The Hem That Would Not Burn

Seol Woo-chan had stayed behind in the palace. He obtained the corpse of a child near the Crown Prince's height, set fire to the Crown Prince's residence, and arranged matters so it would appear the prince had died of poison, just as the late King and Queen had.

They had fled with no preparation whatever, empty-handed, without so much as a change of clothes, and Kang Su-hwan went down the mountain to buy what the Crown Prince needed. Anxiety had made him want to take the prince along. But the Crown Prince refused. This was the Han Empire, not Cheongguk, he said, and still they must not go where crowds gathered, lest someone recognize him. So Kang Su-hwan waited until he saw the prince asleep, and only then went out alone.

It was the last time. When he returned to the temple, everyone there was dead and the buildings were burning. After the fire was put out, in the very place where the Crown Prince had been sleeping, they found a body charred black with a dagger driven into its back. The unburned edge of the hem was unmistakably the Crown Prince's clothing. Kang Su-hwan could not even bring himself to suspect the corpse was not his.

"When you look upon His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you will know no proof of that sort is required. Send for Ah-hyeok."

"H-how— ah, no. Is he safe? He isn't hurt anywhere, is he?"

They knew what Kang Su-hwan feared. Had they not looked first, themselves, for any sign of burns?

"He is unharmed. But he said he did not come as the Crown Prince. He came as a disciple who had heard word of his master, and he told us plainly not to think otherwise. So put those thoughts aside and see him tonight. I would not say this to just anyone. I believed you, at least, ought to be told."

"Yes."

Kang Su-hwan answered in a blank daze, as if his soul had left him. He started to rise and then dropped hard to the floor. The shock had taken the strength from his legs. Seol Woo-chan and Seol Ga-heon were in hardly better condition themselves, and neither asked if he was all right.

"Miss, they'll catch you at this rate! You can't!"

"That's why you'll wear this in my place and stay in the room, Yumo."

Ah-hwa nudged the black veil lying on the writing desk, and a thousand fires of rage boiled up inside Yumo.

"I'm already worried sick with you wandering at night. If you mean to go out in broad daylight too, what am I supposed to do? You know perfectly well there are soldiers standing right outside this gate, bloodshot from hunting the lords, watching the house in plain sight. Why are you doing this?"

Ah-hwa knew it was dangerous. She also knew she could not stay. Several of the children were down with dysentery, and she had to get medicine into them before it turned fatal.

Only a few years earlier it had been a small mountain village where the lowborn lived crowded together. Then too many died or left, and the place was abandoned. Into that empty village Ah-hwa had brought the children, the women who had been dying, and three married couples. Counting the baby she had carried there at dawn, there were fifty children now, nine women to look after them, and three men.

When she left the baby at dawn she had seen the ones suffering from dysentery. She had wanted to dose them, but there were no herbs, and without herbs it was impossible. If she went to Physician Jang at daybreak and asked, his mouth would scold her again for meddling, while his hands were already packing herbs and his needle case as he rose. That was why she had not gone to him, and had come home instead. By day he treated the patients who had appointments; by night he tended her grandfather and her father. She knew he had barely slept in days.

"Yumo, I'll be quick. I swear I'll be back within four hours!"

She had given Jin ten books and told him to sell them. He had not so much as pretended to listen. He had flung the bundle into the corner and walked out, so she would have to sell the books on the way as well. They were rare volumes, hard to come by, and they would fetch a good price. Even after she paid the twelve who looked after the children, there would be enough left for the little ones to eat their fill for some time.

Ah-hwa gave those caretakers a wage every month, but they spent the money on food and shared it with the children. They were looking after them in place of the families and children they had lost. Every time they refused the payment, gratitude and a sharp ache rose in her together.

"Absolutely not! If you step outside, I'll go straight to the Madam and tell her!"

"Oh, Yumo. Why are you like this? Just once, hm? Let it go just for today."

Yumo felt as if she might burst. She pounded her chest with her fist.

For three years now, where had the young lady of a noble house been slipping off to every single night? Even her own son, who attended the young lady, kept his mouth clamped shut and would never say where they went or what they did. All Yumo knew was that, from three years ago, Ah-hwa had been taking clothes and jewelry out to sell and spending the coin somewhere. Worse, whenever the Grand Madam gave her the precious fabrics, porcelain, and paintings that came in as gifts, she carried those off and sold them too.

She was a nobleman's daughter. The jewelry that arrived as gifts alone had filled four great caskets. Now the jewelry was gone, and the caskets with it, and all that remained in the room were the books crowding one entire wall. Who would look at this chamber and call it a young lady's room? Who would look at Ah-hwa in that coarse cotton only a Commoner would wear and take her for the daughter of a great house?

Tears surged up all at once. Yumo lurched to her feet and roughly wiped them away.

"If you go out, this old servant will bite her tongue clean through and die, so you remember that! Until His Lordship comes home, you are not going out at night either! I don't know what you do when you leave, but I cannot watch this anymore!"

Ah-hwa sprang up and threw her arms tight around Yumo's waist as the woman made for the door. Yumo had been whispering, too afraid her voice would carry past the door to raise it as she wanted, and that whisper had been wet with tears.

"My Yumo's terribly angry. Oh, what do I do. I'm really scared when my Yumo gets angry."

Yumo turned. Her young lady gave away everything she had for others without holding anything back, and she had shared even her food until she never grew as she should have. His Lordship was tall. The Madam was tall. The young master was tall. Every time Yumo saw that only the young lady had stayed so small, her heart ached.

"Smiling won't save you today, so don't waste the effort! That rascal Jin stormed off in some foul temper and he isn't here, so you stay quietly in this room!"

"What? Jin left?"

Ah-hwa's face crumpled. She lost her way so often that she had to have Jin with her.

"Yes, Miss. The irritation was plastered so thick on his face I didn't even dare ask where he was going."

"Ah. Mm."

Her gaze fell on the books Jin had tied in a cloth and abandoned in the corner. Had being told to sell them annoyed him that much? Or did people give a Commoner like Jin a hard time when he tried to sell books? Following that faraway look, Yumo turned, strode over, brought the bundle, and untied it.

They were books Ah-hwa's grandfather, her father, and her brother had copied out by hand. Yumo knew how precious they were. She had seen Ah-hwa turn even the pages with care. Fire seemed to spark in the old woman's eyes.

Now, of all things, she meant to sell the books? All of them had been copied by those three for the young lady's sake. Knowing better than anyone how Ah-hwa treasured them, Yumo took the volumes out, slid them back into their places, and spoke.

"Miss, do not touch these books! If you take even these away to sell, I will go to the palace myself and tell them everything—that you aren't sick at all!"

Ah-hwa's eyes went wide. Yumo turned, met that startled gaze, and spoke with a grim, resolute face.

"I would rather see you become So-wang's concubine than watch you sell every book in this room and sit in an empty one! At least a concubine eats three good meals a day and lives treated as someone precious!"

"Haah."

Ah-hwa sank down where she was and let out a sigh. Going out in daylight would have to be given up. She could disguise herself as a household servant and slip away, but Yumo would sit in the empty room and cry the whole while, sick with worry. She did not truly believe Yumo would run to the palace. She simply understood the woman's heart, and she could not keep being stubborn. And Jin, her guide and her guard, had left in a temper and was not there.

The first night she had gone beyond the gate alone, drunken men had nearly assaulted her. After that, Ah-hwa never went anywhere by herself.

Baekjeong Village showed in the distance. Mui, dressed in black martial robes, turned.

The six following in the same black robes came to a halt. He had been about to give an order. Instead he frowned at Il-ho, standing square in front of him.

"Don't tell me those bulges on both sides are gold."

Il-ho smiled as if happiness might kill him. With the hand that was not holding his sword, he patted one swollen side of his waist, then the other.

"This side's mine. This side's yours, Captain. Storage fee's ten gold coins. I'll collect later."

Mui had ordered Sa-ho to take charge of the gold and keep it on him. Sa-ho had said that anything might happen, so they ought to divide it evenly, and he had split a thousand gold coins among the seven of them. To the Crazy Bastards, wild-eyed with joy at the coins in their hands, Mui had said:

"Any bastard who spends a coin without an order—I'll take one finger for every coin!"

Past disbelief, he looked the six of them over. Now that he was looking, the men in martial robes were lumpy all over. Some had tied pouches of gold at the waist. Others had tied them to a leg.

"You little shits, I swear. You knew something might happen, and you still showed up weighed down like this? You should've brought nothing but your weapons!"

Sam-ho's eyes flew wide.

"That's what I'm saying! Who leaves the gold behind when they know something might happen? Of course you keep it on you!"

O-ho twisted just enough to show the bundle strapped to his back.

"Don't worry, Captain! So we can leave the moment we have to, I brought every last coin and every last piece of jewelry we took from the mountain!"

Rage spiked so hard the back of Mui's neck went stiff. He drew a long breath and forced his temper down.