We were woken up a few hours later by the sound of our nephew and the concubine screaming at each other right outside of our quarters, directly waking up myself and my wife who was so startled that she screamed quite loudly herself and wrapped herself around me as if to bury herself under me. I could not believe that I just gave my so=called family about putting my wife under pressure, only for them to pull out such a dirty trick like this one! I had just about had it with everyone that I was forcing myself to put up with before I came up with a sold plan for myself to regain my lost honour. But now I feared that I was much too tempted to take my own life in theme of my family before I got back what I lost. This was the most unstable that I had felt in such a long time and I could already feel the yearning that I had for all of my pain to wash away as if it was nothing once again with old habits that I had spent a long time trying to overcome. And if it weren't for my pregnant wife holding onto me for dear life at this moment, I wouldn't be trying to restrain myself once again.
"Servants! Just what the hell is going on outside!" "My Lord, your nephew and concubine seems have gotten entangled in something…" "I thought the concubine was locked up? What happened exactly?" "My Lord! Please hear me! Your family intend to kill me and they do not want you to know what they have done to me! Never in my entire life have I been left as humiliated as I was in your absence! I was framed for all sorts of things and my family has been made to pay the price for such false allegations! If My Lord does not make any decisions on my behalf, I fear that I cannot live anymore! They have even sen your nephew to stop me from reaching out to you…" "Uncle! Please do not believe her! She ran away from her quarters and. I just tried to chase her down…!" "Enough! Both of you! Have you lost leave of you senses! How dare you air out your dirty laundry like this in front of the damned servants! Have I taught you nothing, nephew! Go and receive 20 lashes from my servants before you report back here to me immediately!" "But uncle! I haven't done anything at all!" "Are you defying me boy? Because if you are, I can seek out another accommodation space just for you…" "Ok, ok! I will take on the punishment…My Lord." "Servant! Pour cold water on the concubine to bring her to her senses before bringing her in for an interrogation. And dress up my wife, she needs to be present for this make be quick about it!" "Yes My Lord…" "Call for our physician also."
Every single time that I messed up with me wife, I never had enough time to fix my mistake or makeup for it because some tragedy would also happen at the same time and it would always require her intervention. I myself had no desire to be near other females if I didn't have due to my devotion to her, and I longed to watch her put people in their place and return to their senses, but my wife deserved to enjoy her pregnancy as much as any other woman did and even more than that. So whatever plans she had in mind for her family, it had better be effective enough to put them in their places once and for all before I was forced to intervene on my family's behalf. I did no want to become theban guy again, but I had no problem doing so if it was the very last option that I had left.
"Concubine? Can you explained why exactly you and my nephew were acting like damned animals outside of my quarters? What happened exactly? Aren't you going to be married off to my cousin? Does he know what is going on between you both?" "My Lord there is nothing! I already told you that I escaped from my quarters to see you as soon as I heard that you returned to see you and your nephew pounced on me from the moment he saw me!" "And why would he do that since he barely talks to my long distance relatives? Why would he side with them like that in order to take you down?" "My Lord he went crazy at me! Look at how he has torn my clothes to shreds!" "For goodness sake woman! Cover yourself with something will you! How dare you strip down in front of me in the same chambers that my pregnant wife sleeps in? Have you seriously taken leave of your senses!" "I am your concubine! Why can't I!" "In name only! How can you be so ungrateful as to turn the tables on a position that I willingly offered you against me?" "My Lord! I have tried to earn that spittoon, but you just cannot see anyone but her!" "Which is exactly why you should stop wasting your time and just leave the situation alone! Where is my nephew to answer for himself? Bring him here to me now!" "My Lord why entertain that maniac at all! Why won't you just take my word for it! You never believe me….YOU NEVER EVEN LOOK AT ME!"
I had truly hit my breaking point at the moment and I was just getting ready to go over to her and slap her across the face for her insolence before my wife came charging at her on my behalf and got the job done for startling her so badly. I knew that it was really myself that she was angry at, and I could only whisper a prayer that I was grateful that she could not take her anger out on myself since there was enough power in that slap that not only knocked the concubine down onto the floor and hitting her own face in the process, but it also drew a little bit of blood. But I could not let her get anymore angry than she already was, so I had no choice but to pull her into my arms to calm her down a little before I proceeded with this interrogation between my nephew and concubine. "Nephew? Tell me what happened and do not even think of lying to me!" "Uncle, she was tried and found guilty of the elders for doing black magic on your wife! So when I saw her running towards your quarters, I just assumed that she was trying to do something bad to you again…" "Black magic? What in the world…we need to be updated by the servants! Why didn't any of them tell us anything at all!" "That is why my aunt replaced my servant with her own, to control this place on my behalf, wife." "For the love of god….is she the one who also made up some protonic soup for me that turned out t be poisoned?" "Excuse me? What did you just say, wife?" "Do not believe their lives! I know nothing of this poisoned soup! And do not believe this orphaned brat who is already putrid with greed! Whilst I was suffering my greatest injustice, he was happily indulging in all of the activities that you banned him from doing! He was sneaking into brother with such wealth and splendour, who knows what ulterior motives he has for you all! Whoever sees him instantly thinks of his lowly and criminal parents; he should not even be in this yangban at all! Just drop him off in some orphanage for others to take care of this burden instead!" "What a virtuous and noble woman you are indeed madame, it is no wonder that my husband does not wish to interact with you at all." "It is not my fault that he indulges himself as if he has no responsibilities at all! His adoptive mother was suffering just as his biological one did when he was indulging himself in wealth and splendour! In the silk he wears to the exotic foods that he has every single night! He is even taking opium My Lord, I swear it! You only need to check his chambers and…" "You liar! How dare you lie on my name! Why don't you just burn in hell with your parents that you sacrificed to save your own life!" "Nephew! Stop strangling her! Enough! Poison soup? Black magic? Opium? We were only gone for 3 days, just what on earth happened in this yangban in our absence!"
"It seems as though this concubine has no care for us in her heart husband, to have caused so much absence over getting a promotion in the palace, and I know that you loathe ungratefulness most of all. We are clearly just tools for her to vent her anger and unhappiness on…" "What do you know of my feelings, Madame! I have been beaten, ridiculed and shamed by The Lord's cousin, so I shall never marry him! I shall stay with my husband here in this yangban and…"
"And do what exactly? Bear my husband illegitimate children, after everything that he has been through himself? He doesn't want that, which is why he has never even taken in mistress's before. The luxuries my husband holds will never replace the natural affection that parents have for their children. So forcing him ti have children outside of his marriage will result in deep resentment for both parties even if you do bare him sons. Our nephew on the other hand will study martial arts, weaponry training, and he will always have the best food and clothing that we can offer him. We will make sure that he passes the civil exam and tutor him ourself to the best of our abilities." "No! You must bind his mouth shut so that he never speaks of such filth ever again! I never want to see that brute again! You must rid me of this shame by giving me justice for the way that he just attacked me like that!" "You lowly bitch…I will impose my own punishment on him myself, I do not need your assistance at all! As for you nephew, I am sending you back to my uncle since all I clearly do is indulge your bad habits! Even if he throws you out, you shall stay by his side until I come to collect you myself! And I do not wish to hear a word about it at all! And as for you, concubine…" "My Lord please! I have information that can be useful to you….about The Mistress Han and The Senior Scholar…about how she colluded with him to frame The Lord Nam! Please just give me a single chance to serve you for one night, and I promise you that I will tell you everything! You are an educated and well balanced man, and you are very tolerant and I know that you did not deserve what your previous concubine put you through, but I am not like her at all! I also do not deserve to marry your cousin, and I shall take my own life before betraying you as she did! I admit that she was the one who sent me to your wife's side in the brothel to spy on her as I owed her a life debt, and then I was to seduce you away from her, but I haven't done that, have I? I come from a humble background and I dare no hope for any status after confessing this, but as long as I can serve you husband, I am willing to become a mere maid for you once again! I will be content with just that much allowance, I promise you. And no main wife wants a jealous reputation, so…." "There are clearly benefits in listening and in not doing so at the same time…." "Wife? What do you mean by that?" "Our current dynasty governs through benevolence and righteousness husband, isn't that so? You also still hold your position in the palace, and with the current wedding preparations it is best not to escalate this matter presently." "Madame Nam, I beg of you to write my name in the family's genealogy and give me a sincere path to survival under this roof."
"What say you, wife?" "I say that we should give her a chance since she has so much information, but only for a single night and if she does not…please you husband, then I suggest that we…." "I shall take her for myself, uncle! I am old enough to marry and I wish to keep her as my own wife!" "Nephew! Are you sure about this?" "Yes I am; if you do not want her, then I shall make her serve me as her husband." "In that case you will not need to go anywhere at all, but you are confined to your quarters until further notice. Can you comply with those simple instructions at least?" "Yes I can uncle."