Soo plastered on a smile as the guards announced her arrival and walked through the doors with Seol in her arms as she met the faces of the surprised me in the throne room. Walking up near the throne, she gave a bow and smiled to the King.

“Greetings from Hae Soo, wife of the 4th Prince, and Princess Seol, daughter of the 4th Prince. I apologize for not being able to give a proper bow to you, your highness.”

The King chuckled and Soo stood up straight again, smiling at his reaction.

“You know you do not have to be so formal with me, Hae Soo.”

“You have told me many times, but I must give respect where it is due. Besides, I know you have not seen Seol in a while, so I thought I would bring her to visit you. I apologize if I was interrupting anything of importance.”

“We were just finishing up, so you came at a perfect time. Now, please allow me to hold my niece for a bit.”

Soo walked up to the throne and carefully handed Seol off to the King, before stepping back to stand with her husband, who smiled at her warmly and reached out to grasp her hand affectionately.

“It is a good thing that Hae Soo came to visit us. I think his majesty and the 4th Prince were about to go mad with the events in court today,” Ji Mong said half-jokingly.

“Is it quite bad? Perhaps there is something I can to relieve your burdens?”

“Your presence here with Seol has already done wonders, Hae Soo. Please do not worry about us,” King Hye Jong reassured.

Soo smiled and nodded, playing along though she knew that they were worried about something; however, they weren’t telling her because they didn’t want to worry her.

After a little while, King Hye Jong declared that he felt ready to retire to his chambers for the night, and Soo and So bid him a good night as he left the throne room, followed by Ji Mong. Soo didn’t miss the look that the So and Ji Mong shared before King Hye Jong left the room, and her curiosity grew.

When the couple had returned to their chambers and Seol was tucked in bed, Soo and So sat down to dinner. There was a silence in the air, with only the clinking of plates against the table as dinner was served, until a clatter rang out through the air. Soo and So, who were both staring at each other intently were surprised and turned around to see one of the Court ladies had accidentally dropped the tray she had been carrying.

“My deepest apologies your highness!”

She gave a bow before kneeling quickly clean up the spilled contents, which thankfully was not much. Soo saw how her hands were shaking and got up from her chair to kneel down next to the Court lady, reaching out to hold her hand.

“Please do not be nervous. We all make mistakes, and you will not be punished for this.”

The Court lady was surprised at Soo’s kindness, and bowed her head before finishing up her clean up and walked out with the rest of the ladies. It was only after that she left that Soo noticed she was a new hire, but did not think much of it before going back to take her seat.

“Your compassion is something to be admired, Soo ya.”

“Others might say that I am too soft-hearted, certainly not a beneficial attribute of royalty.”

So wrinkled his brows at her words.

“Since when have you cared how others thought of you?”

Soo tried to play nonchalant but failed miserably. She knew that So would see right through her guise even before she tried. She looked down towards her lap and played with the loose thread that come apart on her robes. She heard the chair scrape against the floor as So moved closer to her, and looked up as he came near. He reached out to grasp her hands in his before looking up at her.

“Please tell me what is bothering you, Soo ya.”

“I didn’t mean to overhear your counsel...but I was outside waiting with Seol and I know now that the ministers have continued to reject me.”

“That may be true, but we will find a way around this.”

“By re-investigating a poisoning that occurred years ago?”

Soo gave So a skeptical look, and So let out a sigh while averting his gaze. She knew then that they knew re-investigating would lead them nowhere, and that it was a last resort. He was keeping something from her.

“There is something you are not telling me.”

So bowed his head before looking up at her, eyes in anguish. It was then that she knew something was really wrong.

“So ya, what is it? You are scaring me.”

“The ministers agreed to support me as king…but only if I agree to their proposal.”

“What is this proposal?”

“That I divorce you and marry Yeon Hwa instead.”

Soo was shocked to hear such a demand was made of So from the court. She could now understand why it was so hard for him to tell her; he was afraid her feelings would be hurt. And he was right, she did feel hurt, but from the fact that he was hiding it from her, and not from the actual news of the proposal.

“When were you going to tell me if I did not ask you tonight?”

“I did not want to worry you! We were trying to discuss a solution before you visited tonight.”

“So you were going to keep it from me until you found a solution by yourself? I thought we were past this, So ya! We agreed no more secrets, and this affects me as much as it does you. Why would you try to hide this from me?”

“Soo ya, please, listen to me..”

She stood up from her chair and wrenched her hands from his before running out of the chambers. Soo really didn’t know where she was going at this time, but her feet carried her to Lake Dongji as they always did when she was upset. She looked behind to see no one where, and knew that So had chosen not to chase her in an attempt to give her space. Turning back towards the lake, she eyed the prayer towers and bent down to add another stone to each one, before standing back to pray.

Soo didn’t know how long she had stayed there, simply standing and clasping her hands in prayer, earnestly praying that the ministers’ proposal would not come true. She prayed for happiness and protection of her family, knowing that things would not continue to be peaceful for long. Last of all, she prayed for strength to face the obstacles that would come.

She knew realistically that So would not accept the proposal, especially not without putting up a fight. But she couldn’t help the evil thoughts that swirled in the back of her mind. What power or support could she offer compared to that of Yeon Hwa and the Hwangbo clan? Granted, the Hae clan had regained its former glory, but it was nowhere near that of the Hwangbo clan. The devil inside told her that it would be better for So if he divorced her, but she pushed those thoughts away as quickly as they came. She could not give in now. They had come so far with their love, and a matter like this would not stop or deter her.

When she finally opened her eyes and let her hands drop, Soo turned around to walk back to her chambers, emotions now in control. Looking up, she saw So waiting in the distance with an apprehensive expression on his face. She took a deep breath before walking towards him, her own eyes trained on his.

When Soo finally arrived in front of So, he reached out to pull her into a fierce hug, to which she returned with equal strength.

“Soo ya, I’m sorry. I never meant to upset you, nor did I want to hide anything from you. I know you would understand; I should have trusted you.”

“I know...I overreacted. The idea of you marrying Yeon Hwa does not exactly leave a pleasant taste in my mouth. I should have trusted you too.. I apologize, So ya.”

The both of them pulled away to look at each other before breaking out into giggles and chuckles. So pulled Soo back into his arms , tucking her head under his chin.

“I suppose we have been wired up lately with recent events.”

“Wired up? I am guessing you mean oversensitive?”

“You are catching on quite quickly now, your highness.”

“I have known you for now long now? It would be a disgrace if I could not understand at least partially your language from the future.”

Soo and so lapsed into a comortable silence before Soo decided to address the issue again, now with a clear head.

“What are we going to do, So ya?”

“I do not know, Soo ya, but we will think of something. We have to.”

Through the next several days, they tried to rack their brains on how to solve the conundrum. However, it was becoming increasingly hard to hold off the ministers. They were growing impatient with So, and began to hint that if he did not make a decision soon, they would retract their proposal. However, with the lack of evidence, and no idea of what plans the Hwangbo clan had in store for them, it was difficult to plan any form of counterattack.

To make matters worse, Soo realized one morning that she could not find her blue silk and peony bound journal. She nearly tore apart their chambers and Damiwon looking for it, but could not find it. She racked her brain to remember the last time she had the journal in her sight.

Soo then remembered the last time she had it out was the night she had returned with So and Seol after visiting King Hye Jong, and they got into an argument about the proposal contingent to his ascent to the throne. If she had it correct, she left it on that table and didn’t look for it again until today.

It was then with horror that she realized someone must have stolen it that night. No one else was allowed in the room without So and Soo’s permission, and it was then that she remembered the Court lady dropping her tray. Soo had noticed she was new because she paid attention, but what if there was someone else new that night? Someone who was in cahoots with an outside party sent in to gather intelligence?

Soo knew she was best not jumping to conclusions, but she could find no other explanation for the disappearance of her journal. She did not want to think about the trouble that journal would cause if it fell into the wrong hands. Not only would her loyalty be questioned, So and Seol would be put in jeopardy.

Somewhere else in the palace, a Court lady entered the chambers of her mistress and bowed before handing over a blue silk and peony bound journal.

“And you are sure that she did not see you take this?”

“I am sure of it, your highness. We created a distraction before taking it. It has been several days since then and she has not realized of its absence.”

“It will not be long now. You are dismissed. Take care to not be seen exiting from these chambers.”

“Yes, your highness.”

The Court lady bowed before exiting swiftly but quietly, oblivious to the fate that awaited her.