Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 7
[Episode 7: Who is your father? (5) ]
Episode 7: Who is your father? (5)
The second reason Hyang changed his plan was, ironically, due to a physiological phenomenon.
“I’m cumming! “I’m cumming!”
Hyang suddenly felt the need to urinate and quickly ran to where the urinal was.
Hyang, who was doing his business in the bed, pulled back the hem of his crimson robe and let out a low curse.
“damn! “I missed again!”
As Hyang grew out of diapers, the thing that bothered me the most and irritated me was running errands.
There were restrooms in the palace, but they were few in number and far away.
Thanks to this, Hyang had to do most of his errands in the schedule and had to endure inconvenience every time.
Although Hyang had his own personal complaints, the toilet issue was an issue that had to be dealt with.
‘The palace is overflowing with the smell of shit and urine!’
All over the palace, in dark areas with lots of trees, there were piles of dung and urine stains.
In severe cases, the leaves of trees located in a place favored by court ladies as a place to urinate would turn yellow and dry.
It wasn’t just the smell. There was also a problem of hygiene. The problem was that if you lost even the slightest attention while going to the bathroom, it would end up on your clothes.
‘No, the attire itself is the problem in the first place!’
Hyang recalled memories from when he was even younger than he is now.
When Grand Prince Chungnyeong was still living in Jamjeo (潛邸), it was a scene where Hyang’s mother was changing her clothes to do laundry.
‘How many layers are there?’
First, I put on a pair of underpants and shorts, then I put on wide pants again, and on top of that I put on a dassum skirt, and then on top of that I put on a plain skirt made with layers of fabric of different colors, and then I put on a skirt with a fancy gold leaf pattern.
Hyang, who was blankly looking at that scene, screamed inwardly.
‘What are those movies I saw? Tell all those in charge of historical research to resign! After the outer skirt and underskirt, it was the butt! No matter how erotic it was, it was a theater version and it was too much!’
It may have gone astray, but the layered skirts themselves became the worst obstacle for women every time they went to the bathroom.
Because the clothes were uncomfortable to put on and take off, it was difficult to go to the bathroom, so using a bedpan or using the toilet in a quiet place to avoid people’s eyes became a daily routine.
Along with these issues of clothing and bathrooms, there were other important hygiene issues.
“Meet Mama Atomic.”
Court ladies passing by carrying baskets filled with laundry saw the scent and immediately bowed.
“okay. “Thank you for your hard work.”
At Hyang’s response, which was unusually heavy for a child, the court ladies suppressed their laughter and began to pack their bags and go on their way.
“for a moment. “There’s a court lady.”
“yes?”
“Not you, but the third court lady from behind there.”
“Are you talking about a girl?”
The court lady who received the criticism stepped forward with a puzzled expression on her face.
If Won Won was older than Jihak, we might have hoped for some luck – there would be some problems since being a court lady was the king’s property – but Won Won in front of us was only five years old.
When the court lady he had nominated came forward, Hyang spoke simply.
“you. “I buried it behind me.”
“yes?”
“I said it was on the back of my skirt.”
“yes?”
“There’s poop on the back of my skirt!”
The court lady, who had been tilting her head inexplicably, blushed bright red at Hyang’s words and lifted the hem of her skirt.
“oh!”
“Go and change.”
“Yes mama!”
As the court lady with a bright red face left in a hurry, Hyang glared at the remaining court ladies.
“What did you guys do?”
“yes?”
“A co-worker has a problem with his clothes, but you’re not even taking care of it?”
All the court ladies bowed their heads at Hyang’s reprimand.
“I apologize.”
“Make sure something like this doesn’t happen again in the future.”
“yes. mama.”
After warning the court ladies, Hyang sighed softly and walked away.
In class that afternoon, Hyang told the guest about what happened during the day and asked questions.
“It is natural for humans to excrete naturally. But if the clothes you are wearing interfere with that, isn’t that a violation of common sense?”
The guest in charge of education answered Hyang’s question with a perplexed expression.
“However, clothing is not just about blocking cold and heat; it is also about covering one’s shame and showing one’s status, so one has to endure discomfort.”
“Isn’t it common sense that a person’s class is determined by their clothes? Isn’t there a saying, ‘Even if a gentleman is dressed in rags, the fragrance of his virtue spreads across a thousand miles?’”
“That’s true, but…”
“Don’t you think it should change?”
“Ha ha ha….”
The guest had to sweat profusely at Hyang’s question.
As I lay in bed that night, I made a promise to myself.
“I will definitely build flush toilets and reform clothing!”
* * *
These two reasons became the biggest reasons why Hyang decided to change his plan. Hyang would spit out abusive language whenever environmental issues were raised.
“I can’t live because I’m so stuffy and dirty!”
Here, ‘because it’s dirty’ literally means it’s dirty and I can’t stand it. In Jamjeo (潛邸), where King Sejong lived as Prince Chungnyeong, bed bugs were common, and lice and fleas were also common. Coupled with the fact that I didn’t bathe often and the scent coming from the sachet I was wearing, it was a situation that was truly indescribable.
As the bathroom problem and clothing problem overlapped, the village decided to change its plan.
“In the 21st century, the military of the Republic of Korea has also disappeared from flush toilets except in a few places…”
Remembering the problem of toilets that he could not get used to, Hyang changed his plan.
“Will it be ver.1.5?”
Hyang calculated the number of revisions and proceeded to revise the items in the plan he had in mind.
– The starting point for extracurricular activities is raised to 9 years old. When he or she turns 9 at the latest, he or she is crowned crown prince rather than crown prince. If you become a crown prince, you gain a certain amount of power.
– Once you are installed as the crown prince, you will go on an outing. By understanding the lifestyles of commoners living in the capital outside the palace, it gives strength to the reform policies that King Sejong will pursue.
– In addition to the above items, it plays a role in accelerating the creation of Hunminjeongeum.
“This is enough.”
Hyang reflected on the revised plan and stood up. I opened the window and looked outside, muttering softly.
“Is this child going to grow up well?”
‘This bastard’ that Hyang was talking about was Grand Prince Suyang.
As King Sejong was installed as crown prince, changes occurred in his family.
Because Hyang was the eldest son, he came to the palace with her, and Anpyeong, the third son, was born in the palace. However, Suyang, caught in the middle, was living in a private residence.
It was necessary to bring Suyang into the palace, but due to events such as King Sejong’s accession to the throne, the conquest of Tsushima Island, and Anpyeong’s birth, the timing of Suyang’s entry into the palace had not yet been decided.
In history, Suyang entered the palace when Hyang was 8 years old and Suyang was 5 years old.
“I think this part will flow similarly to actual history…”
Hyang traced back memories of his past life. According to my memories from my past life, it was a rule for a prince or princess to leave the palace when they reached the age of 15, which was when they became adults. However, in reality, it was common practice to make children independent at around 8 years of age.
“But this is the early Joseon Dynasty…”
Hyang lightly counted his fingers.
“If it’s as short as 3 years, if it’s as long as 10 years… what should I do with this child during that time?”
Hyang, who knew that his younger brother, who was currently living outside the palace, would later usurp the throne, thought hard about what to do with this younger brother.
“I didn’t have time until I entered the palace, so I left it alone, but I have to take care of it once I enter the palace. Should I just tear it all down from the beginning? Or should I gently comfort him as a kind older brother?”
Hyang, who was struggling with the question of ‘stick or carrot?’, couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh my… He’s only five years old, and by then he’ll be eight years old, so if he wants more, he’ll scold him…” * *
*
When Hyang was worried about what to do with his younger brother and future usurper of the throne, Hyang’s mother Queen Soheon was also worried.
“I guess Yua has to come into the palace too…huu~.”
Queen Soheon sighed, her eyes turned to the room where the incense was.
When Hyang first saw Yu, a newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes, Queen Soheon sensed an abnormal reaction in Hyang.
‘Hostility? why?’
Queen Soheon, worried that Hyang was showing hostility towards her newly born younger brother, anxiously asked the nanny.
“It seems like the eldest child hates the second child. Is this perhaps a good thing?”
The nanny answered Queen Soheon’s question with a smile.
“It’s natural. lady.”
“natural?”
“When you have a younger sibling, you don’t really like the first born child. The affection that was only focused on himself now turns to his younger brother. “This part will be corrected as soon as my brother grows up a little more and is disciplined.”
“is it?”
“Is that so?”
Queen Soheon, who could not erase her worries despite the nanny’s answer, earnestly appealed to the nanny.
“You need to help me out.”
“I understand.”
After that, the nanny’s efforts paid off, and Hyang never showed any hostility towards her younger brother. However, Queen Soheon’s worries did not go away easily. Hostility disappeared from Hyang, but in its place came indifference, followed by excessive demands.
“Hyang, what are you doing?”
A few days after Yu’s first birthday party, Queen Soheon found Hyang looking for a book in Prince Chungnyeong’s study. In response to Queen Soheon’s question, Hyang corrected her posture and answered politely.
“yes. “I was looking for a few miscellaneous books to cool my head for a while and a book that would be suitable for learning Confucianism later.”
“Hyang. Yu has only just turned one. “Isn’t it too hasty to choose a book to learn already?”
“I learned that it is best to prepare in advance.”
“That’s not wrong, but…”
Queen Soheon, who was speechless because Hyang’s words were not wrong, asked the question again.
“So what do you think is good?”
“I think Tonggamjeolyo is good. Now that one year has passed, it would be good to start right after two years have passed.”
At Hyang’s answer, cold sweat began to flow down Queen Soheon’s face.
“Isn’t that too fast?”
“Is it fast?”
In response to Hyang’s question, Queen Soheon nodded.
“fast. Hyang said that you started school early because you were intelligent, but other children do not start that early.”
Hyang expressed his dissatisfaction with Queen Soheon’s explanation.
“All the people of Joseon know that my father is very talented. “It is absolutely unacceptable for children who inherit the blood of such a person to become commonplace.”
“Whoa~.”
Queen Soheon let out a long sigh at Hyang’s firm answer.
* * *
“Whoa~.”
Queen Soheon, remembering what happened in the past, let out a long sigh again.
“I thought it was a blessing to have an intelligent child…”
Even though she was intelligent, she was angry that she had given birth to an overly intelligent child.
Compared to the first, the second and third were intelligent but lacking. It was like the moon, although bright, could not compare to the sun.
The problem was that Hyang had to meet the standards of his younger siblings. No, the scent wasn’t the only problem. From the time the princes began their studies, it was certain that the subjects would set their standards for judgment on everything.
“Whoa~.”
Queen Soheon’s sleepless night continued with a sigh.
[Episode 7: Who is your father? (5) ] End
ⓒ Gukbbong
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