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A Queen Is Born

Chapter 4: The Heir

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

 

THE HEIR

 

When she was not having discussions with the Lord Yi and his advisors, she was with the people of Wansan, helping out the commoners with food and clothing, visiting orphanages, and spending time with the children. And at the end of each day, she would go on a walk with Lord Yi’s heir and eldest child, Lord Yi Ji Hoon, who still did not know who she was.

Despite him being 4 years older than her, the two fell into an easy friendship. They both shared an interest in philanthropy, something that was uncommon in Goryeo, but was made popularized by Princess Seol’s many charities work. Their evening walks by riversides were always lively. Ji Hoon often accompanied her to orphanages too. As the days passed by, their walks became longer and longer, and hiding her identity became harder and harder. Her heart fluttered every time he laughed and smiled at her.

Being with Yi Ji Hoon was as easy as breathing and there was a part of her which wished to would spend the rest of her life besides him. Something she did not know how to feel about.

“What are you thinking about?” Lord Ji Hoon asked as they walked alongside the river. She had spent the entirety of today in discussions with Lord Yi, something which completely spoiled her mood and exhausted her.

She turned up to look at the tall man and smiled, “Just tired.”

“If a lady of the nobility says she’s tired, she probably means that her father is forcing her into a marriage, so is that it?” he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

Her tired smile turned into a teasing one as she asked, “Why? Are you jealous?”

The lord in question suddenly stopped and held her hand. She turned to look at him in confusion as he bent downwards to look at her in the eye, “Maybe I am.”

Her eyes slightly widened in surprise and the Yi lord continued, “I like you, Soo Hee-ya.” Since she had not wanted the lord to know who she was, she had told him that her name was Soo Hee, a mix of her mother and aunt’s names.

His arms wrapped themselves around her shoulder and waist, and she could feel his face move closer to her as her eyes closed. The usual flutter in her heart when he was around intensified as she felt her lips meet his. A war could have begun in Goryeo and she could not have cared, the only thing she could focus on was how his lips felt against her own. Seol’s knees weakened and Ji Hoon’s arm around her waist was the only reason she had fallen to the ground.

His hand moved from her shoulder to her cheeks and tenderly caressed her right cheek as the both broke away for air, the couple panting and their chests heaving. His hand at her waist tightened and she could feel him trace her curves as his eyes focused on her swollen lips.

Seol raised herself on her toes and met his lips halfway and the lord did not waste time in draping his arms tightly around the princess’ smaller frame. Ji Hoon’s mind was blank and the only thing that was on his mind was how soft and inviting the younger woman’s lips were. Seol’s whole body was tingling and she could not help but love the feel of her body pressed against his and his arms wrapped around her.

“Seol,” she told him once they broke away for air. He looked at her in confusion and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she admitted, “My name is Seol, Wang Seol. I am the first princess of Goryeo.”

The man just stared at her in shock before uttering, “Why?”

“I did not want to hide who I am at first, but you did not recognize me, and I always wanted a true friend who likes me for who I am, not my station. I just used the chance I got. I was going to tell you soon.” She sheepishly told.

Ji Hoon nodded, understanding what he was being told. He looked down at her and smiled before fear filled his eyes.

“Oh Buddha, the Emperor is going to behead me. I just kissed his daughter.”

Seol could not help but giggle at that. Yi Ji Hoon’s fearful face was absolutely comical. She raised her hand to his face and slowly caressed his cheek and pointedly told, “Do not worry, my father will not kill you.”

He breathed a sigh of relief before saying, “I still stand by what I said, I like you Seol.” Said woman’s eyes crinkled into crescents as she smiled brightly, “I like you too Lord Yi Ji Hoon.” The Lord’s face mirrored hers with a bright smile of his own.

The couple stayed like that for a while, with the princess in the lord’s arms. Both of them basking in the presence of the other.

“Would you like to come to Songak with me?” she whispered, worried about his answer.

“I’d love to Gongju Mama.”

 


 

Convincing Lord Yi to let his heir join her on her trip back to Songak was easy. The man was already happy about the Royal Wang Clan siding with their clan, his heir being chosen to return to Songak with the Grand Princess pleased him even more.

And so, the couple set for Songak. An exhausting two-week journey.

There was a drought in the country, something the people of the Empire were extremely worried about. During droughts, bandits and thieves were quite common. The Princess prayed that her entourage would not be attacked by any bandits, but it seemed that all her prayers went to waste.

At the sight of the bandits rushing at her people, the princess quickly got off her horse and ran forward, hoping that they would stop once they saw her. But unfortunately, it seemed that they did not recognize who she was. She looked around and saw the royal guards had assembled themselves in a formation which was easiest to protect the women traveling with her and were fighting.

“DO NOT INJURE THEM GRAVELY!” Her voice thundered across the area, the guards acknowledged her command with a nod and continued to fight the bandits.

Once realization hit that Yi Ji Hoon was also with her, she turned around to find him. In the time she had gotten to know him, the one thing she clearly knew was that the lord could not fight for the life of him. Sure he could hold a sword and swing it, but that was it. He was no swordsman like her. She found the lord trying to fight a bandit like the absolute idiot he was and immediately ran towards him and barged into the fight, her sword skills no match for the thief who had just attacked her and he easily fell down.

Ji Hoon watched on in amazement as the princess easily took the bandit down, gracefully at that too.

“Tie the man up.” Grand Princess Wang Seol ordered the lord who bowed and tied the man with a piece of rope he found nearby. The fight had gotten over before it could even actually begin, thanks to the princess’ contributions in protecting both the bandits and the guards. Once all of them were tied up and placed together, the Princess Seol asked a question that shocked almost everyone there, “How bad is the drought in your village?”

The tied-up bandits looked at each other in hesitation and one of them spat out, “And why should we tell a pampered lady of the nobility like you?!”

Seol took no offense and instead softly smiled at them, “Because I can help you. I am not a lady of the nobility but rather, a princess of the royal family. I am Princess Wang Seol.”

All the bandits stared at her in shock, but they all prostrated themselves in front of her, “Forgive us Gongju Mama!” their voices echoed in the form of a sincere apology. “We would have never done anything had we known that it was you. We really are sorry. You are the reason my family is still alive.” One of the middle-aged men begged for forgiveness to the princess.

Yi Ji Hoon could not believe the sight he was seeing. He knew that Princess Seol was well-loved amongst the people of the Empire, but he never expected to see it like this. He could only stare at the princess in awe.

“Do not worry. I will not hurt anyone of you. I realize that all of you are having a hard time because of the drought. I assure you that a rain ritual will be done by Emperor Gwangjong. It has not already been done as I am not in Songak.” She slightly bowed to the people, asking them to forgive her but she was stalled by the bandits shouting, “Do not bow to us Gongju Mama” “Please do not embarrass us as such” “We are not even to be at your feet”

The Princess chidingly smiled at the bandits, “Do not say such things, every man and woman born on Goryeo’s soil are equal.” She looked at how thin all of them looked before asking, “Which village do you all belong to?”

“Anyang, Gongju Mama.” They replied in chorus

“We will travel to Anyang before returning to Songak” Seol informed everyone and motioned for the guards to untie the bandits.

 


 

It had been quite a while since she had gone to Damiwon Palace. Relaxing by making soaps in mind, the princess went to the Damiwon and found herself seeing a very interesting sight.

“Oh Buddha” she whispered in shock.

Prince Wang Ju had his hand wrapped around some court lady’s waist and had pulled the girl to him. She watched as he moved her hair behind her ear and whispered, “I love you,”

Seol resisted the urge to groan as she left the Damiwon. Even more frustrated than before. But despite everything running in her mind, one thing was certain,

“Wang Ju is completely his father’s son.”

It was going to become some kind of joke at this point, that the royal family men had a habit of falling in love with the court ladies. She could not help but sigh, court was getting heated up, with the Emperor not having declared an heir. She knew that many of the courtiers would be upset if and when she is declared as heir. Apart from Wang Ju, the 8th Prince’s son, Wang Chi was the only other male heir the Royal Wang Clan had. The 9th Prince’s first wife took the lives of her two sons and herself after the prince was punished for treason. The second wife only had a daughter, with whom she returned to her own clan.

“What are you worrying so much about?” a soothing voice told her as the owner of said voice sneaked his hands around her waist and hugged her from behind. She relaxed for a moment before the fear of her father finding out set in. She quickly turned around and pushed the man behind some trees outside the Damiwon.

She glared at the man who was currently holding her, who gave her a blinding grin. She hit his arm and the lord winced, “Have you finally gone insane?! Why would you hug me in plain sight?! What if my father saw you?! What if ANYONE saw you?!” she hissed to the Yi Lord, who pouted, “I just missed you, you cannot even sneak out often nowadays because of how much work you have. I just wanted to hold my love in my arms. Is that so wrong?” He bent down and stared at her innocently.

How could Seol ever resist that pout? She soothingly rubbed the place where she hit his arm and smiled up at him.

“Are you free today?” Ji Hoon asked.

“I have to meet Wang Chi today.” She apologetically said.

Ji Hoon frowned but understood why she had to do that. In the 2 years he had been in Songak, he had understood that the three important contenders to Emperor Gwangjong’s throne were Wang Seol, Wang Ju, and Wang Chi. Wang Chi who was trying to make a lot of moves in order to covet the throne.

Yi Ji Hoon tucked some rebellious strands behind Seol’s ears and leaned towards her, “I love you” he whispered, the woman in his arms softly smiled at him and whispered, “I love you too”

Not knowing that someone else was also present, the couple kissed. Meanwhile, a horrified Wang Ju stood outside Damiwon Palace. He was completely startled by what he was seeing. Ju muttered, “Nu’i is our father’s daughter alright. How can one fall in love amidst such political tension?” the prince shook his head in hypocrisy.

 


 

Wang Seol had never been to the 8th Prince’s residence before, simply because there had been no reason for her to visit a punished prince’s residence. The 8th Prince had committed treason and was exiled to Hwangju along with his family. A couple of years later, when he had gone mad and died, the 8th Prince’s family was allowed to return back to the Capital, after the Dowager Queen begged her father for it.

“Greetings to the Grand Princess.” The servants greeted her, she acknowledged them with a slight nod and smile.

“Welcome to the Hwangbo Residence, sweet niece.” Princess Seo Nui welcomed her with an overly sweet smile. The older woman had surprisingly not let herself go, despite what all she had faced. Seol also noticed how the woman had referred to her as her niece and not as a princess.

“Grand Princess” Seol corrected the woman, who’s sweet façade slipped for a couple of moments as she stuttered, “Wha…what?”

Princess Wang Seol sweetly smiled at her aunt, “It is understandable that you have forgotten a lot of etiquette, considering how your treasonous husband was confined within your residence, so I shall forgive you for your lapse in addressing me. However, it will not be tolerated the next time.”

“You must deeply bow and address me as Gongju Mama, Grand Princess Seol.”

The 8th Princess’s eyes burned with rage as she lightly bowed and muttered, “Welcome Gongju Mama, Grand Princess Seol.”

Seol tutted, “You must bow deeper and say the words louder.”

The princess bowed deeper and forced herself to say, “Welcome Gongju Mama, Grand Princess Seol.” Seol relished in the older woman bowing in front of her before nodding, “You may rise.” The 8th Princess had composed herself in her time bowing and forcefully smiled, “Please follow me, Gongju Mama

She walked inside the residence, with the 8th Princess walking beside her and the royal guards behind Seol. She hoped the older woman did not try anything foolish, considering how her two daughters were inside the palace.  

Princess Seo Nui walked her to a tearoom, where Prince Wang Chi was present. The prince was calmly enjoying his tea when she saw him, a lazy smirk on his face as he got up at her presence and valiantly bowed, “Greetings to the Grand Princess.” He flashed a grin towards her, but she could not feel anything but unease at the action.

The 8th Princess looked at her son and smiled, “I will leave you both to it then.” She slightly bowed to them and left the chamber. Seol warily moved inside and sat on one of the seats around the table which was placed in the center of the room. The Princess gestured for the prince to seat himself, which he smiled and did.

“I heard you had gone to Seokyeong, how was the trip?” Wang Chi asked, understanding that what he wanted to know was if she made any connections with the Pyeongsan Shin Clan, she smoothly deflected the true meaning of the question and answered, “It was delightful, I met with many of the citizens and oversaw the Dabi-won there, orabeoni.”

The small talk went on for a couple more moments, as both of them deflected the other’s question. While Seol was used to handling people like her cousin, it seemed as though it was not the case for the other person, who finally revealed his true emotions with a frustrated look on his face. He looked straight at the princess and said, “I shall get to what I invited you here for, sweet sister. Both of us know that your ridiculous aspirations to be Queen will fail, let us not waste time or delude ourselves. Marry me instead and I will make you a Queen.”

Seol could not believe what she was hearing and scoffed, “I do not wish to be a Queen. I want to be The Queen.”

She placed her teacup on the table and got up from her seat. Ready to leave the chamber. She had not even taken four steps when she felt the prince hold onto her tightly from the back, “Think of the greatness the both of us could achieve together.” His fingers tried to trace her face but before he could even continue with his vile act, Seol elbowed the prince and freed herself. She kicked her cousin in a place where no man should be kicked and dusted herself as the prince doubled over in pain and fell down groaning.

She glared at the body of the prince lying down, “I hope the 8th Prince’s line ends with you.”  And left the chamber. The Royal Guards standing outside the chamber looked at her in concern, Seol only smiled at them, “Do not worry, I am fine. Let us leave this heaven forsaken residence.”

 


 

It had been 3 days since she had that strange confrontation with the 8th Prince’s son, something she had informed her father and her lover. It was really frustrating how she had to stop both of them from marching into the Hwangbo Residence and murdering the prince.

Due to rising tensions at court, she and her father weren’t able to call their entire family for their daily dinners like they used to do before. However, today was not such a day. Seol had gone to the Damiwon for a relaxing bath as soon as the court session was over and changed into a more comfortable hanbok before leaving for the King’s Quarters to have dinner with her father, brother, cousin, and uncles.

Outside the dining chamber she saw Prince Ju looking overly excited, something she felt too, having caught him in the act a couple of days back, but she did not know why he was so excited. When the prince saw her approaching, he gave her a knowing grin before saying, “I know what you have been up to.” and wiggled his eyebrows in a way that was totally unbecoming of a prince.

She resisted the urge to scoff before she winked at him and told, “I have no clue what you mean but I know what you have been up to.” The Prince then looked confused at what she had just told.

Right in time, their cousin opened the dining chamber’s doors, “There you both are! We all have been waiting for you. Come in!” she said and left the doors open and went back to her seat beside her father, the 13th Prince.

The siblings evilly grinned at each other before saying in unison, “I am going to tell abeoji!”

“Just what are the both of you going to tell me?” Their father who had heard their exclamations asked from where he was seated. The siblings looked at each other and quickly rushed into the dining chamber and seated themselves. They quickly rushed out what they had to say at the same time,

Abeoji I saw Ju kiss a court lady inside the Damiwon three days ago!”

Abeoji I saw Nu’i kiss Lord Yi Ji Hoon outside the Damiwon three days ago!”

“WHAT?!” The voice of their Emperor father thundered across the room as the Wang siblings slowly turned to look at each other in horror.

 

 

Notes:

I am so sorry I haven't updated any of my works as of late. I was ordered to completely rest my right hand for 2-3 weeks by the doctor, so I could not write. I promise to try and update all of my works as soon as I can.

I hope you liked this chapter! Did you like the princess and her lord? The actress that I have in mind for Seol is Kim Go Eun. I know she does not look IU, but that's kind of why I want her to play the role. I do not want Seol to completely resemble her mother. I want her to be a mix of both her parents and her separate person at the same time.

(Btw. the name Yi Ji Hoon is actually a reference. Let me know if anyone of you got it!)

Notes:

Because I absolutely despise the idea of Yeon Hwa's son on the throne (and later Wook's)