Chapter 84
All my married friends said the same thing.
‘When the wedding is a month away, there are so many things to do and so little time that thirty days feel like thirty seconds.’
Now that I was actually preparing for my own wedding, I painfully understood why they said that.
I was so frantic that a day felt like a second, and time flew by.
When Gyeoul was taken in as a concubine, Mom and Dad simply gathered the whole village, slaughtered a cow, and held one noisy feast.
But with a formal wedding, after the six rites, Gyeoul received the sajudanja, they checked our compatibility, and then the gifts Yi Bang-won had generously prepared were sent to Kim Mandeok’s house...
After sending the gifts, I carefully wrote a reply to both Your Majesties, saying, ‘From now on, I volunteer for military service so I may serve the Joseon court forever.’
To think I had to volunteer for military service myself—what am I, a recruit being dragged off to Nonsan or something?
“Son-in-law.”
“Father-in-law.”
Kim Mandeok looked over my expression and asked,
“Are you perhaps ill on this auspicious day? That wouldn’t do...”
“Of course not. I was merely troubled, wondering how a subject like me could repay Your Majesty’s grace.”
My beautiful plan to resign at the proper time and return to my hometown of Yanggu to live comfortably with Gyeoul had gone up in smoke.
I never imagined that the wicked King Sejong would slyly take Gyeoul hostage.
Just elevating Gyeoul, my concubine, to lawful wife already made it hard for me to escape, and now the royal family had even bestowed wedding gifts.
If I submitted a resignation memorial, it was obvious King Sejong would keep dragging this matter out like simmering bone broth and reject it over and over.
“Our son-in-law is truly a loyal subject. Even in the Ministry of Taxation, many speak well of you, saying you’re the Kongming of Haedong. And to my eye, not a word of that sounds wrong. Ho ho ho.”
“You’re too kind.”
“You’ve done better than anyone else could compare to. If you keep this up, you’ll certainly be able to repay the grace you’ve received from His Majesty. So come now... hurry and submit that memorial and come with me to the Ministry of Taxation—no, come with me...”
“I’m not going.”
Once this wedding was over, Kim Mandeok would be dragged off to Jeongui-hyeon on Jeju Island.
From what I’d heard, it was officially counted as a local magistrate posting and, because it was a project His Majesty watched closely, an excellent position for promotion...
I’d already gone through almost every post required before promotion to a dangsanggwan, and I had no intention of rushing my rise in office. Why would I go there?
I’d rather stay in Hanyang, report for duty and leave on time, and live happily with Gyeoul.
“With you gone, how am I supposed to deal with the Japanese by myself...”
“The lord of Tsushima deeply admires me, so the Japanese on Tsushima won’t dare slight you, Father-in-law.”
The lord of Tsushima feared me greatly.
I had told him, ‘Joseon can replace the lord of Tsushima whenever it wants.’
So if they only knew he was my father-in-law, the Japanese on Tsushima wouldn’t dare treat Kim Mandeok lightly.
And if some fool crossed the line? I’d just make a trip to Jeongui-hyeon.
“Father-in-law, then I’ll go greet the people who came to my wedding.”
In Korea, it’s normal for the groom to go see the bride in her wedding dress and take pictures before the ceremony, but in a Joseon wedding it is proper for the groom not to see the bride before the ceremony begins in earnest.
So rather than go looking for the bride now, it would be proper to go around greeting the elders who came here.
I shook off my father-in-law, who was plotting some evil scheme to drag the newlywed groom off to Jeongui-hyeon, and headed outside.
When I went out, Hwang Hui and the other ministers of the Six Ministries were lined up, each congratulating my father, who had come up from Yanggu County.
Thanks to King Sejong bestowing such lavish gifts that the news made all of Hanyang buzz...
My parents, deeply grateful for the great favor, came all the way to Hanyang in high spirits.
Well, by boat it only takes a day, so it probably wasn’t that hard or inconvenient a trip.
“Kim Jeong-rang is truly a filial son. It’s admirable enough that he passed the civil service exam as the top scholar at such a young age, but he also handles every task so well... As a representative of the ministers here, I’ll offer my thanks today for raising such an excellent son and sending him to court. Father, thank you. And I’m envious.”
“I’d wondered where Kim Jeong-rang got the courage to submit that memorial and block the currency reform, but as expected, like father, like son...”
Father shot me a look, signaling me to save him.
Mother had apparently run off before I even arrived, using the excuse of helping to dress the bride.
To save my father, I went over to where the ministers had gathered, and Hwang Hui offered congratulations on everyone’s behalf.
“Our Kim Jeong-rang is now an adult in the truest sense of the word.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“As a child, there are two ways to repay your parents’ love: make a name for yourself and bring honor to the family, and have a grandson to carry on the line. Having a grandson is something you’ll have to handle yourself, while I’ll help with making a name for yourself... so come to the Uijeongbu.”
At that, the Minister of Taxation stepped forward in anger.
“For ordinary officials, perhaps, but someone like Kim Jeong-rang is a talent as obvious as an awl in a sack; wherever he goes, his abilities will be put to use. So the matter of spreading periodic markets nationwide, the most important issue right now, should be discussed in the Ministry of Taxation...”
“What are you talking about? Surely you know that making new weapons in the Ministry of War is the more urgent and important matter. Not every word you say is worth saying. You should choose more carefully.”
“Kim Jeong-rang has remarkable talent for dealing with the Japanese, so he should come to the Ministry of Rites rather than some other department. Why does Lord Jo want to use Kim Jeong-rang’s talents only in the Ministry of War?”
As the ministers began to fight in earnest, Father whispered into my ear.
“So it really wasn’t an exaggeration that Daebung was making a name for himself. Seeing those high-ranking men recognize and favor you like that, I am truly happy as your father.”
“...... Father, I’d rather be a source of trouble for women who are obsessed with me.”
When pretty girls fight over me, it’s at least cute if it isn’t too intense, but old men near or past sixty having a ‘catfight’ over me is horrifying just to watch.
“‘The ministers are obsessed with me’—how is that supposed to be good for me? If I ended up in a situation like that, it would only increase my workload.”
While I was going around greeting the guests, one completely unexpected person appeared.
“His Highness Grand Prince Hyoryeong has arrived.”
A king like Sejong or Yi Bang-won could not possibly attend a subject’s wedding.
So if they were going to put a leash on me anyway, they must have sharpened the blade carefully to make sure it was done properly.
As proof, who would have thought that none other than Grand Prince Hyoryeong—one of the highest-ranking members of the Joseon royal family, with Grand Prince Yangnyeong excluded because he’s a rascal—would show up here in person?
Grand Prince Hyoryeong always had an air about him that made me think, how should I put it...
His face and the aura he gave off made him seem somehow like the Buddha.
In a way, it was like looking at a living Buddha statue.
Had Queen Wongyeong not thrown a fit, saying she couldn’t hand her son over to Buddha, he apparently really would have renounced the world and become a monk...
I could believe that.
“Where is Kim Jeong-rang?”
“Yes, Grand Prince. Here he is.”
“His Majesty the Grand King and His Majesty the King sent me here to pass along their congratulations on your wedding. I sincerely congratulate you.”
“Thank you.”
“The Buddha said that it takes eight thousand kalpas for a husband-and-wife bond to form. For spouses to meet one another is that difficult. And since Kim Jeong-rang and Uiin (the title for the wife of a fifth-rank official) are said to love each other deeply, wouldn’t that bond be even more special?”
Among Joseon yangban, there are those who read Buddhist scriptures as a hobby.
In actual history, there were even cases where the older brother became a monk and the younger brother passed the civil service exam.
But Grand Prince Hyoryeong’s scholarly Buddhist knowledge had definitely crossed the line.
That was why Grand Prince Suyang didn’t even bother suggesting that Hyoryeong join the Gyeyu Coup. He probably never even thought of purging him.
Who in Joseon would ever serve someone who was practically a monk as king?
“The most important thing in any relationship is trust. So you too must keep faith with your wife and build a beautiful family together.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
While the laborers Grand Prince Hyoryeong had brought were unloading a considerable amount of valuables into the yard of my in-laws’ house, he handed me a talisman.
“This is a talisman personally written by the abbot of Bongeunsa. They say it helps you conceive a son. I heard that Kim Jeong-rang doesn’t mind superstition much, and the wives of noble families often receive talismans from monks as well... so please accept it.”
“I gratefully accept it.”
Not long after I finished greeting Grand Prince Hyoryeong, the mutual bowing rite began.
Seeing Gyeoul dressed in the hongjangsam wedding robe left me speechless; she was so beautiful.
Usually hanbok, especially the more formal it is, is layered more and more and becomes looser, so it doesn’t show the body very well...
But just as putting an awl in your pocket naturally makes a hole, Gyeoul’s beautiful chest was not hidden by mere scraps of hanbok.
And when our eyes met, she smiled while shyly looking away.
Everything about Gyeoul was beautiful to me.
I even had the bad thought that, if it meant seeing this, I could serve as Chief State Councilor for thirty years.
Not long after the wedding was over, a storm swept through the court.
The Ming emperor had died.