The Lotus Of East Palace
Chapter 22 (Yeon-Hwa)
My name is Lee Yeon-Hwa, the only child of Lee Yun—, another male sister of Minister Lee Sun who disappeared as a child and married a commoner girl of the Jung tribe. My unnamed mother died giving birth to me. My father, Lee Yun, as all Orient citizens know, was killed in the border war. I lived in the temple with the holy masters all this time and had no idea about my family which turned out to be the last surviving Lee Clan. I, indirectly, have a kinship with the Orient Empress, Lee Sae-Byeok. I was discovered by Sae-Byeok when the generous Maharani made his religious visit to the temple where I lived in the interior. He saw my resemblance to his dead uncle and then investigated my family. But when Sae-Byeok finally found out that I was Lee Yun's daughter, I no longer lived in the temple because I decided to stay in Jungdo. In Jungdo, I was tricked by bad guys so I lost my savings and ended up being a dancer in the red district area. Then I was chosen to be a dancer at the Sun Palace and again met with Sae-Byeok. That was how Sae-Byeok finally told me that I was the noble daughter of the Lee Clan who disappeared.
That's my identity now. I have to admit, Sae-Byeok has a knack for being a novel writer.
I used to be Honey Welsh, an ordinary Westeria girl who sold flowers to the city, then went to Noord and became a market thug and an accomplished con artist, later became a spy for Schiereiland under the orders of Empress Selena. I was once a Montreux female knight. I was once the bodyguard of Queen Nordhalbinsel. I was once a spy of the Orient emperor family the envoy of the Dragon Queen. I used to be a dancer for the Palace of the Sun. And now I'm the daughter of the Lee Clan noble who is in the selection of the Emperor's Concubine.
I really want to run away soon. I don't care if my career as a spy is over. I don't care if I get caught and tortured and killed. I don't want to marry the Emperor much less be his concubine. For me to marry the Emperor is far more terrible than the death penalty for being caught as a spy.
But there's something much more terrible than that.
Seeing my father and Abuela being tortured to death in front of me.
Sae-Byeok, somehow, manages to investigate my background. He found out that I had a father and a grandmother in Westeria. I'm not sure if she knows or not that I'm the daughter of Lee Seo-Hwa and Commander Wu. I'm not sure Sae-Byeok knows that the one he's captured and he's imprisoned underground right now is the greatest Warlord of his time. But he threatened to make me witness the slow and torturous death that my father and Abuela would soon experience if I did not obey him.
They paralyzed both of my father's legs and whipped Abuela. They drugged father and Abuela, took her to Orient with their hands and feet tied and tortured both of them in the dungeon before me. They were going to kill my father and Abuela, so I signed a contract with Sae-Byeok. I will go to great lengths to be elected Emperor Consort, vowing I will never sleep with Haru and not give him any children. That way, Sae-Byeok will remain the Empress, and I will just wait to be divorced, then release my father and Abuela and return to Westeria.
"Memorize all these books tonight. Tomorrow there will be an oral test for the prospective concubines." Sae-Byeok's orders came to my room at the Lee Clan's residence, her childhood home. He brought a lot of old books. I read the titles of the book.
"Wait." I said as Sae-Byeok was about to walk away leaving my room to return to Jade Palace. Sae-Byeok stops his steps and turns to look at me. "I've memorized all this."
Sae-Byeok laughs harshly. "Yes. Is correct. Of course." He said, with a scornful tone.
He doesn't understand. All these books I've memorized over and over again when my mother was alive. Since childhood, my mother fed me with all the knowledge that an Emperor Princess should master. Mom doesn't need a book to teach me all that, she memorizes the contents of all the books.
But of course it's free to explain all that to Sae-Byeok. So I just kept quiet and let him go while I opened the old books. My eyes read every letter, but my mind drifted everywhere.
What would happen if I failed to become an Emperor Consort? Is Sae-Byeok going to kill Abuela and her father? Or will Sae-Byeok make sure I truly become a Concubine by using her power as a Empress? Then what will happen after I succeed in becoming a Concubine? How do I avoid Haru? What if I am required to give birth to the Emperor's descendants?
The more I think I'm getting stressed. So I thought of something else.
How are my friends in Dong-gung? Is Elias still waiting for me in that place? Earlier I had told Elias that I would return to Dong-gung soon after the Emperor's entourage returned to the Emperor's Palace in Jungdo. We agreed to meet at the famous ramen shop in the center of Jungdo, lunch as a celebration I made it through my days at the Sun Palace unnoticed, then return to Dong-gung for the next mission. Beyond a doubt, our plan fell apart because somehow Sae-Byeok knew that I was a spy.
Elias won't wait for me. He's a busy man, he must have left immediately after knowing I didn't come. He probably didn't bother looking for me. He probably thinks I ran away and went back to Westeria. He may report to the King that their trusted spies are running away from duty. I might not be trusted anymore.
I think I want to cry. I want to go home. But I don't know where to go myself. Father and Abuela were arrested and injured because of me. Anna and King Xavier's plan to save Nordhalbinsel from the threat of an Orient attack may also be a mess because I am not a reliable spy. It was all my fault. I can't be a good son and grandson. I can't be a good soldier and spy. I failed to be whatever people expected me to be. I was exactly the figure I had in Elias' eyes in every dream. It's nobody. Weak-headed. Helpless.
That night, I fell asleep crying.
...****************...
I successfully passed the oral test and went into the next stage. This time there were only twenty girls from various regions left. And we were allowed to stay in the Jade Palace until one of us was elected Consort Emperor.
"You hear, today we're going to have lunch with the Wind Dragons and the Torakkas." Said a young girl who I guessed was no older than me. Maybe eighteen years. From his accent, I know he's an Ilbon.
"Wind Dragon? Wasn't it said that the Twin Dragons disappeared because they no longer supported the Emperor's family? That's why rebellions happen everywhere."
"It happened while Emperor Qin was still ruling. Now, after Haru became Emperor, it seems like the Dragons have returned."
"So it looks like Haru is indeed the Dragon's chosen Emperor."
"Our country is blessed."
"I got nervous about having lunch with a holy figure in the legend. What does the Wind Dragon look like?"
"I heard he could fly."
"I heard he could bring a storm if he got angry."
"Then it's better not to make him angry."
"I heard he's just a thirteen-year-old kid. But she said she was very pretty and grumpy."
"Konon said if we look him in the eye, we can disappear into empty air."
I just kept quiet while listening to the rumors thrown by the candidate girls Concubine while waiting for lunch in my hallway. In the past, I must have joined a group to chat and gossip. I remember the first time I met Anna when we were both in the selection of Xavier's personal bodyguard when she was still the Crown Prince. At that time I decided to invite him to talk because he seemed quiet and the type who would not chat if not invited to chat first. I prefer to meet new people who are strangers so that there are friends to talk than to be alone and busy with my own thoughts. But now I can't just chat with them. I'm different from them. They want to be concubines, I don't. But I must succeed in becoming a concubine otherwise somehow the fate of father and Abuela.
But hearing we would soon meet the Wind Dragon made my feelings a little lighter. I know it's selfish, I know it should be sad because it means Kaze got caught by the Torakkas. But that also means I'm not completely alone here. If I want to plan on escaping, I might be able to make an escape plan with Kaze and the little girl might be able to help me as well as father and Abuela get out of here. We might be able to go straight to Westeria if he allows us to ride the Wind Dragon.
The moment we waited finally arrived. Lunch with the Wind Dragon and two Torakka people. Word circulated throughout the room that one of the Torakkas had been killed by the rebels. I know that's not what really happened. I heard it from Elias who knew from Shuu that Torakka Gyeoul was killed by King Xavier.
Kaze looked different. She was wearing a luxurious pink long kimono. The makeup makes her look more mature but does not make her older than age thirteen. No. gabe. Maybe it wasn't the makeup that made her look more mature, but rather her silence during lunchtime. He was completely silent as he observed the Consort candidates one by one. He did not say a word, only the Torakkas delivered words of welcome. Kaze even looked bored with this event. Until our eyes finally meet. His pupils widened when he saw me. Too obvious. He shouldn't have reacted that way. He should have pretended not to know me.
Be late.
One of the Torakkas sitting to his right, who had been watching his face, caught the gelagat. The one-eyed Jung tribe girl immediately looked for who Kaze saw. He looked at me, then smiled at me. His smile gave me the creeps.
"Why is Xing Yi-Zhuo smiling this way?" Whisper the girl next to me.
"I don't know. Just bow your head. Be careful of him. I heard he's a little crazy for his family's hard upbringing. He is the son of Warlord Xing." said the other girl.
I lowered my gaze, avoiding the strange gaze of Yi-Zhuo. But Yi-Zhuo did not take her eyes off me in the slightest for the rest of the lunch. Until I finally couldn't digest a single sumptuous dish in front of me.
After lunch, I immediately went to my private room and vomited all my stomach. Though all the food was supposed to taste good, I should be able to spend three portions, but the pressure I felt during my time in this Palace, as well as the gaze from Yi-Zhuo made me unable to digest properly.
"Please drink it." Someone handed me a hot drink. It seemed like it was warm tea, so I immediately accepted it.
"Thank you."
I looked back, towards the person who had given me this warm tea.
"Can we talk for a second?" Yi-Zhuo asked while smiling horribly at me.
...****************...
Yi-Zhuo took me far away to a part of the Palace that I had never been to before. In this section, if I don't study the Palace floor plan incorrectly, it's where the Queen Mother lives. My heart was pounding as my steps got closer to the Queen Mother's room. Yi-Zhuo did not tie my hands nor hold me to a gun, I could not even tell if he was hiding a weapon behind his long skirt, but somehow standing nearby alone could give me chills of fear.
"I'm sorry, but soon I have to get together with the other candidates for the next stage." I said when she didn't say anything on our way to the Queen Mother's room.
"Don't worry" he said. "You'll still pass the next stage."
We finally reached the room we were in. The Queen Mother's Room is a magnificent building that can almost be called a separate Palace from the Jade Palace. The guards lined up at his door, opening the door for me and Yi-Zhuo. I followed Yi-Zhuo into the room.
If my calculations are correct, Empress Dowager Reina should have been eighteen when she gave birth to Haru. That means, the Queen Mother is currently sixty years old. But the one standing before me right now was an adult woman whose age could not be more than thirty years. The people of Westeria may have mistaken her age to be in the mid-twenties. I just remembered that the Emperor's family is indeed ageless. When I saw her, I wondered why Qin had so many concubines. Reina is so beautiful. No. gabe. Not just beautiful, she has a beautiful face that will be difficult to forget and no one will get tired of looking at her.
I hurriedly knelt before Reina. The woman smiled gently at me. When I saw him smile, I could clearly see his resemblance to Haru.
"This is the man?" Ask Reina. I'm not sure who he's asking. He uses the dialect of the Ilbon tribe like Kaze which actually sounded like he was singing a ballad song.
"Yes, Your Majesty." I recognize that voice. Kaze's Voice.
The little girl stepped in front of me and then kowtowed before me. I couldn't hide my surprise when he did. "Blessed Heaven and eternity are with you, Her Majesty" he said in Orient language, strangely sounding strange in my ears. After a while I realized he was speaking it in an ancient dialect that had not been used in the present.
Kaze then stood up and still lowered his head, dodging the gaze with me. She only dared to look at the Queen Mother confidently, then continued her words, "He is our Queen. The queen of dragons. Reincarnation of Grand Queen Zhenra."
What say?
The Queen Mother seemed to notice me, grumbling, then said, "I think her hair should be red as it is written in the ancient books and history books."
"She changed her form to look like an Orient person, Your Majesty." Kaze replied without hesitation.
"Where is his partner? Why did he run for the Concubine election?"
"The Great Fire Dragon is far from here. I don't know where he is." Kaze. He said all of that smoothly as if it wasn't all a lie. Clearly he knows King Xavier is in Dong-gung.
I don't understand what he's planning. And I don't know what to do with this impromptu charade he created. So I just kept quiet while trying to read the situation and guessed what I should do.
Yi-Zhuo, who had been standing still and keeping his distance from Kaze and the Queen Mother, spoke up this time, "You better not lie, Wind Dragon. I obviously met your Queen that night. His face is different."
"I told you, he changed his form. You don't know transformation magic huh? After all, why would I lie if you really intend to make my Queen the Empress of the Orient. I support the Queen Mother's plan if my Queen will truly rule the Orient."
Whahuh? Empress Orient? They intend to make Anna the Empress of the Orient? Wait for. Not Anna. They intend to make me the Empress of the Orient!
I ventured to look at Kaze, hoping she would explain something to me somehow. But Kaze refused to look at me.
"Will there be no problem if your Queen marries Haru?" Ask the Queen Mother later.
"Of course there's a problem. Of course my King will be very angry and you all must be prepared to face him. But they can't be together. The Sky did not want them to be together, ever since. After I thought again, it might be better for my Queen to marry Haru and become Empress than to defy the will of the Sky and eventually repeat their tragic destiny."
Empress Dowager Reina looked pensive, as if estimating whether the risk was worth it. He looked back at me, but didn't talk to me. He only spoke to Kaze like I didn't understand their language. "Will the Great Fire Dragon come and burn down the entire Orient?"
"I don't think he would have done that if my Queen had been treated well and not hurt. She would be jealous, but if my Queen was happy, with anyone, she would definitely let it go. That is how my King is. So instead of forcing my Queen to marry Haru, it's better to negotiate with her."
Suri's mother seemed to be pondering Kaze's words. I'd be surprised if the Queen Mother really believed that lie. She couldn't possibly really think that I was the Queen of the dragons right?
But my guess is wrong. He's nodding. "Leave us both. I'd like to have a one-on-one conversation with my son-in-law."
...****************...
"So..." Reina sighed before continuing her words, "You were forced by Sae-Byeok to become Consort Haru and you have to obey her orders if you don't want your father and grandmother to be hurt?"
"True, Your Majesty." I answered with a stammer.
I more or less already understood the outline of Kaze's plan even without her telling me. Kaze also seems to have been caught. And now the Queen Mother intends to silence the rebels by using the Queen of Dragons. It was supposed to be Anna, but since Anna was out of nowhere and I didn't know how she was right now, and because Kaze would have wanted to protect her, then when Kaze saw me, she said, she confessed that I was the Queen of Dragons. From Kaze's conversation with the Queen Mother, I understood that they wouldn't dare to hurt me and they just wanted to negotiate with me.
I heard that the relationship between Empress Dowager Reina and Empress Sae-Byeok is not good, so all of you take advantage of this.
I told her everything Sae-Byeok did to me. About my father and grandmother being held captive by him to threaten me into becoming Consort Haru. About her preventing me from sleeping with Haru so that I do not conceive the Crown Prince, so that I do not shift her position as Empress. If by pumping the Queen Mother I can get greater power support from Sae-Byeok, to save my father and Abuela, to save my own life, then whatever I will do. Even if it means I have to pretend to be the reincarnation of Grand Queen Zhenra and become the Empress of the Orient.
"What's your name?" Ask the Queen Mother. Just a few minutes ago, I introduced myself.
"Yeon-Hwa, Your Majesty."
"Yeon Hw... Listen to me carefully." Said. His voice now turned cold and haughty. "I don't care what the Wind Dragon says. I don't care if you're really the Queen of the Dragons or not. As long as you can appear before the people as the Queen of the Dragons, marry Haru and become the Empress, then I will make sure your father and grandmother can be released."
"Free in one piece and alive, not hurt at all."
Reina let out a heavy sigh, as if those requirements were hard for her. "Alright, be released whole and alive and not hurt at all. And I promise you'll also be safe and unharmed." His face became more tense, but enthusiastic. It seemed like a barrage of plan scenarios was already involved in his mind at this moment. Whatever it is, I will do it so that father and Abuela can be saved. Reina continued, "But the deal between us is a secret. Haru also must not know that I plan to make you the Empress. Understood?"
I should have knelt to him, but I didn't. Right now, I am the Queen of Dragons, the Reincarnation of Grand Queen Zhenra, the future Empress of the Orient. I don't kneel to anyone. "Okay, Your Majesty."
...****************...