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Chapter : 16
Poisoned Honey (1)
As she felt the spring breeze in the garden, Jo-young’s mood lifted at the fresh, unfamiliar fragrance she was smelling for the first time.
This tea, said to be found only in Bisan Fortress, was made by drying fruit obtained from tribes beyond the border and brewing it together with tea leaves.
The flavor varied depending on the fruit and the leaves used, and it was called Geumgwa Tea.
It was even presented to the emperor, and was known to be enjoyed mainly by women of the imperial family.
As a princess, she ought to have tasted it before.
Fortunately, the faint sheen that flowed from the teacup told Jo-young that it was a precious tea, and since she had heard of Geumgwa Tea before, she didn’t make a mistake.
She had heard that the indulgent Ha siblings imported and drank Geumgwa Tea.
Although everything the Ha family dealt in was rare, Geumgwa Tea was a specialty produced only in small quantities at Bisan Fortress and sent to the imperial court, so it wasn’t something that could circulate easily.
She didn’t know how they had obtained it, but they must have paid a high price.
In any case, sitting among flowers and drinking Geumgwa Tea without paying such a price made Jo-young feel like a real princess.
‘It’s not that I didn’t pay anything. It’s practically the price of my life.’
Even so, she didn’t want to ruin the moment.
She had heard that the ruler himself had sent this Geumgwa Tea.
“Your Highness must be pleased that thanks to you, our mother’s injustice has been resolved.”
“Your Highness is truly amazing. I don’t know how you even thought of going in there.”
“And on top of that, you uncovered so much just from the knot decorations. I think Your Highness is the wisest person I’ve ever seen.”
Bathed in the maids’ praise, Jo-young felt both embarrassed and proud.
How long had it been since she’d heard such kind words from others?
Because of the vicious rumors spread by the Ha siblings, all she’d heard until now were insults.
So she decided to simply enjoy this moment.
She herself hadn’t known what kind of person she was, and being praised as remarkable and wise was more fragrant than the Geumgwa Tea.
“Praise feels good, but to be honest—so you won’t be disappointed later—I only discovered everything by chance. Perhaps the late madam herself wished for her injustice to be resolved.”
Jo-young truly believed that, but none of the maids took her words at face value.
As a result, Jo-young felt as though she were drifting on clouds for quite some time,
completely unaware of what kind of repercussions her revelations would bring.
Ever since the princess arrived, Bisan Fortress had been noisy day after day. Too many things were happening at once.
First of all, the movements of the Nonam tribe, who had recently crossed the border, were unusual.
Rather than coming for real plunder, it felt as though they had crossed over merely to display their strength and then quickly withdrawn.
Sure enough, according to spies sent to the Nonam tribe, news came that they had recently allied with nearby small tribes and enthroned a king.
It was something that had been expected for some time. What was unusual was how quickly the establishment of a state had progressed.
It wasn’t that the Nonam tribe and neighboring tribes couldn’t form a country because their environment was harsh.
Long ago, they had once been one people of a single nation, but conflicts over regional interests had split the country apart and led to its fall.
Since then, chaos had continued, and they survived through frequent wars and raids.
For them to become a single nation again, they needed something that could erase long-standing grudges and resentment.
A powerful leader—and compensation.
The Nonam tribal chief, Soyaban, was aggressive and shrewd, so it wasn’t strange that he became king.
The problem was where the compensation came from—money substantial enough to win over other tribes in such a short time.
Yeonho had a headache.
The Nonam tribe wasn’t the only urgent issue at Bisan Fortress.
The suspicious looks from local landowners and officials—angered that the princess was being hidden and not shown—were growing more intense.
Most of them belonged to the Empress’s faction and had always pressured Yeonho.
And now, instead of proceeding with marriage to the princess, Yeonho was suddenly raising doubts about his mother’s death, deepening suspicions even further.
It looked as though he was trying to divert attention by stirring up his mother’s case.
These disturbances couldn’t simply be ignored. With the Nonam tribe’s consolidation alone, Bisan Fortress was already in a state of emergency. If the internal unrest wasn’t addressed as well, the imperial capital would likely seize upon it as a pretext to impose sanctions—
sending an inspector, or even dispatching imperial troops.
“It’s simple. First, hold a banquet to present the princess publicly. Isn’t that the most urgent issue?” Yulbok said impatiently.
“There’s something I need to confirm. Until then, it’ll be difficult to put the princess before others.”
“What is it that you need to confirm? I should know as well.”
“It still bothers me that she said she wasn’t a princess. And she seems somewhat different from the princess I had imagined.”
“What? Are you disappointed because Her Highness isn’t as beautiful as you expected?”
“What nonsense! She’s already more than beautiful—!”
Without realizing it, Yeonho had praised the princess’s looks and then shut his lips, sulking.
Yulbok grinned. He hadn’t intended it, but it was amusing how Yeonho had been caught and revealed his true feelings.
“She is beautiful. Still, Your Lordship’s tastes might be different. I wondered if you had preconceived notions about the princess—something like an unearthly, sacred beauty.”
“I’m not a child. I’ve met His Highness the Crown Prince in person—why would I deify members of the imperial family?”
“Then what is it that troubles you so?”
“She doesn’t resemble the Crown Prince.”
“Perhaps she takes after her mother’s side. You’ve never met Consort Hwa in person, have you?”
“It’s not just her appearance. She lacks that distinctive aura imperial people have. That may be why she mixed so freely with Jeong Jae-in, but her saying she wasn’t a princess keeps bothering me.”
In truth, Yeonho also felt that her knowledge of dyeing, the scars on her body, her etiquette and speech all seemed unprincess-like, but he didn’t mention this to Yulbok.
Since the princess had often spent time with Jeong Jae-in, it was quite possible she had naturally picked these things up.
It was just a subtle sense of dissonance—an unease that couldn’t be logically explained.
“Caution is fine, but now is not the time for that. Even if she truly isn’t the princess, the proper course right now is to hold the banquet and set a wedding date.”
“…All right. Let’s do that.”
Yulbok was right. If that woman wasn’t the real princess, then now was the time to put forward even a fake one.
“However, since I promised the princess three months’ grace, set only the banquet date for now.”
“I’ll proceed accordingly. And regarding a woman named Sanwol, who used to be my aunt’s maid—I looked into her. She’s already dead.”
“Dead? How did she die?”
“The rumors aren’t good. There’s a nouveau riche named Ji Man-il, better known openly as a loan shark. She was his second wife. Some say she was beaten to death by him; others say she couldn’t endure the abuse and drowned herself. The official investigation concluded that she jumped into the water of her own accord.”
“Are those rumors because he lost public trust through usury, or was he rotten to begin with?”
“The latter.”
“Then summon the official who investigated the case back then.”
“That official resigned shortly afterward and went up to the imperial capital.”
“Everything seems too coincidental.”
“Yes. The most coincidental thing is that Ji Man-il suddenly became extremely wealthy around the time his second wife died. To grow rich through usury, one needs a substantial base of capital—but before that, he was merely a merchant living comfortably, nothing more.”
Yeonho’s face twisted.
There were too many suspicious points, and all of it felt like a tightly woven net. The growing suspicion that his own family might be caught in that net weighed heavily on him.
“There were other maids by my mother’s side. Look into them further.”
“Yes. I’ll also send people to the capital to track down that official.”
“Good. And we should send congratulatory wine to Soyaban.”
“What? You mean sending gifts to someone we were crossing swords with just days ago?”
“It’s an imperial bestowal. We must make it clear that we are the superior side. Besides, now that he’s ascended the throne, it’s only proper for neighboring states to offer congratulations.”
“It doesn’t seem like a relationship where courtesy matters.”
“It must become one. Now that they’ve established a state, they won’t make half-hearted incursions. Let’s see how they respond.”
Yulbok nodded in agreement.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go see the princess.”
“Yes. You should. If you plan to win Her Highness’s heart in three months, you’ll need to make an effort.”
Yeonho couldn’t tell whether Yulbok was serious or mocking him.
“There will be no problems with the marriage. Don’t worry—prepare accordingly.”
He spoke confidently, but in truth, Yeonho was impatient as he went to change his clothes—
to make a good impression on the princess, whose tastes seemed to favor a frail scholar named Jeong Jae-in.
