.fifty seven.
It was weeks before Minji was allowed out of bed rest, and in that time, she taught Eun how to feed the children, how to hold them properly, and how to change their clothes. They spent every moment together, with the tenth prince completely forgetting about wanting to play and be childish. Seeing two tiny little human beings in his arms filled him with a happiness unimaginable. It was even more so because they were a part of him and the person he most loved in this world--his wife. Now he had two new people to share his happiness with.
By the time Minji was able to walk about the house, the young couple received a letter from none other than the King himself. One of the maids had handed it off to Eun, as it was from his father after all, but he had told the servant not to tell Minji about it. The servant bowed her head and headed out of the room, but ran into Minji who was quick to question what the letter was about. "You said his majesty has sent us a letter? Do you know what it was for?" She asked, and she felt the servant tense before her.
"I do not know, m'lady." She bowed and scurried out of the room.
Minji entered to find her husband reading the letter. She could not see him with furrowed eyebrows reading the words on the page, but she could sense by the tension in the room that it was nothing good involved, especially if it had to do with the king. The eighteen year old looked up to see her enter the room and all his hostilities towards his father melted away. He would soon be turning nineteen, as she was sixteen now, but it seemed like more than two years had passed since the two met. Eun was infinitely more mature now, and would do anything to shield his wife from any harm. He closed the small distance to greet her and he pulled her into his arms, making sure to be extra gentle with her. Ever since she had given birth, she was frail and weak. The doctor said it would take months of taking care of herself to get back to normal.
She got on her tiptoes to place her lips on his. "What are you reading, love?"
He raised an eyebrow at her in suspicion. "How did you know I was reading something?"
Minji replied simply, hoping that if she was truthful with him about everything, he would be the same with her as well. "I heard one of the maids talking to you about it. And I also heard how you told her not to tell me what this was about. What are you hiding from me?" Now she jutted her lower lip out into a pout in an attempt to soften him up. Perhaps he would crack and tell her what he was hiding.
Wang Eun heaved a sigh, eyes averting her soft face. "I'm not hiding anything."
He wanted to surrender to her pleas, but he didn't want her to know about the letter. He was positive that if she knew, she would insist on doing what she thought was the right thing--something he disagreed with. He didn't want to take his beloved back to that place where she would be mistreated for something she didn't do. Even the servants there didn't treat her equally, likely as an order from the king. Whenever they went over for breakfast, she was always served last, and the food on her plate looked like nothing more than table scraps. It filled him with anger, but she always stopped him before he could raise his voice and complain about it.
"Then why won't you tell me what the letter says?" She asked him, continuing to insist.
There was a back and forth of him denying there was even a letter, and her insisting that she wanted to know what he was hiding. When he finally gave in, he also told her why he was trying so hard to keep the new from her.
"When a prince has children, there's this stupid ceremony done in the private baths with a priest, the king, and Ji Mong present. My brothers and the queens will be there too." He explained, not very comfortable with the idea of taking his family to what he thought of as the lion's den. "The priest will take them and offer them to the heavens, and douse their heads from the water in the baths. Its stupid and we don't have to go." He insisted, crumpling up the letter in his hand.
