.sixty six.

-

"That's not all I want you for. You're my wife and I love you. The only person I want in my life is you. You said I was the love of your life, your best friend. I feel the same."  

-

Back at the palace, the King blatantly ignored his son's refusal for a second wife and had a woman summoned to the palace. She was a daughter of the fallen Baekje dynasty, a princess who was now forced to live among the commoners since she had lost her rank yet she still held an air of royalty as she walked into the throne room. She wore a simple pink hanbok, her hair pulled back into the most basic up do, and her face was slightly dirt stained from the lack of facilities to shower in for her and her people. Her name was Jangmi, and she eyed the king of Goryeo with pure resentment and disdain. He had been the reason she and her family no longer had a kingdom, no longer had a home to go to. But she had to obey, she had to submit if she wanted to keep her family and her people safe.

She swallowed her pride and bowed before king Taejo as a greeting. "You wish to speak to me, my king?" She almost wanted to roll her eyes and gag at the fact that she, a princess of Baekje, had to reduce herself to that low of a level.

The king, oblivious to her near obvious disdain, started to explain what he wanted from her. "I have heard from my trusted sources that you will soon be turning eighteen, which was also the age for marriage in your kingdom. And I have an offer for you. My son Eun's wife is very ill, which means she cannot produce healthy heirs for our kingdom. You are a princess, and have royal blood. I would like for you to become my son's wife, so that you can give him healthy children." 

Jangmi immediately crinkled up her nose, wanting to refuse the request as soon as the words left the king's mouth. "Though I am a princess of a fallen dynasty, I am a princess nonetheless. I refuse to be second to the daughter of a general." She said, nose in the air with pride. It was almost as if the words stung, because they reminded her that she had no power in Goryeo. She was just another commoner who had to submit to the king's rule. As much as she liked to tell herself that she might be able to refuse and get out of this, she knew that the King could easily make her accept if he really wanted to. If anything, he was being pretty soft on her now. Still, as long as she could, she would refuse to be the second wife of a prince who was married to the daughter of a general.

The king tried to comfort her with a shake of his head. "His wife is very ill, and may not even make it much longer. Besides, I would hold you and your children with him in much higher esteem. To the family, you would be considered the first wife." 

The seventeen year old princess thought about it for a moment, considering her options. The offer was starting to sound tempting. She would be considered the first wife and would have a house of her own to live in. She could take care of and provide for her family. They would never need to struggle again for as long as she would live. Only for those reasons, she was starting to consider it. 

Trying to make the offer more tempting so that she would accept, the king finally added, "I would accept your people as citizens of Goryeo instead of slaves as they have been considered since the fall of your nation."

Jangmi was finally convinced by his words. Not only would she save her family from suffering, but also her people. Everyone would win in that scenario--everyone except the tenth prince's wife who was apparently very ill and could die any moment. Jangmi felt bad about taking her husband away from her. But the good outweighed the bad in that situation. She was also sure that she could make the tenth prince forget his first wife and fall madly in love with her. No one had ever refused her before, not just because she was a princess, but because she was said to be the most beautiful woman in Baekje. 

Surely the tenth prince would find her attractive as well. 

She finally said, "I accept your offer, your majesty."

And the king smiled at her, because in the seventeen year old princess he saw the opportunity to separate Eun and Minji. To him, Minji was just a burden who needed to be taken out of the way.

He quickly had her bathed in the palace and assigned her a team of maids who would dress her up and make her look like any princess should look. As she looked in the mirror, Jangmi thought to herself that this is what she should be having. She deserved nothing less. It was the king of Goryeo and his sons who should have been at her feet begging for mercy, reducing themselves and suffering humiliations to help their people. The tenth prince probably didn't know any sort of suffering. He had lived a sheltered life while Jangmi had lived for years watching the war unravel and watching her people suffer. It was unfair.

Once she was ready, he sent her over to Eun's house in a fancy carriage, in hopes that his plan would be successful.

-

When Jangmi arrived at the tenth prince's home, she realized it was much smaller than where the other queens lived. Then again, Eun's mother was of a powerful family, yet she didn't live in a house in the palace like queen Yoo did. She relied on her own family's wealth to live and provide for herself. The king hardly ever saw his sons, much less did he provide anything for them unless it were their birthdays or any special occasion. 

The guards asked her what she was there to do, and she said she was there to visit the tenth prince. A guard asked her to wait while he informed him of her presence.

Eun had been confused to hear that a woman was searching for him, but he allowed her onto the property to see what it was about. He had gone out to the garden to wait for her, as he didn't want to worry his wife who was still in bed rest inside the house. 

Jangmi walked up with a charming smile on her face and was taken aback at how handsome the tenth prince really was. She had heard about him before, when the rumors went around about him marrying General Park's youngest daughter. People criticized him for not being tall, or manly enough. They talked about how he had not gotten his wife pregnant quick enough. But this didn't sound like the boy people had been talking about. But it was likely that he had changed. After almost three years, his face had lost most of its roundness, and his jaw had become more prominent. He had gotten taller--but not too much taller. At least, Eun liked to think to himself, he was a bit more taller than his wife.

He was handsome, though he looked tired. Like he hadn't slept or eaten in days. 

The tenth prince snapped her out of her thoughts with a question that cut straight to the point. "Who are you and why are you here?"

The seventeen year old princess was taken by surprise, but recovered quickly. She bowed her head to him as she offered a greeting. "My name is Jangmi and I am a princess of the fallen Baekje dynasty. His majesty the king has sent me over here so that we can get to know each other, since I will be your new wife." She cut the distance between them and threw herself at him, catching him off guard. The princess then closed her eyes tight an collided her lips to his.

Eun quickly set his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back with a gentle force. He was mortified, more because he knew that anything could be taken out of context, and he didn't want people to start making up rumors about him cheating on his wife. He also didn't want Minji finding out about those rumors, especially when they were not true.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, and making you come all this way for nothing. But I don't want a second wife." He informed her, and there was no doubt in his words. He was absolutely positive that he didn't want another wife. He didn't need anyone else when he had Minji.

"His majesty says you need someone who can provide you with strong heirs." The princess insisted, her hands clinging to him as she tried to bring her lips to his again. 

This time, he swatted her hands away and took several steps back away from her. "Stay away from me. I love my wife, and she's the only person I need."

"Just let me show you that I can treat you well." Jangmi practically begged, seeing her opportunity for a better life slipping out of her fingers. 

She tried to reach for him once more, but he stepped out of her reach and ran for the safety of his house. "Please leave." He asked her once more before turning and walking into the house. He was once again startled to find his wife standing by the entrance. Her silk gown looking big on her small frame when it used to fit her well. There were dark circles under her eyes and she smiled him weakly.

"What was that commotion outside, love?" She wondered, pretending as though she hadn't heard anything because she knew him, and she knew it was something he would probably want to keep from her to spare her feelings.

He leaned in to give her a kiss on the lips nervously. "Nothing, jagi. Lets go back to our room. You look tired and the doctor said you shouldn't leave the bed yet."

Eun took her hand in his and pulled her away from the entrance of the house. He didn't know why she had gotten out of bed in the first place, but he wouldn't ask. The truth was one of the maids had gone over to her with the gossip, informing the general's daughter that a beautiful woman was there to see Minji's husband. Minji had felt a prick in her chest because she suspected it had everything to do with the King who had been trying to convince Eun for years to get a second wife. Now it seemed he was really keeping his word and sending a woman over for his son to meet.

It had filled her heart with a happiness as she heard her husband refusing the woman's advances. Yet a part of her told her that maybe she should encourage him to accept. She was sickly and could not take care of him, and his needs, like a wife should. Perhaps he would look to someone else to find the things she was no longer giving him. 

But Eun wasn't like that. He was still the innocent little boy who knew little about life and the outside world. He was also a good husband, and a good father to the twins. 

They entered the bedroom and Eun helped her get into bed, settling down beside her. Minji snuggled close to her husband and rested her head on his chest. "Love, I know you're getting older, and you're not the same little boy you were before." Though she could not see him, she still noticed the changes in him and his body whenever she touched him. She also felt the changes when they'd get intimate. She wanted to let him know that it was normal to have needs, and she had quickly decided that she would not be hurt if he wanted someone else in his life. She was sixteen still, and perhaps he was starting to feel that she was a little girl to him. "If you ever feel like you would like to take up a second wife, I would not oppose as long as you are well and happy."

The tenth prince quickly shook his head. "I already hear it enough from his majesty, and my brothers Yo and Won. I don't want to hear it from you too." He said with a tired sigh.

"I don't want you to take it the wrong way." She told him, trying to save the situation when she heard it in his voice how the comment had bothered him. "I just wanted you to know that you have my consent if I can no longer satisfy you as your wife. I am weak and will need a lot of time to recover before we can start getting intimate again."

"Hak Soon," He started and then took a short pause before continuing. "That's not all I want you for. You're my wife and I love you. The only person I want in my life is you. You said I was the love of your life, your best friend. I feel the same."

Minji felt a smile involuntarily spread across her lips.

It was a reassurance she never knew she needed. "I love you, Eunnie." She told him.

"I love you more." He replied.

-

so now we have this princess coming into the picture. she will be appearing more in the story, so please keep her in mind. also, i know i said i would go back to using some of the plot from the drama. but i just wanted to add this in and it took up a whole chapter.

thank you all loads for reading.

question of the day: should eun take up this princess as his second wife? or should he not? the king wants him to have "strong heirs".

-clary