⚠ Content note for this chapter: explicit sexual content.
From far off came the voice of the timekeeping eunuch announcing the hour. Realizing it was nearly the hour of Jin, Yeogwan grew more anxious. Once more she thrust her head close to the door and called out:
“Your Highness, please wake up now.”
But there was no response from within. Yeogwan was now past anxious to the point of desperation. The courtiers lined up beneath the main hall all wore expressions of What is happening, and fidgeted restlessly. And no wonder, for the Crown Prince’s consort, who always rose before anyone woke him and finished all his preparations, today would not answer no matter how they called. And of all days, today.
The hapgeunnye certainly meant the rite offered before the wedding night, but the term did not refer only to the ritual ceremony itself. It was only when everything was completed — from the first wedding night through the morning meal rites the next day after the nuptial night — that the hapgeunnye could be said to be fully concluded.
The meal rites were nothing special either. After the wedding night, if the Crown Prince did not return to the Crown Prince’s palace but slept in the consort’s bedchamber, the consort need only rise early and prepare washing water for him. Then the Crown Prince would wash with the water the consort had brought, change his clothes, and comb the consort’s hair. Then they would eat breakfast together, and only then could all the procedures of the hapgeunnye be said to be finished.
It was not so complicated or difficult. All the preparations were already made; all that was needed was for the consort to rise. And to do so before the Crown Prince woke.
“At this rate His Highness will rise first.”
Song Naegwan of the Crown Prince’s palace said, with feigned concern. Feeling the subtle urging in his words, Yeogwan had no choice but to open the bedchamber door. There was nothing for it now. She would have to go in and wake him herself.
“Your Highness, I shall enter.”
Even that door she quickly closed again the moment she entered the room. And like a cat she crept toward the bed draped with a red canopy, but with only a couple of steps left she stopped dead in her tracks. For the Crown Prince was sitting with his back against the pillow, looking this way — awake, though for how long, she could not tell.
While Yeogwan stood frozen in surprise, the Crown Prince wordlessly waved his hand. It meant, That is enough, leave.
“But…”
Yeogwan murmured softly, then soon bowed her head. For the Crown Prince, his brow knitting slightly, had waved his hand once more. If she stayed any longer for any reason, she would be in for a scolding. Yeogwan quickly backed out of the room.
The bedchamber door closed without a sound. Only then did Igang rest his elbow on the mandarin-duck pillow and lower himself into a half-reclining posture again. Turning his head to look at the face of the one lying beside him, he saw that his face was swollen all over from how much he had cried the night before, and the corners of his eyes were red and raw.
He must have had a very hard time of it.
Igang thought, withdrawing the hand that had reached to touch the swollen eyes. After all, how exhausted must he have been to sleep like the dead all night without waking once? He had already been fast asleep when Igang returned from washing yesterday. He would surely have waited under normal circumstances, but his strength had given out, it seemed.
As he gazed quietly at the face, yesterday’s events came to mind and a smile came in spite of himself. In truth, he had been as worried as he had been expectant. Huian seemed to know far too little about the bedchamber arts. That was why he had deliberately sent Song Naegwan with the erotic paintings and told him to teach him properly — and yet even Song Naegwan, returning from Inyeong Palace, had shaken his head in horror, saying he could not imagine how such a person could ever share a bed. He had not changed expression even at those explicit pictures, so Igang had thought this would be harder than expected, and worried — what if he lay on the bed with that same impassive expression… But no: in every respect, his reactions were beyond expectation. For someone who had come without even wearing underclothes, his flustered babbling at merely having his skirt lifted was one thing, but the face he made before the insertion — utterly frightened and at a loss — looked not twenty-four but fourteen, like a child, and it was endearing.
Most unexpected of all was that, for one who knew nothing at all, his body was remarkably sensitive, and his responses were tremendous, unlike the usual case with a male partner. Of course, the very fact that fluid came out meant his body was already made to receive a man’s member well, but even so, such responsiveness at the first joining spoke of considerable natural aptitude. Toward the end he had even burst into tears, unable to bear the unfamiliar stimulation, which had startled Igang enough to stop the thrusting. Normally he would simply have finished, but that weeping was so heartrending that he could not possibly ignore it. He had expected, given the fine voice, that the weeping would rival any famous singer’s — but he had not known it would melt his heart so.
“This is trouble…”
Igang murmured to himself, gazing at Huian’s face. It had been a wedding night he had looked forward to out of mere curiosity — curiosity about what face he would make, what sounds he would utter. So he had thought that once that curiosity was satisfied, there would be nothing left to long for. But having actually experienced it, he now longed for the next wedding night all the more. Besides, now that they had done it once, there would be no need to teach him everything one by one as at first. Thinking of the consort who would soon accept it familiarly on his own and even delight in it, he already felt his desire stirring. And conveniently they were on the bed, both in sleeping clothes; all it would take was slipping off one pair of trousers under the blanket.
Should he wake him once?
After a moment of serious deliberation, Igang shook his head. Much as he wanted to wake him this instant, looking at that face sleeping in utter oblivion, he simply could not. Especially at the sight of the red, raw corners of his eyes, a guilt greater than his lust washed over him, and he could not even bring himself to touch him.
Rather than that, Igang decided to get up, and rose. It was nearly the hour of Jin anyway. Given the day, he need not attend the morning audience, but he had to attend the royal lecture after it. Planning to wash at the Crown Prince’s palace, he only changed his clothes roughly. Even while he bustled about for quite a while, Huian did not toss even once. He ought to have woken at this much noise; how tired must he be to sleep through such a commotion, Igang thought, and left the room with the quietest steps he could manage.
The moment he opened the door and stepped out, Yeogwan cried out in surprise: “Why have you come out so early?”
Flustered, Yeogwan stammered and hurriedly tried to go back into the room. Knowing it was to wake the consort, Igang said low, “Enough. Do not needlessly wake a person sleeping so soundly.”
“He seems worn out from what he is not used to. Let him sleep deeply.”
“But, Your Highness. There are still procedures remaining…”
At Yeogwan’s troubled murmur, Igang furrowed his brow before he knew it.
“What is the reason for performing this thing called the hapgeunnye? Is it not because they say that only then will the marital bond last long and a child be born? But what became of the two former consorts who observed all of that so faithfully? If you have a mouth, tell me.”
At his thundering voice, Yeogwan dared not raise her head. The court ladies and eunuchs beneath the main hall all bowed their heads, not even daring to breathe audibly. To those courtiers Igang said in a still-stern voice, “Do you understand?”
“Procedures, laws — none of it is of any use. No one is to wake the consort before he rises on his own. Whoever disobeys this order and makes noise outside or enters within will be severely punished.”
At the frosty command, the courtiers all bowed low together and answered, “We shall do as you command.” Watching the courtiers answer in hushed voices, lest the consort wake, Igang wore an expression of seeming satisfaction.
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