"We can't be together, I am just a lowly laundry servant," A lady's voice said, catching Jin-Ri's interest. She followed the voice, curiosity enveloping her mind.
"We don't need to hurry. If you want, we can keep it a secret." A man's voice explained, "As long as we are together, that is all that matters."
Jin-Ri peeked around the corner of a secluded place and saw a young court maiden with someone who looked like a scholar. To her, they seemed to be lovers having trouble with their relationship.
"But people will not allow us to be together, even if we wanted to; those around us will surely protest," The young court maiden said, revealing her doubts and fears.
"We can make it work, we will run away from this place or hide," The scholar told the court maiden.
"If you let fear dictate how you will love each other, then your relationship is doomed to fail," Jin-Ri chimed in, letting her thoughts be known to the young lovers.
Startled by Jin-Ri's sudden appearance, the two quickly let go of each other's hands and moved away from each other. They bowed to Jin-Ri, "My Lady, we did not see you," they said in unison
"See what I mean, you two are easily startled, easily frightened." The lovers looked at each other. "How can your love survive in such a chaotic world if you can't tell it to other people?" Jin-Ri asked, challenging the lovers.
"How can we go against a world that is governed by status and rules?" The young scholar masked as asking for advice by asking a challenging question.
"You know of Prince Young-Sik?" She inquired of them, "Do you know the name of the one he loved?"
The court maiden nodded her head. "We don't know her name, but we knew she was his court maiden."
"But he was a prince, it was different because of his status, no one would dare question him," The scholar replied
"The reality is it was more difficult for them because he was a prince," Jin-Ri explained, recalling the time Young-Sik was belittled and laughed at because he chose her.
"It took the prince a long time to admit he had feelings for his court maiden. But when he realized that he loved her, he showed it to the entire world; they never hid their feelings, nor did they deny it, they proudly wore their love for the whole world to see." Jin-Ri explained to the young ones
"But the prince is dead now, and she is alone enduring the gossip from the other servants...their love amounted to nothing." The young man pointed out, "If they hid it, they would have been happier."
"It was only for a short time, but if they had hidden their relationship, they would not have gained so many memories, good and bad. Memories that are enough to fill several lifetimes," Jin-Ri explained to them
"It must never matter who and what you are. What will only matter is how you love each other, and how you treat each other." Jin-Ri joined the two lovers' hands. "Be honest with your relationship and you will be honest with your selves and other people. I wish I had imparted upon you something useful."
Jin-Ri smiled at the young lovers, turned around, and left. "Who is that lady?" The young man asked
"I think I know her," The young court maiden declared. "She is the crazy crying lady!"
"Crazy crying lady?" the young man asked
"Yes! According to the older court maidens, you can see her always crying." The lovers nodded their heads. They went out of their hiding place holding hands for the whole world to see.
Before noon the same day, King Seo-Joon and Queen Ha-Rin bid goodbye to Empress Pai and the Guiong envoy. "His Highness, the Emperor, will be pleased to hear that Chiongsun has treated his wife and envoy with the utmost care and respect. I will also bear him the news of how the prince sacrificed his life in defense of this great country." The envoy promised to the King
"Please take care of your family and yourself, Your Majesty," Empress Pai requested of the Queen. "You are all the family I have left."
"I will, but you should also take care of yourself. You are also the only relative we have left. Your Majesty," Queen Ha-Rin replied and requested Empress Pai.
Empress Pai crouched to say goodbye to her niece, "I hope you grow up to be as beautiful as your mother and as brave as your father," she told the little princess
Princess Young-Ju hugged her aunt Pai. "I'm going to miss you," she said, pouting to the Empress, "I wish you could stay a little bit longer."
"I have Guiong to take care of, just like how you have to care for Chiongsun," She explained to the little girl. "But you can visit me in Guiong whenever you like, or I will come and visit you here. Would you like that?" She asked the girl
Young-Ju happily nodded her head at her aunt's suggestion. The Empress then took off one of her rings and gave it to Young-Ju. "Whenever you are in Guiong, show this to any soldier and they will take you to me." It wasn't long before Young-Ju found herself on top of the ramparts of the Eastern gates, waving goodbye to the Guiong Empress.
The Empress's caravan was well beyond the city limits when she remembered something. The limping eunuch, she thought she didn't see his face, when in fact she saw him grin at her. "That grin? Why is that grin so familiar? It was arrogant, but at the same time, it was sincere." Then she remembered something else, the way he snapped the box closed. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled to herself.
The next morning, Young-Ju was playing tag in the courtyard with her court maidens when Jin-Ri approached her. "Can I have a little time with the princess?" She asked the Eunuch and the Lady-in-waiting
"Of course, Lady Jin-Ri," they said, bowing to her before they retreated a short distance away. Jin-Ri walked towards Young-Ju and extended her hand to the princess.
Young-Ju accepted Jin-Ri's hand, and the two started traipsing around the courtyard. "Are you leaving Aunt Jin-Ri?" The little girls asked her
"Yes, I am," She honestly replied to the girl. "I was sent to help the new magistrate of Nyuong gum," She explained to the princess
"How long will you be gone? Will you come back?" Young-Ju asked, worried that her Aunt Jin-Ri won't ever come back.
Jin-Ri lifted the princess and carried her around the courtyard, understanding why she kept asking these questions. "Of course I'll come back to play with my favorite princess. It may be for a while before I come back, but I promise to return here; this is my home," She sincerely explained to the child. Young-Ju embraced Jin-Ri tightly, placed her head over her shoulders, and continued to stroll around the courtyard.
Jin-Ri passed by the Cherry Blossom even if it was out of the way so that she could say goodbye to her dearest friend. "You're leaving now? But it's so soon, and why am I only finding out about it right now?" Yeng began to shed tears after learning her friend was leaving indefinitely.
"Hey, why are you crying? Didn't you say to me that I shouldn't cry?" Jin-Ri reminded Yeng as she gave her a big, warm hug. "I'll be back, I won't be gone forever! Will you stop crying, you big baby? A child took the news better than you did!"
"We've been together since we were children; this is the first time we will be away from each other," Yeng said, lamenting the idea that Jin-Ri would be quite a distance from her.
"I can come back whenever I want, and you can visit me whenever you like," Jin-Ri explained. "Look, I need to go now. His Highness told me to help in Nyuong gum, and the new magistrate expects me today." The two friends hugged, Jin-Ri gently broke away from their hug, but before she left, she encouraged her friend, "You look good, A madame's dress suits you." She then turned to her caravan, climbed inside her carriage, and left. Yeng stood by the entrance, continued to wave, and only went inside the Cherry Blossom when the caravan was no longer in sight.
Jin-Ri opened the windows of the carriage and watched the sights outside, She took in the breeze that entered through the window, even the golden rays of the sun that shone all around her. She watched and smiled at the people that they passed by, she stared lovingly at all the places where she trekked, but most importantly, she remembered all the places the two of them had been together. Jin-Ri continued to reminisce that she didn't notice that they had already arrived at Nyuong gum.
The trip was rather fast; the sun was still up when they arrived, but that did not surprise her. What surprised her was that the caravan stopped at the Jang family home. She stepped out of the carriage and saw Uncle Ra-Im supervising workers rebuilding the Jang house.
Uncle Ra-Im glanced by the gates when he heard the carriage stop, he gave a big smile when he saw Jin-Ri and ran towards her. He gave her the warmest and biggest hug he could muster. Jin-Ri hugged the old man back. "How are you, Lady Jin-Ri?" he asked, wanting to know how she had been holding up
"I'm fine, Uncle," she answered. She then stared at the skeletal framework of the new house. "Is it going to be the same as before?" she asked, her voice filled with curiosity
"Yes, it will be the same! Just like how the young masters remember it," Uncle Ra-Im proudly answered
A tear escaped Jin-Ri's eye as she whispered, "No, it won't be the same...he's not here anymore."
Uncle Ra-Im sensed the sadness and immediately reminded Jin-Ri, "Do not cry, Lady Jin-Ri, the young master would not like to see you cry," he reminded her tenderly
Jin-Ri smiled and discreetly wiped the tear away. "I know, Uncle, I have been reminded of that fact quite a lot, to be honest," she replied. "Did King Seo-Joon commission the restoration of the house?" she asked curiously
"It was the magistrate who commissioned the restoration. He even paid for everything," Uncle Ra-Im explained.