Chapter 6 …
The Test
When Wolryeong looked at the wine bottle placed in her hand, she realized she could no longer pretend not to notice. Following her usual image of being timid and frail, she immediately waved her hand shyly and tried to push the bottle away.
“Couldn’t my younger sister pour it instead of me?”
But if Wolryeong didn’t pour the wine herself, there would be no way to place the blame on her. Unggeum forced the bottle into her hand and said firmly,
“It shows sincerity when the elder sister pours the wine herself. Please don’t refuse.”
Wolryeong sneered inwardly.
I can see right through you.
She pretended to accept the bottle with a startled look, but deliberately let it slip from her hand. During the brief scuffle, the bottle fell to the floor.
Crash!
The bottle shattered instantly into pieces, the sharp sound echoing around the room.
Lowering her head to look at the broken fragments, Wolryeong made a surprised expression and let out a small cry.
“Oh my… this wine bottle looks a little different from the ones I usually see.”
Everyone except Wolryeong was startled by the sudden commotion.
Unggeum, who had intended to play a trick with the wine, looked more shocked than anyone else. Her face turned pale. She quickly stretched out her foot, trying to secretly push the broken pieces aside, but it was already too late. Gyeongchang had already stood up and was carefully examining the scene on the floor.
Sim Onseo, not understanding what had happened, approached with a curious expression. But the moment he saw the scattered fragments of the wine bottle, his face changed immediately. Flustered, he flushed red and tried desperately to come up with a perfect excuse to cover the situation.
So Myeongseol glared viciously at Wolryeong. Covering her mouth with a handkerchief as if shocked, she said,
“Wolryeong, how can you be so careless? You’ve always been clumsy since you were young. Everyone, please sit down. We can simply bring a new bottle of wine.”
Watching So Myeongseol try to smooth things over, Wolryeong sneered inwardly.
Someone like Gyeongchang wouldn’t just let something like this pass. Besides, there’s no need to even mention what was in that wine.
If things continued like this, could Gyeongchang really leave as if nothing had happened?
Wolryeong lowered her head and remained silent, pretending to accept the scolding obediently. Unggeum, meanwhile, seemed to be doing something like this for the first time; she could not hide the anxiety on her face.
By now, Gyeongchang had already begun to feel something strange happening in his body. He looked at each member of the household one by one before finally speaking to Sim Onseo.
“What happened today should soon be discussed properly before His Majesty the Emperor. For now, this king will take his leave.”
Sim Onseo’s body trembled as he hurried after him.
“Your Highness, please listen to me. This is truly a misunderstanding!”
But Gyeongchang cut him off with a cold gaze.
“You may explain yourself in front of His Majesty. As for this king… I will reconsider this marriage.”
With that, Gyeongchang flicked his robe and left.
Sim Onseo returned to the room, furious, and shouted,
“What in the world have you people done?!”
Just as So Myeongseol was about to say something, Wolryeong spoke first.
“I don’t know either. My younger sister suddenly came to me today saying we must host His Highness for a meal. Even though His Highness firmly refused, she insisted we at least treat him at Cheonyeongeo. I… truly don’t know what happened. Lady So prepared everything for the drinking table, and I am still recovering from illness…”
Originally, Wolryeong had never been involved in household matters, something Sim Onseo knew well. Looking at his sickly eldest daughter, his tone softened unconsciously.
“You should go back and rest first.”
Wolryeong pretended to be startled, staggering away as if frightened. Sim Onseo did not doubt her at all. After she left, he glared at So Myeongseol and her daughter.
“You two…! Do you even realize what kind of trouble you’ve caused?!”
Hearing this, So Myeongseol secretly breathed a sigh of relief and began her excuse.
“I did it all for you. Even if Wolryeong marries in that condition, how many years could she survive? If His Highness later remarries, the Prince Chungshin’s household would have nothing to do with our family anymore. Wouldn’t it be better to send Unggeum instead? Please don’t be angry. I only thought about the future of this family.”
After speaking, she gave her daughter a meaningful glance. Unggeum quickly left the room.
When she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Wolryeong walking far ahead. Unggeum’s anger began to boil.
This is all because of you! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been humiliated like this today!
Filled with rage, she immediately chased after her.
This time I’ll definitely teach you a lesson.
“Sim Wolryeong! Stop right there!”
Wolryeong did not stop walking. But when she heard the voice, she smiled quietly where no one could see.
Soon Unggeum caught up and blocked her path. Seeing this, Byeokra’s face turned pale as she stepped forward. Though trembling slightly, she stood in front of Wolryeong to protect her.
Wolryeong felt pleased at Byeokra’s loyalty, but quickly composed her expression and looked at Unggeum.
“Younger sister, what is it?”
“Don’t pretend. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Unggeum wasn’t stupid. Thinking back, she realized the earlier incident had not been so simple. Her sister had always been timid and fearful—so why would she act like that in front of Gyeongchang?
Wolryeong slightly raised her eyebrows.
“If you like that marriage, I don’t mind giving it to you. So why say such things?”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“You already know what I mean. I don’t want this marriage. If you truly want it, I have no intention of fighting you for it. But it was ordered by the Emperor, so what can we do? If you have a way to persuade His Majesty to change his mind, I won’t oppose it.”
After speaking, Wolryeong let out a small sigh.
“But I never imagined you would use such tricks. I wonder what kind of revenge Prince Chungshin will take against our family. Instead of arguing here, wouldn’t it be better to think about calming his anger first?”
Remembering Gyeongchang’s cold expression when he left, Unggeum felt fear creep into her heart.
Still, she did not want to appear weak in front of Wolryeong.
“Were you serious about what you just said?”
“Which part?”
“That you don’t want the marriage!”
“Of course.”
Wolryeong smiled calmly. She had already noticed that Gyeongchang didn’t particularly welcome this marriage. A man who stood at the peak of the empire—both in power and status—would never allow himself to be used so easily.
She didn’t know what he would do next, but judging from the emotionless look in his eyes, he was clearly a cold and ruthless man.
Such a man would never make a good husband. She had no interest in him at all.
Unggeum, unaware of Wolryeong’s true thoughts, still couldn’t shake her suspicion.
What scheme is she plotting?
Meanwhile, Wolryeong had already decided she would not miss the chance for revenge. After today’s incident, she was certain that the ones who had poisoned her were Unggeum and her mother. Ordinary people would not so casually attempt to poison someone.
However, since the mother and daughter controlled the household and her body was still weak, direct revenge would be difficult. She needed another way—one that wouldn’t stain her own hands with blood.
In this situation, Gyeongchang was a very useful card.
Wolryeong spoke again in a calm but persuasive voice.
“Judging from how angry Prince Chungshin was, he might even ask the Emperor to cancel the marriage. Since the fault lies with our family, it’s very possible the marriage won’t happen. So perhaps it would be better if you personally appease him and prevent the engagement from being broken.”
Unggeum had no argument against that. Though annoyed, everything Wolryeong said made sense.
Since Wolryeong couldn’t escape anyway, she could deal with this problem first and handle her later.
With nothing more to say, Unggeum left.
Wolryeong watched her go, secretly curious what new trick the mother and daughter might try to provoke Gyeongchang again.
For now, the most important things were to recover her body weakened by poison and find seeds to plant in her mysterious space.
“Elder sister.”
A gentle voice interrupted Wolryeong’s thoughts.
When she looked up, she saw a girl in pale yellow clothes smiling at her from a distance.
Searching her memory, Wolryeong realized she was Sim Seoui, the ninth sister of the household and a concubine-born daughter. The two rarely interacted before, so why had she come now?
Her mother, Lady Jin, was not an easy woman to deal with. In Wolryeong’s memory, she was the only person capable of standing equally against So Myeongseol.
Suppressing her caution, Wolryeong smiled gently.
“Oh, Seoui. What brings you here? Did you come to see me?”
“Mother asked me to pass a message to you. Do you have time?”
Seoui quietly stepped closer, looking at Wolryeong as if carefully observing her.
Sim Onseo had two sons.
One was the legitimate eldest son Sim Bungil, born to So Myeongseol.
The other was the second son Sim Bungjeon, born to the concubine Lady Jin.
Lady Jin was no ordinary woman. She had managed to secretly give birth to and safely raise both Sim Seoui and Sim Bungjeon despite So Myeongseol’s watchful eyes.
If Wolryeong wanted to oppose So Myeongseol in the future, she would need allies—and Lady Jin seemed like the perfect partner.
Although Wolryeong was the legitimate daughter, she had lost her mother and had never even dared to properly speak her mind to her father, Sim Onseo. Lady Jin, on the other hand, though favored, was still only a concubine and constantly pushed aside by So Myeongseol.
The old, timid Wolryeong would never have considered forming an alliance with her.
But after the attempted poisoning of Prince Chungshin today, Lady Jin sensed that Wolryeong had changed. She immediately began searching for an opportunity.
Lady Jin, who had long been competing with So Myeongseol for influence within the inner household, would never let such an opportunity slip away.
