"I have already dismissed the author of that book, shed his property and sent his family into exile. But now I want all of the officials in the palace to come up with their own collective poems to denounce him publicly. This will demonstrate your loyalty towards me and the kingdom of mine, I am also worried about all of these factions that are coming up against me since my third son's deposition, so this is a good time to start investigating these issues. I have already sent The Lord Nam on the way to complete his mission, so I am leaving the issue of eradicating my son's corruption and factions to this court with my full support. All those who sympathise with my enemies will be dismissed and banished from the kingdom." "My Lord, what about Seo Hwi? Do you not think that he too should…." "Seo Hwi possess poor literary talent compared to his sister and wants to stay out of politics altogether, so why are we attempting to drag him back here when he clearly wants nothing to do with it at all?" "He must clarify his stance since the rumours…." "Rumours are not pure fact or evidence, don't you agree? For example, there are rumours that you yourself have falsified documents to take over half of the merchant shops in the most expensive market place in the kingdom, yet you don't see anyone bring that up here, do you? Because that is the difference between facts and rumours." "But what if he harbours treasonous intents in his mind and…" "Minister, the subject of this man hasn't been bought up in years, so what are you trying to do now? You should advise him carefully instead of trying to intimidate him under the name of the palace. Your Majesty; I humbly suggest that this case be closed as soon as possible so that we do not give cause to others framing who they want for merits."
"Lord Nam! What on earth are you suggesting?" "I could ask you the same thing; why are you trying to drag around the son of Seo Geom in muddy waters like this, especially since there have been no sound evidence of him having the book on his person? I humbly request that this case be over as soon as we come up with these poems to show our dedication towards this kingdom." "But if adulation dominates this court, then it will be harder to promote righteousness…" "Are you suggesting that we suppress criticism instead?" "As a civil official, if I cannot preform my duty and speak freely, then I am afraid that I cannot fulfil my role in this palace despite my favour." "You show no remorse for your dissenting opinion; you should be punished severely on this matter!" "No! But I…" "Your disloyally to this case couldn't be more obvious; starting with your unnatural obsession with Seo Hwi." "Your punishment shall be carried out in stages and should not show arrogance towards your position in this kingdom that has been bestowed by myself." "But Your Majesty! If you keep exempting Seo Hwi from everything and anything, then there will be no more justice and discipline in the court. Even if The Emperor himself were to break the law, then he should be punished as a commoner." "Enough of this: you shall be suspended and imprisoned and your family shall be confined in there home until you change your mind."
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"Brother, are you not worried about you becoming the new topic of discussion?" "They have no evidence against me, what do I have to be afraid of? We don't even have that many servants in my home, what are you expecting will happen?" "Brother! You have a family now, shouldn't you take more precautions than usual?" "Relax baby sister, our late father's status ensures our immunity from palace gossip and rumours." "Do you have any idea who is doing this to us? To you?" "I have only one idea, and I am pretty sure that I can find her if I really set my mind to it, but I barely leave my home unless I have to, to help out my wife in the last stages of her pregnancy." "Are you really going to let her go?" "She has no real power, she probably seduced the man who spoke out against me at court and was punished for it and nothing more." "Will you really not comply with this poems requests? What if you are considered empathetic to the Third Prince after all of this time?" "Sister, you know that if that didn't happen in the past, I would have never set foot in the palace in the first place, so maybe I can use this opportunity to cut our ties once and for all if I play this right." "But The Emperor is already weary of his officials and is limiting their power already, and their words will fuel his distrust against you even more and our lives still lay in the hands of The Emperor no matter what we do." "None of the officials words are truthful or impartial at all, everyone knows this." "That will not stop them from taking action against us to claim merits and favour in the palace. It is now of all times that there is chaos in the courts to prove their loyalty to The Emperor and this kingdom even more.." "Sister=in=law, are you insinuating that there will be some sort of a witch hunt on crimes and such things?"
"Ignore her wife and retire to the bed chambers where our son has surely woken up from his nap by now and is waiting for you. Do not lee my sister's conspiracy theories scare you in your last term of pregnancy." "Very well husband, I shall be waiting for you." "Have you taken leave of your senses, sister! Do not mention much worrying issues in front her her, she is already a nervous wreck because her pregnancy is coming to and end and our son is keeping her more than occupied at the moment!" "But I am worried also, brother? Everything I did after leaving The Nam Yangban was to get revenge for our parents and solidify the rest of ur family's life here in this kingdom! I will not allow for us to fall into the same traps as our parents did and tarnish our family' shame even more, especially when you already have a family of your own and…" "So what do you want from me sister?" "I have a plan to get you out of this mess once and for all that will surely backfire on those who wish harm upon us and guarantee a safe life for you and your family away from palace scrutiny. I want you of all people safe, healthy, and away from those vultures and…" "…and leave you behind as the centre of attention in the palace as my best friends wife? Sister, I am no leaving you behind ever again and…" "Brother, you know that your best friend will not quit the palace that easily, and as his wife I will have no choice but to play the dutiful wife. But even then, he will not let me step foot in that place again until it is to visit him. But you need to trust me; I know what I am doing and I will be protected and…" "…and there is no way in hell that I will let you raise that demonic boy, even if he expects you to!" "Brother…I know, he isn't fond of the idea either and he hates that he had to ask me to care for him, but…" "But nothing…." "…what if that child chooses me himself? I cannot turn him down then, especially after we all know what The Nam Clan will do to him. My plan even involves you escaping from their eyes and hands as well. And I promise you that I will visit you as much as I possibly can." "You will not give up, will you sister?" "You know me well enough to know that answer brother, what do you think?" "Very well, now, I need you to listen to me with an open mind…" "Oh for goodness sake! Nothing is ever simple with you, is it? You couldn't possibly inherit anything more from our father even if you tried."
"…is it raining already? He will be soaked to death already, he barely wears any extra outer robes and his shoes must already be worn out by now. I shall make him an extra pair and…" "My Lady, The Lord Nam is perfectly fine and…." "No, I am talking about his nephew! I must take him back to my side because only I know how to care from him properly and…" "My Lady? Is the due to the guilt you have over his mother's death? Or is this the result of your loneliness without The Lord Nam…" "That bastard! That self-centred and and arrogant jerk! Look at what he did to me! I cannot even function if I do not see him for a day, to the point where I am perfectly willing to raise his nephew for him without a single thought for myself! Servant, please bring out his robe that I packed in my chests, I need to smell something of his that ii have always kept on my person." "My Lady, if you continue to wallow in self pity, then you are just torturing yourself for no reason at all." "I need him here with me; I need him to hold me, to look at me, to talk to me, to eat with me and to keep me company. I need him to pick fights with me like he always does just so that we can end up together in his bed as usual, I need him to keep me with him so that I feel safe and I need him to take me away from this entire kingdom just so that I breathe again and I…want to give him what he wants from me, no matter how long I have to keep trying for…"
"I have seen it with my own eyes how much he loves and adores you, even though you are determined to believe otherwise. He is someone that you entrust your life to, and your future is not worth mistreating yourself for today. You are both so knowledgeable and fluently hold intelligent conversations all day between you both. Especially when you talk about poetry, I find myself standing as dumb as a piece of wood sometimes." "The more a woman reads and learns, the more melancholy and wishful they may feel, thought it isn't the same for everyone." "It is still better than being ignorant and senseless." "Confidante's understands each other's hearts well, no matter who or where they are in this world."