For the next two days, Kwon Jiyong stayed at the Hidden Seclusion. He received a message from Kang Daesung that Dong Youngbae came back earlier than what was planned and that he needed to talk to him. Meanwhile Choi Seunghyun was away and was dealing with another imoogan sighting at an island in the South. 

Sandara was pleased though, that Kwon Jiyong let her know about it before he left, loving the idea that somehow, she was part of what Kwon Jiyong was doing. Hong would even hand her messages which Kwon Jiyong sent through the Hidden Selcusion's messenger pigeons, and she gladly replied to all of them. Kwon Jiyong's messages were short and on point.

"Are you feeling well now?" 

"Don't trust the palace servants easily." 

"Make sure to wait for them to taste the food before you gobble them up."

"If you want to meet your father and brother just send them a message through Jo Sanggung."

"You may visit the queen but don't give anything to her."

"Be good."

But everytime Sandara replied it was way longer than Kwon Jiyong's. She practically wrote a journal entry that Hong said it was impossible to be carried by the messenger pigeon so she had to cut them into few parts.

She hadn't been idle as well. Since the queen needed rest and proper nourishment, she helped Concubine Bae with the preparations for welcoming the envoy from Ming. Finally, the day everyone had been busying about arrived, and more than anyone, it was her who had the greatest shock of her life.

A young lady suddenly emerged from the third carriage and started looking for someone. Envoy Wong was being welcomed by Yi Sung and Kwon Jiyong, while Sandara, Kim Jisoo and Bae Joohyun were all standing quite a distance behind the uncle and nephew duo. Still, the pretty little lady earned their attention.

And man, she looked really beautiful. Her skin glowed like porcelain and was as white as snow, her cheeks as red as an apple. She had a long shiny hair which flowed down past her waist, half of it tied up to a top knot adorned with expensive jewels. She was a bit taller than all of them three, and had a slender body that was highlighted by the red belt around her pastel colored flowy Chinese dress she was wearing. And oh, the three of them just had to lower their eyes to look at their pitiful bosoms for theirs were definitely no match to this well-endowed almost perfect lady.

"So it's true that women in Ming were pretty." Bae Joohyun who rarely opens to speak suddenly broke her silence. "I just lost my confidence,"

Kim Jisoo only smiled and found her statement preposterous. Bae Joohyun's beauty is extraordinary with a hint of mistery to it but the woman had always been timid and had very low self esteem so she took the concubine's hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Sandara saw this and remained silent while her eyes were fixed on the lady who kept calling someone orabeonni. Inside her head, she already had a bad haunch on who she was pertaining to and her heart was feeling a little stifled already that she kept wishing she was wrong.

"What is a woman like her doing in such an official trip such as this? Seems like the women in Ming have more freedom than Joseon women." She broke her silence with a stern remark which Bae Joohyun seconded.

"Why does she know our language? Wasn't she being too informal?" The concubine asked before turning to Kim Jisoo. "Mama, you seem not too surprised. Do you know her?" Bae Joohyun asked and Kim Jisoo nodded.

"That lady is the third princess of Ming, Zhu Yunhe, the emperor of Ming's most favored daughter. Her mother's clan were from Joseon but they all migrated to Ming so their family is quite important in strengthening the alliance between the two kingdoms." Kim Jisoo explained. "Yunhe Gongju has done this twice or thrice before, coming here uninvited. Well, His Majesty ordered everyone to treat her like family. The emperor of Ming also treated uncle very well like his own son so it was only proper to take care of Yunhe Gongju properly."

When earlier, Sandara already had her eyes on the girl named Zhu Yunhe, now, her eyes turned into tiny slits as she studied the Ming princess' features scrutinizingly. So Kwon Jiyong met this girl before her, huh? But in the end, it made her scoff. What's there to be surprised about? Kwon Jiyong probably have stayed longer in Ming than in Joseon so it was no wonder he also gained friends and acquaintances there in the long run. But why is this lady calling that iceberg orabeonni so casually? Were they that close?

It didn't take long for her to find out the answer to her questions because soon, she saw Kwon Jiyong taking long, confident strides to meet Zhu Yunhe and she didn't notice she was already standing frozen as she watched the two talk to each other ever so seriously. While Kwon Jiyong was still in his usual stern and uptight demeanor, the girl started to talk animatedly to him. She saw Kwon Jiyong stiffly pat the girl on her head before clasping his hands behind and nod in agreement and the gesture made the girl smile ever so sweetly and brightly that Sandara felt a sharp stinging pain inside her chest.

So there was someone else who could go close to her husband and smile like that to him. So there was still some other woman's head he could pat. She knew she shouldn't be feeling these strange complicated emotions but it was quite difficult to contain somehow.

Still, she was quick to bounce back to her normal self by reminding herself that the King of Joseon bestowed her her marriage with Kwon Jiyong and she was married to the lofty royal uncle for almost half a year now and though she only started getting to know more of him just recently, she understood his efforts in opening up to her despite his aloof and distant self. Taking in a lungful of air, she smiled confidently. She knew she should not allow such trivial things to overwhelm her and get the better of her.

When the Yi Sung walked towards them and introduced the envoy, they all paid respects with each other. Soon Kwon Jiyong joined in and received the envoy's congratulatory message for his instatement as a Daewongun on their emperor's behalf. The girl named Zhu Yunhe stayed beside Kwon Jiyong before greeting