechless and just closed his mouth. However, it was entirely the emperor’s will to wander around Suhwawon until dawn without listening to Eunuch Oh, who persuaded him to take a rest. In other words, it was not something that Eunuch Oh dared to negotiate.

“Is there anything more important than His Majesty’s body? If you couldn’t handle it yourself, you should have told me, the empress, before things became like this.”

“…”

“Am I wrong, Eunuch Oh?”

The Empress’s words meant that she knew that the emperor ruined his health himself without listening to Eunuch Oh. She was scolding Eunuch Oh that he should have told her, the empress, so that they could take care of the emperor even if she had to move personally. Therefore, what would this mean aside from the Empress scolding the Emperor for not listening to Eunuch Oh and ruining his own health?

Yihan, who thought that far, eased his flustered expression, then looked at the Empress with an awkward smile, and Eunuch Oh bowed his head again.

“You are absolutely right, Your Majesty the Empress. Please punish this person who was careless.”

But it was the Emperor who opened his mouth first before the Empress answered it. 

“… It was my fault. So, Empress, relax your mind.”

At that moment, the eyes of the Empress, Jaran, left Eunuch Oh and turned to Yihan. From the time she was in the royal residence until now, she had always been wary of, scolding, and encouraging Yihan from time to time. Her eyes were the eyes of the closest loyalist. Jaran, who looked at Yihan without saying a word for a while, spoke to Eunuch Oh, who was kneeling.

“His Majesty is someone who’s already going down the most difficult path in the history of the nation. You have to pay more attention, so he won’t worry about anything else.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will keep it in mind.”

“Get up now.”

So he won’t worry about anything else. 

The Empress purposely emphasized that utterance. Yihan seemed to listen to and regarded it lightly, but Jaran, who saw Eunuch Oh’s eyes turn sharp for a moment, noticed that he had realized her implication.

Yihan did not seem to realize what he was so disturbed by that he could not sleep, so if it was the responsibility of those who served the emperor to remind him of it. Then how far will the Empress fulfill her responsibility? Eunuch Oh, who couldn’t bear to ask the empress, just stood up and bowed his head.

***

“Bring this to Jinnyeong Residence.” 

“Jinnyeong Residence?” 

Ahjin looked at her master with surprised eyes and asked back. Jinnyeong Residence referred to Jeongbin’s palace, but Hwawoon told her to bring the steaming osmanthus rice cake that she just made to that place. In spite of Ahjin’s question, Hwawoon replied with a nonchalant expression.

“Last time I saw her, she seemed to like osmanthus rice cake, but because His Majesty came, she couldn’t eat much and returned. Since we’re making it, it’d be nice to share it.” 

However, despite Hwawoon’s answer, Ahjin wriggled her lips with an unwilling expression. Just as all the courtiers in other palaces did not believe that Hwawoon had changed, Ahjin could not believe in Jeongbin, who suddenly pretended to be close to her master.

Isn’t she Jeongbin who will not lose to anyone with her bad feelings towards Yeonbin? Of course, since her master had done something to her, Ahjin didn’t want to argue about it either, but it was very suspicious that Jeongbin was sticking to her master so much that she came all the way to Jeongan Palace in one day. 

“Do you really need to do that, Your Highness…?”

Her master as of now was so beautiful and tender that if someone approached him with a bad intention, he would definitely get hurt, so Ahjin, who was forced to be more vigilant, once again said in a tone of reluctance. Hwawoon without a doubt paid her no heed.

“Don’t act like that and bring it to her. How grateful I am for her being the person who accepted me and approached me first.”

However, in following Hwawoon’s words, Ahjin couldn’t help but surrender. It was because she was reminded of how her master’s efforts, which always got ignored, turned to be a pain in his heart, though he did not express it. Suddenly feeling dejected, Ahjin answered, “yes…”. Looking at that, Hwawoon talked with a brighter voice as if he was cheering Ahjin up. 

“By the way, if all the snacks are ready, tell everyone to gather and eat. You have to take care of every single one of them, okay?”

Ahjin’s expression turned bright again at those words. Jeongan Palace was in an atmosphere where everyone was excited and noisy as never before because, under the command of her master, she decided to make snacks today and share them with the girls of Jeongan Palace.

The ingredients for the food that were distributed to each palace were actually always more than necessary. In particular, the expensive and good ingredients could only be eaten by the owner of the palace, and it was unacceptable to send poor ingredients to the Majesty Emperor’s concubines, so the amount was bound to come so much that it could not be eaten alone. As a result, the remaining ingredients would go bad over time.

However, a few days ago, Hwawoon, who found out that the thrown-away food was overflowing every time, made a suggestion first. Let’s eat them together; saying he can’t eat it all by himself, so wouldn’t it be good to make delicious food and share it with everyone? 

Needless to say, how many times did Ahjin bite her lip to keep her from crying when she first heard those words? Ahjin had never heard of or imagined a master who thinks of sharing luxurious food with their subordinates just because it is thrown away. It was only natural that the young courtiers in Jeongan Palace who heard the words from Ahjin on that day were all in tears.

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll take care of everything so that everyone can eat it.”

“And this…” 

Hwawoon noticed that Ahjin’s voice was a little wet, but he didn’t want to show any sympathy for no reason, so he pretended not to know, and this time, he looked at the box that was prepared more splendidly than anything else. Ahjin, who sniffed once, quickly accepted the order.

“This too… I will deliver this safely to His Majesty.”

Even if the emperor didn’t want it, even though this was only such an insignificant thing, Hwawoon wanted to express his gratitude to the Emperor.