There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 269

< King of Letters (1) >

Idan’s whining like this usually means he wants to be put down.

However, Nobun hesitated to put him down so quickly.

Considering all the trouble Idan had caused him recently, he couldn’t help but pause.

Idan looked up at him and opened his mouth again.

“Nobu-yi…”

As expected, the moment Nobun set him down, Idan slipped into the walker next to him and started rolling the wheels, zipping around.

“Oh my, Your Highness, that’s dangerous!”

Clearly, a walker is supposed to be a device to help with taking first steps, but Idan wasn’t using it for such a practical purpose.

Nobun was shocked to see Idan riding the walker like a kick scooter.

Yi Je, who had created the thing, didn’t seem to mind much, but the dangers of walkers had been warned about many times, even in modern times.

To Nobun, who bore all the responsibility, the Crown Prince looked like his own son riding a motorcycle, and he couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

‘Someday, I will banish this contraption called a walker from this palace!’

Nobun sighed inwardly and commanded the rookie eunuchs.

“What are you all doing? Quickly attend to His Highness so he doesn’t get hurt!”

Who could disobey the order of the Chief Eunuch, the King’s closest aide?

However, the encirclement formed by the eunuchs was meaningless.

Unlike a baby who had just started walking, Idan’s legs moved quickly.

Idan’s speed was so great that even Nobun, who was right next to him, had a hard time keeping up.

It was said that Taejo the Great struck Gaegyeong in ten days when he turned back his troops from Wihwado [a famous historical event], and it seemed that the ‘speed’ flowing in this family’s blood was definitely passed on to Idan.

Idan’s rush, now equipped with a walker, was unstoppable.

‘Why did His Majesty even make something like this for him!’

Nobun’s eyebrows twitched.

Walkers were easy to make because all you had to do was attach wheels to iron bars, so the King had made them without much thought, but Nobun, who was responsible for managing them, was going crazy.

– Whee! Whee!

Idan’s rush stopped when he spotted the Queen from afar.

“Mom!”

Idan, who had been dodging the eunuchs until just now, ran to Juso-hwa on his own.

Juso-hwa’s slender hands lifted Idan out of the walker and held him in her arms.

“Were you playing tag with the Chief Eunuch?”

“Your Majesty, it’s not playing, it’s…”

Nobun wished she would be more aware of this mischievous Crown Prince, but Juso-hwa firmly believed that her son was just playing.

“Give this to your younger sibling now, and you come to Mommy.”

Since Crown Prince Idan was still an only child, the younger sibling wasn’t his biological sibling.

It meant his cousin, Shim, being held by his aunt, Princess Gyeong-suk.

Idan looked down at his cousin, who was sucking on a pacifier and getting into the walker, with a slightly arrogant expression.

Whether he had ridden enough, or whether he was showing generosity, he didn’t get angry or burst into tears.

The baby slowly started to move forward in the walker.

It was a much more peaceful sight compared to the Crown Prince’s speed, so Nobun breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Unlike His Highness the Crown Prince, the royal grandson is so mature.’

It must be because he resembled his father, Grand Prince Chungnyeong.

Grand Prince Chungnyeong had been influenced by the King a lot, but his foundation was that of a sincere and calm person.

While Nobun was taking care of the Crown Prince and this child who would later be called Hyang (珦) [his given name], the two women went inside to chat.

===

“It is truly an honor that Her Majesty the Queen has personally invited me and my child together.”

“What honor? Dan-i doesn’t have any siblings yet, so the cousins should get along.”

“Are you very busy with the affairs of the Inner Court [the Queen’s domain within the palace] these days?”

“I’m learning hard, but… it’s not easy.”

Juso-hwa said, fidgeting with her fingers.

As Lee Bang-won stepped down as the Retired King, Queen Wongyeong, Min, was automatically promoted to Queen Dowager [the King’s mother].

However, unlike Lee Bang-won, who handed over most of the practical work to Yi Je, the head of the Inner Court was still Queen Dowager Min.

In fact, if you look at it that way, Royal Grand Dowager Kim was at the very top of the Inner Court pyramid, but she was an exception because she lived peacefully in Induk Palace without interfering in state affairs like her husband.

Therefore, Queen Wongyeong still had full control of the Inner Court, but she couldn’t just leave the Queen, who was the Queen, without giving her any work to do.

‘You shouldn’t just stay in your room like a woman, but you should have the dignity to skillfully manage people.’

Looking at it from any angle, quietly focusing on internal affairs was the model of an exemplary Joseon woman, and Queen Wongyeong, who was involved in the Princes’ Rebellion [a historical power struggle], was a special case, but it was enough to make Juso-hwa feel pressured.

“So, I’m trying to start a new project in the women’s association…”

Shim Gyeong-hui covered her mouth with her hand as she listened to Juso-hwa’s story.

“Books? Are you talking about books?”

“Our couple is actually connected by books.”

The memory of reading and rereading the book that her husband, the Crown Prince, had given her was vivid.

It might be criticized as gossip, but it was too precious to just disappear in a corner.

There was also a more practical purpose.

“Raising a child is no easy task, so wouldn’t it be good to write down each person’s childcare experiences?”

It was a difficult project even for Shim Gyeong-hui, who was an outsider.

Even though comic books were being distributed, could women not write and read books?

In this era, those who could read and write, especially women, were limited.

This was because printing and papermaking had developed, but the spread of literacy had not kept up.

However, Shim Gyeong-hui didn’t try to discourage her sister-in-law with realistic words.

“It won’t be easy, but the Queen’s intentions are clearly beautiful. Are we the only two women in Joseon who can read and write? It will be a necessary task, even for a small number of people.”

“Hehe, that’s right, isn’t it?”

Juso-hwa, who was encouraged, said with a smile.

She had received encouragement, so she couldn’t help but return the compliment.

Juso-hwa also offered a word of blessing from her side.

“Speaking of which, I heard that Grand Prince Chungnyeong placed first in the recent civil service examination?”

“It’s all thanks to His Majesty the King’s care.”

“No! My husband graded it thoroughly and fairly. It’s all thanks to the Grand Prince’s skills.”

Shim Gyeong-hui’s face turned red at Juso-hwa’s praise.

Even if she didn’t show it, who wouldn’t like being praised for her husband?

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Shim Gyeong-hui slyly asked Juso-hwa.

“Even now, the Grand Prince seems quite curious about which department he will be assigned to. Rumor has it that a new place called Jiphyeonjeon [Hall of Worthies, a royal research institute] is being created, and he will go there…”

“Oh, that’s right. They said that people who get good grades in the examination will be sent there.”

Juso-hwa clapped her hands.

Then Shim Gyeong-hui’s face brightened.

Originally, the strategy room is the core of a company.

The two people, who were not modern people, had no way of knowing the terms company or strategy room, but they roughly guessed what Jiphyeonjeon did from its name.

Wouldn’t it be one of the most important positions?

“I feel much more relieved now that the Queen has told me.”

“What are sisters-in-law for?”

As a result of exchanging information, the two sisters-in-law were satisfied and smiled brightly.

The network of women was becoming more solid like this.

===

“…Congratulations on placing first.”

“It’s all thanks to you, brother.”

Looking at Do answering with a smile, I felt a subtle twist in my gut.

When it’s just us, it feels more affectionate to call each other brother rather than using titles like Your Majesty or Shin [a formal title for subjects addressing the king].

Chungnyeong seems to think the same way, so he’s calling me comfortably.

“But it wasn’t easy. I learned a lot from this problem. Decision-making is truly mysterious.”

In Joseon, it’s common to go to a training center and discuss examination problems with your peers.

I wonder if they’ll be secretly cursing at me together behind my back when I go to the training center.

“There’s no way that would happen. However, there seems to be a lot to discuss. If two thieves could communicate with each other, or if they were thieves who had been caught multiple times and received the same offer, the result would be different…”

I brushed off Do’s enthusiastic talk with one ear and played with my brush.

“Here, a red certificate (紅牌) [certificate of passing].”

Writing certificates of passing is originally the responsibility of subordinates, but I can’t help but step in when my younger brother places first.

So, I’m giving him a small privilege by writing the red certificate in my own handwriting.

Keep it as a family treasure since it’s written by a master calligrapher, and the King himself.

Of course, I didn’t forget to grumble.

“It hurts my arm to write with a brush after so long. Chinese characters have so many strokes.”

It was clearly an unintentional remark.

However, Do suddenly tilted his head.

“That’s strange.”

“Huh?”

“You always refer to letters as Chinese characters (漢字), don’t you?”

“Why is that?”

“There are Mongolian scripts and the characters of the Japanese, so it’s not strange to distinguish them as Chinese characters.

But you always refer to letters as Chinese characters, regardless of that.”

Do muttered.

“As if there were other letters in Joseon…”

He caught me off guard unintentionally.

I habitually say Chinese characters, so it’s an unintentional remark, but for the people of Joseon in this era, there are no letters other than Chinese characters.

If it were just once or twice, it would be one thing, but it’s natural to find it strange since I’ve been calling them that consistently.

‘No, is Do just perceptive?’

“It’s also strange that Chinese characters are inconvenient.”

Do opened his mouth without waiting for my answer.

“In fact, I didn’t understand people who didn’t know how to read when I was young.

If you memorize about 10,000 Chinese characters, you can write most articles. How easy is that?

So, I thought people were pretending not to know how to read because it was too much of a hassle.”

No, you’re the strange one.

‘What is it? A boast?’

“I realized that I was particularly fast when I was learning with Hyoryeong, and that other people were learning a little slower. But in the end, Hyoryeong also understood the principles, didn’t he?”

Do continued.

“Even if it takes a lot of time, they eventually learn and understand.

For that reason, even when this younger brother meets with other scholars, there is no one among those who have learned enough who says that Chinese characters are inconvenient.”

Is this brother criticizing me for not learning enough?

But Do shook his head.

“Even if you joke that you lack scholarship, I don’t particularly think so. Even if you are not familiar with the scriptures, you could have easily reached the ranks of great scholars if you had set your mind to it.

So, it’s strange,” Do said, shooting his unique, intelligent gaze at me.

“You are smarter and have a deeper understanding than others, but you are the only one who consistently criticizes Chinese characters for being difficult.”

“…”

I could make excuses if I wanted to.

I could say that even if the educated people are not speaking out because they are trying to maintain appearances, they may be thinking that way inside.

But instead of answering, I asked a question.

“What do you think?”

“I have come to realize that they are letters that cannot be easily learned now, let alone in the past.”

Indeed.

It was worth brainwashing him every time my younger brother went to sleep when he was young.

“More importantly, they are not suitable for expressing the language of this country, Joseon.”

“Not even with Idu [a writing system using Chinese characters to represent Korean grammar] or Hyangchal [another writing system using Chinese characters for Korean].”

“That’s right.”

The eyes of me and Grand Prince Chungnyeong intertwined in the air.

“For this reason, not only Mongolia but also Liao, Jin, and Western Xia created new characters to express their own languages.”

“But they were buried in the soil along with the decline of those countries.”

At my words, Do bowed his head and said.

“From now on, I will ask the King as a subject of this country, Joseon.”

Do took a deep breath and asked.

“Do you perhaps wish to create unique letters for Joseon alone?”

< King of Letters (1) > End

ⓒ Pitkong