The Prince and his Queen

Lair of Secrets - The White Pearl Auction House

Hae Soo turned 14. 

The brighter the light, the deeper the shadows

As our main lead grew with power, benevolence, and ruthlessness were witnessed within her. Hae Soo made sure to treat every human equally, strictly believing in a world of equality and justice, replaying the punishment in the 8th Prince's manor to one unruly servant who cheated her and her people. In short, it has made the Hae Manor prostate in fear and reverence to this young lady. 

Since she came of age according to the Goryeo traditions (Hae Soo can never understand in what way a 14-year-old is a full-fledged adult but she is not going to put her foot on the gift horse's mouth since this weird rule can help her get out of the manor.)

With a couple of her maids and trusted guards, she walked leisurely to the White Pearl Auction House, Hae Soo's first move in the proverbial chessboard of power. With her trusted aids by her side, our young time traveler browsed through the stalls of the town, on the way to the auction house. 

Of course, such a well-dressed entourage will get the attention of the crowd, those bored souls greedy for an inch of gossip. Witnessing how well this young noble lady treats her servants who are running around innocently, the crowd becomes curious. Whispers bordered the conversations across the street, all pointing out to the young lady. With an inquiry, it spread that she is the orphaned noble of the Hae Clan, the adopted sister of Hae Myung Hee, the wife of the 8th Prince. 

Recognizing her identity to be nothing special, those whispers of reverance turned to scorn, of how easy orphaned nobles have in life, to be surrounded by wealth, while they have to struggle to survive every day. Nodding heads and clucking tongues dominated the majority and of course, Hae Soo took this in stride, yet cataloging the chatter of the market. 

Her maids were another matter though. They blubbered in anger, their young minds unable to comprehend the reason why these people would malign their lady. But with one look and a word from her, her entourage calmed and walked to the auction house. 

The guards stationed at the entrance of the auction house blocked the door, their spears held a cross, to give the impression of being intimidating but what it projected was two grown-ass men showing off their powers like toddlers showing off their new toy. Turning to the duo with stern eyes, Hae Soo spoke in the leader of all voices, 

"I am Hae Soo, the granddaughter of the Hae general Patriarch. I was sent here by his  order and would like to meet the manager of this auction house." 

The young Hae noble took out her token and showed it to the guards. The token got the attention of not just the guards but every employee of the auction house, for it is the token of the Hae Clan patriarch. The manager walked out and seeing this scene, he knew he must latch onto this golden thigh. For if a little girl is sent to this treacherous place, she must be more than it seems. 

The manager, Lee Nam, courteously escorted the esteemed lady and her group inside and showed them to the VIP booth, which was separated by a muslin curtain. As the venue began to fill up, the next auction was announced. Amid the chatter, Hae Soo caught snippets of bragging and flattery, sifting through the conversations to find relevant information. It was clear that gossip could be a powerful tool of destruction. 

"Lord Lu, I heard your eldest daughter became the primary consort of the Minister of Justice in the royal court. You must be filled with pride, now that you are the father-in-law of such a great man. "

"Merchant Mu, do you know that you can't trade in this town? If cotton needs to be sold here, it needs to be through me. How dare a mere rookie play better than me, huh?"