Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 11

The sun was shining and there was a pleasant breeze blowing when Soo-yun left her quarters, although feeling like an overcast and rainy day would better fit her current mood. The Crown Prince had left word with the servants to tell their mistress that he would be busy at Chunbang Lecture Hall and would meet her at the King's Quarters in Gangnyeongjeon Hall. Since the Binjohyeon session where she formally met the king and queen for the first time alongside Ha-neul wasn't for another half hour, Soo-yun decided to take short detour around the grounds with her maids.

As the winding path took Soo-yun under twisted branches and over stone bridges, the Crown Princess couldn't deny the beauty of her new home. The groundskeepers of Gyeongbokgung Palace had done a splendid job providing the illusion of unspoiled wilderness while conforming it to the will of the human rulers. If this was to be my new cage, at least it is a pretty one, Soo-yun thought.

Soo-yun heard the sound of laughter up ahead and, driven by curiosity, she found herself moving towards it. As the path turned a corner, she saw a dozen children between the ages of five and nine. From their pink jeogori jackets, blue chima skirts and simple saeng meori braids, Soo-yun realized that these must be new trainee nain court servants. She couldn't help but smile at the young girls' beaming faces as they talked to the sanggung court lady kneeling next to them.

As the sanggung stood, Soo-yun came to a skidding stop and the smile left her face as she recognized the woman. When she had seen Ha-neul with his paramour last night, she had assumed that she was just a young, lower-level gungnyeo court maid that her husband had chosen to dally with that night. For some reason, the fact he had met with a sanggung court lady shocked her, especially this one.

For starters, Soo-yun was surprised about how young this sanggung was. The most court ladies that she knew about were in their mid-30s to late-40s. However, this woman looked like she was only a few years older than Soo-yun. She had no idea how this court lady got promoted so quickly.

In the brightness of day, Soo-yun could tell that her initial supposition about the woman's beauty was correct. Despite her lack of makeup, the court lady's skin appeared flawless and her lips a deep red. Her glossy black hair had been tied back into a bun with a silver binyeo and the bulky dark-jade and purple uniform did little to hide her curves. Soo-yun couldn't help but be envious with how freely other woman smiled and how expressive she was with her emotions to the children.

Soo-yun felt that now-familiar ache in her chest as she stared at the woman the Crown Prince had chosen to be with instead of her. A small part of her even didn't blame Ha-neul for his decision. The taller woman seemed like an embodiment of everything Soo-yun wished she could be when she looked in a mirror.

Another part that was growing within her was the desire to march over there in front of everyone, grab the other woman by her hair, and throw her to the ground, claiming her husband as her own. Nevertheless, Soo-yun knew that she couldn't be so brazen. It would be unseeming for a royal consort to do something like that and she hadn't even met her new in-laws yet. She could just imagine what the Inner Court would say about her if she did.

A queen is always calm, collected and proper. She is Dignity Personified, echoed her father's words in her head. Soo-yun clinched her fists so tight that her knuckle turned white as she stared at the group across the grounds but eventually she slowly regained control of her emotions and she turned back to Yeo-jin.

"I need a favor from you and please don't ask why," Soo-yun whispered to her oldest companion.

"Anything, your Royal Highness," Yeo-jin replied. "Just ask and I will get it for you."