The Hated Male Concubine

#161

The guard was close to shedding tears because Songhyun was being stubborn. As a person of the lowest class, he had never spoken to anyone in high places before, except for Yeonbin, the owner of Seojeong Palace. If he were a normal commoner, he might not be this intimidated, as he was merely carrying out the emperor’s orders, but his situation was different. Feeling that he would be the only one getting frustrated from this, the guard kept his head down, unable to accept the item Jeongbin had brought and unable to reject them outright.

“Are you really going to frustrate me?”

“Your Highness Jeongbin, please give it to me.”

Songhyun, who had been uneasy as she had no way to help Yeonbin, uncharacteristically drew her eyes fiercely at the stiff guard. Just then, she heard an unfamiliar voice beside her. Songhyun turned her head and saw a vaguely familiar guard approaching. It was Seocheon.

“I’ll pass it on.”

“You, you are…”

Songhyun squinted her eyes for a moment, studying Seocheon’s face, then remembered where she had seen him before. He was the man the eunuch of Seojeong Palace had accused on the day Yeonbin fell into the pond. A glint of suspicion crossed Songhyun’s face. She hadn’t yet heard how the accident of that day had turned out because Yeonbin had been confined in Seojeong Palace shortly afterward. Under Songhyun’s gaze, Seocheon simply lowered his head.

Songhyun, her lips twitching, bore her eyes at the tightly closed gate of Seojeong Palace and then gestured to a eunuch next to her. Seocheon accepted the box that the eunuch had been holding. In a voice that still showed her suspicion, Songhyun spoke.

“I only packed some things that are good for the body. Don’t worry about anything and deliver it. If the Emperor asks, I’ll tell him that I threatened you.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll take care of it and deliver it to His Highness Yeonbin.”

Seocheon replied in a flat voice. Even though Songhyun was bothered a bit because he was involved in Yeonbin’s drowning incident, she had no other choice at this point. She eventually nodded, thinking that Yeonbin had revealed that he had fallen into the pond by mistake that time and this guard must have been allowed to stay at Seojeong Palace because he did nothing wrong. 

“I’ll certainly remember your help today.”

“Take care on your way back, Your Highness.”

Listening to Seocheon’s greeting, Songhyun looked up at the closed gate once more. She heaved a sigh before turning away. Songhyun was really clueless about this matter, but no matter how much she thought about it, she felt that the Emperor must be the one in the wrong. No matter what, she believed so.

***

“Are you really going to deliver that?”

Gojun, the guard who had a dispute with Jeongbin earlier, asked as he blocked Seocheon’s way into Seojeong Palace. Seocheon raised an eyebrow slightly before answering.

“Yeah. I have to stand guard inside anyway, so I’ll deliver it while I’m going in.”

“But what if His Majesty finds out…!”

Jeongbin argued that the order didn’t explicitly mention anything about allowing items in, but it was evident to anyone with common sense that it was just a semantic game. From Gojun’s perspective, Jeongbin might have some hope of avoiding severe punishment if caught since she was a concubine, but lowly people like them would have to bear all the consequences of Jeongbin’s actions.

Seocheon, on the other hand, spoke in a composed voice, his expression unwavering.

“It’s okay, you can pretend you didn’t know anything.”

“That’s not what I mean, hey! Seocheon!”

Gojun shouted as Seocheon opened the door and walked inside, but Seocheon didn’t answer and just slammed the door back shut.

“Argh, I don’t know anymore.”

Unable to do anything more, Gojun just sighed, wondering what on earth was going on.

***

Having ordered Eunuch Oh to not follow him, Yihan walked along the waterway alone in the garden. He had come out to take his mind off things, but no matter how many times he looked at the greenery, it didn’t make him feel any better.

The world seemed to have lost its color. Myeonghawon, the summer palace, was a beautiful palace that was comparable to the main palace, but right now, in Yihan’s eyes, it was only poor and shabby.

Suddenly, a feeling of frustration and sorrow burst out of his heart. If that person had deceived him from the beginning, he should have continued with the deception to the end. He wondered why that person eventually revealed the truth, shattering the happiness he had finally achieved after so many troubles.

Right then, the Emperor’s steps suddenly stopped.

“… Why, did he tell me about it?”

That question suddenly crossed his mind. Why did Yeon Hwawoon disclose the truth to him?

If he had kept it hidden, it would have remained a secret. No one would have dared to suspect that someone else’s soul had entered Yeon Hwawoon’s body, except for a madman. Moreover, Yihan had already confessed to him, giving him his whole heart. In such a situation, even if someone knew about it, they wouldn’t have been able to reveal it.

Nevertheless, Yeon Hwawoon told Yihan the whole truth on his own accord. It was clear that he would lose all the power and love he had finally obtained, rather than gain any benefit. There was no reason for him to reveal this, especially if he was the kind of person who would fabricate everything and act falsely in order to gain power or wealth.

“…”

Yihan stopped on his track, his eyes deepened. When he considered everything, there were only a few possible reasons.

Either he’d been caught and he was being threatened.

Or, the guilt was too much for him to bear.

If the guilt of deceiving the Emperor was what drove him to tell the truth, it would explain the whole inexplicable chain of events.

“Does this mean… he’s really not Yeon Hwawoon…”

If that person was the real Yeon Hwawoon, he would never have confessed even under duress. The person who had done everything to win the Emperor’s heart suddenly risked everything to tell the truth for the sake of his conscience? It didn’t make sense. Then, did it mean that Yeon Hwawoon was truly someone else, as he claimed?

The image of Hwawoon’s face on the night he cried and begged Yihan not to abandon him came to mind. Yihan stood there for a long time, hesitating to take further steps.

***

“… Thank you, Guard Seocheon.”

Ahjin accepted the delivered item from Seocheon and expressed her gratitude. She had initially thought that the other concubines would ignore Seojeong Palace since the Emperor had so decisively locked its gates. However, knowing that one of them had cared enough to send this item, she couldn’t help but feel grateful.

“I heard that you saved His Highness last time, and now you even did this.”

“It was no big deal.”

“I’m sure His Highness won’t forget and will repay you later.”

Ahjin didn’t have all the details about what had happened the day Yeonbin fell into the pond. She didn’t know why So Jeong had suddenly left the palace either. Hwawoon had only informed her that it had occurred without providing additional information. She hadn’t been able to ask him about it afterward due to the current situation. Regardless, her master had told her that Seocheon saved his life, so Ahjin couldn’t help but feel deeply grateful to him.

“Speaking of…”

Seocheon stopped Ahjin as she turned to leave. She faced him again, noticing a sense of hesitation in his eyes. After a moment, Seocheon spoke.

“Is… His Highness Yeonbin okay?”

Ahjin narrowed her eyes at Seocheon’s question. She observed a trace of undue affection in his gaze, which made her wary. It was unusual for a guard to express such overt concern about a concubine’s well-being. There was too much emotion in his voice and eyes, raising suspicions.

“… I don’t think it’s something for you to be concerned about.”

“…”

“It’s our job to serve His Highness, so don’t worry about it.”

This was the Imperial Palace, and the concubines belonged to the Emperor. In this palace of many words and troubles, any hint of a guard being overly concerned about a concubine could lead to rumors and trouble. Even if Seocheon had no ulterior motives, the Imperial Palace didn’t forgive such actions easily. Ahjin gave him a last warning with her eyes before hurrying away, determined to ensure her master wouldn’t run into him, as his situation was not good.

“…”

Seocheon watched Ahjin’s hurried departure and let out a deep sigh. He had certainly made a mistake. He had wanted to deliver Jeongbin’s item personally and check on Yeonbin himself. However, since he couldn’t do that, he ended up saying the wrong thing.

Seocheon bit his lip, resisting the urge to address Yeonbin by the name he missed. He now lived as Yeon Hwawoon, not Hawoon. He didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks by mentioning his old name.

His heart ached as he thought of the pain and frustration he must be experiencing, one trouble after another. He was deeply upset that there was nothing he could do to help. He was frustrated that the person he had missed so much was in a close location but he couldn’t meet him even once.

Seocheon remained rooted in place, gazing at the pavilion of Seojeong Palace.