Chapter 868: The Standard for Hierarchy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 868: The Standard for Hierarchy
"Sun-woo has been appointed as a Commandery Prince in recognition of his service in driving out the traitors."
Tang Seo-yoon continued speaking in a calm, steady tone.
Upon hearing those words, every woman in the room wore an expression of pure shock. It was a story so unbelievable that it felt as if their ears were playing tricks on them.
The news that Sun-woo had driven out the traitors wasn't entirely unfamiliar. They all had their ways of gathering information, and they were well aware that Sun-woo had purged the imperial officials who had plotted treason and attempted to manipulate the nation.
But a Commandery Prince? Out of nowhere?
This was, without a doubt, the first they had heard of such a thing. Naturally, they were bewildered. How could such a thing even be possible?
"Um... Madam Tang."
Ok-ryeong, the woman with the elegant aura who had been silent until then, slowly spoke up.
"Yes, please go ahead."
"Though I am not well-versed in the intricate affairs of the Imperial Court, even I know that the title of Commandery Prince is not something that can be bestowed upon a commoner... That is why I find this difficult to grasp. How... how could Sun-woo possibly become a Commandery Prince?"
Ok-ryeong spoke with a look of utter incomprehension.
What exactly was a Commandery Prince? Was it not a title granted only to distant relatives of the Imperial Family who possessed great merit or immense power?
How could Sun-woo, who did not carry a single drop of imperial blood, be enfeoffed as a Commandery Prince? It defied all logic.
"That... is a question I have as well. I expected him to be granted some sort of official rank, but... I never imagined it would be that of a Commandery Prince."
Tang Seo-yoon continued, her own expression mirroring their confusion. She was just as baffled as the rest of them.
She had considered the possibility of him receiving a government post. After all, the only things Sun-woo lacked—given his overflowing wealth and fame—were official rank and status.
But a Commandery Prince was a position far beyond anything she had anticipated.
"Isn't being a King a good thing? You can collect taxes every year to grow your fortune, and you can expand your businesses easily with support from the Imperial Court, right?"
Yorang tilted her head curiously.
"......It certainly isn't a bad thing."
"Then why does everyone look like that? You don't look very happy."
Yorang asked, sensing the heavy atmosphere. To her, everyone's faces seemed more troubled than joyful.
"It's because everyone is so surprised. Becoming a King is a far more shocking event than you might think, Yorang. It simply takes time to process such a reality."
Ok-ryeong explained calmly, looking at her.
"Is it really that big of a deal?"
"Of course. In the Central Plains, changing one's social status is nearly impossible."
The wall of social hierarchy in the Central Plains was higher than one could imagine. Especially when it came to the rank of King, it was no exaggeration to say the wall reached the very heavens.
This was largely due to the backlash from the existing privileged class—the Imperial Family. The mere idea of a commoner gaining authority equal to their own was enough to incite intense resentment.
"....Wow... Sun-woo... he really... accomplished something incredible."
Yorang spoke in admiration. A natural sense of respect welled up within her for Sun-woo, who had achieved the impossible.
"Fufu, you could certainly put it that way."
Ok-ryeong let out a soft smile at Yorang's reaction. Her innocence—admiring him purely rather than being caught up in the shock—was undeniably cute.
"Incredible! Sun-woo is just incredible!"
"That goes without saying. He is the man I chose; how could he be anything less than incredible?"
Bukgung Yeon, who had been quiet, chimed in to agree with Yorang.
"By the way, if Sun-woo is a King, does that make Yeon-woo the Crown Prince? That's a bit of a problem... Yeon-woo has to inherit the North Sea Ice Palace..."
Bukgung Yeon spoke with a deep smile playing on her lips. The rise in her child's status clearly pleased her.
"Why don't you take this opportunity to have a second child? You could give Yeon-woo a younger sibling."
Un Ga-ryeo suggested with a bright laugh.
"......I'll have to think about that... Yeon-woo is still young... A new sibling might make him feel neglected..."
"Oh, Yeon-woo is such a good boy. He won't be jealous; he'll take great care of them."
"Hmm... I shall give it some thought... But what about you, Madam Un? Perhaps it is time for you to have a child as well?"
"Wh-what? Me?"
"Yes. Isn't it about time?"
"Well... considering... my age..."
"What does age matter? It's the will that counts."
"Since you put it that way... I suppose I should try..."
Un Ga-ryeo replied with a shy giggle. Soon, a warm and harmonious atmosphere began to flow between the two.
"Hmm... Sun-woo becoming a King... It still feels surreal."
Kang Ha-yoon spoke, her face still etched with lingering surprise.
"I feel the same. I've heard the saying that 'kings and generals are not born of a special seed,' but to see someone actually prove it is another matter entirely."
Ok-ryeong added with a gentle smile.
"I feel this every time, but Sun-woo is truly a remarkable man."
Kang Ha-yoon spoke in genuine awe. Not only had he set the world's justice right by killing Lee Jae-won, the World's Greatest Martial Artist and leader of the Cheonmu Alliance, but he had also driven out the imperial traitors and been named a Commandery Prince in recognition of his deeds.
And all of this in his late twenties. How could he not be considered extraordinary?
"It's because he's such a remarkable man that women as beautiful as flowers follow him, isn't it?"
Ok-ryeong said, glancing around at the women in the conference room.
"Sun-woo is a man who truly lives out the saying 'Heroes have a weakness for beauties' (英雄好色)."
Hearing this, Kang Ha-yoon let out a deep, amused smile.
"Fufu, at this rate, he might end up personally fulfilling every old proverb in existence."
Ok-ryeong replied with a soft smile.
"We'll have to wait and see which one he tackles next."
Ok-ryeong and Kang Ha-yoon began to joke with bright smiles. The initial shock seemed to have faded. The conference room was once again filled with the lively chatter of the women, all centered around the topic of Sun-woo becoming a King.
".....Everyone, please pay attention."
Tang Seo-yoon spoke up, her voice slightly raised. The women, who had been chatting amongst themselves, turned their gaze toward her.
"I will now move on to the main point."
She looked at them with a calm, focused gaze.
"The main point? Wasn't Sun-woo becoming King the main point?!"
Yorang asked back, looking puzzled.
"That was just the introduction. There is a specific reason I asked you all to gather."
"And what's that?"
"Hierarchy Establishment."
Tang Seo-yoon stated in a level tone.
""Hierarchy Establishment?""
The women tilted their heads in confusion.
"Yes. If Sun-woo becomes a King, it means we will all hold the rank of Consort (妃). Therefore, I believe we need a more clearly defined structure."
She continued matter-of-factly.
"Can't we just keep living as we are, like sisters?"
Un Ga-ryeo asked curiously.
"No."
Tang Seo-yoon refused firmly.
"It wouldn't matter if it were just us, but once the royal household is established, there will be servants and palace maids to attend to us. If we continue to live as equals like sisters, the chain of command will inevitably become a tangled mess."
They were to become Consorts. They would have people to command, and every single one of their actions would be under scrutiny. Thus, a system was necessary. The dignity of a royal house stems from its order.
".......You certainly have a point. If we are to be Consorts, we will need a public hierarchy to present to others."
"Yes, exactly. When it's just us, it doesn't matter. We can be sisters as usual, and those who are close can speak informally. But we cannot do that in front of others. We must establish a strict hierarchy and show it to the world."
Tang Seo-yoon nodded as she spoke.
"Do you have a specific standard in mind?"
"...Hmm... For now, I'm thinking of placing Commandery Princess Gyeonghwa at the very top of the public hierarchy. That would be the most acceptable to everyone. This is also something I've already discussed and agreed upon with Senior Ok-ryeong."
"Then what about after that?"
"That's the problem... I haven't been able to decide on a proper standard. If we simply go by age, the hierarchy might get completely messed up if he takes more women later, and the court officials won't find it convincing either."
".....Hmm, it is indeed a difficult problem."
Ok-ryeong frowned in agreement.
"I don't mind being lower in the hierarchy. I'm going back to the North Sea eventually anyway, so I don't care whether my rank in the Central Plains is high or low."
Bukgung Yeon said, raising her hand slightly. She was the King of the North Sea. The specific rank of a consort's seat held little interest for her.
"We can't do that."
Tang Seo-yoon shook her head slightly.
"If we don't establish the hierarchy according to a system, we'll face trouble later. Everything from succession issues to the chain of command could completely fall apart."
"Hmm... now that you mention it, that's true."
Bukgung Yeon nodded, seeing the logic. This wasn't just about them; it was about the entire royal household. They couldn't just decide it on a whim.
"..........How about we do it by fighting strength?"
Yorang suggested, raising her hand.
"........Yorang...... Don't you think the officials would find such a method barbaric?"
"Really? Hmm... I thought it was a good idea..."
Yorang looked disappointed. She had thought a good, clean fight wouldn't be a bad way to settle things.
"Then how about we set the hierarchy based on the order in which we joined him?"
Kang Ha-yoon, who had been quiet, raised her hand and spoke. She thought that the order of arrival would be the fairest way.
"If we divide it by order, the hierarchy of those who come in later will be completely skewed."
"Those who come in later?"
"...I'm talking about Joo So-yang, Lee Ye-seol, Paeng Ga-ryeon, Lee Gi-yeon, Hwangbo Yu-yeon, and Lee So-ran."
"Ah."
Kang Ha-yoon let out a small gasp of realization. She had completely forgotten about them.
"Paeng Ga-ryeon has committed crimes, so she can be kept as a slave... but the others are strictly wives... If we set the hierarchy by the order they arrived, we might end up with a mother and daughter's ranks being swapped."
"........That's true..."
Kang Ha-yoon nodded in understanding. Indeed, if it were based purely on the order of acceptance, Hwangbo Yu-yeon, who had been a mother for decades, could end up lower in rank than Lee Ye-seol, who was young enough to be her daughter. That would be a significant source of dissatisfaction for those involved.
"That's why I'm worried. I'm trying to figure out a way to divide the hierarchy so that everyone is satisfied."
Tang Seo-yoon spoke with a heavy expression. She had agonized over it, but no truly convincing method had come to mind.
"Hmm.... How about this?"
Ok-ryeong, who had been listening quietly to Tang Seo-yoon, slowly spoke up.
"How?"
"We set the hierarchy based on the order of Sun-woo's favor."
"Sun-woo's favor?"
"Yes. If we rank everyone by how much he favors them, wouldn't everyone be satisfied?"
"....It's certainly a fair method in theory, but...... how can we tell who receives how much favor?"
Tang Seo-yoon asked, confused. Favor was a very abstract concept. Even if he said he loved them, there was no way to measure the depth of that love.
"It's simple. We can tell by the number of times someone attends him in the bedroom."
"The number of times they attend him at night?"
Tang Seo-yoon asked back, startled.
"Yes. We measure it over the course of six months. We see who spends the most nights with him. And then we set the hierarchy according to that frequency."
"......Can that really be considered a measure of favor?"
"Sun-woo is a man, after all. Wouldn't he want to spend more nights with the one he has the deepest affection for? Therefore, the number of nights spent together can serve as a measure of favor."
Ok-ryeong continued with a gentle smile.
"......Knowing Sun-woo, he'll try to spend his nights fairly with everyone.."
Sun-woo was a kind man. He would surely make an effort to distribute his time equally among them all.
"In that case, there's a way."
"A way?"
"We exclude the times he has group sessions. We only count the nights spent purely between two people. Then wouldn't we be able to see who he favors more?"
"......Certainly.... in that case...... it might be possible to make some sort of determination.."
Tang Seo-yoon nodded in agreement. With those conditions, she felt they could get a sense of who Sun-woo preferred.
".......What do you think? Of my proposal?"
Ok-ryeong asked with a soft smile.
".......I don't think it's a bad idea....... It's a fair situation where everyone can compete..... Since favor is the standard.... few people will have grounds for complaint..... But.."
Tang Seo-yoon's voice trailed off.
"Is there a problem?"
"I wonder....... if the others will agree to it.."
Tang Seo-yoon spoke with a somber expression. Ranking them by favor was fair and logical in its own way, but it was also quite cruel. Since the hierarchy would be determined by the degree of favor, those at the bottom would inevitably feel a sense of relative deprivation. Surely, some would not welcome the idea.
"Then we can just ask them."
Ok-ryeong said, looking unconcerned.
"What does everyone think about using favor as the standard for hierarchy?"
She looked around the room as she spoke.
"I think it's an excellent method."
Kang Ha-yoon replied, her eyes sparkling like starlight.
"I agree as well. I think it's a very fair opportunity."
Un Ga-ryeo nodded in agreement.
"I'm confident. Sun-woo told me, 'Yorang is the best!'"
Yorang declared with a look of absolute confidence.
"To be honest, I don't care about the hierarchy, but........ I don't think I'll lose..... I have my own weapons, after all."
Bukgung Yeon said, glancing down at her impressively ample bosom. She felt that as long as she had this weapon, it was a battle she couldn't lose.
"Everyone seems fine with it...... What do you think?"
Ok-ryeong asked, looking at Tang Seo-yoon.
".....Everyone... is more confident than I expected."
Tang Seo-yoon said, surprised.
"Because everyone is proud that their love for Sun-woo is second to none."
Ok-ryeong spoke with a gentle smile.
"Isn't that true for you as well, Seo-yoon?"
"......That's true.."
Tang Seo-yoon nodded. It was the truth. She, too, was proud. She believed her love for Sun-woo was as deep as anyone's.
"........Then.... I'll put it on hold for now....... We need to ask the opinions of the wives who will be arriving later."
"They will surely agree. They feel the same way we do."
Ok-ryeong's eyes shone with certainty. They would definitely agree to her proposal. After all, they were all women who had fallen deeply in love with Sun-woo.
'First place, first place, I'm going to be first place!'
'I wasn't interested in being number one in the hierarchy.... but it looks like I might end up there anyway.'
'If I'm going to do this, I might as well aim for the top.'
'Before my lord arrives... I should make myself a bit more supple..'
'I have no intention of losing.'
The women each began to steel their resolve. All for the sake of claiming the top of the hierarchy.