.sixty seven.
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"You're wrong if you think Eun would ever hurt me. Please let me go."
-
The princess was not at all happy to have been rejected by the tenth prince and asked to leave his house. Though she was the princess of a fallen kingdom, it tore at her pride to have a prince of Goryeo prefer the daughter of some general over her. She felt that she was much more important and of a higher rank. She thought things would go differently--that he would quickly accept her into his life, and into his bed no less because all men were weak like that. But this prince wasn't. He was loyal to his wife and that made it a challenge for Jangmi.
She returned to the king's throne room in the palace with her arms crossed over her chest and her lip jutted out in distaste for what had just happened to her. A princess rejected by a prince. She had never been rejected in such a way.
The king had been talking with a court lady animatedly when the princess stormed in. The king stopped what he was doing and his smile dropped at the sight of her. He could clearly tell that the princess was returning to him with bad news. The court lady excused herself with a bow of her head and left the room, leaving the two there alone. The moment she was gone, the princess threw a tantrum like a whiny child. "Your son desires not a second wife. I only went to his house to humiliate myself." She glared at the monarch who was at that moment at his most vulnerable. There were no guards around, as they had trusted the court lady to be alone with him. They were now standing outside the door awaiting instructions.
Jangmi thought it would be easier. She thought the tenth prince would easily give in to her advances. But she had been wrong--she and the king both.
"That's why I sent you." The king explained calmly, practically rolling his eyes at her. He thought she would be smarter than this and not give up so easily after the first try. "They say your beauty was unmatched in all of Baekje, even more than your mother and sisters. I thought surely you could do something to convince him. He's just a boy after all, and boys more often think with the head in their trousers than the one on their shoulders." With a nonchalant sigh, he gave a shrug of his shoulders. "If the job is too much for you to handle, I can call forth one of your sisters. Perhaps they can sway my Eun."
The princess quickly shook her head. "I can do it. I just need more time. Your son will take me as his wife."
"Very well." The king nodded, and she was dismissed.
It wasn't after several days that Jangmi returned to Eun's home. The tenth prince was in the garden, playing with some wooden toys that Ji Mong had brought over for the twins to play with. Eun had Eunbi sat on his lap while Soohyun played with another toy nearby. Minji was inside the house feeding Jinki. Often times, Eun tried to get her to join them outside. She was allowed one hour out of bed rest to soak up some rays of sun. But Jinki wasn't allowed to leave the house yet because of his fragile state. Even the slightest breeze could make him fatally ill.
As long as Jinki wasn't allowed to leave the house, Minji didn't want to leave it either. She didn't want to leave their child all alone while they all had fun as a family outside without him. It was cruel and unfair. Eun continued to resent their youngest son for it--because he was taking all of Minji's attention and keeping it for himself.
On this particular day, Han and Soon Deok were joining the three with their first child. As the princess approached them, their happiness and conversations ceased. Jangmi was momentarily jealous of them and their happiness. Young royalty without a care in the world, while she had to sell herself out to the enemy's king to keep her people safe. How lucky it was to be them. They didn't have to worry about where they would sleep that night, or whether or not they would eat. They were perfectly safe within the four grand walls of their estate and had probably never seen the horrors of war.
