Chapter 15

The next day, Inho requested an audience with Prince Eunhun.

He had kept in mind that he might be refused, but to his surprise, the court attendant, upon seeing Inho’s face, immediately opened the door to the prince’s inner chamber.

“His Highness is receiving a guest at the moment, so please wait for a while.”

The attendant served him tea and left.

As soon as the door shut and all signs of presence disappeared, Inho set down the teacup he had been idly holding — its temperature just right — and rose to his feet.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the audience room adjoining the inner chamber.

His light, careful steps and casual hand motions as he lifted and examined papers and objects were movements born of habit.

Observation, for Inho, was second nature.

If he did it even with strangers, there was all the more reason to investigate Prince Eunhun, upon whom his life currently depended.

At present, his youthful appearance worked to his advantage; suspicion toward him was minimal, and it was likely he could get away with such things without incident.

The interior was not particularly tidy.

Even with the court attendants surely cleaning to some degree, it was evident from this that the prince’s own nature leaned toward informality.

The brushes and papers scattered about were all standard-issue items granted by the royal court, and none of the furnishings could be called luxurious.

He would have liked to gather more information about the prince’s finances — the hospitality extended to guests and the overall grandeur of the palace hinted that its resources were not ordinary — but by all appearances this was not the main office, and thus there was little more to discover.

Of course, had anything more important been here, the attendant would never have left him unattended in the first place.

I need to find out exactly when Hwalwon Palace becomes entangled in treason. When was it that Tae Piyeon died…?

Fingering the imperial emblem carved on the shaft of a brush, Inho fell deep into thought.

While he was still groping through his memory, a movement behind him — the sound of the door opening — made him snap his head up.

Upon entering, the prince’s gaze lingered briefly on the brush Inho was holding.

Setting it carefully back in its place, Inho bowed in greeting.

The prince, reading his calm demeanor, made no remark and simply approached.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No, not at all. Only a short while.”

“I’ve shown you a rather messy sight. This is a place I sometimes use to hide from an excess of visitors; I trust you understand.”

Speaking with feigned ease, the prince looked directly at Inho.

“Well then, what was the reason you wished to see me today?”

“I would like to work during my stay here.”

The unexpected request left the prince looking slightly at a loss.

“There’s no need for that. You are a guest of Hwalwon Palace whom I have taken in. It would not do to set a guest to labor.”

“Through Your Highness’s kindness, my injuries are nearly healed. I cannot in good conscience simply eat and sleep away the days. Please help me to spend this winter with an easy mind.”

“My, my… for one so young, you are quite stubborn.”

Swallowing a retort, the prince seemed momentarily to ponder the matter.

Sensing the opening, Inho pressed his advantage.

“I’ve seen the workers in the fields. Though I know little of farming, I can still do work that requires physical strength.”

“Hwalwon Palace has many medicinal fields — but apart from a few greenhouses, they are closed in winter to prepare for the next year. There is nothing for you to do.”

“…”

“However — the court attendant Seo who showed you here today will be returning to the capital this winter to care for his ailing father. Thus, there will be no one to guide my guests in the meantime.”

Catching his meaning, Inho’s eyes lit up.

“It would hardly do for the guests of Your Highness to be poorly received — and for me as well, who am enjoying your favor.”

Looking down at the quick-witted boy who had answered so discerningly, Prince Eunhun gave a small laugh and continued,

“So, will you help me with this?”

“I thank you, Your Highness.”

“No, the thanks are mine. In that case, before we begin, it will be best to decide your pay and the matter of your sister’s lodging. I hear she is attending the Pharmaceutical Hall these days? Come, sit here for a while.”

When Inho emerged from the prince’s office, his expression was bright.

He had not even expected pay, yet had gained that as a bonus — and the prince, having heard that Seol was attending classes, had also arranged for her to study comfortably through the winter.

At this point, even Inho, who had tried to be as suspicious and distrustful as possible, could not help but acknowledge inwardly:

Prince Eunhun truly is a generous man.

Though he had told the prince he would do anything, the truth was he had never actually intended to go dig herbs in the fields.

He had already noticed, on the way to the office, that the workers were covering the plots with straw in preparation for winter — and he had calculated that the prince would never have a recently recovered guest engage in such labor. Even so, he had not expected to so easily be given the very sort of post he wanted.

The reception hall for guests, Inyeondang, was at the entrance to the prince’s own quarters, and intimately connected to other inner chambers.

With cleaning as a pretext, he would now have the opportunity, however rarely, to enter the prince’s true audience chamber and study.

The library of Hwalwon Palace would surely yield far more valuable information than anything at Scholar Bae’s residence — and if he could get access to the news bulletins read by great aristocratic houses, so much the better.

To stay in Hwalwon Palace, a direct palace of the imperial line, was dangerous enough. To do so when the place was fated to be annihilated in the future was even more so.

I’ll use it for all it’s worth — and leave with Seol before calamity comes to Hwalwon Palace.

Under a magnifying lens, the woman turned the ring to examine the pattern engraved on the inside, letting out a murmur.

“Hm… I don’t know. I’ve never seen this mark before.”

“There’s something you don’t know?”

“It might not even be a family’s crest. If it’s the seal of some unknown craftsman from a place far away like Seocheon Palace, how would I know it?”

“Don’t spout nonsense. This isn’t just some trinket — there’s no way the owner of such a fine jewel would let a mere craftsman engrave his own name on it.”

“I’m saying I don’t know because I truly don’t. Here, take it back.”

Shinryu set down the magnifying lens and slid the ring toward Jaun.

Staring at it silently, Jaun pushed it back toward her.

“Find the craftsman, or ransack every noble family’s vault in the capital — no matter how, track it down.”

The yeouijuⁱ set in the twin-dragon ring was made of seongnyuseok².

It reacted to none but those royal princes said to be chosen by Heaven itself, and to others was no more than a glass bead; this uniqueness made its private removal strictly forbidden. If he exploited this property, there might be a way to track it. It would not be easy, though, as it would require handling imperial records.

“Try looking among ruined minor houses or fallen aristocrats.”

“So you’re assuming they were a noble? You’re ruling out the possibility that a slave stole it?”

Recalling the brief moment he’d seen Inho, Jaun nodded.

“I’m certain.”

“I don’t know how long it will take. Amsin³ still hasn’t returned from the South.”

“I’m keeping that in mind.”

No matter what she said, his stance remained unyielding. In the end Shinryu muttered a curse and kept the ring, locking it thrice in an ebony box.

As if in passing, she asked,

“You said you were going to your family home. I hear the misconduct of Gyeon Myeong-han and Gyeon Mok has gotten outrageous — the mood among the household servants is ugly. Are you just going to watch? They’ve been going to illegal gambling dens lately; if you approached them there in secret…”

“It’s not yet the time to act.”

“Still, you ought to keep an eye on them — especially Gyeon Myeong-han—”

“Is there any need for such petty tricks?”

From a half-open drawer, Shinryu had been taking out a dossier compiling background investigations on the two brothers. But when she met Jaun’s pitch-black, frozen gaze, she hesitated.

“I have no interest in the headship.”

“Jaun…”

“The only thing I want is their deaths.”

A frost-edged smile touched Jaun’s lips.

A man stood before an unending stretch of high walls.

Recognizing him, the gatekeepers started in surprise, bowed, and opened the gates.

Stepping inside the Gyeon estate, lined with magnificent mansions, the man drew many eyes.

Servants, guests — all stared, unable to look away.

“Isn’t that…?”

“Yes. The second son of the former head, Gyeon Jaun.”

From beneath a silver coronet, jet-black hair fell in a smooth cascade, the stark white skin beneath it gleaming with a frosty luster like white jade. Long lashes shaded exquisitely drawn eyes; beneath the tall, straight nose, the lips held a soft, refined red like the petals of a peony.

*‘An appearance that could sink fish and fell birds, eclipse moon and blossom’*⁴, they said — indeed, before Gyeon Jaun’s beauty, even flowers and moons might close their buds and hide behind clouds.

“No wonder they call him the Fairest in Taeseong. He would outshine any treasure, no matter how fine.”

“How he’s grown in these two years. Before, he was simply delicate — now he has the air of a man.”

To beauty that clear, now mingled with a commanding tallness and noble demeanor, there was added a certain unapproachable aura such that none could lightly come near.

“What business has brought him to the Gyeon estate? I heard he was half-disowned. Could it be he means to return?”

“As if. And even if he did, where would he go? The Chief Steward of the Gyeon family is already fixed as the next head; wouldn’t that be awkward?”

“Friend, what are you talking about? How can you say the next head is decided? The Grand Lady hasn’t yet appointed a successor.”

“You don’t need a formal declaration to know. Obviously the second son, the Chief Steward, will take the succession. …Wait — you’re not suggesting Lord Sugyeol, are you?”

“Er… well. I’m not thinking of anyone in particular, but there must be a reason the Grand Lady has kept delaying the announcement.”

Realizing they favored different candidates for headship, the two men looked at each other with awkward faces.

notes:

1. Yeouiju (여의주) — In East Asian myths, a “wish-fulfilling jewel” associated with dragons; here, a special material with rare reactive properties.

2. Seongnyuseok (성류석) — A precious stone in this setting; seems to be of great rarity and restricted use in the imperial family.

3. Amsin (암신) — Likely a character’s name or code name; possibly an operative or spy.

4. “Sink fish and fell birds, eclipse moon and blossom” (침어낙안 폐월수화) — A classical Chinese idiom describing unmatched beauty: so lovely that fish forget to swim, birds forget to fly, the moon hides behind clouds, and flowers close their petals out of shame.