Where betrayal and suffering end and a new life begins

Going out in man's clothes

Chapter 7: meeting two friends

As the sun rose from the east, Eun Won was woken up by a servant who had prepared a bath for her. She rose from bed and went to the bath. "Can you prepare man's clothes for me?" asked Eun Won to the servant. The servant went out with no questions asked, and she came back with a man's black robe. Eun Won got dressed with the help of the servant. Walking to the door, she looked around for any movement. With no movement in site steps out, following along the shadows.

At the emperor's chamber, the door opened. In came Mo Yi Huai (male 8th prince's guard) kneeling on one knee in front of Emperor Yu-Jun "reporting to the emperor, the one that looked like Eun Won had left the palace in man's clothes. 

"Follow her." replied Yu-Jun. Standing up, Mo Yi Huai bowed slightly and walked backwards. 

Eun Won decided to walk to the village market, not to draw attention. Along the way, she took in the fresh air. Flowers bloomed around her, and birds flew around the pathway. 

Arriving at the market, she took in the scenery. Looking around, she saw food stalls, accessories stalls, and clothing shops. She noticed something strange. A black figure and mask were following her. She decided to trick him. She started running in the crowds, slipping in an alley. She waited until the figure passed and grabbed the figure, pushing her arm against the figure's throat and taking the mask that he was wearing off. "Why are you following me?" asked Eun Won. "I'm just following orders from the emperor." said Mo Yi Huai. "What's your name" asked Eun Won. "Mo Yi Huai, the emperor's guard" replied Mo Yi Huai. 

She slowly released him from her hold. "Looks like the emperor is interested in what I do, so let's mess with his mind." thought Eun Won. She walks out of the alley and her eyes notice a pleasure house. She smiled slightly. "You can follow me" she said. She walked into the pleasure house with him and requested a window view. Mo Yi Huai's eyes grew wide as he noticed what place she was going into. How was he going to explain this to the emperor?

Eun Won, on the other hand, was overjoyed. When they took their seats, a worker of the pleasure house walked in. She looked a year younger than Eun Won. She served wine named Smile Drunk.

Eun Won noticed that she had bruises on her arm. "What is your name?" she asked the worker. "My name is Kim Na-Ri" she replied. "Get me the head of this place, Kim Na-Ri." asked Eun Won. Kim Na-Ri bowed slightly and left.

"What are you planning to do?" thought Mo Yi Huai. Kim Na-Ri returned with a man. She introduces him as the head of the pleasure house. I'm buying Kim Na-Ri from you, " says Eun Won. Without any thought, the head of the place replied "You can take this pest out of my hands". "She is worthless here."

Eun Won nodded her head towards Mo Yi Huai and said "pay him." He did what was asked, but he remembered that it was this month's payment. Kim Na-Ri ran towards Eun Won and said "Thank you so much, I will serve you, master." "I'm a mistress,"replied Eun Won

"Take a seat" said Eun Won. "Thank you mistress." They started drinking the 'Smile Drunk' and talking about their life so far.Their age, where they are from and how they end up in their positions.They decide to walk back to the palace, with Eun Won being the least drunk. They were making jokes along the way and even fell a few times.

Arriving at the palace, they went their separate ways. Eun Won and Kim Na-Ri went to her room, and Mo Yi Huai went to the emperor's chambers. 

In Eun Won's room, Kim Na-Ri helped her take a bath and get dressed in warm clothes. She took a seat at the small table and saw that warm soup was prepared for her by the emperor. She drank the soup and went to bed. Eun Won fell asleep instantly.

At the emperor's chamber, the emperor noticed that his guard, Mo Yi Huai, was disoriented and seemed drunk.

"What happened to you and why do you reek of Smile Drunk?" asked the emperor in an angry tone. "Well… you see...um...I followed the one who looked like Eun Won, and she is a little of a troublemaker." replied Mo Yi Huai in a slurring voice. "What do you mean a troublemaker?" asked Emperor Yu-Jun. "I followed her, and she noticed that I followed her, so she went in an alley and grabbed me by the throat. Then she went into the pleasure house where she asked for 'Smile Drunk' wine. Then she noticed that one of the workers was being abused, so she made me pay for her to come back to the palace and, lastly, we drank four bottles of 'Smile Drunk' in which Eun Won didn't get drunk." replied Mo Yi Huai in one breath. 

The emperor couldn't believe his ears. "One month's payment will be taken from you, and you will be punished by ten hits of the wooden pole." said the emperor to Mo Yi Huai. "Yes, emperor, I will receive my punishment. "You may go" said the emperor. 

The emperor took a bath to release the stress that was caused by this look-alike, Eun Won. He got dressed in warm clothes and went to bed. He started to think about today's events. How could this look-alike person cause so much trouble in one day?  How was he going to handle her? Was he going to confront her? He was going to put her in her place even if she didn't like it. She must follow the rules of the palace. Emperor Yu-Jun fell asleep with a smile on his face. This was the first person that triggered his anger.