When Lord Kwon showed up at the Queen Mother’s residence asking for an audience with her, she let him in. She then invited him to take a seat, and instructed her maids to serve some drinks.

“Lord Kwon,” she said flatly, with little enthusiasm in her tone. “How nice of you to think of me and visit me. What brings you here on this fine day?”

“I see Your Majesty is very relaxed and comfortable these days,” he commented. “All eyes are on your daughter the Queen now. No one would expect you to have to carry any burdens.”

She nodded laxly. “I enjoy living an easy life. Unless you miss those days when I constantly had to stress over everything that was happening at court, because it was always my responsibility? Nay, I am happy with where I am now. In fact, I think I’ll go and take a nap right after our conversation. Retired life is such a delight. You should try it sometime, Lord Kwon. I totally recommend it.”

“Ah, it is a pity that my duty to my country prevents me from retiring from court,” he replied. “You see, I always have the country’s best interests in mind. So whenever I see someone making decisions that will bring more harm than good to the country, I must put a stop to it.”

“Go ahead and do as you please, then,” she said. “You don’t need my approval for anything anyway.”

“It is certainly not your approval that I need. Rather, it is your assistance that I am after,” he revealed. “I’m sure Your Majesty is familiar with the saying ‘mother knows best’.

“And I’m sure Your Lordship is equally familiar with the saying ‘uncle knows best,” she replied snidely, but Lord Kwon remained unfazed.

“I see Your Majesty is so intelligent that you have already figured out what I am here to talk about. I will be straightforward, then,” he said. “Let’s discuss how to dissuade the Queen from going ahead with the establishment of her very own harem. I believe you can play an important role in putting a stop to this madness.”

“Lord Kwon, what makes you think I would be capable of talking Joohyun out of it? Have you not seen how headstrong she is?” She questioned. “I think you overestimate me.”

“I believe Your Majesty is underestimating yourself. I’ve spent decades at court and I’ve seen just how powerful you can be. If you want someone dead, dead they will be. This time, it isn’t even as serious as a death sentence. Why should it be a problem?”

“Problem?” She arched an eyebrow. “I don’t see a problem at all. Whether or not Joohyun has a harem, it doesn’t matter to me. Like I said, I just want to live an easy and comfortable life as the Queen Mother. There’s no reason why I can’t just lie back and not mind anybody’s business but my own. I don’t feel threatened by Joohyun’s decision, nor will I be enjoying any benefits in particular. Why should I meddle and interfere with the sovereign’s decision then? Her word is law.”

Although she did not say it aloud, deep down in her heart she had her own suspicions about Joohyun’s motives. Whilst men usually wanted to invite more women into their harems out of lust or a desire to beget an heir, she knew that that was not the case for Joohyun. As for her decision to require each aristocratic clan to send at least one of their daughters into her harem, the Queen Mother could see that this move was not just about testing the nobles’ loyalty. It was also meant to weaken their ability to make alliances through marriages, so that they would be less able to team up to conspire against her. That way, she could enjoy a more stable reign, which was a desirable outcome in the Queen Mother’s eyes. She was not so inclined to step in to stop Joohyun, even if she were confident that she could do it.

“True that her word is law,” Lord Kwon remarked. “But that’s only as long as she is Queen.”

“What do you mean?” The Queen Mother asked warily.

“I fear Her Majesty will struggle to keep her position as Queen if she keeps this up.”

The Queen Mother slammed her palm onto the table, causing the trays and the cups to shake.

“That’s the last thing you should be worried about if you keep saying these treasonous things,” she snarled. “I shall hear none of it. If you have nothing else to contribute, leave.”

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to say, but I will have to say it anyway. As the Queen Mother, you do need to be notified of what has been going on in the council these days,” he insisted. “Whenever I and the Queen’s other advisors urge her to think seriously about getting married, she always changes the topic and ends up devising a new policy out of the blue. First it was the taxes, then it was the donations, and this time a harem. She’s already raised taxes on the rich, yet gave tax breaks to the poor. She will gain favor with the commoners, but the nobles will not be happy with her. If she carries on losing favor with the aristocracy, soon she will be overthrown. The nobles are the ones who have economic and military resources, so it will not go well for her if she angers or offends them. There will be a breaking point where they will be pushed to revolt, and considering how short a period of time it’s been since she became Queen, she is accelerating the advent of her dethronement. And what do you think is going to happen if and when she is dethroned?”

She paused, realizing that he had a point. Of course he was not looking out for Joohyun’s safety out of the kindness of his heart — he had his own motives, whatever they might be. But at this rate, given Joohyun’s plummeting popularity with the nobles, the Queen Mother had to agree that Jooyoung’s ascension to the throne might come quicker than expected.

“Then again,” he went on before she could think of anything to say. “Even if and when Prince Jooyoung does end up sitting on the throne, Your Majesty will still be the Queen Mother. So, indeed, why should you care?” He shrugged. “You can still live very comfortably. Probably even more comfortably than the way it is now, seeing as Your Majesty still has a loving parent-child relationship with His Highness,