Thirteen

"What do you mean the king has returned?"

The Grand Queen Dowager rose to her feet. The little tingling in her knees was a clear sign that her already fragile body was rapidly deteriorating. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't afraid she wouldn't live to see the day Lee Hwi returned from his royal expedition. She just didn't expect him to return so quickly.

"I just received word that His Majesty just made it into town," the royal guard repeated.

"It's been less than a month," The Grand Queen Dowager replied. "Something isn't right."

"His royal sedan is quickly approaching the palace," stated the guard.

"Royal sedan?"

The Grand Queen Dowager thought for a moment. There was no royal sedan if she remembered correctly. Or, was she really that old to have forgotten this detail?

"You may be dismissed."

She motioned for the guard to exit. Something is definitely out of sorts. She could sense it. More importantly, she was concerned.

"And there it is," said Eunuch Hong. "Home."

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. His smile quickly turned into a frown for he knew what to expect.

"We're back," Noh Ha Kyung said in a low tone.

She peeked out of the window. It was as if she never left.

"We're probably not going to be greeted with a normal welcome back," said Yu Gong.

Noh Ha Kyung sighed.

"Well, my father did commit treason," she replied. "I don't expect a warm welcome back from anyone."

If she was to really start over with Hwi again she wanted to forget the ugly past. Just leave it all behind, she shut her eyes and thought to herself.

Moments later, the sedan came to a complete stop. As much as she wanted to peek out of the window just to be sure, she ultimately decided against the idea.

"I think we should just wait and follow His Majesty's orders," she said to Yu Gong.

The maid nodded and sat silently as the sedan proceeded through the first set of palace doors. Noh Ha Kyung held Taeyeon against her chest. His eyes were open but he was as quiet as a mouse.

"My good boy," Noh Ha Kyung whispered, planting a soft kiss on top of his head.

As the sedan inched closer to the palace, the former Queen felt her heart pound. She really thought it would be easier than this.

"Relax," Hwi said to her in a calm tone after opening the curtain of the sedan.

He stretched his right arm out to her and she took it without hesitation while holding Taeyeon in her other arm.

Court Lady Kim gasped loudly, and a series of chatter erupted from the court maids behind her.

"I'm sure you are all curious at the moment," Hwi roared, his arms crossed behind his back. "Fear not for your curiosities shall be fulfilled shortly."

He proceeded forward in the direction of The Grand Queen Dowager's quarters. Noh Ha Kyung followed closely behind him. She was careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

"Leave me and my queen with The Grand Queen Dowager," said Hwi, when they arrived at his grandmother's quarters.

Eunuch Hong shut the door after the couple stepped inside. Court Lady Kim, on the other hand, shot a curious look at him but the eunuch knew better than to feed her curiosity. Instead, he smiled shyly and lowered his head. They could only wait for instruction from the king.

"Grandmother," said Hwi.

He greeted her with the usual royal etiquette and Noh Ha Kyung followed suit. The Grand Queen Dowager's eyes widened and became fixed on the familiar woman beside Hwi. She was honestly more intrigued by the infant in her arms.

"This... this...

"Grandmother, please hear me out," Hwi began. "I will answer all of your questions after you allow me to explain everything."

"Please do," The Grand Queen Dowager croaked.

Hwi dismissed his grandmother's two court maids and waited until they were completely out of the room to proceed with his explanation.

"Grandmother, please take a look at this baby," said Hwi.

Noh Ha Kyung handed Taeyeon to him and watched as Hwi stepped forward and bent down carefully to present the little bundle to The Grand Queen Dowager.

"This baby," she said. "This... this...

"Who do you think he resembles?" Hwi asked her in a low tone.

The Grand Queen Dowager studied Taeyeon for a moment as tears filled her eyes. She didn't know why she felt all emotional all of a sudden but this child before her... her eyes rolled onto Noh Ha Kyung.

"No...

She gasped and looked at Hwi and then at Noh Ha Kyung again.

"This is your baby?" she asked Noh Ha Kyung.

The former Queen bit her lip and looked at her ex-husband.

"Grandmother, this is Prince Wonsan's son... with Noh Ha Kwan, Noh Ha Kyung's older sister," Hwi carefully explained.

The Grand Queen Dowager's eyes widened. Her tears began to trickle down her face. She thought the baby resembled Noh Ha Kyung but her original assumption was way off!

"This... this is Lee Jeong's son?"

The Grand Queen Dowager's voice trembled. She reached for Taeyeon's face and gently caressed it while her tears continued to fall freely.

"Yes," Hwi replied.

Before getting into the technical part of explaining the royal lineage, or, warning rather, Hwi thought it better to give his grandmother some time to soak in the information. The woman was still grieving the loss of her grandsons, both Prince Wonsan and Prince Jae Eun.

"Do you want to hold him?" Hwi asked.

"That's alright," The Grand Queen Dowager replied, looking away.

She felt too guilty at the moment to develop such bond. Hwi nodded and returned Taeyeon to Noh Ha Kyung.

"This... this also came as a shock to me," Hwi admitted. "Apparently we underestimated Lord Sanghyeon."

"What does he have to do with this?" The Grand Queen Dowager wondered aloud.

The guy's name made her sick to her stomach, and not to mention, upset.

"Well not only he had Prince Wonsan do his dirty work but he also offered Noh Ha Kwan as a gift," Hwi replied. "We were just unaware of this because we were too focused on Lord Sanghyeon's threatening ambitions."

The Grand Queen Dowager closed her eyes for a moment and sighed heavily.

"Is this Joseon's fate?"

Hwi and Noh Ha Kyung exchanged glances.

"Perhaps," Hwi replied. "This baby is Joseon's future."

The Grand Queen Dowager eyed him curiously.

"You're not saying...

"Taeyeon is the rightful heir," Hwi blurted.

"Taeyeon?"

The Grand Queen Dowager chuckled.

"I named him that with hopes that he will one day be a great leader," Hwi explained.

"It's a great name," she replied. "Did you agree to this?"

She turned to Noh Ha Kyung.

"Agree with the name... or the fact that he will one day be a great leader?"

Noh Ha Kyung was rather taken aback by Her Royal Highness' direct question.

"Both," The Grand Queen Dowager replied.

Noh Ha Kyung slowly nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness," she replied. "I agreed with both."

"We were hoping that you'd agree to it, too," said Hwi. "He is technically the only rightful heir."

"I understand that and I agree," The Grand Queen Dowager replied. "But what I don't understand is how you are going to explain this to the royal court officials considering heirs come directly from the king and queen."

She couldn't believe she was able to say all of that in one breath.

"Because I will make known to them that the Queen was with child at the time I ordered for her to leave the palace," Hwi explained. "Fortunately for us, no one knows exactly when she left."

"You are planning to raise this child as... your own?"

The Grand Queen Dowager made a face. Hwi wasn't sure if that was a disgusted look, concerned look, or look of disbelief.

"Indeed we do," he replied. "Everyone will go with the flow just as they have been for the past twenty something years."

"That's equivalent to treason," said The Grand Queen Dowager.

"Apparently it runs in the family, doesn't it?" Hwi boldly replied. "The king is never questioned but the subjects are expected to do as told."

Well that sounded a lot like a threat, Hwi thought to himself. He really didn't intend for it to come out that way.

"Think about it," he continued. "In a way, Taeyeon has some of my blood and some of Noh Ha Kyung's."

There was really no other choice at this point. No matter how she felt about the situation, Hwi was right. All of this mess started with her and her husband. Who was she to give a lesson on royal treason? At least the dynasty wouldn't have to end with Hwi.