A/N: Please, excuse any mistakes. 

 

 

 

Mura picks up a piece of sweet rice cake from the container it came in and deposits it into . She relishes its saccharine taste, as it gently melts onto her tongue with each bite. They were sent by her mother upon her request.

Mura was once asked by the King about what she missed the most from her natal home, and she had mentioned her mother's sweet rice cakes as one of the things. 

"Well, the next time your mother happens to supply you with them, do share them with your father-in-law. I wish to try such a crow-worthy delight myself," the King had said upon hearing his daughter-in-law rave about the sweet rice cakes.

Hence, Mura had asked her mother to prepare a special batch for the King's enjoyment, and from their appearance and taste, it is obvious how much effort her mother had put into making these. Only but the best for the king of this nation.

Lady Park had sent two medium-sized containers full---one for her daughter and one for the King. Mura collects a handful of the sweets from her own container and sticks them inside a small silk pouch before tying it around her waist. This way, if her craving strikes while she happens to be outdoors, they'll be available within arm's reach.

Madam Choi picks up the container of sweet rice cakes that are intended for the King, and along with the rest of the attendants, follows her mistress out of her quarters as they head in the direction of the King's office.

On their way, Mura notices the familiar figure of Prince Jongin emerging through the gate that leads to the section of the palace where the residence of the King's concubines is located. She decides to say hello and pay her respects to the Royal Prince, so she advances towards him. But before Mura could approach the prince, she is made to stop in her tracks by the sight of another group of incoming figures. 

The Queen Dowager and her entourage appear from a different direction and approach the Royal Prince. 

"Halmamama." Jongin bows to the former queen. 

"What brings you to the palace?" There is a hint of hostility in the Queen Dowager's voice.

"I came to pay a visit to omonim."

"I see." The dowager casts a displeased glance at the prince. "It has come to my attention that you have been frequenting the palace quite a bit, as of late."

"Aren't I allowed to see my parents and siblings?"

"Your mother and siblings are doing perfectly fine. Perhaps, you should focus all your attention on your ailing wife, who is soon to give birth. She requires it more than your mother."

Jongin scoffs, "You may not keep me from visiting my own family. Furthermore, I have the King's permission, and as far as I'm concerned, I fall under his jurisdiction. Not yours."

The dowager appears angered by the prince's tone.

Meanwhile, Mura stands a few distances away, listening in on the conversation. The two royals ahead of her are seemingly unaware of her presence.

"You have always been an impudent boy." The Queen Dowager spits. "The King may be blinded by his fatherly affections, but I refuse to fall prey to your supposed good nature. Just make sure to make yourself as scarce as possible around here." She turns around and proceeds to walk away. 

"You know, I'm still your grandson," Jongin says. 

The dowager halts her steps; her back faces the prince. 

"Or, have you forgotten? I may be illegitimate, but the King, your son, is still my father. I am just as much your grandson."

"I have not forgotten." The dowager says.

"Then why? Why must you treat me as an outsider? Why must you always speak to me so harshly?" There is pain in Jongin's voice. 

Mura wonders the same thing while witnessing their exchange. How could she tell her own grandson to not visit the palace?

The elder turns to look her grandson in the eye. "I am a queen dowager, first and foremost. The eldest member of the royal court and, as such, I must ensure the throne and its rightful occupants are protected. I cannot allow my sentiments as a grandmother to hinder my judgments as a queen. Therefore, if I detect a possible threat that could be directed at what I vow to protect, I shall act accordingly to keep the said threat at bay. Even if it happens to be my own grandson." The Queen Dowager says. "If it provides you with any comfort, it isn't entirely personal. Perhaps, if you had been born a princess, instead of a prince, I would have regarded you with affinity."

With that, the Queen Dowager turns around and walks away.

Mura stares at the deflated demeanor of Prince Jongin with pity. Her heart breaks for the prince.

The said prince seems to have sensed the presence of others, at last, as he turns his head in the direction where the Crown Princess and her retinue stand.

Mura's eyes meet with the other's and she instantly fixes her pity-ridden expression before gingerly approaching the prince and bowing. "Gun-mama." 

Jongin returns the bow.

"How are you?"

Jongin offers a small smile. "I'm quite well, thank you. And, yourself?"

"I'm well, as well. I had been on my way to see the King and happened upon you standing here by yourself. Have you come to visit your mother?" Mura tries to make it seem she hasn't just witnessed the unpleasant exchange. 

"Yes, I have already met with her, actually. I was just on my way to leave."

Mura nods. "I see." 

It is then followed by an awkward silence before both Mura and Jongin utter their words at the same time, which is then followed by chuckles coming from both.

"Please..." Jongin gestures for the Crown Princess to speak first.

"Uh... do you like sweet rice cakes?"

Jongin is slightly taken aback by the arbitrary question. "Yes, I find them quite delightful."

"I have some in my possession, presently. Do you wish to try one?" Mura thinks, perhaps, a little bit of sweetness would help lift the prince's spirits.

Jongin hesitates for a quick second before agreeing.

Mura excitedly reaches for her silk pouch, retrieves a piece of the sweet treat, and offers it to the prince. 

Jongin plucks the morsel from the Crown Princess' fingers and puts it in his mouth. "Mmm, wow, it is scrumptious. Did you make them yourself?"

Mura chortles at the notion. "I can't even boil water. They were prepared by my mother."

"Well, it seems your mother has quite the talent for making sweet rice cakes. It was delicious, thank you."

"In that case." Mura unties the pouch from her waist and offers it to the prince. "There's more in here. Please, take it."

"Oh, no, that's quite all right. I'm sure your mother has sent them for you with much love, I couldn't possibly---"

"I have more in my quarters. Do not fret. Please, I insist!" Mura takes hold of Jongin's hand, which catches the prince by surprise, and places the pouch in his grasp. "Omo, what happened to your hand?" She exclaims upon noticing what seems to be a laceration wound. 

Jongin quickly withdraws his hand, bringing the pouch full of sweets with it. "It's nothing serious; merely a scratch caused by a rather excitable little animal."

Mura gasps. "Did you happen to be attacked by a wild animal?"

Jongin is quick to dismiss it. "No, no, it had been my pet dog, who became a bit too excited during playtime."

Mura's expression turns curious. "You have a pet dog?"

Jongin smiles. "Yes, she's a small one."

"Aww, how lovely!" Mura squeals. "What does she look like?"

Jongin's expression brightens upon being asked about his pet. "She is tiny with long, grey fur, a shortened muzzle, and prominent large eyes. Quite endearing. Her breed is native to Qing¹, where they are referred to as lion dogs and are highly favored by the imperial court and are legally prohibited to be owned by the commoners. And, my Yuo is very much aware of her imperial ancestry, as she bears a naturally dignified disposition. She has her own attendants and gets fed her own special meals every day. She's spoiled like a princess, but I am happy to spoil her."

"A pet of a Joseon prince deserves nothing less. If they are only owned by the Qing imperials, how did you come to be in possession of one?"

"I was given her as a gift by a Qing delegate when I had visited the country about two years ago."

"Oh, I wish I could meet with her. I have never seen a lion dog."

"She's the apple of my eye."

There is another silence.

"Do you truly wish to meet my Yuo?" Jongin asks, breaking the silence. 

"If it were possible, most certainly!"

"Perhaps, if the Crown Prince permits, I could bring her to the palace for you to meet with her."

"Really?!"

"Yes, it would be my utmost pleasure."

Mura claps. "Very well, I shall ask the Crown Prince for his consent. Oh, I truly hope he agrees!"

The Crown Princess' smile reaches her ears, and it is so infectious that Jongin finds himself grinning just as widely, as though, he had just been rewarded a prize. 

 

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"Wah, these are indeed worthy of high praise." The King tells the Crown Princess. "These sweet rice cakes are even superior to the ones made in the palace kitchen."

"My mother shall be so honored by your generous words of compliment. I shall pass it on to her." 

"No need. I shall write her a letter of thanks myself. After all, she has gone through such trouble of preparing these."

"It was a high honor for her. She's ought to be so elated to receive a letter from the King, himself."

The King grins. "So..." He starts, "tell me, Sejabin, is the Crown Prince treating you well?"

"Yes, Chonha! The Crown Prince has shown nothing but grace and kindness to me. We have actually become very good friends."

"Is that so?" The King asks, amused.

Mura nods. "Mhm. I am the first person to be his friend."

"Wah, how splendid! Since you've become so close with him I'm certain I may count on you to be a stable and supportive presence in his life. As you know, the Crown Prince is still very young---only twenty years of age---thus, as the older one, you are expected to provide the wisdom that is required in a union. Understood?" 

No, Mura does not understand but nods at the King's words, anyway. "Yes, Chonha."

"His Highness, the Crown Prince," A eunuch announces.

The door to the King's throne hall--- his office--- opens and the Crown Prince walks in.

"Ah, Seja, you have come at a great time."

Baekhyun offers his bow to the King then casts a quick questioning glance at his consort.

"Sejabin has brought me some of her mother's sweet rice cakes."

"I see. How considerate of the Crown Princess."

"Indeed. Have you tried them?"

"No."

"I was intending on sharing them with Choha this evening." Mura says.

"Sejabin informed me that you two have formed a close friendship," the King says.

Baekhyun blushes. It feels strange to be talking about his relationship with the Crown Princess with the King. "Uh... yes."

"I was telling her since she is older than you, she must offer the maturity and wisdom required for your union. Therefore, you should allow her to teach you the virtues that one only gains with age."

Baekhyun stifles a laugh. Maturity? Wisdom? From the Crown Princess? Oh, how naive and oblivious the King is. "Yes, abamama." 

The King nods approvingly. "Good. What brings you here, Seja?"

"I wish to speak with you regarding an official matter."

"I suppose I shall take my leave then." Mura bows to both the King and the Crown Prince and bids them farewell before exiting the room. 

As Mura makes her way back to the east palace, she hears giggles and murmurs emitting from behind one of the walls.

"Ah, you're so fortunate. I wish I had been a member of the Crown Prince's personnel." 

Mura freezes upon hearing the Crown Prince being mentioned. Curious, she quietly walks to the wall to closely listen to what is being said from the other side of it, where a group of palace maids is having a conversation. 

"Likewise. I, too, wish I could see Choha unclothed," says another of the maids. 

"He wasn't completely unclad; only from the waist up. Although his thin cotton trousers left very little to the imagination," says the Crown Prince's handmaid, who is regaling about an encounter she had with her master in the bath chamber. 

The group squeals. 

Mura's eyebrows shoot up.

"Shameless wenches." Madam Choi mutters from behind. She tries to go and reprimand them, but Mura stops her and motions her to keep silent.

"Pray tell, is Choha's figure as handsome as his face?"

"Let's just say, he is favored by Heaven in more ways than one."

They all squeal again. 

"Allow me to share the best part," the Crown Prince's handmaid says. "I was ordered to bring more hot water for Choha's bath. When I entered the bath chamber with the bucket, it had just been the two of us. After I poured the hot water into the bath, he looked me in the eye, and then you won't believe what happened?"

"What happened?" Another one of them asks with anticipation.

Even Mura and her entourage become curious with anticipation

"He gifted me the most handsome smile and thanked me."

"Aish, is that all?" One says disappointedly

"I had thought, perhaps, he had asked you to join him in the bath," says another. 

"One may only dream," the handmaid says.

"One never knows. First, it starts with a glance, then a smile. A smile then someday becomes a touch, and a touch could then become a kiss."

"Say, if the Crown Prince were to seduce you, would you...?" One of them asks suggestively.

"Most certainly! Can you imagine? If he were to bed me, I could get promoted to a concubine status. That should be a dream come true."

"Is that so?"

The maids all jerk upon hearing the sudden foreign voice then see the head and shoulders of the Crown Princess hovering over the wall. She stands on the back of her personal eunuch, who's crouched down on the ground.

"Seja-sejabin-mama?" The Crown Prince's handmaid quickly bows to the Crown Princess upon recognizing her, and the other maids follow suit. 

Mura tuts. "You are quite the shameless bunch. Speaking about the Crown Prince in such vulgar ways."

The maids all drop to their knees. "Mama, punish us! We've committed a grave sin!" The Crown Prince's handmaid wails.

"So, you wish to be the Crown Prince's concubine?" Mura asks the handmaid.

The said maid shakes her head vehemently. "No, I was merely saying it in jest. I would never---"

"Mama, you must call for their punishment." Madam Choi suggests from below. 

"Hmm, should I? How shall I punish you all?" Mura asks the maids, who have all now started crying. 

"Please, we beg for your mercy, Mama. We shall never dare to partake in such offensive discussion regarding the Crown Prince, ever again."

"Very well."

Mura abruptly steps off her eunuch, who immediately collapses to the ground from the exertion. She then proceeds to walk away, snickering. She was simply taunting those maids.

The maids are left on their knees, thoroughly perplexed. They expect the Crown Princess to walk around the wall and accost them properly without a barrier standing between them, but she never does. 

"Mama, won't you call for their punishment?" Madam Choi asks. 

"Why should I? They weren't necessarily speaking ill of the Crown Prince."

"Still, they were speaking about him so brazenly. You mustn't pardon such behavior."

"Let them be, Choi Sanggung. They have a difficult life as is."

"One of them was speaking about being the Crown Prince's concubine." Janshil points out. 

"So?"

"What if she succeeds? You must implore the Crown Prince to dismiss that maid from his personnel."

Mura frowns. "I will do no such thing."

"Does it not bother you? Do you not feel jealousy over another woman speaking of possibly seducing the Crown Prince?"

"Why should it? It's commonplace for monarchs to have concubines."

"Still how---"

"Aish, quiet! If the Crown Prince wishes to seduce or be seduced by other women, he may do it to his heart's content. He may have as many concubines as he wishes. It is none of my concern. Just stop speaking nonsense and run to the kitchen and tell the cook I wish to have dumpling soup for dinner this evening."

Janshil pouts. "Yes, Mama, as you wish."

 

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Jongin enters the east palace with his beloved little dog perched comfortably in his one arm. He waits in the shared courtyard of the Crown Prince and Princess while their respective servants go inside to inform them of his arrival.

He is first greeted by his half-brother.

"Hyungnim." Baekhyun approaches the older with a smile on his face.

Jongin bows to his brother. "Choha, have you been well?"

"Just dandy. I believe that's our guest of honor for today." Baekhyun points at the dog with very little enthusiasm. He does not understand the appeal of owning such strange creatures. 

"Indeed," Jongin answers.

"Sejabin has been quite excited. Thank you for agreeing to this."

"It is our pleasure," Jongin says as he gently scratches the head of the furry being in his arm.

"Gun-mama!" Mura practically runs to the Royal Prince. She performs a quick bow. "This must be the precious Yuo! May I?" She asks extending her arms.

"Of course." Jongin carefully hands her the dog. 

"My goodness, such a precious little thing. She's so soft. Choha, isn't she utterly endearing?"

Baekhyun feigns a barely-there smile. "Mhm." The Crown Prince finds it difficult to agree with his consort. The animal looks peculiar with its small face and flattened snout that appears as though it's been leveled with a punch. While its eerily large eyes send out an unsettling feeling within Baekhyun.

"Choha, do you wish to hold her?" Mura asks.

"Umm, no, it's quite all right." 

"Let us proceed to the garden!" Mura prompts. 

"It wouldn't bite her, would it?" Baekhyun asks his brother with concern. 

"Do not fret. My Yuo is gentle and loving." Jongin assures.

They make their way to the garden, where Mura begins to play with the furry animal, while Baekhyun and Jongin watch from a distance. 

The Royal Prince's eyes are fixed on the Crown Princess. She appears to be truly enjoying herself, as she plays fetch with his pet. She seems so full of life and imbued with so much vivacity. Someone of her temperament truly does not belong in a place as lifeless as the royal palace. Jongin thinks back to his and the Crown Princess' first meeting. He understands why she had been so unwilling to marry into the royal family. There's so much vigor in her; so much beauty. Jongin's mind ventures into dangerous territory. Had he met the Crown Princess in a different reality, where she is neither the consort to the Crown Prince nor fated to be one, could he have seized this vivacious beauty for himself? He certainly would've loved the opportunity to do so. Since the very first moment he had laid his eyes on her, Jongin has been experiencing an ineluctable pull towards her. 

Hyungmin

Hyungnim

"Hyungnim."

Jongin is brought out of his musing by the Crown Prince's voice. "Yes?"

Baekhyun lets out a soft chuckle. "It seems your mind is rather preoccupied. Must be a chief matter, considering it took multiple attempts at calling out to you to gain your attention. I suppose it is safe to assume you haven't heard a single word I had uttered."

"My apologies, Choha. My mind had indeed drifted off. Please, excuse my poor manners."

"No matter, brother. I haven't particularly been speaking anything of great importance."

Both men stare ahead to see Mura sitting on the grass with Yuo on her lap, as she lovingly pets the dog. 

"Do you get on well with her?" Jongin asks.

"The Crown Princess? Yes, we do get on with each other quite well, actually."

"Forgive me but I find it quite surprising. I do not claim to know the Crown Princess well, however, from my limited observations of her she seems as someone who could easily get on your nerves. You two seem so different."

Baekhyun chuckles. "You are not wrong to assume that. But, somehow, it just works."

"Do you fancy her, Choha?" Jongin asks, truly curious.

Baekhyun's face heats up. How should he answer such a question. He stalls and glances at his consort, but answering the question no longer stays a priority as he notices a distressed expression on his consort's face. 

"Is she, perhaps, crying?" Jongin, too, notices. 

Both men rush towards the Crown Princess.

"Sejabin, what is the matter? Why are you crying? Has this brute happened to bite you?" Baekhyun questions his consort.

Jongin takes offence at the Crown Prince calling his dear pet a brute, but he does not verbalize it. "Mama, has Yuo harmed you?"

Mura, juts out her lower lip and shakes her head. "No, how could you accuse this angel of harming me? Look at her." She points at the animal on her lap who looks to be in a peaceful slumber. "Isn't she the most endearing sight? She just slowly drifted off to sleep in my lap. It was so charming that it almost made me cry. No being shall have the right to be this lovely."

Now that Baekhyun takes a closer look, he sees no tears coming out of the Crown Princess' eyes. He sighs in relief. So does Jongin. The brothers share a glance and chuckle softly at the exaggerated reaction of the Crown Princess. 

While the said princess looks at the sleeping dog with fondness, the two princes stare at the princess with similar devotion.

 

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Qing: the Chinese imperial dynasty.

 

 

A/N: So, it seems Jongin, too, now has a crush on Mura? WTF? He's married! To a wife who's pregnant! Well, he's just gonna have to crush on Mura from a distance. But, poor man is mistreated by his grandmother. Does the dowager have any redeeming qualities? 

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you on the next one!