HLCOB C53
by berryChapter 53
Jaheon had already dimly foreseen it—
Whom he would meet at the end of this road.
Thus he could not simply wait idly for the Emperor’s death, which might come at any time. For Jaheon as well, the investiture of Lady He as Empress was a matter of survival.
“I have been insolent, Your Highness.”
Withdrawing before Lady He, Jaheon offered his salute.
“Please punish this servant.”
Though he had uttered words tantamount to treason, his face remained tranquil. At the sight, Lady He let out a hollow laugh. Strangely, however, the fury that had once filled her mind had long since dissipated.
“….”
After gazing down at the kneeling Jaheon for some time, Lady He at last extended her hand to draw forth a vial from the drawer.
“Attend me.”
She summoned a servant.
“Take this to Concubine Wang.”
“…?”
“Tell her it is an antidote, that it would be wise to drink it within three days. And as for that maid—cut out her tongue and drive her to the Cold Palace.”
At those words, Jaheon was struck speechless.
“….”
So that was why she had remained calm even upon hearing of Concubine Wang’s pregnancy. Who could have known she had already moved beforehand? Yet upon reflection, it was only natural.
“Madness.”
The harem was Lady He’s domain.
“As in the original history, she had resolved to kill her no matter what.”
Standing upon the brink of her investiture, Lady He was already mistress of the harem. Could there be anything within she did not know? She must have realized long before that Concubine Wang was with child.
“Im Yirang, it seems your words were right.”
Lady He, her face once more returned to calm, looked at him with a smile almost sweet.
“The time is not yet ripe. Therefore, I shall not punish you.”
One would scarce believe this was the same woman who had hurled a teacup at him in a rage but moments earlier.
“Ha… Does living within the palace drive one mad?”
Letting out a brief sigh, Jaheon addressed her again.
“Your Highness.”
He had known she could not be dissuaded—but that she had already taken action was beyond expectation. He asked,
“Yet I cannot help but feel aggrieved. Why would Your Highness act in such matters without first consulting me?”
“…? Was it not obvious you would attempt to stop me?”
“….”
At that instant, Jaheon’s head reeled.
“My intent was to kill first, then ask you to devise a way to cover it up.”
Leaving him at a loss for words, Lady He pouted as she spoke.
“In truth, it is your fault.”
“…?”
“Had you not been distracted, had you kept firm hold of His Majesty, Concubine Wang would never have conceived, and I would not have had to act thus.”
The sudden flood of reproach left Jaheon stunned. Distracted? What could she mean by that? Bereft of strength even to argue, he could only bow his head and apologize.
“…Yes. Indeed, it must be my fault.”
It felt as though apology was the only option.
“Then all is well. And next time you come to see me, take care.”
Lady He accepted his apology with a smile—and a warning.
“Some of the guards around my quarters have been changed.”
“….”
At present, the Commandant of the Guards—the post held in proxy by Cao Cao—was the one who oversaw the palace infantry. And those guards were stationed in every residence within the palace.
“So this too is the work of Cao Cao.”
Now he grasped who came and went through all the palace doors. No doubt he intended to use such knowledge to seize the weaknesses of the ministers and shake them as he pleased.
“Thus, if you wander in too freely, your lover may grow jealous. You should take care.”
“…?”
No, this was surely meant to unsettle Jaheon himself.
“Your Highness…”
Forcing himself to speak, Jaheon asked at last,
“Just now… by ‘lover,’ surely you do not mean Aman?”
“Do I not? The rumor runs rife within the palace. They say Cao Zhonglang and His Majesty quarreled over you.”
Lady He sipped her tea calmly.
Jaheon’s face grew taut with disbelief. He swallowed back the shout that rose to his lips and answered as evenly as he could. The woman before him was soon to be imperial kin. He was in no position to raise his voice.
“Never, Your Highness. It is impossible that I and Aman are lovers.”
“But Im Yirang, did you not just now call him by his childhood name?”
“Your Highness, there were circumstances…”
“…Hm. So Cao Zhonglang is not your lover, but merely a fleeting tie? Or is it perhaps that handsome bastard of the Yuan clan, newly appointed Yirang, famed for his looks?”
Jaheon shut his eyes tightly.
“This servant shall remain silent, Your Highness.”
Lady He burst into merry laughter at the sight.
“Well then, regardless of who your lover may be, since you have come here, you should at least look upon the prince.”
It had already been a month since the prince’s return to the palace—the homecoming of the son Lady He had so long awaited.
“If your words hold true, then my son must surely become Crown Prince.”
Yet when she spoke of the prince, a fleeting displeasure passed across Lady He’s face.
“…?”
Even Jaheon perceived that hint of discontent.
Upon meeting the prince, Jaheon understood.
“So this was why.”
Why Lady He had been so desperate to destroy the pregnant Concubine Wang.
“Are you that famed Lord Huaseo?!”
The boy, looking no more than ten, was named Liu Bian, son of the Emperor and Lady He. Yet he bore an air unseen among those reared in the palace. In the inner court, even a child wore a mask of weary detachment.
But the prince was different.
“Now that I see your face, I know why the rumors spread so widely!”
With such a disposition, he would not survive even a year in the harem.
“Of all the countless tales I have heard, you alone live up to them, Lord Huaseo!”
Truly, the prince lacked the qualities of a Crown Prince.
“Your Highness finds this servant so curious?”
It was unlike what one might expect from the son of both Emperor and Lady He. That such a child could be born of those two mad souls was strangely fascinating. With gentle voice, Jaheon asked.
At his question, the prince, delighted, answered eagerly.
“Of course! Do you know? In the market there is none who does not know your name—”
“Prince.”
Lady He’s sharp voice cut through. Startled, the boy ducked his head. And like a memorized line, he murmured,
“Th-this foolish child was wrong, Mother.”
With a sigh, Lady He rebuked him.
“How many times have I told you? This is the imperial palace. You must not act as carelessly as you did outside. How many times have I pleaded this with you?”
“….”
“You are soon to be Crown Prince. Prince, take care that no trace of your life outside the palace remains.”
Casting a long sigh, she turned to Jaheon.
“As you see, he has much to learn. Im Yirang, you must instruct him.”
Glancing the boy up and down, her expression full of disapproval, she added,
“You were appointed Crown Prince’s Tutor by His Majesty himself. I trust you will do well.”
Excessive expectation begets disappointment in equal measure.
The prince, raised for over ten years outside the palace, had failed to live up to her hopes. It was no wonder Lady He had been willing to risk so much to destroy Concubine Wang, heavy with child.
“Teach the prince what it means to bear himself as heir to the throne.”
Leaving her son behind, Lady He departed. Jaheon offered his bow.
“Go safely, Your Highness.”
The prince, however, offered no bow.
“….”
Head lowered, he stood dispirited, his face shadowed. Seeing this, Jaheon laid a hand upon his head.
“Your Highness.”
“…?”
Though it was an act of great impropriety, none of the palace attendants rebuked him. Jaheon was the Emperor’s favored attendant and the trusted aide of Lady He, who ruled the harem.
“Your mother surely spoke only for your sake.”
It was meant as comfort.
Yet the prince’s mood did not lighten.
“I cannot become the Crown Prince she desires.”
Could it be otherwise? Lady He had clawed her way across a field of knives within this frozen palace, rising to become consort of the Emperor. It was inevitable she found this guileless child displeasing.
“…Then, why not be so only in her presence?”
“…?”
“When not before her eyes, live as you wish. Is that not enough?”
Thus Jaheon offered a solution, one born of his own dealings with Lady He.
“You are right! That will do! Why, how did I not think of it?”
At his words, the boy brightened with sudden delight.
“Was it not because you dislike lying to your mother?”
“Yes—you are right. I did not wish to lie to her.”
It was but a few words.
“Huaseo! And do you know…!”
But with those few words, the prince’s heart opened. And so he poured forth everything. Tales of his life outside the palace, of his first sight of the inner court, of the awe he felt…
“…But my father, the Emperor, is frightening.”
Even of his meeting with the Emperor.
“I was so terrified I knew not what to say, and so I made a fool of myself.”
Truly, to stand before the Emperor without trembling was scarcely human. At his words, Jaheon chuckled softly.
“You did well.”
For the Emperor was lenient toward fools. Folly was unpredictable, but stupidity could be anticipated.
“Perhaps it is better to feign dullness.”
At this, the prince spoke anxiously.
“…But when my father asked what I wanted, I could not even answer properly!”
“And what answer did you give, Your Highness?”
Amused by the boy’s grave expression, Jaheon asked lightly.
“Since it was my first time in the palace, I said I was lonely… and wished for a friend.”
The boy fidgeted with his fingers as he confessed.
A friend.
It was a most ordinary reply. The prince had grown among people, not cloistered within walls.
“….”
But upon hearing it, Jaheon’s face turned rigid.
“…Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
Suddenly, the Emperor’s words resurfaced in his mind.
—I am curious to see how far you can protect.
This time, Jaheon had bought the Empress’s investiture by offering up the division of the court. But upon reflection, would the Emperor truly be satisfied with only that?
“…What did His Majesty say to you, Prince?”
For whenever the Emperor yielded, he always took something in return. Thus he had ever moved Jaheon.
Then what would the Emperor demand now?
“…He said not to worry. That he had already chosen someone for me.”
At once, Jaheon knew.
“…Her name—was it Choseon?”
It was the thing he held most dear.