Double Update. Yay!

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Dawn was coming soon yet Yoo couldn’t get any sleep, wondering what could be wrong. There hasn’t been any trouble yet or that he’s heard of but he can’t help but be anxious.

On the other hand, someone felt the same.

Ji Hyo couldn’t sleep all night. Lying on the bed, she felt deeply trouble. Was it because Jong Kook, or the discovery of her mother and the Emperor’s relationship?

Her mother was used and thrown away, a chess piece.

She had to be alert. If the Emperor can use his own people then he could have an ulterior plan for her too.

Ji Hyo sighs.

Her mother had introduced her to her cousin Kenji, the man had been trying to eliminate her. But just how are they related? Is the Ex-Marshal involved in the scheme? She shakes her head, closing her eyes as she try to fall asleep.

“Ji Hyo~”

Ji Hyo turns around, meeting her mother face to face.

“Come here,” to which the four-year-old Ji Hyo runs to her mother.

“This is Kenji, your cousin.”

Little Ji Hyo looks at the bigger boy in his preteens. His eyes darken as he looks down at her.

She gave him a toothy grin and politely bowed. “Greetings, brother Kenji.”

The boy said nothing and looks at her mother.

“Why are you here again?”

“I wanted to see you,” her mother gestures towards Ji Hyo, “and I wanted you two to meet.”

He had little interest but he did glance at Ji Hyo before turning back to her mother. “If you have nothing else to say, please leave. I’m not supposed to be here, if my mother finds out-“

“Kenji!” a woman screamed. Hurriedly, she pulls Kenji behind her. Glaring at Ji Hyo’s mother, she tightens her grip on Kenji’s hand. She did not speak another word to them as she dragged Kenji away.

Her mother had held her hand as the boy is dragged away.

“Mommy,” four-year-old Ji Hyo pulls on her mother’s sleeve, letting her squat down to her level. “Why doesn’t Kenji’s mommy want us to play with him?”

Her mother gently spoke, “Mommy… did something bad. That’s why Kenji’s mommy is mad.”

Ji Hyo tilts her head, “But didn’t Mommy say Kenji is Ji Hyo’s cousin? Cousin is family. And family forgives each other.”

Her mother playfully smiles, “But what should I do? She won’t forgive me.”

“What did mommy do?”

Her mother tucks her hair behind her ear as the big eye Ji Hyo smiles but stops when she notices tears streaking on her mother’s cheek.

With her small hand, she wipes away the tears.

“Mommy… Mommy…” her mother’s voice tremble, pausing as she calms down. Taking Ji Hyo’s hands, “Ji Hyo, can you promise Mommy to forgive Kenji and his mommy? No matter what happens in the future, you must forgive them. Can you do that for me?”

Ji Hyo nodded. “I promise. Don’t cry anymore mommy.”

Her mother smiles as more tears wet her face. She gently wraps Ji Hyo in her arms, hugging her.  Her mother’s sobbing echoed.

“Mommy… don’t cry…” Ji Hyo mutters in her sleep. A trail of tear slides down her temple. “…Mommy…”

She opens her eyes, gasping awake. She covers her face, wiping the tears. Turning around, she sees the closing the doors. She calls in a maid.

“Did you see someone enter?”

“No, Princess,” she replied before leaving. Ji Hyo shook her head and decided to get ready for the day.

As the maid closed the door she bumps into the Empress. “Y-Your royal highness,” she kneels.

The Empress’s hard, dark eyes glare at the maid. “Who’d just left?”

“I-“ the maid was on the verge of tears.

“Speak.”

“It was his majesty, the Emperor.”

***

The sun had risen and with the camp bustling, Yoo had enough.

“Dong Hoon,”

Dong Hoon glanced at him, ignoring him.

“Soldier 354.”

Dong Hoon made a face and turn around to him, “What is it, Lieutenant Yoo?”

“I want to speak with the General.”

“The General specifically ordered for you to not interfere.”

Yoo stood up. “I know, but something doesn’t feel right.”

“Of course not, who would feel right after getting 10 horsewhips?”

Yoo shook his head. “Look, I’m not asking you to release me. I merely want to have a word with the General.”

Dong Hoon sighs, feeling bad for Yoo who has been locked for days in the tent.

“Fine, but I can’t guarantee that he will talk to you.”

Yoo nodded as Dong Hoon left the tent. Yoo was waiting and waiting when Dong Hoon returned.

“How was it?”

Dong Hoon shook his head. “The General isn’t answering me…”

Yoo instantly stood up. Something was extremely off.

“Release me,” Yoo ordered. “I’ll go to him myself.”

“I already told you I won’t. What part of ‘no’ do you not understand?”

Yoo made a face and then slumped back down. An idea came up.

Dong Hoon turned back around when he heard Yoo groaning. He lied against the pillar, weakly with his eyes closed.

“You don’t have to pretend, it won’t work with me,” Dong Hoon turns to leave but stops when he heard nothing. He turns back around.

Yoo had slump down on the ground.

Dong Hoon’s face paled. What if he was really in pain? If he dies, wouldn’t he get in even bigger trouble? Not to say go home, his body probably won’t make it to the field.

He quickly runs to Yoo’s side, shaking him. “Lieutenant, hey, wake up.” He tries puts his finger by Yoo’s nose to check for his breathing.

Dong Hoon falls back. No breath?! He violently shakes Yoo, hitting his back. “Lieutenant Yoo, don’t die! If you die, I’ll die too! I mean it, I’ll really die!” he was near tears, mid-cry, when Yoo open his eyes, staring back at him

“Y-y-you-“ he points his finger at Yoo. Yoo grabs him as he jumps back. With his arm around Dong Hoon in a headlock, he grins, covering Dong Hoon’s mouth. “Hel-“

The other soldiers pass by as Yoo covers his mouth with attempts to squirm out of the head lock. It was when they were gone that Yoo uncover his mouth slightly.

“Do you know what I do to people like you?” Yoo whispered, having Dong Hoon shake his head and tremble. “I’ve killed many people yet I can’t think of what to do to you.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Yoo reached his hand inside Dong Hoon’s robe, causing his eyes to widen.

“Are you bullting me?!” he squirms as Yoo’s hands roam inside and grabbed the key before letting Dong Hoon go.

Dong Hoon scramble on the ground and held his arms across his chest, “I know that you are a lieutenant but I don’t like men!” he glared in disgust only to realize when Yoo stood up to him, squatting to his level. “I-I mean it. If you come any closer, I’ll scream.”

Yoo grin and nodded, “You’ll have to do something for me then.”

“W-what?” Yoo then raised his hand to show Dong Hoon the key. “Huh? Why do you have that?”

Yoo smirk.

Moments later, a hopeless, gagged Dong Hoon is tied to the pillar as Yoo finishes the last knot.

“There,” he claps his hands. “Much better,” making Dong Hoon glare at him.

“Mmmcmmymbmtrmm.” (How could you betray me.)

Yoo smiles and turns away, closing the drapes of the tent as Dong Hoon screams after him.

Now, to the important things. Yoo carefully made his way through the site to the General’s tent. “General, it is I, Gong Yoo.”

No answer.

He did not wait another moment and barged in. Jong Kook was nowhere in sight. He searched the whole place and stops at the table when he noticed a change in the maps.

He turns the map over and takes out the paper from underneath it.

Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. If you are reading this, it means I am no longer on the camp ground.

Yoo’s eyes flicker.

***

Week 3

The weather became colder. Winter was coming soon.

Ji Hyo wore a thick robe, standing near the tower. The faraway distance over the tower made her uneasy. It was the same weather when her mother passed away. During that time, her mother had a hard time giving birth.

If she was a son… maybe her mother would have lived.

Lost in thought, the memory brought tears to her eyes. She quickly wipes them away and turns around.

Th Emperor stood behind her.

“Greetings, your Majesty,” she quickly bows. He steps towards her and stop. His eyes were keen as he had a mysterious aura. She quickly held up her defenses. What was he thinking?

He stood beside her, looking to the distance. “You’ve been here for a few days now. How do you feel about life in the palace?”

She looks with him, cautiously choosing her words. “The subject has been here for not long and have not learn enough. But the palace is a very interesting place.”

“Interesting?” he repeats then nods. “It is quite interesting.”

He turns to her. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions and there are a lot of things you are concern about. About Lord Lin, I’ve already taken care of him.”

Ji Hyo turns to him, “What does your Majesty mean?”

“Lord Lin was not only drunk but abrasive. I gave him a punishment worthy of his actions.”

Ji Hyo felt a chill run down her spine. The Emperor could unpredictable.

“I have been wondering, why did your Majesty look for me?” Ji Hyo looked for any reactions.

Nothing. His eyes did not change.

“I heard you were injured and accused of an assassination attempt. Did you do it or not?”

“No.”

His eyes narrow quietly spoke. “Do you want revenge?”

“No.”

Ji Hyo looked away.

“It was only a misunderstanding and the scheme of others. The King is not to be blamed.”

The Emperor took her hand, causing Ji Hyo backed up a bit. He looked at hands and wrists then his eyes move back to her.

“Torturing someone is not a misunderstanding. It is on purpose.” His voice was hard and emotionless. “If anyone dares to bully you, you must tell me.”

“Thank you for worrying about this lowly subject, your Majesty,” she lightly pulls her hand away. “But your Majesty no longer needs to, everything will be taken care of soon.”

Then she felt a thick robe on her shoulders as the Emperor covered her with his cloak.

He puts the fur hood on her head carefully. “It is becoming colder. You should dress thicker.” He fixed the robe and a tenderness in his voice made her uneasy.

“When can I leave?” she asked.

He steps back and crossed his hands behind his back, “I’ll have others investigate the case further. Until everything is safe, you can return then.”

“How long will that be?”

“Not long,” he vaguely spoke, “If there is anything discomforting you, feel free to change them as you like.”

The Emperor turned to leave.

“Actually,” Ji Hyo spoke. “I wanted to ask your Majesty something.”

The emperor stood before her once again.

“Do you know anyone by the name of Kenji Wu?”

His expression turned rock solid again. “Yes.”

“I’ve heard a few things and wanted to confirm them. Will your Majesty honestly answer them?”

He waits for a moment, “If I can answer you, I will.”

“I heard that your majesty was given the direct decree to the throne, is that right?”

“Correct.”

There, the answer. Her gaze became hard. “Then why did you get my mother involved?”

The chilly air rustled passed them.

“Who told you that?”

“Please answer me, you Majesty.”

He turns away and consider the silent distance.

“You were named emperor but used my mother to get rid of your rivals. You then sent her to the borders to suffer for 8 years before freeing her. I am correct?”

He scoffs then turns to her. He moves closer, an eerie movement. “Is that what you think?”

Ji Hyo steps back.

He stops as Ji Hyo’s back hits the siding on the edge of the tower. If she moves any further, she can easily fall-

Ji Hyo’s feet slip and the Emperor grabs her arm, pulling her back. She huffs as the Emperor stares at her.

“Is that what you think?” he repeats, sounding angry. “Who has been feeding you such words?”

“Your majesty!” the eunuch appears.

The Emperor slowly let go of her. “What is it?”

“The Empress has fallen ill. The doctor said she fainted while on a walk.”

The Emperor kept his eyes on Ji Hyo, turning his attention back to her. “I did not force your mother. It was she who forced me.” He turns around and stomps away.

When he finally left, Ji Hyo falls back against the wall. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. The Emperor was dangerous, though he had not shout, his voice exerted much fear.

“Princess,” a servant runs through the tower to her. “You have a letter from Goryeo.”

She quickly takes the letter and upon unfolding it, her hands tremble. “Where is the Crown Prince?”

Hurriedly, she was led out of the tower and to the Crown Prince’s palace. She didn’t even wait to be announced when she barged inside.

He looked up from the study and waves his hands for the others to leave. He was in the middle of a gathering with the other Princes.

“What happened?” he asked seriously.

She waited for everyone to leave before she spoke.

“The General has been captured.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head hysterically. “I don’t know how. I had just received a letter from Lieutenant Yoo. It just-“

“Princess,” he calmly calls her. “Calm down. I’ll investigate this and confirm any changes for you, alright?”

Ji Hyo shakes her head, “How can I just sit and do nothing when my husband is missing? The last time he met with the ex-Marshal he almost died. I need people to search for him. Please.”

Conflicted, Bolin nodded. “I will. As to send in troops, I will have to ask his Majesty for permission first.”

Ji Hyo nodded and thank him as she slumps down.

***

“Empress, Princess Song is here to see you,” the eunuch announced. “Empress,”

The Empress lean on the bed, lost in thought, paled lips. “Let her in,” she stood up to the table that had just been cleaned from last night.

Ji Hyo bows and greets the Empress. “I heard your royal highness had fallen ill yesterday. Please forgive me for coming late.”

The Empress said nothing as she glances at the items Ji Hyo set on the table.

“I brought some honey, ginger tea and plum flower ointment for you. Hopefully will help you feel better with the incoming weather.”

“You didn’t have to.” The Empress mutters sullenly.

Ji Hyo carefully pours the tea and places it in front of the Empress before she takes out the plum ointment.

“How did you have time to gather all these items?”

“My mother, I mean the Late Princess Chen had a collection of medicinal herbs that I learned while growing up. I have no teacher, only learning a bit here and there. Maybe, your royal highness can teach me.”

The Empress’s lips curved. “I thought you would be different,” she looks up at Ji Hyo, “but you are just like your mother.”

(Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ1pHmWhIuY )

“Selfish.”

Ji Hyo stops brewing the tea as she raised her eyes to meet the Empress.

The Empress smirked coldly. “You’ve been asking about the relationship between your mother and the Emperor. Fine, I’ll tell you.”

Ji Hyo gulped.

“She made choices for her own benefit. She didn’t care for anyone else. Different from what you think isn’t it? Your mother was a calculating .” The empress chuckled dryly. “Even after three decades, I still can’t win her.”

“Your royal highness-“ Ji Hyo exhaled sharply.

The Empress stood up, walking towards the window, “How could one look so similar? The moment you walked into the court, he changed. The cold-blooded Emperor I knew had become gentle and endearing. I never got that from him.”

With every word the Empress spoke, Ji Hyo’s chest tightens, her blood boiling.

“It seems you are not well, I’ll come see you next time,” Ji Hyo gets up to leave.

As she was a step to leaving, sharp nails dug into her arm, yanking her around.

Face to face with the Empress whose beautiful face had twisted into anger and intimidation, “I’m not done talking yet. You leave when I tell you to leave, you stay when I tell you to stay!”

The Empress’s lip twitch in which she clenched harder onto Ji Hyo’s arms.

“How dare you look at me the same way she did.” Her face had turn a shade of pink from all the suppressed rage from all those years. “I will never let you step into the inner court. Over my dead body.”

Ji Hyo’s arm were bruised by now, she could feel the nails digging deeply, almost piercing into her flesh.

“My mother is not that type of person,” Ji Hyo spoke through gritting teeth.

The Empress shook her head and grins. “Then what is she? Someone who killed their only friend is a murderer. Someone who kills others as a sport is a murderer. Your mother is a conniving murderer!”

“No!” Ji Hyo retorted, struggling to free herself.

The Empress grabs her chin with one hand. “Do you think you will be able to leave? This place here, this palace, is your cage. He couldn’t have your mother. Now that you remind him of her, don’t even dream of leaving.”

Ji Hyo was mind blown as the events reoccurred to her. The way the Emperor had treated and look at her…

Ji Hyo struggles against the Empress who had become strong in the midst of her anger.

The Empress is pulled back, leaving Ji Hyo against the pillar. The Emperor glares at the Empress and glances at Ji Hyo. Spots of blood were on her arms. He became furious. He lets go of the Empress, moving towards Ji Hyo who was still in pain.

She backs away from him, which he noticed and stopped in his tracks.

“Leave.” He quietly told her as he masked his fury.

The Empress fired up again as her face twisted with hostility. She strides toward Ji Hyo in a fit, her hands clawing but the Emperor turned around and held her back.

“Enough,” he mutters.

Ji Hyo stands up carefully, holding the long robe to free her feet.

“Your stillborn brother, do you think he is your father’s child?!”

Ji Hyo’s quicken feet became motionless.

The Emperor pulls the Empress back and a loud clap of skin echoes in the vast room.

The Empress’s pale, porcelain skin had a red hand print as her fragile body had landed with a thud on the floor.

“Another word,” his uneven breath inhaled, “and I will never forgive you.”

The Empress held her cheek and wept, “Forgive…?” she looks up at him, “It was that damn Chen Ji Hua that caused everything. She promised to never see you again but 4 years after having her daughter, she snuck to meet you in the Northern camps and created that son of !”

The Emperor turns to Ji Hyo whose footsteps trotted through the hall. Exhaling, his expression changed to that of somber and he leaves the room, while the Empress weeps on the floor.

*

Holding onto her skirt, she ran as fast as she could. She didn’t care how or where she was. She had to leave here, the sooner the better.

Hurriedly, she ran down the stairs. She almost trips but caught herself. She strides across the vast courtyard of the palace towards the gate.

A pair of arms pull her around and Ji Hyo screams, pulling back. It was Bolin.

“It’s me!” he stops her. “What happened?”

The loose strands fell landed on her face, her eyes were pink, and her arms had multiple red spotting.

“Who did this to you?”

She released herself from him and looks back up to the front palace. The Emperor stood there and a group of soldiers marched behind him. Then those who were guarding the gate and palace walls starts moving in. She grabs the sword by his waist, as he was distracted, and raised it to her neck.

“Come any closer and I’ll kill myself!”

“Princess-“

“Don’t underestimate me!” she steps back. Bolin raised his hand for the soldiers to stop as he glances at his father. He turns back to Ji Hyo.

Raising his hand, “Return the sword to me.”

Her hands held it against her neck, so close that it scratched the skin.

“Think carefully, rationally. I don’t know what is going on but put it down and we can talk about it.”

“No.” Her voice was hard and blunt. “I want to leave, now.”

“Listen to me and-“

“Why are you all doing this to me?! I don’t even know you. Who are you to assume anything about my family, my parents?! Who are you to mess with my head and confuse me?!”

Bolin steps towards her as she steps back. “Go ahead then, do it if you dare. But what do you want me to tell the General when he finds asks for you?” He continues to step forward, sopping as he stood before her. “Can you imagine what his reaction will be?”

Ji Hyo’s lips quiver and tears fill her eyes. “Is he safe?”

Bolin nods. “For the time being.”

“Where is he?”

He looks at the sword in her hand then spoke. “The General is currently held hostage in the enemy camp. But he’s still alive.”

Ji Hyo closed her eyes, sighing in relief while tears escape. She lets go of the sword and her wobbly legs lowers her body to the ground. She covers her face and sobs.

Bolin kicks the sword away as he watches her cry. Turning to his father whose gaze never left Ji Hyo. Bolin turns back to Ji Hyo and helps her up.

“Let’s take you back.”

“Don’t want to…” she mutters, “I don’t want to go back to Langye Palace.”

He nodded, “Alright, we won’t go there.”

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