MOSC 40

However, this was after she had already uncovered Eunuch Gong’s corruption and thoroughly investigated the crimes of the court ladies who had colluded with him.

But after taking care of the matter, she became worried.

…Perhaps she had handled the matter too shrewdly for a princess.

Being too good at one’s job was also a problem.

On contemplated this very seriously.

If not only the queen, but also the Grand Madam, who had loathed anything to do with Princess Bonghwa during her lifetime, were to hear of this, she would have opened her coffin lid and come out.

That crazy bit… no, Princess Bonghwa could not possibly have done that.

Now that she had actually done it, it was no small matter.

Could it be that this incident would be the pretext for revealing the entire role-playing act that she and Bonghwa were involved in?

Worry after worry followed.

However, Wigyeom’s reaction was unexpected.

“Just as I would expect from my wife.”

Wigyeom simply muttered this after gently sweeping his index finger across the corner of On’s eyes, which had grown somber with worry.

As if he had expected On would do this.

Of course, Wigyeom had not expected this situation.

After saying that to On and turning away, a vein popped on Wigyeom’s brow from deep anger.

‘…How dare they make my woman work?’

A person who should be living in luxury in the main building, and it would still not be enough.

Of course, this was a misunderstanding on Wigyeom’s part.

On had simply done what needed to be done in place of Her Highness the Princess, whom she was gladly (?) serving.

However, from Wigyeom’s perspective, Eunuch Gong was a bastard deserving of the wrath of both heaven and man.

He was a bastard he had been planning to throw in jail anyway.

But his sweet and precious bride, whom he cherished like gold and jade, had suffered a little because of that bastard, not long after getting married.

Wigyeom, quite literally, saw red.

Eunuch Gong embezzled a portion of the national treasury to privately expand the houses and stolen goods of the servants under his command, and this behavior was revealed along with evidence of him arbitrarily manipulating royal orders.

He immediately moved up the date he was planning to report Eunuch Gong’s corruption to the authorities from a month later to today.

Wigyeom, who was from a prestigious family and also competent, was a figure who had already gained the trust of the court. Now, with the authority of being the king’s son-in-law added, although he had retired from politics, there was no one who could still ignore his words.

Eunuch Gong’s case was immediately handled with severity by the relevant departments.

Wigyeom’s appeal to the king played a significant role in this.

The crimes committed by Eunuch Gong are truly grave. Therefore, I, your humble subject, beseech you. Banish Eunuch Gong immediately to a remote island in the frigid northern region. Also, strip him of all his titles and ranks, and confiscate all the wealth he has accumulated through corruption and return it to the national treasury.

Furthermore, those who colluded in his crimes or shared in his profits must also be punished without exception. Dismiss Eunuch Gong’s son from his official post, and have all his brothers be forcibly returned to their hometowns, so as to sound a warning bell that such things may never be repeated.

Unbeknownst to On, a storm of blood raged among the eunuchs and court ladies related to the construction of the princess’s palace.

It was a scene closer to a hunt than a punishment.

Afterward, a new maxim spread within the palace.

‘Do not touch Prince Consort Sim Wigyeom and his wife.’

Of course, this was something only On did not know.

She simply believed that Eunuch Gong and the court ladies had quietly withdrawn to the palace following Princess Bonghwa’s merciful treatment.

On had another worry.

It was the issue of attending to her parents-in-law.

Originally, it was a matter that Princess Bonghwa, not On, should have worried about, but in any case, On had long lived a life where the princess’s responsibilities were her responsibilities, and her responsibilities were also her responsibilities.

Thus, whether fortunately or unfortunately, On had reached a state where she did not feel like she was living without duties and responsibilities.

And so, she, who had shouldered a burden (?) that no one had placed on her, contemplated deeply.

‘Why will he not let me see my father-in-law?’

That was right.

Living under the same roof, she had never once faced her father-in-law alone.

On contemplated this very seriously.

Wigyeom had consistently looked after his father’s illness himself.

At first, when she was flustered, she had only paid her respects, but right after Wigyeom left on a trip, On also tried to take care of her deeply ill father-in-law, Sim Junggeun, as was her duty as a daughter-in-law (?).

However, Wigyeom had already assigned a professional caregiver to his father.

Caregiver Jo, whatever instructions she had received from Wigyeom, would freak out and stop On whenever she even went near her father-in-law’s room.

“Oh my goodness! Do not even come near! I will take good care of the master!”

It was not just stopping her; she was practically chasing her away.

Ms. Jo’s refusal was so firm that On could not even cross the threshold of her father-in-law’s room.

She wondered if she had been threatened by Wigyeom in some way.

No, what was so great about a daughter-in-law?

Were there not men who deliberately took in a concubine to attend to their parents?

‘Does he not like me…? Or if not that, does he not trust me…?’

It was something On could not understand.

But if you were to ask if Wigyeom was not attending to his father and practicing filial piety, that was not the case either.

He checked on his father’s condition as soon as he returned.

On, of course, prepared to pay her respects with him.

However, Wigyeom refused flatly.

“You do not need to be involved in such matters, my wife.”

“Pardon? But….”

On was once again bewildered.

Was it not the duty of a daughter-in-law to practice loyalty and filial piety in attending to her parents-in-law?

However, Wigyeom spoke nonchalantly, as if such formal etiquette was beneath his feet.

“It is the way of things to maintain social distance with one’s in-laws. For you, my wife, to stay peacefully here is the way to practice peace in the family.”

Social distance from one’s in-laws.

On was somewhat flustered, but at the same time, she was slightly shocked by Wigyeom’s sophistry.

On was also a palace woman who had learned the basics of Confucian etiquette.

She was not saying she would nurse her father-in-law now, but where was the logic in not even allowing her to pay her respects, which was the basis of etiquette?

‘What if I get branded as the main wife who tarnishes the family name with impiety and disrespect…!’

On unknowingly held her head and worried.

Of course, even if she were branded, it would be Princess Bonghwa’s mistake, not hers, but the habit from her days as a court lady, where the princess’s fault was immediately her fault, remained.

This was why occupational hazards were scary.

However, Wigyeom spoke as if it were nothing.

“My father has already lost his hearing and his memory is also in a state of confusion. He will be more accustomed to the touch of Caregiver Jo, who has attended to him with sincerity for several years, so I hope that you, my wife, will enjoy your peace and remain at ease.”

She later found out that Caregiver Jo was receiving considerable remuneration for nursing her father-in-law.

She was said to receive four seoks of grain every month and newly made clothes every season, and also received a bonus of one bolt of silk or five nyang of silver on every holiday. Furthermore, after she finished her nursing duties, she was said to be commended for her hard work with support to settle down with a plot of paddy field or as a tenant farmer.

This was a level of compensation that was more than generous for a caregiver.

Only then could On understand Ms. Jo, who had adamantly refused when she tried to nurse her father-in-law.

Of course, that was not all.

Naturally, a secret deal had been made between Wigyeom and Ms. Jo.

“Listen carefully, Ms. Jo. If my wife so much as goes to offer my father a bowl of water, that will be the day your two plots of paddy field fly away.”

“Oh my, my lord…! That will never happen! I will risk my life to stop my lady from even laying a fingertip on him!”

…That was the reason.

It was written as a deal, but read as a threat.

If On so much as got a single drop of water on her hands, it was a farewell to the dozens of cows that Caregiver Jo would receive if she just did her job well.

It was only natural that she would stop On.

To the current Wigyeom, his lawful wife came before filial piety.

The moment Wigyeom took On as his wife again, he delivered a flying side kick to the Classic of Filial Piety and the Four Books and Three Classics that he had been memorizing since before he turned five.

Confucius? So what.

Mencius? Really, so what.

In the new code of etiquette he had created, his wife was the foundation of the world, not filial piety.

“Here, my wife. You must eat better. Say ah.”

Even now, Wigyeom was faithfully practicing the “lawful wife first” theory he had newly created, busy putting a slice of thinly sliced pear into the mouth of the unsuspecting On.

The pear slice had been marinated for a day in a cinnamon punch with cinnamon and ginger, giving it a sweet and deep flavor. As the cold pear slice entered her mouth, the cinnamon fragrance and the fruit juice blended.

“The pear is shaped so prettily. Just like someone’s wife.”

Is that not right, my wife?

Wigyeom flashed a smiling-eyed grin.

On, while chewing the pear he had put in her mouth, absentmindedly nodded, mesmerized by his handsome face.

Nod, nod.

‘There is no need for nirvana.’

In the midst of it all, On thought as she blankly looked at Wigyeom’s face.

That face was the very tool that awakened one to the true state of enlightenment and was a passage to liberation from all worldly attachments.

As On affirmed, mesmerized by his face, Wigyeom became even more excited and was busy presenting various other foods to her.

“Who else would eat something so precious but my wife?”

Wigyeom personally peeled a well-ripened chestnut with great care, simmered it in rice syrup, and gave it to On.