Chapter 36

 How to Fully Understand a Ruler's Heart (2)

<The first half is the same as the existing story, and the latter half is newly written.>

"So what was the final outcome, my lady? As time passed, did a better taxation system emerge?"

"Whenever people take exams on history, there's one reform that always comes up as the greatest tax reform of Joseon. It's called the Daedong Law. Even a king who was deposed for being incompetent is evaluated rather favorably by later generations simply because he implemented this system—so listen carefully. Ah, but before that, this is too exhausting!"

Yunseo pushed against Lee Hyang's chest and twisted her body free from his arms.

The position had been far too uncomfortable, making it difficult to concentrate on recalling historical knowledge.

Standing beside the desk with her arms crossed, Yunseo briefly explained the Daedong Law—a system that replaced the burdensome tribute goods imposed on the people with a unified tax paid in rice.

"Since it converted tribute taxes from being imposed on each household to being calculated based on land and collected in rice, landowners resisted it fiercely. However, officials with a genuine will to serve the people pushed it forward steadfastly, and over nearly a hundred years, it became firmly established. Thanks to that, a commercial economy and monetary system were able to flourish."

"And when did this happen?"

"About 150 years later, after an invasion war by Japan known as the Imjin War. It was implemented during the process of rebuilding the country after it had been devastated."

"Wait, Yunseo! Do not mix war and taxation. Organize war history separately at a later time."

The moment she began explaining, Lee Hyang completely abandoned his previously relaxed demeanor and became frighteningly serious.

He listened attentively, writing down what he heard while seemingly comparing it to current issues in his mind.

"And there was also something called the 'Corruption of the Three Policies.'"

Yunseo briefly explained, as best as she could recall, the disorder in land tax (Jeonjeong), military tax (Gunjeong), and grain loan system (Hwanjeong).

"What I'm sharing is only fragmentary knowledge from memory, so please consult your outstanding officials before applying any of this in practice, Your Highness."

"Mm, good. Even this is immensely helpful."

Nodding in admiration, Lee Hyang suddenly asked,

"In your world, who receives such advanced education?"

"It's called compulsory education. All citizens are required to complete six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and three years of high school—for a total of twelve years. And after that, people like me go on to university for further study."

"Twelve years mandatory! For all citizens! Then even slaves receive education?"

"Your Highness, in my world, there are no slaves, no kings, and no nobles. There are only people who are equal before the law. Of course, in reality, society is still divided into upper, middle, and lower classes based on wealth and power—but those are not fixed and can change."

"Ah!"

Lee Hyang nodded, looking as though he understood Yunseo much better now.

"Indeed, it would be inappropriate for you to live merely as a concubine, handling palace affairs. So let us do this."

"What do you mean?"

"When our Pyeongchang Princess arrives, you will teach Hongwi and her together—half a shijin at a time—covering various fields of basic knowledge."

"Ah, yes! That sounds good!"

Teaching Hongwi—and the sister who would care for him—was always welcome.

"And as I said before, at night, here in Bihyeongak, you will become my personal Hall of Worthies and teach me everything you know across various fields."

"…Yes."

He had also told her to write a book with Princess Jeongui, and she was teaching the Queen Consort letters while providing psychological counseling.

On top of that, she had to attend irregular gatherings of princes and princesses.

And she still needed to make and sell soap with Jaungo.

What exactly is my schedule…?

"When I encounter difficulties while discussing matters with my officials, I may send a court eunuch to seek your advice. You must provide answers each time. I will also grant you a stipend equivalent to that of a Hall of Worthies scholar."

Things were escalating a bit too much!

"Of course, in return for my lady who loves me so dearly, I shall repay your efforts by doing my utmost every night in the warm ondol."

Lee Hyang looked at Yunseo with a meaningful smile tugging at his lips.

Yunseo felt her heart flutter at that smile, yet she seized this opportunity to bring up something she had carefully prepared—something to eliminate the humiliation she felt from his uninhibited displays of affection.

"Your Highness."

"Speak, my lady."

"Will the knowledge I possess truly be of help to your reign?"

"Of course, my lady. Such knowledge cannot be found in any book, past or present. It is exceedingly valuable. I can hardly believe my fortune in meeting you!"

"Then please treat me accordingly."

This was her second request, made after fully considering the heart of a crown prince who deeply valued talent.

"Please treat me in a manner befitting someone who provides future knowledge—something no book or scholar can offer Your Highness."

"…How so?"

Until now, Lee Hyang had acted with ease, confident in both his own affection and Yunseo's. But now, a trace of anxiety and faint displeasure began to show.

The Queen Consort's words—that a ruler is a being who can grow angry—echoed in Yunseo's ears.

Yet Yunseo turned her back on him, straightening the disheveled clothes he had disturbed and tying her garment ribbons properly.

Then, instead of approaching him, she walked to the central conference table in the office and sat in a chair facing him.

Suppressing the excitement his touch had stirred in her, she began to explain—clearly and specifically—why it inevitably felt humiliating.

"If the words I spoke earlier—that I wish to remain by Your Highness's side as a nursemaid, steadying my breath in your embrace—are only half the truth, then the other half is this: I find this situation humiliating, Your Highness."

"Humiliating? I cherish you deeply—"

"I know, Your Highness. I understand that this is the greatest form of affection you can give me as the Crown Prince of Joseon. But to me, love means expressing affection in the way I want, when I want, and sharing a bed where I choose—not being kissed in front of palace attendants or being forced into your arms by royal command like yesterday."

"I treated you that way deliberately!"

Lee Hyang's tone twisted with anger.

"The woman I came to love happened to be a palace maid—someone of the lowest status in this unequal palace of Joseon you speak of. So I deliberately kissed you where others could see, and held you so the entire palace would know. So that none would dare lay even a finger on you, knowing how deeply the Crown Prince cherishes you. And that affection—my love—was humiliation to you?"

Lee Hyang's handsome face crumpled as though he himself had been deeply insulted.

"!"

In that instant, Yunseo felt as though she had been struck on the back of the head with a heavy hammer, leaving her dizzy.

At that moment, they realized just how vast the gap of misunderstanding was between two people living under entirely different eras and systems.

For Yunseo, Crown Prince Munjong—who in history had always been described as a perfectly restrained son of Sejong the Great, one who never loosened his collar for even a moment and faithfully carried on his father's great achievements—finally became real to her as a living, breathing human being.

And then she clearly understood—

how much this noble man, so refined and exalted that she had never even dared imagine loving or being loved by him, truly loved her;

and how, blinded by an unspoken sense of superiority as a person from the 21st century, she had overlooked that immense devotion, distorting and misunderstanding his sincerity.

Without Lee Hyang's protection, Yunseo would have long since been beaten to death like Jeon Gyun.

Lee Hyang was loving her beyond his own limits—yet Yunseo, wrapped in the shell of a life she had been forced into, had refused to truly see him.

To a man who had, for the first time, met a woman he truly liked and was trembling like an adolescent boy in love—

what had she done?

Yunseo sprang to her feet and ran toward him.

Then she dropped to her knees, bowing her head deeply, and offered a heartfelt apology.

"Your Highness, I judged your actions by the standards of my world and rashly deemed them rude and humiliating. I failed to see the consideration and sincerity you were showing me. Only after hearing your words have I finally come to understand your heart."

"..."

"And through your words, I have realized my own arrogance and rudeness."

Yunseo realized that while she claimed to act for Hongwi's sake, she had in truth been putting him in danger.

If one had to choose the single person in the world who truly loved Hongwi and could protect him, that person was not herself—summoned into the body of a woman of the Kwon family—but his father, Lee Hyang.

And yet, she had arrogantly believed she could love Hongwi more than Lee Hyang.

As a result, using Hongwi as an excuse, she had failed to properly understand Lee Hyang's love, had misunderstood it—and in doing so, had endangered Hongwi's safety and future with her own hands.

That painful realization led to a deep and piercing remorse.

"I was wrong, Your Highness. I will never again distort your heart by judging it through my own standards."

Lee Hyang looked down at the woman bowing in apology.

The woman who had shaken both his body and mind—

who had brought dazzling affection into his otherwise flat world filled only with heavy duties, and who gave that affection to his son—

who possessed knowledge he himself did not—

a woman from another world.

A woman with such a strong will and convictions that she could truly climb over the palace walls, swim across the river, and flee far away if she chose.

He saw that same woman—who had refused to love him as deeply as he loved her, and had therefore misunderstood him—now apologizing with all her strength.

And so, Lee Hyang finally spoke the question he had long wanted to ask, yet had never dared to voice.

"…If Jinseong were to shine again, and that ring allowed you to return to your world… what would you do then?"

At last, the question had come.

If given the chance—would she return?

Like the woman in the legend who became a woodcutter's wife after her feather robe was stolen—if that robe were returned to her, would she fly away again, even if she had to carry her two children under her arms?

All folktales and legends reflect humanity's most fundamental desires and fears.

Since ancient times, there have been beings like Yunseo—who appeared suddenly, captivating others with knowledge and vitality from another world, only to disappear just as suddenly as they came.

Men who, believing themselves deeply loved—enough to have children—ignored warnings and returned the feather robe, only to lose their wives.

Men who must have lived in constant anxiety, knowing their wives could fly away at any moment.

And Yunseo herself—though she had no feather robe—had hidden the Crown Princess's ring, her own "feather robe," sewn into the lining of her jeogori and locked away in a chest, fearing it might be lost or stolen.

She now realized it was time to answer this question for herself.

Revealing the secret was not what mattered.

The mindset she should have had from the very beginning—when she chose to remain by Lee Hyang's side—was the resolve to stay with him until their black hair turned white…

to decide, of her own will, that even if a chance came to return to the modern world, she would never leave him.

Yunseo rose and met Lee Hyang's eyes.

"I will throw away the ring I have sewn and hidden inside my jeogori, Your Highness. I will never leave your side of my own accord."

"…Haah."

The moment the answer he had long wanted to hear finally came from her lips, Lee Hyang's body swayed with relief.

"I, too, have a secret I must confess to you, Yunseo. Will you hear it?"

Only after gaining a woman who declared she would wholly become his did Lee Hyang finally find the courage to reveal the loneliness he had carried throughout his long life as Crown Prince—something he had never been able to share with anyone.