How long has it been since the king left his seat?
The eunuch approached Kwon Jwa Woo.
“You may rise now.”
Kwon Jwa Woo had kept her head bowed to the floor even after the king had disappeared.
“We don’t have time. We’ll be late if we stay like this.”
At the old eunuch’s urging, Kwon Jwa Woo stood up with a puzzled look, dusting herself off.
“What do you mean?”
The eunuch replied as if it were obvious.
“Didn’t you just promise His Majesty? That you’d do anything if he spared your life. Go and keep that promise.”
“Where to?”
Could it be…?
Kwon Jwa Woo recalled the beautiful face of the king.
At the same time, she remembered the rumors circulating in the marketplace about him.
The irreverent gossip that the king, boasting the greatest beauty in Joseon history, takes a different woman to bed every night…
“Um…”
Kwon Jwa Woo unconsciously tightened her collar.
“I’m not mentally prepared yet…”
At her age, other women would already be mothers.
But I haven’t even held a man’s hand yet.
And now, so suddenly…
The eunuch, who had been looking her up and down, spoke as if he had read her mind.
“Once you engage physically, your heart will naturally follow.”
Is that really true?
“What are you doing? Hurry up and follow me.”
The eunuch urged the hesitant Kwon Jwa Woo once again.
Following reluctantly behind him, Kwon Jwa Woo asked.
“May I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“What happens if I say I can’t do this?”
The eunuch gave a kindly smile in response to Kwon Jwa Woo’s question.
“Why? Can’t you do it?”
“It’s just so sudden…”
“I understand. It is sudden. Of course, you could say you can’t do it.”
At the eunuch’s seemingly understanding words, Kwon Jwa Woo hastily shook her head.
“No matter how I think about it, this is…”
Before Kwon Jwa Woo could finish, the eunuch cut her off.
“Of course, you might lose your head or be hanged for daring to disobey a royal command. But what can you do?”
“…”
“Naturally, it wouldn’t end with just your life. The crime of defying a royal order is tantamount to treason. Your family might be exterminated for three generations, leaving no survivors. But still, what can you do if you really can’t do it…”
“I’ll do it.”
“No, no. If you dislike it so much, there’s no need to force yourself. A person’s lifetime is shorter than you think. In that short life, there’s not enough time to do even the things you like and want, let alone things you dislike…”
“No, I’ve realized this is something I really wanted to do.”
Kwon Jwa Woo hurriedly followed the eunuch down a long corridor.
They passed through several red-lacquered gates, moving deeper and deeper into the palace.
She had never imagined the palace would be this vast and expansive.
Where exactly were they going?
To His Majesty’s bedchamber?
It felt like she was in a bad dream.
What went wrong?
Where and how was I found out?
Kwon Jwa Woo’s mind was in turmoil.
Her fist, clenched beneath her sleeve, was damp with sweat.
Twenty-year-old Kwon Jwa Woo.
A woman who became a Hwaseobja, choosing civil service examination passers in Myeongnye-bang, and even disguised herself as a man to enter the Office of the Inspector-General.
But she hadn’t chosen this path for mere amusement.
Eight years ago, on the night of her father’s sudden death.
Kwon Jwa Woo was certain.
There was a hidden secret behind her father’s death.
She had to uncover it.
No, she would uncover it by any means necessary.
To investigate her father’s unjust death, Kwon Jwa Woo volunteered as a tutor specializing in exam questions. Thanks to her father’s consideration in providing her with private tutors from a young age and her sharp mind, she was able to predict the exam topics in advance.
Fortunately or unfortunately.
As the questions Kwon Jwa Woo predicted began to appear on the civil service exams, she secretly became a famous tutor known for her accurate predictions.
And whether by heaven’s will, she obtained an identity tag and made it this far, thinking she had finally taken a proper step forward, but…
She had been discovered, and by the king himself, of all people.
What will happen to me now?
Where are we going?
How long had they been walking through the maze-like palace with a troubled expression?
The now out-of-breath eunuch turned to look at Kwon Jwa Woo.
“We’re here.”
The eunuch spoke in front of a wall surrounded by massive trees on all sides.
So, the moment has finally come.
Tension filled Kwon Jwa Woo’s face.
Then, the eunuch’s warning was heard.
“Only His Majesty and I know that you are a woman disguised as a man. You must never be discovered as a woman.”
Huh?
I must not be discovered as a woman?
“But to serve His Majesty, shouldn’t I reveal that I’m a woman…?”
Our king, could he possibly have unique preferences?
Her complicated inner thoughts were clearly visible on her face.
Looking at that face, the eunuch spoke as if dumbfounded.
“Serve? Who’s serving whom?”
“I… His Majesty… am I not?”
Kwon Jwa Woo stammered.
The wrinkles around the eunuch’s eyes narrowed.
At the end of an awkward silence.
The eunuch’s words pierced Kwon Jwa Woo’s ears.
“You have lofty dreams.”
[This is the timeline separator]She had mistakenly thought His Majesty had ordered her to serve in his bedchamber.
Kwon Jwa Woo’s face, which had jumped to conclusions, turned bright red.
It was as if she had a burning piece of charcoal placed on her face.
As she stared blankly into the distance, feeling flustered and embarrassed, the eunuch’s voice continued.
“Our king also has his preferences, you know.”
“…!”
I knew it!
Of course.
Ah, if only there were a mouse hole to hide in.
Kwon Jwa Woo lowered her head deeply to hide her flushed face.
At that moment, the middle-aged eunuch handed her a red wooden tag.
On the front was engraved the character for ‘eight’ (八), and on the back, the character for ‘command’ (命).
Examining the tag, Kwon Jwa Woo asked.
“What is this?”
“It’s a tag proving that you are the eighth eligible candidate.”
“Eligible candidate?”
“Oh my, I forgot to mention it this time too. This is what happens when you get old. You forget things that just happened as soon as you turn around.”
“What did you forget this time?”
In response to Kwon Jwa Woo’s question, the middle-aged eunuch smiled innocently like a child and answered.
“You’re going to take the test to become a secret royal inspector.”
“What? A secret royal inspector?”
You mean the ‘secret royal inspector, come forth!’ kind of secret royal inspector?
“Yes. That secret royal inspector.”
“…!”
Kwon Jwa Woo unconsciously clenched her fist.
You should have told me about this earlier!
[This is the timeline separator]Kwon Jwa Woo’s eyes were full of resentment as she looked at the eunuch.
“Did you say I’m an eligible candidate participating in the secret royal inspector test now?”
“That’s right. The eighth eligible candidate, to be precise.”
“So there are seven more eligible candidates?”
“That’s right.”
The eunuch answered as if it were obvious.
Kwon Jwa Woo’s questions continued.
“Then does that mean I have to live with them until the test is over?”
“You catch on quickly. When I teach you one thing, you understand two.”
“They’re all men, right?”
Kwon Jwa Woo asked, grinding her molars slightly.
The eunuch replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“As far as I know, you’re the only woman disguised as a man.”
“…!”
Please don’t say that with such a proud expression.
“And you’re telling me this now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you saying I should live among seven men?”
“Who said seven?”
“What?”
“Including the assistants helping the eligible candidates, the examiners overseeing the test, and the people handling various miscellaneous tasks, there will be over thirty people.”
Kwon Jwa Woo was left speechless at the eunuch’s nonchalant answer.
“How am I supposed to become a secret royal inspector in such a situation?”
I don’t want to do this. No, I can’t do this.
“How would I know? You’re the one who made the promise to His Majesty.”
“Well, since we’re on the subject, what’s this about a test for secret royal inspectors? Aren’t they just appointed?”
“We still need to test your abilities, don’t we?”
“Can’t His Majesty just use his authority to pass me?”
“We can’t abuse power like that.”
“But it would be more efficient.”
“We can’t ignore the hierarchy and order of the palace.”
At his firm rejection of any shortcuts, Kwon Jwa Woo’s shoulders slumped.
“What happens if I fail this test?”
The eunuch answered with his usual innocent smile to Kwon Jwa Woo’s question.
“You’ll die.”
“And if I’m discovered to be a woman…?”
“Dismemberment or hanging, I suppose.”
“Isn’t the reason for taking this test His Majesty’s order?”
“He didn’t order that it would be fine if a woman in disguise was discovered.”
“You’re being cold.”
“That’s just how life is.”
“Don’t you have any sympathy to spare?”
“Sympathy?”
“Think about it. If your young daughter were in this situation, what would you do?”
“I’m sorry, but as you can see…”
The eunuch glanced down at his own body with a sad expression and continued.
“In this body, I don’t have a daughter like you.”
“…”
“Let me say it again, the moment you’re discovered, you and His Majesty will become complete strangers. And His Majesty will…”
“…”
Why do I feel like something ominous is coming?
“He’ll behead you as an example and hang your head outside the city gates.”
Ah, I wish I hadn’t heard that.
“Come now, we’ll be here all night at this rate. Let’s hurry.”
The eunuch led Kwon Jwa Woo towards a slightly open door in the wall.
“Wait a moment. I’m not mentally prepared yet…”
“As I said earlier, once you dive in and experience it, you’ll adapt.”
“But…”
“You can do it.”
“Still… shouldn’t I have some kind of contingency plan? What if an unavoidable urgent situation arises?”
“One should handle their own affairs.”
“At least tell me your name, in case I need it.”
But no answer came.
After pushing Kwon Jwa Woo through the gate, the eunuch quickly closed the door.
Bang!
As the wooden door closed, another world revealed itself before Kwon Jwa Woo’s eyes.
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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