“It’s been a while, Yeon. Your beauty grows ever more radiant.”
After nearly three years apart, Suin greeted her with a smile as delicate as her features. Yet Yeon easily detected the hidden barb beneath Suin’s words.
Yeon was now thirty. It was often said that even the loveliest imperial concubine would inevitably lose the Emperor’s favour at this age. Indeed, women’s beauty usually began to fade by then.
The seven palaces were perpetually filled with younger, beautiful concubines, leaving no room for ageing women. However, the palaces had long been empty, likely because of her presence.
“It’s been a long time, young lady. You look much healthier and more at peace than when I last saw you three years ago. Truly, your entry into the palace feels imminent.”
Yeon offered a proper greeting with practised courtesy, then flashed a radiant smile.
Suin glanced briefly towards Ryu. Despite it essentially being a visit to his in-laws, he had dragged himself along as unwillingly as an ox being led to the slaughterhouse.
However, once he reached the Seoguk state residence, he wiped away any trace of it. His gaze at Suin was no different to the indifferent look he gave officials from the Secretariat.
Yeon examined the young lady, who appeared to have made more effort than usual with her appearance. Rather than adorning herself ostentatiously with gold, silver or rubies, as noblewomen would, she had lavishly decorated her hair with an abundance of artificial flowers, giving her the appearance of a blooming flowerpot.
Large and small peony blossoms, as well as a delicate white jade hairpin resembling snow flowers, enhanced her beauty.
Her translucent, warbler-yellow gauze gown had wide, cloud-patterned sleeves. Suin had added a youthful freshness by pairing it with a green skirt and a finely embroidered white sash that dangled gracefully.
Beneath her delicate eyebrows were her crescent-shaped eyes, petite nose and plump lips. These features made her look like a soft, tender beauty, like a small flower bud.
“Yeon, with you taking such good care of His Majesty in my absence, I have no worries about delaying my entry into the palace.”
Suin took a sip of her warm white tea and smiled faintly. Yeon struggled to find an appropriate reply. From his seat of honour, Ryu offered no help. He didn’t even glance at Suin, so it was impossible to tell how he felt.
The brief tea gathering concluded shortly afterwards, with a few courteous remarks from the Duke and Duchess of Seoguk. The banquet would officially begin the following day. The Duke and Duchess of Seoguk personally escorted the Emperor and his attendant to their rooms, which had already been prepared.
“Those subtle insults she makes really get under my skin.”
Once they were alone in the room, the Emperor was the first to speak. Yeon, seated across from him, looked at him with uncertainty, unable to grasp his meaning. His expression was twisted with clear irritation and disgust.
“That woman, I mean.”
“All the servants of the Seoguk residence seemed perfectly proper… Was there something in particular that displeased you?”
“I’m talking about Gyeong Suin.”
“Lady Suin was extremely courteous toward Your Majesty.”
“Yeon, you—!”
Seething with irritation, Ryu spun around sharply. He pulled a face, looking ready to lash out, but then pressed his palm to his forehead in frustration instead.
This was not surprising. Ryu disliked Suin. In fact, he disliked the entire Seoguk family. The reason remained a mystery. Although Gyeong Bohyeon was a noble of significant influence, he had never once challenged Ryu’s authority.
In fact, he was a loyal subject who was renowned for his military exploits on the battlefield. Furthermore, the Gyeong clan was highly esteemed, having produced numerous high-ranking officials and great scholars. It was precisely this lineage that had led to Suin being recommended as Empress from birth.
“Lady Suin is a good person, Your Majesty.”
“Stop irritating me.”
Ryu sat down in the seat of honour and placed a smoking pipe between his lips. Yeon quietly approached his side. If tomorrow was to pass peacefully, it seemed necessary to soothe his mood tonight. Ryu gazed at the affectionate woman who nestled gently beside him.
Suin and Seol-yeon were different. He’d heard that they were sisters, a fact that Seol-yeon was unaware of. But he knew.
He knew that Seol-yeon was Suin’s older sister. Gyeong Bohyeon himself had admitted as much, although he had no intention of publicly acknowledging this truth.
Ryu recalled the detestable man’s face. Objectively speaking, Gyeong Bohyeon was a decent person with unmatched talent in the court. If it weren’t for Seol-yeon, Ryu might have taken Gyeong Bohyeon’s daughter as his consort much earlier.
But there was Seol-yeon. And that was enough. She was everything to him, as if she had been the only person in his life from birth. From beginning to end, she filled every part of his life. Thus…
“How cruel of you.”
Ryu interrupted Yeon just as she cautiously opened her mouth to speak. He gave a bitter smile. To Yeon, he would always be a sulky child. He knew that. Yet to him, Yeon had always been a woman. He could never pinpoint exactly when she’d crept into his heart.
“You have many reasons to feel wronged.”
But Ryu didn’t smile back. She did not love him. In truth, their long-term relationship was an endurance test for her; she could not simply reject his advances. Ryu had never forgotten the day Yeon gave herself to him for the first time.
Her expression was blank and calm, not much different to her usual demeanour. Was she truly all right? In fact, he knew very well that she wasn’t.
He knew she hadn’t been all right.
Yet Ryu persisted with Yeon. He declared that he would never embrace another woman and forbade even the most discreet palace maidens from entering his chambers.
As emperor, he needed advice on matters of intimacy in order to produce an heir and continue his royal lineage. Rather than learning what he needed to know from his four experienced consorts, he learned it all from Yeon alone.
Thus, she became his attendant of pillows, quilts, curtains and lamps. For his sake, she straightened his pillows, spread the blankets, drew the bed curtains, and extinguished the lights.
The Empress Dowager mockingly named Yeon the ‘marriage-training maid’, implying that she was instructing him on how to be a man until Suin entered the palace. Although she lamented the fact that a nanny — even one so young — had to fulfil the role of a woman, the Dowager conceded that there was nothing to be done when the Son of Heaven himself insisted.
Despite being eight years younger, Ryu had the body of a woman who knew nothing. Yeon knelt before him as he gazed down at her delicate, pale face. Her trembling eyelashes, closed lips and flushed cheeks were undeniably beautiful. Nearby, an elderly eunuch and a matron observed from their seats of honour.
They instructed Ryu on how to touch Yeon’s body and bring her pleasure. After gently laying her down, they used her body to teach him the secrets of women — when her br*asts began to develop below her slender shoulders, and how to gently part her thighs beneath a waist so thin it revealed bone. As Ryu caressed Yeon’s body, his gaze roaming over it, she simply stared at the ceiling.
“I wish to embrace Yeon quickly.”
“A woman’s body requires patience and care, Your Majesty. If you take her now, she will suffer.”
The matron’s stern voice restrained his eagerness. Although he wanted nothing more than to be alone with Yeon and dismiss the elderly eunuch and the matron, the thought of Yeon suffering made him hesitate.
He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted her to look at him with eyes aflame with desire rather than with the gentle gaze of a nanny to a child she had raised, or an older sister to her younger brother. Those eyes made him restless. He wanted to be a true man for this beautiful, mature woman.
That night, the elderly matron and eunuch permitted him only to touch Yeon’s br*asts. The same br*asts he’d buried his face against when he was a child were pale and soft, like magnolias.
As he slowly caressed them, watching her expression, he understood something clearly.
“You’ve merely been enduring me. From that day onward…”
He grasped the small hand gently stroking his cheek. Yeon softly whispered, “Your Majesty,” and he roughly pushed her down.
Surprise briefly crossed her face, but she soon reached to untie the fastening of her gown herself. Then, what he had first seen two years ago appeared before his eyes once again. Quietly, she laid her delicate, slender arms by her sides.
He looked down at the woman’s pale face. Her ebony hair framed her delicate, innocent features, which were utterly enchanting.
With gentle fingertips, he traced her finely arched eyebrows. Her long lashes accentuated her bright, ruby-like eyes.
He softly pressed his lips against hers; they were as sweet as the velvety petals of a red peony and as luscious as ripe fruit.
Giving in to desire, he began to explore the woman’s body beneath him. A sharp, heated sensation rose within him, but he forced it down, trying to maintain his focus.
Below her slender, graceful neck, her full, rounded br*asts were captivating, instantly drying his throat. Her impossibly slender waist stirred an undeniable heat within him, quickening his pulse.