Chapter 13
Having heard Eun Jung’s earnest declaration, Prince JiangSu proceeded to take the royal decree from her and set it aside. Before she could inquire as to the meaning of his actions; Prince JiangSu reached out to take a hold of both of her hands, looked deeply into her eyes and said, “Soo Jin, trust isn’t something that a Crowned Prince can easily bestow. Despite this, I’m finding that my growing affections for you have enabled me to begin to trust you; but try to understand that this really isn’t the issue here.” Seeing the confused expression on Eun Jung’s face, Prince JiangSu continued to say, “I know that you aren’t aware of the dangerous political intrigue that surround us; but understand that no amount of trust from me can protect you against the bad intentions of other people. Even though we were forced to marry each other; you are now and will always be my wife, so whether you like it or not, I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”
Taking note of Prince JiangSu’s affectionate gaze, Eun Jung quickly averted her eyes and felt an enormous sense of remorse overtake her. Tears came to Eun Jung’s eyes as she reflected on Prince JiangSu’s words, which had only worked to make her realize that she neither deserved his trust nor his affection. Knowing that she would not be able to suppress her tears from falling; Eun Jung quickly pulled her hands away from Prince JiangSu’s grasp and grabbed the royal decree from the table. With the royal decree in hand, Eun Jung proceeded to call out for the maids to come into the room to help her get ready for her lessons. Although, Prince JiangSu was surprised by Eun Jung’s strange reaction to his statements; he decided to focus his attention, on figuring out how to convince his royal father to retract the order in the royal decree.
While the maids assisted Eun Jung in preparing for her appointment; she took the opportunity to regain her composure before returning to their room to reassure Prince JiangSu that she would be okay. When she realized that there was nothing she could say to dispel Prince JiangSu’s apprehension, Eun Jung reluctantly took her leave of him and made her way to Concubine Su’s residence. Having waited nearly an hour, in the front courtyard for Concubine Su’s permission to enter the main residence; Eun Jung began to grow restless and wondered how long the hateful woman would ignore her presence. After another hour had passed, Eun Jung grew furious and decided that she would no longer wait outside like an idiot. Despite not having received permission to enter, Eun Jung boldly walked into the residence to find Concubine Su sitting in the main hall enjoying a warm cup of tea.
Observing the agitated expression on Eun Jung’s face, Concubine Su smiled and declared, “Grand Princess Consort, it appears that you have already failed the first lesson.” After leisurely taking another sip of her tea, Concubine Su proceeded to place the cup down on the table and stood up before explaining, “A Queen must possess the quality of patience in order to adhere to the proper protocols of Palace rules. Under no circumstance should you enter when you have not been permitted to do so.” Concubine Su was delighted to see the vacant expression on Eun Jung’s face and figured that she had stumped the insolent girl. Wanting to further denigrate her, Concubine Su asked, “Grand Princess Consort, can you see how this lesson has highlighted your shortcomings?”
Acting as though she had not heard a single word spoken by Concubine Su; Eun Jung walked past the befuddled woman and proceeded to pour herself a cup of warm tea. Furious at Eun Jung’s dismissive behavior, Concubine Su grabbed away the teacup and asked, “Did you hear anything that I have said to you?” Nodding her head, Eun Jung replied bluntly, “I did hear you, but I don’t think this lesson makes any sense.” Not quite understanding Eun Jung’s meaning, Concubine Su asked, “What doesn’t make sense?” Without batting an eyelash, Eun Jung replied, “It doesn’t make sense for a Queen to stand outside the chambers of a Concubine to wait for permission to enter. I don’t know very much about the Palace rules, but I thought that Concubines are supposed to come out to greet the Queen. Concubine Su am I wrong?”
In a fit of anger, Concubine Su quickly declared, “You aren’t a Queen!” Putting on a confused expression, Eun Jung asked, “But aren’t you supposed to be training me to become one? Or are you teaching me how to act like a Princess? I’m really confused Concubine Su, could you please explain what we’re doing here?” At a complete loss for words; Concubine Su began to think that she had seriously underestimated the obstinacy of the Grand Princess Consort but knew that the next lesson would quickly put the Princess in her place. Clearing her throat, Concubine Su said, “Never mind about that, I’ve observed that your gait is too wide and not feminine enough.” Upon hearing Concubine Su’s statement, one of her maids brought over several course ropes on a granite tray and presented them to her.
Taking the ropes from the tray, Concubine Su extended her arm and gave an order for Eun Jung to tie them around her ankles. Staring at the ropes, Eun Jung asked, “You want me to do what?” With an obvious smirk on her face, Concubine Su replied, “I want you to tie these around your ankles. They’ll restrict your movement and correct your wide gait. A Queen should take small, delicate steps not those wide crude steps, which I have observed you taking.” Realizing that Concubine Su had already carefully constructed the logic behind her vicious lesson; Eun Jung knew that she had no choice but to do as she had been instructed. As she placed the ropes around her ankles, Eun Jung took note of the short length between the linear ropes, which joined the two circular robes together.
Once Eun Jung had properly secured the ropes around her ankles, Concubine Su instructed, “Walk around the room and remember to keep your steps small or else you’ll sustain an injury.” Taking a deep breath, Eun Jung stood up and proceeded to take a small step forward. Despite her minor movement, Eun Jung felt the linear ropes tug against the circular ropes causing them to scrape against her ankles. As she walked around the room, Eun Jung felt her skin tear beneath the coarseness of the ropes but tried her best to stifle her pained groans. Seeing the discomfort on Eun Jung’s face, Concubine Su said, “Grand Princess Consort, you look very uncomfortable. I think your steps are still too wide. I’d like you to continue to walk around the room until we’ve corrected that problem.”
Unable to go against Concubine Su’s orders; Eun Jung continued to walk around the room until she thought that she would collapse from the sheer pain of the exercise. Just when she thought that she would fall to the ground, Eun Jung felt a pair of hands prop her up and looked back to see Prince Dae Hyun’s concerned face. After observing Eun Jung’s bloodied ankles, Prince Dae Hyun turned to his mother and said, “Royal mother, I think you should conclude your lesson here. I heard that the Grand Princess Consort and Crowned Prince have a meeting with my royal father later this evening. She won’t be able to attend that meeting if she continues with your lesson.”
Upon hearing her son mention the King, Concubine Su turned to Eun Jung and said, “If that’s the case, go ahead and take your leave.” As Concubine Su took her leave, she reminded Eun Jung, “Be here tomorrow at the same time, I have many more lessons for you.” Left alone in the hall, Prince Dae Hyun quickly removed the ropes from Eun Jung’s ankles and asked “Grand Princess Consort, are you okay?” Taking the ropes from Prince Dae Hyun’s hands, Eun Jung replied, “I’ll be fine.” Turning to her maids, Eun Jung instructed, “Ask the Crowned Prince to come here to escort me home.”
Once her maids had taken their leave to follow her instructions; Eun Jung proceeded to ask Prince Dae Hyun, “Will you wait here with me until Prince JiangSu arrives?” Nodding his head, Prince Dae Hyun replied, “Of course I’ll stay with you.” While they waited for Prince JiangSu to arrive, Prince Dae Hyun became more concerned with Eun Jung’s condition and asked, “Should we call for a royal doctor to come and treat your injury?” Resolutely against the idea, Eun Jung replied, “No, I already told you that I am fine. Everything will be okay once my husband gets here.” Examining her condition, Prince Dae Hyun could not figure out why she would not allow herself to be treated and wondered how Prince JiangSu’s presence could possibly help the situation.
