A series of incidents flooded our once peaceful villages; it was as if our enemy knew that the menfolk had left for war and now these cowards were trying to kill all of the women folk that were left to fend for ourselves and our children. First came the snakes that would tumble down on our heads from our not=so=stable roofs in the middle of the night, which the remaining menfolk had to very dangerously climb on top of every gaya home to chase them away, which took days to ensure that the snakes had been chased away. Then the next day, there were a flurry of joss papers blown into our village like leaves, but leaves do not cause a mass panic amongst the people. Joss papers were considered as a form of witchcraft amongst the lowborn people, and it took us all quite a while to calm everyone down. But this matter was quite serious this time, and I knew that it would require a meeting with officials at some point or another, so I had no choice but to venture out of the village with my heavily swollen belly that was causing the much illness back to the home that I had just closed up with my husband less than a month ago. I had absolutely no choice but to pull away from the villagers for a short while, just long enough to file an official complaint about the joss papers just in case we got in serious trouble for this. Lucky enough the entire Inspector General's office was under my husband's thumb at this point, so I could safely make my complaint and return right back to my people who were beyond despair at this point. I had originally planned to rejoin the villagers right away in clearing up the mess we were in and I was already in correspondence with the so=called 'dead concubines' and their families who were looking for new land for us to resettle in just in case. But I was beyond nauseas at this point and I simply had to rest, so I simply had to go back to the home where I was flooded with the memories of an entire clan trying to end me and my husband just when I had found out that I was pregnant. This home had no warmth of life without my husband to spoil and pamper me, instead I felt as if I had landed in a dark hole of despair and misery myself since all of this chaos was happening just when I was in my most vulnerable position at the moment. My babies, my man, my brother and his people, not a single person in my life was giving me any peace at all. I just desperately needed to rest for a while, so I could wake up fresh with a clear mind for new ideas and solutions to defeat our new enemy from the distance…
"…is everything ready, servant?" "We have all made the preparations Princess, and everything is in progress. But it really is an expensive gift to part from, are you sure about this?" "What a small minded servant you are indeed! I have plenty of Shu Brocade in my wardrobe, I won't be missing a single outfit, will I? My brother can simply replace it for me; just like he did with my makeup and accessories that was taken away from me after that damned marriage scandal of mine! That is why she must get a taste of revenge from me!" But Princess! She is a Seo! You cannot touch her, despite your own status!" "And why can't I! Why doesn't anyone else see that she purposely set myself an my brother up to take the Nam Clan off of her hands! Yes, everyone knows about her husband's feud with his paternal family, but he is the one I really cannot go after because of his high status in the palace now. But her? If I allow her to live, then what will that show? That these lowborn can get away with anything and everything! What do I care about this Seo Geom person? I wasn't even born when he was alive, so what do I care about his reputation? Or that of his children? The deities must be on my side to allow this to happen during the Buddhist Rites for the Mid Spring Festival; and I have already found a way to deliver the joss paper offerings and paper money through to the village that I accidentally discovered when I went through my older brother's things in his private residence. Let us let them take care of their responsibilities towards their dead for the Ghost Rites." "But this is a crime to commit so soon before or after he Buddhist Rites for the Mid Spring Festival!" "Exactly my point and case; and we can use her leftover servants that she just abandoned to make sure that this has nothing to do with us." "Burning incense offerings and joss papers are strictly prohibited in the palace and she is a lowborn, surely she had greed in her heart just like the rest of them and it is her bad luck that these are considered as curses, for the older generation anyways." "So after this…" "Her endless luck will finally face an end after all; The Set Clan will fall so us Royals and noble folk alike will no longer have to cater to such a lowly family and allowing them to break the rules and laws for their consistent challenging circumstances and giving them a higher pay for doing absolutely nothing at all. My brother The Third Prince almost went broke to keep Set Hwi by his side and for what? Wasn't he rejected until the end? If only See Yeon and her illegitimate half-breed husband didn't interfere in their relationship, then my brother would have overtaken my ageing and neglectful father years ago and made this country more successful than it is now!"
"Illegitimate half-breeds are considered the same as those mixed-breeds; they are less than human; impure, pitiable, monsters, striving for favour in the most beastly of ways. This plan will surely align with The Third Prince's plan to eradicate these half and mixed breeds from our kingdom once he rises to his father's throne! We will surely give her husband no cause to miss her as well, The Madame Nam should be dead before he comes back form his failed mission to locate The Third Prince in this country at all. It isn't like she can surpass us anyways. We have already interfered with their food supply and ensured the womenfolk develop rheumatism, effectively rendering them useless in all aspects. They cannot get good food even if they bribed their neighbours with all of the silver in the world at this point in time, Princess!" "I have lost the majority of support within the palace due to this Seo woman; a damned disabled woman of all things! I am a joke in the palace more or less as is my brother The Crown Prince! How can I still live in glory now without getting my revenge!" "Princess! Please calm down your anger!" "Calm down my anger! Even if I am a Princess, I am still merely a woman who should receive at least a strong marital affection and children, but I was robbed of even that much! I have not even the slightest basic rights at all and I am supposed to just carry on as normal without justice? I think not! And of course I cannot show my displeasure lest I am called ungrateful? Everyone cares more about her than myself and I simply shall not allow it! The loss of loved ones, the feeling of living in hell and loosing out on all of her supporters, that is something she should get a taste of also!" "Princess, we have already checked this residence and your carriage has now arrived. Let us go back into the palace now and let the chaos begin tonight."
I simply could not believe this; so this was all planned by The Princess? And not her half brother, The Third Prince? Now I was surely glad that I did not write to my husband and brother, calling for their return sooner. But my thoughts were still all over the place as I tried my best to keep quiet and act as if I wasn't home right now until The Princess left in her carriage. I couldn't believe this; why couldn't catch a break? In the eyes of The Royal Family, I was not their enemy at all. All of my themes were carried out with swift precision and I always ensured that my enemies would take the fall for me, so where did I go wrong this time? I had hardly re-entered the palace since my marriage, although I did use my time to build up amicable relationships with both noble and lowborn families. Could that be the reason why The Princess was singling me out? Because I was gaining everything she had lost, even though she knew a married woman only mingled with others to build up their husband's reputation and helped them with the burdens of their workload? What was I doing wrong? Was my life going to carry on this way forever?
Just as I was slowly slipping into depression with my worried thoughts, my babies suddenly woke up and started kicking their little feet away in my belly as if they were angry at me for something. But it also woke me up to the reality that I simply didn't have any time to just sit and worry like another ordinary mother-to-be. I still had my family's reputation to protect me, as well as a very round and very heavy belly to ensure our family's protection. My husband was on a mission and he had earned his merits before and after this, so in the eyes of The entire Royal Family, I was not a criminal, I was just the victim of some spoiled Princess who had lost everything apart from her luxurious home and title and didn't know how to carry on life without those things.
I wasn't going to be able to get some sleep anytime soon, so I decided to follow The Princess on foot as much as I could to gauge her personality instead of acting according to the rumours about her, son could figure out a plan to put her in her place once and for all. I had to be more careful since she was a member of The Royal Family, and the idea of going back to the palace in my delicate condition where this family took superstition more seriously, especially when it came to children freaked me out. If anyone knew I was going to be having twins, The Royal Family would not hesitate to take my children away fro. me upon being born. But then again, I guess that my belly being an usual size could work in my favour…it would show that I was suffering from health issues after the ordeal I was being put through at the moment and maybe The Royal Family could give me a little relief…
"…you unless bastards! Aren't you eating properly or something? You are jostling the carriage far too much!" "Please forgive me Princess! I deserve to die! I deserve to die!" "You indeed deserve to die! Haw can you fail the only job you have on your first day of work! Get lost! And find somewhere else to work! Go on! Go!" "Greetings Princess, what brings you by my humble abode…Princess! What are you doing! Why did you slap me out of nowhere! I am the wife on an official! How dare you…!" "What wife an official! You are a useless lump of flesh in my eyes! Do you look down on me! With that sullen face of yours! Is that why you reduced the number of cosmetics that you normally send to me? At a discounted price as well!" "You are angry at me at my husband's line of work! Where you know I have no say in anything whatsoever!" "You just be careful that I do not dispatch some several concubines to your husband so they can help me get what I what instead if you continue to prove yourself useless to me! Do not fall out of favour with your husband either, since I am the one who arranged your marriage for you after you seduced him and he still didn't anything to do with you afterwards! And as for your maternal dowry maid here, I find her coming in and from the palace far too much for my liking without much work to be done, so I will simply take her form your hands and put her too much better use. I also find that her astrological sign clashes with yours, and that is why your work production has bee affected recently!" "My Lady! You cannot interfere in my personal matters! I have grown up with this servant, why else would you…" "Servants! Take this girl to the back and behead her to warn this kingdom what would happen if they were to ever abandon me or let me down again!"