Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 26

Soo-yun was glad that none of the servants decided to follow her as she left her mother's rooms. Being back in her childhood home and knowing that her mother was in danger was dragging to the surface all of her fears and insecurities that she thought she had left behind when she married the Crown Prince and moved into the royal palace. The hallway seemed to stretch, twist and constrict as she staggered towards her own quarters. For some reason, the air felt thicker and she struggled to breath. All Soo-yun could do was focus on the sliver of light that was the partially opened door to her room and hope she made it there before completely losing control.

When she finally opened the door, she was surprised to see that it was the Crown Prince and not Yeo-jin that was standing inside next to her bookshelf. She was filled with an irrational desire to run into Ha-neul's arms and be comforted. Soo-yun was not used to looking to others for comfort when she was struck by her panic attacks. She even hid them from Yeo-jin to keep her friend from worrying about her. The shock of that realization and the surprised look that her husband gave at seeing her burst into the room caused Soo-yun to claw back control before she further embarrassed herself.

"I'm sorry for coming into your rooms unannounced," Ha-neul apologized. "I know I said back at the palace that I wouldn't, but your father had both of our luggage brought in here. I couldn't think of a good reason to prevent them from doing that."

"I-it's okay, your Royal Highness. I understand the situation that you must have been put in," Soo-yun replied. She quickly looked around the room to see if there was anything embarrassing laying around. Thankfully, the room was mostly bare. Her father frowned upon her becoming 'spoiled' by having too many possessions. Most of those had been shipped to the royal palace and what was left were a few of her own portraits and the books that the Crown Prince was currently perusing.

"'Ode to the Saint', 'Sound of Rain', 'Crane White Hair'," Ha-neul said, running a finger along the books on the shelf. "I see you are a fan of Lady Jang."

"You know Jang Gye-hyang?" Soo-yun asked incredulously. The idea that the Crown Prince knew of her favorite author made her momentarily forget about her earlier concerns. Whenever she thought that Ha-neul could no longer shock her, some new facet came to light. She did not believe that the poetry of a female writer would normally be part of a Crown Prince's education.

"Actually, she is a personal friend of my aunt," Ha-neul explained. "I'm not certain how they met but apparently they have been corresponding for years. I even met her once."

"Really?" Her father had kept Soo-yun so isolated for years that many of the authors she read about had achieved an almost mythical status in her head. She had to get used to the idea that they were normal people and that others may have interacted with them.

"I was around twelve, I think, and she had come to Hanseong with her husband, Scholar Yi Si-myeong," the Crown Prince said. "She visited my aunt while her husband met with some officials. Lady Jang is probably one of the wisest people I have every met. She told me that 'It is the order of the universe to live together; the highest order of moral law is sharing his or her own wealth with less fortunate people'. Those words were the inspiration for a lot of the reforms I am trying to get passed."

"I mostly liked her poetry, but I think I remember my father talking about that. Didn't she ask the king for the funds to plant orchards of acorn trees for the poor to freely eat from?" Soo-yun asked. "Father petitioned against it because he said it would create a generation of layabouts."

"More likely, he was afraid they would spend less money on rice and other foods his cronies have a monopoly on," Ha-neul cynically replied. "I don't think your father grasped all of the benefits. If you reduce the number of starving people in the nation, you also reduce need for thievery to survive and increase the number of strong workers in the fields. Besides, if all you ate everyday was acorn porridge, you would probably be more motivated to save up and buy better tasting food, not less.