.sixty six.
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"That's not all I want you for. You're my wife and I love you. The only person I want in my life is you. You said I was the love of your life, your best friend. I feel the same."
-
Back at the palace, the King blatantly ignored his son's refusal for a second wife and had a woman summoned to the palace. She was a daughter of the fallen Baekje dynasty, a princess who was now forced to live among the commoners since she had lost her rank yet she still held an air of royalty as she walked into the throne room. She wore a simple pink hanbok, her hair pulled back into the most basic up do, and her face was slightly dirt stained from the lack of facilities to shower in for her and her people. Her name was Jangmi, and she eyed the king of Goryeo with pure resentment and disdain. He had been the reason she and her family no longer had a kingdom, no longer had a home to go to. But she had to obey, she had to submit if she wanted to keep her family and her people safe.
She swallowed her pride and bowed before king Taejo as a greeting. "You wish to speak to me, my king?" She almost wanted to roll her eyes and gag at the fact that she, a princess of Baekje, had to reduce herself to that low of a level.
The king, oblivious to her near obvious disdain, started to explain what he wanted from her. "I have heard from my trusted sources that you will soon be turning eighteen, which was also the age for marriage in your kingdom. And I have an offer for you. My son Eun's wife is very ill, which means she cannot produce healthy heirs for our kingdom. You are a princess, and have royal blood. I would like for you to become my son's wife, so that you can give him healthy children."
Jangmi immediately crinkled up her nose, wanting to refuse the request as soon as the words left the king's mouth. "Though I am a princess of a fallen dynasty, I am a princess nonetheless. I refuse to be second to the daughter of a general." She said, nose in the air with pride. It was almost as if the words stung, because they reminded her that she had no power in Goryeo. She was just another commoner who had to submit to the king's rule. As much as she liked to tell herself that she might be able to refuse and get out of this, she knew that the King could easily make her accept if he really wanted to. If anything, he was being pretty soft on her now. Still, as long as she could, she would refuse to be the second wife of a prince who was married to the daughter of a general.
The king tried to comfort her with a shake of his head. "His wife is very ill, and may not even make it much longer. Besides, I would hold you and your children with him in much higher esteem. To the family, you would be considered the first wife."
The seventeen year old princess thought about it for a moment, considering her options. The offer was starting to sound tempting. She would be considered the first wife and would have a house of her own to live in. She could take care of and provide for her family. They would never need to struggle again for as long as she would live. Only for those reasons, she was starting to consider it.
Trying to make the offer more tempting so that she would accept, the king finally added, "I would accept your people as citizens of Goryeo instead of slaves as they have been considered since the fall of your nation."
Jangmi was finally convinced by his words. Not only would she save her family from suffering, but also her people. Everyone would win in that scenario--everyone except the tenth prince's wife who was apparently very ill and could die any moment. Jangmi felt bad about taking her husband away from her. But the good outweighed the bad in that situation. She was also sure that she could make the tenth prince forget his first wife and fall madly in love with her. No one had ever refused her before, not just because she was a princess, but because she was said to be the most beautiful woman in Baekje.
