"Your Majesty, I seem to recall how close The Widow Nam was to The Chung Family this past year or so…" "It looks like The Widow Nam has confessed to the same crimes, but has claimed that The Concubine Chung and her mother in fact had threatened her and the wellbeing of her child, which is why she had to leave him unattended for so long. She claimed that her power in her own household grew ever single day and so did her impetuous behaviour, which we can all remember what she was like during that disastrous banquet that got Seo Yeon banished from the palace." "What a coincidence that she pawned off her own son at this moment of time to her, that only proves how manipulated she was against her own future sister=in=law in the first place. She is simply undeserving of the pity that The Lord Nam bestows on her, and how coincidental that she only has the courage to give testimony after The Chung Family have fallen." "Once a maid, always a maid, that is why it is looked down upon for the 2 social classes to mix like that, especially when it comes to marriage, even if she has pledged to take on any punishment that I bestow upon her, sister."
"Your Majesty, we have received an alarming report from The Third Prince himself…" "What is it? What has happened now?" "You ordered The Master Chung to become a local city guard for the kingdom, but The Third Prince dressed him up in his own yellow Imperial Robe! He acted ostentatiously and churned about such chaos and rumours that make you out to be a cruel and unjust father and Emperor!" "What an ungrateful, lecherous and rude brat! How dare he only think about himself and ruin my reputation like this!" "Brother, please calm down! The Court Officials have already pegged all 3 men down for various crimes of rebellion, deception, usurpation and offences of insolences. Each and every one of the crimes are worth the death penalty! The Concubine Chung and the other remaining family members are kneeling at this very moment, even in their confined spaces."
"Due to his ties to my son, I shall have The Master Chug executed by my third son himself, and The General Choi shall be granted options for suicide as well as his women. Children 14 and over will be sent to the borderlands to serve in the army and the younger ones will follow their mothers for the death penalty."
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"…I do believe that girls should stay away from politics, as we need to avoid being 'the big tree that attracts the winds.' And now that The Chung Family has been dealt with for good, your Seo Family will remain in the good graces of The Royal Family members. So you must be even more cautious with your words and your actions, as will your husband, Madame Seo. The Chung Family serves as a precedent to you, just as your late father expressed his lessons on prudence to you. And as for some of your servants have come of age, why don't I set them up with some of my fellow servants that have good characters and reputations amongst the other families in court?" "Forgive me, Second Madame Nam, but I am already quite preoccupied with my husband's and his sister's matters to think about such things right now. But I shall discuss this matter with my husband, who is the head of my household and I shall get back to you on this matter." "But as The Madame of the Seo household, aren't such matters better left in your care? There is no need to inform him of such matters at all…" "Madame Nam, as clear as that maybe, but my entire household is funded by my husband and therefore I must consult him with each and every decision that I make regarding his home that I host for him." "Very well Madame Seo, I heard that you make the most delicious osmanthus cakes, but they are somewhat bitter, just like your dismissive words towards me."
"Forgive me Madame, but with a much more reputable home to manage, I just have other priorities to handle." "Does that include taking in our relative without so much as a discussion?" "As I have previously mentioned, it was very much a last minute plan, my sister=in=law failed to inform us either as she had some urgent business in the palace to take care of." "And what plans can an unmarried organ girl have in the palace? One with a disability too I hear? Even if it has been dormant for some years now, it can always come back again can't it? Or be passed down to the future children?"
"And yet despite all of that, The Lord Nam has chosen to sink his claws into my baby sister without any intentions of letting her go; and believe me, I have tried every possible way to separate them." "Master Seo…" "You will have to forgive us Madame Nam, but my child has been crying our for his mother for the past 30 minutes and she needs to tend to him right away." "Forgive me, but don't you have nannies for that? Why don't I send you someone to…" "Madame Nam, I did not sire children with my wife just so that she can pawn them off to others to raise. My wife is the mother of my children and is therefore responsible for raising them as we have agreed before our wedding. I am also expecting quite a large number of company to arrive in my home presently, and she must host them all." "But what about…" "If you are so concerned for my brother=in=law's nephew, then I suggest that you take him off of my hands yourself since you are family after all. I shall have the servants pack his things for you, but you will have to feed him soon." "But I…My Lord, this is all so sudden…" "But isn't this the reason why you have come over to visit us and every day since this boy came to my home? He is not of my blood and I refuse to let my sister carry n an extra burden that she shouldn't have to at all. In fact, I think I would much rather have her tend to the brothel children than to raise this brat that I have been saddled with!" "But…" "I also suppose that you shall be far too busy in the upcoming days raising this boy rather than visiting us every single day, so we shall take note of your absence. Very well, he is waiting for you in your carriage, so you had better be off now."
"…husband, that was rather rude of you…" "And we both have a child to attend to, in case you have forgotten wife." "Husband?" "Forgive me wife, it is simply that boy that puts me on edge, I do not like him at all." "Husband…" "You do not understand wife, he is exactly like his parents, his grandfather and even his uncle at some point." "What do you mean?" "Seonho's dark and deep ambition is what his nephew has inherited from him and nothing more. Even under all of that, I know Seonho to be a good person, otherwise I would have never have introduced him to my sister in the first place even in our youths. But that boy is troublesome, untrained, jealous of our own son and constantly causes chaos to get your attention due to the similar personally traits that you share with my sister. I do not see enough of you as it is and apart from hosting the people in the close circle, I do not and will not share you with anyone else. Our son needs you undivided attention at all times and so do I when I am at home, and I do not care for the plans Soon had for the boy of that calibre, he should have never have dumped him in my family's care for him." "Alright husband, please relax now, I shall see to our boy now and serve us lunch soon." "You haven't slept all night long, your feet are swollen and you must be more hungry than we are; serve us lunch soon so we can all take a nap together." "Yes husband." 'And write to my damned sister to find out when she is coming back, I am far too angry at her to write to her myself.!"
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"My Lady, it looks like the whole scenario with The Chung Family is over now and we can rest a little, but it shall all soon come to pass." "All of the painstaking effort I have made must come to pass now; if only I can speak with my brother=in=law, he will surely give me another chance and secure a bright future for myself. The higher I climb up, the higher my prospects will be, I might even be able to secure another Nobel marriage for myself if I am able to play my cards right." "But My Lady, he only took care of you on account of your son…" "Yes, I might even have to take him back if it means I shall be supported again. He may be in his prime but everyone around him knows that Seo Yeon will never be able to bare children for him, no matter how much they try over and over again. He may even have to adopt my son in the future, and I can imagine that he will want to keep me close to him as his birth mother. I must even be around to secure him a profitable marriage on my behalf so that we can have more than one source of hope." "My Lady is already exerting yourself for your son, you must already have a plan in mind." "He is my only child and I am his only mother despite my real feelings towards him. We can only rely on each other in this world; people come together when there is something to gain and go their separate ways when there is nothing left to untie over. And if anyone stands in our way, I shall not let us be distracted once more. I am the one that has to plan for our future together, even if I am not from the same social standing as Seo Yeon is, who has a brother and father that have made contributions to this nation of ours. They have gained everyone's trust and are practically untouchable at this point, but it won't be like that forever. But The Master's Chung and Choi have now been pacified by the court; and I have taken down The Chung Family myself. I am not anywhere as calculating as she is." "The more women there are, the more calculating they will become and the more quarrels and conflicts there shall be, and we sill have many days ahead of us, even if I still haven't gained anyones favour yet."
"My Lady, your sleep tonic is ready now." "Very well, let this day pass and tomorrow my face shall change as soon as I am formally interrogated for The Chung Family case and then…and the…wha is happening to me! My voice…where did it go!" "My Lady! What has happened to you? Why does your voice sound like that!" "My voice! Without it, how shall I even gain favour again! Or even testify in my own defence tomorrow! What shall happen to me now!" "Who sent me this medicine! I shall look into it right away…!" "No! You cannot alert anybody about this, or I shall be humiliated forever once again! I have nobody on my side here in the palace who shall be willing to help me and I shall be kicked out of the palace before long and never to return again, just like I did to Seo Yeon! I…I have become useless now…a discarded maid…do not speak about this to anyone at all! Act normal at all times and I shall have to figure something out for myself…and for my son, I…I have lost in this palace game after all, haven't I?" "My Lady…"