There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 259

I did my best as a man of this era could while my wife was pregnant.

I made sure she ate whatever she craved, even in winter—thank goodness I had built a greenhouse in advance—and I tried to ensure she had a comfortable pregnancy.

‘I even went for walks with her, as they say it’s good to walk often.’

This wasn’t just because I was particularly devoted to my wife.

As the Crown Prince of this nation, it was my duty to care for the Crown Princess who was carrying my heir.

Especially since that Crown Princess was a princess from the Great Ming Dynasty.

Joo So-hwa, receiving my meticulous care, reacted like this:

“I just wish you would come home earlier.”

“That’s impossible.”

This is still 15th century Joseon [Korea].

It’s too early for spouses to get vacations.

Even a large corporation like Ming would probably be similar.

However, the day of the delivery was different.

As soon as I heard that Joo So-hwa had started having labor pains, I immediately dropped all my official duties and headed to my wife.

It wasn’t just me.

Lee Bang-won also suspended all his schedules, and all the royal family members gathered at the Crown Prince’s residence.

As labor began, the dispatched royal physicians and midwives hurriedly attended to Joo So-hwa’s condition.

“It seems the young master/miss will be born soon. We will take care of everything, so Your Highness should leave the room.”

As I was about to get up upon hearing that, Joo So-hwa grabbed my hand tightly and asked.

“Can’t you stay?”

“They say I’ll only be in the way if I stay. Let’s listen to the royal physician now.”

However, Joo So-hwa said with a slightly fearful voice.

“But I think it would be better if you stayed by my side.”

“I’ll rush over right away if it seems dangerous.”

I even made a pinky promise.

Even if it were dangerous, there wouldn’t be much I could do, but Joo So-hwa seemed somewhat relieved.

===

I thought I had prepared myself, but when the day actually came, I couldn’t help but bite my nails automatically.

“Will she be okay? I wonder if she’ll be okay?”

As I was pacing back and forth in front of the door, Queen Wongyeong slapped me on the back.

“Oh my, you’re making me dizzy, just sit still outside!”

As my mother-in-law, Queen Wongyeong, who had plenty of childbirth experience, was present, I felt somewhat relieved, but I still had to do what I had to do.

“You must wash your hands before entering!”

I shouted to my mother, who was about to open the door and enter.

I had repeatedly told the royal physicians and midwives, but hand washing is really important.

If you touch someone with germ-covered hands, neither the mother nor the baby is guaranteed safety.

How many mothers in history have died from puerperal fever [childbed fever, an infection after childbirth]?

On top of that, I had the royal physicians change into new clothes and disinfected the room in advance.

People were amazed by my preparedness, but I was still worried that I might have missed something.

Queen Wongyeong grumbled and said.

“I’ve already finished my purification ritual. I’ve never been this fussy when your mother gave birth to your younger siblings······.”

Shouldn’t you say that to Father?

I squatted down in place so that my butt wouldn’t touch the floor.

My younger brothers were also squatting next to me.

“Why did you guys come?”

When I asked, my younger brothers scratched their heads and replied.

“How can we stay still when our nephew/niece is being born? We should do everything together on such an occasion.”

You should take care of your wives.

But I had something to say to them too.

“Since you’re so extremely prepared, Hyung-nim [older brother], we thought there might be something we could learn. Wouldn’t your wife like that too? When she thinks about the baby she’ll have next time.”

Do even brought a memo pad.

Well, they’re all married.

“Hyung-nim, don’t worry too much. This younger brother was also very worried at first, but it all worked out somehow.”

“What do you mean, ‘worked out.’ Did you give birth, you rascal.”

“I mean, don’t worry from the start and be relieved.”

Somehow, my younger brothers had their first childbirths before me.

Hyo-ryeong already had a son, and Chung-nyeong had a daughter.

‘Come to think of it, Do’s son.’

I don’t know what year Mun-jong was born, but it seems he hasn’t been born yet.

Judging by the fact that he only has one daughter.

I scratched the floor with my toes for no reason and replied.

“Okay, you’re probably right.”

A tense time passed, and soon, Joo So-hwa’s groans began to be heard from inside the room.

===

“Aaaargh!”

It had already been several times that groans crossed the door whenever labor pains came.

Then, as the delivery seemed to be progressing in earnest, her voice came out much louder.

“Aaaargh······!”

“Crown Princess, please hold on! Even if it hurts, if you scream out loud, your throat will be damaged!”

“Keuheup!”

However, the scream that she couldn’t hold back continued to burst out.

“Aaaargh······!”

Then the scream stopped abruptly.

My head was in chaos.

‘Could it be, did something happen?’

“Y, Yeobo [term of endearment for wife]!”

Unable to overcome my anxiety, I opened the door and rushed in.

“Your Highness, you mustn’t come in!”

– Thud!

I tripped over the doorstep and fell grandly, but I didn’t even have time to pay attention to that.

Because the sight of Joo So-hwa, limp and listless, came into view.

‘N, no way······.’

My heart sank, and as I was crawling on the floor, Joo So-hwa, who was experiencing labor pains again, waved her hand violently.

‘Phew.’

I thought I was going to lose someone.

My relief was short-lived, as her hand, which had been waving around frantically, grabbed my topknot [traditional Korean men’s hairstyle].

“?”

“Aaaargh!”

With her topknot in hand, Joo So-hwa began to scream fiercely again.

“Gyaaaak!”

At the same time, tremendous pressure was applied to my topknot, and I, with my hair pulled, also screamed as if resonating.

‘Damn it, is this a feint?’

The pain I felt in my hair blurred my vision.

What was even more maddening was that no one in this room was stopping her.

“My baby, put in a little more effort!”

“Crown Princess, swallow your screams and push with your stomach! Then the young master/miss will come out!”

‘Tell her to let go of my hand first.’

“Aaaargh!”

“Gyaaaak!”

They say couples are of one mind.

We were both facing the pain together at the time of childbirth.

Seeing the sight of my lower body, which had peeked out of the door, struggling, my great-uncle exclaimed from outside.

“In the Northeast region, when a child is born, the man puts his topknot through the hole in the door, you’ve become a Hamgyeong-do [North Korean province] man too.”

I’m from Seoul.

“The topknot-grabbing custom, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that scene. It reminds me of the days when I grew up in the Northeast region.”

Lee Bang-won didn’t stop her either, but laughed heartily.

“Memo In Hamgyeong-do, there is a custom of grabbing the topknot when a wife gives birth.”

Listening to Do scribbling in his memo pad made me feel like I was going crazy.

“Kkeuaaaak!”

As I writhed in pain, I wanted to shout at them to stop talking nonsense, but all that came out was a scream.

‘My wife must be in more pain than I am right now, right?’

Thinking about that made my heart ache.

‘But there’s no need for me to be in pain too.’

It’s a pathetic thought, but mathematically, isn’t it just doubling the pain?

Then, at some point.

All the pain stopped.

“Wahhhh~~~!!!”

At the same time, a loud baby’s cry burst out.

I raised my head with a bewildered expression and met the eyes of Joo So-hwa, who was smiling faintly, soaked in sweat.

“It’s a prince, a very healthy prince!”

Cheers erupted from outside at the midwife’s words.

“Wow, the first grandson! It’s the first grandson!”

“The first grandson is born!”

It was strange.

Joo So-hwa’s hand, which had been holding my topknot, had long been released, but the tears didn’t stop and were trickling down.

‘I was really scared.’

My heart was startled several times, but fortunately, both the mother and the baby are healthy.

It would be a lie to say that nothing happened, but this is considered safe.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“I really thought I was going to die······.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

I slapped Joo So-hwa’s thigh and scolded her.

“Heeing, it hurts······.”

Joo So-hwa said that and turned around.

“My hair is all messed up too.”

My hair was almost disheveled because Joo So-hwa had grabbed and pulled it.

I was worried that I might lose hair because it was pulled so hard, but if I think that Joo So-hwa was able to give birth with peace of mind thanks to it, it would be a cheap price to pay.

After the midwife finished cleaning up and opened the door and went out, only Joo So-hwa, Queen Wongyeong, and I were left in the room.

Other family members watched from outside through the wide-open door.

“Crown Prince, it’s the first grandson. Say hello.”

I carefully took the baby that Queen Wongyeong held up.

“Bbooaeeng.”

“Yes, I’m your father, your father.”

This is our first greeting as father and son.

I laughed and lifted the baby up.

And at that very moment.

– Pshooo!

A golden liquid was fired towards my face.

“······.”

“Puhahaha! That guy has a refreshing pee!”

The King Emeritus, who witnessed the scene, grabbed his stomach and rolled around.

The younger brothers next to him couldn’t help but giggle.

“Kkareureuk!”

The baby smiled as if he was proud of something, and when everyone around him laughed, he smiled along.

I closed my eyes and dripped the liquid.

‘Grandpa, are you watching?’

You didn’t send me this guy on purpose to mess with me, did you?

– He’s doing the same things as his father, so don’t talk nonsense!

Suddenly, Lee Seong-gye’s voice seemed to pass by in the wind.

‘I’ve decided.’

I have to raise this guy properly.

So that he never deviates.

Whether I did or not, Lee Bang-won lifted the baby up with a beaming face.

“I’ve never seen such a healthy baby. As expected, he’s the baby that Taejo the Great King has designated.”

I wonder if it’s right to express that auspicious dream as ‘designated’ Anyway, that’s what it looks like to Lee Bang-won.

While Lee Bang-won was making a fuss, saying that there was a great celebration in the country, so he couldn’t stay still, and that he should immediately call the Ministry of Punishments and the Uigeumbu [a Joseon Dynasty law enforcement agency] to proclaim a general amnesty, I approached Joo So-hwa again.

Joo So-hwa, who was patting the baby while holding him, said.

“How is it? Pretty, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

In fact, I don’t know if his face is so wrinkled that he is objectively that pretty, but I quickly agreed.

This will also smooth out after a while, so there’s no need to worry too much.

‘Looking closely, he seems to resemble me.’

I was worried that he might resemble my father-in-law, Joo Won-jang, because of his mother’s features, but I’m relieved if this is the case.

My face is decent enough.

Joo So-hwa smiled brightly at my answer and asked.

“What are we going to name our baby?”

“Already?”

Because infant mortality rates are so high in this era, babies are not named when they are born.

It was common to call them by rootless childhood names such as Dog Poop or Cow Poop until they grew up to a certain extent, so that misfortune would be avoided.

‘Of course, I can’t call my son that.’

He’s a royal grandson, after all.

Although I had never expressed it outwardly, I had secretly named the fetus Doong-doong.

I thought I could call him that for a while, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

===

“What should we name the first grandson?”

“Already?”

This was the second time I had asked this.

“He’s not just anyone, he’s the first grandson of this country. We must quickly name him and appoint him as the next in line.”

Lee Bang-won, who received the baby who was smiling brightly as soon as he went to greet him, said that with his body feverish.

I wonder what’s the rush when he’s still young, but his thoughts seem to be different.

“The foundation of royal power must be laid from an early age. I’m also getting old and don’t know when I’ll leave, so I should give this child the title of next in line in advance.”

Is this also a complex for Lee Bang-won, who took the throne by ousting his father and supporting his brother?

Well, I was also born before Lee Bang-won took power, so when I was born, I was just the son of a Grand Prince [a royal title below Crown Prince].

But this baby is different.

He’s the first grandson from birth.

He’s probably the first in Joseon.

“If you don’t have a name in mind yet, this grandfather will personally name him.”

“Wa, wait a minute.”

I reached out my hand.

End

ⓒ Pitkong