"Sister-in-law! Are you finally awake? Sister! Quickly, bring over the medicine! And use the herbs of the finest quality that i brought over from The Chung Family as a form of apology to her! Yeon is frail and is in need of nourishment as soon as possible!" Calm down sister! And what are you doing with that knife! No! Wait….!" "Even the best of ingredients call for a catalyst, and what better that human blood?" "Have you lost your mind! How can you raise your son if you bring yourself to harm!" "Sister-in-law? what on earth are you doing…" "Do not fret Yeon, i made this tonic in my place whilst you were recovering here alone and...." "Alone? Where is Lord Nam...?" "…and i has been kept warm on a hot stove, formulated by your close friend Moon-Bok? With a few additional nourishing herbs, so you will have a speedy recovery if you take this." "But Moon-Bok hasn't prescribed me with anything new lately and how could he have known about my accident so soon? And what is in this? It smells so strong?" "Do not worry, i have already tried some of it just to be safe...or do you not trust me?" "What happened to your wrist? Why is it bandaged like that? Did you also get hurt in the accident? And what happened to The Chung Family? Where is my husband? i want to see him?" "You should focus on your nourishing health, especially after your miscarriage…" "Sister-in-law! We already agreed never to mention it again….!" "And Moon-bok agreed with me that human blood can also bring out the nourishing elements of the herb. So i just used mine in hopes that it can improve your health…and even prepare you for another pregnancy soon after your wedding takes place."
"Ancient formulas such as these are never reliable, and there is a specific section in the library that is closed to everyone apart from physicians, so how did you…" "Yeon! i just wanted you to be in good health whilst your so-called husband has disappeared to his usual…" "Sister! Watch your mouth!" "Fine! But this can help her to get pregnant again and I can be a part of it this time to help you, unlike last time! And please forgive my inability to prevent Concubine Chung from hurting you this time, she is being punished for it as well as her husband. He is currently readying himself to take on General Choi on his Master's behalf and her daughter has been taken into her sister's care." "Mistress Nam? Servant? Please tell me where my husband is right now?" "Yeon, i have nobody else to rely on in this world apart from you and my brother-in-law, so please let us not distance ourselves due to my high favour with him." "High favour….?" "But i would much rather stay close to you as well, as my former Mistress, and i am not close to anyone else, despite your family's warm embrace for me. And Madame Chung has already distanced herself from us so shortly after her marriage." "But that is normal, considering her new marriage with her blended family."
"Will you also abandon me, sister-in-law? Will you keep me away from the wedding? I didn't grow up with you, but I have been grateful for our friendship every singe day, you must know that." "What are you talking about? Of course you are invited to the wedding, but why did you harm yourself to help me?" "Because you are the only one who can help me in return! I will not lie about it to you, and if you do not trust me, then who else can?"
"Beauty withers in the snap of a finger, but favour fades even before age gets to the best of us, and only you and your sister will sit with me by the incense burner until dawn." "That is because you will never loose favour; and i will always stay by your side to keep you company." "And continue to transcribe sutras for the both of us, if you do not mind." "You do not need to ask, for i have already transcribed some whilst you were sleeping." "I deeply appreciate it, although I am still quite fatigued as of this point. Could i possibly trouble you to bring them to the palace temple and burn all of the copies that we have made together on my behalf? For my child the is resting in the pure land, on behalf of his poorly mother?"
"...Mistress, will you really drink this? Because she..." "I already know that she did not make this, for her fallen status will not allow her anywhere near these expensive ingredients, and she isn't close enough to Moon-bok to just demand a prescription for me, especially when he has been in my father's village for weeks now which is hours away from here. And i do not take anything that doesn't come from him or my husband directly, so you can discard that medicine with her raw blood in it. What on earth was she thinking? Care does not reside in an object, despite the fact that she went so far as to cut herself ti maintain her caring image towards me when she cannot even look after her charge of children or her own son that well. I hope that her heart still harbours some sincerity, but I am beginning to doubt it now." "Mistress?" Your sister today has that same sickly sweet smell on her that my husband does, that causes him to act erratically, what on earth could it be? And where is he? I have never smelled that on her before, which can only mean that she went to wherever he is now and she was affected by it...and the only thing that i can think of is drugs of some sort….but Seon-Ho is far too disciplined to do rubbish like that, no matter how reckless he can be to prove himself...."
"Mistress? There is actually something that i have been meaning to talk to you about…" "Will you pass me her prescription that she left here on the side table?" "Why?" "Because her calligraphy does not match the ones on her sutras at all, so who has been doing that for her?" "Mistress, my sister is illiterate at best, and i have been the one helping her since she always used the excuse of caring for her son to do the writing herself, but she told me that it was on your orders.?"
"Young Mistress Seo, your face looks plan and devoid f your usual rosy glow; the face of a woman fades faster than the flowers, remember?" "Even the most beautiful face cannot withstand the passing of time." "There will be no turning back to youth, and you have been wallowing in grief privately since your return to the palace 4 months ago. Have you thought abut how you will continue this after your upcoming marriage? You cannot keep this up and you know it; you must confide in him or get over this and start your life anew." "My brother did a good job in finding you, i shall reward you for your services soon." "Mistress? It seems as though somebody is spying on us from outside of these quarters." "Did you see them clearly enough?" "Forgive me, i could not look quick enough to see their actual faces, but i can see him pretending ti be a cleaner outside if your courtyard whilst hiding under the wall and eavesdrops in the corner." "Do you know which residence he comes from?" "Unfortunately yes..." "So they harbour malicious intent towards me, but because the palace is tightly guarded, they must have not been able to do anything yet." "Mistress, shall i seize him for you?" "Not yet, but I do not wish to stay here in the palace a moment longer. And I do not wish to beat the grass too frighten away the snakes. We shall depart in the morning, so let us organise what to pack with us and what to leave behind…" "Leave behind? Mistress?" "Before you were interrupted, you told me that you have something to tell me? You will tell me before we move in the morning, so that i can come up with a plan to protect us all."
"How can we possibly talk when The Mistress Nam is trilling like that non-stop?" "Her singing will not be blocked by the door, but tell me how often she visited me whilst I was unconscious?" "Only once after the initial accident, and not the 3 days after that. She was too busy enjoying her new found favour with The Chung Family, and now that she has that, she must put them first i suppose." "Being physically present is not important, it is the thought that counts." "The Lord Nam is usually here at this time to trim the candle wick with you…" "Singing and dancing are more entertaining than poetry and literature, wherever he is at the moment. Even the best of books will be put aside once you grow tired of it, just like this fan; you are unwilling to put it down in the summer but will not even touch it in the Autumn and Spring seasons."
'Mistress, she lost her voice the day of the accident and now she is singing at the top of her lungs in the temple that is far away from us. Are you not suspicious about the speed and timing of her recovery?" "So what if I am suspicious? She seems to be in the prime of her life right now, so why should she wire away like me? One lonely person s enough for my empty quarters in my husband's absence, wherever he is."