Chapter 40

Hong Seunghwi Reports Lady Kwon to King Sejong

"Madam, could it not be that this is the same kind of thing?"

Court Lady Jo, apparently thinking the same, whispered quietly into Lady Yun's ear.

"That… what? Ah!"

That thing.

The silk pouch that Maid Kwon had hidden inside the desk in the Royal Grandson's chamber after writing something and tearing it into pieces!

Surely that too was part of the suspicious sorcery she practiced.

At last, we can eliminate the ominous creature most likely to bear the Crown Prince's son!

"Let's go! We must meet Hong Seunghwi and push this matter forward. If this fails, then Hong Seunghwi must become our spy within the Eastern Palace."

Lady Yun whispered quickly to Court Lady Jo, then glanced at the Queen, who was doing something under Kwon's guidance.

"Hmph. She's already completely bewitched."

Without even offering a proper farewell, Lady Yun left the Queen's palace and strode swiftly toward Hong Seunghwi's residence near the northern wall of the Eastern Palace.

Walking beside her, Court Lady Jo spoke in a low voice:

"Madam, Kwon must be eliminated this time. From what I saw today, she is no ordinary opponent. If we fail, His Majesty may instead grow wary of you and our household. We must not fail. And just in case, we should place all responsibility for spying on the Eastern Palace onto Hong Seunghwi."

"Yes. You are right. Was that not why we endured that fool for so long and invested so much effort? She accepted wealth, ornaments, and clothing so greedily, yet failed to captivate the Crown Prince—she must repay that debt at least this way."

Lady Yun did not even spare a thought for the fact that she herself had long administered drugs to her distant niece Hong Seunghwi to prevent her from conceiving—or that, because of those drugs, the child she barely bore, Lady Geuma, was frail and slow-witted, unlikely to live long.

Instead, she recalled her husband, Grand Prince Suyang, speaking with concern about recent developments.

The Crown Prince's actions—such as capturing the bandits at Mapo Ferry—were unusual. And His Majesty, who used to summon him every few days to assist with creating letters and publishing Buddhist scriptures, had stopped calling for him entirely.

"Meanwhile, His Majesty summons his sister, Princess Jeongui, into the palace every day. He has her work together with that maid who received favor from my elder brother, and afterward calls her to Cheonchu Hall for further discussion… Could it be that, instead of my brother, who is busy with state affairs, he intends to use that maid and Princess Jeongui for creating new letters…?"

Their household's power had thus far been built because the King entrusted difficult tasks—unsuitable for eunuchs or ministers—to Grand Prince Suyang.

Because he had been kept close like a royal secretary, delivering royal commands, officials and powerful families believed he enjoyed royal favor. Even wealthy merchants seeking profit beyond the King's watch aligned themselves with Lady Yun's family for future gain.

But if the summons ceased like this, that trust would waver—and the foundation of their grand ambitions could collapse from the roots!

Just before entering Hong Seunghwi's quarters, Lady Yun pushed Court Lady Jo away.

"You go and remove anything that could become a problem. When you cut something, cut it cleanly—only then can something strong be planted again."

"Yes, Madam. I will arrange it to appear as though she died on her own."

Court Lady Jo turned and headed back toward the Eastern Palace.

"Aunt… I-I cannot possibly do such a thing. I cannot!"

When Lady Yun suddenly burst into the hall and told her to take the silk pouch stolen from Maid Kwon's desk and report to the King that Kwon was using wicked sorcery to endanger the Royal Grandson, Hong Seunghwi turned pale and shook her head frantically.

"I-I have never even properly beheld His Majesty's face…"

"Sigh. That is precisely why this is your chance to show your worth. Remember when the Crown Prince wished to raise you as Crown Princess in place of the late Lady Kwon? His Majesty had never truly seen you before—that is why he instead elevated the one who bore Prince Pyeongchang."

"T-that may be true, but…"

"My dear niece, look at you. You have already proven your fertility by bearing our lovely Geuma. If His Majesty sees how devoted you are to the royal family and to the Royal Grandson, would he not grant you the vacant position of Crown Princess? But if you hesitate—and that wretched Kwon conceives first—you will lose that chance forever!"

"D-do you think so?"

"Of course. Have you not effectively been the mistress of the Eastern Palace all this time? It is only natural for the head of the inner palace to monitor the movements of concubines and court ladies. Do not fear—go and report directly to His Majesty. If you report to the Crown Prince, he will only try to bury the matter, blinded by that woman. You must earn merit by reporting to the King himself."

Having entered the palace at a young age and lived confined within its narrow quarters, relying solely on the Crown Prince's affection, Hong Seunghwi could not help but trust Lady Yun, who had generously supported her all this time.

"You are right, Aunt. The new concubines are all as beautiful as flowers—so if Kwon has captivated His Highness, it must be through wicked sorcery. For His Highness's sake, I will set this right!"

"Good. Earn merit this time and properly serve His Highness."

"Yes, Aunt. I will go to Cheonchu Hall to see His Majesty at once."

After quickly dressing herself, Hong Seunghwi clutched the silk pouch tightly and went to Cheonchu Hall.

"Who seeks an audience?"

At that moment, King Sejong was reading a childcare manuscript draft—its content largely devised by Kwon Yunseo but rewritten neatly by Princess Jeongui due to Yunseo's illegible handwriting—and exclaiming in admiration, "Oh! Oh!"

The sudden interruption irritated him.

"If she is from the Eastern Palace, she should go to the Crown Prince. Why does she seek me?"

"The matter is said to be of great importance and must be reported directly to Your Majesty," the court attendant said carefully from outside.

With a reluctant sigh, Sejong glanced once more at the manuscript before rising.

Stepping out onto the hall, he saw Hong Seunghwi prostrated below the stone steps.

"Speak."

"Y-Your Majesty… in the Eastern Palace, a… a maid…"

"Sigh! Stop trembling! That maid Kwon speaks boldly even when her life is threatened—yet you, a concubine, behave like this. Tsk!"

"Th-that very Kwon, Your Majesty! She is a… a wicked being who uses evil sorcery!"

At the mention of Kwon, Hong Seunghwi's stubborn resolve flared, and she forced herself to speak clearly.

"What do you mean? Speak properly."

Though stammering, she pushed through with sheer determination to remove Kwon from the Crown Prince's side.

She claimed that Kwon used dark sorcery—hiding a silk pouch containing cursed papers in the Royal Grandson's chamber—and that after receiving the Crown Prince's favor once, she was avoided, so she sent him enchanted papers multiple times a day to lure him.

"And also… she has somehow gained wealth and is making and selling strange items… She has even bought several large shop spaces in Unjong Street… Everything is full of strange things… P-please, with Your Majesty's wisdom, uncover the truth!"

Having poured out every ounce of courage she possessed, she presented the silk pouch—and collapsed from exhaustion.

"Hah!"

Seeing this, Sejong once again realized just how bold Kwon truly was. He ordered that Hong Seunghwi be taken back to her quarters and returned inside.

Inside the pouch were countless tiny torn pieces of paper.

They were shredded so finely that even trying to piece them together was impossible for his aging eyes.

"Cheonga."

Sejong beckoned the deaf-mute court lady who always remained unnoticed by his side yet handled tasks with remarkable efficiency.

Seeing the scattered fragments on the desk, she immediately understood and held up five fingers.

It would take five days to reconstruct them.

"Very well. Even if not perfect, assemble them enough to grasp the general meaning."

Reading his lips, she nodded confidently.

After gathering the fragments back into the pouch and returning to her place, Sejong began to carefully analyze everything Hong Seunghwi had reported.

"She's not a sorcerer. If such vast knowledge could be gained through spells, then even I would use them."

It wasn't sorcery.

If such things could be produced through magic, then the proper course would be to tear down Sungkyunkwan and build a training hall for sorcerers in its place.

As he read the childcare manuscript, King Sejong often found himself suspecting that Lady Kwon actually knew far more—far more refined knowledge—but was deliberately revealing only a portion of it.

After all, for any theory to emerge as a structured body of knowledge, one must study a wide range of related fields and then carefully select only those elements that can be aligned into a consistent logic.

He himself knew this well.

Only after synthesizing the theories of the Chinese four tones and seven sounds, the Sanskrit of distant western regions, Korea's native Idu system, the movement of the tongue when producing sounds, and the shapes of the mouth and lips—only after mastering all of these had he been able to create new letters.

"Then what could possibly be written on those papers Kwon sends to Hyang every day?"

If they were truly love letters, then Kwon was far too bold.

Rather than writing such things, she would simply go to him directly and throw herself at him with that confidence of hers.

Having known many women, Sejong was certain of one thing—

Kwon was absolutely not the type to timidly send affectionate letters.

"Then what on earth is our Kwon writing? Could it be… something as remarkable as that childcare manuscript—shared only with Hyang?!"

As his thoughts reached that point, Sejong's curiosity as a lover of knowledge became unbearable.

Yet no matter how great a king he was, he could not demand of his son—who was already governing as regent—"I am curious, so show me the papers your woman has written."

I will find out what is written on those papers first—and then decide what to do.

Sejong firmly resolved to wait five days.

After teaching the Queen basic methods—how to control her breathing and move her eyes to escape when she became trapped in past trauma—and deciding to send her soap so she could bathe comfortably, Yunseo returned to the Eastern Palace holding Hongwi's hand.

The Eastern Palace was in complete uproar.

"Did you dismantle the top of the low desk in the warm room and hide something inside?"

The moment she stepped into the courtyard, Head Court Lady Eom strode up and demanded sharply.

"Maid Choi has taken poison and left a confession. She claimed that you kept a silk pouch containing papers with evil spells meant to harm the Royal Grandson—and that she presented that pouch to Hong Seunghwi. Hong Seunghwi has already delivered it to His Majesty."

"…What?"

Startled, Yunseo asked—and Eom scolded her with a terrifying expression she had never shown before.

"If you had something like that, you should have burned it! Why didn't you?"

"But lighting fires is strictly forbidden in the palace… and I was worried that if anyone saw me burning it, it would arouse even more suspicion. …What will His Majesty do with those paper fragments? They're torn so finely that no one could possibly read them."

"Hah! Even so, you should have found a way to burn them. Or at the very least, entrusted the matter to me."

"…It's not sorcery."

It truly wasn't—but what would King Sejong think when he saw their contents?

He was a monarch who had declared he would kill anyone who harmed his sons. If he wished, he could surely find fault in whatever Yunseo had written.

Words like freedom, equality, a life dependent on the goodwill of those in power, and dignity—

And above all… escape.

If Sejong were to read such modern, almost subversive ideas—

What else did I write?

Yunseo scrunched her nose anxiously and looked at Eom.

"Do you think they can reconstruct it?"

"The court lady Cheon at Cheonchu Hall can accomplish nearly anything. If His Majesty has ordered it, she will restore it somehow. …Are you certain it isn't sorcery?"

"…Yes. It is not sorcery."

"…Sigh. You've become so careful in everything lately—how could you overlook something like this? Come. We must see His Highness and explain everything."

Grabbing Yunseo, Eom led her toward Biyeongak.

The atmosphere was ominous.

In the distance, the evening sky burned crimson, as though it were in turmoil.