TMTISTBH CH 7

Chapter 7

The day after Gyeongchip^1, the students from Seungwon Hakdang, including Bae Honyoung, set out for the capital, so I had to leave before them. In order to prevent harm from coming to my mother and Seol who would remain in Jamsonggol, it would be better to disappear as a missing person rather than as a runaway.

Inho rifled through his memories and recalled that winter. The brush with which he was copying texts paused in the same spot for quite a while.

On the first day of the 12th lunar month, the servants of Master Bae would go into the capital to prepare New Year’s gifts. On the ninth of the second month, the Mistress would go to Miinsa to offer prayers for Bae Honyoung.

These were the only two opportunities to escape Jamsonggol, but Inho doubted whether Bae Honyoung would allow him to leave. If there was truly no way, it would certainly be better to create one…

Lost in thought, Inho was startled by the sound of a knock on the door and turned to the side. Through the thin rice paper of the door, his mother’s silhouette was visible.

“Inho, are you asleep?”

“No, Mother.”

Seeing the ink that had belatedly smudged on the paper, Inho crumpled it up and stood to greet his mother as she entered the room.

“Have a snack before you continue.”

On a tray, a small dish held crispy nurungji^2 and dried cherries. His mother’s gaze landed on the books spread on the table.

“You seem to be busier than ever lately.”

“The small civil service exam^3 is not far off.”

“Still, you go on without even sleeping. At this rate, you’ll end up worse off than the young master…”

Speaking lightly, his mother seemed to realize she had said something she should not have, and fell silent without finishing. Inho did not ask further.

As he picked up his brush again, his mother turned to leave. Without turning to look, Inho spoke.

“Don’t do needlework in the dark; come in here to work, please.”

His mother gazed at him for a moment, then quietly brought her sewing over and sat by the door, busily working. Under the flickering candlelight, the silence felt more comforting than ever before.

“Mother, where is your hometown?”

At the sudden question, she looked up at Inho, who was calmly moving his brush. Despite his young age and unripe features, his dignified face illuminated by the unsteady light, his upright posture, and firm grip on the brush—his noble bearing even in the middle of swift writing—were reminiscent of a prince from ages past. A surge of emotion pressed against her heart.

After a while, she managed to steady her choked voice to answer.

“It’s a fishing village far to the southeast. Even farther south than Namjeok Palace^4.”

“That’s far, isn’t it?”

“The birds are noisy and the smell of fish hangs heavy in the air. Still, there is nowhere more beautiful than that village when the sun glints off the sea. When I grew tired swimming with friends, we’d sprawl out on a boulder shaped like a sleeping ox and rest. If I let the sea breeze dry my body, the salt would crust on my skin and my mother would scold me for it afterward.”

Perhaps because she had recalled her hometown for the first time in a long while, she had a faint smile as Inho watched her quietly.

“Do you ever think about leaving?”

“…Where would I go if I left here? There isn’t anywhere else that pays this much for sewing, and even if it’s small, we have a home to call our own.”

“Even if Seol grows up, all that awaits her here is to end up as a servant for the Bae household.”

“What’s so wrong about that? That’s how everyone lives.”

“…”

Perhaps his mother was right. When the outcast prince returned as the crown prince, Bae Honyoung brought Yeoseol to the capital just to disgrace me. First a kitchen maid, then a plaything for the noble families. Even after I took her in after killing Bae Honyoung, I could not speak kindly to her lest my rivals target her.

Was Yeoseol ever truly happy in that dazzling, convoluted capital?

When he said nothing and fell silent, his mother put aside her sewing box and looked at Inho.

“Put aside such thoughts. Just living like this is enough.”

Though her voice was gentle, her resolve was clear.

It was I who needed to leave; there was no need to involve well-settled Seol and Mother in this. It was nothing more than my own selfishness.

“I’m not thinking of anything else… Growing up here in Jamsonggol would probably be best for Seol as well.”

Trailing off, Inho picked up his brush once more. Since Namwon Kim’s was a bit more important, he trimmed the tip of the brush carefully. As he continued writing, the contents diverged slightly from those he’d finished for Bae Honyoung.

“Inho, is something troubling you?”

The woman inquired with concern, but Inho, already absorbed in his work, gave no reply. She looked at him with a complicated expression, then quietly gathered her sewing and exited, closing the door behind her.

In the early 10th month, a guest visited Jamsonggol.

Through the narrow path, lined eight horses in a row, a palanquin, and two wagons. All the villagers gathered to watch the procession.

At the end of the procession was the Bae household, whose family members had already come out to greet the guests. Inho, too, stood behind Bae Honyoung looking ahead. Bae Honyoung, puffed with pride as if the guest were his own, spoke.

“That is Lord Gyeongdae. He’s said to be the brother-in-law of the Minister of War.”

I already knew: Lord Gyeongdae, Jeon Wucheong^5.

He is the younger brother of Jeon Seohyeon, the second wife of Minister of War, Won Namgi. Although his official rank was unimpressive, his family was a famous merchant clan said to possess enough gold to fill Lake Mujin^6 to the brim.

The previous head of the clan had been loyal to the legitimate First Prince, but the Won Namgi and Jeon Seohyeon couple quickly shifted allegiance to the Third Prince, Taeseon, thus saving the family from disaster. Jeon Wucheong became the family head, overtaking his elder sister Jeon Seocheong, due to this merit.

In the past, I knew nothing of government or lineage and only considered him an important visitor, but seeing it again now brought back new feelings.

I knew he was incompetent, but… his networking was certainly tireless.

It isn’t bad to build connections to grow one’s power, but now that he’s come all the way to this insignificant Jamsonggol, his discernment must be as poor as rumored.

With Jeon Wucheong’s party’s visit, more hands were needed for labor, so Inho was called upon to help. It had been a long time since he’d exerted himself in this way, so he was a bit worried if he could do it well, but perhaps because he was still young, his body moved swiftly and with strength that surprised even himself.

For a moment, he even thought: should I learn the sword in this life?

In the past, always wary under the royal gaze, it was not easy to learn the martial arts princes were supposed to master. Sometimes, he felt regret for that—but now, this was just fine.

Inho suddenly realized that for the first time since his return, he was looking forward to the future, and stiffened the corners of his lips, which had been softly smiling.

Among the gifts brought from the capital by Jeon Wucheong were snacks such as rice cakes and sweets. Master Bae presented some of these as offerings to the teachers at Bae Honyoung’s academy, and the teacher, in turn, distributed them to the students, so the Seungwon Hakdang was filled with a bustling tea party atmosphere. Needless to say, Bae Honyoung, seated in the center, was brimming with pride.

“Lord Gyeongdae will stay for three more days. On the last day, he’ll hold a grand banquet. They’ve slaughtered so many pigs and chickens, and even a cow. There’ll be more than thirty kinds of food!”

“Thirty kinds? Master Bae’s wealth is astonishing!”

“It will shake up all of Jamsonggol!”

“My father was also invited, so I’ll be attending the banquet as well. I’m already looking forward to it.”

Standing behind the inner door, Inho noticed Myeon Yuwon quietly slipping away.

…

After confirming that Bae Honyoung was engaged in merry conversation, Inho discreetly followed the way Myeon Yuwon had gone.

Myeon Yuwon, behind the back gate, handed a small medicine pouch to his attendant and gave some instructions. After the attendant left, as Myeon Yuwon turned with a smile, he was startled to see Inho standing nearby.

“You…”

“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I apologize.”

“Were you watching?”

Shaking his head, Inho silently gazed at Myeon Yuwon’s relieved face and added deliberately,

“I do have a guess. There’s hardly any other reason to leave in a hurry after just eating sweets.”

At Inho’s words, Myeon Yuwon sheepishly flicked his sleeves.

“It’s a confection that Yunyeong likes. I knew it was improper, but I wanted to sneak it out. Please turn a blind eye to my shame.”

“You mean your youngest sibling.”

“Yes. Yunyeong has been refusing to eat lately. I thought that if it were a sweet she liked, perhaps she’d take a bite.”

Perhaps he had grown used to tending a sickbed, for Myeon Yuwon did not look particularly sorrowful. Yet Inho knew what kind of expression he would make when he lost his family.

“That child’s fate. Ignore it.”

“I’m not the one who killed the youngest member of the Myeon family, am I?”

Torn by fleeting thoughts, Inho slowly opened his mouth to ask,

“Can I ask what the illness is?”

“Byukjil^7.”

“….”

Upon hearing Yuwon’s answer, Inho slowly ran a hand over his face.

If it had been an unknown disease, it would have been easier to shrug off.

Would saving Myeon Yunyeong erase the guilt of having killed Myeon Yuhyeon? No. There was no reason for atonement in the first place, since he felt no regret.

He had long since cast away weak emotions like the Four Beginnings^8, so why couldn’t he remain indifferent now? He could not understand himself.

“If there were a cure, would you want to hear it?”

At this sudden question, Myeon Yuwon stiffened.

“If this is a joke, it’s not funny. Surely you understand that a brother’s heart grows grave when it comes to his sibling.”

“I have no time for jokes with you, sir. Did Lady Myeon, by any chance, get bitten by a blue centipede as a child?”

“How do you know about that…! Are you saying that’s what made her ill?”

Byukjil is an illness where, one day, a person’s eyes turn blue, their fever never breaks, and, ultimately, they die. It was a disease of unknown origin until, in the ninth year of Jinun, the emperor’s favorite concubine, Lady So, fell ill with it. All the imperial physicians of the palace worked to cure her and, as a result, discovered the cause and a cure.

It was knowledge that Myeon Yuwon should not be allowed to know at this point.

—

^1 경칩 (Gyeongchip): One of the 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian lunisolar calendar; marks when hibernating animals awaken, usually early March.

^2 누룽지 (nurungji): scorched, crispy rice from the bottom of a rice pot; a traditional snack.

^3 소과 (small civil service exam): an initial stage exam in the historical Korean civil service examination system for selecting government officials.

^4 남적궁 (Namjeokgung): fictional or historical place, likely a palace or domain further north than the described seaside village.

^5 경대공 전우청 (Lord Gyeongdae, Jeon Wucheong): a noble title and character name; “Gyeongdae” is an honorific; Jeon is the surname, Wucheong the personal name.

^6 무진의 호수 (Lake Mujin): refers to an exceedingly large lake, used to illustrate vast wealth.

^7 벽질 (Byukjil): refers to an unspecified historical/fictional disease, literal meaning is “wall” + “disease”; in context, a disease causing fever and blue eyes, fatal without treatment.

^8 사단(四端) (Four Beginnings): a Confucian concept denoting four innate moral senses—compassion, shame, courtesy, and discernment of right and wrong.