Chapter 1: Lee Woo

 

I grew up as an empress. I was raised and trained to perfection to be one.

I was told that the seat next to the Noble Sun was mine, so more than any other woman in this country, I would be the noblest woman amongst them. 

I grew up to be the Empress, and became the Empress, but the heart of the Noble Sun never became mine.

* * *

“I greet the Empress dowager.” Said Empress Lee Woo, and after smiling a little, she followed, “Did you have a good night’s rest?”

“Empress, might you be having a hard time visiting this old woman every day?”

“Oh my—how could it be a burden for a child to visit her parents once a day? It’s my pleasure to see Your Highness here, so please don’t say that.” 

The Empress Dowager looked at the beautiful woman in front of her. In the palace, Empress Lee Woo was the epitome of beauty. No matter how they would define the word ‘beautiful’, eight-out-of-ten people were bound to be swayed by this woman’s beauty.

The beauty and background of the Empress alone were surprising enough; but not only that, the Empress was flawlessly controlling everything from the palm of her hand.

Perhaps because of the precious blood flowing in her veins, she was born with skill and grace in everything she did. 

It was, however, a pity for the Empress to be turned down by the Emperor. Not only was there no love between them, she seemed like a trophy wife—an empress only for show.

After greeting the Empress Dowager, Lee Woo left and prepared to return to her palace. The meeting had been intended to be a reception for the Emperor, but he had refused everything—he said that he’d stay with his small flower. 

My head was throbbing. I guess the Emperor’s small flower gave me a headache. 

However, without any expression, she walked gracefully towards that place—not as quickly or slowly as usual.

Every time the Empress passed by, everyone in the palace turned their heads to her. Not only was her appearance colourful, but the way she carried herself impressed everyone with her sophistication–their mouths would open subconsciously without them even realizing it. Whenever the court ladies saw such things from her, they raised their heads with pride. 

“Your Majesty, how about riding a sedan chair next time? Soon, the concubines will come to request your audience; if you walk like this, you won’t have enough time to prepare.” 

The court lady, who was following Lee Woo, carefully asked for her response. The lack of preparation time was just an excuse. It was only the Empress, as the noblest woman in the palace, who was not allowed to ride a single palanquin.1

“That’s enough. In the palace, those who are not given permission by His Majesty are not allowed to ride a palanquin.”

Lee Woo answered firmly in a fine voice. Court Lady Park sighed. The Empress had a beautiful voice but she was very straightforward.

The Empress’s family was no worse than the concubine’s. No, the comparison itself was impossible. The family of Noble Consort Song was only the fallen noble family of the Zhou Dynasty—moreover, she was not a great woman either. 

On the other hand, the Empress’ family was a family of first-class contributors that was established since the founding of the Gi Dynasty–her father was also the prime minister and her brother as the general. Even if she wasn’t the Emperor’s favourite, the Empress was a great and a pathetic pillar of support to him, and would not be ignored by anyone. 

“Noble Consort Song is—”

Court Lady Park blurred the end of her speech. 

Is it only Noble Consort Song? 

After Concubine Song was given a palanquin by the Emperor, several lower concubines were also seen riding in colourful kilns, as if they had been competing with each other. Of course, except for Concubine Song, the other ladies were only making the excuse that they were not feeling well. 

Lee Woo knew as well.

Song So-hwa, the small flower of the Emperor. She’s been bestowed with the title of “Gwibi”—meaning “Noble Consort”—the highest status a concubine could have.

The Emperor bestowed the palanquin to her himself because he felt sorry for the small-footed Noble Consort walking around the palace. Originally, it caused a stir that someone other than the Emperor would ride a sedan chair in the imperial palace.Exceptions were made only when the imperial family–or someone from another noble family–had not been feeling well. 

However, ever since the Emperor himself had ordered Noble Consort Song to ride in a sedan chair, she had always walked around the palace inside it. The palanquin, splendidly decorated with all kinds of jewels, was proof that she was the Emperor’s favourite.

“Let’s just walk.”  Court Lady Park was silenced and so she quietly followed. 

She thought, “How can I know the Emperor’s heart when he likes a woman who only knows how to whine.”

After returning to the Empress’s palace, she was clothed with new attire and lightly dabbed on with her usual make-up. As it was a gathering of lower concubines, she had to pay special attention to her position as an empress. The meeting was held once a week, and was familiar to both the Empress and the court ladies, but despite the familiarity, it was still uncomfortable.

The appearance of So-hwa had been a turning point. Before she came, the atmosphere in the palace was peaceful, with everyone being treated fairly by the Emperor… Therefore, their ranks were clear and on-point since they were based on the prestige of their respective families. However, the moment that girl appeared, everyone had founded their own faction.

There were those who wanted to receive the Emperor’s favour, there were those who ignored her, there were those who held their breath and defended themselves, as well as the Empress, who did nothing.

In terms of family and quality, none of the Emperor’s women were more precious than Lee Woo was. However, the fact that the Emperor was biased was a problem. 

Song So-hwa was a small and beautiful woman. Some might say she was like a flower, too. She had such an innocent face, with pink, round cheeks, and was always laughing or crying. Even though she could act childish, no one could punish her except for one person–the Empress. She had often been compared to other concubines on account of her dirty looks and friendly nature.

Lee Woo went out to the reception room. Thirteen ladies were already seated in order of dignity and had received the audience of Her Majesty. Each of them had decorated themselves splendidly so as not to lose out to each other; but if you were to look closely, you could feel the gap between their fabric and the ornaments–which also represented the wealth of the family. 

" "

Within the palace, only Nokbong was given to the concubines in order of dignity–but there were few women who weren’t satisfied with it, so most ladies had traditionally brought wealth with them from their own families. 2

“Presenting, Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Everyone, be seated.”

Woo’s eyes turned to the right side of the table. There was Concubine Song in the top seat. Song Gwibi, wearing a pink jeogori and a sky-blue skirt, looked very lovely. Among the many concubines, she was one of the few who lived with only the Nokbong Peak provided by the palace. 

Of course, the Emperor had felt sorry for her, being far from her family, so he had handed her countless precious objects. However, she had not been interested in wealth or splendour–and so the precious relics had piled up in her place. She hadn’t even known how expensive they were; she was just excited to think of how the Emperor would’ve been thinking about her while he prepared all those things. 

Lovely Noble Consort Song is like a flower: a kind-hearted girl, the small flower of the Emperor… When Lee Woo came up with numerous modifiers and compliments pointing to So-hwa, her heart filled with tears.

When Lee Woo sat down and looked at So-hwa, all the other concubines looked at the Empress. They noticed that she was a woman with all the beauty of the world’s best colours. Even a crying Empress would have only been too beautiful. It was true that Noble Consort Song was beautiful, however she was not even noticeable when seated with the empress. 

The phoenix pattern embroidered with gold above the red silk was allowed only to the Empress. It suited her as if it were a part of her since birth. Everyone felt that the Empress was more beautiful than anyone–especially the ugly concubine favoured by the Emperor.

Nobody liked So-hwa as the highest concubine. Nobody felt she deserved the title. As she stole a glance at the Empress, she thought of how she really was a beauty. She’d been having a hard time because everyone had compared her to the Empress; however, she’d been using her looks to monopolize and secure her status in the palace, making her own place for herself, apart from the Empress.

She thought. “The Empress has me worried–if she wanted to, she could have me punished at any time, and I wouldn’t know what to do.’

“It’s been getting colder and colder; everyone, take care of your health. Although autumn leaves are still in full swing, it will take a long time to repair the palace before winter comes. I told my court lady, Park, to leave supplies and nokbongs at each of your palaces in preparation for winter, so please check them and let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

It hadn’t been very long since there were autumn leaves. If you’d looked, there still might have been green leaves that have yet to be coloured in one corner of the palace. The Empress’ palace had always gotten ready a bit earlier. The Empress’s seat was the highest woman’s position; but in a way, it could be also said to be the heaviest of them all. Since it was the Empress who headed the royal family, those who lacked the talent were bound to stand out. 

Lee Woo was playing the role well, and the concubines were well-aware of it. She gave not only Nokbong Peak, which fit the dignity of the royal consorts, but also sleeping products; she always considered each of their tastes.

Those who were clumsy, liked anything, saying simply that they liked it; but those who were quick to catch on were tongue-in-cheek when handling his work. She had been playing the role of an empress fairly and neatly so that none could cast aspersions or complain. 

“Hyebi.”3

Woo looked at Hyebi Choi I-Ran sitting opposite Song Gwibi. Wearing a purple skirt embroidered with silver flowers and a navy jeogori, she was the most colourful of all the concubines. Dark red lips and defined long eyelashes bent strangely, and smiled slightly toward her right. 

“Yes, Empress”.

“I heard that your legs have not been comfortable. Could you show them to me?” The concubines looked at each other. This is what the Empress had been pointing out. Everyone knew that the high-nosed Hyebi was riding on the palanquin, claiming that her healthy legs hurt because she didn’t want to lose out to Song So-hwa. It was difficult to lie the same way to the Empress who knew–but pretended not to–and so Hyebi was keeping her calm. 

In addition, most of the concubines had been riding a palanquin, so everyone began to pay attention because the arrow was shot at Hyebi, the next high-status woman among them. The Empress spoke to everyone: “Everyone, stop using the palanquin.” Everyone there knew what Woo was saying and tried to act calm.

“I’m sorry; I have my own physician, but thank you for your sincerity.”

“I care about you, so please accept my request, Hyebi.” 

Hyebi couldn’t answer immediately and remained silent. There was no way to refuse when she’d gone out of her way. 

“The doctor said that if I took a few days off from treatment, I would have no difficulty walking. Don’t worry; I’ll see you in good health at the next greeting.” 

“Then, that’s fine; I feel much more relieved.”

Footnotes

Palanquin is a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers.Nokbong is actually a kind of payment in the Joseon eraHyebi is a title given to a concubine