Chapter 55: Pleasures That Taste Bitter

Smoke rose from the chimneys of every house, signaling that dinner preparations were in full swing.

Beyond the low brushwood fences, children could be seen playing, and free-roaming chickens wandered about, lazily pecking at the ground.

Haeryeong offered a soft smile at the sight of the young ones dressed in white cotton clothes that bore the marks of being patched and mended several times.

Shifting his gaze, he spotted a child, grimy even from a distance, clutching a ball made of kneaded mud and entering what appeared to be a kitchen.

Soon, the voice of a woman scolding the child in a raised tone reached his ears.

Without shedding a single tear, the child scurried out and fled behind the house.

The woman who had followed him out lowered the gourd ladle she had held high over her shoulder and let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Where in human life is there a place without worry, yet seeing no trace of it on the faces of the people brings satisfaction to my heart.”

Han Su-yong approached Haeryeong as he muttered to himself.

“Your Highness must not be accustomed to such sights, are you?”

Haeryeong replied with a nod and scanned the civilian houses stretching further away.

Feeling a tug on his hair, he turned around to find Nureongi had closed the distance and was chewing on his trailing locks.

“Let go.”

As Haeryeong commanded with a feigned sternness, Nureongi let out a snort and worked his teeth as if chewing fodder.

With every slow grind of the horse’s jaw, more hair was sucked into its mouth.

While Haeryeong watched the horse with a troubled expression, the Emperor, who had gone down to the riverside earlier, reappeared.

He looked at Haeryeong having his hair eaten by the horse and snickered with a mischievous air.

“If you want to feed him, you should give him fodder; why are you feeding him your hair? Do you intend to sacrifice your own body for benevolence?”

As the Emperor approached, Nureongi spat out the hair and retreated hesitantly.

Now that the Emperor was close, Haeryeong felt he knew exactly why the horse had backed away.

A cold shiver ran through him, as if a blade honed to a chill had touched his skin.

Contrary to his loosely smiling lips, the Emperor’s gaze was piercing.

‘What has made him so irritable again?’

It seemed his mood had soured due to the construction issues.

Since the way he glared at Nureongi was quite ominous, Haeryeong stepped between them and grabbed the Emperor’s arm.

“Are we returning to the palace now?”

The Emperor looked at Haeryeong, who stood in his path, with an indifferent gaze before letting out a short laugh.

He curved his eyes, which had lost their venom, and wrapped an arm around Haeryeong’s waist.

“Since we are already out, would you like to have dinner before heading back?”

Haeryeong went wide-eyed and looked up at the Emperor.

“You mean… dinner?”

“I thought I might let you have a new experience; what do you say?”

Haeryeong, blinking his wide eyes slowly, nodded hurriedly with a trace of excitement.

“I shall follow your lead.”

Thus, they moved to a new location, which turned out to be the Red Light District.

Seeing the red lanterns lined up and beginning to glow, Haeryeong furrowed his brow slightly.

‘To think he brought me to such a place.’

Not wanting to even look at the face of the man riding behind him, Haeryeong scanned the streets.

It was indeed an unusual choice for a “new experience.”

Despite the daylight, there were quite a few people coming and going, and many shops were opening their closed doors as they began their business.

The Emperor steered the horse toward a large establishment in the center of the street.

The two-story gisaeng house with its red-painted roof was quite large and spacious even from the outside, decorated with absolute opulence.

Beneath the second-story roof, a grand and ornate plaque hung prominently.

Jayangnu.

‘What a peculiar name.’

When the party stopped in front of the shop, a woman who appeared to be the owner rushed out.

She wore a look of shock as if she recognized the Emperor’s face.

But it was only for a moment; with a suggestive smile on her face, she laughed softly and bent her knees.

“Welcome, my lord. Goodness, how long has it been?”

“It has indeed been a while.”

The Emperor accepted her greeting and dismounted, then pulled Haeryeong by the waist before he even had a chance to get down himself.

Dragged down by the man’s strength, Haeryeong slid from the horse’s back and had to exert considerable effort to keep from flailing awkwardly.

The Emperor wrapped his arm around Haeryeong’s shoulder, tucking him close, and followed the woman’s lead inside.

Being pulled inside, Haeryeong’s jaw dropped in shock at the brilliant and opulent interior.

Having been raised as royalty and living as the Empress of Yeoran, he thought himself accustomed to luxury, but it seemed he was mistaken.

The splendor of this establishment was different from that of the Imperial Palace.

The pillars, painted entirely in red, were overlaid with gold forming patterns, and the same was true for the red lanterns hung in rows along the stairs and the second-floor railing.

The decadence of the gisaeng house, plastered in red and gold, created a peculiar atmosphere.

Despite there being no lights other than the red lanterns, the interior was not particularly dark.

Entering with eyes wide in wonder, Haeryeong was even more surprised after passing through the building into the back courtyard.

It was because there was an estate far larger and wider than what was visible from the outside.

The entrance building alone seemed bigger than the Empress’s Palace, and the inner grounds appeared even wider than the Imperial Stables.

Haeryeong was so taken aback by the excessive scale that he busily turned his head this way and that, occupied with the sight.

After passing through an area filled with all sorts of flowering trees, a large pond came into view.

Haeryeong and the Emperor were led to one of the pavilions built around that pond.

No sooner had the two sat down than workers entered to lower and lock all the folding doors of the pavilion.

Once the space was enclosed, the proprietress approached the Emperor’s side and laughed affectionately.

“To think you haven’t shown your face once since Sirak left. I was so heartbroken that I spent every day in tears longing for you, my lord.”

Haeryeong let out a bitter laugh internally.

‘So this is where the Consort used to be.’

‘How often must he have visited for the proprietress to speak such words?’

Listening to her speak, it seemed the proprietress did not know that he was the Emperor.

She also appeared unaware that Sirak had entered the Imperial Palace to become the Noble Consort.

“That little Sirak said he was returning to his homeland, but he hasn’t sent a single message. This is why they say one should never take in a black-haired beast. At any rate, my lord, since you are here after such a long time, I shall have the beautiful ones prepared for you. Please wait just a moment.”

The Emperor glanced at Haeryeong and then waved his hand at the proprietress.

“I have only come for a meal with my spouse today, so just bring out a feast of dishes. Provide the accompanying drinks as you see fit.”

The proprietress caught Haeryeong’s eye and offered a coy smile.

“I was wondering where you found such a handsome man to bring along. Very well, I shall have everything prepared as you commanded.”

After the proprietress left, the Emperor placed a prepared teacup on the table before Haeryeong.

He quietly poured the tea and, with a somehow bashful expression, whispered to Haeryeong.

“My visits here were quite a long time ago.”

Haeryeong stared blankly at him.

‘And what am I supposed to do about that?’

‘Even if it was in the past, Sirak only entered the palace a few months ago, so does that not mean he was frequenting this place until then?’

The Emperor was a man who revealed only flaws the more one looked at him.

He uttered lies so effortlessly that anyone doing simple math could see through them instantly.

Haeryeong did not even want to touch the cup he had poured.

His appetite had vanished completely, and he doubted he could even swallow the food once it arrived.

As Haeryeong feigned interest in the pavilion’s interior to avoid him, the Emperor drew close and whispered.

“How is your body feeling? It must be quite exhausting since you are not used to it.”

“I do not yet know.”

When Haeryeong replied submissively, the man pulled him by the waist.

‘Is he doing this to kiss me again?’

To be honest, he felt that even arguing with the man was a waste of effort.

Haeryeong allowed himself to be held in the man’s arms without resistance and lifted his head.

‘I should just get this over with quickly.’

With only that thought in mind, Haeryeong kissed the Emperor before the man could make the first move.

Pulling his lips away after the brief contact, Haeryeong leaned forward and rested his head against the Emperor’s shoulder.

Thinking it would be easier on his heart if he just didn’t look, he closed his eyes, and a low chuckle reached him faintly.

“If you were tired, you should have said so. I would have let you return directly to the palace to rest without overextending yourself.”

‘Indeed.’

‘Just what expectations did I have, following the Emperor along like this?’

It had been a reasonably decent outing, but his mood had soured completely at the end.

The Emperor, seemingly convinced that Haeryeong was truly exhausted, picked him up and laid him horizontally across his own thighs.

Unaware that the motion caused the Empress’s stiff muscles to throb with a dull ache, the Emperor patted his buttocks.

‘Does this man always act like this?’

Even if he wanted to look upon him kindly, he simply couldn’t.

To Haeryeong, that was actually a blessing.

As he relaxed and leaned back, a faint scent of peach blossoms reached him.

His stomach seemed to twist at the subtle fragrance the man had released to soothe him.

While he struggled to breathe slowly through his mouth to avoid the man’s scent, the food finally began to arrive.

Haeryeong opened his eyes and attempted to return to his own chair, but the Emperor would not allow it.

Haeryeong let out a sigh and pleaded softly with the Emperor.

“You must eat, must you not? Please, let me down.”

“And here I was intending to feed you. Are you refusing me?”

Staring up at the man who clearly had no intention of letting him go, Haeryeong sighed once more.

“But people are coming and going, are they not?”

“So that is why you dislike it?”

Even while recognizing the growing petulance in the man’s voice, Haeryeong felt so uneasy on his hard thighs that he was practically sitting on pins and needles.

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