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Chapter 21
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the south-facing window, spilling into the room like golden threads, settling softly across the floor. In the middle of that light stood Eunhye, like a doll, turning her head with a bright smile toward Lady Park and a maid who had just entered the room.
The two of them blinked and swallowed nervously at the sight of her innocent, carefree smile, as if nothing had happened.
“Little Miss, when did you cough?”
The maid asked, taking the snack tray from Lady Park, who still seemed dazed.
“I just woke up a little while ago. What’s this?”
Eunhye, roughly holding up the hem of her skirt with her plump little hands, looked at the snack tray the maid had set down.
The maid, with a teasing smile tugging at the corners of her lips, spoke lightly:
“Haha! Don’t you remember? You said before you went to sleep, ‘I’ll want some when I wake up later.’”
Eunhye blinked, tilted her head in thought, then clapped her chubby hands and smiled brightly as if she had remembered.
“Ah! Candied apple slices! That’s right, I said that!”
“Oh, now you remember?”
The maid smiled, folding her eyes gently, and tugged lightly on Lady Park, who was still half out of it.
Lady Park seemed to shake herself awake and sat down beside Eunhye, glancing around the room cautiously.
Could there still be… something in the room?
Eunhye looked at Lady Park as if to say, Why do you look like that? and picked up a candied apple slice from the tray with a wide smile.
“Nothing beats my nanny and the maid, right?”
Biting into the candied apple slices, lightly simmered in sugar and syrup and dried in the sunlight, Eunhye laughed softly with satisfaction. Closing her eyes to savor the chewy, sweet-and-sour treat, she suddenly opened them wide and looked at Lady Park.
“Nanny.”
“Ah… yes, Little Miss, you are speaking.”
Lady Park, still half in a daze, looked at Eunhye in surprise.
“You know, um… do you think there might be that rice cake in the Seong-gwa Room of Ja-gyeongjeon, the one Grandmother likes?”
“Eh? That rice cake…?”
Eunhye looked puzzled. Lady Park blinked and tried to explain.
“The one Grandmother likes. It’s slightly yellow and has the scent of medicinal herbs…”
Medicinal herbs? A rice cake that smelled of herbs, and one that the Queen Dowager liked…
Lady Park tilted her head, then suddenly brightened as if she had remembered.
“Oh, you mean the Gu-seon Wang-do-go.”
“Yes! That one!”
Eunhye nodded vigorously, sucking the sugar off her fingers before picking up another piece from the tray.
“Could we get just a little of that?”
“Eh? The Gu-seon Wang-do-go?”
Eunhye dipped a piece of white glutinous rice cake on the skewer into the sugar syrup and nodded in confirmation. Lady Park’s eyes widened in surprise. Hadn’t the Queen Dowager disliked that cake the last time she tried it?
“Yes! That one!”
Eunhye answered cheerfully as if nothing had happened. She then looked at the rice cake on the skewer, turning it in her hands, and asked:
“But this one… I don’t think I’ve seen it before. What’s the red in the middle?”
The maid nodded with a small smile.
“Oh, that’s made by the new maid from the palace’s Seong-gwa Room this morning.”
Upon hearing that, Eunhye paused with the rice cake halfway to her mouth, pursed her lips, and nodded.
“Mm-hmm.”
“The new maid used her skills to make it. She boiled cherries and made a filling, so it’s called cherry glutinous rice cake.”
“Cherry glutinous rice cake?”
Eunhye glanced down at the piece of rice cake in her hand, murmuring almost to herself.
“Yes, you should try it. They say it’s glutinous rice cake filled with sugar-simmered cherries.”
Even as she explained, the maid swallowed nervously, apparently tempted by her own description.
“Hmm… I see.”
Yet Eunhye didn’t immediately bring it to her mouth, leaving Lady Park and the maid puzzled.
“Hmm, alright then.”
Finally, Eunhye set the skewer down on the tray and looked at Lady Park.
“Nanny, could you get that rice cake I mentioned earlier?”
“Eh?”
Lady Park blinked, caught off guard. The Gu-seon Wang-do-go the little princess requested was made of glutinous rice flour, millet flour, dried persimmon, sugar, and several medicinal herbs. It wasn’t a treat usually suited for such a young girl. Why would she suddenly want it?
Eunhye raised her short, plump index finger, smiling cutely.
“Nanny, just one plate for now. I’ll eat it later.”
Lady Park nodded, glancing at the maid, who looked equally surprised, and then bowed.
“Yes, Little Miss. I shall go to the Queen Dowager’s private kitchen immediately.”
“Mm, thank you, nanny.”
Eunhye waved her small, maple-leaf-like hands, and Lady Park bowed slightly before hurrying through the gently opened door.
The maid who watched her leave tilted her head and asked curiously:
“Little Miss, why do you suddenly want the Gu-seon Wang-do-go? You don’t usually eat that kind of rice cake.”
Eunhye, popping a candied apple slice into her mouth, smiled mischievously.
“Hmm… that’s a secret.”
“Eh?”
Who could resist such a cute little princess, calling it a secret with lips as sweet as raspberries?
The maid smiled, folding her eyes at Eunhye’s expression.
“Yes, understood. Since Little Miss says it’s a secret, I won’t ask any further.”
“Mm, I’ll tell you later when the time comes. If I say now, you won’t believe me—or you might be too shocked! Hehe.”
Eunhye swallowed the candied slice, then picked up another one.
She would give it to Grandfather Gwangjo when he came back from his errands. Maybe he’d like it as much as her own grandmother liked medicinal rice cakes.
As Eunhye giggled to herself at the thought, the maid spoke again:
“Little Miss, why aren’t you eating the cherry glutinous rice cake? I hear the new maid made it especially.”
The white rice cake, with its faintly sweet and sour aroma, looked quite tempting.
“Hmm… that… I’ll just eat it later.”
Eunhye glanced between the candied apple and the cherry rice cake on the tray and smiled awkwardly.
The moment she heard it was made by the new maid, she recalled the little ghost boy who had clung to her back earlier.
She imagined that ghost helping make the cake, and couldn’t bring herself to eat it.
The dark eyes and eerie voice from that morning haunted her!
Even though Grandfather Gwangjo promised to drive away all spirits, she was still scared.
Eunhye quietly pushed the cherry rice cake aside, licking the sugar from her fingers.
“You can eat this if you want, maid.”
“Eh?”
The maid’s round eyes widened in confusion at the princess’s strange behavior. It was clear that earlier, when the new maid had spoken ill of her, the little princess had sensed something unusual. Perhaps that was why she ran out so suddenly this morning.
Meanwhile, Lady Park hurried to the private kitchen of Ja-gyeongjeon and bowed before the senior chief maid, Han Sang-gung.
“Why have you come all the way here, Lady Park?”
Han Sang-gung’s sharp features bore the marks of over thirty years in the palace.
“It has been a while. I’ve come to deliver something.”
Lady Park carried the cherry glutinous rice cake made by the new maid from the Seong-gwa Room.
“I see. What is this?”
Han Sang-gung asked, curious as she looked at the wooden box.
“Yes, it’s called cherry glutinous rice cake. The new maid’s skill is quite remarkable, so I thought you might like to taste it.”
Han Sang-gung raised a slight smile on one side of her lips and opened the lid.
Red, glossy cherries were arranged like decoration on one side of a white plate, topped with a small, fist-sized glutinous rice cake. A sweet, tangy aroma wafted immediately, making mouths water.
“This isn’t just any rice cake,” said Han Sang-gung, her eyes softening into a pleased smile.
“It is truly worth tasting. The cherries were picked from the garden at Hyeshingung, pitted, and candied, then used as filling for the rice cake. You must try it.”
At her suggestion, Lady Park shook her head politely, closing the lid, and gave a meaningful glance.
“How could I taste such a precious thing before presenting it to the Queen Dowager? I shall offer it first and convey your thoughtfulness.”
Lady Park, flustered, shook her head.
“No, it was not for that. I only…”
“Only?”
Han Sang-gung’s face lit up with amusement, prompting Lady Park to continue with a small smile.
“I was wondering if there might be some Gu-seon Wang-do-go in the palace’s Seong-gwa Room. If so, could I take just a little?”
Han Sang-gung raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
Even though Lady Park was the nanny closest to the little princess, to request some of the Queen Dowager’s personally prepared Gu-seon Wang-do-go? That was audacious, to say the least.
“Are you perhaps planning to share it with your elderly mother at home?”
Lady Park’s head shook violently.
“Not at all! My mother is not at the palace.”
“Then why would the princess’s personal nanny go looking for the Gu-seon Wang-do-go, which the senior royals occasionally request?”
Lady Park explained while shaking her head.
“Yes… it is indeed strange, but the little princess asked me to fetch just a little of the Gu-seon Wang-do-go.”
“The little princess herself?”
Han Sang-gung’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Gu-seon Wang-do-go was traditionally enjoyed by the elderly. For a young princess to request a medicinally rich rice cake instead of her usual sweets—candies, fried sweets, or preserves—was certainly unusual.
