I hope everyone had a lovely holiday with their families and friends. Please enjoy this update and leave a comment or review to let me know what you think!

Not sure if anyone watches We Got Married, but I found out Jong Hyun was on there…he and his wife Yoora from Girl’s Day are so cute :3

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Soo wasn’t sure if she heard right, so she asked again.

 

“What did you just say?”

 

Arang and Eun Bi looked at each other nervously before turning back to her.

 

“We believe the King has been poisoned,” Eun Bi said again.

“But how? Who could have done it?”

 

Arang and Eun Bi grew silent and they both averted their gazes to the wooden floor. It was only then that Soo realized the truth.

 

“It cannot be either of you, since you are both in front of me now. And no one else has served the King with his bath except for me and…Chae Ryung.”

 

There was a pregnant silence before Arang spoke up.

 

“It was my fault. I should have been more careful yesterday, but I was too careless.”

“You still have not told me what happened.”

“I was the one preparing the pouches yesterday, but something arose with the soaps being prepared, so I left the remaining pouches for Chae Ryung to prepare. When I came back, I did not think to check them before we served the King. After we were done, and I went to apply the salve you usually do for the King, I noticed rashes that were not there before he entered the bath.”

“Was he alarmed?”

“Yes, but I managed to calm him down.”

 

Soo nodded, remembering how scared Crown Prince Moo was when she discovered for the first time he had atopic eczema. Luckily she knew how to treat it because her mom had the same condition. Although in the past months he didn’t have any relapses, it seemed like yesterday was the first in a long time. It would make sense for him to worry.

 

“Did you identify what it was?”

 

Arang shook her head.

 

“I could not see a difference after the pouch had been soaked in the water.”

“Have you told anyone besides Eun Bi of this incident?”

“No, I did not dare! You are the only person other than Eun Bi.”

 

Soo stood up and paced around her room as Eun Bi and Arang watched her.

 

“We must keep a tighter control on what comes in and out of Damiwon. We will inspect every shipment closely before accepting it. We will also control where these shipments come in. They will only come in from one entrance. If anything else goes in another way, we will intercept it and inspect it.”

“Yes, your highness.”

“Eun Bi, I am tasking you with keeping attendance. We will record the presence of every single Damiwon Court Lady at all times. They must sign in, and if they are absent, they must have at least two other ladies vouch for their absence. Report to me any suspicions you have.”

“I will do as you ask, your highness.”

“Arang, you will be in charge of overseeing preparations of everything we make at Damiwon. Check the ingredients before they are used and keep a record of what is being made and what it is used for. If anything is made before your inspection, discard it and have it prepared again. Report to me if you have any suspicions.”

“Yes, I will do my best, your highness.”

“Good. I will help you both as well. In the meantime, I will be the only one responsible for the King’s baths.”

 

Eun Bi seemed hesitant after Soo finished giving her directions, and Soo notice this.

 

“You have something to ask me, don’t you Eun Bi?”

“Yes…I…what will you do about Chae Ryung?”

 

Soo’s expression grew dark, and Arang reached out to hold her hand.

 

“I am sorry, your highness. We know how much you cherish her.”

 

Soo smile grimly and nodded.

 

“I will confirm my suspicions today. It is still too early to say that she is at fault, since you did not witness it yourself.”

 

Arang and Eun Bi nodded solemnly.

 

Soo wasn’t sure what to think. Everything was pointing to Chae Ryung as the culprit, but something was making her deny it. How could her sweet Chae Ryung be capable of doing something so vicious? What would her motive be for poisoning the King? What she get out of it? Surely there must be someone else behind the scenes, directing her to do this horrible deed. Was she threatened to do it?

 

Soo shook herself out of her reverie and looked up to meet the worried gazes of her trusted ladies-in-waiting.

 

“Let us start our day. We have much to do.”

 

Both girls nodded and followed Soo out of her room.

 

Later that day, when Soo was preparing the herbal pouches with Chae Ryung, she noticed how nervous the girl looked. Soo tried not to betray her emotions and her suspicions, keeping her expression neutral.

 

“How was your day yesterday, Chae Ryung ah?”

“Y..yes?”

“It is a simple question, Chae Ryung ah. Why are you so nervous? Surely it is not because I am a princess now, right? It has been months since you started working here.”

“N..no! Of course not your highness. I was just surprised by your question. I was just thinking.”

 

Soo did not miss how Chae Ryung had avoided her question.

 

“What were you thinking about?”

“About the burden you have, your highness.”

“Burden?”

“You are in charge of all of Damiwon! I do not know how you handle it so well,” she said laughing, whether out of nervousness or sincerity, Soo could not tell.

“It was hard at first, but I had a very good mentor. She prepared me for everything I needed to run Damiwon when I took my position.”

“Ah, yes. That would make sense.”

 

They both lapsed into a silence before Soo decided it was time for her to put her plan to the test.

 

“Oh my, I have forgotten a specific herb for today’s bath.”

“You have? Do you want me to go get it, your highness?”

“It is in my quarters at Damiwon. I will go get it myself. You can finish up the rest of these, right?”

“Yes, your highness! I can do that.”

“All right, I will be right back.”

 

Soo gave a smile before turning around to leave the room and closing the door, and then rounding the corner. She let out a few quiet breaths before she heard the door open again for a few moments, and then closing. As she peeked around the corner, she saw the door close completely before making her way back in front of them. Slowly and quietly, she pulled the wooden and paper door open a crack, before taking a peek inside.

 

She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary for a while. Chae Ryung was only preparing the last pouch with all the right herbs. Soo stayed there a bit longer, and was about to open the door again, but saw Chae Ryung pull out a small bag from her skirt, and her heart rate sped up.

 

After opening up the bag, she emptied the contents of it into the last pouch she had prepared before concealing it back in her robes and sealing up the pouch again. Soo stepped away from the door and walked back around the corner again, feeling her breathing rate increase. She closed her eyes and tried to take long and deep breaths to prevent a panic attack. After several moments, Soo was able to calm herself down.

 

After she calmed herself down, the dread slowly began to creep in. Soo had just confirmed her suspicions, and it hurt her deeply to see that Chae Ryung was the culprit behind the poisoning. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something much bigger brewing. This couldn’t be a simple poisoning incident. The King was being targeted again, and she had an inkling of who would be behind all of this.

 

Taking a deep breath, she walked back into the room and surprised Chae Ryung in the process.

 

“Your highness!”

“Chae Ryung ah, why are you so jittery today? Is everything all right?”

“Y..yes! I am all right your highness.”

 

Soo tilted her head and rested it on her knuckles, looking at Chae Ryung, who seemed to shrink under her scrutiny.

 

“No, it seems you are unwell today. I have no choice but to send you back to your room to rest.”

“But your highness..!”

“No, no. I do not want to hear any protests. I insist! We cannot have you growing sick now. Run along!.”

 

Chae Ryung could see that Soo would not budge and gave a bow before she exited the room. Soo held her breath as she heard the footsteps die away and proceeded to open the bag Chae Ryung had prepared without her. She didn’t have to open it all the way to see a light gray powder that shouldn’t have been there. She closed the bag quickly and put aside all three of the herbal pouches in a separate room, before preparing new ones all together.

 

She then headed to the bathing pool and waited for King Hye Jong to arrive. When he did, she bowed to him and got down onto her knees.

 

“Hae Soo, what are you doing? What about your knees?”

“I have committed a grave sin, Paeha. I am deserving of death.”

“What are you talking about?”

 

Soo took a deep breath before she answered his question.

 

“Due to my carelessness, you have been poisoned.”

“Poisoned? What do you mean?”

“My lady-in-waiting told me you had rashes after exiting the waters yesterday.”

“Yes, I was very concerned to see those. It has been awhile since I have had those rashes under your care.”

“I am afraid there was something put in the herbal pouches that was not supposed to be there, which cause your rashes.”

“Are you saying that one of your ladies intentionally poisoned me?”

 

His voice was cold and Soo gulped. She knew that even if she wasn’t the one who was behind the poisoning, she was still responsible because she was the head of Damiwon, and was in charge of all the court ladies. If they stepped a toe of line, then the punishment would fall upon her. No amount of favor she held with the King would save her from that. She heard him walk away, and then the splash of water as he entered the bathing pool.

 

“Stand up, Hae Soo. I will be taking my bath now.”

 

Was he not going to say anything?

 

“Yes, Paeha,” she said hesitantly before standing up slowly.

 

Soo moved to retrieve a herbal pouch and began soaking it in the water. The silence was deafening, but Soo kept quiet as the King bathed. Afterwards, they went to the room to treat his skin. Soo could see the new rashes that had cropped up in one day, and the feeling of dread came over again. After she had finished applying a poultice of peppermint leaves on the new rashes and bandaging them, the King stood up and looked at her.

 

“Do not worry, Hae Soo. You will not be punished.”

 

Soo bowed her head, letting out a relieved sigh. However, her relief did not last long. She knew what would happen once she revealed the culprit.

 

“You are too kind, Paeha.”

“However, this matter has not been resolved. Please come to the throne room tonight, and we will discuss it further.”

“Yes, Paeha. I will do as you command.”

 

He nodded and left the room. After he left, Soo quickly cleaned up and went to retrieve the original herbal pouches, before bringing them to her room at Damiwon. She went about her day, supervising all the court ladies at Damiwon, and implementing the new protective measures to regulate what went on in Damiwon. Even after all of that, she still couldn’t pinpoint who had brought in the poison, and where it came from.

 

Later that evening, she made her way to the throne room as the King instructed, and waited for her name to be announced. When she walked through the doors, only the King, Ji Mong, and So were present. She could tell So was surprised to see her there, and she exchanged a small smile with him as she walked up to where he stood, offering a bow to the King.

 

“Hae Soo greets you, Paeha.”

“Yes, I have been expecting you.”

“Is there something wrong, Paeha? I was not aware my wife would be joining us,” So asked.

“Hae Soo, did you bring the evidence?”

“Yes, Paeha.”

“Ji Mong, please let them in.”

 

Ji Mong went to open the doors to the throne room, and Arang and Eun Bi entered with the tray of herbal pouches Soo had hidden away. They both gave low bows to the King. Once they stood up, Soo nodded her head and Arang passed the tray to Ji Mong, who placed it on the table close to the King.

 

“I checked the pouches and found a light gray powder in the third one. Although I am not aware what it is, I was informed that it might have been the cause of the relapse in your condition, Paeha.”

 

So walked up to the tray and opened up the pouch, pouring out the contents. When he did, his eyes widened.

 

“This powder…it is used to make silver mirrors.”

 

Soo racked her brains. Silver mirrors made in the past weren’t safe, if she remembered right. The reason why the mirrors were so dangerous was because of one ingredient: mercury. She remembered ancient make-up contained traces of mercury, and were dangerous with prolonged use. This explained why the King had rashes. Mercury caused them upon contact with the skin, and since the King’s skin was already sensitive, it explained the quick appearance following his bath.

 

“You mean the powder is…mercury?” she asked in disbelief.

 

So nodded grimly, and they both looked up to see the King’s expression. It was neutral, and they both waited to hear him speak.

 

“I suppose I am lucky that it was discovered early. I have heard many stories about mercury poisoning, and they are nothing short of nasty. Thank you, Hae Soo, for being vigilant. I know I gave you the day off yesterday, and it was not your fault.”

“It was really my ladies-in-waiting, Arang and Eun Bi who notified me of the incident, Paeha.”

 

He nodded and looked towards the two of them, offering them a smile of gratitude.

 

“Thank you, Arang and Eun Bi. I shall see to it that you two are rewarded for your efforts.”

“Your benevolence knows no bounds, Paeha,” both of them chorused, before they were dismissed from the throne room.

 

“Paeha, you must take measures to prevent this from happening again!” Ji Mong urged.

“We could not have foreseen this. I granted Soo and So a day off yesterday, and I know Soo trusted her ladies in waiting enough to do her job. However, we could not control the events that happened yesterday.”

“Soo ya, do you know who poisoned the King?”

 

She looked at So, before nodding slowly, a frown becoming more prominent on her face.

 

“Who is it?”

 

A part of Soo was dying when So asked her this question. She knew that there would be consequences when she revealed who had poisoned the King, and she didn’t want any harm to befall Chae Ryung. Chae Ryung helped her a great deal when she woke up in Goryeo, and became one of her closest friends before she entered the palace. But the fact was that she was the one who put mercury in the herbal pouches, and there was no denying the truth.

 

“It is…Chae Ryung. I saw her putting mercury in the herbal pouch with my own eyes.”

“There must be someone backing her up,” the King said quietly.

“Yes, there would be no gain for her to do it on her own. She is a mere court lady,” So surmised before turning to Soo again.

“Soo ya, did you hear of anything suspicious activity at Damiwon today?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“No, I had Eun Bi and Arang investigate, but we did not find anything yet. We will be keeping tighter wraps on what enters and exits Damiwon, in addition to the activities of all the court ladies. Hopefully we will find a lead soon. In the meantime, I will be the only one who prepares your baths, Paeha.”

“I am relieved to hear that, Hae Soo.”

“The question now is how we will approach this problem. Surely there is someone behind this poisoning, and a larger plot behind it,” So said.

“It seems that we must wait, and tread carefully. Even after my investigation at Damiwon today, I was unable to find anything. However, if we are patient, I believe evidence will reveal itself,” Soo explained.

 

So nodded and looked at King Hye Jong.

 

“In the meantime, I believe we should increase security around the palace, and take note of any suspicious activity or unauthorized people in the palace.”

“We will also increase our efforts to prevent any poisoning from food or teas, Paeha. It is better to be safe than sorry,” Ji Mong added.

“All right. Let us do that,” King Hye Jong agreed.

 

After finalizing their plans, King Hye Jong dismissed his trusted subjects and they each headed to their quarters to rest for the night.

 

As So led Soo to their living quarters, Soo’s mind was at work, trying to sort through the events of that day. At the same time, So was trying to come up with plans they could use to catch the culprit. Despite going through their usual nightly routine, neither of them could catch a wink of sleep that night.