Chapter 19

Chapter 19

That night, when Yu Hanshin came storming into the small house, his concubine, who had rushed out in her stocking feet, was startled.

The foolish man who always greeted her with a beaming smile was now huffing and fuming with rage.

She sensed at once that something was wrong. She, too, lived in constant fear of losing Yu Hanshin’s favor. A man who had cast aside his lawful wife would hardly hesitate to cast aside a concubine.

Having borne him a plump, bouncing son, she would be utterly finished if she were discarded.

So she struggled at every moment to keep hold of Yu Hanshin’s affection. Fortunately, her efforts had paid off until now.

But what was this?

Even after coming face to face with her, there was no sign of the anger leaving Yu Hanshin’s face.

The concubine was on edge, wondering why the man was like this, and whether she might have done something wrong.

“Husband, what is the matter? You look terribly unwell.”

When she leaned in with her lovely face and asked in a soft, pliant voice, the anger on Yu Hanshin’s face finally eased a little.

His affection, it seemed, was still intact today. For her, it was a narrow escape that took ten years off her life.

“That Hwacheon, that wretch…!”

Hanshin was startled by his own voice and whipped his head around to look at their surroundings.

At the mention of Hwacheon’s name, the concubine wondered what trouble that impudent girl had stirred up this time, and her face twisted in displeasure.

Hanshin lowered his voice far more than before and went on in a hushed murmur.

“Yu Hwacheon, that wretched girl, humiliated me in front of Prince Hye.”

“In front of Prince Hye? How did you come to run into him?”

“I went to the palace to see His Majesty and ran into them. So I asked His Highness to come to my house for a cup of tea, and that little wretch Hwacheon flatly refused, saying she didn’t want to go!”

At that, the concubine pretended to be even angrier than he was and flew into a rage.

“What? Has that wretch, now that she’s married, come to look down on her own father like that? Then again, she slighted you even before the wedding. Now you can’t even discipline her. What are we to do with this injustice?”

Then, putting on every coquettish charm, she led Hanshin into the room. Hwaryeong, who happened to open the door and step out, saw her father and ran to him in delight.

Hanshin tenderly stroked the back of the head of Hwaryeong, now in his arms. No matter how many times he looked at her, she was a lovable daughter, though born of a concubine.

By contrast, the girl who was supposedly his legitimate daughter had married and already treated her father like a servant, and he was so angry he could hardly bear it. How much better it would have been if she were as gentle and endearing as Hwaryeong.

With a nature so harsh and shrewd, who knew whether she could serve her husband properly? Prince Hye, too, would soon see Hwacheon’s true colors and lose all affection for her.

“Hwaryeong, your half-sister humiliated your father in front of Prince Hye.”

The moment her half-sister was mentioned, Hwaryeong flinched and shuddered in distress. The image of Hwacheon glaring at her with wide, blazing eyes, murderous enough to kill her, flickered in her mind.

“S-Sister… no, the young mistress did?”

At the word “young mistress,” Yu Hanshin flew into a great fury.

“Young mistress, my foot! Only the mother differs, not the blood! It is not ‘young mistress,’ it is ‘sister’! Your sister!”

“But… Sister said not to call her that… She told me to know my place…”

When Hwaryeong could not go on and her eyes welled with tears, Yu Hanshin’s heart ached.

Seeing his poor daughter, born of a concubine, suffering under the cruel persecution of his legitimate daughter, he felt like wringing the legitimate daughter’s neck on the spot.

If only he had taken Hwaryeong’s mother as his primary wife from the start. But had he done so, the Yu clan would have risen up in protest, asking how a lowly courtesan could be made a primary wife.

Now Yu Hanshin himself was the head of the clan and could do as he pleased without anyone objecting, but back then it had been different. So Hanshin was planning to elevate Hwaryeong’s mother to primary wife as soon as Hwacheon’s mother died.

Of course, Hwacheon would rage and run wild over it, but what power did a daughter who had married out have?

No matter how much she was Princess Consort Hye and the future Empress, she could not meddle at will in another family’s affairs.

Deep down, Hanshin wished for his lawful wife to die as soon as possible. It was only that, given the years of devotion she had shown him, he had refrained from openly feeding her poison or laying a curse on her.

In any case, once Hwacheon’s mother breathed her last, he would be able to enjoy a paradise on earth from then on. Hwaryeong’s mother, once despised as a concubine, and her children would be able to hold their heads high.

The mere thought of it cleared his chest, and even water tasted sweet.

“Your place is not that of a concubine’s daughter, it is that of the daughter of Yu Hanshin, the Left Vice Minister! Born the daughter of a high official, what place is there to speak of? The one spouting such nonsense, that madwoman, is the problem. Why should you be cowed?”

Yu Hanshin held his daughter, born of a concubine, tightly in his arms. Hwaryeong’s body, struggling as she wailed in his embrace, tore his heart to shreds.

Hwacheon and Hwaryeong were both his own flesh and blood, so how could they be so different?

From this day forward, Yu Hanshin cast aside every last scrap of affection for Hwacheon. He intended to treat her as a complete stranger from now on.

A married daughter always longs for her natal home, after all, and he would just see how well she managed without any help from it.

Then the concubine spoke.

“How shall we vent this fury? I cannot go on living like this, Husband, it’s too unjust! You know how that little girl looked down on me and ignored me every time she saw me!”

He knew it well. He knew how that relentlessly fierce Hwacheon had troubled the mother and daughter.

Hwacheon’s own mother lay meekly prostrate and obedient, so who did that daughter think she was, to be so overbearing? Hanshin felt like slapping Hwacheon’s cheek, as he used to.

“The night wind is cold. Let us go inside for now.”

The three of them entered the main room.

There, Hanshin’s illegitimate son, Yu Hwajun, was reading a book. Seeing his clever look, joy surged up in Hanshin’s heart.

The children of his concubine eased their father’s heart like this, so why was that deranged legitimate daughter such a mess?

It seemed her mother had spoiled her too much.

It was all the fault of Hwacheon’s mother. A stupid, dull woman with no virtue but being good. Hanshin clicked his tongue inwardly.

“Ah, my eldest son. Were you reading? How admirable.”

When he approached with praise, Hwajun closed his book and bowed to his father. Courtesy was second nature to him.

Delighted by his son’s charm, Hanshin kissed his soft cheeks again and again. At his father’s teasing show of affection, Hwajun burst into giggles.

To all appearances, they were a truly harmonious family.

The four of them put their heads together and began plotting how to knock Hwacheon down a peg, but no answer came easily. Their target was the noble Princess Consort Hye, married into the prince’s residence, after all.

Before the marriage, he could at least have struck her, but now he was in no position even to see her face.

If only they could meet, they could make her suffer or whatever they pleased, but with no point of contact, all he could do was seethe.

Then the concubine clapped her hands with a smack and made a suggestion.

“Let’s send Hwaryeong to Prince Hye’s residence. Our Hwaryeong is dazzlingly beautiful, so she’ll win Prince Hye’s heart in an instant.”

Hanshin shook his head.

“How could we possibly marry Hwaryeong to Prince Hye? From what I saw, he seems to cherish that wretched Hwacheon quite a bit. That girl will never give her an opening, so give up that dream.”

“I don’t mean marrying her off right now! In the long run that is the goal, but for now, we send her on an errand as a pretext. Until Hwaryeong and Prince Hye cross paths.”

“An errand?”

“Yes! If Hwaryeong says she’s bringing rice cakes or sweets to her half-sister, that is reason enough, and nobody would find it strange. If Prince Hye doesn’t come to us, then we go to him.”

She went on, flushed with excitement.

“Just let Hwaryeong run into him once. Could he possibly not fall for such a peerless beauty? Where else in the capital is there a beauty like her!”

Hwaryeong blushed shyly.

“Being a concubine’s daughter, she will have trouble securing a primary wife’s seat anywhere but a humble family anyway, so becoming the concubine of the man who will be emperor is a hundred times better. An emperor’s concubine is called a consort, so the rank is entirely different, isn’t it? Hwaryeong, dear, you think so too, don’t you?”

The concubine took her daughter Hwaryeong’s hands and danced about, shoulders swaying.

Hanshin thought it over for a moment and arrived at the conclusion that if Hwaryeong entered Prince Hye’s residence, Hwacheon would be made to suffer and a bright future would open for Hwaryeong as well.

In his own eyes, too, his illegitimate daughter’s beauty was outstanding. He was certain that Prince Hye could not help losing his heart once he laid eyes on her.

Of course, that was only the blind conviction of Hanshin, who thought nothing but well of his own children.

“Hwaryeong, are you truly all right with this?”

He had already reached his conclusion in his head, but his precious daughter might think a little differently. So he had to ask Hwaryeong’s wishes.

He never wanted Hwaryeong to do anything she disliked.

“I am happy to. If I marry Prince Hye, I will be able to be of help to you, Father.”

Oh, what a darling. Hanshin smiled so broadly his mouth nearly split. His cheekbones rippled like waves.

“Yes, if he can see our lovely Hwaryeong’s beauty and still not fall, then Prince Hye must be a eunuch.”