I hadn't had opium for nearly a week now as Yeon had suddenly developed a habit oof keeping me in her sight, just like she did unknowingly under my father's roof. And I was healing in her presence, when it was just the 2 of us alone and she was more devoted to me that ever. She cooked me anything I wanted when I wanted it, she spent more of her time making me new clothes for the new year since I was starting to grow out of them faster. She made me her first batch of tea hat suited my secret sweet tooth greatly and I was genuinely impressed by the perfume that she had handmade just for me; the bluebell flower was the only thing that my mother cherished besides myself and I too held it dear to my heart as a last reminder of her…
"Seon-Ho! Are you quite alright? Why do you look so pale? And why are you sweating so much?" "It is nothing Yeon, I am just tired and I want to get some rest…" "You had water all night long, so why are you walking that way…" "It is nothing I said! I just…I just do not feel well and…" "My Lady, I think it is time to cut the night short…" "very well, let me escort you to your chambers for the night." "Thank you very much." "I will also inform the servants to fill up a bath for The Young Master Nam, he really doesn't look well at all." I had never had such a hard time in trying to avoid the girl who watched my every single move than I did right now. I could feel her curiosity starting to pique, but she didn't ask me anything strangely enough , which just made me feel even more guilty. She was an unnaturally curious person who took notice of everything, so I knew that she was going to be unable to sleep all night long with these unanswered questions swirling around her mind. Maybe she already suspected that something was wrong with me from the moment that I walked away from her with no intentions of coming back to her. But then I did. So now what do I do? Keep suffering like this forever? No, I needed to go to Hwi's home and meet up with Moon-Bok so that he could help me out, because there was nowhere I would rather be than besides a woman who had already began to heal me more than I recognised at the beginning. I was never going to bow down to that witch and become her sex slave jus because she drugged me; I was going to have the help my enemy so that I do not become the scapegoat in his death, I was going to have to save Hwi from whatever his crazy ex-lover had set up for him and I ….I needed Yeon's help as I always did. Yeon…had changed since the last time that I saw her; she was starting to open up to me like never before. Maybe it was my harsh words to her that made her see sense, although I suspected that just like me, she was being burdened by her secrets and she was exhausted. And so was I.
"…Young Master Nam, may I come in?" "What? Of course you cannot…My Lady, what on earth are you doing?" "What am I doing? Your ward made me loose everything that I had in this home with just a few words, so what do you expect me to do? I have been in love with my cousin since infancy and now I have to give him up to support this family's patron? And loose my baby to be raised by somebody else? Let me make this clear now; I shall never give up my baby and since it is your ward who made me loose my lover, then I will simply have to steal her's away to give me a path of survival, even if I have to snatch her's!" "Somebody! Servants! There is a naked woman in my bathtub! Arrest her immediately!" I didn't even have time to think about how I could possibly defend myself in this situation with Yeon before she actually showed up in front of me, and looked just as dumbfounded as I was beginning to feel.
"Help me! The Young Master! He..he made me come here and…" "Young Master Nam! Are you quite alright! You mustn't brandish your sword in front of a naked woman in front of you; we all know that you are a seasoned warrior who would pick up his sword at the slightest disturbance and not hesitate to use it…" "Young Mistress Seo, please do not believe him…" "believe him in what? He hasn't even opened his mouth yet, My Lady. And as for you, Young Master Nam, I suggest that you dress yourself and get to bed promptly as we have a very early start tomorrow." "Wait! Is that it! He just gets to leave and not be punished for…!" "For what exactly? For you trying to openly seduce him to give you a path of survival, despite your current pregnancy? It was a nice try, but this attempt has left many flaws in your plan, for example; how did he lure you to his chambers when you have never spoken before? And you are rather heavily pregnant, so what would entice him to chose you out of all of the concubines here?" "I…" "enough of this farce, I have already informed your Master's about this since I witnessed you make your way to his chambers unannounced, so you shall be detained until you give birth and then thrown out of this home to be sold to another." "Sold! What am I? Cattle? I have only one husband and he shall be mine until the day he dies!"
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I was rather pleasantly surprised that Yeon was defending me this much, but I didn't have much time to enjoy it, as I instantly caught whiff of a familiar scent to me that I was hoping never to smell ever again, and it was coming from directly below me. And I had to take advantage of Yeon's absence so that I could sort this woman out once and for all.
"Hui-Jae! What the hell are you doing here! How did you find me! And why have you emptied out all of our carriages! You are ruining all of my work! Just what the hell is wrong with you!" "Me? What is wrong with me? You are staying overnight in an illustrious home with that slut on your arms when it should have been me you took there! You…why are you doing this to me? Weren't we happy? In the beginning? Couples are supposed t say together though tick and thin and here you are, abandoning me every single chance you get when you see her or even hear the name Seo Yeon!" "How many?" "How many what?" "How many man have you been with? Before me? During me? After me? How about when you had an affair with my biggest enemy, and got pregnant by him? And what about after that? Haw many…favours did you carry out when you were locked up in the palace dungeons? You betrayed me on such an epic scale that I never want to see you again in this lifetime, and I mean it." And what about your opium supply?" "I can get that elsewhere, don't you worry about it." "It will not last with her either? I know you, Nam Seon-Ho; you cannot forgive me because of my past but you can overlook her brothel stay? You are bound to hate her and get sick of her before the year is up! But you are mine; ever since you chased me around the village and declared your love for me in front of everyone! Yet you chase Yeon in secret! But once you have a seed of doubt, it will cloud all judgement in your mind and it will turn everything dark. You already resent her, but how long until that turns into physical abuse? Your relationship with her will blacken like this, and fear isn't the worst thing when your faced with it, it is the truth of knowing who you are with when they have secrets to hide. So, I will be waiting for you in the palace when you come to see sense one again."
I couldn't believe this crazy bitch, jus who did she think she was? Why was she constantly on my back? Why couldn't she leave me alone now? The sooner that I reunited with Hwi and his son in his home, the better and I can finally start working on treatment instead falling into the endless rabbit hole of addiction. And I wasn't going to fall for it…I wasn't…
"Young Master Nam! Young Master? Brother-in-law? Wake up! What on earth is wrong with you!" "What happened…" "We all found you had collapsed outside in the morning? What happened? And where are your carriages? And horses?" "Where is she?" "Yeon…she was arrested this morning and she was taken into the palace. Apparently she ignored a decree from The Concubine Choi and is to be locked up in the dungeon for a while before she has to carry out her orders. Her brother has already come here and tried to fight her case, but he was denied and also brought to the prison for a week with her. Your sister-in-law is frantic and is waiting for you to come to the rescue." "Wait…what? When?" "About 3 days ago, we just couldn't wake you up before then…"
3 days. 3 days of Yeon and Hwi waiting for me and I didn't show up at all due to my drug addiction that somebody else had created for me. Yeon…she had never been in prison before. She must be cold, she must be scared and she must be waiting for me. She must have been waiting for me all along and defending me in such a situation that would have usually turned her against me. She had been there for me in every single way these past few weeks and I…i had just abandon her. Or that what is must look like for her. No, I had to get up and find them, I needed to go back to the palace, I needed to find my horses and carriages and I needed to beat this opium addicting before it destroyed me and everything that I worked for. The Seo's needed me, the concubines in the palace needed me and as for Hui-Jae, I needed to find a way to be rid of her before she killed me for good.