Episode 4. A Small but Meaningful Change
"Did you dare lay your hands on the Royal Grandson of this nation?"
When Yoonseo asked coldly, a woman stepped forward from behind Dowon-gun and strode toward her.
"What nonsense is this, Court Lady Kwon?"
It was Jo, who had entered the palace as Dowon-gun's wet nurse.
"How dare you slander our young lord! Are you so eager to have your head cut—"
"Watch your words. I may be nothing more than a mere court lady, but the one I serve is the Royal Grandson."
Within the palace, a servant's status depended on whom they served.
And yet a mere wet nurse serving a collateral "gun" dared speak to someone who served the Royal Grandson—the future king!
Yoonseo lifted her chin coolly.
"How arrogant!"
"To shout at the young lord of Myeongrye Palace, whom His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen cherish dearly!"
The maids who had followed Dowon-gun began speaking fiercely as they approached Yoonseo.
They looked ready to rush her together.
To treat the Royal Grandson with such disrespect—the discipline of the royal court was far worse than expected.
"Ahem! What kind of disgraceful spectacle is this!"
Court Lady Park of the Eastern Palace stepped forward.
"How dare you behave like this in front of the Royal Grandson!"
Court Lady Park, who served the Crown Prince and oversaw the Eastern Palace, held the rank of Senior Fifth Grade.
The maids—who were only Eighth or Ninth Grade—were not people who could confront her recklessly.
Yet the maids of Dowon-gun and Damyang-gun did not retreat.
"It is not that we wish to disrespect Your Ladyship. But Court Lady Kwon—"
It showed just how great the favor Grand Prince Suyang and Lady Shinbin Kim enjoyed from the king.
Seeing the maids refuse to back down, Court Lady Park's eyes began to blaze.
"Young lords, please cover your ears for a moment. I must deliver a lesson to those who insult their betters and disgrace your honorable faces."
After politely asking Dowon-gun and Damyang-gun for permission, Court Lady Park roared like a lion.
"Are your ears blocked? Did Court Lady Kwon not say this was disrespect toward our Royal Grandson, not toward me? Guards!"
She shouted to the particularly strong maids she had brought from the Eastern Palace.
"If they utter one more word, drag them to the Internal Affairs Prison of the Inspectorate!"
The moment the prison—where no one walked out on their own feet once taken in—was mentioned, the maids of Dowon-gun and Damyang-gun flinched and stepped back.
Seeing the situation turn this way, the sharp six-year-old Dowon-gun stepped forward.
"My apologies. While swinging the fishing rod, I accidentally brushed Hongwi's head. That is what happened. Hongwi, big brother is sorry."
With a mocking grin, he gave a careless apology and looked up at Yoonseo.
The smile he had been wearing disappeared, leaving only a sharp gaze.
"What is your name?"
"What would you do with my name? I am Court Lady Kwon, servant of the Royal Grandson."
Court Lady Kwon's body was tall—well over 165 centimeters.
As she looked down at him with an intimidating gaze, Dowon-gun flinched and quickly turned away, as if he thought she might strike him.
No matter how powerful his father Grand Prince Suyang was, he was still just a child.
"Let's go. Uncle, let's go."
Damyang-gun then flashed Hongwi an unpleasant grin before walking out together with Dowon-gun.
Their maids glared sharply at Yoonseo before hurrying after them.
Court Lady Park then scolded Yoonseo loudly, clearly so the departing group could hear.
"Court Lady Kwon! You allowed the Royal Grandson to hear such harsh words! If something like this happens again, you will be the first dragged to the Inspectorate prison!"
However, the corners of Court Lady Park's mouth twitched upward toward her cheekbones.
Normally, no court lady dared step forward when others treated the Royal Grandson rudely.
If she herself intervened, it could escalate into conflict among the royal elders.
Even when angry, she had to endure it.
But thanks to Court Lady Kwon boldly stepping forward first, she had been able to intimidate the insolent ones.
Feeling relieved, Court Lady Park raised her voice again so Dowon-gun's group could clearly hear as they exited the gate.
"Kimga Hanga! Go to the kitchen and prepare a full feast of the foods our young lord likes. Make a refreshing broth with dongchimi! Buckwheat noodles topped with floating pine nuts! Bring fruit jeonggwa, juak, jeonyuhwa, and everything else available!"
Thanks to that, Yoonseo spent the entire afternoon tasting the finest foods of the Joseon royal court.
There were jeonggwa—various fruits dried and preserved in honey;
juak—glutinous rice dough fried in oil and glazed with honey;
yakgwa, still loved even in modern times;
and omija punch.
The maids, Court Lady Park, and little Hongwi all enjoyed the rare delicacies.
But…
Since all the sweetness came only from honey and grain syrup, even after eating a few pieces Yoonseo's mouth felt cloyingly numb.
If I have to live in Joseon for a long time, I absolutely must find a way to refine sugar.
If she could make clean, refreshing sugar, she could gather the wealth of all eight provinces of Joseon.
Queen Soheon had longed for sugar so much that after she passed away, Crown Prince Lee Hyang wept upon seeing the sugar brought from Ming China.
I should become rich.
Dowon-gun, the son of Grand Prince Suyang, dared treat the Royal Grandson with such disrespect—and Damyang-gun supported it—because they possessed great wealth.
Grand Prince Suyang himself was wealthy, but especially his wife's younger brother Yun Sa-gyun, one of the richest men in Hanyang.
And Damyang-gun's mother, Lady Shinbin Kim, enjoyed the king's tremendous favor. People must constantly present her with riches to gain connections.
By contrast, Crown Princess Kwon's family had never been particularly powerful, and after her death they had grown even more impoverished.
Crown Prince Lee Hyang had terrible luck with wives and only one son.
Even King Sejong himself had ascended the throne as the third son.
Thus the political atmosphere surrounding Hongwi was inevitably cold.
While Yoonseo pondered the harshness of the world she had fallen into, the night-shift maids Park-ga and Han-ga arrived.
They showed no guilt whatsoever for taking over the night shift in exchange for ten dried persimmons, simply bowing to Hongwi.
Shameless things.
Yoonseo shot them a sharp glare and was about to say goodbye to Hongwi when—
"…Can't you… stay?"
Hongwi timidly asked while tugging at Yoonseo's skirt.
Ever since Yoonseo had stood up for her earlier, the child had been following her everywhere, clearly growing attached.
Yoonseo's heart softened.
Without realizing it, she hugged Hongwi tightly and whispered in her ear.
"I'll come early tomorrow. I've been awake since last night, so I'm very tired."
"…Then come… come quick."
Holding Park-ga's hand, Hongwi waved continuously until Yoonseo passed through the gate.
Yoonseo didn't feel good about leaving.
Relying on Court Lady Kwon's memories, she made her way to one of the tightly clustered buildings behind Gyeongbok Palace.
It was the residence of Court Lady Park.
"My lady, goodness, the circles under your eyes are terrible."
Junggum, a servant who helped manage Court Lady Park's residence, came out wiping her hands on her apron and scolded her lightly.
"I'd like to take a bath."
Having been unable to wash, Yoonseo's entire body felt sticky and uncomfortable.
"Oh my, why are you speaking so formally? I'll have Sawol bring some water."
Junggeum smiled sweetly and ran off toward the kitchen.
Once someone became a court lady (sanggung), she was given an independent residence like this, along with two servants responsible for chores such as laundry, sewing, cooking, and fetching water.
Come to think of it, being a palace attendant isn't so bad. The palace clothes you and feeds you. They even give you servants.
Yoonseo didn't particularly like the existence of slaves, but even they received monthly rations: four doe of rice, one seung of soybeans for making tofu, and two hop of soy sauce.
They also received two fish a day as side dishes, fermented fish sauces like bandengi-jeot and white shrimp jeot, as well as salt.
In spring and autumn they were given one and a half bolts of cloth and cotton padding.
In a Joseon-era world where proper employment was scarce, it was essentially the equivalent of a lifetime civil service job.
Then Court Lady Kwon must have saved quite a bit of wealth.
Her monthly stipend included seven doe of rice, a seung of beans, soy sauce and clear soy sauce, nearly three bolts of cloth every spring and autumn, a bolt of silk from Jeongju, and one and a half geun of cotton.
Daily rations included two seoksu fish, one herring, one jing-eo fish, fermented fish sauces, and salt.
And from time to time, gifts like silk and grain syrup came from the Eastern Palace.
If she had saved and sold all that, her assets should be…
Yoonseo counted on her fingers using Court Lady Kwon's memories—then suddenly frowned deeply.
She remembered receiving all of it.
But she had no memory of saving anything.
What is this idiot Court Lady Kwon doing?
Court Lady Park already owned tens of thousands of pyeong of farmland in Incheon, over fifty thousand pyeong near Yangju, three tiled houses in Hanyang, and was even planning to buy more land around Wolgye.
She was wealthier than most aristocrats.
Yet under such a shrewd land speculator, Court Lady Kwon had somehow remained completely broke.
Utterly dumbfounded, Yoonseo splashed the bathwater loudly.
"My lady, has the water gone cold? Shall I bring more hot water?"
The servant Sawol asked worriedly from outside.
"Ha! That's exactly why I told you not to give everything to that leech of a half-sibling!"
When Yoonseo asked why she had no wealth left at all, Court Lady Park smacked her on the head with the chopsticks she had been using to eat fish.
Ugh. Gross.
She had just washed her hair.
It was already long and difficult enough to dry—why?!
"I have a half-sibling?"
"Good heavens. Were you always this slow, or have you now even lost your memory?"
At that moment, Court Lady Kwon's memories began surfacing.
Kwon had been a distant relative of Crown Princess Kwon, living in poverty after losing her father early.
Though not particularly bright, she was quick and agile. Since the Crown Princess had struggled to find trustworthy people within the palace, she brought Kwon into the palace as a court maid.
Kwon's mother, left alone, soon remarried.
Her new husband was technically a yangban, but a worthless one with no wealth whatsoever.
From that marriage came one daughter and one son.
And that stepfather and those half-siblings had clung to Court Lady Kwon like leeches—only interested in her monthly salary.
"Kwon, Kwon!"
Yoonseo smacked her own head with the spoon she had been eating with.
Since she had to wash her hair again anyway, she might as well knock some sense into herself.
After bathing and eating a full meal, her mind slowly began clearing.
Suddenly, a chill ran down Yoonseo's spine.
Had entering the foolish body of Court Lady Kwon made her mind dull as well? Was now really the time to worry about money?
"Madam, there is a maid who handed me poisoned dasik yesterday."
"What?"
Yoonseo described the appearance of the maid who had given her the pine-pollen dasik.
She explained quickly that although they didn't know which palace building the culprit belonged to, the poison had been directed at Kwon for now—but the true target was undoubtedly the Royal Grandson.
Court Lady Park's face gradually hardened.
"Is the young lord's residence being properly guarded? The two maids who took the shift from me must be dismissed immediately."
The moment Yoonseo finished speaking, Court Lady Park sprang to her feet.
"You go to sleep. I will return to the young lord's residence at once."
After Court Lady Park left and the dishes were cleared away, Yoonseo lay down in the small room Court Lady Kwon had used.
Looking around, she found a tiny chest containing two worn-out maid uniforms covered in lint, two dull everyday outfits made of rough cotton, and several threadbare undergarments.
There was not a single inkstone or brush.
Court Lady Kwon was clearly illiterate.
Yoonseo suddenly worried that Kwon might have signed documents blindly for those parasitic half-siblings.
But money wasn't the real problem.
For a modern person in Joseon, earning money would not be difficult.
The real problem was survival.
And saving Hongwi.
I need people.
People who could deliver news about what was happening in each palace hall.
People who could gather intelligence outside the palace—about which powerful families were forming alliances and what schemes they were plotting.
As Yoonseo considered how to build an information network, overwhelming exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep as if fainting.
Early the next morning, when she went to Hongwi's residence for her day shift, the gate and courtyard were guarded much more strictly.
And instead of the lazy maids Park-ga and Han-ga, two diligent and capable women—Lee-ga and Choi-ga—were standing guard.
It was a small but meaningful change.