TRSCSS 11

Early in the morning, the palace was thrown into chaos. The Queen Dowager, who had been coughing, suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed.

A royal physician was summoned, but the Queen Dowager did not easily regain consciousness. It was because her body had grown so weak that neither acupuncture nor moxibustion could be used carelessly. At most, they could only rub her limbs in frustration.

Prince Ryun, who rushed over upon hearing the news, stayed by her side, but there was little improvement.

“She has been skipping meals even in normal times, and recently she has not even touched snacks….”

“Is this how you have all been doing your duties? You should have reported it to me at the very least!”

At Ryun’s sharp rebuke toward the court ladies, the Queen Dowager’s thin, dry lips finally parted.

“Stop it. I told them not to tell you. Prince, people grow old, fall ill, and die eventually. As the saying goes, flowers do not bloom for ten days. I have lived long enough. It is greed to ask for more.”

“What are you saying? Your Majesty is not even fifty yet!”

At Ryun’s words, the Queen Dowager only gave a tired smile and closed her eyes again.

She looked utterly exhausted. She had never had an easy life. So, as her late father had said, her fate had been stretched thin. But her days in the palace had always been like sitting on a bed of nails. Aside from the brief happiness of raising Ryun, her life in the palace had been nothing but hell.

The only reason she had endured until now was to see Ryun’s face even one more time. Now that Ryun had returned, she should no longer be greedy.

With her eyes closed, the Queen Dowager let out a sigh. In that breath, it felt as if she were letting go of the world itself, and Ryun’s heart sank.

“Mother!”

Ryun called out to her. At his voice, she slowly opened her eyes again.

“You must not be like this. Is there anything you would like to eat?”

She closed her eyes again.

‘Something I want to eat…’

When she was young, there had been so many things she wanted to eat. Whenever the smell of rice cakes steaming or meat grilling drifted from another house, she would grow desperate with envy and desire.

Yet now, in the palace where anything she asked for would be brought to her, she did not want anything at all. She waved her hand dismissively.

“Enough. Leave.”

Ryun immediately went to Danyang.

“Go to Iseodang and bring back something to eat.”

In his mind, only the image of the Queen Dowager enjoying the sweet rice cakes from Iseodang remained.

According to the physician, there was no specific illness—her body had simply grown weak from lack of food and exhaustion. But if left alone, it could turn into something serious, so they needed to do something before then.

Ryun pressed Danyang urgently.

But Danyang only looked at him with a sullen expression.

“What do you mean, go out and buy something? I’m in the middle of packing.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t we agree to tidy up the shop and hand it back to the young master?”

“That was just something we talked about among ourselves. Young Master Iseo refuses. He says he is leaving Hanyang for another place—what can I possibly do to stop him?”

“Why? If we allow him to continue his work, why would he refuse?”

“How should I know?”

Danyang scratched his head, avoiding the question. But in truth, it was somewhat understandable. What was the point of working oneself to death, only for his foolish older brother and the mother who only cared for that brother to squander everything away?

“Still, just in case, go. Pay whatever they ask. Bring whatever Young Master Iseo has made.”

Danyang muttered under his breath, but Ryun grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him outside.

While organizing the storage room, Iseo found old rice tucked away in a corner and clicked her tongue. While some people could not even find barley to eat, how could anyone let such precious rice sit and rot?

She forgot even about packing up and began washing and grinding the rice. Her thoughts about where to go or what to do with the remaining money disappeared entirely, replaced by thoughts of what she could make with this rice.

‘Around this time of year, the rice cake people make most often is jeungpyeon.’

For the first time in days, a smile appeared on Iseo’s face. She carefully ground the rice further. The finer the rice flour for jeungpyeon, the better.

She sifted the rice flour with salt, then mixed in honey, makgeolli, and water, stirring until smooth before covering it with a cloth for the first fermentation. Jeungpyeon was made in summer precisely because of this fermentation process. In winter, it would not rise properly due to the cold.

Jeungpyeon was a rare rice cake that required two rounds of fermentation, and when finished, it had a distinctive sour scent. Even in the hot summer, it did not spoil easily, which was why households holding celebrations often made it during this season.

After adding rock tripe and jujube strips on top and steaming it, a savory aroma quickly filled the air. Iseo smiled and sniffed the rising scent when someone knocked urgently at the door.

She tilted her head. She had clearly closed the shop, and everyone in the market knew she had stopped business—who could it be?

“Is Young Master Iseo here? Is anyone there?”

“Who is it?”

Iseo cautiously responded, and the person outside knocked louder.

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought you had already left. Please open the door. Let me see your face and speak with you.”

When the door opened, Danyang, a broker of houses and shops, grabbed Iseo’s hand and shook it. Iseo recognized him and frowned slightly.

“We already refused the offer.”

“No, no, it is not about that. Rather, have you made any sweets or rice cakes? I will pay whatever you ask, so please sell them to me.”

Iseo’s gaze drifted to the freshly made jeungpyeon. Only then did Danyang catch the rich, slightly sour aroma filling the shop and instinctively look toward the kitchen. He quickly began pleading again.

“A certain person I know is very ill and cannot eat anything. He is extremely fond of your sweets, so I came in a hurry just in case. Please, just a little.”

“But…”

After a brief hesitation, Iseo hurried to the kitchen and began cutting the slightly cooled jeungpyeon on the tray. The scattered jujube and rock tripe strips looked delicate and appetizing.

“Um, if possible…”

While watching the packaging, Danyang spoke again, looking apologetic.

“Do you also sell something to drink? I hear your herbal tea is very good.”

Remembering Ryun’s praise, Danyang shamelessly asked again. He already felt bad for knocking on a closed shop and demanding food, and now he was asking to complete the set. But at this point, he felt he had to get whatever he could.

“The herbal tea cannot be made. We are out of medicinal herbs.”

So that was that. Danyang accepted it while still feeling disappointed.

“But…”

After thinking for a moment, Iseo opened a small pot on the hearth and began pouring out a yellowish liquid.

“What is that?”

“It is called ogwa tea. It is made by simmering ginger, ginseng, cinnamon, quince, and jujube. If you add honey and drink it when your body is weak, it is good for you.”

Iseo shook the gourd to gauge how much remained, then closed the pot lid. She added honey to the gourd and stirred it again.

“You may replace the ingredients with whatever fruit you have at home. It is also effective for colds and coughs.”

She sealed the mouth of the bottle tightly with oil-papered hanji and handed it over.

Danyang, impressed by her precise and skillful hands, asked, “How much should I pay you?”

“Please just take it. I hope they recover quickly.”

“No, that cannot be. I must pay you whatever you ask. I cannot accept this without compensation.”

“I did not make it to sell. It would only become baggage if I carried it away. I was planning to share the remaining ingredients with neighbors anyway, so please just take it. If they drink it and recover, I will consider that payment enough.”

Iseo smiled as she spoke, and her face was so beautiful that Danyang found himself staring blankly. Even compared to the refined beauty Ryun was known for, Iseo’s features only grew more striking the longer one looked—fair skin, delicate features, and lips tinted a soft, gentle red.

Used to Ryun’s striking appearance, Danyang rarely found anyone remarkable, yet Iseo’s beauty left him speechless.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he said, “Ahem, in any case, thank you. I am in a hurry, so I will go now, but I will not forget this favor.”

After hurriedly leaving, Danyang checked the time. It was already approaching noon. Thinking of Ryun’s impatient temperament, he quickened his steps.

Rushing back to the palace, Danyang followed behind Ryun, who had returned. There was still no improvement in the Queen Dowager’s condition. In fact, her complexion had grown even paler, a bluish tint creeping in, making Ryun’s heart sink.

“Mother!”

Ryun quickly approached her side and called out carefully. But she remained as if in a deep sleep, not easily opening her eyes.

“Your Majesty! The Crown Prince has arrived.”

At the attendant’s report, her eyelids trembled slightly.

“What is all this commotion? I cannot even rest.”

Her voice was calm, but clearly irritated.

“Your Majesty, I have prepared some sweets. They are nothing special, but they were made by a person known in the marketplace for having skilled hands, so please try them.”

Ryun said gently, trying to persuade her. But the Queen Dowager turned away as if it were bothersome.

“Leave it there. I will eat it later.”

“With respect, Your Majesty, there is a proper time to eat. You taught me this when I was young, when I stubbornly refused meals out of spite. These rice cakes were made not long ago and are still warm. You must eat them now to taste them at their best.”

Ryun urged her uncharacteristically.

Come to think of it, there had been such days. When young Ryun refused to eat out of stubbornness because she would not listen to him, and she coaxed him with various snacks made just for him.

Remembering how she had scolded him with a raised voice and even struck him with a stick in the end, the Queen Dowager could not help but let out a faint smile.