Chapter 168

Rewinding time a bit, before Namgung Woo arrived at the Yi Royal Residence.

After sending off Changcheon Pavilion, Princess Jihyang was spending her time at a teahouse closest to the Paeng Family’s Villa.

For Yang Se-rim, it was half anxiety and half concern, wondering if Jihyang was trying to tail Namgung Woo, but Jihyang’s intentions lay elsewhere.

“Gon-a.”

“Kyyaang.”

“That woman we saw earlier. The short, squirrel-like one.”

“Grrr.”

Though Jihyang didn’t possess the special Upper Dantian abilities like Namgung Woo, she had a political intuition he lacked.

Words spoken in the Forbidden City were a tangled web of political rhetoric and traps, not easily deciphered even if they used the same language.

In that sense, the pure, unfiltered cries of Cheongdangon were easier to understand.

“Can you let me know when that woman comes out?”

“Princess? Are you planning to meet the Jegal Family’s daughter?”

“Yes. It’s a bit awkward to enter the Paeng Family’s Villa, so just let me know when she comes out. Got it?”

“But what if she doesn’t come out…?”

“She will. She’s not from some random family, she’s from the Jegal Family. She looked diligent, so she’ll definitely come out to contact her family.”

Jihyang, being the daughter of a prestigious family herself, understood the mindset of noble daughters perfectly. After all, she was the youngest daughter of the most powerful family in the Central Plains.

“Princess, if that’s the case, why not just stay at the Jegal Family’s residence?”

“Ah…….”

The thought hadn’t crossed her mind—Jihyang’s face clearly showed her inner realization.

But she quickly recalled the reason and spoke up.

“That’s right! I’m the Princess, aren’t I? The beloved youngest sister of His Majesty the Emperor? It’s unthinkable for someone like me to wait for anyone. Right. That’s it. One person is enough to wait for. Exactly.”

That one person would normally be her eldest brother, the current Emperor Seonghwa, but Yang Se-rim thought of someone else when Jihyang mentioned “one person.”

In truth, Yang Se-rim had never seen the Emperor’s face. But even if she had, the result would’ve been the same. There was already someone who had made Jihyang wait.

“And there’s always the possibility my prediction could be wrong.”

That would be the ultimate humiliation.

Satisfied with her perfectly logical reasoning, Jihyang nodded to herself.

“Kyyaong!”

“What! Gon-a, is that the signal? Se-rim, go check it out.”

“Yes~ Yes~ Secretly, right?”

Namgung Woo once said Yang Se-rim was a master worthy of a good match with Geumshin.

Considering Yang Se-rim was only 18, finding a Late Blooming Prodigy in the Nine Sects and One Gang who surpassed her was nearly impossible. She was a rising star who could easily be counted among the top ten in the world.

True to that evaluation, Yang Se-rim moved swiftly.

Her steps were short but frequent, and within a few breaths, she was outside the teahouse, entering the street to observe the Paeng Family’s Villa.

“It’s really her….”

Confirming that Jegal Seon-a had left the Paeng Family’s Villa, Yang Se-rim immediately reported it to Jihyang.

The tea they had ordered was only half-finished, but Jihyang didn’t mind at all.

“Great! Let’s go!”

“Oh, oh…!”

Feeling the need to match the energetic atmosphere, Yang Se-rim hesitantly raised her arm.

“But Princess, why do you want to meet the Jegal Family’s daughter?”

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious?”

Jihyang’s eyes narrowed with a meaningful glint.

With a mysterious smile, Jihyang boldly declared.

“I need to find out how she seduced Namgung Rang.”

§

Jegal Seon-a was thinking.

How did it come to this?

She had only intended to send a message to her family, informing them that her travels would be extended…

‘Why is the Princess here…?’

The question was wrong.

It wasn’t about why she was here, but how to respond.

She had discussed this possibility with Paeng Ha-ryeong. They had anticipated such a situation. It was just unexpected that it would happen so soon, and without Paeng Ha-ryeong, leaving Jegal Seon-a alone.

The other party didn’t give her time to think deeply.

“We’re both busy. I’ll get straight to the point.”

The tone was respectful, but it carried an air of condescension.

The natural, almost imperceptible condescension made even the listener accept it as normal.

Though Jegal Seon-a was born into the upper echelons and had never lacked for anything, the other party was of an even higher status. Unlike Jegal Seon-a’s nervousness, Jihyang was as relaxed as if she were in her own home.

“How did you do it?”

“Um… what do you mean?”

A tactical retreat to buy time to think.

But the Imperial Family’s Eight Trigrams Travel Path left no room for hesitation.

“You made progress with Namgung Rang, right? I want to know how.”

The secret to securing a spot next to Namgung Woo, even with the formidable (in Jegal Seon-a’s private opinion) Paeng Ha-ryeong present. If it really worked, sharing it with Jihyang would be like handing her a knife.

The genius intellect inherited from her ancestor, Jegal Liang, shone brightly.

‘For the pursuit of Dongbang Hwa, which the Great Hero desires, having an ally in the Imperial Family would be beneficial. The Princess, the Yi Royal Residence, and even Empress Dowager Ju’s influence would be a great help. It’s not good for me to cause trouble here. Those from the Forbidden City are naturally sharp. Should I use Resonance Power?’

Jihyang’s divine aura wasn’t strong enough to trigger Resonance Power spontaneously.

Those who distort the natural order with their fabric-like bodies—the so-called Supreme Peak Masters—are the ones who can unconsciously attract Resonance Power. Jihyang hadn’t reached that level.

But Jegal Seon-a was cautious. Considering the possibility that someone from the Imperial Family might be protected by special Upper Dantian techniques or spells, she decided against using Resonance Power. If caught, it would only lead to mutual embarrassment.

‘Then here…’

A frontal assault.

They say you resemble those you admire.

Just as Namgung Woo had directly brought up the main point in his conversation with Ju Si-yeol, Jegal Seon-a decided to use a straightforward approach.

There was nothing to lose, and the only thing to gain was her own embarrassment.

There was no better deal.

It took Jegal Seon-a only three breaths to make her decision.

In that short time, she experienced a moment of accelerated thought, something only masters of the Three Flames Convergence could feel.

Jegal Seon-a’s mouth opened cautiously.

“Just…”

“Just?”

“I cried.”

Jihyang was now wondering if Jegal Seon-a was mocking her or being serious.

Was it a territorial display to eliminate competition? Or was she providing false information to remove a rival?

But Jegal Seon-a’s embarrassment was genuine.

‘It… makes sense.’

They say a woman’s greatest weapon is her tears.

Especially for someone like Jegal Seon-a, who resembled a small animal that could evoke a protective instinct in anyone, regardless of gender or age. It was a masterstroke worthy of a Supreme Peak Master!

“I don’t remember exactly what I said… but I think I cried and asked him to wait for me.”

Jegal Seon-a continued, driving the point home as Jihyang wavered in her judgment.

At first, she felt ashamed, wondering if this was the right path. But once she started speaking, a strange sense of pride emerged from the embarrassment.

“So at first, he wiped my tears.”

Gulp.

Jihyang was now fully immersed in Jegal Seon-a’s story.

The Forbidden City, filled only with eunuchs and palace maids.

Though novels circulated secretly among them, and they occasionally overheard gossip, this vivid firsthand account was a first for Jihyang.

“So more tears came, and then it wasn’t about asking him to wait, but about me waiting. I clung to him, crying, saying I’m good at waiting, so please don’t push me away…”

“…Clinging?”

“L-like this…”

Having reached her limit of embarrassment, Jegal Seon-a reenacted the scene with gestures.

But that was enough. Just the motion of wrapping her arms around herself made Jihyang’s mind fill with vivid, nonexistent memories, as if she had witnessed it herself.

When she came to her senses, Jihyang was already near the Yi Royal Residence. Yang Se-rim, who had been guiding her, noticed her alertness and spoke up.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What on earth did you talk about? You were unconsciously following the Eight Trigrams Travel Path. If you had trained like that earlier, you would’ve achieved the Three Flames Convergence by now.”

The subtle jab would’ve earned Yang Se-rim a knuckle sandwich to her smooth forehead, but this time was different.

“Se-rim.”

“Yes?”

“I regret it.”

“Suddenly?”

Thinking Jihyang might still be out of it, Yang Se-rim waved her hand in front of Jihyang’s face but lowered it upon seeing the deep regret etched on Jihyang’s face.

“Back then…”

Not the fleeting encounter where she had guided Yang Se-rim, but the real first meeting at the Yi Royal Residence.

When she had confided about the reality of being a princess, seemingly revered but in truth, just a hollow title.

“If only I had shed a single tear…”

The tragic princess strategy would’ve been a perfect success.

§

And now, back to the present.

Jihyang was in a carriage (borrowed from the Yi Royal Residence) heading to Beijing, thinking.

‘Ah… I hope bandits show up.’

A sudden bandit attack.

The threat to hand over the woman beside him.

A single tear shed in fear.

And the man’s declaration.

-She’s mine.

“Ahhh! If only His Majesty had left a few bandits behind!”