Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 114

Jjangra

Hello, Bomb!

114. That Guy Was Strong!

The news that ‘Shim On’s reinstatement has been decided!’ spread far and wide.

Queen Soheon, upon learning that the Crown Prince was instrumental in this, summoned Hyang.

“Crown Prince! Thank you so much! Thank you so much!”

Hyang replied respectfully to Queen Soheon, who was weeping while holding his hands.

“It was something I had to do as a son. Now, please calm yourself and live a long and healthy life! You must see your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

“I must! Yes! I must!”

That night, King Sejong visited Queen Soheon’s chambers, took her hand, and said,

“I’m sorry for everything. Please forgive your neglectful husband.”

“No! No! I have no regrets now!”

Queen Soheon was once again in tears, just as she had been during the day.

* * *

After all of this, Hyang’s wedding day finally arrived.

Hyang, who had completed four of the six traditional wedding rites (Nabcchae [presenting betrothal gifts], Napjing [requesting the bride’s birth date], Gogi [reporting the wedding date to the ancestors], Chaekbin [receiving the bride’s formal attire]), performed Imheonchogye (臨軒醮戒, the king’s words of caution to the Crown Prince) before Chinyeong (親迎, going to the detached palace to bring the Crown Princess).

“Crown Prince, considering your usual behavior, I don’t think there’s any need to worry, but still, you never know what might happen, so I’ll offer a word of advice. From now on, you are the head of a household. Never be rash and be cautious in everything.”

“I will engrave it in my heart.”

After finishing Imheonchogye, Hyang mounted his horse and headed to the detached palace.

On the horse heading to the detached palace, the Crown Prince muttered to himself.

“I have to do this two more times in the future?”

Because the horoscopes of the Crown Princess and the concubines were all different, the auspicious days were also different, so Hyang had to hold the wedding ceremony three times.

While riding the horse, Hyang simply followed his train of thought and continued thinking.

‘First night… Come to think of it, this is my first first night in my entire life, both in the 21st century and now? Hmm…’

As soon as the words ‘first night’ came up, all sorts of sensual fantasies unfolded in Hyang’s mind.

The eunuchs escorting Hyang whispered to each other at the sight of Hyang smiling to himself.

“Isn’t this the first time we’ve seen the Crown Prince like that?”

“He looks like Prince Yu when he was looking at the train model?”

“He must be really happy… I want to get married too….”

At one eunuch’s lament, a fellow eunuch who was moving with him looked at him with a subtle expression.

“….”

“Why?”

The fellow eunuch who received the question still asked with a subtle expression.

“You’ve been going out a lot at night lately….”

At his colleague’s question, the eunuch was horrified, looked around, and said something to his colleague.

“Hey! Do you want to see someone’s head rolling off?”

There was a reason why the eunuch was horrified.

In the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs had their entire reproductive organs removed, but in Joseon, only the testicles were removed.

However, in Joseon, erection was possible, so there was a high possibility of various scandals occurring with the palace women who lived together in the palace.

Therefore, if a colleague’s question was even slightly misinterpreted, it would become a major incident that could cost him his life.

‘Eunuch so-and-so said he wanted to get married. Come to think of it, he’s been going out a lot at night lately.’ turned into ‘Eunuch so-and-so said he wanted to get married, and that eunuch is close to palace woman so-and-so. Could there be something between them?’ and finally turned into ‘Eunuch so-and-so and palace woman so-and-so are having an affair!’

And if these rumors reached the ears of the chief eunuch or the head palace maid, a bloodbath would ensue.

The internal regulations of the eunuchs and palace women were stricter and more cruel than one could imagine, so if they did something wrong, the people involved in the rumors would disappear without a trace.

Another eunuch rebuked his colleague, who was sweating after uttering the single phrase, ‘I want to get married.’

“If you want to get married, just go, why are you so surprised?”

This was said because Joseon eunuchs, unlike Chinese eunuchs, could marry.

However, the eunuch who was rebuked replied in a sullen voice.

“I don’t have any money….”

“I told you to stop drinking so much.”

While the escorting eunuchs were talking nonsense, Hyang was still entrusting himself to the flow of consciousness.

‘As expected, the video is… Ack! I didn’t delete the Brown Dipper folder on the computer in my smithy room!’

* * *

At the Chinyeong held at the detached palace, Hyang was able to see the Crown Princess’s face for the first time.

‘Oh! Center! Aja [a Korean expression of excitement and approval]!’

Hyang cheered inwardly after seeing the Crown Princess’s face.

When he secretly observed the ‘Gyeonghoeru Tea Party’ hosted by the Queen, Hyang evaluated it as a ‘girl group.’

‘If it’s a girl group, there’s definitely a center [the most prominent member]!’

Thinking that way, Hyang diligently moved the single-lens telescope.

‘Geez! How did they pick… They picked really well!’

The beauty of the three ladies who remained as finalists was indistinguishable.

Still, after trying hard, he decided on the ‘center,’ but the other two were also very close, so Hyang, who was suffering from ‘choice paralysis,’ passed the ball to Sejong.

‘If I’m going to regret it no matter what, I should at least create an excuse!’

However, due to internal and external circumstances, he ended up taking all three ladies, and from then on, Hyang fell into another dilemma.

‘Then, who is the Crown Princess?’

And, at the long-awaited Chinyeong, Hyang couldn’t hide his smile as he saw the Crown Princess for the first time.

* * *

As mentioned earlier, Hyang’s Crown Princess candidates were unconventional compared to the customs of the time.

Their beauty was one thing, but the biggest difference was that all the candidates were tall.

Of course, they weren’t as slender as the fashion models of the 21st century, but they were a bit taller than the average of the same period.

This was due to the influence of the Geomgye [a special task force], who were searching for a lady.

The Geomgye members, who had received Sejong’s orders, discussed what kind of lady would be good.

“I understand that we’re looking for a lady who is roughly pretty and kind-hearted, but how about setting a more detailed standard?”

“More detailed? Isn’t it enough to have a lady who is roughly pretty and kind-hearted?”

“You idiot! We’re not just choosing a daughter-in-law from a high-ranking family, but the Crown Princess! The Crown Princess! You ignorant bastard!”

“Says you!”

“You idiot! I’ve still finished the Analects [a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius]! You ignorant bastard!”

The head of the Geomgye, who saw the members bickering, opened his mouth.

“Looking at you guys… add scholarship to the ladies’ standards.”

At the head of the Geomgye’s order, the bickering members stopped fighting and asked a question.

“Scholarship, you say?”

“Yes. As you guys know, isn’t the Crown Prince a bit smart? Are you going to push a pretty and stupid lady and get on his bad side?”

“Ah….”

After scholarship was added to the criteria for choosing a lady, ‘height’ was added next.

“Height? Why height?”

“Think about it. The Lord, and no, let’s think about it from Taejo [the founder of the Joseon Dynasty]. Were there any short people?”

When the Geomgye member who mentioned ‘height’ mentioned Sejong’s family line, the members all exclaimed.

“Ah!”

“To do one cut [likely referring to producing offspring], it’s best to be big, that’s right.”

“Does His Highness have to swing a sword?”

“It’s better than being weak.”

One of the Geomgye members, who had been arguing, cautiously expressed a different opinion.

“Then, how about recommending a really sturdy lady…….”

“What if we really recommend such a lady and get on the Crown Prince’s bad side later?”

“Then, let’s compromise with height for now…….”

That’s how ‘height’ was included in the lady’s selection criteria, and Hyang was satisfied.

* * *

After the Chinyeong ended safely, Hyang returned to the East Palace and proceeded with Dongroe (同牢, a ceremony in which the Crown Prince and Crown Princess bow to each other and share wine and side dishes) with the Crown Princess.

After Dongroe, Hyang and the Crown Princess, wearing light clothes instead of heavy ceremonial robes – although they were still Gonryongpo [Crown Prince’s robe] and Dangui [a type of Korean traditional clothing for women] – sat facing the table of snacks and wine.

‘This is not a good atmosphere….’

Hyang grumbled with a dissatisfied face towards the doorway.

“Do there have to be people next to the door like this?”

At Hyang’s complaint upon seeing the eunuchs and palace women gathered closely outside the door of the bridal chamber, the head palace maid sent by Queen Soheon replied with a smile.

“It is the law of the country.”

Hyang clicked his tongue at the head palace maid’s answer from outside the door.

“Tsk! No privacy, no privacy… I understand! But! Never open that door!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

* * *

The head palace maid, who was waiting and sitting outside the bridal chamber, listened to the movements inside the room.

‘I wonder if it will go well on the first night?’

Unlike Sejong, who even had a child in his private residence before entering the palace, Hyang was spending his first night in the palace.

In addition, Hyang had no sexual experience until now.

Therefore, the head palace maid had no choice but to focus on the movements inside the room.

If necessary, she had to enter the room even if there was an order from the Crown Prince, and the head palace maid had the authority to do so.

As she paid attention to the movements inside the room, the head palace maid became dumbfounded.

This was because Hyang and the Crown Princess were only having random conversations in the room.

“So, what are the Crown Princess’s hobbies?”

“I like to read books or do embroidery, but what I like the most is horseback riding and archery.”

“Archery? Wow~. How good are you?”

“It was a competition between women, but I’ve rarely lost in competitions.”

“That’s amazing!”

“Does Your Highness also like archery?”

“I like archery, but these days I like shooting something else instead of a bow. Wait a moment.”

After a rustling sound, Hyang’s words continued.

“This is the six-barrel horse-mounted rifle that Joseon cavalrymen use these days. It’s really fun to shoot with this.”

“Is that so?”

“Let’s do it together sometime.”

“Yes.”

The head palace maid pounded her chest at the conversation coming from the room.

‘Oh my! This is a time when there’s a mountain of things to do, but are you in a situation where you’re talking about a rifle or something?’

The head palace maid was frustrated outside, but Hyang was just as frustrated.

Even in the 21st century, Hyang was far from dating.

He was a well-known otaku [a person with obsessive interests, particularly in anime and manga] in middle and high school, and after going to college, he was branded as a ‘global otaku’ who even went to the United States to do otaku activities, and no woman approached him.

‘I have to create an atmosphere somehow… I can’t just lie down, take off my clothes, and sleep! In movies and dramas… Damn it! The movies I’ve seen have nothing to do with romance! I’m going crazy!’

In addition to the fact that ‘creating a romantic atmosphere’ was a completely unknown area, what made Hyang hesitate was the Crown Princess’s age.

The Crown Princess was 15 years old. Hyang was also 14 years old, but Hyang didn’t care about his own age and was only concerned about the Crown Princess’s age.

‘Achoong Achoong [onomatopoeia for sneezing]! Clang Clang [onomatopoeia for a metallic sound]!’

Hyang kept hesitating because of the psychological brakes that kept getting in the way even when he tried to forget.

Deing~.

What eliminated that atmosphere was the bell ringing from Jongnu [a bell tower].

Hearing the bell, Hyang turned his head to check the time.

“It’s already midnight. Let’s sleep now.”

The Crown Princess, answering docilely and bowing her head, had her neck flushed red with shyness and tension.

The head palace maid, who was listening to the conversation outside, clenched her fist tightly.

‘Finally!’

As the light in the bridal chamber went out, a few palace women who had followed the head palace maid tried to make a hole in the door.

However, there was glass behind the paper pasted on the window frame, and another paper was blocking the view beyond that.

“Give up. The place where the glass door was first installed is here in the East Palace. Do you think His Highness would have just let it go?”

At the words of the palace women working in the East Palace, the faces of the palace women who came with the head palace maid were full of regret.

“Hmm….”

After the Crown Prince and Crown Princess finished their first sexual encounter, the head palace maid who was waiting outside had a strange expression.

‘It seems average, but it also seems a little short…’

The head palace maid began to analyze with a serious face because the time and number of sexual encounters were also related to offspring.

Just then, Hyang’s voice was heard.

“Now that I roughly know, let’s do it properly.”

“Yes? Your Highness? What do you mean?”

“I only learned about the way couples interact from books, so today is the first time. Now that I’ve learned how to do it, let’s do it properly!”

“Yes, Your Highness? Books…!”

Suddenly, the Crown Princess’s words stopped, and after a while, a seductive moan began to leak out.

“Ahheung [a suggestive moan]!”

Then, the bridal chamber became heated.

“This time like this…….”

“Again?”

“Try this too…….”

Listening to the sounds coming from inside, the head palace maid looked outside.

The east was dawning.

“What on earth is this…….”

The area under the head palace maid’s eyes gradually became sunken from the endless noise.

——

Note 1) It is said that Joseon eunuchs, unlike Chinese eunuchs, were also able to have sexual relations.

https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/내시