Chapter 5 

Long had it been since she arrived back home as a sixteen year old from Qing that had arrived at port, she was now a young woman of nineteen, and her brother was currently at the ripe age of twenty-one. Three years have passed, but not many things have changed since then. She is surprised that father had not chosen a bride for him yet, but it is probably because of his quiet and bookish nature that he would rather have his face stuck between the pages of a book rather than in a girl’s skirt.

She believed that whoever woman would have her brother as a bride would be more than lucky, as woman desired to have him in their bed while men envied him, yet he has chosen no one yet. Yoochun was now assisting his father in the palace courts, helping run errands and sending letters to their numerous connections whenever needed.

On the other hand, her older sister Minyoung had already been expecting her second child with her husband, and her eldest son named Yongeun was looking more like his father day by day. Letters that she had sent her from their home says that even though physically he is more like his father, Yongeun was more like his mother in personality.

Life had been going on so well for both of her siblings; while here she was weeping and sobbing over a man she barely knew and was now going to marry a woman closer to his age, and much more beautiful as well.

Yoona stood in the freezing, hallow garden that had been covered in frost and icicles of snow that crunched every step she made under her numb feet. She still shivered from the disappointment and worry that filled her veins, and her unwillingness to see the only man she desired to some other noble who was beloved throughout the kingdom.

Lady Jung Sooyeon was her name, and sometimes Yoona was sick of hearing that woman’s name all over her face, especially when she was the one present, not the Jung minstrel. Many often called Yoona one of the most proud and confident women in the kingdom, but deep inside- she was insecure and afraid.

To even imagine Lady Sooyeon smiling at Lord Changmin scrunched up the insides of her stomach, and felt even more sick to think of the two in bed with one another to consummate the marriage. She vowed to never let it happen, even if she would have to tear several alliances for it.

Even from her childhood, both her father and mother seemed to lack the attention they gave to their eldest twin children Yoochun and Minyoung compared to the love and affection they gave her. It was as if they ran out of fondness and tenderness by the time she was born, and that all of it had been given to her older siblings.

Even in Qing, Yoona became so desperate and wanting for attention that she would keep up with the latest fashions and jump from clique to other among the court women just to stay popular with the noble men that she could have possibly married.

Right before she had taken a ship back to Joseon, the Crown Prince had addressed his love to her and had sent a jade pendant as a token of his fondness to her, and she had been so eager to become a future Qing Empress. Her expectations were failed as she received a letter the day before from her father’s spy in Qing that he had been recently married to the noble Lady Song Qian.

She covered her face with her hands, palms across her rubbed, scarlet cheeks and tears quickly trickled down below her chin. Yoona fell down on to the cold, marble ground, and sobbed ridiculously for what seemed like a lifetime.

Heavy, quick footsteps made their way towards her direction, and adrenaline rushed through her veins as she quickly looked up with her drooping, exhausted eyelids, expecting that she would have been arrested and put to death by this point. To her surprise however, Lord Changmin , the same Changmin she lost sleep thinking about, was hovering down and offering a hand for her to get up.

            “Are you alright, My Lady? Did someone attack you? Would you like me to call the guards?” His melodious voice rang in her ears, and it sounded as if the music from the minstrels at the Qing palace were playing their harmonious tunes again.

Yoona quickly recovered his elegant and calm circumstance, getting up on her own support and straightening out her skirt as she brushed away the dirt accumulated from sitting on the not even cleaned ground.

            “I am alright, My Lord. I apologize for my sudden outburst of emotions; it just seems as if my grip of reality is suddenly so vague.” She responds, picking up the conversation with the flair of confidence, even if she sniffled slightly as she held back her tears.

He laughs, and the corners of his eyes crinkle slightly that matched his wide grin. Changmin scooped over beside her and offered his arm for her to hold on, in which she gladly accepted.

Yoona could have sworn to the heavens on how muscular and trimmed his arms were, even though they did seem pretty firm on the outside, she nearly squealed in delight from the feeling of holding on to someone as muscular as him.

Even her brother Yoochun would be embarrassed to be compared to Lord Changmin- he was tall, taller than Yoochun who was considered massive in Qing, grew up with the most studious and intelligent tutors in the land, and was handsome- too handsome according to Yoona.

            “I guess it is time for us to get back into the banquet hall in time for our meals, My Lady.” Changmin chirped, tipping his hat over towards Lord Junsu and Lady Taeyeon as they passed by them.

She nodded nonchalantly, still hoping that her father would not scold her for her behaviours and that her brother will not throw a cold glare at her for nearly shaming the Park name and digging their own grave. She did believe it was her fault for being so attached to a man who barely had any signs of affection towards her, yet she was totally smitten, and she couldn’t resist.

They went past the guards who watched over the towering, iron gate that was nearly seven centuries old, as they bowed politely at them and immediately slammed the gate open. Past that area, several of some of the nobles attending were present, wandering around and trailing from one circle to another, hungry to find out the latest gossip for the year.

In the centre of the hall, standing there was Lady Sooyeon- Lord Changmin’s betrothed and his future wife, who Yoona despised already. She couldn’t deny that lady’s ethereal and illuminating beauty, smiling brightly in her purple and white hanbok, and the jewels in her hair tinkled like fairy dust.

It disgusted her to see Lord Changmin lightly let go of her hand and stand beside Lady Sooyeon, as the two glanced at one another affectionately.

            “This is Lady Yoona, and this is Lady Sooyeon. If I’m sure, haven’t the two of you met before?” He introduced his newly found confidante with his future wife, enthusiastic that the two would be great friends.

Lady Sooyeon smiled sweetly yet meekly at Lady Yoona, who instead gave a short forced grin and looked away, pretending to be uninterested.

            “I’m sure we will get along well in the future, Lady Park. I have heard so many great things of you, even from Qing.” She reached forward, bowing lightly and laughed shortly.

Yoona desperately wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, rushing to find out a legitimate excuse in which she could avoid the company of Lady Jung.

            “We will be the greatest of friends in the future, Lady Jung. If you may excuse me, I would have something important to discuss with my parents and my siblings.” Yoona exclaims, curtsying hurriedly before rushing off towards her brother and her sister.

Lady Sooyeon and Lord Changmin eyed one another suspiciously, confused on why Lady Yoona was such in a hurry to leave.

            “Don’t tell me that you have previously told her something that could offend her, Lord Shim. It would be a shame if you did.” She jokingly questions her future husband, battling her eyelashes at him.

Lord Changmin seemed even offended from his future wife’s interrogation, and laughed nervously in response. “None of that has happened, My Lady. I have only previously comforted her after she ran out of halls and was bursting out in tears in the garden.”

            “Well how heroic of you, Lord Shim.” Lady Sooyeon praises him, clapping her hands quietly in excitement.

He grins at her proudly, reaching forward to gently kiss the top of her forehead, much to her surprise.

            “You will always be precious to me, Lady Jung. From the day we met and were betrothed to the day of our natural deaths, my love for you will never die. Our marriage is only a month away, so we no longer need to wait for so long.” Changmin whispered under his breath, clinging to her in close proximity and only for the two of them to hear even if all the other nobles have returned to the main hall.

            “And I same, Lord Shim – Our love will only be strengthened by marriage. I do hope I get to sleep peacefully tonight, and not stay awake thinking of you.” She giggles sweetly, like a girl too in love, but the serenity and femininity she carried was still with her in every way. Lady Sooyeon would always be the true and perfect definition of what a woman in Joseon should be, even in Yoona’s eyes.

The two jumps away from one another as Lord Heechul, already heavily intoxicated with all the alcohol he as consumed, loudly invites Lord Shim to drink with him with the rest of the nobles that have already passed out.

“Hey- Lord Shim – Won’t you join us for some soju tonight – My treat!” His words slurred so much that it was nearly incomprehensible to even be understood from the distance he had from Lord Shim to himself.

Lord Changmin looked back and faltered as he felt horrible of leaving his future wife alone. He glanced at her, and she gave an approving nod, citing that it would be alright for him to actually enjoy his time. “Go ahead, Lord Shim. No need to worry about me.” She insisted.

He reached out and tenderly reached out for her hand, before brushing his lips across her hands with a kiss. “Goodbye, my love.” He murmured, before walking over to join other fellow nobles in the main hall.

Yoona was carefully peeking from the left corner by the door, cautiously watched over the entire situation, yet backed away and walked over once she sensed the presence of Lord Jung Yunho. He was Lady Jung’s older brother, and was a year apart from her as he was sixteen while she was fifteen.

Any wise men would be smart enough to not wake the beast that hid behind the calm façade that Lord Jung showed on the surface, and the Jung temper was not a force to be reckoned with. Years ago, their own grandfather Lord Jung murdered his wife, a woman from the Park clan as well, out of his own spite and jealousy of seeing her with their own cousin, who many had known she had taken a liking too before they got married. That certain temper had been passed down from generation to generation, though seeming calm on the surface, it would explode the moment that the Jung clan would never get their way, and that their cunning would be regarded as foolishness.

The Jung clan and the Park clan have never been in good terms, especially since that infamous incident that no member from each clan choose to speak of, but never has there been such an animosity of indifference to the point of declaration of war like from the two families. The two never found themselves on the same sides of alliances, wars, and conflicts, but never looked the other way when it came to political and personal ambitions.

Coincidentally, the two were among the first of the Hollow Seven that raised their banners and risked their statuses and lives during the war that occurred a hundred years ago. The two clans had not even spoken to one another during this time of crisis, as the Jung clan had only raised their banners two days after the Park clan, but a border that had once stood between the two clans was not unbroken and communication back then between the two was nearly impossible.

            “You are letting him drink again, dear sister?” Lord Yunho investigated, curiously stood next to his sister after he had just passed by Lord Changmin who already stank heavily of alcohol. 

            “This may be his last time to be able to drink with those buddies of his as a bachelor, and Lord Kim Heechul did invite him. I wouldn’t want to be a wife that would cling on her own husband too obsessively, even before the marriage occurred.” Lady Sooyeon replied, responding as if what she had done was the most logical and normal thing to do.

The siblings walked over towards the main hall, entering through the opposite door where Yoona was secretly eavesdropping their conversation from. She turned around, and entered a hall full of red silk streamers, all hanging from across the ceiling from one side to another.

Candles that were lit were lined up in a row parallel from the edge of the door to the Golden Throne, in which the King was currently absent from his presence on the most esteemed seat in the room. He was busy laughing and speaking with his most trusted men, the most prestigious élite circle in the nation.

Next to him was Lady Kwon Yuri, already snuggled up and intimate sitting next to the King, and was publicly known as his de-facto “mistress”, even if it was not her official title. It was so painfully obvious that the only reason that the Kwon clan had been out all of their female members to achieve their ambitions, and that their intentions are clearly understood.

While the Kwon clan were transparent in their actions, the Jung clan were completely hidden and distant on their motives- which were the greatest difference between the families. The Kwon clan was all about publicity, making a clear statement, and proving what they wanted; the Jung clan was all about careful precision, care, manipulation, and intelligent analyzing. It was that trait that made them so hard to read, so hard to understand, and so hard to intercept.

            “Now where is our dear sister Soojung?” Sooyeon whispered, strolling towards their assigned tables by the centre of the hall and sat down to start on their delicious meals. From the freshest fish to the most festive fruits and vegetables, they were all represented on the current course served for only the greatest men and women in the kingdom.

            “She is too busy playing cards with the Queen Dowager and her maids, unfortunately. Soojung spends too much time with women not even close to her age, and does not even spend time with any other man outside our own family.” Yunho scorned, devouring his silver chalice of wine and dunking it all down his throat.

            “Better she is wise and much more intelligent for her age rather than mentally capable as a two year old and doing nothing but sleeping around with men she is not suitable with. I am not surprised the Lee clan and the Choi clan have been fighting over her to marry their youngest sons.” She chirped, quietly gobbling on her freshly cut meat that had been served to her.

Having just arrived, their grandmother Lady Inyoung greeted her grandchildren enthusiastically and quickly began to speak with them in great confidentiality. Lady Inyoung was a petite and fragile looking old woman, her pale skin wrinkled, her back slightly arched and supported by as she held on her extravagantly designed wooden cane, but was dressed in the most elegant and opulent styles of clothing that were particularly popular in her time.

From first glance, many would assume her as a meek and silent old woman who lost her teeth and the ability to speak, but one would just fear the words she would speak from that little mouth.

            “My grandchildren, Oh my- I have not seen the both of you in years, and neither your little sister. Yunho, you have grown so much and have grown so much muscles since then. And you, my dear- Sooyeon, you have always been beautiful, and you are probably the most dignified and handsome young woman who had ever stepped foot on this earth.” Lady Inyoung cooed over her grandchildren, and always appreciated every visit she made to them. Many have joked that she didn’t even visit for her own son anymore, but for her grandchildren.

            “Are you sure that woman is not you, Grandmother?” Lady Sooyeon grandmother, although she was still appreciative of the constant compliments that she had been continued to be showered in throughout the night.

Lady Yoona continued to patiently and carefully listen and think through all the words that had been exchanged between the family, hoping she would hear something that may be used against them. Just as the interesting scopes were above to be spoken, Lord Yunho was about to turn around to spy any prying eyes and ears, and Yoona walked away immediately.

Sweat trickled down her forehead as explosions and angry fights from the outside walls past the iron gates were starting to get louder and louder. The iron gates had managed to have been continuingly pushed forward with massive strength from the outside, even if the guards have attempted their best from suppressing this kind of attack.

They were coming in, she knew, the rebels. She had remembered when the rebels had started to assemble their weapons and gather troops three years ago, just around the same time in which she arrived from Qing.

She ran at a fast and quick speed, not even caring if it were totally inappropriate and improper for an event like this, but instead bumped into a set of heavy and broad shoulders that were enough to send her down to the ground. The pain that hit her throbbed and pricked by her upper torso, as she continued to circulate and rub his fingers over her chest and shoulder area to make the pain at least decrease from the previous incident.

            “You should be more careful next time, Yoona!” Her older brother, Yoochun scolded her angrily yet anxiety and worry was all that laced his voice.

He reached forward to help her up and drag her away from possible public humiliations and rumours, but before he was able to even speak a word and drag her away- the echoes of a shot gun and the horrified gasps of men and women were heard clearly.

Panic and fear concerned them all and filled the voids of the emotions, as everyone’s attention was focused towards the throne room and three of the King’s own councillors already lay dead on the ground, with blood flowing from their mouths and their insides falling out from their own bodies.

Yoochun struggled but managed to keep Yoona away from the attacks, as they ran towards where their carriage was and were about to make plans on how to escape from the ongoing massacre. He grabbed her arm as they tried to manage and get between all the running and panicking nobles who clearly knew their lives were at risk.

The King, over time, was beheaded and his body was chopped into pieces just like he was just food, and a rebel who had managed to enter the palace halls, had been playing around with the King’s head as if it was a toy to have been played with. Blood had splattered all over his throne, and most of his own direct family members like his wife and his children were all nowhere to be seen.

Yoona turned around and much to her fear, several of the King’s children and his wife The Queen and his concubine have all been shot down dead on the cold ground, and much of their expensive possessions like their jewelry and accessories robbed from them. The blood shed on that day had started to flood around the palace walls, especially as more of the King’s most trusted circle have continued to have been killed off and murdered off in the most brutal ways – a gunshot right through their own skulls, a sword pierced through their intestines, their heads cut off, suffocated from oxygen, and even being rampaged and beaten up until their skeletons were all broken.

From the sounds of screaming and shouting from outside, Yoochun could just rightfully assumed that some of them were even being buried alive by these rebels, and that some unlucky nobles would have just been set ablaze if they could not be killed in any other way.

Bodies have been hung from ceilings and poles as ropes and their already dead victims have been hung from a tall height and their throats squeezed with a tight grip of the rope. It horrified both of them to see the King’s younger brother, and even their own father crucified on to the walls of the main hall, and their blood bursting out and their bodies angled at a sharp and painful angle.

Yoochun didn’t even care of how to get out of this place by this point, as all he thought of at that moment was how to get out of there. He didn’t even bother thinking that their father was dead and most likely probably their mother too, but deep inside he did hope that possibly his mother could have been saved by some of the guards.

Tears trickled down Yoona’s cheeks again at the traumatizing events that have been sequenced nearly simultaneously, especially after a grand massacre had occurred in the palace walls, and to see all those killed so unmercifully all at once. It disgusted her to feel the sticky feeling of blood reaching up to her ankles and staining the hems of her skirt, as she pulled up her skirt immediately as she knew she had to get out of there before she would get killed.

They got through a secret passage way that only Yoochun probably knew out of all the nobles present at the feast, excluding the royal family but they were able to make it out and take two horses to ride on. The horse neighed as swarms of rebels blocked its way back home, with their torches of lit fire and their spears and knives in their hands.

            “We have to make it out of here, Yoochun! Come on – Let’s go!” Never did she regret that she had trained in horse riding so well, even as a child, and that her skills would finally be useful in live. Her fear had turned into frustration, especially since she was already desperate to evacuate the place.

He took a sword that had been attached to the horse’s seat and pulled it open from its case to slice through the rebels that had surrounded him and his sister to not be able to leave the castle grounds. One by one, they fell on to the grounds and they were able to make through the piles of rotting bodies and the burning castle that would become ashes in a few hours.

Not only they but also several of the noble families were able to escape, but unfortunately probably not as an entirety of their own clan. Yoona scanned through all of the noble families that had been rushing out of there in their horses and their carriages towards their own home provinces, and hoped to see if her sister and her mother were safe.

To her relief, her mother and her sister have all been safely tucked in their carriage and had been quickly sent off back to the Lee clan’s manor. She still hoped that possibly that Jung woman was already dead in this entail, but she was alive, sadly.

She looked back, and the palace that had once been a paradise for the hundreds of kings that had lived in the palace had turned into a refuge of doom and a reminder that the rebellion was to start. Never would she see this again, she vowed to herself. She will endure and tolerate this, to come out alive, and to become Queen.  

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P.S: That was a tiring chapter to write! Don't forget to comment and subscribe! Thank you so much for supporting me and my writing, even by just reading. Love you guys! ^^ XOXO