Not Changing in this Lifetime - chapter 3

Choi Hye Ryeong entered the side chambers. At the moment of pushing open the door, she thought she entered another world.

The room was brightly lit such that on the ceiling held a large lamp. From the use of fine wood as the framing of the room to exquisite and delicate patterns in laid with silk thread, a display of landscape paintings, a carved six-horned dragon head, and all was made from red jade. It was a wonderful work of skilled craftmen; beautiful and bewitching. 

The chairs in the front were of a peculiar style, such that only somewhere in the royal palace, did she see high chairs like these. However, none were this refined. The texture of the wood was like it was given a soul that wrapped itself around the chair, with fine and gossamer-like subtleness , dignified and  elegant roundness, and a clear sky was carved on the chair's horns and back. Everything was of the highest quality. Every part was connected seamlessly. 

Hye Ryeong crouched down and carefully looked. She searched for anything that was different, but for a long time she did not find any flaw. 

Suddenly, behind her came a deep voice that carried a laughing tone, "It's mortise and tenon. Mortise and tenon that are connected together."

Hye Ryeong, frightened, immediately straightened herself. Suppressing her shock, looking down, in a low voice, she said, "Sir." She was flustered at herself for being nosy. 

Gwi thought otherwise. He headed for the chair and flipped it upside down. Fiddling with the chair, he removed one of its leg, and held it infront of Hye Ryeong to look at it. 

"This is a lattice shoulder tenon. Look at these two sides that are hollowed out. Since these two shoulder tenons look like a pair of wings, they are called  floating tenon joints." Drawing on her fascination with the chair, he drew her over to where the chair was standing, and demonstrated how a typical mortise and tenon joint was connected, fixing the chair. For Hye Ryeong, this showcase was not short of magic. Even though she did not voice anything, her round and bright almond eyes gleamed with surprise. It was indeed pleasing her. 

"There are many types of mortise and tenon; all requiring different connections. A protrusion of a piece of wood is a tenon, and a cavity cut into a wood tp receive a tenon is a mortise. They are complimentary to each other, creating a secure binding." 

"Then when one is building a home, wouldn't using mortise and tenon make the home even more secured?" Hye Ryeong suddenly asked with her head high. 

"It would." His eyes revealed approval. Hye Ryeong indeed never saw this phenomenon, but she quickly grasped the concept. As a young child, her teachers would always compliment her on her smarts, but she has yet to see her father's eye of approval.