Chapter 1
As the sun rose on a new day, the people of the Goguryeo empire were filled with anticipation and excitement. Today was the day the emperor, Taejoo the Wise, would choose his consorts. For many young women, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The chosen consort would become the emperor's wife and have the chance to be the most powerful woman in the kingdom if favored by the emperor.
And no household was exempt from the selection.
"To hell with this consort selection; I'm leaving the house."
Beom Haewon, the only daughter of a minor official, hastened to put all her essential belongings in a bag of bamboo. Pieces of jewelry from her brother, expensive head accessories she got from her coming-of-age ceremony, and dresses gifted by her father, she pushed them all into the poor bamboo bag holding it all together.
"My lady, you must not miss this occasion! It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Her handmaid stepped in, taking out things Beom Haewon shoved in her bamboo bag.
"Stop it, Yijin!" Beom Haewon, who only thought of escaping, realized late that she had pushed her handmaid. Immediately, she went to help Yijin to stand up on her feet and mutter an apology. "I'm sorry, Yijin… I don't want to marry someone eight years older than me and hasn't shown his face in public."
With a slight smile on her pressed lips, Yijin replied, "Nevertheless, it would be inadvisable for my lady to absent herself from the ceremony. Such action would result in significant financial loss for Lord Beom, and the young lord would be dismissed from his position in the central army."
"No. I made my decision," Beom Haewon sternly refused, shaking her head. After a brief second, she turned quickly, shifted back, and grabbed her bamboo bag. She ran to the window of her second-story bedroom, put her hand on its frame, and yelled, "Those people of the palace… they can only get me when I'm dead, hahaha!"
Yijin hurried to grab her master, thinking about everything that could go wrong if Beom Haewon missed her footing. Yijin was sobbing and dragging her master back to the bedroom as Beom Haewon made every effort to escape the consort selection. "Have you gone crazy, my lady?!"
While the two were struggling around, the sound of the door bursting open startled them. Only when they saw the individual standing at the entrance, then their horror be replaced by relief.
"Don't stop her. I've already prepared a carriage at the back of the house."
"Y, Young lord?" Yijin stopped balling her eyes out and sniffed her snot.
Even Beom Haewon, who had been attempting to jump over the window, fell back to the room's floor. "What are you doing here, brother? You should be in the palace."
"There's no time to explain. We have to get you out of this, Haewon."
Beom Haewon allowed herself to be dragged by him, even though she didn't understand why her brother was with her. Yijin, on the other hand, forfeited and followed behind them quietly. They made their way to the back of the house, where they found the carriage that her brother was about.
Their freedom ticket was an old and rickety carriage. However, before they could board, take off, and abandon everything behind, the ground shook beneath the soles of their shoes.
"Wha, they're already here?" Beom Hajoon exclaimed.
"Desist from any further thoughts of escape; otherwise, the palace shall hold the Beom family liable for the consequences!" a voice boomed out, the sound of dozens of marching feet following it.
Beom Haewon's heart sank as she realized their escape plan had been foiled. The palace soldiers had caught up to them, and there was no way for them to escape now.
"Oh no, we're going to have our heads hung!" Yijin exclaimed, her voice filled with fear and panic.
"No one has been persecuted for escaping the consort selection, Yijin." Beom Hajoon said, trying to calm his sister's handmaid.
Since the palace soldiers caught them, Yijin has not been tight-lipped about being tortured and dying at the emperor's orders. Sitting beside her handmaid, Beom Haewon inwardly wished for Yijin to shut up.
But Yijin was not to be calmed; she wasn't listening. "That's before they caught their first escapee! Us!" Frantic, she unknowingly dropped the honorifics and raised her voice at her employer's heir apparent.
Yijin faced Beom Haewon and grabbed her hands. With teary eyes, she expressed, "My lady, I'm grateful for you taking me in — though it's actually your father, and you didn't really want me at first… like you hate 'hate' me. But that's okay. I'm happy to serve you for ten years."
Brows frowned; Beom Haewon pulled her hands from Yijin's grasp and said, "Stop being dramatic, Yijin. You are being noisy, and I can't focus." She went back to staring into space; her mind wandered miles away.
"Please… take part in the selection, my lady. What if your refusal leads to the downfall of the family? The consorts to be chosen are typically from families of high-ranking officials or women with exceptional talents. A daughter of a minor official partaking would not make a difference."
"Excuse me? Are you calling my sister unqualified?" The last sentence threw Beom Hajoon off and made him raise his eyebrows.
"I, I didn't mean that my lady is unqualified," Yijin said, trying to calm the situation. "I am simply stating that there is no guarantee of being chosen for the consort selection, as the criteria for elimination includes not meeting the standards of the inner court, such as possessing elegance. That is all I am attempting to convey."
"Still, it's unjust for my sister to partake in this selection solely to pacify our family's reputation. She shouldn't have to prove herself solely because of our family's social standing," Hajoon replied, his voice laced with frustration. "And I don't appreciate you implying that she is inferior to the other ladies participating. Haewon can be elegant, too!"
As Beom Haewon listened to Yijin and Lady Jang discuss her, she couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance. It irked her that she was being talked about like she wasn't in the same carriage as the two of them. However, she could see where Yijin was coming from with her concerns about her lack of elegance.
She couldn't deny that she didn't fit the typical image of classiness or elegance, her hands rough from training with a sword. She knew that in such a competition, she would be eliminated quickly.
'But hold on,' she thought, pausing and stroking her chin.
As she was lost in thought, in the background, Yijin lowered her head and apologized, realizing her mistake. "I apologize for my words, Young Lord. It was not my intention to cause offense to you or the lady. I merely intend to maintain the strength and respectability of the Beom family in society. However, I understand if she does not wish to participate, and I will respect her choice—"
"That's it! All I have to do is to fail the selection," Beom Haewon burst. "God, you are a genius, Yijin!"
"I, I am?" Yijin stammered, surprised by Beom Haewon's sudden exclamation.
"Yes, you are!" Beom Haewon exclaimed. "Your idea is perfect! I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. Now all I have to do is make sure I don't stand out, and I'll be able to avoid the selection process altogether."
"But are you sure that's the best idea?" Her brother asked hesitantly, butting into their conversation. "I mean, you might be able to avoid the selection, but what if the examiner realizes that you're trying to fail? Won't that just make them more interested in you?"
Beom Haewon hesitated for a moment, considering her brother's words. "You're right, brother," she said finally. "I can't just try to fail and hope that the examiner doesn't notice me. I need to devise a better strategy. Perhaps I can find a way to excuse myself from the selection process altogether."
Beom Hajoon nodded in agreement. "I'm sure you'll come up with something," he said encouragingly. "Just remember that your happiness and well being are the most important things."
The Beom siblings hugged each other, with the older brother initiating it. It didn't take long til the carriage they were riding stopped. A few moments later, they heard a knock on the door, and a eunuch revealed himself.
"Please proceed to the square, Lady Beom. The head eunuch is waiting."
"Come on, Haewon," Beom Hajoon said, trying to encourage his sister. "You are strong and capable of handling anything that comes your way. You'll be fine. Just remember, you don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with," he reminded her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Beom Haewon inhaled deeply and nodded, mustering more confidence. She exited the carriage and followed behind the eunuch to the square, where the head eunuch was waiting. If she didn't want to be chosen for the selection, she would have to put on a brave face and do her best to avoid the examiner's attention. But as she approached the square, she couldn't mask the dread that settled in the pit of her stomach.
Once she finally got a view of the square as she passed through the open gate, she saw the hundreds of ladies waiting to be examined. Beom Haewon's heart raced as she caught the gatherings of ladies looking back at her entrance. She stammered as they glanced at her sideways, their faces filled with disdain and jealousy.
Beom Haewon wanted to avoid the attention within the plaza, but as the last lady to enter the competition, she became the center of attention. She pushed the hostile looks in the back of her head and focused her attention on the task at hand, but she couldn't escape being ostracized and excluded, judged, and evaluated by the other ladies.
Being one of the outsiders in the group was something she was aware of. She could see the contempt in the eyes of the other ladies, who were from prominent families and officials. They looked down on her, seeing her as an unworthy interloper who had no business being there.
Beom Haewon ignored the stares. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves as she followed the eunuch to the back of the line, despite the tension and hostility in the air.
"Did you see how late she arrived?" one of the ladies whispered to her friend, her voice laced with suspicion. "She must be trying to draw attention to herself. Don't you think so?"
"I don't know," her friend replied. "But she certainly seems to be making a scene."
The murmurs and whispers in the crowd were so loud that the head eunuch could hear them clearly from his wooden chair perched high on the stage in front of the plaza. Without delay, he called out, "Commence the first round of selection."
He stood atop the stage in front of the square, monitoring the ladies with a stern expression and piercing eyes that seemed to miss nothing. "Ladies," he called out, his voice resonating across the square. "The first round of the consort selection begins. Please step forward and present yourselves to the court eunuchs conducting the examinations."
With his command, the ladies of the front line, decked in their finest attire, began to move forward one by one. The court eunuchs surveyed them critically, assessing everything from their posture to poise. They would be looking for the qualities the emperor valued in a consort.
