The Arrival of the Jade-Green Robe
Yeongso furrowed her brow as Banya's hand slowly slid up her flank to cup her breast. ‘The sensation down there is so strange, I can't even budge.’ Banya stroked her thigh with his right hand. The sensation of his touch through the silk of her robes was dizzyingly sensual.
Watching the shifting expressions on his wife's face, Banya suggested softly, "I thought you had something to ask me?"
Their private parts, pressed tight against each other, rubbed together so thoroughly that it was impossible to tell whose moisture was slicking them. At Chunyangru, the direction of stimulation her husband had taught her was up and down, but today, because of their seated position, they rubbed side to side. The change in direction brought an entirely different sensation. A slower, smoldering pleasure spread through her swollen, plump folds.
No. This is insane. How can I feel this way in a situation like this...?
The list of names in Yeongso's hand crumpled. Why am I reacting so intensely to this?
"What is written here?" Banya instructed, gesturing for her to open the paper.
With trembling fingers, Yeongso smoothed out the list.
"Ah, the wives of the Thousand Death Alliance officers."
"Yes. I have been... neglectful of my social... duties, and I thought it best not to... continue that way."
Yeongso's words caught in her throat as small, sharp bursts of pleasure bloomed deep within her, pulsing rhythmically.
Banya scanned the list, then looked back at his wife.
"Are you having trouble understanding yourself right now? Do you feel as though your body has become far too sensitive?"
Yeongso went to answer but bit the inside of her lip instead. She had almost shifted her hips without thinking. But Banya's lips curved into a slow, knowing smirk. Whispering in a low, husky voice, he made it clear he had caught her intended movement.
"I have trained this beautiful body of yours far too well. You begged me to stop, claiming you hated these wanton acts day and night, but unfortunately..."
"Stop..."
"...pleasure has carved itself deep into your flesh. Now, the moment our skin touches, you react almost... instinctively."
It was only after half a shichen had passed that Banya finally gave her a proper answer to her question. Yeongso never begged him to fill her to the end, and Banya did not force his way inside. Yet, the reason they were both able to reach climax multiple times over that hour was exactly as Banya had said. Their bodies had grown utterly accustomed to one another.
‘If this keeps up, I'll start having indecent thoughts just by hearing my husband's name...’
On the verge of tears, Yeongso returned to the inner quarters to wash. Banya had offered to let her use his personal bath, but she wouldn't dream of it. If she stayed there, she would undoubtedly be tormented all night long.
Before the house arrest of Jeokhwa Palace Master Hwa Mujin ended, the servants from the Annex had to be moved to a safe region. Yeongso planned to forge entirely new identities for them, allowing them to start anew far away from Nagan.
Naturally, the woman who had tried to assassinate her under Jeokhwa Palace's coercion was included in this group. When asked for her name, she had replied that it was Garan.
From the moment Yeongso had subdued her in the bathhouse until now, Garan had been hiding in the basement of the inner quarters to avoid prying eyes. At night, she would slip out briefly to walk in the deserted rear courtyard.
Yeongso felt guilty for keeping Garan in a basement when she had already spent so long imprisoned underground, but Garan herself looked incredibly relieved.
"There is no one here to beat me, and no constant terror of when I might die. After all, I am already a dead woman," Garan said, letting out a soft chuckle. "Besides, thanks to your kindness, my bedding is warm and soft. I even have small chores to keep me busy, so I wouldn't mind staying in this basement until next year. No, this is more than I deserve."
"There is no need to wait until next year. You will begin the new year in a completely different place, far from Nagan."
Yeongso explained that reinforcements from her maiden home would arrive if she could just wait a little longer.
"I sent a letter. My third older brother, who is renowned for his exceptional martial arts and medical skills, is coming to the Thousand Death Alliance himself. He will personally ensure you are escorted to a safe haven."
"Your third brother..."
"Have you heard of Baekri Yeong-hyeok?"
Garan nodded quickly. "Even three years ago, before I was locked away in the Chunyangru Annex, he was already highly famous."
"Yes, that is him." Yeongso's eyes curved into lovely crescents. "He is three years older than me, and he has nagged me endlessly since we were children. It was as if he was absolutely desperate to play the doting older brother."
"But I heard he is exceptionally handsome. Rumor has it that before your marriage, the two of you even competed for the title of the greatest beauty in Hadong."
"Oh, my." Yeongso let out a soft laugh. "Forgive me. It has been so long since I last heard that rumor, I couldn't help but laugh. But yes, people did say such things once."
She recalled how her second older brother had been utterly dumbfounded when he first heard that rumor, demanding to know why he wasn't included in the running.
"My Lady, you are smiling so brightly right now..." Garan remarked, watching her with wonder.
"Yes, I am very close with my brothers."
"What I meant was..." Garan started to say something, but trailed off. Instead, she abruptly changed the subject to the sweet pastries she had eaten that morning, mentioning how tears had welled in her eyes because it had been so long since she tasted anything so delicious.
‘Did she just change the subject?’ Though slightly puzzled, Yeongso played along. Garan claimed she was fine, but living in a basement without anyone to talk to must be incredibly lonely. Yeongso decided to let her speak her mind, even if it was only during their brief meetings.
A few days later, a massive procession of carriages entered Nagan.
At the head of the procession rode a strikingly handsome young man atop a snow-white horse, followed closely by standard-bearers carrying the flags of the Baekri Clan.
"His face is as clean and bright as a freshly washed stalk of cabbage!"
"Is that what they call a noble aura?"
"That is Baekri Yeong-hyeok. They say he is Lady Renju's immediate older brother."
The onlookers murmured among themselves, noting how the siblings shared the same elegant shape of the eyes. Every time the hem of his crisp, jade-green robes fluttered in the wind, the crowd showered Yeong-hyeok's handsome features with praise.
"But if the noble young master at the front is Baekri Yeong-hyeok, who is that man in the middle of the procession?"
One of the onlookers pointed to a man clad in dark navy martial robes. He, too, was on horseback, and even from a distance, his bearing was exceptionally striking.
"Could he be another of Lady Renju's brothers?"
"Perhaps? Since it is the Baekri Clan's procession, that seems highly likely."
"My word, his face is like carved jade..."
The crowd could not help but marvel, wondering what great virtues the matriarch of the Baekri Clan must have accumulated in her past life to give birth to such magnificent children.
In any case, this was the very first visit from Lady Renju's maiden family. The sheer scale of the gifts, loaded onto ten separate carriages, made their grand intentions clear. The faces of the servants following behind Yeong-hyeok were filled with a solemn sense of duty to uphold the prestige of their clan.
Meanwhile, Yeongso could not sit still, her heart fluttering with the excitement of reuniting with her flesh and blood after so long. Clutching her handkerchief tightly, she paced near the doorway of the Thousand Death Alliance's reception room, entirely oblivious to the dark, heavy gaze Banya was casting upon her.
"My Lady! Young Master Baekri has arrived!"
Chocho came running in with swift, eager steps. Having waited in front of the pavilion to greet the guests, the maid's eyes were shining like morning stars as she rushed to deliver the news.
"He is the most handsome man I have ever seen in my entire life!"
Yeongso burst into laughter. Chocho fanned herself with her hands, making a great fuss.
Just as Banya's mood sank to an absolute low, a strikingly handsome man clad in brilliant jade-green robes stepped into the reception room. With every step he took, the white jade ornaments hanging from his belt chimed with a clear, rhythmic *clink-clink*.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Yeong-hyeok of the Baekri Clan."
"Brother-in-law," he added, the title carrying a sharp, unyielding edge.
Since Yeongso, who had completed her three years of mourning, was twenty-three this year, Yeong-hyeok was twenty-six. Even so, both of them were younger than Banya.
‘He wants to make sure I know my place as his younger sister's husband, regardless of my age.’
It was the typical, tedious power play of the Orthodox factions—asserting dominance while maintaining a veneer of polite formality. Banya responded with a cold, thin smile.
"Welcome to the Thousand Death Alliance, brother-in-law."
"I must admit, I am surprised. It is far more grand and magnificent than I anticipated."
"Did you expect us to be living in a crumbling ruin?"
"I will not go out of my way to deny it."
It was a brand of hostility entirely different from Hwa Mujin's. Bloody high and mighty, aren't we?