“GUARDS!!! GUARDS!!!” Young Ae bellowed, holding Princess Hye Kyo in her arms and crying. “Go fetch The Royal Physician and inform the emperor. His daughter is poisoned! Jigeum dangjjang!!!”

Seo Dae Young was the one who entered.

His body turned cold, seeing the princess lying motionless in her maid’s arms. He dispatched a guard to run for the physician, and he himself ran to The Emperor’s palace.

“Captain Song! I need to see him now!” he said, breathless after galloping with his horse.

“Captain Song is visiting The Imperial Kitchen.”

“What? Why would he – go to the kitchen?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Then – let me – talk to – the emperor”

The guard guarding the front doors didn’t stop him, seeing that it must be urgent, and let him passed.

Once inside, he ran to The Emperor and fell on the floor beside him.

“Your Majesty!!!”

“Heavens, what are you doing running here like that?” The Eunuch asked, very annoyed at his rudeness.

“Your Majesty!!! The Princess—“

The Emperor was in the middle of having his meal – cooked by his eunuch himself – but stopped his spoon midway when he heard the guard mentioning his daughter.

“Kyo Gongjoo? What’s with her?”

“She’s been – poisoned!”

The Emperor’s spoon clattered to the floor. Without much further ado, he hurried outside, his servants and guards running after him.

When he saw Seo Dae Young’s horse, he mounted it without saying anything. His eunuch begged him to be careful, The Emperor only screamed, “Follow me!!!”

The guards and eunuchs all ran to follow him.

The Emperor hadn’t ridden a horse in ages. The last time he did that was when his daughter went ill with fever when she was 5 years old.

It didn’t cross his mind that he was the leader of his nation and the speed he was forcing the horse to take might as well break his neck. His only daughter, the only child that ever mattered to him, was in danger. Nothing else mattered.

When he barged into his daughter’s bedroom, he saw her maid holding her. And she looked so pale, as if she already died.

“Uri dal!” he screamed in anguish. My daughter.

He took her from Young Ae’s arm and patted her cheek, calling her name, trying to wake her up.

And then he saw the bowl of dumpling soup falling on the floor and the piece of half-eaten one.

“Did you poison my daughter?” he asked to Young Ae, his eyes were crazy with hatred.

“No, Your Majesty, I didn’t!”

He put Hye Kyo on the mattress and got up to slap Young Ae on the cheek as hard as he could. “LIAR!!! MY DAUGHTER TRUSTED YOU!!! YOU POISONED HER!!!”

Furious, The Emperor hit and kicked Young Ae with all his might.

“Your Majesty – I didn’t! I rather die than hurt her! I rather die!”

“THEN DIE!!!” he kicked her on the stomach. “You’re the one who tasted her food for all these years! How can you be fine when she’s poisoned like this, huh? How? Are you sent by The Left Minister???”

“Your Majesty, I’m the granddaughter of The Queen Mother’s maid! Jebalyo! Let me take care of Gongjoonim! If she dies, I’ll follow!”

“WHO CARES IF YOU LIVE OR DIE? YOU FAIL MY DAUGHTER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIVE ON!”

Seo Dae Young arrived then, to see The Emperor beating Hye Kyo’s maid into a pulp.

With the other guards, he pulled The Emperor off from Young Ae.

“Your Majesty, we need an investigation. I beg you. Let’s just focus on saving Gongjoonim right now.”

In an instant, The Emperor forgot that he was beating Young Ae.

“Where’s The Royal Physician? WHY NO ONE IS CALLING THE ROYAL PHYSICIAN?”

At that instant, The Royal Physician arrived, nearly unable to breathe with all the running and the horse riding.

“Check up on her.” The Emperor ordered.

“Right away Your Majesty.”

The physician knelt beside the mattress and checked Hye Kyo’s pulse. He then opened her eyes and mouth. Afterwards, he examined the bowl, chopsticks, and cups she used.

He took out a bottle from his bag, and poured the content on the cups and bowls. If there were any strong chemical substance put, the object would turn black.

“Ah. Here it is”

The bronze bowl where the dumpling soup Hye Kyo ate was put, turned black.

“Where’s her food taster?” The Physician asked.

Young Ae came forward, shaking and bruised. Her nose and mouth bleeding.

“Did you taste this soup before The Princess eat?”

“Ne, Sir.”

The physician thought for a while, before finally nodding.

“You’re alright because you tasted the food. But the poison was put on the outer bowl. The Princess was the only one who held it, I guess. Maids usually only tried the food with chopsticks.”

The Emperor looked guiltily at Young Ae, but said not a word.

“What is it, then?”

“It’s arsenic.”

The Emperor’s complexion turned ashen. He then sat on the floor near her daughter.

“Save her.”

“I will do my best, Your Majesty.”

“If she dies, you’ll die too” The Emperor threatened with an empty voice.

The physician began to prepare acupuncture to detox the princess, and gave a recipe of a complicated herbal medicine to Young Ae.

“I’ve known the princess for years. And you as well. She only trusts you. Are you loyal to her?” The Physician asked.

Young Ae sobbed. “She’s my whole world, Sir. Please save her! Please! I can be sentenced to death afterwards, but let me help until she recovers!”

The Physician believed her.

“Go to The Royal Pharmacy and ask for these. Be sure that The Pharmacist is trustworthy.”

Young Ae put her forehead on the floor before snatching the written prescription and ran to The Pharmacy.

“Someone needs to notify her grandmother and mother” The Emperor said, his hands clasped around Hye Kyo’s unmoving hand.

Seo Dae Young sent two guards to the respective palaces.

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

Joong Ki and two of his men had found the six maids from The Imperial Kitchen that prepared the meal of The Emperor. He had locked them in a room, and returned for further instructions.

When he arrived, he found that The Emperor had gone.

“Where’s His Majesty?”

A guard answered, “The Princess’s Palace.”

“This late? Whatever for?”

“She’s been poisoned.”

It felt like somebody punched him in the gut.

Without another word, he ran to her palace.

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

The Queen Mother fell to the floor at the doorway of her granddaughter’s bedroom, seeing her unconscious, before sobbing loudly and uncontrollably. She had to be carried inside the room.

“Dear Gods, what sins have we done? Why are you punishing our child?” she wailed, hitting her own chest in immense grief.

The Emperor looked at his mother with tears in his eyes.

Joong Ki arrived when this was happening, bent over and holding his knees to put some air into his lungs.

He saw Seo Dae Young and his friend explained without being asked.

“Arsenic. Polished on the bowl she was using.”

“Her maid?”

“Young Ae-ssi only tasted the food in the bowl. She’s alright.”

From that angle, Joong Ki could see Young Ae’s bruised face, with dried blood on it.

“She doesn’t look alright to me.”

“The Emperor. He was furious.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

“He used a horse to come here. I was too late.”

Joong Ki felt like he wanted to pass out too, but he steeled himself and made his presence known to The Emperor.

The Emperor refused to move so Joong Ki had to whisper his report about the maids in The Imperial Kitchen.

The Emperor made no comment on that.

Only then, Joong Ki dared himself to look at the woman he loved.

She was lying so quietly. Her lips had turned to the colour of her skin, so pale she looked lifeless already.

A maid that Young Ae trusted then arrived carrying a simmering bowl of medicine.

“I will wake her up by puncturing this needle on a spot that will cause her pain. This is necessary because she has to be conscious when drinking this medicine. The medicine will cause her to throw up. If she could throw up the content of her stomach, there is hope for recovery.”

After they all understood that, The Physician an acupuncture needle in the middle of her foot, hard.

Hye Kyo woke up with a loud gasp, her face contorting in pain.

She seemed to be taking her surrounding in panic, shocked to see people hovering around her. She opened but no words came.

“I’m here. You’re going to be alright.” The Emperor said.

What’s happening to me?

She was lying down but everything seemed to be jumping and swaying.

She saw her grandmother and Joong Ki too.

Why is everybody here?

She turned to Young Ae and saw her bruised face, with dry blood at the edges of her nose and mouth.

“Who beat Unnie?” she whispered.

Young Ae cried at that.

“The Gods. I deserve it.”

“Cruel Gods.....” she mumbled.

“Maids, please hold her. She needs to drink this.”

The Royal Physician was a man, and therefore holding her back was improper.

Young Ae helped Hye Kyo to sit up and hold her hands down.

The Royal Physician put the medicine bowl on her lips, “Please drink, Gongjoonim”

She drank a gulp, gasping, “Bitter”, then slapped the bowl away.

The content spilled on the floor, as they all stared at the medicine in shock.

She didn’t know it cost several grams of gold.

“Child! You must drink it!” her Father squealed.

“Shi—ro” she denied, shaking her head weakly, looking paler than ever, sweating on her forehead and completely leaning on her Young Ae unnie’s chest.

“Is there anything left in the kitchen?” The Physician asked.

“Yes, Sir. There’s one bowl more. I’ll take it now.”

When the maid returned with another bowl, The Physician said, “Hold her stronger.”

Without a word, Joong Ki moved forward and held Hye Kyo’s arms from the back.

“She drinks her medicine with honey since she was a child. Maybe it will work this time, too.”

The Emperor, The Queen Mother and The Physician stared at Joong Ki.

The Captain of The Guards, holding the body of the princess of the empire?

But Hye Kyo didn’t resist, and it was an emergency, so no one said a word.

“Honey! How could I forget about that?” Young Ae said, hurrying to get some honey.

“Give me the medicine, Sir.” Joong Ki asked.

His tone was so commanding that The Royal Physician didn’t even think to argue.

Joong Ki hugged Hye Kyo by the waist with one hand and the medicine bowl with the other hand.

“Drink up” he said to her.

“It’s bitter” she complained in a heartbreaking, cracked tone.

“Would you rather die?”

On another occasion, anyone who spoke like that to The Emperor’s favourite child would be beheaded instantly. But it was not an occasion like that.

Shocked with his words, The Emperor and The Queen Mother stared at him with widening eyes.

“Gongjoonim. This is honey.” Young Ae coaxed, holding a spoon with honey then fed it to her.

Joong Ki then held the medicine bowl on her lips and she drank it.

Despite the honey, it was still unbelievably bitter. She choked and tried to slap the bowl away again but Joong Ki held her offending hand tightly.

“Shiro....”

She had never been forced to do anything she didn’t want in her entire life, and she had no intention to start right then.

“Drink this properly, before I force your mouth open and shove this medicine into your throat. In the name of the emperor, I’m not saying empty words. DRINK UP!!!”

Hye Kyo was so shocked, she reached for the bowl and drank it in one go.

Once done, she pushed Joong Ki away only to sway. Everything zoomed in and out of her vision. Joong Ki and Young Ae held her and made her lied down again.

However, a minute later, she began to writhe in bed, holding her stomach in pain.

“W—what’s happening to her?” The Queen Mother asked in panic.

“We’re making her throw up the poison.” The Physician answered.

Hye Kyo twisted on the mattress, one hand holding her belly and another hand the sheets, curling in absolute pain.

“Fa—father....”

“I’m here, Child” The Emperor said, patting her back, trying not to cry.

“Fa—ther. It –hurts. Make it stop.”

“I’m sorry” he croaked.

She started trembling violently, before she gagged.

Young Ae put a bronze basin in front of the princess and she began throwing up violently. Joong Ki reached for her long hair and held it so it wouldn’t get stained.

The Queen Mother sobbed seeing her granddaughter in such pain, while The Emperor wiped his tears silently with his sleeves.

Once she finished throwing up, she lied back again, exhausted.

Soon after, she became unconscious again.

“Hye Kyo-yah, Hye Kyo-yah! Don’t leave Haelmoni!” her grandmother wept, panicking and shaking her shoulders.

The physician checked her pulse and her temperature.

“Some of the poison already spread to her organs. I’ll resume the acupuncture. She’s having a fever because the poison is starting to infect her body. But she had thrown up the content of her stomach, so there is hope. You can feed her the purifying medicine slowly” he said to Young Ae, who nodded and began feeding the next medicine slowly to the unconscious princess, as Joong Ki wiped her sweat.

“If she doesn’t throw up blood by dawn, she is saved from mortal danger.”

“Gongjoonim, you can do this. Be strong” Young Ae whispered, drying Hye Kyo’s lips from the dripping medicine.

They all took turns in feeding her the purifying medicine all night, forgetting their own sleepiness, torn by wanting to help her as much as possible.

“I’d rather it was me.” The Emperor exclaimed solemnly.

Usually, his mother would reprimand him, because the wish to die from an emperor was such selfishness for the country.

But she didn’t protest, even adding, “Or me.”

Joong Ki would have said, “Or me” too, but he held his tongue, satisfying himself with feeding her the medicine.

“Wait. Sir, what did you use to know that the bowl she used had poison on it?” Joong Ki asked to The Physician.

“With the revealing liquid I made” The Physician replied, puncturing another needle on the princess’s vein.

“Do you still have it?”

“It’s in my bag.”

“Can we use it to reveal who put the poison on Gongjoonim’s meal?”

“I guess so. But who would you pour it onto? Not on all the palace’s maids hands, right?”

“Can’t we?”

The Emperor and Queen Mother turned to them, listening to the conversation.

“Well—I have only that one bottle. There are hundreds of palace maids!”

“Would it still work after one night pass? On the person’s hands, I mean.”

“It could reveal poison on any objects even three days later. That’s why I use it for forensic reasons, for The Ministry of Justice.”

“Can you make more of it?” Joong Ki pressed.

“Wh – for the whole palace maids, you will need cauldrons of it!!!”

“Can you make it or not?”

“I c—can, but it will be very expensive.”

Joong Ki turned to The Emperor.

“We shall investigate who poisoned your esteemed daughter, shan’t we, Your Majesty?”

“Let my eunuch open my treasury. Take all the gold you need.”

“Can you leave Gongjoonim and make the revealing potion, Sir?”

“Ne. I’ve instructed the prescription to Young Ae-ssi. We’ll just return to my house and prepare it. My servants would be able to see to it until it’s ready. We can return before dawn.”

“Can we gather all the palace maids in the morning, Your Majesty?”

“Of course.”

With a bow, Joong Ki went away with The Physician.

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

An hour later, as The Queen Mother dried Hye Kyo’s sweaty face with her silk handkerchief, she realized something.

“Haven’t you called her mother?”

The Emperor’s eyes turned wide, aghast.

“That woman hasn’t come to check on her own daughter, even though she’s dying. A mother from hell, indeed.”

“Making herself clear, I see” The Queen Mother concluded.

“Ommoni. You don’t think that she—that she’s behind this, don’t you?”

The Queen Mother’s face turned darker.

“I don’t know. I don’t understand that daughter in-law of mine.”

“If she’s behind this – I’ll execute her.”

The Queen Mother said nothing to that.

“Wait. Why does Song Joong Ki behave so intimately tonight with uri Hye Kyo? Don’t you think it’s inappropriate?” she asked, receiving a new bowl of the purifying potion and starting to feed her to the princess.

The Emperor said nothing to that.

“I know you’re still waiting for someone you think worthy to marry her. But her image wouldn’t be good if we let her childhood friend be too close to her. He acted like a husband tonight. I’m very shocked seeing that.”

“I do intend to let them marry, Ommoni.”

The Queen Mother’s hold on the potion bowl loosened and it crashed on the floor.

“Uri Hye Kyo? With Song Joong Ki?”

The Emperor sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry for adding your distress tonight. But you were the one who brought up the topic, Ommoni. Don’t you think they match well?”

The Queen Mother stared at her son, agape.

Meanwhile, dawn was approaching.

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

Author’s Note:

I am also surprised that this one comes out so fast, lol.

I’m glad because some of you still remember this story.

It’s a stressful chapter, I know, but hopefully you see the bright side. How much people who matter love uri Kyo Gongjoonim, especially Joong Ki.

Until next chapter!