The Secret Night at Unyeon Palace - Chapter 11

Her hand trembled as she closed the window due to nervousness.

Sitting awkwardly across from him, she clenched her fists and bit her lip.

A cold silence passed for a moment.

He must have been very angry about yesterday, but he didn’t say anything and just stared at her.

“I went too far with my words yesterday. I’m sorry.”

“…Yes. What?”

She thought she had heard wrong.

She never expected an apology to come from his mouth.

While pondering how to respond in this situation, her eyes darting back and forth, she saw his head tilt slightly to one side.

“From whom did you hear that story?”

“What story do you mean?”

“The story that I go crazy over women. Was it perhaps that Vice Minister Kim Hee Gyeom who said so?”

“Ah, no. My teacher is absolutely not that kind of person. Really.”

“Then?”

“I heard people talking. I spoke carelessly, knowing it was just a rumor. I’m truly sorry.”

It was true that she was angry at his words, but she had also been rash to speak like that in that moment.

She was about to open her mouth to apologize once more. As his face drew close, Eun Seol held her breath and closed her mouth.

“It’s not exactly wrong. It’s true that I go crazy over women. The problem is that it’s particularly severe for one person.”

Though his words seemed sarcastic, there was a hint of laughter in his tone.

Thinking this was yet another incomprehensible thing about him, she lowered her gaze.

The prince she had seen since coming to Unyeongung was somewhat different from the rumors.

He was too neat and serious a man to be called a womanizer, and unlike the rumors of debauchery, he didn’t seem to enjoy alcohol much.

She thought that perhaps all those many rumors surrounding the prince might be false.

By the way, he said he went particularly crazy over one person.

Who could it be?

She was curious who that person was, but couldn’t voice it out loud.

She swallowed a sigh inwardly while keeping her head down.

Suddenly, his fingertips lifted her chin, preventing her from avoiding his gaze.

Then he raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“Aren’t you curious what would happen if a man crazy about women met a woman who drives such a man mad?”

She couldn’t breathe.

It was because his face was too close. Her face felt hot as if burned by the heat rising up her neck.

His eyes shone strangely.

“What kind of imagination made your face turn so red?”

“It, it’s not like that. Please let go.”

“If it’s not like that…”

As his lips slowly approached, about to touch hers, someone called him from outside.

“My lord. It’s Seo Yeom.”

At Seo Yeom’s timely call, his tilted body returned to its place.

Without taking his eyes off her, he spoke towards the outside.

“What is it?”

“Preparations for entering the palace are complete.”

“I’ll be right there, so go ahead first.”

Come to think of it, something seemed odd, but he was wearing a purple official robe instead of an overcoat.

Seeing that he had stopped by while preparing to enter the palace early, it seemed he was indeed angry with her.

Still, thinking it fortunate that it ended here, she exhaled the breath she had been holding.

“Let’s continue the rest of our conversation after I return from the palace, so please prepare.”

“Prepare? What do you mean?”

“It’s been quite a while since we were married, but if we haven’t consummated the marriage, what would people say about me?”

As he stood up and straightened his clothes, he quietly added:

“Our true wedding night will be tonight.”

Suddenly her heart started pounding loudly.

He was saying he would come here tonight.

She raised her eyes to look at him. His gaze was still unwavering.

“Tonight I will sleep here with my wife. So, please wait.”

“…”

“Why is there no answer?”

“…Yes. I will be prepared.”

“Then, I’ll be going.”

* * *

It had been a long time since he visited the Queen Dowager’s palace alone.

Since leaving the palace, he rarely entered unless it was for something special.

It was obvious he wouldn’t hear anything good coming in and out of the palace, and another reason was for his mother, the Queen Dowager.

His mother, who became the Queen Consort after the late Queen So Eun, truly loved and cherished her elder brother, the previous Queen’s son.

This could be seen in how his mother and elder brother still maintained a close relationship.

Though he too received his mother’s love, she couldn’t express it openly.

It had always been like that since he was young.

He would distance himself and avoid her first, disliking the misunderstandings his mother might face because of him.

He knew what kind of place the palace was from the moment he learned to speak.

The palace was a place that would immediately bite at even the smallest weakness.

In such a situation, he could imagine what would happen if his mother showed interest in him.

It was obvious people would say she was slandering the Crown Prince and using all sorts of schemes to put her own son, the prince, on the throne.

So he distanced himself first.

His actions, done for his mother’s sake, may have been hurtful to her, the person in question.

Lee Woon set down his teacup and looked down at the yakgwa beside him.

Seeing this, a smile spread across the Queen Dowager’s face.

“I was so surprised to see you eating yakgwa one day, when you wouldn’t even touch sweets since you were little. Did someone make it especially delicious for you?”

“What’s so special about yakgwa? I just happened to eat it once and came to like it.”

“Head Court Lady Choi has prepared some, so take it with you when you go.”

“They make it at the residence too, why go to the trouble of preparing this?”

“Who doesn’t know that? I just wanted to do it for you.”

There was a hint of disappointment in the Queen Dowager’s gentle tone.

She glanced gently at her son who wouldn’t let her get close, seemingly upset.

“Why did you call for me?”

“Does there have to be a reason for you to come here?”

“What good would it do for you, Queen Dowager, if I visited here often?”

“I wonder who you take after to be so indifferent. Is the new daughter-in-law doing well?”

“Yes, she is doing well.”

“So how is it after the wedding, are you happy?”

The corners of the Queen Dowager’s mouth turned up in a light smile.

Lee Woon knew what she meant by asking, so he hesitated before answering quietly.

“Yes, I am happy.”

“I see… Then that’s good. If you’re happy, that’s enough.”

“I was grateful then. Thanks to you, Queen Dowager, I was able to have that person by my side.”

“What did I do?”

Minister Yoon Tae Soo was definitely not someone who would give up the position of secondary wife.

Though he probably didn’t approve of the rumored womanizer as a son-in-law, he wouldn’t want to lose the secondary wife position either.

The person Lee Woon wanted was Eun Seol. If Minister Yoon was to send one of his two daughters, it should naturally have been Eun Seol, the eldest.

But whenever he went to meet Yoon Tae Soo, Eun Seol was nowhere to be seen and only the second daughter, Eun Joo, appeared.

So just in case, he asked the Queen Dowager for help.

Yoon Tae Soo gladly accepted the Queen Dowager’s request to give Eun Seol as the prince’s match.

Thinking about it now, there was no reason to object to sending a daughter he had practically abandoned to none other than the prince.

Whether Yoon Eun Seol suffered emotionally or became unhappy after marrying him, that wasn’t important to that man.

“Is it first love?”

At the sudden question, he could only stare at the Queen Dowager’s face without saying anything.

“I’m asking if you loved her so much that it had to be that child.”

“How could that be? You know my reputation too, Queen Dowager.”

“Would I not know my son’s nature? I don’t know why the rumors of being a womanizer spread, but I know at least that it’s not true.”

The Queen Dowager set down her teacup and let out a short sigh. Her voice was lowered.

“She’s a child with much pain. Cherish her and love her a lot.”

“How did you know?”

“Shouldn’t I at least know that much about the child who will become my daughter-in-law?”

“Mother!”

“No need to be so serious. I wish for that child to be as happy as you. I became interested because she’s the child you love, and I want to protect her because she’s the one you desire.”

The Queen Dowager, observing his expression, took something out of a drawer and handed it to him.

Opening the red silk pouch, he looked at the Queen Dowager with puzzled eyes.

“It’s a ring the late king gave me. He cherished you more than anyone. He worried all night about you, who always lived quietly in the shadow of His Majesty. Even when you stubbornly refused to marry, the late king said to just leave you be. He wished for you to marry a woman you loved, at least for marriage.”

“Then allowing me to marry Eun Seol was also…”

“That’s right. I can’t forget your eyes that day. It was the first time my child asked me for something since birth, so I wanted to make it happen no matter what.”

“…Mother.”

“The late king asked me to give this to you when you got married. He would have been so happy to see your wedding… I’m glad I can pass it on to that child, Eun Seol.”

Lee Woon clenched his fists, feeling something welling up in his chest.

As he grew up, he always lived alone and lonely. He had no complaints because he had no desires.

Yoon Eun Seol was different for him.

From the moment he first saw her, he wanted her by his side as his woman.

It was quite an ordeal every time he visited Yoon Tae Soo under the pretext of drinking, facing him over the drink table.

But since that was the only way to see Eun Seol, he had to drink unwillingly with Yoon Tae Soo.

If he had known she was living such a miserable life, he would have brought her earlier.

He wanted to be greedy, at least for Yoon Eun Seol.

“Lee Woon. You must not become an unworthy man who hurts a woman’s heart. You must live cherishing and treasuring her for life. She’s someone you obtained with difficulty, so don’t hurt her and make her smile a lot because of you.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“This mother worried needlessly, not knowing my son was such a romantic.”

“…”

“Wouldn’t I be worried that you weren’t getting married at that age? I wondered if there was a problem with your body, or if you preferred men…”

“Mother!”

He cut off the Queen Dowager’s words, unable to listen any further.

The Queen Dowager, also embarrassed, avoided his gaze and drained her cold tea in one gulp.

Leaving the Queen Dowager’s palace, he turned his steps away from where he was going to meet the king and quickly left the palace.

He missed her.

Yoon Eun Seol, he missed her desperately.

As the Queen Dowager said, she was someone he obtained with difficulty, but he had given her too many wounds and shown only his unworthy side so far.

He wanted to cherish and love her.

She was the only woman he wanted to give his all to.

Yet he had been so harsh to her.

He was jealous and angry that there was another man in her heart.

Even though it wasn’t her fault and there was no reason to be angry, he had been petty and cowardly.

Now he no longer wanted to hide his feelings.

The faster he walked, the deeper his longing grew.

A woman he felt he would go mad if he didn’t see right now. Lee Woon rode his horse hurriedly towards Unyeongung to meet that person.

Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she

really disliked him

Short intro:

What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.

Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.

Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!

She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.

*

At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.

This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!

***

Synopsis:

Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…

A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead

vs.

An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead

_____

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