Princess Hye Kyo’s dearest hobby was traditional dance. Since she was a princess, it was impossible for her to dance for the public. But within family, it was a favourable entertainment.

She just mastered a new dance, “The Sparrow’s Soaring in Spring”. It was a complicated yet graceful dance that she needed one month daily practice to learn. The Emperor, upon hearing this news of a new dance she learned, arranged for a small family gathering that weekend, when the imperial court was closed.

People who would attend would be The Emperor, The Queen Mother, The Queen, the two concubines, her brothers – the three princes, and The Right Minister with his wife and unmarried daughters.

With all the worry she had lately about her father’s safety, the prospect of having a merry gathering lifted her spirits. Despite only performing in front of the family, she practiced hard a week before the day, since she’s a perfectionist to the roots of her hair.

The family gathering where they watched her performing a dance always made her father happy and erased his stress for several days. And because it’s his favourite child, he would ask his sitting room to be decorated in bright colours, and hundreds of flowers would fill the place.

On the day, an hour before lunch time, Hye Kyo arrived in her father’s palace, clad in a beautiful gown of light yellow. When the musicians got ready, she smiled at her father, who toasted her with a cup of tea. She could feel Joong Ki staring, but she tried to avoid looking back at him too long.

She swept a glance once at everyone, The Queen Mother looked excited. The Right Minister and his family looked really glad to be there. Her brothers, The Crown Prince and two princes looked already bored before she started anything. Her mother The Queen looked like she’s trying to suppress her anger, not a smile spared. But Hye Kyo was used to it. She’s always like that.

However, what she didn’t expect, was seeing The Left Minister sitting beside her mother. She felt a stab of hatred and fury washed over her. Two people who were plotting to murder her father were there. The Left Minister was usually never invited for her dance performance, since it’s strictly for family’s view only.

To make it worse, The Left Minister’s first son, whom proposal she had refused for three times already, was sitting serenely beside his father, casually staring at her as if she was already his. Lord Park Bo Gum was of course as handsome as all the noble ladies said about him. However, he’s a notorious player of women, sleeping with daughters of noblemen, merchants, servants, or people’s wives. Shortly, he seduced everyone he fancied as pretty.

He still hadn’t married though, aiming to marry the best women existed, who could elevate his status even more, the only princess of the reigning emperor.

Hye Kyo’s refusals of him strangely made his interest deepened on her. He kept sending her letters and gifts, which she kept returning, without opening any of them.

She knew a lot about him, and it was enough for her to avoid him like the plague. Her mother knew that she hated him very much. And yes, she did consider to marry him, thinking to poison him and his father. But after her relationship with Joong Ki returned to what it used to be, she saw how foolish it was for her to think about it.

Lord Park Bo Gum smiled at her, raising his eyebrow in a taunting manner, making her blood boiled. She considered to just drop the plan of dancing completely.

Too bad, she was never someone who backed off from anything she had intended to do. She had practiced hard for that day, and she would be damned before she excused herself and hid in her room out of annoyance.

Composing herself together, she then signalled the musicians to start playing.

It was a merry dance to welcome spring, depicting a sparrow flying around the sky and perching on trees with light green leaves and on parks full of flower buds. The sparrow hopped here and there, happy to welcome the sun again, enjoying the breeze and the fragrant air.

A few moments to her dance, Hye Kyo felt light and like the sparrow, happy again. Halfway through the dance, she was smiling.

Her father clapped away to the music, and her grandmother nodded her head left and right. Everybody’s hands or bodies swayed to the light tune.

When she finished, most of the people in the sitting room clapped their hands vigorously, even her usually petty brothers.

The emperor was beaming at her, and Joong Ki had to bit his lip to not appear too whipped.

“Aigoooo! It was such a merry dance! I didn’t want it to end!” The Emperor exclaimed. “But I guess it would be too exhausting for you if you danced longer than that! Still, I enjoyed it very much! I feel I become ten years younger thanks to you!”

She laughed. “I’m glad you like it, Father. It’s worth it, then.”

“Ahra. Good job, my child”

Hye Kyo was going to sit beside her father, as per her usual dining position was on feasts, but her mother The Queen suddenly said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, “Sit here, my daughter.”

All heads seemed to follow the direction pointed by The Queen. A table had been set for her beside Lord Park Bo Gum.

Enraged, Hye Kyo could only stand in silence for several seconds. However, no matter how she’s annoyed by the gesture, she could not, for all proprieties, be seen to argue her mother The Queen in front of a dozen royalties.

Succumbing to her fate that afternoon, Hye Kyo walked silently to sit beside the young lord.

She was perspiring due to dancing. When she looked to the side for her Young Ae unnie, she wasn’t there. Upon inspection, her closest maid was detained by her mother’s maid.

Really, her mother had crossed the line that day. She couldn’t hold herself anymore and glared to the direction of The Queen, who haughtily looked everywhere except at her daughter.

“Yeokshi, you are indeed the prettiest when you are angry.”

She turned furiously at Bo Gum, who ignored her anger and offered her a silk handkerchief.

“I haven’t used this. You need this, Gongjoonim.”

Her face was indeed wet with sweat. With her maid afar, she had no choice but to accept the silk cloth, dabbing it on her face.

“Makgeolli?” the lord offered.

She looked at her table. Individual tables were all laid in front of them, and she saw no pot of tea or water on her table. She was meant to communicate with the lord beside her after all.

“Tea.”

Bo Gum poured her a cup and she gulped it down without a word.

“That was an incredible performance. I am enraptured.”

Her ancestors could all curse her from their tomb, but Hye Kyo could not be polite to this guy. She just loathed him very much.

“It wasn’t meant to impress you.”

“But I am impressed nevertheless.”

“I don’t care” she huffed, contemplating to really escape with the reason of fatigue.

“It’s alright. Many girls don’t care for a guy, but their marriage happen anyway.”

That was really too much for her, so she got up.

But Bo Gum caught her wrist.

Touching a royalty, moreover the only daughter of the emperor, without consent, was a huge crime.

Hye Kyo was disgusted.

“Unhand me this instant, or I swear I’ll stab your eye with this chopstick” she threatened, reaching for the silver chopstick.

Instead of letting her go, Bo Gum caressed her wrist, where her veins was pulsating angrily.

“Gongjoonim, The Queen Mother wants you.”

The Captain of The Palace Guards stood behind Bo Gum.

Tension leaving her body, she pulled her hand from the rude lord’s hold.

“Your lapdog can’t save you all the time, Gongjoonim. I’ll have you eventually.”

“Maybe my corpse. Certainly not when I’m alive” she blurted out, walking away to her grandmother, Joong Ki following behind her.

When she sat beside her grandmother, she was so upset her eyes were wet. Her grandmother knew everything, including who The Queen currently plotted for her to marry. She subtly reached for her hand and patted it gently.

Young Ae gave her a painted fan exactly when her tears were about to fall.

“Hold your tears, Child. People are looking.”

Hye Kyo had to turn around and covered her face with a fan, faking a cough and taking several deep breaths, before she could sit and eat her lunch properly.

************************************************

The Emperor was fond of strolling in the garden after his meals. It helped him organized his thoughts and made decisions. Therefore, everyone who gathered for the lunch that day, including The Queen Mother, The Queen, The Concubines, The Right minister with his family, The Left Minister with his son Park Bo Gum, and The Princes, strolled with The Emperor.

They formed a grand march, all of them.

As her father was walking with his mother, Princess Hye Kyo walked at the far back, wary with the crowd. She felt more exhausted than her usual dance practices, probably because of Lord Park. She scolded herself for thinking to marry him in order to protect her father. He would drive her mad with his personality.

With a sinking heart, she worried whether the plan to kill her father was brewing near to already, since her mother seemed to be more aggressive in pushing her to marry her nephew.

She could imagine her mother’s family wanting to influence all imperial decision. The concubine’s son had been chosen as The Crown Prince. He was indeed intelligent, but rotten at heart, and much addicted to opium. It would be easy to control him. And with Park Bo Gum marrying her, the chance for their daughter to be the queen in the future was big.

The Park family wanted to dominate the imperial family for generations to come.

Feeling depressed, Hye Kyo sighed heavily.

“Are you alright?”

She turned to see Joong Ki standing a little behind her.

“Not really.”

“He can’t hurt you. Seo Dae Young will make sure that your palace is closely guarded.”

“My fate is the not the kind that can be protected with swords. It’s the kind that only a mother can protect. Surely all mothers would want their daughters marry someone good. Too bad my mother is different from the average ones.”

“You will not marry him.”

“You sound so sure.”

“You have the emperor’s heart, Gongjoonim. Your father will not let you suffer.”

“I sound cruel, but it’s another reason why my father must live on. If he dies when I’m still young, the decision of who I shall marry will be solely my mother’s.”

“Your father will live a long life.”

“It’s my daily prayer.”

They walked together in silence for a while after that, the royal family walking in front of them.

“I have a bad feeling. Mother is getting bolder. I’m afraid for Father.”

“We’re doing everything that we can.”

“Is everything enough to stop evil?”

“Gongjoonim, when you lose all hope, you have nothing. Don’t feel hopeless. Cheer up. This could all turn out well.”

At that instant, Park Bo Gum was seen turning back to the rear and walking up to her.

She turned to another park’s direction.

“If you go somewhere quiet, I don’t know what he’ll do to you. Stay here with everyone.” Joong Ki said.

Park Bo Gum reached Hye Kyo’s side.

“It’s boring to walk with old people. I prefer to walk beside the prettiest lady around.”

“Is the preference of the said lady matters to you?”

“Of course, Gongjoonim, but only when it’s not against mine.”

Hye Kyo resigned to her fate, and walked beside the lord with a blank face.

Her palace was near.

She excused herself from everyone, saying she would like to rest.

Bo Gum asked for tea, but she declined, their conversation unheard by everyone except Joong Ki.

*************************************************

That evening, as the emperor read the latest reports from the ministers alone in his study, he asked for a simple dinner.

When the dinner arrived, he pushed away his desk full of parchments, and waited for the eunuch to test for poison with a silver spoon.

It usually took several minutes, so he read just one more parchment.

However, his eunuch suddenly gasped loudly and dropped the silver spoon.

“P – poison!!!”

Joong Ki moved forward to take the spoon.

It turned black due to poison.

“Investigate quietly. Let no one hears about this. Especially the princess” the emperor said solemnly.

Trembling, the eunuch took the dinner desk with bowls away.

“She must not know, Joong Ki-yah. Promise me” The Emperor pressed.

“I promise, Your Majesty”

“The traditional custom is to kill everyone who prepares my meal in the kitchen. But I want no death unless it’s absolutely certain. It will create a pandemonium if you kill the kitchen maids. Investigate with caution.”

Joong Ki bowed.

“I have to go to the imperial kitchen now, Your Majesty. I will leave you with my trusted friend.”

The Emperor nodded, taking the parchment back as if nothing happened.

Joong Ki hurried to the kitchen, worried because things had escalated so quick.

He needed to get to the bottom of this.

In her palace, Princess Hye Kyo felt a chill ran down her spine.

Strange, the spring had arrived, she thought.

Her own dinner had arrived then. It was her favourite mandu soup.

Young Ae unnie sampled her food as usual, also with silver spoon.

It was safe, the silver stayed silver.

Hye Kyo reached the bowl and took one mandu, munching it and drinking the soup.

Before she munched long, she choked and threw it up.

“Gongjoonim?” Young Ae called, shocked.

“Un—“

Without being able to finish a word, Hye Kyo fell to the floor.

Young Ae screamed her lungs out in horror, gathering her princess’s body in her arms.

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Author’s Note:

Do you still remember this story?

I’m back after nearly two years. I hope you haven’t forgotten this one, haha.

I suddenly miss Song Song couple, so here I am.

I hope the chapter is interesting.

I swear I’m crushing over Park Bo Gum lately, that’s why he’s here. I just finished Moonlight Drawn by Clouds and Reply 1988. And now I’m watching I Remember You.

His image is so nice, so you can imagine him as his character in I Remember You here.

All in all, thank you for reading this chapter and for not forgetting this story.

I will try to update this at least once a month.