Spring time, 637. The Palace of Goryeo.

Sooyoung grits her teeth knowing exactly what was happening. In thanks to the Chinese for their assistance in the war, Silla was selecting concbines from Baekje and Goryeo as tributes. She and other potential were to be scrutinized and ridiculed to the Emperor’s enjoyment. What’s worse was that Kim Joon Myun was sent to watch the entire process. Although outwardly, Kim Jaejoong was sending Joon Myun as a peace offering since Joon Myun was known to be a great negotiator, in reality, there was nothing more Jaejoong wanted than breaking down his enemies and watching them suffer.

There was nothing more that would make Joon Myun suffer than watching innocent girls from Goryeo be sent to be for the Emperor of China due to Joon Myun’s own incompetence and loss in the war. Jaejoong knew that if he broke Joon Myun enough, there was no way Joon Myun would ever rebel against Jaejoong’s regime.

Kim Heechul though, the ex-ruler of Baekje was a different story. Kim Heechul was as cunning as a fox. There was no way Jaejoong would ever break Heechul’s spirits; he was, the incarnation of rebellion. Kim Heechul would take his own life before having to bow before Kim Jaejoong and accepting his rule. That’s why Heechul was sitting, rotting in a prison while Joon Myun was allowed outside.

Who suffered more? At least Heechul kept his dignity, and if he were to die? It’d be a fast death by guillotine.

Sooyoung, although not knowing much about palace politics, knew enough to know that the people of Baekje and Goryeo would suffer under Jaejoong’s hand if they were not careful. For someone who was so intelligent, those he felt no attachment towards, he would not treat well without reason.

“Hwang Mi Young.” Sooyoung hears the messenger call out and watches her friend step out of the line out of the corner of her eye. Mi Young bows deeply before the fearsome Royals watching her every move.

“Your peasant pays her respects to your highnesses, may you be blessed with wealth and fortunes of the highest degree. Your humble servant is of noble backgrounds, the daughter of Hwang Eunhyeol, the Minister of Justice. I am forever bound to you in servitude.” Mi Young says her head dipping so low it almost grazes the ground.

“Her father is a contender of justice I see.” Yoona says looking at the girl before her. Yoona had to admit, she had a youthful persona and a charming smile that could make any man swoon. Yoona felt threatened by her presence and without a doubt, Qian was feeling the same way.

“Yes, your highness, I have heard that he serves in the court well.” Joon Myun says, recognizing the name that had appeared on his scrolls many times. He was captivated by her beauty and could not peel his eyes from her appearance.

“Justice is nothing if you have not the desire to make it happen. Tell us, Mi Young, how much do you desire to see the inner walls of the Imperial palace of China?” Yoona asks eyes narrowing and fear rises up in Mi Young’s stomach knowing that the Crown Princess had now begun to antagonize her.

“In response to your question your highness, I do not care for the jewels and riches adorned on the walls, I simply live to serve your needs.” Mi Young says carefully. Yoona scoffs and looks to Qian who was surely feeling the same way.

“Are you insulting the Imperial palace? The building of which has cost more money than you will see in your lifetime? Do you believe that our humble establishment is non-comparable to that of your simple dwelling? How absurd.” Yoona says in mock rage and Mi Young, quickly bows her head to the floor. The corner of Yoona’s lips tilt in a small smirk and she turns to Qian.

“Look, Empress, see how she insults our palace? She must believe that she is above us, how ought we to punish her?” Yoona asks smiling as Mi Young holds her breath, awaiting her destiny. Sooyoung cannot look on idly and watch her friend suffer under the hands of the Royals before her.

“Your excellency, please forgive my friend. She means not to insult the beauty and wonder of the palace as it is the dream of every girl who steps within these walls to see the beauty within. In turn, she means that she cares not for worldly possessions, but more for the trust you have for her and to serve you well. She has the best intentions.” Sooyoung says throwing herself to her knees beside Mi Young. Luhan turns his attention to the spectacle before him. Never had he seen a girl with such audacity as she and he raises an eyebrow in interest.

Mi Young glances over at Sooyoung in shock and Sooyoung gives Mi Young and almost imperceptible nod of the head to which Mi Young tenses up. Sooyoung holds her breath, knowing that she had just signed her own death sentence. She waits for the ruling of the Empress and Crown Princess.

“Speak your name peasant. Talking out of turn is a serious crime.” Qian says calmly, wanting to give Sooyoung the benefit of doubt. Qian saw Sooyoung as an interesting character, one of potential. She knew that she had to tread carefully with Sooyoung or she would be hard to control in the future.

“I am Choi Sooyoung, daughter of the Choi merchants here to pay my respects to your royal highnesses. I give my upmost degree of servitude and pray your good health and wisdom cease to stop growing.” Sooyoung says head bowed.

“Lift your face.” Qian says and Sooyoung looks up. The whole Royal Court gasps and Luhan traces his eyes over the features of the girl in front of her. Was she? No. It couldn’t be.

“Actions have consequences, Choi Sooyoung, are you willing to pay the consequences for your actions?” Yoona questions, being the first one to break out of the trance. Before, Yoona was procacious with Sooyoung’s sudden outburst. Yoona’s main purpose had been to eradicate Mi Young, however, now with Sooyoung’s speech; it seemed to be difficult to find reason.

Yoona realizes that this girl was much more deadly than she’d been given credit for. She was, Yoona realizes, as dangerous as she looks. Luhan is enamoured by the action taking place. There was something about this girl he was drawn to, he couldn’t explain it yet, but it was there.

Perhaps it was not that he couldn’t explain it, more that he couldn’t admit it to himself.

“Your highness, I accept all that I am guilty of.” Sooyoung says blankly, the implications left hanging in the open for all to interpret. The corner of Luhan’s lips tilt in amusement. This girl had managed to deny her guilt in a way that made her seem like she’d accepted it. Clever.

“Very well Choi Sooyoung, answer my question to Mi Young, how much do you desire to see the inner walls of the Imperial Palace? Answer wisely and you may save your life and that of your friend’s.” Yoona says smirking and Sooyoung takes a deep breath.

“To serve the master is the one main goal of servant. Between master and servant, a bond of mutual life is created, neither one dares to make the first move in striking against the other. The master needs the servant to survive and the servant needs the master to survive. In this way, the master and servant live in a perfect commensalism. In a life of servitude, a master’s wishes will also become that of the peasant.” Sooyoung says and Yoona frowns. Sooyoung was much too voluble for her liking.

“I asked you of the Palace, not on the relationship bet-” Yoona begins but Luhan puts up a hand and interrupts Yoona. Yoona looks at Luhan in shock but quickly shuts . Luhan smiles kindly to Sooyoung beckoning for her to continue.

“If a master’s wishes are the most important to a peasant such as I. Your royal highness is my master, therefore, my wishes do not lie with myself but with you. I will desire to see as much as you want me to. I will follow the thoughts you command me to. I will look to please but venture no farther than to your pleasing,” Sooyoung says and pauses, “therefore, your majesty, how much should I desire to see the palace?” Sooyoung questions and Yoona sits speechless, how was it possible that a commoner like her managed to render the sharp Crown Princess without even a menacing thought to utter?

“Very well, Sooyoung. You speak of mutual life and perfect commensalism, correct?” Luhan says and everyone turns to look at him. Truth be told, he was shocked to hear his own voice, but continued on nonetheless.

“Yes, your highness.” Sooyoung answers, still bowing deeply on the ground.

“Your argument is flawed.” Luhan says, observing the way the Sooyoung’s eyebrows knit together at his comment, “Perfect commensalism cannot possibly exist because one will always benefit more from the other and in the position of mutual life sooner or later one person must strike down the other.” Luhan says smiling widely waiting for the clever maiden’s response.

“Perfect commensalism is perfectly valid as long as the one that benefits less is content with the way things are. In this life, there must be balance, as long as the servant is content the balance is not disrupted. Mutual life, however, is a different story altogether.” Sooyoung says letting the faintest of smiles grace her face, “Eventually, yes, one will be stricken down, but it will always be the servant. The servant dies upon the master’s request and even if the master did not want the servant to die, the servant would still have to die. That is the life of a servant.”

Mi Young gasps silently at Sooyoung’s comment. She had practically insulted the entire court through her flowing speeches and was signing her death sentence as she spoke. Mi Young had heard terrible stories of the Emperor’s short temper, Mi Young was trembling inside for her friend’s sake.

“How dare you-” Qian shouts standing up and Luhan puts his hand up again. “But, Emperor, she clearly insulte-” Qian protest but Luhan shoots her a glare and she quickly cuts herself off, sitting down discontentedly.

“Jia Heng, come here.” Luhan says calling his brother over. Jia Heng stands up from his seat and walks over and bows before Luhan.

“Yes my liege?” Jia Heng asks, awaiting Luhan’s instruction. Jia Heng had been silently watching and observing the maiden from his chair and he found her quite alluring. She reminded him of someone he once knew, someone he’d known very well. Jia Heng, however, was not stupid and he could see that Luhan had developed some kind of attachment to this girl in front of him.

Sooyoung watches a handsome young man by the name of Jia Heng stand after Luhan whispered something to him secretly. Sooyoung watched the man bow once and then go out the doors to retrieve something. He was confident in his strides and his eyebrows were knit together in a frown, but there was something gentle about his face that stirred something in Sooyoung’s heart. Sooyoung could tell that Mi Young felt the same way.

“Hwang Mi Young.” Luhan calls regally from his throne and Mi Young is startled out of her trance.

“Yes, my lord.” Mi Young says rising up from the ground enough that her words would not be muffled by the cool ground.

“You are loyal to this girl beside you, yes?” Luhan asks and Mi Young fights to control her trembling body in front of the Emperor whose attention was now fully her.

“In answer to your question my lord, yes through life or death.” Mi Young says and then Luhan nods.

“You did not think that you were going to go unpunished did you?” Luhan asks and Mi Young winces. She’d been hoping that he’d forget she existed. “In that case, today, you’ll make a choice. You can choose to save her, or you can choose to save yourself.” Luhan says as Jia Heng returns with a tray containing a bowl with a dark black bitter smelling liquid and a spice bag. Mi Young pales and she feels the blood in her veins run cold.

“This is a poisonous tonic of the highest degree of torture. Within minutes of drinking it, the person will die. Unlike other poisons, this one is extremely torturous, it will start by liquefying your internal organs before sending your body through fits of freezing cold and boiling warmth. You will feel like you’re on fire at the same time as feeling like you’re being frozen to death. Not only that, but you’ll itch and feel pain through the entire process. If you choose to drink this poison, your friend lives, if not, you live and your friend dies.” Luhan says and Jia Heng presents the tonic to Mi Young.

Sooyoung looks over to Mi Young with an extremely panicked expression. Mi Young looks back at Sooyoung and closes her eyes sending a quick prayer up to the heavens ensuring her friend’s safety after she was gone. She looks at the two options available to her. One was a life in the palace, surrounded by jewels and servants who would care for her every whim. Another was a slow and agonizing death that guaranteed her friend’s safety. Mi Young stands up and takes the bowl from Jia Heng and walks in front of the Emperor, bowing quickly.

“No! Mi Young! You can’t!” Sooyoung screams. Qian raises an eyebrow; this was not what she was expecting from Luhan. She expected him to perhaps castrate the both of them and toss them into the streets, but having the girl watch her friend die brought shivers to Qian’s body. She’d never felt scared of Luhan before but in this instant, Qian knew that he was deeply terrified of something buried deep in her husband.

“Through life and death, life and death.” Mi Young mutters to herself taking the bowl back to her position beside Sooyoung. Jia Heng is thankful that his back is turned to a position where Luhan couldn’t see his expressions. Jia Heng knew Luhan would not be pleased to see the permanent grimace that had now taken over his face. How could his brother be so cruel to two innocent women? Perhaps he had been wrong to take Luhan here; he should’ve known that Luhan wouldn’t spare any mercy to a concubine.

“Unni, please, I beg of you, give me the drink.” Sooyoung begs but Mi Young shakes her head softly to Sooyoung.

“Life or death.” Mi Young whispers to herself, stuck in her trance and she downs the entire bowl in one gulp. The rest of the court watches closely as Mi Young falls to the ground writhing once or twice before going completely still. Sick monsters they all were, watching someone suffer without even batting an eyelash.

“No! Unni, you can’t die! No!” Sooyoung says, crawling over to Mi Young’s side. She clutches Mi Young’s limp body silently, shaking her as if Mi Young would wake up. She had to; Mi Young couldn’t die because of her. Mi Young had to wake up.

“Gift the spice bag.” Luhan declares personally and Sooyoung closes her eyes, trying to shut out what was happening. Sooyoung stands up and bows to Luhan silently, returning to her position. She watches as Mi Young’s body is carried away by Jia Heng.

She looks back at Luhan to find him staring at her intently, studying her every move. He does not speak again for the rest of the selections, the power, again, given back to the Empress and Crown Princess. The two of them, however, are slightly shaken up by the events that had just taken place and ask no more than one question before simply gifting the flower.

Of her group, Sooyoung is the only one going to the palace. She was to enter the Forbidden City while people she grew up with would return to her hometown and spread rumours of her being a murderer. She would, forever be eradicated from the minds of her family and friends as kind and loving.

Luhan watches Sooyoung grieve silently and smiles secretly. She was acting exactly the way Luhan wanted her to. Luhan knew that she would be the perfect candidate to carry out his plan. Jia Heng would think twice now before bringing him along in one of these expeditions. He looks over to Yoona who smirks and nods and Luhan nods his head gratefully to her.

She had come up with an ingenious idea that would help the two of them. Jia Heng should have known what he was going up against when he sent Yoona to persuade Luhan into going into Silla. Of course, even if Yoona loved her brother dearly which she claimed she did, she was not a fool.

She knew that Luhan was the more cunning of the two and while Jia Heng was incredibly intelligent, his nativity blinded him to her schemes. He believed that his younger sister, while had a thirst appetite for power, was still a young innocent girl. Of course, Yoona being Yoona, used that to her advantage.

So, when she was called to persuade her brother, she counter-offered Luhan a solution instead. Luhan could cleanse his hands from the dirty affairs of concubines and Yoona could satisfy her power needs with the new position of managing the six palaces of the harem.

Besides being the younger sister of Luhan, the Jade Palace was a thriving place and was looked to as a gem in the back palace. Luhan saw this as enough reason to grant Yoona her wish and so, they struck a deal based on the premises of needing something from the other.

Luhan looks at Sooyoung now, sullen and full of chagrin. He sneaks a quick peak over to his brother Jia Heng who had just returned from laying the body in a back chamber in this palace. Luhan had already instructed his trusted brother Zi Tao to take over once she was safely in the room and Jia Heng had left.

Jia Heng’s face was exactly how Luhan expected it to look, depressed, angry, guilty and remorseful. Luhan smiled secretly; there was no way Jia Heng would ever bring him back to one of these events. Luhan frowns though as he sees something else in Jia Heng’s expression. Disappointment.

“You know, today you behaved exactly the way father used to.” Jia Heng whispers in his ear and then walks away. Luhan’s eyes flash in anger. How dare Jia Heng compare him to the trash that was their birth father?

Sooyoung watches Jia Heng whisper something in Luhan’s ear. Luhan’s expression changes from a triumphant one to one of rage. Sooyoung feels some of her anger dissipate at Luhan’s newfound displeasure and Sooyoung decides that she likes Jia Heng.

Sooyoung had never been so adamant in her feelings towards an individual, she usually liked to give the benefit of doubt, but today Sooyoung was sure of one thing. She completely and irrevocably loathed Luhan, the Emperor of China.