< Episode 63: Queen Hwang (1) >
“Surely my lord?”
“yes. “It seems like this gentleman is a real craftsman.”
In response to Mok Gyeong-un’s meaningful words, Song-ah, who was said to be the daughter of master Hong Bong-yuk, had a stern expression on her face and then let out a long sigh.
“Whew. From the looks of it, no matter what you say, you won’t believe it.”
“yes. “I am sure that he is a true craftsman.”
Mokgyeongun remembers everything he saw.
That’s why I also remembered the palms of everyone at Hongbongyuk, the slaughterhouse.
Most of them had calluses and rough hands, but it was obviously due to their long butchering days.
The only thing that was different was Song-ah’s palm.
Her raw palm was not shaped like it could have been slaughtered.
It was a palm that required a lot of delicate work or handling of glue.
Mo Kyung-un smiled and said to her.
“Is there any point in deceiving me further?”
Song-ah shrugged her shoulders and then answered.
“Yes. “No one has ever looked at my palm so intently, and it seems to have caught the eye.”
Seopchun asked as if he was amazed by her confident attitude of not denying it.
“Is Soje really a craftsman?”
“why? Is it hard to believe that a young woman is making bast cotton?”
“That’s not what I meant. “It was just unexpected.”
“It’s surprising. Well, it could be so. “You might think that an older, more experienced man should do this kind of work that is considered a craftsman, but unfortunately, I am that craftsman.”
She was caught anyway, so she revealed her true feelings openly.
Then she looked at Mo Qingyun and said.
“I didn’t deceive you on purpose. Her life was threatened more than once while doing this job. And there were many people who were interested in this technology and tried to forcefully bring it under their wing.”
“I guess it was to protect myself.”
“yes. So how can I protect myself? “I don’t know martial arts like you or have power like a member of the Geumwiwi.”
Hiding under false pretenses was her self-help measure to protect herself.
Because he could understand this, Nie Chun nodded and said.
“I can completely understand.”
“Then can you keep my secret?”
“secret?”
“yes. It’s a secret. “If my identity is known, I will have to suffer threats again.”
“iced coffee. Of course I will keep it. “Our purpose is simply to request relief from human skin, not to threaten or embarrass Sojeo.”
“Then that’s a relief. “You can keep a secret too, right?”
Song-ah turned to Mok Kyung-un and asked.
Mok Kyung-un folded his arms and smiled and answered.
“That’s not difficult. But these favors always come with a price.”
“What is it? The price is for me to fulfill your request….”
“You can’t become a master at what you do in the first place.”
“under! “Then what are we going to do?”
“I would like you to do me a personal favor.”
“ask?”
Mok Kyung-un approached her as she questioned her question and quietly whispered in her ear.
“I just want to watch Sojeo make bast cotton balls, is that okay?”
“……..”
Song-ah snorted inwardly at Mok Gyeong-un’s words.
Somehow, I feel like I know this man’s intentions.
It looks like he wants to know how he makes bast cotton balls.
Unfortunately, this is not something you can follow just by seeing it with your eyes.
You have to be born with delicate dexterity, and if you don’t figure out how to make a medicine that only you know, it becomes difficult to even maintain your bast.
She answered willingly.
“As you like.”
Watch it to your heart’s content.
What can you do about that?
Then Mok Gyeong-un said.
“Thank you for your permission. And this is just a curiosity, may I ask you a question?”
“What?”
“Is it possible to peel off the skin of a person’s face and use it as a human face mask?”
“yes?”
“Ah. I thought it would be much more efficient that way.”
‘!?’
The sight of Mok Gyeong-un laughing and casually saying something creepy just thinking about it sent a shiver down her spine.
* * *
As the sun sets,
Mok Gyeong-woon and his companions, who had successfully completed the request related to the human skin face and rested for a while in the afternoon, were heading somewhere along with Ganyang, the leader of the advance team.
It was a restaurant located not far from the outer castle of the imperial palace.
This restaurant, which was large in size and had a fancy exterior, was famous for its fried duck meat dishes and was a high-end restaurant frequented by not only dignitaries but also the royal family.
Ganyang said, pointing to the wall of a restaurant lit up with numerous lights in the distance.
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“Yubong probably rented that place.”
“Rental?”
“yes. Lady Huang doesn’t like her meals being interrupted. And today’s story won’t be good if it reaches other people’s ears.”
Renting literally means renting the entire restaurant.
Since it is a very famous restaurant, it must have cost a lot of money.
Mok Gyeong-un said, looking at the dozens of soldiers wearing armor guarding the restaurant’s wall.
“There are a lot of escorts.”
“That’s pretty normal. “If you go a little far from the castle, hundreds of guards will follow you.”
“Your Majesty the Emperor’s favor is so great.”
“yes. Not only that, but she also has the status of Queen Hwang, the crown prince’s mother, so she pays that much attention.”
“I guess so. “Then shall we go?”
“ah! “Before that, I have one more thing to tell you.”
Hearing Ganyang’s words, Mokgyeongun stopped walking and turned his head.
Then Ganyang lowered his voice and said.
“This is very important. “No matter what Mama Hwang says, you must not get excited or react emotionally.”
Because of this, the apostate monk Jae-jeong had to stay in the dormitory.
In fact, in the case of Jaejeongjeong, it was so infamous for the Three Gwangs (三狂) that it was separated out of fear that it would cause trouble.
But what Ganyang was really worried about was Mokgyeongun.
‘worried.’
He believed that those who were truly out of control were Mok Gyeong-un rather than Jae-jeong.
Unlike Mongmuyak and Nyeopchun of the later generations, he had a tendency to act according to his own will, so there were concerns that he might inadvertently provoke Queen Hwang.
That is why I am asking you again.
Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said to him not to worry.
“Ganyang said he would take care of it, so I will just watch.”
“……..All right.”
If you could do that, I would be truly grateful.
So they headed to the restaurant.
When they arrived at the restaurant’s gate, the soldiers guarding the front blocked them.
“This place is rented out today, so you won’t be able to eat here, so please go back.”
In response, Ganyang took out the card he had prepared from his pocket and showed it to him.
Then they bowed their heads and bowed as if they had been waiting.
However, it did not just pass here.
“We will take charge of the weapons you are carrying for a while.”
“A weapon?”
At his words, Ganyang and Okgi, the advance guard, handed over the weapons they were holding to the soldiers as if they had predicted them to some extent.
On the other hand, Nie Chun, Meng Muyak, and others did not seem to be pleased to be entrusted with German weapons, and their expressions were not so good.
However, since he could not irritate Queen Hwang, he had no choice but to hand over the German weapons and all the weapons he had.
“Please give me a sword too.”
The soldier said, pointing to Mo Gyeong-un’s evil sword.
In response, Mok Gyeong-un handed over the scabbard of the Akjeuk sword to the soldier and made a request.
“Just in case, please do not remove your sword from its sheath.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m telling you this because I’m worried.”
At these words, the soldier holding the scabbard of the evil sword snorted as if it was absurd.
Mok Gyeong-un whispered into the soldier’s ear.
“It’s a cursed sword, so if you pull it out carelessly, you’ll regret it.”
“What now?”
“If you’re really curious, you can pick it. “You just have to take care of it yourself.”
“……”
The soldier frowned at the unpleasant words that seemed to scare him.
However, because he knew that they were guests of Lady Hwang, the soldier did not show any more and immediately got out of the way.
The party entrusted with the weapons entered the gate.
As I went inside, the aroma of fried duck and various spices coming from outside whetted my appetite.
“Are you here?”
A familiar face was waiting in the restaurant’s front garden.
It was Yubong, one of the advance team.
He, who was even more powdered than when he had parted ways during the day and looked like a eunuch, greeted the group.
“Mother Hwang Guifei is waiting for you.”
Ganyang cautiously asked what he said.
“How does Queen Dowager feel?”
“Ho ho ho. Fortunately, it’s a restaurant he enjoys so much that he feels good about it.”
“That’s a good thing.”
This was very important because requests were influenced by the Queen Empress’s mood.
“Then come this way.”
Yubong led the group at a fast pace to the VIP room where the Queen Mother was.
There was a small pond in front and a pavilion in front of it.
The area around the pavilion was covered with thin ramie feet, and within it, a human figure presumed to be the Queen Mother and two shadows presumed to be court ladies serving her could also be seen.
-Sigh!
Mok Kyung-un scanned the surroundings with his eyes.
There were many hidden, invisible signs.
‘About thirty people.’
They all seemed to be top-notch martial arts experts, but they were qualitatively different from the soldiers outside.
And in front of the pavilion were two middle-aged people who looked unusual.
One person was wearing a black official uniform and seemed to be a eunuch, as he had no beard and his face was powdered like a pestle.
Another middle-aged man was wearing a neat gray official uniform and had a Yuyeopdo sword on his waist.
‘Is that Naegwan’s impression of a classmate?’
It was Mok Gyeong-un, who had previously heard from Ganyang that there was a local eunuch guarding the person of Queen Hwang.
The head of the alumni eunuchs is called Taegam (太監).
There are two minor governors under the governor.
These two people said that both of them were masters of secret martial arts that had been passed down from generation to generation in the imperial palace, but the spirit they gave off was definitely something out of the ordinary.
However, I couldn’t tell who the other person in gray official uniform standing on the left was.
‘Who is it?’
Ganyang also seemed to not know him.
At that time, Yubong said.
“mama. “The guests have arrived.”
With those words, Yubong sent a glance towards Ganyang, Mok Gyeongun, and others.
In response, led by Ganyang, they put their hands together, bowed their heads, and bowed in greeting.
“I know you, Queen Hwang.”
“……”
As I was offering my greetings, Queen Seo Hwang, reflected at her feet, was showing no reaction.
I thought the answer would be a light greeting, but it was unexpected.
Everyone had to stop with their heads down.
‘what?’
Apparently, according to Yubong, I heard that Lady Hwang was in a good mood.
But how does this come to be?
There was silence, but the atmosphere was quite strange.
At that time, my classmate Jang, who was standing on the right side of the pavilion, opened his mouth.
“It’s cruel. How safe is it to greet your mom like that? “Why don’t we kneel down right now and show proper respect?”
‘!?’
Ganyang, who had been lowering his head, frowned at these words.
I never knew from the beginning that I would find fault with etiquette like this.
‘You’re trying to catch the steamer.’
Ganyang clicked his tongue inwardly as if he was embarrassed.
To some extent, it was foreseen that Queen Dowager Seo would want to change this relationship, which had continued for a long time since she was a noblewoman, but it was difficult from the start.
< Episode 63: Queen Hwang (1) > End
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