"…My Lady, i was simply delivering packages for Seo Hwi on behalf of my brother-in-law as instructed upon my arrival in the palace. I was completely unaware of the fact that he had limited visitors…" "I will not waste my breath in arguing with a lowly maid such as yourself; it has been reported that was sneaking into a married man's chambers without permission, which violates Concubine Choi's edict. I am here to investigate, despite the lax guards that I so meticulously placed around him. But there still seems to be some conceited people who cannot stop showing off their statuses, so much so that they think they are above the law…" "What is going on here?" "It has been reported that The Concubine Choi is creating a disturbance through her own maid, Young Mistress Nam. It seems that she suspects that someone has crossed some visitation issues without permission…." "...so she is trying to cross the line herself to investigate? She isn't anywhere near intelligent as she used to be…" "…I will just have to assess this situation for myself…."Excuse me My Lady, but i have a decree by The Third Prince that you are to have no contact with Seo Hwi under the roof of the palace, so I dare not let you in..." "how dare you stand in my way! Do you have any idea who I am!"
"We all know who you are Mistress Han, but are you really willing to go against the decree of The Third Prince? And with what authority do you possess as a servant? Of a mere concubine?" Seon-ho had stepped n and once again, he just wasn't the same person that i knew and loved. he was becoming more and more like his father every single day with his demeanour, his cold tone of voice and his eyes…they were not the same loviing and lost eyes that he once possessed under his father's roof. They were also cold, calculating and empty, and i had no idea what to do about it at all.
"I…i was just following…my Mistress's orders...i heard that somebody defied my Mistress's orders…so I just came to investigate…" "Peace be to My Lady…" "Seo Yeon? What on earth are you doing here?" "Where else should i be, Mistress Han? I am no longer under confinement, so i am free t wander where i please, unlike you apparently." "You….!" "Mistress Han, do you possess a warrant from any Prince or Princess to conduct such a humiliating investigation? to the mother of my own nephew that has been standing on her feet for hours with her son in his hand? Well? Is this how The Concubine Chip chooses to conduct herself like this? So soon after bathing her own daughter?" "No! of course not i...i just failed to get a warrant…because i was in a rush..." "You are not permitted to visit Seo Hwi, especially when he has his family here to tend to him. My sister-in-law on the other hand has met him a few times, enough to pay him a formal visit…"
"Young Master Nam, do not be too harsh on the girl; maybe she has obtained evidence on something abut my brother? Why don't we look into this to eliminate her Mistress's suspicions? We should not accuse anyone until we have proof, don't you think? So we do not bring your trip here in vain and so we can conclude the matter so that your sister-in-law can finally get some rest after such a tedious journey?" "Seo Yeon! What are you talking about! i have another matter to investigate when it comes to your brother...." "Which is?" "The Concubine Kim has escaped the palace! Maybe your brother had something to do with it?" "On what grounds do you carry that suspicion on, Mistress Han?" "Because you all met together in that brothel…!" "…and how would you know that? unless someone close to me has been feeding you information about me…." "D not overthink things Seo Yeon, this servant was simply concerned abut hearing this news and she over-reacted, and now she realises that she was mistaken…." "How quick you are to defend her, My Lord." "I am aware of the never-ending rivalries between the women in the palace, but this bickering between you both shall not do at all. It seems as though i will have see Concubine Choi myself and see if she really is as reckless as she is coming across, and we cannot have such a woman in the palace at all, i am sure that The Emperor will agree with me. And as for The Mistress Han, i shall have her authority taken away from her…" "No! My Lord, please…!"
"Young Master Nam, may i offer a suggestion on behalf of The Concubine Park?" "Very well?" "In my opinion, The Concubine Park has conducted herself well in her confinement, so i wonder if it would be reasonable to dismiss her guards, save a few? For one thing; it is an unnecessary overhead and cost in the palace, and it will ease tensions in the palace for when The Third Prince wakes up eventually." "Alright, but i am placing her into your care since you are living with her in her palace, alongside my sister-in-law." "Thank you, My Lord." "It is nice to see you keeping out of trouble for once." "I shall never put myself in jeopardy, unless the situation calls for it, My Lord…My Lord, will you please release my arm? In front of all of these servants who are watching us? My Lord…" "and what exactly will you do if I will not?" "Then I shall shout loudly and ruin your reputation that you have painstakingly built up for yourself…" "Is that so? I wonder how you can stay so confident like this, after everything that you have been through, Seo Yeon?" "I have painstakingly suffered through each and every event in my life to get where I am today, why should i stop sounding confident now?" "Don't you think that you should sound more humble and ladylike, seeing as you need me the most?" "If i wasn't talented in something, then why would you need me at all? Weren't we only using each other for our own benefit at this point?" "Is that what you really think?" "I must still have some value for you to still notice me like this, right in front of your new woman." "Well, you are not entirely wrong there; out of all the people that i have exploited in my lifetime, you are the only one who possess endless benefits for me for years to come, which is why you shall visit me tonight…" "Don't even think about it, you shall never have me again, and I mean it this time!" "We shall see about that after you visit your brother, but do not forget that i can find you everywhere under the palace roof no matter where you go."
He was seducing me right in front of his new lover's eyes and he knew it, and she did as well when i caught her out of the corner of my eyes visibly shaking in anger with tears streaming down her eyes. He was torturing her in his new state of being, i was sure of it, but why keep it from me? After everything that this girl had put me through....
"Seo Yeon! i was simply too careless and i fell into your trap!" she screamed at me as soon as our man walked away from me with his family, and leaving me trembling from his touch as usual. His big hands will be the death of me one day, I am sure of it. "I regret not taking you down earlier!" "Didn't you already try that when you threw me into a brothel? And then you tried to kill me along with The Lady Min? And then when you had me arrested? But all of these things just built up my reputation instead, giving me the one thing that you have lost a long time ago; respect. And none of this has deterred my fiancé from me…" "Your fiancé?" "…but anyways, it looks like we shall be serving him as a family too together, so it looks like we shall have to get along for now." "Do not be pleased with yourself! for i shall not tolerate any more tricks from you!" "It will be a matter of tolerance or skill as to whether you shall accept me or not, servant."
I couldn't believe that this was happening right now; not only did I have this obsessive bitch on my back but I was loosing my temper and patience everyday that I had to pretend to be my usual docile self in this hellhole when I was longing to lash out to vent my anger. As much as I was trying to distance myself from Seon-Ho, his beloved Hui-Jee was here to comfort him and no matter how conflicted I was about him, he was a person I could not cut ties with in this life or any life at all. But I had to try and calm myself for his sake only despite my rage. The time to expose everything would only come when The Third Prince woke up, and i had to get a grip of myself until then, and comfort my brother in the meantime before I set my eyes on this maid, vowing to make her pay for all the trouble she was putting us though. And the first thing that i could think of was to once again, dismantle the guards that her Mistress had placed in front of her enemies.
"Lord Nam greatly appreciates your hard work, so we have prepared tea and snacks for you outside the quarters of Concubine Choi." "we are grateful....but we are still working…" "You will be dismissed soon anyways, so you might as well clock off early, along with the guards for Concubine Choi."
"…what are you up to now, sister? I could hear you from all the way outside…what are you doing? What is wrong with you?" "Everyone is ignoring me, brother." i sulked to him as i handed his son over to him before I crawled on top of his chest like a little girl whenever I was upset. "Who is ignoring you?" "Everyone, including you! Now tell me, what plans do you have with Seon-ho? Tell me?" "hasn't he told you anything?" "Why would he talk to me when he has his new woman to comfort him with?" "He hasn't got a new woman, stop letting your jealousy eat you up inside…." "jealously? Who said that i feel jealous at all? When have i ever been jealous of anyone in my life….!" "Do you remember what father told us? Or you, specifically?" "Which lecture are you referring to now?" "The one where smart people usually fall for their own traps? Can't you see that he is only acting like you have towards him?" "What is that supposed to mean?" "It hurts, doesn't it, when your loved one keeps secrets from you?" "i…." "Do not 'i' me sister, you know exactly what I am talking about. Listen to me carefully Yeon; this marriage between you both will happen either way, and it is entirely up to you if it will happen with affection or by force, because you know that he is capable of both."