Hong was running towards the residence at the back of the estate when he chanced upon Sandara who seemed to have lost her way. He immediately rushed to her side and greeted her with a bow.

"Mama, why are you wandering around? Daewongun Mama would be displeased about it."

"I couldn't even find him when I woke up." Sandara scoffed. "I just came from Doctor Lee's room. He was sick but was still very stubborn. I'm going to find some medicine so you can take it to him."

Hong already knew that going separate ways with Lee Donghae was a bad idea judging by how weak the doctor looked before they parted. But as much as he wanted to follow their Lady's order and see the doctor, he still had yet to report to his Lord. "Mama, forgive this one, but I need to meet His Highness first. I finally found out something important during our investigation in Pyongyang. I'm on my way to deliver it to Daewongun Mama."

"Do you know where he is?" Sandara was beyond curious to know where Kwon Jiyong was and what had been keeping him so busy.

"Yes, Mama. I was told he was at the back of the estate. Would you like to come as well?"

Of course, Sandara nodded. She was glad Hong was someone not as difficult and uptight as Moo Yeon that she felt thankful the former was the one assigned to her. When they reached the southern part of the estate, she noticed how heavily guarded the place was. But what really caught her attention were the imperial guards surrounding the entire premise.

Behind her, Hong suddenly halted his steps and froze. Something was telling him that taking Sandara with him was a mistake. It was as if he was feeling ominous that something bad was going to happen.

And it didn't take him too long to prove how true his senses were, because the moment the imperial guards blocked Sandara's path, the door swung open revealing Kwon Jiyong. Sandara was about to rush to him and meet him, but she hadn't taken a single step yet when Zhu Yunhe suddenly emerged from the chamber, not in her usual elegant and majestic state for her hair was disheveled and she looked like she just woke up. Her sheer outer robes draped loosely over her shoulders, exposing her porcelain neck while her red upper bind highlighted her well-endowed bosoms. Despite the contrast to her usual get up, her beautiful face shone with so much happiness. 

Sandara turned to Kwon Jiyong only to find him with the usual blank expression on his face. Why she wasn't really in the position to judge him, because a nobleman and a royalty could take another mistress into his household for as many as he liked, but still Sandara felt it was too much that she felt she was stabbed in the chest. She couldn't move, not even breathe.

Hong suddenly felt immobile at the scene before him, his shock probably as much as, if not more than Sandara's. He suddenly felt the change in the atmosphere, as if there was a chaos starting to unfold.

What a terrible timing! He thought. He should have come back a little later.

Why did Lee Donghae have to take a separate path and leave him alone? Why does he have to be here standing in such an awkward situation? Why does he always have to be present during his Lord's marital arguments?

Well, nothing like that has come as of the moment yet, but somehow, the poor guard was sure the entire place was filled with a strong scent of jealousy.

________________________

Sandara didn't know how she was able to make her way back to Kwon Jiyong's residence. She was only thinking she probably had run around the entire estate before she finally found her way back because her feet were now hurting like hell, but still that couldn't even compare to the pain she was feeling in her chest. It was choking her, eating her whole, that not any kind of physical pain could surpass the feeling.

As she slumped down the bed, still in a dazed state, the scene she witnessed earlier still kept playing over and over in her head. She was a woman who hated being weak. She was a woman who hated spilling tears. But now, she hated the fact that she wanted to cry, yet tears just won't come out.

Zhu Yunhe met Kwon Jiyong first. What if her suspicion about them having an understanding before she came into the picture was true?

How she hated Zhu Yunhe's scornful gaze. How she hated that woman's guts. No wonder she had always acted confidently in front of her and Kwon Jiyong. But above all, how she hated her own misunderstanding of her place in Kwon Jiyong's heart.

She was his official wife, it was natural that he had always acted like he owned her. It was normal that he would do as he pleases, after all, he was the highest ranking nobleman, and the second to the King in the royal family. It was just like that and nothing more.

As scenes of Kwon Jiyong taking care of Zhu Yunhe ever since the woman arrived flashed before her eyes, she couldn't help but feel envy. Kwon Jiyong had always been gentle to that woman. He had never raised his voice at her and had always treated her with utmost care and respect.

How was she— a country girl who only became his wife because of the King's edict, a young lady whom he didn't even lend a hand on once in the middle of the woods, a bride who never had a proper wedding rites and was thrown by him into her litter on her wedding day, a wife whom he would always scold for not having sense of propriety, compare to a fine Ming princess whom he first met, and probably have fallen in love with before she even arrived?

No wonder they haven't even consummated their marriage yet and even if Kwon Jiyong had taken advances on her a couple of times, there was nothing more than that. She even failed at seducing