Chapter 9. Betrayals.

Chaeyoung woke up in the middle of the night, in pain and sweating. She covered to avoid any sounds coming from it, because the last thing she wanted was to wake up Jungkook, but, the young lord had been awake all night.

"I did not want to annoy you, milord."

"I couldn’t sleep. Are you alright, princess?"

"My throat… is bleeding."

"We didn’t clean your wounds, damn it."

Carefully, Jungkook lighted fire, so he could see better. And, as he had expected, the princess neck was still bleeding. He cursed internally and tried to find some of the medicinal supplies the First Palace Lady told should be there. Once he found them, he started to clean her wounds, trying to touch as less as possible her exposed skin, he didn’t want to scare the princess.

"I am so sorry, milord."

"Don’t worry, princess. Better you noticed the pain tonight and not tomorrow, in the middle of nowhere again."

The only sound they could hear was the fire consuming the wood, but, it wasn’t uncomfortable for them. Somehow, it was peaceful, it felt alright.

"We are done, princess. I will pack some of this in case your wound reopens, but, it was a superficial scratch. It should be fine."

"How do you know how to heal wounds, milord?"

"My oldest brother, Seokjin, used to take care of my wounds when I was little and I learn fast, princess."

"Wounds?"

"Yes, I was a troublemaker back in the days, princess."

"Back in the days?!" she smiled so widely that Jungkook had to look away. "You are not that old, milord."

"That’s what my older brother says every time I remind him how much younger I am, princess."

"My half-sister Ha Yi also complains about that. Siblings… what would we do without them, right, milord?"

"I told you it was Jungkook, princess."

"And I told you it was Chaeyoung, milord."

Both laughed, because it was too hard to skip honorifics. After all, they were taught it was the right thing to do: to respect the titles and ranks.

"We need to fix this problem, don’t we, milord?" Chaeyoung suggested and once she realized she had used his title again, she covered her face with her blanket and squealed, frustrated. Jungkook smiled.

"We are tired, princess… ashhhh!" he also squealed. "Maybe we can fix this problem tomorrow, right?" and Chaeyoung nodded in agreement. "We should sleep."

"Sweet dreams, milord."

"Sweet dreams, princess."

And, after that small talk, Jungkook felt relaxed enough to finally fell asleep.

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Hee-yeon ran through the corridors of the palace, avoiding maids with laundry in their hands and eunuch carrying food and other supplies from room to room. As usual, she had fallen sleep and had to run to wake up the First Princess, because, if she didn’t do it on time, both of them would get scolded again. She was in such a hurry that she collided with someone through the corridors, she almost wanted to die when she noticed who was on the floor because of her clumsiness.

"Fourth Prince Yeon Jun, pardon me!"

She was so embarrassed that she bowed in the floor, shaking and unable to stop crying. She was going to be in so much trouble, because, of all the princes, Yeon Jun was known for his bad temper.

"There is nothing to forgive, Second Palace Lady, please, allow me."

With an unusual smile, Yeon Jun offered his hand to the young lady so she could stand up again. All the maids giggled at the sight, because, it was unusual to see the Fourth Prince being so nice and charming. Usually, he was just busy working on his State duties that he never cared about anything.

"He is also handsome, right?" one of the maids whispered.

Hee-yeon blushed, because, indeed, the Fourth Prince was a handsome man. “Why nobody has noticed it before?” she thought while she accepted his hand to stand up.

"You better hurry up, lady Ahn Hee-yeon." he said with a wide smile. "We do not want that the Queen scolds you again, don’t we?"

Hee-yeon nodded and after a big bow, she started to run again, trying to arrive to the princess’ chambers as fast as she could. But, when she got there, the bed was already made, and Chaeyoung was nowhere to be seen. On the mattress, a handwritten letter addressed to the Queen, Mi-young.

"That’s weird…"

Carefully, Hee-yeon took the letter and, although it was for the Queen, she knew her mistress wouldn’t mind to read it before her: she was authorized to read the princess’ mail, after all. At first, the letter had a funny and lovely introduction, which made Hee-yeon smile, but, the more she read… the more her smile froze.

"STUPID GIRL!!!!!"

Hee-yeon run towards the door and yelled at the guards.

"Tell the Queen I need to see her, right now! It is urgent! Eunuch, warn the Crown Prince and prince Daesung! NOOOOW!"

Everyone was shocked, because, although the Second Palace Lady was a loud woman, she had never been so bossy and had never looked so scared in her life. Hee-yeon closed the door again, looking through the princess’ belongings. Her dresses were all there, but her arch and her favorite necklace, a gift from her brother Tae Hyung, were missing. Also, a few of the less expensive jewels and all her medicinal herbs were missing.

"Oh my god, Chaeyoung! What have you done?"

Hee-yeon knew, that, again, she would be scolded.

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"Go ahead, son, tell me what you think." the Emperor ordered. "I will not get mad if you are disrespectful, please, go ahead."

"Father…" Yixing doubted.

"I insist."

The Imperial Crown Prince paused to breathe and think wisely for his words. Although his father had given him permission to speak freely, he feared the Emperor. And both were the same person.

"Father, your generals had warned you, your ministers and councilors too: we do not have enough money to invade Joseon. Why do you never listen? WHY?!"

The Emperor descended from his throne and stood in front of his eldest son. Yixing was taller than him now, but, the prince felt so small next to his father. He was that scary sometimes.

"Because, you need to remember that: you will be the next Emperor of China, so, pay attention. We are the Imperial Family, no-one gives us orders. No one."

"But… father… where are we going to get the money to invade a country?" 

"I do not pretend to invade Joseon, son, I am not that stupid. I know the lords of the Northwest are plotting and hiding the remaining Ming under their protection."

"Then… why did you said to the generals to get ready for an invasion? I do not understand…"

"Because, we are going to put pressure on the King of Joseon."

"He is sick, father…"

"And? It is our best chance! Now he is weak."

"What do you pretend to do?"

"I am sending a message through our ambassador to King Choi Seung-hyun with a warning. Or he names Tae Hyung the Crown Prince, or we will invade his territory."

"What if he refuses? He knows we have no money and rebellions."

"The Thai ambassador and the Kingdom of Ayutthaya are willing to help in our cause and invade them."

"Really?! The Kingdom of Ayutthaya? What does the ambassador want?"

"The Korean Islands and his eldest daughter with them in Joseon."

"Father… do we really want that? Joseon has been a neutral ally in our process to get the Imperial throne…" 

"Why do you defend them so much?!"

The Emperor raise his hand to hit his son’s neck, but, when the Crown Prince didn’t move, threatening him with his intense eyesight, so similar to the one the Empress used to give him when he lost his temper, he couldn’t.

"Ashhh… I think I know your problem, my son. You want to propose me an alternative, don’t you?"

"We need money, so, why don’t we make them chose: or give us a new Silver truce, with bigger payments, or force them to make Tae Hyung the Crown Prince? That way we have more time to think and defeat the rebels."

"It could work, but, you need to convince me. I need more arguments, my son."

Qing Geng hugged Qing Yixing tightly, too much to be only a comforting hug: it was a warning sign that the Crown Prince understood really well. The Emperor was threatening him and making sure tha