Chapter 19

Hong Seunghwi and the Kwon Family's Half-Sister (2)

Yunseo found it hard to believe the amount written on that document.

How much money do they usually handle to casually write down such a huge sum?

"I owe twelve hundred nyang of silver? Ha… Was my worth really that high? I'm honored."

"Sister!"

"Do you even know how many bolts of cotton cloth equal one nyang of silver?"

Yunseo asked out of genuine curiosity.

One nyang of silver was worth two bolts of cotton cloth.
Twelve hundred nyang meant a staggering two thousand four hundred bolts.

Even a strong female slave—capable of bearing many children and increasing wealth like livestock—was worth only about one hundred fifty bolts!

"Is that what matters right now? A maid serving the Royal Grandson has caused such a scandal—what are we to do? This concerns the dignity of the royal family and our Royal Grandson. If you have even a shred of shame, Kwon, leave the palace at once."

Hong Seunghwi shouted sharply.

"Our" Royal Grandson?
Now she speaks as if she cherishes Hongwi so dearly.

"Am I even in a position to leave the palace? Aren't palace maids forbidden to leave unless their superior dies?"

Hong Seunghwi shook her head.

"You're a bonbang maid. You weren't formally recruited—you were brought in by the late… ah."

Immersed in her own performance, Hong Seunghwi dabbed at nonexistent tears with her light-green ribbon and continued dramatically,

"You were brought in by our late Lady Bin, so if you cause trouble, the Kwon family can take you back!"

Oh… so that's how it is.

Then I can actually leave?

A sudden sense of relief washed over her chest, and the heavy gloom from lack of activity vanished instantly.

Still—if she left, she couldn't leave as a debtor.

As Hong Seunghwi herself said, their Hongwi must ascend the throne flawlessly and live long like King Yeongjo.

"Alright. Put that document back in the case and hand it over."

"S-sister… what are you going to do?"

"You said people are coming to your house, right? First, we need to confirm whether they actually received my handprint."

"Look here! It's clearly your palm—same shape and size!"

Since Kwon was illiterate and couldn't write her own name, she had used handprints instead of a signature, as many illiterate people of the time did.

Fortunately, Kwon was illiterate. If there had been handwriting involved, forgery would have been much harder to untangle.

And in a way, it was fortunate that King Sejong had not yet promulgated Hangul.

Hangul was so simple that even someone like Kwon could have learned it in a few days.

…Or maybe not.

In her past life, Yunseo had been a psychological counselor. She was obligated to keep client information confidential—but also to report it if a client's safety was at risk.

That "appropriate authority" had been the police. While volunteering at a youth counseling center, she had reported child abuse cases multiple times.

Even so, many children were sent back home, only for the abuse to worsen. There had been nights when she ran along the riverside alone, crying.

Through that, she had come to know Officer Im, with whom she occasionally spoke about cases, investigative methods, and the suffocating realities victims faced.

She never imagined that knowledge would contribute to forensic reasoning here in 15th-century Joseon.

If I'd known, I would have learned more thoroughly—like King Sejong, who studied everything with such diligence.

Sighing inwardly, Yunseo wondered whether graphite was available in this era, then concluded that fine charcoal powder would suffice.

"Sister, what should we do? Oh, my poor sister…"

"If you feel that sorry, sell the clothes you're wearing. Those and the ornaments in your hair should fetch at least ten nyang of silver."

Choi Gaeun's eyes widened at Yunseo's words.

Before she could recover from the shock that the "foolish" Kwon could say something like this, Yunseo drove the point further.

"That house you're living in, the clothes you wear, the fifty thousand pyeong of land in Yangju—all of that was bought with what this sister saved by not eating and not wearing. Since things have come to this, it's unfortunate, but we'll have to sell everything and settle the debt. So keep that in mind. Now hand me the document case."

"S-sister! H-how much could that even be worth?!"

"No matter how much, if you've incurred a debt, it's only proper for the debtor to make at least some effort to repay it."

"M-my lady! Please say something!"

Seeing that Yunseo wouldn't budge, Choi Gaeun turned pleadingly to Hong Seunghwi.

But Hong Seunghwi was in no position to sympathize.

She was first shocked by how much wealth that "foolish" Kwon had amassed by starving and depriving herself. Then she grew uneasy—what if selling it all really produced twelve hundred nyang?

Yesterday, Lady Yun—the wife of Grand Prince Suyang—had sent word through an intermediary, instructing her to simply recite a script when Kwon's half-sister arrived today.

But if the assets were truly sold and the fake debt settled… what then?

Still, the scheme was already in motion. She had to see it through.

"A-anyway, you've become entangled in the most vicious kind of lawsuit—a dispute over property. By all propriety, you must leave the palace. You must not become a stain on our Royal Grandson's future."

Yunseo suddenly felt a surge of disgust.

This woman, who claimed to long so desperately for the Crown Prince's affection, was instead acting as a puppet for those trying to eliminate him.

So—just as Hong Seunghwi had done earlier—Yunseo lifted her brows gracefully and spoke lightly,

"The Crown Prince holds me in deep favor. Just last night, the three of us—His Highness, the Royal Grandson, and I—spent a pleasant time together. So if I were to tell him, would twelve hundred nyang really be an issue? He would have it paid from the Inner Treasury's stored cloth—and likely give me even more."

"W-what?"

Hong Seunghwi's face turned pale with shock, while Choi Gaeun relaxed in visible relief.

"But I have a sense of shame. I cannot burden His Highness, who already works tirelessly day and night handling regency affairs. I will resolve this debt myself."

After delivering her refined rebuke—essentially asking how a mere maid could show such restraint not to burden the Crown Prince, while she, as his wife, did nothing of the sort—Yunseo rose from her seat.

"S-sister!"

Startled, Choi Gaeun clutched the box containing the fake debt document tightly to her chest.

"I-I'll… I'll figure something out with Father. Like you said, my heart aches so much… as your younger sister, I should at least do something…"

"What could you possibly do? You said the money was borrowed from Docheokji, the ferry owner at Mapo. Do you even know who might be backing him?"

"B-backing him?"

Only then did Choi Gaeun realize she had completely fallen into the trap she herself had set.

All this time, that foolish Kwon had faithfully sent everything—dried fish, rice, beans, salted shrimp, soy sauces, her monthly wages, and even the gifts she received at different times—without fail. Recently, she had even heard that Kwon had received a great reward from the Queen, yet no news had come, which had made her anxious.

Then one day, a man named Docheokji—his forehead slashed with a terrifying scar running down the bridge of his nose—had appeared with several equally fearsome men.

"If you just do as you're told, the entire twelve hundred nyang of silver will be yours."

Saying that, he had handed over this very box.

Her mother had wept a little, saying how could they do such a thing to her sister—but then sighed, saying that if they didn't obey, someone as vicious as Docheokji might harm the family, and urged her to go to the palace at once.

Her father, on the other hand, rejoiced that they would finally be repaid for raising that "foolish child," even hiring a palanquin to send her off—and was now waiting outside Geonchun Gate.

Unable to either give up the box or keep it, Choi Gaeun trembled, her red lips quivering.

Yunseo easily pulled the box from her arms.

Kwon was strong, after all.

I really like this body.

Because she often ran errands to the Crown Princess's natal home, she had even learned how to ride a horse—letting her gallop freely to Lady Park's residence in Bansongbang and relieve stress.

"I shall take my leave now. I must consider how to repay this debt, so please excuse me."

With a graceful bow, Yunseo left Hong Seunghwi's quarters.

"Hah! This turned out well. Sell all of that and buy land in Wolgye, outside Dongdaemun. Chief Court Attendant Eom has already built a residence there. When our prince's era begins, he'll become the head of the eunuchs, and everyone will scramble to build houses nearby to curry favor—land prices will skyrocket."

After hearing the situation, Lady Court Attendant Park clapped her knee in delight.

"No Sandae is the best in Hanyang at buying and selling land. Leave the sale of the Choi family's house and land—and the purchase in Wolgye—to him. And as for identifying who handled that forged document, report it to His Highness immediately. He already feels deeply for illiterate commoners who unjustly lose their homes and land due to forged documents—he'll be very pleased."

Lady Park, who had once protected Kwon by threatening to break her fingers if she ever stamped her handprint carelessly, now proved just as invaluable in solving the matter.

That evening, even as Hongwi finished dinner and played with a kite in the strong, rain-scented wind, King Sejong still did not summon Yunseo.

Hongwi ran across the training ground where the Crown Prince's guard soldiers drilled, holding onto the kite string.

Taking advantage of the rare chance to run, Yunseo ran alongside him under the pretext of preventing him from falling.

The hastily made kite—crafted from sturdy mulberry paper with a simple hole in the center—began to rise, its red tail fluttering.

"Geoga, it's flying! It's flying!"

"My lady, it really is! Let out more string—more! More!"

Hongwi's laughter rolled across the sandy ground, while the western sky began to glow red with sunset.

On his way back to the Eastern Palace, Lee Hyang stopped when he heard Hongwi's laughter.

He had just spent an hour in heated debate with Minister of Rites Kim Jongseo and Scholar Jeong Inji over why the currency system promoted by the late king and the current king had failed—yet they had reached no conclusion.

Following the sound of laughter and applause, he came upon the open ground.

There he saw his young son, running with all his might on short, unsteady legs—and beside him, Kwon, running along and encouraging him.

Though the strong wind lifted her skirt, revealing glimpses of her undergarments, her eyes shone only with gentle affection for the child. Her arms, clapping in encouragement, were taut—ready at any moment to catch him safely.

"!"

A strange longing stirred in Lee Hyang's chest—something he had never felt before, having only ever been surrounded by women who came to him out of desire, never ones he needed to hold.

At that moment, Hongwi stumbled over his own feet, about to fall—but Kwon swiftly scooped him up.

Still clutching the kite string, Hongwi naturally wrapped his arms around her neck, and she held him firmly while shouting, "Let out the string, my lady!" as she ran forward.

Carried by the wind, the square kite soared high into the sky, its tail fluttering.

At that very moment, the crimson sunset pouring over the western hills bathed the two of them—filled with vivid joy and steadfast affection—like a blessing.

"..."

Warmth gathered in his eyes, and without realizing it, Lee Hyang clutched his chest.

At twenty-nine years old, the Crown Prince's belated first love had begun.