"Mistress Nam, forgive me for not keeping in touch with you during my absence, but I have been extremely busy and…" "I can forgive your absence for a little while, but please do not do it again, as you know that you are my only benefactor as well as my son…" "As I am trying to explain to you, I have been rather occupied with the impending issues at court and you have to understand that I will not always be available for your needs. I understand that you were punished recently alongside The Concubine Chung…." "Brother-in-law, forgive me for interrupting you once gain, but I must ask about her. Will she be alright? Or has she been convicted of her allegations about the palace market?" "The Concubine Chung has blamed you entirely for the whole thing, how can you possibly be more worried for her at this point than she is of you? My fiancé and her family has done more for you and I still haven't heard you ask about her health in the least." "My Lord, I am honoured to serve you and I do appreciate everything that you have done for me but…are you really sure about marrying this girl? For the rest of your life? I mean, she is so young and temperamental, and she is flawed internally as well. Will she be an obedient wife to you and carry out the Nam name well? Your father didn't even like her…"
"Mistress Nam, you were a slave girl who pounced on my half-brother to carry this name, only to loose it all in less than a week. And for that, you suit the Nam name quite well, but you are right, Seo Yeon does not…which is the reason why I shall take on her family name instead." "My Lord? Please, seeing you stand up like this makes me feel ill at ease…" "I remember you using up the silver tea set that she gifted to you, where did that go? Why are you suddenly using cheap materials now?" "The Concubine Chung suggested that I start using things according to my new status, unlike Seo Yeon…" "Who uses everything that I gifted her to suit the noble lineage that she will be granted at our wedding. Unlike this ware that is simple and elegant, I will make sure that our wedding will be the talk of the kingdom for centuries to come. But I al also glad that you have come to like simplicity, it reminds me of the times when you were serving me under my father's roof. For wealth is indeed a rarity that must not be squandered, but it is surely inevitable that people get blinded by their own jealousies and greed."
"I…am deeply honoured by your words of wisdom, brother-in-law. But I also know what is proper for someone of my status…" "That has fallen into a criminal's wife? Or a widow? Forgive me, I am unable to decipher which is worser than the other at this moment." "I…" "You have been with me for a long time now, and you should be more aware of what matters you can comment on." "But yet Seo Yeon…" "she educated herself thoroughly whilst you were still dreaming about turning your rags into riches in the fastest way possible. And if you were literate enough, you would know that even Confucius himself regards knowledge highly over status, wealth and social rank." "I thoroughly believe that my private company is none of your business at all, sister-in-law, to the extent where you can comment on it as you please. But for your information; When I was poor, she made me rich. When the world was against me, she stayed by me and made me stronger, more knowledgeable and open-minded. And when the world ignored me and saw me as a liar, her simple childish infatuation with me gave me a chance to be seen again by somebody, anybody, even it was just her. Men will always choose the nurturing woman to marry; even if I didn't…have a certain fondness for her, then I still would have married Yeon eventually, in spite of my plans, which is more than I can say for you. Tell me, you have been in the palace for nearly over a year now; have you managed to str anyone's interest for marriage? You didn't think that I would support you forever, did you?" "But I…I haven't done anything wrong and I…" "You seem to be misunderstanding the agreement that we had; because I specially remember telling you that I supported you from the start only for the sake of my nephew, but there really isn't any point in supporting you any longer if you stop caring for him at all." "My Lord?" "I have had my eyes on you ever since I started handing over a portion of my inheritance, even though I have much better things to spend my wealth on. Or did you already forget that all of your servants come from me?"
"My Lord…I can come with you can't I? Both myself and my son, you can just house us when you marry Yeon! I can even recommend you some concubines when you come to realise that…." "My goodness, here I was going to give you another chance to earn my trust, but you just keep biting the hands that feeds you. I do not even know why I continue to tolerate you after everything that you have done to Yeon herself when she was also poisoned and sent away from the palace." "But I…that wasn't me at all! Look at what that girl is doing to us; why is she constantly sowing discord between the both of us? And for what? I have served you since I was a child My Lord, even before you met The Seo's…" "Then why am I learning of a different scenario that happened when the officials looked for the poison? I seem to recall an account where you were the only one wildly blocking anyone who came to your quarters to conduct a formal search? Unless you have suddenly become rather resentful of the fact that we had to cross you off the suspect list at all? And why would you become s hysterically aggrieved, unless you were guilty of something in the first place?"
"If anyone is guilty here in the palace, it is that lowly girl for stealing everyone's favour and getting away with it! And you! You are that girl's biggest enabler! You let her go, do and say what she pleases without thinking of the consequences! And you always end up cleaning those messes, don't you! How can you possibly think to marry a woman who will always have secrets that she keeps, even from her own brother? Are you yourself not exhausted yet, brother-in-law? Is she really worth it after all that you both have been through for each other?" "I wonder why such a simple concept like that is so hard to believe, unless it is because there hasn't been a single person in your miserable life to ever do the same thing for you? Or have you really not figured out that reason why Dal chose you at all?" "My Lord?" "Oh, for goodness sake…Dal only chose you because you were one of the closest maids to Yeon at the time where she was living under my father's roof? He only took you in because he could never get past the fact that Yeon has only ever loved me in her lifetime. He didn't even acknowledge you when you came for him with a new title, money and even the power that we both wanted to work had for ourselves."
"But you…so you knew all along? That he was your brother after all? And you…exploited Yeon's feelings for you under your father's roof to do your bidding? And ever since then?" "Following her around has already established new goals for my life, which was worth nothing until she starting forming her own little goals away from me." "So you…and the brothel girl…you broke up with her on purpose? Just to see what she could do for you? So then you would have just stayed with her if you chose…" "I could have said with Hui-Jee if I chose to, but she has already displayed her disloyalty to me long ago and I could no longer stomach her one she kept hovering around me at all. But not even she with all of her beauty could bring me to where I am now. Which brings me back to you, sister-in-law, because just like her, I tend to drop people who bring no value to me at all. So I will allot you some time to think about your next move wisely as I take back every single luxury item I have ever gifted you and more. And whilst you are at it, I want to know where she is exactly…" "And The Concubine Chung?" "One of you must take the fall for everything that has transpired so far, and that choice lies in your hands, Widow Nam." "Excuse me? What did you just call me? Widow?" "What do you expect when I make Yeon my legally wedded-wife? Of course she will become known to others as The Madame Seo, what did you think her title would be after marriage?" "Madame Seo…Widow Seo…no, these titles cannot stand next to each other, it just doesn't work that way…"