"Lady Hwa-Young! Lady Hwa-Young! Lady Hwa-Young you must not run! There is no ethic in that!" Ae-Cha, Lady Hwa-Young's maid said as she chased after her master's daughter.
"No ethics? What's wrong with running? I'm only very excited to see my brother before Lady Leo arrives!" Hwa-Young said as she reached the gate before hiding behind a pillar to observe the people there.
"Lady Hwa-Young. Eavesdropping on a male's conversation is wrong and unethical!" Ae-Cha whispered as she approached her lady.
Hwa-Young sighed "Ethics this ethics that! Ae-Cha could you please stop going on about ethics and be quite so I can hear what they are saying?"
"Sorry my lady." Ae-Cha bowed slightly before rising her head.
"Eavesdropping? Has my little sister learned nothing? Has she even been listening to Lady Ma?" A young male with black hair said from behind them, startling the duo.
"Chung-Cha!" Hwa-Young said while hugging her brother.
"Hwa-Young! It's been so too long! How are you?"
"I'm fine! How was the palace? Is it as beautiful as people say? Are the princes as handsome as the palace maidens say?"
"Well first of all it's a very scary place for someone like my little sister" Chung-Cha said as he messed with Hwa-Young's black, silky hair.
"Chung-Cha! Lady Leo will be here soon! She can't see my hair all messed up!" Hwa-Young detested while Ae-Cha made attempts to fix her hair.
"Who?" Chung-Cha asked before being interrupted by a maid.
"Lady Hwa-Young! Lady Leo is here!" She said bowing before leaving.
"Oh no! Mother is going to kill me if I'm get failed by Lady Leo!" Hwa-Young panic while attempting to check her clothing for stains, tears or ruffles.
"Who's Lady Leo?"
"She's a court lady who lives in the palace and taught ethics to the emperor when he was a child. She's really famous for her extreme strictness to Ladies, Masters, Mistresses, Emperors, Princes and Queens having the right ethics. She even taught Lady Ma her ethics!" Ae-Cha explained to Ching-Cha as Hwa-Young left for Lady Leo's whereabouts.
"Wow. What happens if she fails?"
"She either gets sent to the palace to be trained by Lady Leo or her family's names get tainted and being the Minister Finances' daughter, it would be a huge slap in the face to the family's name."
"And being sent to the palace is torture nowadays. I hope you pass Hwa-Young."
As the duo continue to discuss Hwa-Young's condition Chin-Sun; Hwa-Young's Mother watched Hwa-Young and Lady Leo from behind a curtain blind praying to her dear God that her daughter pass before Lady Leo got up in rage and a troubled Hwa-Young chased after her. She quickly got up to check on her daughter.
"Please Lady Leo gives me another chance! I'll do anything!"
Lady Leo stopped mid-way on her way from hearing this. "Will you really do it?"
"Yes of course!" Hwa-Young chanted not knowing the situation she was getting herself in.
"Hwa-Young no!" Chin-Sun shouted to stop her daughter as maids, guards and the minister's family members gathered.
Lady Leo looked around before making her reply "I see the Minister of Finance isn't her." She said as if talking to a crowed.
"Yes Lady Leo! He will be back in a month's time" The guards and maids chanted as one.
"Well then… Lady Hwa-Young of the Minister of finance family I am giving you till when your father returns. You will say your proper goodbyes and leave with me to the palace next month." Lady Leo said before making a smirk and leaving. "Goodbye everyone."
Hwa-Young breathes a sigh of relief as her mother and brother approached her.
"Hwa-Young why did you do that?!" The duo asked.
"Huh? To save our family from being humiliated, of course! Why else would I do that?" Hwa-Young said with pride. "Besides I'd love to see the palace and royal family in person and-"
"Hwa-Young" Chung-Cha said interrupting her "The palace isn't somewhere for you. It's a place where you'll get pushed about and around, a place filled with corruption, politics and no fun. You won't survive there."
"But I can't damage our family's name, can I?" Hwa-Young asked in confusion. She thought taking the ethics test was to improve and save their family name, but it was far more than she thought, far wider than her imagination.
"Hwa-Young, I don't care more about our family name than you. You're my daughter, I can't risk losing you and I'm sure your father would agree." Chin-Sun said before holding her head for a bit "Hwa-Young, no one in the palace has met you for a reason and-" Chin-Sun went faint for a while.
"She needs to sit down!" Chung-Cha said as the maids in the area all rushed to get Chin-Sun a seat.
"Hwa-Young, you must not sign up for this." Chung-Cha said as he sat their mother down on the seat a maid brought.
"I-I won't!" Hwa-Young tried to think it over "I won't give up!"
"What?!"
"I'll go through all the pain in the world if I must, but I will not let my family be disgraced because of me! I refuse to be a disgrace! We will not be a disgrace!" Hwa-Young shouted before walking out.
"She doesn't understand mother." Chun-Cha said to his mother.
"Yes, and the worst is that she is such a beautiful girl. I just hope her highness princess Ho-Sook doesn't send her off as a tribute to the northern kingdom."
"Or the king picks her as one of his concubines." Chun-Cha added.
"Oh Chun-Cha stop thinking of the worst."
"We both should."
"She'll be okay" They both said at the same time.
"I hope she will."
Hwa –Young watched her mother and brother from her balcony as Ae-Cha dropped a cup of tea for her.
"When will father be back?"
"Soon my lady." Ae-Cha replied, "But must you agree with this?"
"Yes, it is the only way for me. I must pass the ethics test."
"As you wish my lady."