Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 29

That evening, while getting ready for supper with Ha-neul and her family, Soo-yun was lost in thought as she went over all of the information that she had learned about the palace and her husband over the past few months. She knew on one level that there was a lot to still learn about Ha-neul since it had only been a week since their wedding, but it was still frustrating when she thought about the many layers of mysteries she had yet to fully uncover.

Yeo-jin had seemingly returned to her normal, energetic self although it felt like play-acting to Soo-yun. As she brushed her mistress's hair, the maid talked the gossip that had happened since they had left for the capital. For the most part, Soo-yun tuned out the chatter as she focused on the soothing brushstrokes through her silky hair. However, something that Yeo-jin said slipped through her reverie and snapped her back to attention.

"Wait. What did you say, Yeo-jin? Repeat that last part," Soo-yun commanded.

"Um, I said that I was surprised by how skillful the Crown Prince was on the practice field. He wasn't as accident prone as I had heard," Yeo-jin repeated.

"Why would you say that?" Soo-yun asked. Nothing that she had heard or seen of Ha-neul made her think that the Crown Prince was particularly clumsy. In fact, she had heard the opposite with many tales of Ha-neul's prowess with this morning's display only confirming them.

"Well, I was talking to one of the court maids, Jin-kyong," Yeo-jin said. "She used to be a part of the Crown Prince's household until about two years ago when she was transferred to one of the lesser palaces. They brought her back temporarily for the wedding banquet because they were understaffed."

"What does that have to do with the Crown Prince and why were you talking to her?" Soo-yun asked.

"Remember? You asked me to investigate Court Lady Yeong-ja. When I learned that she used to work at the palace, I decided to use her to learn more about her tenure at Donggung and she told me about a weird thing she once saw. It was the right after one of Yeong-ja's week-long visits with the Crown Prince that she had every month. She noticed the court lady sneaking off with a bundle and decided to follow.

"Jin-kyong found Yeong-ja in the back corner of the palace ground next to a small fire pit. Yeong-ja appeared to be burning something in the fire pit. Jin-kyong said she snuck closer and saw that they were bloody strips of cloth. Court Lady Yeong-ja noticed her before Jin-kyong could escape, so she decided to confront Yeong-ja instead.

"Yeong-ja told Jin-kyong that his Royal Highness had injured himself during sword practice and that it was customary for her to burn the wrapping whenever this happened to prevent his enemies from gathering them to use against the royal family. Jin-kyong is kind of superstitious, so the explanation initially made sense to her until she realized that no physician had been called to the Prince's Quarters that week. Considering how many strips had been burned, it would have had to have been a serious wound."

"Did she give you any more information than that? Did she learn anything else?" Soo-yun asked.

"No, mistress. When she later asked some of the other maids about it, she was suddenly transferred to Gyeonghuigung Palace," Yeo-jin replied. "I don't know if I could find out any more from her though. Jin-kyong was transferred back after the banquet. Do you want me to find another way to look into it instead?"

"No, that's fine. I'm certain it was nothing." As much as Soo-yun wanted to know about this new mystery, she couldn't risk Yeo-jin getting into trouble at this point, especially as Soo-yun was still working to get her servant to be allowed into the palace as her lady-in-waiting. If someone was actively trying to prevent anyone from looking too deeply into the Crown Prince's activities, then Yeo-jin's life could be in danger if she went too far.