Chapter 18

 Hong Seunghwi and the Kwon Family's Half-Sister (1)

"Should I go and report that you're unwell?"

The Choi family maid, who was on night duty with her, spoke with a worried face.

She had come to let Yunseo taste some wheat cookies her interpreter brother had brought back from Liaodong.

They were crisp cookies made with flour, butter, and salt—savory enough to make one crave beer.

Rather than anxiously waiting for King Sejong's summons amid excessive anticipation and fear, Yunseo thought it would be better to go meet Hong Seunghwi and pass the time.

"That gives me an idea. Could you wrap five of these cookies together with those sweets Lady Court Attendant Park gave me? Make it pretty. I'll go get some tea from Lord Court Attendant Eom."

Carrying a teapot of brewed tea she had obtained from Court Eunuch Eom, along with the cookies that Choi had skillfully wrapped in light green silk, Yunseo placed them on a lacquered mother-of-pearl tray and headed to Hong Seunghwi's residence.

Hong Seunghwi's residence was arranged in a square (ㅁ-shaped) layout, like the inner quarters of a noble household.

Passing through the south-facing main gate, there were wings on both sides where maids and servants stayed, as well as storage rooms. Beyond them, separated by a wooden hall, were the living quarters of Hong Seunghwi and Princess Geuma.

Yunseo counted her steps from the gate to the hall.

Only seventy steps.

Hong Seunghwi had spent her entire life within a space of merely seventy steps in straight distance.

If someone who lived confined in such a narrow place—relying on others for meals, clothing, childcare, and nearly everything in daily life—harbored malice, how persistent and insidious would that malice become?

Yunseo thought, with nerves sharpened by lack of movement, that this suffocating environment was precisely why the palace women—beautiful as flowers—extended their dazzling tendrils like carnivorous plants, always plotting to devour someone.

The maid guiding Yunseo called cautiously toward the eastern room from below the hall.

"Lady Seunghwi, a maid from the Kwon family has come."

"Let her enter."

Because she was carrying the tray, Yunseo slipped off her shoes while brushing her feet against her skirt, then glanced at the stepping stone.

There was one pair of luxurious silk shoes that seemed to belong to Hong Seunghwi, and beside them, another pair—slightly less splendid but still quite elegant—made of pink silk.

Someone of fairly high status was already inside.

Yunseo entered through the door the maid opened.

As Yunseo appeared holding the tray, Hong Seunghwi raised her crescent-shaped eyebrows in surprise.

"I pay my respects to Lady Seunghwi."

As Yunseo bowed carefully with the tray in hand, Hong Seunghwi gestured for her to sit.

Instead of sitting, Yunseo bent forward and raised the tray to eyebrow level.

"This is my first time being summoned by Your Ladyship, so I dared not come empty-handed. I have brewed tea bestowed by the Crown Prince. And the Royal Grandson asked that these sweets be delivered to Lady Princess Geuma."

"...I-is that so?"

Hong Seunghwi's voice trembled slightly.

At that moment, the door behind Yunseo opened quietly, and three maids entered carrying refreshment tables.

Each placed a table in front of Hong Seunghwi, who sat at the seat of honor, and the young girl beside her—dressed in a pale yellow silk jacket and a vivid red skirt that were unmistakably royal gifts even at a glance.

The remaining table was set before Yunseo, who was still bent forward, holding the tray at eyebrow height.

"Sit."

"Please accept this gift, which carries my sincerity."

Hong Seunghwi shot a reluctant glance at the maid beside Yunseo, who then took the tray and presented it to her.

She didn't want to accept it, but since it involved the Crown Prince and the Royal Grandson, she couldn't refuse.

Only after that did Yunseo sit before the small table.

Hong Seunghwi looked visibly uneasy.

Suppressing a faint smirk, Yunseo gazed at the empty teacup before her.

'There must be poison applied inside this cup.'

To avoid suspicion, the tea would have to be poured from the same teapot—so the poison would be on the inside of the cup.

Having consumed countless Korean and Chinese palace intrigue dramas in her previous life, Yunseo found it far too easy to read schemes devised by someone confined within a mere seventy-step space.

That was why she had deliberately brought brewed tea in a teapot instead of any other drink.

Right now, Hong Seunghwi must be racking her brain over what kind of tea was inside that pot—

whether it was ordinary tea, or tea tainted with poison inside the pot.

When one's intentions are wicked, everything in the world appears tinted with that same wickedness.

And just as expected—

As Yunseo reached for her teacup, Hong Seunghwi subtly signaled to the maid attending her.

The maid, who was about to pour tea for Yunseo, suddenly stumbled in an obviously fake manner and spilled tea all over Yunseo's table.

"Oh dear, what is this? How can you be so careless? The confections are all soaked—bring a new table. And since the weather is hot, bring omija instead of tea."

"Yes, my lady."

The maid hurriedly removed Yunseo's table.

Hong Seunghwi forced a bright smile, her lips stretching upward as she looked at Yunseo.

"It's quite hot today. The precious tea you brought should be cooled before drinking."

"Ah, my thoughts were too short. Since it was bestowed by the Crown Prince, I treasured it so much that I could not bring myself to drink it. I believed it proper to offer it to Your Ladyship. I humbly apologize."

Borrowing authority.

Since rumors already claimed she had gained the Crown Prince's favor, she might as well make full use of it.

The corners of Hong Seunghwi's lips trembled.

For someone so vile, her thoughts were far too easy to read.

If someone is wicked and foolish, there is no saving them—

Yunseo nearly laughed, but stopped herself.

She suddenly recalled historical records stating that this woman had survived to the end, received many slaves from King Sejo, and lived well into King Seongjong's reign.

Foolish? I take that back.

If she truly were foolish, she could never have survived intact through the upheaval—from the Gyeyu Coup to the tragedy of the Six Martyred Ministers—when half the powerful families were wiped out.

And indeed, Yunseo's caution proved correct.

"Sister."

The splendidly dressed girl sitting beside Hong Seunghwi called out to Yunseo with tearful eyes.

'Sister? Who are you calling—'

"!"

Memories from Kwon's body surfaced, informing her that the dazzling girl was Choi Gaeun—

the half-sister of the Kwon family maid, born of a different father.

Choi Gaeun looked at Yunseo with dry eyes, only her lips trembling as she feigned sobs.

"Sister, why haven't you been answering my messages? I sent word several times, but when there was no reply, I even came in person to the front of Geonchun Gate…"

"I sent a maid on an errand to the residence, and she saw this child crying pitifully. Feeling sorry for her, she brought her inside."

Hong Seunghwi added smoothly.

"..."

Yunseo silently examined Kwon's half-sister.

A silk jacket of airy hangra fabric shimmering like rippling water, jade and red coral hairpins placed above her ears.

They were clearly clothes and ornaments that Kwon—who had lived so poorly even her undergarments were worn and frayed—must have received as gifts from the Crown Prince's quarters.

"What… is the matter?"

When Yunseo asked, Choi Gaeun suddenly covered her face with her hand and burst into loud sobbing.

"Sister, sister… ah, my poor sister!"

Though no tears fell, she cried only with her voice. Hong Seunghwi gently stroked her back as if she pitied her.

"How kind-hearted you are. To grieve like this for your sister."

Unlike Kwon, who was tall with long limbs, Choi Gaeun had a delicate frame, a small face, and pale skin.

Kwon herself was quite pretty—so seeing this sister's beauty, their mother must have been remarkably attractive.

"..."

Having no intention of playing along with their act, Yunseo simply watched in silence.

At that, Choi Gaeun—who had been pretending to cry—lowered her hands and asked in a tearful voice,

"Sister, why aren't you asking what's wrong?"

At least she could have dabbed some tears to make it convincing. Her eyes were far too dry.

"..."

Yunseo merely stared at her without a word.

When you respond to a swindler with silence, they tend to panic and reveal their own hand.

As expected, the half-sister placed a faint yellow paper box onto the small table.

"Sister… this is the debt document you signed. Lately, since you haven't been paying the interest, they keep coming to the house to collect the debt—I'm terrified. Sister, what should we do? If it's not repaid within five days, they'll… they'll sell you!"

As if unable to continue, she covered her face again and resumed her hollow sobbing.

"How much could this debt possibly be—oh my! Oh my!"

When Yunseo still did not move, Hong Seunghwi took out the bundle of papers and unfolded them, exclaiming in exaggerated shock.

"..."

Yunseo searched through Kwon's memories.

Kwon has never signed a debt document.

Though she had a tendency to give things away foolishly, she would never recklessly stamp her handprint on a piece of paper. That was thanks to Lady Court Attendant Park, who had often twisted her fingers harshly while warning that if she ever carelessly pressed her seal on a document, all ten of her fingers would be broken and she would be thrown out of the palace.

The real Kwon owed that woman a lifetime of gratitude.

"To whom… and why… did I borrow money?"

Only then did Yunseo finally speak, and Choi Gaeun quickly dropped her hands and began explaining.

"Two years ago, you borrowed it from a boat owner named Docheokji at Mapo Ferry and signed this document. At that time, both Father and Mother were sick at once, so you needed money for medicine. But the interest kept piling up… Ah, sister, our poor sister!"

Letting the noisy chatter pass through one ear, Yunseo instead considered who the true mastermind behind this scheme—one that even involved a Crown Prince's concubine—might be.

A ferry owner at Mapo would be tied to transport. And since transport was a highly profitable business, it would naturally involve loan sharks and human traffickers. Behind them, there would certainly be a powerful financier pulling the strings.

Know your enemy and you will never be defeated.

Recalling Yunseo's own words, Chief Court Attendant Eom had proudly explained the web of wealth in Hanyang to her just days ago.

Jeong Inji, with his exceptional sense for numbers, had become one of the richest men through lending—but as an official of the court, he did not cross certain lines.

The most ruthless group, however, was a family expanding its wealth under the backing of royal marriage ties—the family of Lady Yun, wife of Grand Prince Suyang. Her father Yun Beon, her son Yun Sagyun, and her relative Yun Saro—who was also the husband of Princess Jeonghyeon, King Sejong's illegitimate daughter—had amassed enormous wealth through usury.

—"Especially Yun Saro of Yeongcheon County relies on His Majesty's favor to run wild. He stores tens of thousands of sacks of rice in his Gyeonggi estates and profits from grain speculation, and the warehouses at his residence in Hanyang are larger than the residence itself. Isn't he even teaching Yun Sagyun how to run moneylending, backing Grand Prince Suyang with wealth?"

Chief Court Attendant Eom had angrily scratched out their names with a brush as he explained this to Yunseo.

Hong Seunghwi's birth mother, sitting here now, was cousins with Lady Yun, the wife of Grand Prince Suyang.

The powerful families of Hanyang are all tangled through royal marriage ties, controlling the city's wealth among themselves, draining the people dry—and even encroaching upon the royal house itself.

Sighing inwardly, Yunseo praised herself for the brilliant decision to move her residence to Chief Court Attendant Eom's quarters.

The easiest and most certain way to drive out a palace maid favored by both the Crown Prince and the Royal Grandson would be to fabricate a scandal. If she had remained in the poorly guarded court lady quarters behind Gyeongbok Palace, something would have happened to her ten times over by now.

Since that method had failed, they must have resorted to the somewhat riskier tactic of forging a private document.

After organizing her thoughts, Yunseo asked,

"How much… in total?"

"Four hundred nyang of silver. Sister, the principal alone is four hundred, and the interest is double that. And if it's not repaid within five days, they'll sell you. What should we do? What should we do?"

"Oh my! Twelve hundred nyang of silver!"

Hong Seunghwi lifted her crescent-shaped brows and exclaimed.

Twelve hundred nyang?

They should have at least chosen a more believable amount.