It was the question she had been most curious about.
She answered, "Why do I love him? What a dull question. Fine, if you insist on asking, I’ll answer like this."
She parted her red lips and smiled lazily.
"It was simply fate. I felt it from the moment I first saw him."
‘So, she fell for him at first sight because of his looks.’ Indeed, his beauty was extraordinary.
Of course, he was just a tiny bit less handsome than her master.
The treatment ended without much difficulty.
Jin Cheon-hee followed Wang Ya’s instructions and wrapped the bandages very, very thickly, making the wound stand out dramatically.
After all, presentation is half the battle.
Wang Ya knew this better than anyone.
"Wang Ya!" As soon as the treatment was finished, the royal son-in-law, Cheon Yu-rang, entered, supported by his guards.
Wang Ya’s expression changed completely.
"Cough, cough. Yu-rang… you’ve come."
Cheon Yu-rang’s face was drenched in tears. ‘Even when crying, our Yu-rang is beautiful.
My goodness, is he even human? How can someone be so consistently beautiful? The way his tears flow down his delicate jawline is like petals falling from a heavenly peach blossom.’ While thinking this, she coughed violently.
She even bit her tongue slightly to spit out some blood, not forgetting to add to the drama.
"Ah, Wang Ya! Doctor! Please, could you check her condition once more…?"
"No, no. It’s fine. Yu-rang, please don’t worry."
"……"
Cheon Yu-rang’s eyes sank deeply.
As shadows fell over his large, elegant eyes, she enjoyed even that expression.
She loved every expression of Cheon Yu-rang.
The moment she first saw him under the moonlight, she thought, ‘How can someone’s features be so perfectly symmetrical? How can his cheekbones be in just the right place and size?’ Even in the middle of the night, his face shone brighter than the moon.
At that moment, she thought, ‘Why would I need a political marriage when a masterpiece of art is right in front of me?’ Whether he was of noble or humble birth didn’t matter much to her.
Any losses from not having a political marriage could be solved with her fists.
If a royal had to rely on someone else’s power, could they even be called a royal?
With two extraordinary abilities and exceptional martial talent, if she couldn’t command the world with her fists, she wouldn’t deserve to be called a princess of the empire.
And that mindset hadn’t changed even now.
She reached out her hand.
"Yu-rang… will you leave me again?"
"Wang Ya."
"Call me Juha, like you used to."
Her voice sounded pitiful.
In the end, he took her hand.
"I won’t leave. So please, get well soon."
"Promise me you’ll never leave again."
"Wang Ya."
"Quickly…!"
"……I promise."
Jin Cheon-hee watched this scene with a blank expression. ‘……They’re both acting like lunatics.
Absolutely.’ For someone who had been single his entire life, this was an unbearably painful sight.
And the princess was utterly shameless.
‘Royal son-in-law, Cheon Yu-rang, listen carefully.
The most serious patient here is you.
You’re being deceived by Wang Ya.’ Yet, the one who was clearly the most hurt was pretending to be sick while being cared for.
"I’ll take care of you, Juha!"
"Yu-rang, don’t… How could I let you take care of me? Cough! Ah, the blood. The blood won’t stop."
The princess had no conscience.
As Jin Cheon-hee tried to sneak out, the princess called out to him.
"Prepare a messenger pigeon."
"Where should I send it?"
"To the royal palace. Those who troubled my Yu-rang will pay for their sins with blood."
Her eyes burned with the face of a warring tyrant.
Jin Cheon-hee bowed his head.
"Understood."
"One more place."
"Where?"
"Hwaju Pavilion. If those bastards had their way, my Yu-rang’s legs would already be gone. As a ruler, I must teach them a lesson so they can make better choices next time."
Her red lips curved into a tiger’s smile.
Everyone in the room thought simultaneously, ‘Hwaju Pavilion is in trouble now.’ A chill ran down their spines.
A few days later, at Hwaju Pavilion.
"A messenger pigeon has arrived from Baekrin Pavilion."
"Good. I was wondering when it would come. Heh heh heh."
"Chief Ma Jin-chu, you seem to be in a particularly good mood today."
At those words, Chief Ma Jin-chu quickly composed his expression.
"Don’t talk nonsense. Bring it here at once."
"Yes, understood."
"Ah, the weather is so clear today."
Ma Jin-chu forced himself to suppress the laughter threatening to spill out.
He didn’t want to appear too carefree in front of his subordinates.
‘It seems the people we sent caused quite a stir.’ The last incident involving the palace had left Hwaju Pavilion’s reputation in tatters.
Just thinking about how the Medicine Sage had scolded him, the chief, made his blood boil.
He had carefully selected a skilled physician to send, and this was the result. ‘It seems even the great Baekrin Medicine Sage has lost his mind.
Hahahaha!’ He took a sip of tea to celebrate.
"The tea tastes especially sweet today. What kind is it?"
"Chief, it’s the same Longjing tea you always drink."
"Is that so? The weather is so nice that even the tea tastes like honey. Indeed, everything depends on one’s state of mind. If you see the world with a demon’s heart, it feels like hell. If you see it with a Buddha’s heart, it feels like paradise. Hahahaha!"
"……"
Suddenly, he started preaching about Buddhism, enjoying his happiness.
Then, a commotion broke out outside.
Crash!
"What’s that noise?"
"It seems a servant has fallen."
"Tsk tsk, such careless behavior in a place that should always be dignified. Give them a good beating."
At those words, one of the pavilion members panicked and asked, "Last time, you said we should be swift, and now you’re saying we should be dignified. Which is it?"
"Today, you’re being quite talkative. Do you want to take the beating instead?"
"Ah, no! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!"
The pavilion member shook his head.
The whippings at Hwaju Pavilion were notoriously painful.
- Medicine is learned through pain, and to become a great physician, one must understand suffering.
This has been the teaching method of Hwaju Pavilion for generations.
As a result, new recruits, whether young or old, were constantly beaten. ‘I heard it wasn’t this bad even in the previous generation…’ Everyone knew that the previous generation had written about the importance of strictness when dealing with patients’ lives.
But over time, it had become increasingly excessive.
It was as if they were relieving stress by beating the new recruits.
Sometimes, they even beat them as if it were a joke.
Once they became official members, they took out their frustrations by tormenting the juniors.
It was a vicious cycle.
The hierarchy among the pavilion members grew stronger.
Now, it felt even more rigid than the military hierarchy in the royal palace.
"Chief!"
"Come in."
The door opened.
The servant’s knees were torn and bloody, as if he had fallen hard.
"Tsk tsk tsk, can’t even deliver a letter properly."
The servant was terrified.
"It’s… it’s…"
As the child hesitated, the chief grew impatient.
"Bring it here at once!"
"Yes, yes!"
What the child pulled from his pocket was a letter wrapped in bright red silk.
Embroidered on the red silk was a golden dragon, as if woven with blood.
The red silk and golden embroidery were the symbols of a certain royal family.
And among the members of Hwaju Pavilion, no one was unaware of that symbol.
"Th-the princess?! Why would Her Highness send a letter through Baekrin Pavilion’s messenger pigeon?!"
No one could answer that question.
Chief Ma snatched the letter and tore open the wrapping.
On the pristine white paper, bold strokes raced like a dragon.
He recognized this handwriting.
‘Could it be that Her Highness wrote this herself?’ It was an extremely rare occurrence.
Normally, the princess’s words would be transcribed by someone from the royal palace.
Gulp.
Just the handwriting alone was enough to make him feel overwhelmed.
He slowly read the letter.
Once, twice, and even a third time, he read it, but he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. ‘What on earth is going on…?’
The Hwaju Pavilion members watching him were also on edge.
What could possibly take so long to read? It was clear this wasn’t just a casual letter.
"……"
After reading it thirty times, the chief finally understood the contents.
Thud-
He dropped the letter.
On the fallen letter, a simple line was written:
[From now on, all benefits and support given to Hwaju Pavilion will be redirected to Baekrin Pavilion.]
A political storm had hit Hwaju Pavilion.
"……"
It was the calm before the storm.
"What?! She’s cutting off our support?! Her Highness?! Has Baekrin Pavilion gone mad??!!!"
The chief’s shout shook the pavilion.
"What were the people we sent even doing?! Did they just stand by and watch?!"
"……"
Everyone remained silent.
They didn’t know.
And even if they did, speaking up could be dangerous.
"Are you all mute?!"
"W-we’re sorry!"
"Go and find out what happened! Quickly! We need to change Her Highness’s mind as soon as possible! If the Medicine Sage finds out about this…!"
At that moment, the door opened again.
"Chief! The Medicine Sage has summoned you immediately!"
"Gahhh!"
The veins on the chief’s neck bulged.
His hands and feet began to tremble like aspen leaves, a dangerous sign.
"Chief! Chief! Pull yourself together! What are you all doing?! Bring the emergency medicine!"
A servant rushed to fetch the medicine.
The chief swallowed it in chunks.
His blood pressure dropped rapidly.
To lower blood pressure so quickly—truly, it was a medicine made by the Medicine Sage.
"Ughhhhh……"
The chief grabbed the table and let out a deep sigh.
"What’s the use of getting angry? I’ll go and come back. In the meantime, find out what’s going on."
"Should we go to the Intelligence Bureau or the Hao Gate?" These were the two places that handled information.
"The Intelligence Bureau… No, Hao Gate would be better. It’s closer to Baekrin Pavilion, so it’ll be faster."
"Understood!"
The Hwaju Pavilion members bowed deeply in unison.
The princess’s order to cut off support for Hwaju Pavilion and redirect it to Baekrin Pavilion caused ripples not only in the martial world but also in the political arena of the royal palace.
However, this was a story Jin Cheon-hee didn’t know.
Because of this, the future Jin Cheon-hee knew was slowly beginning to change.