Spring Snow - Chapter 5 Part 3

“The unruly crowd in Yangcheon… why have you come to visit my humble abode so leisurely?”

“Grand Tutor, didn’t you once say that to see the enemy’s full strength, one must know when to retreat to the rear?”

“It seems Your Majesty’s heart has retreated to the rear as well. This disloyal subject has been unable to sleep at night.”

The Emperor burst into laughter at Seo Chi-yoon’s words.

“Your Majesty.”

Seo Chi-yoon’s expression hardened. The Emperor simply looked at him.

“At this point, with Gabi pregnant with the royal heir, you must not let down your guard against the Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister.”

“Are you losing sleep at night because your only daughter is by my side?”

“Your Majesty.”

Seo Chi-yoon’s face stiffened. The Emperor also wiped the smile from his face. Eun-hwan had left to follow her mother, who had gone to prepare tea after the meal. The Emperor didn’t stop her.

“Once, you showed me a pouch that smelled of a baby.”

It was a story from long ago. When the Emperor was still the Crown Prince, studying under Seo Chi-yoon. Seo Chi-yoon’s wife had died of illness, leaving him alone. Unlike his brothers, who had established proper households with wives and concubines, Seo Chi-yoon had never remarried or taken a concubine.

He was a unique man. Though deeply mourning his late wife, he hadn’t shed a single tear during her funeral. He was a man of few words, sharp and unyielding. Yet, one day, the Emperor had seen him fiddling with a small pouch, lost in thought. Curiosity had gotten the better of the young Crown Prince.

“What’s in your hand? Why are you playing with a child’s toy like that?” the Emperor had asked. Seo Chi-yoon had smiled faintly and said it was indeed a baby’s item. When the Emperor pressed further, Seo Chi-yoon showed him the pouch. It was a small red silk pouch. Inside was a white handkerchief stained with dried brown blood.

Though it should have been unsettling, the texture was soft, almost comforting. The Emperor had sniffed it. It smelled like a baby, similar to the scent of his younger sister when their mother held her.

“It smells like a baby,” the Emperor had said.

“It’s a handkerchief used to wipe a baby,” Seo Chi-yoon had replied.

The Emperor had stared at him for a long time. Seo Chi-yoon’s refined face showed no emotion.

“Whose baby is it?” the Emperor had asked.

Seo Chi-yoon had looked at him silently before answering briefly, “My baby.”

The Emperor hadn’t pressed further. A man who had lost his wife and never taken a concubine now claimed to have a child. Even as a seven-year-old, the Emperor had understood the implications. He had seen the shadow that crossed Seo Chi-yoon’s face.

“Aren’t you happy?” the Emperor had asked after a moment of hesitation.

“…I am.”

“Then you should smile, Grand Tutor. If the baby knows its father is sad, it will cry.”

“You’re right. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”

The Emperor had laughed. Then he had asked again, “Is the baby as beautiful as my sister?”

“In my eyes, yes.”

“Then can I marry her when I grow up?”

Seo Chi-yoon had stared at him. The Emperor had buried his nose in the baby’s handkerchief, sniffing it. Seo Chi-yoon had finally spoken, his lips curling slightly.

“If you truly love my daughter, then there’s no reason why not.”

***

“Is that baby Eun-hwan?”

Seo Chi-yoon didn’t answer. He simply stared at the Emperor, just as he had twenty years ago. The Emperor studied Seo Chi-yoon’s features one by one. Seeing the father and daughter side by side, it was clear how well the secret had been kept.

“So, without even realizing it, I’ve married Grand Tutor’s daughter.”

The Emperor’s lips curled into a smile. Seo Chi-yoon’s face remained cold. It hadn’t been a comfortable expression back then either, when the young Crown Prince had declared he would marry the baby. But it hadn’t been as sharp as it was now. Clearly, Seo Chi-yoon wasn’t pleased with the idea of his daughter being married to the Emperor.

“I regret sending Eun-hwan to the palace.”

“It seems I’m not a satisfactory son-in-law.”

“I’m speaking of her fate as Your Majesty’s concubine.”

“Grand Tutor.”

The Emperor’s smile faded. The firmness in Seo Chi-yoon’s sharp face was unpleasant. It was clear he wouldn’t allow anyone to take Eun-hwan away.

“Your daughter will enjoy blessings and glory by my side.”

“Having seen the life Your Majesty’s mother lived, how can you say that?”

“I am not my father.”

The Emperor retorted, suppressing his anger. Seo Chi-yoon looked away. Just then, the sound of footsteps approached as the mother and daughter returned with tea. Before the door opened, the Emperor quickly whispered to Seo Chi-yoon.

“Before the cherry blossoms bloom, I will have Yu Gyeong-hyo’s head.”

***

Prince Yeon looked down at his twin brother, who was groaning in pain. This man, born just minutes after him, was both pitiful and frustrating at times. If they hadn’t been twins, he would have cut ties long ago. But being born on the same day, at the same time, made it feel like severing his own arm.

Moreover, he was one of the few people the Prince could trust within the palace. He watched as the man, castrated and lying on the bed, glared at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes. Just yesterday, he had been a drunken fool tormenting his concubines. But after that day, stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner, he was now just “Ju Hyeon-chang.” The Empress Dowager had vowed to restore his princely title, but Prince Yeon didn’t believe her.

“Are you just going to lie there until the Empress Dowager arrives?”

Prince Yeon muttered, looking at his brother, who had been lying in bed since morning after hearing the Empress Dowager was coming. Prince Gang, still drunk, mumbled incoherently. Prince Yeon sighed. Just then, soft footsteps approached, and the door opened.

“Empress Dowager…”

Prince Gang tried to rise and bow, but the Empress Dowager stopped him with a glance. She then turned her sharp gaze to Prince Yeon, who also bowed in greeting. The Empress Dowager, dressed in a black robe, removed her black veil and placed it on the table before sitting down.

“Shall I have tea served?”

The Empress Dowager shook her head. Though the Emperor had left Yangcheon, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down. Understanding her mood, Prince Yeon nodded and sat across from her.

“You know the grand wedding has been postponed by half a month, don’t you?”

The Empress Dowager asked. Prince Yeon observed her, her calm demeanor masking her twisted emotions. She seemed on the verge of exploding with anger at the slightest provocation. Since the assassination of the late Emperor, she had suppressed her emotions, focusing on ruling with a cold efficiency.

Given all she had done with Prime Minister Yu in the court, there was nothing left to fear. Especially since even Lady Hwa, who had witnessed the massacre and survived with only injuries, had gone mad. Even if she testified, everyone would dismiss it as the ramblings of a madwoman. In essence, it would have no effect.

The conspirators in the Emperor’s assassination had been Prime Minister Yu, the Empress Dowager, Prince Yeon, and Prince Gang. Among those who had struck the Emperor, only Prince Yeon, Prime Minister Yu, and Prince Gang had survived. The rest had been killed, their bodies burned beyond recognition. Thus, the conspirators had survived the Emperor’s assassination.

“The Emperor will never be a puppet.”

Prince Yeon declared. The Empress Dowager, who had been staring into the void, turned her gaze to him. She hadn’t expected him to become a puppet. If Ga-ran could be made Empress and her child the next Emperor, then the current Emperor could be disposed of. After all, he was of no use beyond siring an heir.

It was a way to secure the Wu dynasty without a coup. But that woman had ruined everything. The Empress Dowager clenched her teeth. She looked at Prince Yeon, who had said the Emperor would never be a puppet.

She had never intended to use Ju Yun-hyuep as a puppet. All that mattered was Ga-ran’s pregnancy. Ga-ran’s pregnancy… That was why Prime Minister Yu—no, Gyeong-hyo—and she had endured so much. But Yun-hyuep had postponed the grand wedding and left Yangcheon for the southwest.

That fool, obsessed with that woman, had abandoned Yangcheon at such a critical time. A laugh escaped her. Was a woman really that enticing? Was that why they all went mad for them? She laughed out loud. Prince Yeon, who had been watching her intently, looked at her with a puzzled expression.

The Empress Dowager quickly wiped the smile from her face, her expression turning cold again. Prince Yeon was the son of Consort Gil, who had been executed. The Empress Dowager had adopted him as her own son to secure power, but when she realized the influence a child could wield, she had wanted another. However, she kept giving birth to girls… Around that time, her relationship with Hwa Seol-ran had deteriorated to the point of no return, so she had tried to win her favor by showing affection to other concubines.

But the Ju family men were mad, utterly mad. In a ridiculously foolish move, they had gotten Consort Gil pregnant by sending a lookalike guard to her chambers after drugging her.

Consort Gil, believing the guard to be the Emperor, had given birth to the twins. And when the twins were twelve, she was executed.

The truth was this: among the six consorts, Consort Gil was the only one who had spent nights with the Emperor and conceived. She had believed the Emperor favored her. How could she not? Ju Hui-gang had slept with her multiple times until she became pregnant. Moreover, to provoke Hwa Seol-ran’s jealousy, he had even put on a show of favoring Consort Gil in front of her.

But Ju Hui-gang was no ordinary man. The Empress Dowager knew him well. Ju Hui-gang was a beast in human skin. Once his relationship with Hwa Seol-ran was restored and the twins’ usefulness ended, he discarded Consort Gil as if she had never mattered. He didn’t banish her and the twins from the palace, but he no longer cared for her as he once had. Still, he treated the twins well. Though not affectionate, he wasn’t openly cold to them as he was to the Empress Dowager.

But Consort Gil couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t stand that Hwa Seol-ran had taken the Emperor’s favor and that her sons, from a prestigious family, were being overshadowed by the children of a mere palace maid. Blinded by jealousy, she snapped.

One day, Hwa Seol-ran collapsed. It was a scorching summer day. Her pregnant belly was slightly rounded, and she was as pale as a ghost who had died by the well on a summer day. The Empress Dowager remembered the young Hwa Seol-ran.

Her face was like a fragment of the white moon. Her beauty was breathtaking, worthy of the phrase “a flower’s grace, the moon’s elegance.” With such beauty, it was no wonder the Emperor had lost his mind. But the Empress Dowager, except for a brief moment in her youth when she had loved the Emperor, had never envied that love. It hadn’t seemed genuine.

Love was what Gyeong-hyo gave her. Love was what she felt for Gyeong-hyo. The Empress Dowager thought of the woman who had collapsed that summer. Hwa Seol-ran’s health had always been poor. The more the Emperor favored her, the more she withered.

Even as their relationship soured, she kept getting pregnant. Sometimes, the Empress Dowager pitied her. After the incident where Hwa Seol-ran had tried to kidnap the princesses from the Empress’s quarters and escape the palace, the Emperor had been furious and lost his reason. Yes, even that composed man. Losing control over a woman could drive anyone mad.

What could the Emperor, who had confined Hwa Seol-ran to Hwa Shim-jeon after she tried to flee with the princesses, do to her? He couldn’t kill her or beat her. So, Hwa Seol-ran became pregnant again.

When the pregnant woman fell ill, the Emperor went mad. He wasn’t the type to let the woman who had poisoned his wife go unpunished. Upon hearing that Consort Gil had brought a geomancer into the palace, the Emperor ransacked Seonhye Palace. He arrested palace maids, eunuchs, and even young scholars, torturing everyone connected to Consort Gil.

Some bit their tongues and died before confessing. In the end, what had happened? One scholar, unable to endure the torture, confessed everything he had overheard.

“I knew Hui-gang’s son wouldn’t be easy to handle. And that woman…”

Prince Yeon looked up. The Empress Dowager’s expression turned particularly fierce when she mentioned “that woman.”

“Since that woman appeared, Ga-ran’s position has become even more precarious.”

“I understand Lady Yu’s distress.”

Prince Yeon murmured. The Empress Dowager gazed at him intently. Perhaps it was because he had witnessed his mother’s execution before his very eyes. Prince Yeon had been precocious since childhood. Though not exceptionally brilliant, he was not foolish like Prince Gang. That alone was enough. It was the quality of an Emperor.

“Do you remember the day Consort Gil was executed?”

Prince Yeon’s face turned pale. Consort Gil had been torn limb from limb. Ropes were tied to her arms and legs, and the ropes were simultaneously pulled by horses carrying out the execution. The young twins witnessed it all. They watched their mother gasp for breath, struggling to die as her life did not end quickly… Over a decade passed, and when the brothers grew up, the Emperor met his end at their hands. Without hesitation, they plunged a knife into the neck of the man who had manipulated them since their birth. What a satisfying act of poetic justice it was. The Empress Dowager wanted to give them another chance for a thorough revenge.

“This is the proper opportunity to avenge your mother. Only now has this chance truly come.”

Prince Yeon’s pupils shook. After Consort Gil’s death, the Empress Dowager took in the two princes she had borne. Unlike Hwa Seol-ran’s children, who, with their birth mother alive, always showed excessive affection toward her, the motherless princes relied on the Empress Dowager.

“However…”

“Prince Yeon must ascend the throne, and Prince Gang must assist his brother.”

“Your Majesty.”

Prince Yeon swallowed dryly. He glanced subtly at Prince Gang, who seemed dazed. Prince Gang’s eyes gleamed at the mention of the throne, which made Prince Yeon uneasy. The Empress Dowager glanced at him briefly before fixing her gaze back on Prince Yeon. Suddenly, footsteps were heard, and the voice of Prince Yeon’s wife was heard, saying she had obtained rare tea from her family and wished to serve refreshments. The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyebrows. They were in the middle of a crucial conversation. Prince Yeon called out to his wife to dismiss her. The room fell silent again. Only the sound of breathing filled the room as the Empress Dowager spoke.

“Do you have the resolve?”

“Your subject…”

“Prince Yeon.”

The Empress Dowager’s expression hardened as she looked at him, who was struggling to steady his heart.

“What will happen to Lady Yu?”

Prince Yeon cautiously asked while looking at the Empress Dowager.

“Garan will become the Empress. She was born to be the Empress.”

The Empress Dowager was firm. Naturally, the current Princess Consort Yeon would be cast aside. After all, it was the current Emperor who had arranged the marriages of the princes’ wives to keep watch over the households of Princes Yeon and Gang. Naturally, their fathers and brothers were the Emperor’s most trusted officials in the court.

“Then what of Lady Yu…”

“Garan will be Prince Yeon’s greatest ally. Minister Yu will be the same. They will rightfully assist Prince Yeon in ushering in an era of peace from the closest positions. And the son born to Garan will inherit the throne after Prince Yeon.”

The Empress Dowager recited this with a pleased expression. Her hand, adorned with a gold ring, covered Prince Yeon’s hand on the table. Prince Yeon looked at her with unease. Her face was resolute. She was a woman who had killed the previous Emperor and no longer feared anything.