Chapter 8 - Man Cheol Weol

Before he knew it, they were already at the border of the Golden Capital. The rest of the wonhwa took a different route to enter the way they had left when they first took Dohyun, through the back of the palace. Dohyun thought that even though it was very much possible, for ordinary people it would have been impossible to get past the royal guards and various security stops.

Before advancing, Jaeyong offered a cloth similar to the one he wore on his face, though people wouldn't necessarily recognize him, it was best to have his face not seen at all. The two women that rode behind Byung Ho and Minhye also departed before arriving, it wouldn't be hard for them to find a horse from where they stopped and thus, it was only the four of them left.

The sun was high in the sky and the usual business of the Golden Capital welcomed them. People, horses, and palanquins could be observed everywhere and from afar, one could make out the high walls of the royal palace.

It was no time till they eventually reached the palace gates, the two guards standing lifted their heads to see who was entering, Byung Ho and Minhye both flashed them a small golden token with a blue tassel attached to it. The gates were immediately opened to them.

That specific token was only available to people of high status within the royal palace, including personal guards and high-ranking officials, granting them immediate entry. Other guards also had no right to question these people making it very convenient for the other side.

Dohyun took a deep breath as they entered the palace, a hundred thoughts running through his head, any of these people could be behind this mess right?

For a brief moment, he felt a flash of anger for the first time, an anger he couldn't direct towards anyone, it tugged at his disposition. For once, he vaguely felt that the place he had lived his whole life was somewhat not as safe as he had thought it to be.

Jaeyong had only remained silent until this moment, "Your highness", he spoke in front of him, his voice again low but gentle, that almost comforting tone. "I will take my leave now, we'll meet again soon." He said while dismounting. Byung Ho and Minhye had also dismounted their horses, handing them over to other guards who would take them to the stables.

They were already in front of the grand hall he was told to go to.

Byung Ho and Minhye had already taken over the positions of the previous guards in front of the door, sending them off elsewhere.

Dohyun dismounted the horse and looked back once, for some reason he didn't want the person despite being in a wonhwa group being a man to leave just yet. He met those dark eyes again, they held a determined look but Dohyun could also make out a trace of reluctance. A moment later, he turned around and walked up the steps and stopped at the threshold as the other two opened the door announcing his arrival.

"His highness, Grand Prince Dohyun."

The doors opened, revealing a large room with various paintings and items of highest-quality only few could afford.

In the center of that room awaited a woman whose elegance and virtue showed through her every move, from the way she posed herself to the smallest actions of blinking her eyes.

The person behind sending the wonhwa to Dohyun, the letters and the turn of recent events.

Man Cheol Weol.

Queen Bu Seohyun, Queen of the Kingdom of Joseon.

"Your highness," Dohyun said, offering a complete bow.

"Bu Dohyun" her voice echoed through the room.

Her expression almost austere, from a young age the queen had learned how to express herself with the ideals that were allowed by the palace, etiquette training since she began to walk, and through the years of persevering as the mother of the nation. Her time as young crown princess was most crucial, eye's were high and to meet the expectations of the royal family required more will-strength than most could fathom to handle.

The queen had a small figure, her hair in a high bun adorned with jade and gold hairpins made especially for her and her only, and her royal robes a vibrant red conveying her status and position.

She sat in the middle of the room accompanied by a court lady of higher rank on one side and one with lower rank on the other, one was able to tell by the color of their outer robes and topcoats.

Dohyun kept his position until she gave her approval, "Come", she said.

Without taking her gaze off of him she spoke, "You two may leave."

The other two women bowed and left the room, giving Dohyun a respectful bow of acknowledgement as they passed him.

Dohyun took his seat in front of her, he didn't know where to start or what to say, he wanted to ask what was really going on and get to the point but he found it hard to form his words, "I-".

"Dohyun", she said, "I know you must feel at a loss for what has happened, it is also unendurable for me to explain. But you must understand one thing, from this moment forward you must never by all means just trust anyone here in the palace. That is, until I am certain of your safety and settle this for you."

"Your highness" Dohyun interjected, "What do you mean by settling things for me? By what means could this 'problem' not be solved by the royal guards…"

"It is too hard to pinpoint anything at the moment, we have neither leads nor clues." She sighed, "You only made it away soon enough, the morning after you left, my fears proved to be true- the food that was to be served to you had been poisoned. And not just any ordinary poison, but the kind that isn't easy to detect yet fatally potent."

He didn't know how to respond, taken aback, Dohyun first took in her words. The queen only let her emotions surface faintly, her tone still vague and cold as always yet her concern showed through her eyes. He never really had many conversations with his own mother and no one had ever tried to poison him before. Hearing this, it stirred-up his once again already jumbled thoughts. Unexpectedly, she reached out her hand and held his, ceasing his index finger from moving, he had been unconsciously picking at his thumb creating a small red scratch.

She gently rubbed her thumb over the scratch that he made, deeply sighing. He couldn't recall a time in his life that he heard the queen sigh so deeply, she always looked fine on the outside even when the royal court was in chaos, even during the time when the nation had faced a severe drought and people started to turn against the government officials and other courts.

She schooled her expression which followed the words, "As long as I am still here, I will use all of my power to find and punish the person behind this."

"Your highness," Dohyun replied, his eyes pleading for some kind of explanation.

The queen's eyes moved to the entrance of the room, she spoke in a calm voice, "You may enter."

With that, the doors opened and a woman similar to her age entered, she wore a greenish-blue topcoat which meant she was of high rank, someone close to the queen. She took her seat to the side of the room where the previous court lady was positioned and bowed her head keeping her gaze on the floor.

The queen said, "This is Dan Yong, my most trusted lady."

Dan Yong raised her head and faced Dohyun, "Your highness Grand Prince Dohyun."

The queen continued, "She was a senior shaman before coming to work for me personally, and the one who saw the danger coming your way."

They were able to know about the poison because of her? Saw?

"Wasn't the practice of shamanism banned years ago?" Dohyun asked, from what he remembered, the practice hadn't been around even in his childhood. To this the queen nodded her head once, "It was, but there was an exception. At the time shamanism was banned due to false predictions and accusations at the cost of capitalizing on the practice. However, a single group that had been serving the royal family for years was exempted. To avoid conflict, this has been kept secret." For the next while, the court lady named Dan Yong explained in further detail.

The royal family did have a group of shamans come annually to the palace to tell fortunes and ask about the future. From before, it was known that talented shamans could even predict who the next king would be and who would betray them. More or less, shamans were an important part of the royal family's traditions.

This woman had been working for the queen for long? It was probably why she wore the clothes of a high ranking court lady instead of the unique outer robes and charms of the shamans.

The queen looked at Dan Yong and nodded her head, seconds later the other woman spoke.

"You see your highness, when I first saw you nineteen years ago you were a tiny baby wrapped up in your mothers arms. As she handed you to me for the first time I saw nothing but a bright future full of love and content for you. You were born the day before Yudu, that night the palace was warm with admiration and love for the newly born prince.

The next day was the day of Yudu, as a senior shaman, it was bestowed upon me by her highness to wash your hair and any bad luck away. It was only when I dipped your head into the jade basin did I receive a vision of your future."

Dan Yong looked down, her voice equally growing dimmer as she continued.

"You were about your age now, there was so- so much bloodshed, so much betrayal and danger.

At first, I didn't know what to make of it, I thought that that was the bad luck I had washed away during the time. After then, I couldn't see into your future nor did visions or premonitions occur.

That was, until eight years later. That time you nearly drowned, you were running a high fever for almost a week and had lost part of your memories of what happened after. The physician said it was the result of the trauma and having passed out frequently but even he thought of it as a sign of bad omen. As soon as you woke, I came to you. I saw the same thing from back then, that night her highness dreamt about it, our visions lined up and I knew it wasn't something to be avoided.

Destinies and fates are not something that one can avoid, if it is meant for their life then it shall happen. But how could we let that happen, if one hides well enough, changes and prepares well enough, then that is a different story. Instances in the past have proven that and so we've done everything to prepare for whatever may come; if you were going to be betrayed then we would find people who would never betray you. If you were going to experience bloodshed, then, we would find people to fight in your stead."

Dohyun's brows furrowed as he interrupted, "You mean to pass my bad luck onto someone else?" It almost sounded ridiculous, like it was hard to believe what he was hearing.

"My capabilities have never been proven wrong in my life, I have only ever wanted his highness to live a good and fulfilling life and is why I have stayed by her highness's side all this time." Dan Yong replied, confirming Dohyun's question.

His heart sank, if what she predicted was really going to happen, if his future was already predetermined, what could he do if they were already planning to pass whatever misfortune she saw to someone else? What say would he even have against the queen in the first place?

This woman, when she spoke, her words sounded definite, irrefutable, and true.

She continued, "The people who came to you were carefully selected to serve you. They are your wonhwa, your protectors. They are also here with us at the palace disguised as court women and well for the other, he can't easily fit in during the day so he will stay at your residence. Your highness, some things have already been decided by us to ensure your safety, I hope you understand."

"You said they were carefully selected, what does that mean?" Dohyun asked, his voice extremely low. He wouldn't be able to stand it if-

"They came with us on their own will. Prince Dohyun, you mustn't worry about that. Most of them were orphans, some from abusive families. When I mentioned 'carefully selected' I was referring to my abilities. The ones I felt would not betray his highness."

The queen spoke, "I know it must seem cynical to you right now but too many coincidences have already occurred and I believe in Dan Yong, it is true her capabilities have never proved wrong. Only half a month ago did she have another premonition and during that time, we made all the necessary preparations."

The necessary preparations being a place to hide in the meantime, Insam Maeul.

Dohyun questioned: "You've let them train since they were children, do they know anything about this?" At this point, everything was becoming more and more nonsensical to him, the extent that they would act on a few visions and premonitions was already more comical than not.

"They merely only need to know to protect his highness at all costs." Dan Yong answered.

So they didn't know anything of this accord. Dohyun thought, for some reason, he felt that he would be too embarrassed if they had any idea why. Despite what these people who had the power to predict the future had to say about him or his fate, they had no grounds. No scientific evidence, but by the power of tradition and faith, it was strongly believed, strongly credited.

Just then the voices of two women came from the door, "Your highness, the King requests an audience with her highness."

The queen and Dan Yong shared a glance, soon after Dan Yong replied, "The queen has heard the request, she will leave shortly."

The three of them stood up and the queen quietly spoke, "In the meantime, only accept food from the court women who will be serving at your residence, do not leave the palace, and keep this from your brothers." Her words were straight to the point and sounded like giving him a warning.

Dohyun was slightly frustrated and still in the process of taking in all the information. As the queen passed by he let out, "But what-"

"Do not question, Bu Dohyun" She stated, looking him in the eye, making herself clear there was no room for refute.

With that the two left him alone in the room. Moments later the court ladies from before reentered the room and took their positions; Dohyun felt conflicted through and through but it would be best to find somewhere to be alone first.