A Letter to the Inner Palace
Jeong Ho-chan and Kim Si-seup slipped into the walled city of Hanyang.
Jeong Ho-chan had disguised himself as a traveling merchant, while Kim Si-seup, needing no disguise at all, simply walked in as the monk he was.
Not a single soul gave them a second look.
Jeong Ho-chan flared his nostrils, as though the scent of old friends' blood still drifted somewhere on the air.
"So we've managed to reach Hanyang," Kim Si-seup said. "But how in the world do we go about seeing Her Majesty the Queen? I hear she's confined to Jeongeobwon, but..."
Ever since her own family had been swept up in the movement to restore Hong-wi and shattered to the winds — leaving her branded a traitor's daughter — Song Hyo-bin had been stripped down to the status of a government slave.
Worse still, she had personally attempted to escape to Yeongwol in order to join Hong-wi, so she sat squarely on the list of dangerous persons.
And yet, in name she remained a woman of the royal house, and apparently even Suyang had balked at treating her like a common slave.
In the end, she had been sent to Jeongeobwon — the temple where royal women entered upon leaving the palace.
Kim Si-seup scratched his shorn head. "If Jeongeobwon were an ordinary temple, a monk like me could just stroll right in. But Jeongeobwon sits inside the palace grounds, you see."
Jeongeobwon stood in the rear garden of Changdeokgung Palace. As Confucian influence had strengthened in the latter years of King Sejong's reign, it had been abolished, only to be revived of late by Suyang's decree.
Nominally it had been restored to aid widows and wandering beggars, but whether by design or coincidence, Song Hyo-bin had been placed there as well.
For Suyang, nothing could have been more convenient. He could neither mistreat a woman of the royal family nor honor her as one, and at the same time he needed to keep her from any mischief — so lodging her in a temple within the palace walls, where the world would simply forget her, was the ideal arrangement.
But precisely because it was a temple inside the palace, Jeong Ho-chan and Kim Si-seup found themselves wracking their brains over how they might ever reach Song Hyo-bin.
Kim Si-seup grinned. "Why don't I just vault over the palace wall? If the palace guards catch me, I'll simply ask them what's so wrong with a monk visiting a temple..."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Jeong Ho-chan thought for a moment. "Let's lodge here a few days and think of a plan."
"Very well."
The two of them took rooms in the house of a scholar in Mukjeok-gol, and when Jeong Ho-chan handed over the token Yi Si-ae had given him before they left Gilju, they were received without the slightest stinting of hospitality.
Day after day they prowled the streets near Changdeokgung, where Jeongeobwon stood, gathering information. On the third day, Kim Si-seup came back with a flushed face.
"It seems things may go our way."
"What do you mean?"
"I hear that Her Majesty still weeps every single day for His Majesty, gazing northward at the sky."
"My friend, what does that have to do with things going our way?"
Despite Jeong Ho-chan's rebuke, Kim Si-seup just kept chuckling. "Hear me out first. Originally Suyang wouldn't let her take a single step outside Jeongeobwon, but apparently she looked so pitiful that lately he's permitted her to climb Dongmangbong on Naksan and gaze at His Majesty from afar."
"Is that true?"
Jeong Ho-chan, who had been listening half-heartedly, suddenly sat up. Naksan lay outside the palace walls.
"That's right. I asked around, and she goes out every day. The soldiers watching her — after doing this for days on end, they've grown tender-hearted or something, and while she's on Dongmangbong they only keep their distance."
"Excellent!"
Color bloomed in Jeong Ho-chan's face. "That said, it's not as though just anyone can approach her."
"Of course not. Which is why I'll go chanting prayers for His Majesty's..."
Kim Si-seup was about to say eternal rest and caught himself, rolling his eyes. "...Well, whatever. I'll approach her under the pretext of praying for His Majesty."
"You can manage that?"
Kim Si-seup smirked. "Just watch how long a monk's tongue is when it comes to currying favor. For now, let's watch how things develop for a few days."
From the next day on, they made diligent visits to Naksan. Just as the rumors said, Song Hyo-bin climbed to Dongmangbong every day.
The watching soldiers followed her there, but once on Naksan they kept their distance far behind.
Her mournful wailing carried even from afar.
Jeong Ho-chan approached the soldiers.
"Halt there! Who are you?"
"Just a countryman come to see the sights of Hanyang, sir."
Jeong Ho-chan played the fool with practiced ease. "I came because Naksan is said to be the finest scenic spot within the capital, but what in the world is that weeping about?"
The soldiers glanced at each other and quickly let down their guard. "It's the traitor, the Consort of Prince Nosan."
"Oh? A traitor, you say?"
Jeong Ho-chan let his mouth hang open in a dull-witted expression. "Ah, but why do they let her carry on like that, ruining everyone's good mood?"
"Well, there's... a story behind it."
Jeong Ho-chan feigned eager curiosity. "I'm only a poor rustic, but nothing's more entertaining than a tale with some history to it. Might I hear a bit of it?"
"Goodness, really now."
The soldiers eyed one another, then slyly accepted the bundle Jeong Ho-chan slipped into their hands.
"Well, you see, you know how our present king succeeded to his nephew's seat a while back?"
"So I've heard. They said his health was failing and he abdicated the throne."
"Right, right! That's how it happened, but... a few treacherous scoundrels let their ambitions get the better of them and egged the nephew on. And that poor nephew married into the wrong family, you see. His wife's own kin went and got themselves tangled up in a rebellion, and there was a terrible mess."
"Oh dear, oh dear!"
"Thankfully the king is so renowned for his virtue that the plot was uncovered in advance, and they were spared being torn apart at the limbs. But with things as they were, they couldn't very well leave the nephew be, so they sent him off to Yeongwol."
"Ah, I did hear about that. They say he vanished without a trace from Yeongwol."
Jeong Ho-chan chimed in at all the right moments, and the soldiers lapped it up.
"I don't know the story in detail, but that's how it all came about, so the wife left alone behind him weeps like that."
"Hearing it now, it really is pitiable."
"So keep that in mind... now and then some soft-hearted commoners bring her food out of pity."
"Oh? They're allowed to do that? She's pitiable, granted, but she's still a traitor..."
"Well, true enough, but honestly, we only stand here because we're ordered to. After listening to a woman wailing like that day after day, it wears on you, it does."
"Careful with your tongue. You want to be branded a rebel yourself..."
Letting the soldiers' chatter pass through one ear and out the other, Jeong Ho-chan scanned the surroundings carefully.
Just then, the wailing ceased.
An older soldier spoke up. "Whew. She's finished now. Every day it's about the length of a meal hour."
"A meal hour, is it."
As Jeong Ho-chan said this, Song Hyo-bin came descending the slope in her mourning whites.
Her eyes were swollen red and her face pale, yet not a thread of her clothing nor a trace of her bearing was out of order.
Truly, Song Hyo-bin carried dignity and grace even in such a situation.
Jeong Ho-chan marveled to himself. Remarkable, truly. She has not lost a trace of a queen's dignity. His Majesty found himself a proper match.
"You may go."
The soldiers, it seemed, shared much the same sentiment, for their manner toward Song Hyo-bin was respectful.
Song Hyo-bin nodded wordlessly. For an instant her gaze met Jeong Ho-chan's.
He gave a small, silent bow of his head, and she dipped hers lightly in return.
Jeong Ho-chan watched for a long while as Song Hyo-bin and her escorts made their way down the mountain.
"Thankfully the watch isn't too strict. The soldiers only observe from a distance, and I hear the local people occasionally bring her food — apparently the soldiers don't bother to stop even that."
"That is good news."
Kim Si-seup smirked. "Tomorrow morning, early, we'll go hide near Dongmangbong and wait for Her Majesty. I'll disguise myself as a country peasant and bring some food along — no one will look twice at me."
"Heh heh, and I suppose I need no disguise at all."
"Precisely!"
The next day, preparations complete, the two set out for Naksan in the early morning.
They tucked themselves at a comfortable distance near the rock where Song Hyo-bin wept each day and waited. Before long, the sounds of her party's approach reached them.
Kim Si-seup craned his neck. "They're coming."
"Shh. Quiet."
They waited without a word. Song Hyo-bin, dressed in mourning whites just as the day before, came into view with the soldiers.
As the two watched, Song Hyo-bin appeared to say something to one of the soldiers. The soldier nodded and headed back toward his fellows.
They withdrew at a distance through the pine grove and disappeared.
Song Hyo-bin laid down her mat and turned to sit facing north.
She seems to believe His Majesty went north.
Jeong Ho-chan nodded silently to himself. People who knew nothing of the circumstances would naturally assume she wailed toward Yeongwol — toward the east.
"Let's go now. If the wailing stops midway, they'll grow suspicious."
"Quite right."
The two approached Song Hyo-bin quietly and knelt low before her.
On the verge of beginning her lament, Song Hyo-bin was startled by the sudden presence.
"Who goes there?"
"Please don't be alarmed. We come with no ill intent."
Kim Si-seup delivered exactly the line a man with ill intent would say.
The instant Song Hyo-bin was about to cry out, Jeong Ho-chan blurted hurriedly, "A moment, if you please, Your Majesty! We come bearing news of His Majesty!"
"News of... His Majesty?"
Song Hyo-bin froze.
Jeong Ho-chan gave a short nod and glanced around. "We will explain everything. Please, carry on with your lament. If you do not, they will grow suspicious."
Song Hyo-bin began to weep.
In the gaps between her sobs, Jeong Ho-chan laid out the whole story — how Hong-wi had escaped Yeongwol safely and crossed the Amnok River, and how he now lived among the wild men of the frontier.
Tears streamed down Song Hyo-bin's cheeks.
"This is the truth."
"Yes, it is."
Jeong Ho-chan paused. "I have seen His Majesty with my own eyes."
Song Hyo-bin did not answer. She carried on her wailing with perfect composure.
Jeong Ho-chan and Kim Si-seup inwardly marveled at her unshaken poise.
"Wait here a moment."
Having said this, Song Hyo-bin descended below the rock. The two men waited, wondering what she could be planning.
Before long she returned. "I have told the soldiers that today I will observe a vow of silence in honor of His Majesty's spirit."
"Ah, clever."
Kim Si-seup nodded. Even if the wailing stopped for a long while now, the soldiers would not grow suspicious.
"But we cannot drag this out forever. Now — what brings you to me today?"
Song Hyo-bin turned to face them with eyes at once stern and resolute.
"We wanted to bring you news of His Majesty, of course."
"You would not have come all this way for that alone, would you."
Song Hyo-bin did not wait for an answer. "You did not come today merely to tell me that His Majesty is safe — am I wrong? I cannot say how much help I will be, but if there is anything this body can do for His Majesty, speak freely. We do not have much time."
The two men were taken aback. She showed a coolness and strength of will that would have seemed beyond a woman of eighteen.
His Majesty truly has a magnificent queen.
"Then we will speak plainly. We intend, when the moment is right, to drive out the traitor and restore His Majesty to the throne."
Song Hyo-bin said nothing.
"The endeavor has already failed several times, so success demands more caution than ever before. Above all, we urgently need someone inside the palace who will act for His Majesty's sake."
Jeong Ho-chan studied her expression as he continued. "We know nothing of affairs within the palace."
"...Nor do I know the present state of the palace well. Unless Suyang is a fool, he will have filled the eunuch posts with men he can trust. When Grand Prince Geumseong's plot failed, all the loyal-hearted eunuchs — men like Eom Ja-chi — were purged. And yet..."
Song Hyo-bin thought for a moment before going on. "If one had to name someone, the eunuch Kim Cheo-seon would be the most trustworthy."
"Can you be certain?"
Song Hyo-bin did not answer.
Kim Si-seup said, "In this matter we too have staked our lives. No — not merely our lives. Should things go wrong, His Majesty's own life could be thrown into peril."
"Naturally. But there is nothing certain in undertakings like this. Is there?"
To Song Hyo-bin's words, the two men could make no reply.
"But if you ask who comes closest to certainty, no one comes closer than Kim Cheo-seon. He is a man whom the Senior Eunuch Eom Ja-chi personally raised."
"Understood. Then we must seek him out."
"Wait a moment."
At her words, the two men looked at her intently.
"Do you have brush, ink, and paper? I will write a letter to Eunuch Kim."
She gave a faint smile. "Otherwise, how would Eunuch Kim ever come to trust you?"
"Indeed, quite so."
Jeong Ho-chan marveled once more at Song Hyo-bin's thoroughness. He produced the writing implements he had prepared in advance, along with some food.
Song Hyo-bin wrote out a brief passage. "If it is Eunuch Kim, he will know my hand."
"We are deeply grateful."
Song Hyo-bin glanced up at the sky. "...I must return to the soldiers soon. This is all I have to offer the loyal men who serve His Majesty."
With those words, Song Hyo-bin bowed deeply to the two of them.
Startled, they hurriedly returned the bow.
"Take care on your way."
Song Hyo-bin descended the slope with an unwavering gait.
Kim Si-seup breathed his admiration. "Astonishing. A pair of mandarin ducks parted for so long, and receiving only a single line of news — and still she stands so unshaken..."
"No, my friend. That lady has wept so many tears for His Majesty already that her tears have long since run dry."
Jeong Ho-chan said this, and let his head sink a little.
Before long he lifted it again and looked up at the sky. "In any case, thanks to her we now have a name — Kim Cheo-seon. Come, let's go meet this man."