He disappeared for the rest of the night, which worried me unbelievably so. Seon-Ho had lived with a very strict daily routine for years and he ever even took a day off of work apart from this one incident. I wasn't one to hold grudges against people since all had ever wanted was a peaceful life with my brother. But life wasn't leaving any one of us alone and we were not the same meek and mild people we were growing up; at least I wasn't. But I also couldn't help myself but to take the opportunity to look around the palace in his absence for the one thing that I had planned on coming here for since i regained my memories in the Nam Yangban, although i certainly did not expect to have stayed here for this long. But I had no idea where it was hidden and what form it was in and i only had a limited time frame before Seon-ho would pop up out of nowhere and take me home at long last. But this was important to me and my family…and most especially to him. His plan to depose The Third Prince oddly coincided with mine all along, but for more of the same reason that he had a grudge against him. What i was looking for was going to be enough to not only take him down, but extent his punishment for as long as possible.
I was still going through The Imperial Library a few hours later and had almost turned it upside down but I couldn't find anything at all. The only other place that i could think of was The Third Prince's residence that was already heavily-guarded, so there was no chance of me going there, no matter what excuse i came up with…
"...A distinguished person is said to be always busy, especially when The Lord Nam has been called far away from you as well as The Third Prince...and my very own husband. But you must be devoted enough to still stay in their company up until now. I really do envy you for this, Young Mistress Seo." "I have always managed to stay out of your way Concubine Chung, just like the well water that stays out of the river, so why do you seek me out today in the palace?" "I just thought that since The Mistress Nam is quite close to you, that it was your idea to bring her so close to my husband's master, to give him the idea of winning over his own father by turning him against my husband, the man that The Third Prince himself grew up with…" So that is how ruthless he was? To turn on his own childhood friend? For the sake of his father, The Emperor? The Third Prince and Seon-ho had a pretty similar upbringing when it came to their father's and maybe, just maybe Seon-ho would have sold out anyone else he was close with to his father, apart from myself and my brother, and even his friends now. It was because of his work that he didn't get to spend much time with everybody else. But when he did, it was always him who took care of everyone else, even my own brother and his family. Even when he was carrying out his own plans, he still gave out plenty of work to Moon-Bok and his wife so that they could escape from her kisaeng tile, as well as my real sister-in-law. That only proved that no matter how erratic and dark he was becoming, he did still care about the people close to him at least, which was more than i had expected from him considering all that he had went through in his lonely childhood. But The Third Prince wasn't like that at all; I fully believed that if he was pushed enough, that he could sell myself and my brother out for his own goals. Which in turn meant that Seon-ho's immunity would be over; for the only reason The Third Prince and my lover hadn't killed each other was because of my brother. And that was another reason why I had to be the one to bring him down, since my men were already so closely tied to The Third Prince with some very fragile strings…
"…you alway seem to have some trick up your sleeve without liking at your own faults, such as your own ambitious nature. No wonder the rising star in the palace is infatuated with you, to the point where he always seems to cross any boundaries just to possess you. You two are really so alike that it is almost terrifying." "My Lady...." "So what is your plan now after advancing your widowed future sister-in-law onto the most fearsome prince? And if she has another bastard child one day, it will become your future nephew, isn't that right? So it will not even matter if you can bear your own children your fiancé?" "Concubine Chung? Are you admitting to you having a hand in the accident that took place with your horse under your marital roof? Because there isn't anybody in my life who is currently alive right now to hold a grudge against me...apart from yourself? And for what exactly?" "Young Mistress Seo, it wasn't bad enough when you inserted my divorced sister into my marriage! Didn't you do enough damage to him when you took the reins of the horse? And now you…what? What are you laughing about?" "Who do you think you are? You are only the sister of The Main Madame Chung, whose marital family is facing a decline right now, all because of the little trick that you pulled against me, despite the face that you your power after being caught having multiple affairs by your family members as soon as you threw yourself onto your fiancé before your marriage took place only a few days later. But little do you know, that i was only carrying out orders from The Third Prince himself, to make your sister your fiancé's main wife. so if you are experiencing issues in your marriage, then i suggest that you take it up with him, instead of venting at myself, who will always be protected by The Third Prince himself."
"That fool; he has all the potential for a high place within the government but he has no guidance at all. Somebody has to mould that man's potential." "Well, you can try all you like to make him into something that you can use, but it will not work, no matter what you do." "And what makes you sure?" "Because Seon-Ho has not even conformed to his father's standards after all of these years of scolding, endless lectures and abuse. You can make Seon-Ho bend, to a certain extent, but you cannot break him. Nobody can…not even myself." "Are you sure about that? He had most certainly bent over more than necessary when it comes to you." "That is what you do for people that you consider as family." Family? Do you think that man considers a slut like you family?" "Excuse me?" "I've seen the way he looks at you, the way he pays extra close attention to you, and more importantly, I've personally witnessed multiple times how you tantalise him on purpose." "I am his fiancé, i am allowed to do that much at the very least." I almost shouted in reply whilst my memories took me back to all the times that we crossed the line, especially right before the accident that changed all of our lives forever. "I cannot believe that I was fooled into thinking he was in love with a kisaeng, but falling for a disabled orphan is even worse, don't you think?"
"The damage has already been done to that girl and he didn't do anything at all! And yet, just for you, he was willing to proceed you from being trodden on by a horse! And now look at him! He is in so much pain…" "Well, isn't that your fault?" "What?" "The accident. You have made yourself far too obvious, My Lady. We both new why you wanted me on the horse, that was why Seon-Ho took me upon his. But you predicted that, didn't you? That was why you messed with his horse as well, although I couldn't find any visible marks on him no matter how hard I looked." 'You did not look hard enough then." "So you admit to it?" "I wanted to kill you, not the rising star of the palace! That would be far to obvious" "You will kill him eventually? Even he knows this, that is why he will never submit to you no matter what you do to him The more greedier you are, the more likelihood that you end up with nothing." "You…" I was loosing all patience with the clueless girl, so I slapped her before she got another chance at me again. Nobody got a second chance to mess with me.
"How dare you! I am the master! And you are the servant! And I will teach you today what following rules and decorum means!" She finally managed to say after she woke up from the daze that I put her in. The Concubine Chug had the looks of an angel but he heart was twisted with greed, jealousy and malice, and she didn't even have half of the wit and strength that her sister or anyone else in her family possessed. I suppose that she had never even suffered an insult in her entire life, whilst myself, my brother and Seon-Ho and survived a lot more than that. Just giving her a tight slap that was hard enough for her headpiece to roll off almost made her loose all control. She actually had the nerve to lunge right at me and almost stab me with a hairpin of her's that fell off onto the ground…and god only knows what would have happened if Seon-Ho himself hadn't shown up in time to not only catch the hairpin, but he actually threw her onto the ground so hard that she started throwing a tantrum right there and then! I tried to leave, but once again, he wasn't having it and there was nothing I could do about it.
Yeon was most certainly not a child anymore, in fact, after hearing everything she said and denounced about a Lady that she didn't come into contact with as much as I did, I was more convinced that she was hiding things from me. For one, she was sexy as hell when she got angry, her temperament and perception was as sharp as ice. And when she slapped the Concubine Chung onto the floor, her blouse became undone and she was so small underneath it that I was really having a hard tome controlling myself around her after the day that I had with work against the corrupt senior scholar. But I was also still very drunk, so nobody could hold me accountable for my thoughts and actions today at least.
But there were some thing about her that still hadn't changed; she was used to suppressing her anger her entire life just like her brother. So when she usually got angry, she would just huff and puff away before storming off. But our conversation from before the accident was left unfinished, and I had more things in mind in my current state.
"The land upon which you are standing on belong's to The Royal Family, this isn't your marital or maiden home! If you want to act like a tyrant and a burden, then you can return to your luxurious home which is paid off by your sister! The food you consume, the makeup you put on, your clothes and even the shoes that you tread upon other people are not even yours to use! Without your sister, you are nothing!"
The fact that this lecherous concubine could go after Yeon was the biggest mistake that she could do in my presence, and I made it known to her when I pulled her into me with a single hand before I grabbed her hand and pushed her out of my way before she had a chance to cry or complain. Buy before I could barricade the door behind us, she had her servant kick the door down as she made her way back to us with her eyes full of humiliation and tears. "You…how dare you! What right? What right do you have to humiliate me after everything that I have done for you in my home!" "Because…I cannot stand you. I never have, and I never will. Your presence disturbs me, you're lack of personal care and mind disgusts me and…and your desperation to climb on top can be smelt a mile away" "Wh…what?" I was far too intoxicated to take any note of what I had said at all, but whatever it was, it was sure giving me the satisfaction that I have craved ever since this monster came into my life. But I had enough of her nonsense for now, and I had turned my eyes on the woman that I had been dying to talk to for a while now.
She was crying silently, probably at whatever made the Concubine Chung cry as well. She wanted to leave the room, but I was in the mood to talk, so she had no choice but to comply. But before i could even get a word in edgewise, we were informed that the Concubine Chug, Yeon and my sister-in-law was being called for a lunch date outside of The Third Prince's Harem, leaving me to wait for Yeon in her quarters as i finished our packing .