There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 134

“Since we can’t go empty-handed, let’s take something with us.”

I had been preparing something from the moment I heard that the Crown Prince was not in good health.

“So, you are the princes from Joseon, huh? Huk, nice to meet you.”

Carrying it, or rather, dragging it along, the Crown Prince welcomed us.

The Crown Prince was indeed very obese.

He was having trouble just standing to greet us, and he was breathing heavily.

I hoped that my younger brother would feel a sense of crisis seeing that.

“Hing.”

My brother flinched, sensing my disapproving gaze.

“What is that?”

After exchanging greetings, the Crown Prince, who quickly sat down, asked, looking at the thing we had dragged in.

“It is a tribute to the Crown Prince. It is called a ‘Care Chair’ (恤體馭) [a specially designed chair for comfort and mobility].”

“Care Chair?”

“It is modeled after the four-wheeled cart that Zhuge Liang [a famous strategist from the Three Kingdoms period] used to ride in the old days. I made it because they say the Crown Prince has the air of Marquis Wu (武侯) [another name for Zhuge Liang, implying wisdom and strategic ability]. Please accept it.”

Of course, I had never heard anyone say he had the air of Zhuge Liang.

It was just a bribe for this man who looked like he had trouble walking.

There were obviously carts in this era as well, but there would be no such elaborate one-person cart with armrests and leg rests attached like this.

“Please, have a seat.”

At my suggestion, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi hesitated and moved his steps this way.

“This cart is specially made so that you can push it yourself without someone pushing it.”

“Really?”

Of course.

It took some effort to get Jang Yeong-sil and Yi Cheon to implement the handrim.

Zhu Gaochi cautiously pushed the Care Chair with his own hands and was impressed.

“It’s comfortable. Very comfortable!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“With my body like this, it’s hard to even walk a few steps······.”

‘He really looks touched.’

I thought, looking at Zhu Gaochi’s face.

I guess it must have been uncomfortable even for the Crown Prince of the Great Ming.

He couldn’t move a single step without someone’s help.

I felt like I had greased the wheels enough with this.

I cautiously brought up the main point.

“But what did you call us here for?”

Then the Crown Prince waved his hand.

“It’s nothing special······ I haven’t been able to meet the envoys because I’m the Crown Prince and I’m using my illness as an excuse. I just wanted to thank you for playing so well with the Grandson recently.”

“······Is that all?”

I was a little dumbfounded.

I thought that, like Hanwang and Jowang, he had called us to win Joseon over to his side and gain support.

But all he mentioned was thanking me for playing with his son.

It seemed like he had no thoughts about the succession competition at all.

“Is there something bothering you?”

“No.”

“Haha, then let’s have a meal first.”

When the Crown Prince clapped his hands once, the food that had been waiting in advance came in one after another.

The food was all excellent, showing how much attention he paid to gastronomy.

Even Peking duck, which I couldn’t eat in Beijing, was served as court cuisine.

The happiest person was my younger brother.

“Haha, the Joseon prince eats so heartily.”

“Thank you! Your Highness the Crown Prince also has a very dignified appearance, and you have such a refined hobby as gastronomy.”

It was nice to see the two fatties praising each other.

“Do you like meat?”

“I can’t get enough of it.”

“Really? Then we should bring out Dongpo pork from Soju!”

The Crown Prince and Chungnyeong, having confirmed their common ground, soon began to chatter only among themselves.

Because they also had the commonality of liking learning, the conversation continued for a long time.

It was only when the meal was about to end that Zhu Gaochi turned his head towards me.

“I’m sorry. When you get to this age, it becomes difficult to find a friend who you get along with so well.”

“No, it’s understandable.”

Zhu Gaochi apologized, wiping away the sweat that was pouring out as if it were raining, even though he had only moved a little.

‘It’s not really something to apologize for.’

Of course, it was impolite, but wasn’t it too trivial for the Crown Prince of a country to apologize for?

‘He’s much more of a person than Hanwang and Jowang.’

Even though he might be looked down upon for being disabled and obese, the Crown Prince’s heart alone was better.

He seemed better than Hanwang, who revealed his ambition as it was, or Jowang, who had a shady side.

‘For the sake of Joseon, it might be better for the Crown Prince to become the Emperor······ No, what am I saying?’

It was when I was looking at the Crown Prince with suspicious eyes.

At a good timing, the Crown Prince said.

“Come to think of it, I heard that there was a bit of friction with my aunt······ Princess Bokyeong.”

“Keuk! Keuk keuk!”

Because he had a guilty conscience, food got stuck in his throat.

“The princess called us barbarians first. So my brother just sternly rebuked her.”

Do protested with his mouth full of food.

‘Be quiet, you idiot.’

“It was just a minor squabble.”

I barely cleared my throat and said.

“At that age, they fight over nothing.”

The Crown Prince replied as if he understood.

‘Nothing······?’

She said, ‘Did your mother die in 순장 [forced burial of the living with the dead]?’

I was sweating profusely and listening to the Crown Prince’s words.

“But my aunt is not a bad child at heart. Can you get along with her? Since you’re about the same age.”

Were we the same age, or was I a year older?

Anyway, it was clear that we were of similar age.

“If it is Your Highness the Crown Prince’s command······.”

Anyway, if the Crown Prince mediates, we can resolve this matter amicably.

It was when I was about to nod.

“We must receive an apology for being called barbarians first!”

Chungnyeong shouted indignantly.

‘Brother, don’t ruin the mood.’

“Although we were insulted first, we also said some harsh things. We will apologize to the princess.”

I bowed to the Crown Prince.

“Yes, I will also persuade my aunt to apologize to you. It is often overlooked, but words of apology are very important. Perhaps even more so than the gold or jewels overflowing in this Imperial Palace.”

Zhu Gaochi said, gently tapping the Care Chair.

“A person’s true heart cannot be bought with treasures.”

“Then what can it be bought with?”

I suddenly became curious and asked.

“With heart. A heart like this Care Chair.”

The Crown Prince said, nodding.

He seemed to like the gift we gave him quite a bit.

“Perhaps my aunt needs a gift like this more than anything else.”

The Crown Prince glanced at me.

At the unspoken signal, I nodded my head.

===

After leaving the Crown Prince, I casually asked my brother.

“What are your impressions of meeting the Crown Prince?”

“He seems like a very good person. I wish someone like that would become the Emperor······. I don’t know if it’s possible because Hanwang and Jowang’s momentum is so strong.”

Do, who felt a lot of goodwill towards the Crown Prince, said gloomily.

“I think the Crown Prince is the scariest person.”

I said, shaking my head.

As soon as he caught the story that we had argued with the princess, he called us to the Crown Prince’s palace to mediate.

Not only did he definitively settle a matter that could turn into a diplomatic issue if a word leaked out, but he also gained the effect of firmly establishing who was the eldest son of the Zhu family.

It was something that Hanwang or Jowang would not dare to do.

‘Softness overcomes hardness······.’

I clicked my tongue.

We also vaguely passed over the responsibility for the insults we had hurled at the princess and had a chance to reconcile, so it wasn’t a bad thing.

Was the Crown Prince’s calculation also including the goodwill we would have towards him because of this?

“Let’s think about a gift to give to the princess.”

I said with a sigh.

===

Some time later. When I entered again at the Crown Prince’s call, I saw her sitting there primly.

“You’ve come.”

“Yes, I’ve come.”

The princess glared at me and picked up her teacup.

“You know what? You’re the first person to say that to me.”

Of course.

How could a princess who had grown up so preciously have ever heard someone insult her parents?

I scratched my head and said.

“I think I was a bit harsh last time. I’m sorry.”

“······.”

“This is a gift of apology. Will you accept it?”

I took out a thin book from my bosom and held it out.

It wasn’t an unhealthy item just because it was a thin book, it was a fairy tale with extremely healthy content.

‘This is the best for kids.’

I was reminded of how I used to gather all the kids in the village at my workplace and show them DiXney movies when I was in modern times.

They would fall for the classic fairy tale series.

The princess didn’t know the world outside the palace, even though the Imperial Palace was vast, so she wouldn’t be an exception here.

“A book······ is a gift?”

The princess, who had been staring at the book I handed her, asked.

“Don’t you like it?”

I should have brought something like a trinket.

I didn’t bring it because I thought she would have a lot of those.

“Who said I didn’t like it? I was just surprised because it’s the first time I’ve received a book as a gift.”

The princess said, pouting her lips.

As I was about to give it to her, I realized that there was something I hadn’t considered.

I looked at the princess and asked.

“Can you read?”

“Of course!”

She said as if she was wondering what I took her for.

Amazing.

There are many Joseon women who can’t read.

‘They must teach women to read in Ming.’

We can’t fall behind Ming.

I resolved to bring up the agenda of educating the daughters of the literati families to my mother, who is the head of the women’s association, when I return home.

“The Little Mermaid? It must be a 稗說(Pyesul) [unofficial or popular tales].”

Pyesul refers to short stories circulating among the people.

They often have absurd content, so stubborn scholars tend to reject them.

With the mermaid (人魚) proudly embedded in the title, it was only natural that the princess would think so.

“Did you write it yourself?”

“You could say that.”

To be exact, Andersen wrote it, but I was born first, so it’s mine now.

“Hmph, you have a talent for writing, unlike what I thought. I’ll accept it, so be grateful.”

The princess said confidently and pulled the book towards her, but I silently grabbed the book tightly and didn’t let go.

“······.”

She looked at me and then opened her mouth.

“······Th, thank you.”

“Isn’t there something else you want to say besides that?”

An apology comes before a thank you.

Surely this princess wouldn’t be unaware of that.

“······I, I’m sorry for calling you barbarians! Ah, really!”

How could the noble princess have ever apologized to anyone until now?

Her face was flushed red as if it was the ultimate humiliation.

I felt a sense of victory and let go of the book.

She hugged the book to her chest as if she was afraid of losing it again.

“That’s right. From now on, don’t say whatever you want and be nice, okay?”

“Don’t talk about others.”

“I said it because I didn’t know. How would I know that your mother had passed away by 순장 [forced burial of the living with the dead]?”

“······.”

The princess’s face turned gloomy for a moment when I mentioned 순장.

Then she cautiously looked at me and asked.

“······There really isn’t 순장 in Joseon?”

“Yes.”

There might have been in Gojoseon.

“Then why do they do 순장 in our country?”

That’s because your father is a rootless, thieving monk.

But I couldn’t say this in front of the princess, so I changed the subject.

“······I don’t know. Ask the person who made it.”

Someday.

===

Zhu Suohua stroked the book.

“He said he wrote it himself.”

Crown Prince Yi Je now pledged to educate women after seeing Zhu Suohua’s case, but even in this era of Ming, they don’t particularly pay more attention to women’s education.

However, the protector of the current Princess Bokyeong is her sister-in-law, Empress Inhyomun, Lady Seo.

Precisely because she was such a learned woman that she wrote Naehun (內訓) [Instructions for Women], a book of self-cultivation for women, last year (1404), there was no way she wouldn’t teach this young sister-in-law under her protection.

Knowledge of writing evokes a desire for writing.

However, the means to satisfy Zhu Suohua’s desire were very lacking.

The Yongle Emperor cherished his younger sister, who was neither a threat nor a blood relative he had abandoned, perhaps out of guilt, but that was it.

Her sister-in-law, Empress Seo, also took care of her with sincerity, but mostly focused on instilling knowledge as a woman.

The gifts she received were mostly silk and jewels.

Perhaps she felt good because it felt like she was being recognized for being able to read.

‘Above all, it wouldn’t be an ordinary thing.’

Writing a book is no ordinary thing in this era.

Although the Ming Dynasty has a more thriving novel culture than Joseon, the number is greatly insufficient.

‘Even though it’s Pyesul.’

Rather, she liked that.

Wouldn’t it be much better than boring scriptures?

She opened the book with a pounding heart.

She read the story she had never heard of before as if she was being sucked into it.

Soon, she closed the book and raised her head blankly.