Chapter 17….
Hong-ah smacked her lips. She felt sorry for the sibling not yet born, but at this point, the most effective card she could play was a marriage alliance.
Han Hwak was the brother of a Ming dynasty concubine, a man so powerful that even the king could not treat him lightly. If his daughter became queen, the deposition of Danjong would no longer be an easy matter.
“Marriage alliances are useful, but you can’t use them often. I need to think carefully and make the right judgment. And since the decision isn’t mine to make, I’ll have to find a way.”
It felt daunting. Hong-ah, after all, would at best become a princess. She couldn’t recklessly meddle in the marriage of the crown prince, the future king.
But she remembered that many of those who helped Grand Prince Suyang seize the throne during the Gyeyujeongnan were tied to him through marriage.
Suyang, too, had used that card to his advantage. So no matter what, she needed to secure marriage alliances firmly in her grasp.
Royal marriages were always political by nature, and Hong-ah was prepared for such a union herself. For a five-year-old, it was a grim resolution.
“This is hard.”
Nothing came easy.
As her thoughts wandered that far, Hong-ah realized something instinctively. Living a quiet, uneventful life would not be enough. If she wished to survive, she would inevitably clash with Grand Prince Suyang.
In any case, the hope of a “quiet” life was already gone.
A sigh slipped out of her small lips. Being born as Danjong’s older sister, it was unavoidable.
“If only I could meet with my uncles more often.”
She had already, without meaning to, drawn two of her uncles to her side. But she knew that the sons of Lady Kim of the So family—who would later become Royal Noble Consort Shin—had all sided with Grand Prince Suyang.
In fact, even the uncle she was close to now had later assisted Suyang and earned merit as one of his supporters.
Still, she needed to win over as many royal relatives as possible. After all, Suyang’s coup had no legitimacy. If the other princes refused to back him, his actions would be nothing more than a single man’s rebellion.
“It’s important to firmly secure the uncles who’ll stand on our side, but I also mustn’t miss the chance to draw back those who once supported Suyang.”
Unfortunately, they would never serve as Danjong’s firm base of support.
In the early Joseon dynasty, princes were in a very different position compared to a daegun (grand prince). Some even said that the king’s illegitimate sons joined Suyang because, as a second son himself, his situation felt similar to theirs.
Later, in the mid-Joseon era, royal descendants would become so scarce that all were treated equally. But for now, there were far too many princes. The king himself had no fewer than eighteen sons.
“Still, at the very least, I can undermine Suyang’s justification.”
The Gyeyujeongnan had to fail. For Hong-ah and her brother to survive, that was an absolute condition.
“I must turn it from a ‘pacification of disorder’ (靖難) into a rebellion (叛亂).”
Hong-ah bit her lip lightly. Of course, even she did not remember the exact date and hour the coup had begun. But she did recall that it happened on an autumn night of the Gyeyu year.
For now, there was still time to change something—anything. After all, wasn’t the future already shifting little by little? Whatever the case, Hong-ah was already a step ahead of everyone else. She couldn’t say there was no chance of victory.
“Agissi.”
A voice broke her thoughts.
“What is it? I want to be alone.”
“But, young lady, the sun has already set.”
At the nursemaid’s voice, Hong-ah glanced at the window. A crimson glow seeped through the paper panes. Had that much time passed already? She cleared her throat in embarrassment, and the nursemaid’s voice came again.
“Your evening meal has already arrived. You must eat.”
“All right. Just a moment.”
That meant her time alone was over. Hong-ah quickly folded the paper roughly and shoved it into a drawer. Only the ink stains on her hands remained as evidence of her troubled thoughts.
Last winter, the two troublemaking uncles had both turned seven and received princely titles.
Hyeon, who became Prince Suchun, and Gon, who became Prince Ikhyeon, were still stuck on Myeongsimbogam (a Confucian primer for children), yet they strutted around pretending to be adults and meddling in everything.
Rumors spread that they gave their tutors endless headaches since they still neglected their studies. Still, the two grew up healthy and well enough.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Palace was always harmonious.
Unlike Hong-ah, who was growing more reserved and dry in her emotions, Hong-yeon blossomed into a child full of affection. She reigned as the darling of the palace with her adorable ways, showered with her parents’ love.
Though her weak health often left her sickly, she overcame it each time with resilience.
The palace’s only real worry now was that there was still no crown prince. Knowing that one would soon be born, Hong-ah always felt stifled by the pressure from adults, but she bore it with dignity and comforted her mother.
For all the gossip and worries, life was still relatively peaceful—though to Hong-ah, each day felt like the calm before a storm.
“Hong-ah, we’re here!”
“We’ve found something amazing!”
The excited voices of Prince Ikhyeon and Prince Suchun pulled her out of her thoughts and gave her a bad premonition.
Hong-ah herself was no tomboy. Compared to those two, she was practically a gentleman.
Growing up together, the two boys seemed incapable of going a single day without causing trouble, like restless children who grew thorns if they stayed still.
Even when she frowned disapprovingly, they loved how Hong-ah always gave at least a word or two of advice during their antics.
Both were quick with their feet, but Hong-ah was quicker with her mind. That was why, despite her being a girl, they always wanted her by their side.
She had once thought they would naturally drift apart once they turned seven, but her prediction had long since proven wrong.
Even after receiving their princely titles, the boys still played freely with her.
The crown prince didn’t like it much, but the king was delighted that his beloved granddaughter got along with the illegitimate sons. Thanks to that, the boys learned the art of wriggling out of trouble by dropping Hong-ah’s name.
“The court lady of the laundry quarters is absent today, isn’t she?”
“So we’re going to sneak and hide the wash!”
The two princes giggled as they shared their plan.
“We noticed that around mid-afternoon, the maids hang the laundry outside and go back in. That’s when we’ll sneak in and hide it all!”
In this life, where there was little excitement compared to her past, the only amusement came from Prince Suchun and Prince Ikhyeon’s pranks. Still, Hong-ah didn’t have the luxury of indulging every reckless idea.
“I thought I told you not to do things that harm the maids.”
Her sharp gaze turned on her two uncles. For such a young child, her eyes could be icy cold. Whenever she looked at them that way, the princes faltered.
“We’ll return it after hiding it, quietly.”
Prince Suchun pleaded.
“Today’s the perfect day! The court lady will be gone from mid-afternoon until early evening.”
Prince Ikhyeon, too, looked at her with desperate eyes.
“You mean you’ll return it only after the maids are punished?”
At her stern tone, they quickly promised—again and again—that they’d return it before anyone got scolded.
“We just want to give them a scare, that’s all! We don’t want them punished either!”
“If that’s really what you want, then do as you please.”
“Gasp!”
The princes had long since learned that whenever Hong-ah said “do as you please,” it meant she was angry. And Prince Suchun was even weaker before her than Prince Ikhyeon was.
“Are you upset? If you don’t like it, we won’t do it.”
Suchun tried to soothe her. Catching on to the mood, Ikhyeon quickly followed.
“Right. Have we ever done something you really hated? If you say no, then we won’t. Don’t be mad.”
“Look at that tree. Who decides which way its branches will grow? No one—it grows on its own. Doesn’t each life have its own way?”
The princes never fully understood her words, but they could at least read the mood. Realizing she wasn’t pleased, they gave in.
“All right. We won’t do anything that harms the maids.”
Prince Ikhyeon even held out his pinky for a promise. Only after hooking fingers and pressing their thumbs together did Hong-ah’s expression finally soften. The boys exhaled in relief.
“Honestly. I have to rein them in like this every time.”
Watching their grinning faces, Hong-ah thought to herself.
She had long pondered how to sway Prince Ikhyeon, who would one day join the Gyeyujeongnan, but no good answer came to mind. Persuasion would be best—but for now, Ikhyeon was too young for rational discussion.
For now, the greatest achievement of his life was still playing pranks. Eight years old—an age at which the royal family treated a child like a little adult, but in her past life’s terms, he was nothing more than an elementary schooler.
Fortunately, at least for now, Hong-ah could still keep this mischievous boy under control.
