Yeong Chunhwa 57

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Chapter 57

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The sky was perfectly clear. Everyone in the imperial palace agreed that it was an auspicious occasion blessed by the Dragon God. Each person Yun-seo encountered expressed their gratitude to him. They proclaimed that spring had finally come to His Imperial Majesty and called Yun-seo the most precious of nobles.

The crown, which emitted light from its jewels with each step, was both magnificent and heavy. The blue ceremonial robe with seven-clawed dragons holding Yeong Chunhwa, woven with silver thread, was flawless without a single misplaced stitch. Yun-seo mocked himself, thinking it wasn’t a person wearing clothes but rather clothes wearing a person.

Members of the imperial family whose faces he barely knew graced the occasion, and there were so many people present that it was no exaggeration to say everyone who maintained the imperial palace had attended. Yet even this countless throng would be but a single hair on nine oxen compared to the people of Great Yeong.

Seeing them all directly made him finally realize what position he was ascending to, and it felt as if someone was choking him, making it impossible to even swallow properly.

Everything that constituted the ceremony was magnificent. Even things that might normally be overlooked were valuable and precious, seemingly declaring that this was the national marriage of a nation’s sovereign that could never be denied.

Ceremonial banners embroidered with sacred beasts fluttered fiercely in the wind. Beginning with the sound of the daegeum, the court instruments released majestic melodies. Yun-seo walked with his neck held perfectly straight to support the weight of the crown and stood alongside Hwi.

Everything proceeded according to protocol. He walked slowly with Hwi along the path stretching toward the palace. Naturally, the memory of their previous wedding flashed before his eyes—one without anyone giving blessings, ignoring tradition and procedure, simple and modest yet filled with joy.

All the current proceedings contrasted with that ceremony, causing those beautiful memories to fade. Feeling something crumbling within him, Yun-seo focused on a single question.

Why, exactly, did this man desire him enough to hold a fake wedding?

Arriving before the ceremonial table, he turned to face Hwi. The man’s face, which he was seeing for the first time since entering the palace, was still as cold and beautiful as if sculpted from moonlight. Moreover, the sight of him wearing the crown suited him so well that one could believe he was born that way, drawing a hollow sigh from between Yun-seo’s lips.

Upon realizing that this was Hwi’s rightful place, he could hardly imagine him as anything other than the Emperor. Now that moonlight was about to cut him. Before waves of sorrowful grief could overtake him, Yun-seo bit the inside of his cheek firmly and composed his expression.

Standing still opposite him like this, he recalled the events of the previous night.

Despite trying to sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s grand ceremony, he couldn’t close his eyes at all and was only sighing when he noticed a shadow flickering outside the window.

‘Is that Your Majesty?’

‘…’

‘You know better than anyone the protocol that we cannot meet face-to-face before the wedding ceremony.’

‘That’s why I didn’t open the door.’

His unchanged affectionate tone pierced through the gaps in Yun-seo’s disordered mind. This man who seemed likely to throw protocols to the dogs merely didn’t open the window that separated them—it made Yun-seo smile bitterly, thinking that now tedious protocols, propriety, and duties would stand between them.

‘Tomorrow, many things will change. Are you satisfied?’

Yun-seo couldn’t hide the thorns that had sprouted sharply. There was no answer from the man beyond the window. Only the shadow that perfectly outlined his high bridge of nose remained in place without any tremor.

‘Please go back. It’s late.’

Though he turned away mercilessly and lay on the bed, he couldn’t prevent his eyes from looking toward the window.

That night, Hwi kept vigil at the window, and Yun-seo, with aching eyes, traced and retraced the dim silhouette. It took all his strength to suppress the urge to throw open the window to see what expression Hwi wore.

But now he could read nothing from Hwi’s face as he looked at him. Yun-seo wanted the same for himself. He wanted to show that he no longer wished to give him anything, nor could he. Even while knowing it was futile defiance.

Throughout their bowing to each other and sharing of the wedding cup, Hwi’s gaze upon Yun-seo never left. Yun-seo lowered his eyes, ignoring him, and wished for this long, tedious wedding ritual to end quickly.

Completing the grand ceremony didn’t mark the absolute end. They still had to visit the ancestral shrine and temple to pay respects to the ancestors and the Dragon God.

Even standing before the rows of memorial tablets, it didn’t feel real that someday he too would be enshrined there. He had hoped to meet death in a place of freedom, but would that even be possible?

The quiet, dignified voice reading the announcement flowed past without properly entering his ears. Yun-seo shifted only his eyes to look at the announcement Hwi was holding. Among the string of characters, one name stood out.

Hwi (暉).

So he uses the character meaning “radiance.”

A bitter smile tried to force its way to his lips at the thought of how perfectly it suited him. Additionally, learning the Emperor’s name made him realize he had truly entered a path of no return.

Until the Dragon Descendant took the throne and was invested as Crown Prince, all imperial grandchildren were called by childhood names. After being invested as Crown Prince, they received their formal names, but the names of Dragon Descendants were not publicly known.

This was to prevent the sacred name of a Dragon Descendant from being carelessly spoken or used for wicked purposes, and simultaneously came from the intention to establish the Dragon Descendant’s authority.

The Emperor was forever the Emperor. The Dragon Descendant was forever just the Dragon Descendant. Those who inherited sacred power and blood felt like one continuous existence—the bloodline of the dragon rather than mere individuals—by not having their names called. It was about revealing dignity through absence, drawing awe from the people.

Only after death, when they received posthumous names, would various evaluations be exchanged, but during their lifetimes, they were simply sacred and great Dragon Descendants.

Thus, because he hadn’t known either the face or name of the Emperor who had completely changed his life with the single phrase “material for an Empress,” hadn’t he been dragged here without even knowing who his beloved was?

Because Hwi’s name was radiant, because it was so utterly his, because he feared he might come to love even that single character, Yun-seo gently closed his eyelids.

The ceremony that began in the morning finally ended completely by late afternoon. Yun-seo reached the inner palace where he would now reside, and the court officials waiting for him greeted him.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

Just as he alighted from the palanquin, Yun-seo’s expression, which had been about to brighten upon seeing Yeondeok’s face, sank.

From eunuchs to court ladies, a train of palace servants, and even the Yonglin. After exchanging greetings with Court Lady Jo, Yun-seo turned toward the Yonglin. Two Yonglin bowed to him.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. May the Dragon’s blessing be with you.”

Yun-seo focused his gaze on one of the two. It was someone he knew well.

“So you can speak.”

The man from the teahouse was there, dressed in Yonglin attire. While Hwi being the Emperor of Great Yeong meant he was surely no ordinary servant, it was astonishing that even his inability to speak had been a lie.

“I am humbled, Your Majesty.”

The man bowed his head with a calm and humble expression. Well, he must have pretended on the Emperor’s orders, so what fault was it of this man? When Yun-seo commanded them to rise, both Yonglin stood.

“I am Yu Jeongju, and will serve Your Majesty with all my heart from now on.”

“I am Jang Hui-je, and it is truly an honor to serve Your Majesty the Empress!”

The teahouse man’s name was Yu Jeongju, and the woman’s name was Jang Hui-je. Both had friendly impressions, but Hui-je seemed more outgoing. Though it felt strange and uncomfortable to now have Yonglin guarding him, Yun-seo didn’t show it and turned away.

Court Lady Jo, following closely, advised that he should now lower his speech to everyone. The education he had received during the week in the separate palace seemed pointless, but he was too exhausted to care. Yun-seo nodded vaguely and entered his private chambers without even having time to look around the inner palace.

But he couldn’t rest there either and had to proceed directly to the bathing chamber.

Warm water giving off a fragrant steam was contained in the bath, but all he wanted was to collapse and sleep, bath or no bath. Yun-seo stared blankly at the tub, then spoke.

“I’d like only Yeondeok to remain.”

He worried that now that he had become Empress, even taking a bath would involve protocols and procedures, but fortunately, Court Lady Jo took everyone else out. Just as Yun-seo was about to heave a sigh of relief, Yeondeok approached.

“Your Majesty, you have endured much. Congratulations.”

*Guuilmo: A single hair among nine oxen, meaning an extremely small amount among a vast quantity. National Institute of Korean Language, Standard Korean Dictionary.

*Gosa: An announcement letter.