Chapter 25: Stepping Toward Life

A week had already passed since the Emperor’s birthday banquet. Yet, the Imperial Palace remained as restless and excited as if that day had been only yesterday. This was due to none other than the sword dance performed by Jin-bi during the banquet.

Because the scale of the feast had been so immense, those who witnessed Jin-bi’s sword dance were many, even excluding the Emperor, the Empress, the concubines, and their inner circles. The number was naturally staggering when one counted the numerous court ladies serving food, the guards protecting the venue, and the musicians playing the instruments.

Words carried from mouth to mouth traveled faster than the wind. Jin-bi’s performance was something ambiguous—neither pure swordsmanship nor a standard sword dance—but that didn’t particularly matter. What mattered was the fact that in that banquet hall, which was filled with the most world’s most brilliant splendors, the person who shone the brightest was Jin-bi, Yeon Hwaun.

It was not uncommon for a concubine to prepare a performance for a banquet hosted by the Emperor, and finding those who sang or danced was not particularly difficult. However, a sword dance was a rarity even within the long history of the Empire of An. Furthermore, how much more precious would it be when the performer was a male concubine with a beauty that would make anyone, man or woman, turn their head at least once?

Even without this, the number of people within the palace who felt favorable toward Hwaun’s appearance and character was increasing exponentially, to the point where rumors circulated that the Emperor was secretly suffering from jealousy. Stories of how magnificent and elegant Jin-bi had been that night—like a celestial being from the Moon Palace descending to cleave the moonlit night with a blade—spread throughout the entire palace through the mouths of those who had practically become Hwaun’s followers.

Moreover, were there not even professional dancers brought in from the capital? Considering that they would each go out and spread the word, it was as clear as day that the same story would circulate through the entire city within a month.

Caught up in this atmosphere, the young servants of Jeong-an Palace began to chatter about how much they had admired the Master while he was practicing. It went without saying that the court ladies, who had already been poking the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send them to Jeong-an Palace whenever an opportunity arose after Hwaun changed, now craved to become people of Jeong-an Palace even more.

However, as if he were a person who had nothing to do with the commotion outside, the one who had once again brought a storm to the Imperial Palace was quietly drinking tea in the Empress’s Palace.

“I hear… you gave His Majesty the cold shoulder again yesterday?”

Hwaun, who was sharing tea and conversation alone with the Empress, Jaran, for the first time in a while, was so startled by her overwhelming words that he reflexively stood up, knelt, and bowed his head.

“Empress Mama…! How can you say such a thing…! How could I… how could I dare to treat His Majesty so…!”

It was language he could hardly believe even after hearing it. To give the Emperor the “cold treatment”—he was not even a common wife, but a concubine; how could such a thing make sense? Even as a joke, it was the same. No matter if she was the Empress, making such a joke about the Emperor was enough to face severe punishment.

But Jaran was nonchalant. Her attitude was such that she seemed likely to make the same joke even if the Emperor were present. Jaran lightly took Hwaun’s arm—who was nearly breaking into a cold sweat from the chill running down his spine—and helped him up as she spoke again.

“Why are you so surprised? Last night, His Majesty was ultimately unable to enter your bedchamber and spent the night alone in the Hall of Stability. If that is not cold treatment, what is?”

“That is… it was not like that….”

Hwaun, his face pale, barely sat back in his chair and gasped, not knowing what to do.

Although the word used was excessively aggressive, the Empress’s words were not wrong. There was already no one in the palace who did not know the story of how the Emperor had pleaded at Jeong-an Palace for a long time last night, only to trudge back to the Hall of Stability because Jin-bi said he could not attend to him. Furthermore, since this was not the first time, it was no longer even shocking news to the court servants.

Publicly, the reason given was that Hwaun’s health was poor, making him unable to serve the Emperor, but Jaran knew that was not the real reason. The reason she specifically brought this up today was because of that ‘real reason.’

“Jin-bi.”

“Yes, Empress Mama.”

“I know that you are exerting yourself for our sake.”

The Empress’s voice, heavy yet sincere, enveloped Hwaun. Previously, the Empress had spoken to Hwaun with casual familiarity, but after he received the title of ‘Bi’ (Consort), she treated him with the respect befitting his rank. The Empress said it was only natural, but Hwaun, even now, nearly a year since receiving the title, could not get used to it whenever he heard it.

Moreover, when she spoke words that were difficult for Hwaun to handle like this, he still did not know how to react. Sometimes, the Empress was a more difficult person for Hwaun to face than even the Emperor. That difficulty had nothing to do with how benevolently and comfortably the Empress treated him. Hwaun received her words with silence, and Jaran continued.

“I am here, and Suk-bi and Jeong-bin are also living only looking at His Majesty. It must be uncomfortable for you to monopolize so many nights alone. Is it not so?”

“Empress Mama… that is….”

“Above all, it is because you… no matter how much favor you receive from His Majesty, are in a body that can never conceive.”

Hwaun’s mouth, which was about to offer an answer to Jaran’s piercing words, snapped shut. If one were to list the reasons, there would be many, but the most important among them was, of course, the matter of the successor. Although Hwaun had not been a member of the Imperial Family for long, it was impossible not to know how important a successor was to an Emperor.

If it were something that could be achieved through effort, he would have tried by any means. If he had to endure the pain of carving his flesh and crushing his bones, he would have done so gladly. But this was literally an ‘impossible’ task. Obtaining the Emperor’s bloodline from Hwaun’s body was something that could absolutely never happen. The Emperor had to obtain a successor from the body of someone other than Hwaun.

However, the problem lay precisely there. The Emperor simply would not seek the attendance of anyone other than Hwaun. No matter how much Hwaun pleaded, it was useless. The Emperor would say he would even drop the moon from the sky if it were Hwaun’s request, yet he wouldn’t even listen with the tip of his ear to the suggestion of spending the night in a palace other than Jeong-an Palace.

It was the same even when Hwaun refused the Emperor’s attendance on the pretext of being ill. On such days, the Emperor would lock himself in the Central Palace or the Hall of Stability, working on state affairs until dawn and falling asleep alone. Hwaun had tried everything over the past year. He had knelt; he had cried. For the first time, he had even raised his voice as if angry at His Majesty and made threats.

But the Emperor was immovable on this matter. Not only did he act as if he hadn’t heard, he even horrified Hwaun by flatly declaring that he would never embrace anyone other than him in the future.

In past history, there were countless Emperors who particularly favored one concubine, but one had never heard of an Emperor who slept only with one person. This is because, for an Emperor, receiving attendance is not merely about satisfying personal desire, but is no different from laying the foundation of the Imperial House and preparing the future of the nation.

And the current Emperor, Seong Ihan, was by no means a man who did not know this. Is that not why he had visited the concubine quarters according to necessity, regardless of his own desires, in the past?

Since such an Emperor now refused to listen to Hwaun’s words as if he no longer cared about such matters, Hwaun was now at a loss as to what other methods he could possibly use.

Then Jaran, who had been quietly watching Hwaun’s eyes sink heavily in an instant, spoke again.

“Jin-bi.”

“…Yes, Empress Mama.”

“Do you think that because of you, if I do not see a successor… this position of Empress will become precarious?”

Greatly startled by the unexpected question, Hwaun looked at the Empress with wide eyes before immediately bowing his waist and speaking.

“How can you say such a thing! That is an unthinkable statement.”

“Then, if no one in the concubine quarters can conceive, will His Majesty’s country shake and become unstable?”

“No. Nothing could dare to reach the supreme dignity of His Majesty and yourself, Empress Mama. Please withdraw these words that are difficult to bear, Mama.”

The aura emanating from the Empress was like a thousand-year-old tree, a quiet pressure that pressed down on the surroundings. However, Hwaun did not tremble like a person caught in fear. There was no need for that. The Empress’s dignity was not used to intimidate those of lower status without reason, and though Hwaun respected and found Jaran difficult, he did not fear her.

Hwaun knew that Jaran’s words were not merely intended to test or threaten him. Before Hwaun, who had finished his answer and was quietly waiting for the Empress’s next words, Jaran continued.

“The answer to solving this matter lies within the words you just spoke.”

“…….”

“Even if I do not see a successor, even if every single concubine in the concubine quarters fails to conceive, there will be light in the future of the Empire of An led by His Majesty, and the dignity of the Empress will not be diminished. If so, Jin-bi.”

“…Yes, Empress Mama.”

“What kind of hardship would your inability to conceive bring upon the country?”

The blood of the Imperial House is precious. It would be ideal if the Emperor’s eldest son became the Crown Prince and subsequently the next Emperor, but if that is not feasible, one can simply select the most intelligent child from among the princes born to the concubines and make him the Crown Prince.

But was that the only answer? In past history, had there not been times when the Emperor’s younger brother succeeded the throne, or when a descendant of the previous Emperor’s bloodline, who had been exiled to a distant place, was found and placed upon the throne? Were the eras they led truly lacking?