Despite knowing where my sister was, it still took me a while to find her as she still had no idea that it was Seon-Ho who almost owned this brothel and I had to find the damned paperwork on the place first whilst he was at war. I on the other hand had lost hope in this country a long time ago and had no intentions to fight any wars, especially not until my suspicions were cleared about the Prince that I was now forced to serve. I had absolutely no idea what my sister was being put though but, I for one already got a weird feeling about that brothel from the moment Seon-Ho showed me around. And part of his plea to marry my sister was giving me power of authority over his affairs in his absence, at least were my sister was involved. Not that I knew everything that he was planning and I had a feeling that I didn't want to know unless it affected myself or my sister, and she would be the one to fill me in by then. But even as I headed there now, I couldn't help but to feel a sense of ominousness about that brothel in particular that unsettled me. Since my last fight with the woman who betrayed me, I had been staying in such establishments in pure spite of her but I was done with that now. I was sill a damned virgin when I…started to hear such beautiful music being played from the front quarters of this place. It was flute music, just like my mother used to play and i hadn't heard it being played since the day before her sudden death. It really took me by surprise and lead me down to the courtyard where a really young and beautiful woman was playing it on her own. She looked to be around my sister's age with her hair entirely out, just like she would which was rare for women of any social background to do.
We barely had any time to make eye contact before I heard my sister of all people causing a commotion inside the brothel where a banquet was being held. I could only thank the heavens that I was spared from seeing my sister in kisaeng attire, but she was different now. It looked like she had been demoted to being a maid and yet she was in the banquet hall? Just what on earth was going on here? What the hell was she up to this time? And why didn't she come running to me as soon as she saw me so I could get her the hell out of here?
"…the careers of women are unreasonable. Being a homemaker has been there most important career since the beginning of time itself. But just look at the condition of society now; women are slowly entering the work force and putting there families second now. They are causing a declining rate in fertility or they give birth to more girls now than ever! If women return to tier home then it will solve this problem and create more harmonious families and the best conditions t raise our future generations in. Does it make any sense! Drink your fill if you agree with me…." "Of course it fits your ideal of a women, when you are simply too scared to embrace your competition." I could hear her mutter all the way from across the room and i already knew where this conversation was headed. I figured that she would be ok on her own for a few moments whilst i tried to find the owner of this pace so I could get my sister out of here.
"Who dares to contradict me? Certainly not a maid like yourself…" "why? You are already afraid of working with women, and now you are afraid of hearing us talk? No wonder why you are still unmarried at your age, due to your fear of women. By the way, i am rather curious. Does your dear stem from being unable to perform your manly duties, or does that include interacting with them as a whole? Since you always surround yourselves with kisaengs and yet you never bother to talk to them or even look them in the eye."
"I…i am just…trying to…to make a sincere change to…to benefit marriages…" "Oh really? Because you have just established that women are slowly entering the workforce alongside you, which proves that a woman can do a man's job. Even the Emperor himself has his Empress and even an Empress Dowager title for his mother…and yet his father holds a meaningless title. Wives of nobility have access to education as well so let me ask you this; both sexes are educated and yet one has to stay home and rear children and manage other women that you bring in as concubines and other sexual partners. If you were that sex, would you be happy and content enough to just focus on those tasks alone? Well? Are you even capable enough to solve family issues or will you just run to establishments like these to hide yourselves in? A woman can do a man's job, but a man who works under the Emperor himself cannot raise children, manage the household, tend to your elders or even do the simplest of chores, such as dressing yourself? Isn't that pretty much a much harder job than anyone of you have here for only a portion of your spouses wealth? A lower pay grade?" I could hear everyone falling silent as my sister went on to carry out her chores and excuse herself, only to run straight into me and almost knock me down to the floor with how hard she launched herself at me.
"Brother! What are you doing here…." "We are going home Yeon, right now! So just…" "No brother! i cannot just leave!" "What the hell are you talking about right now! Do you have any idea what you are saying! Do you hear yourself! No, I have already given you t far too much freedom that you want to stay in a damned brothel now have you lost your mind sister!" "I am perfectly sane, brother. No woman wants to willingly stay in a place like this, but i have to! At least for a little while. And they will not let me leave anyways." "What on earth are you talking about?" "Brother, i really have so much to tel you, you have no idea. It wasn't just the Kim family who sent me here, you have no idea who really runs this place at all and how powerful they are." "Yeon, calm down and give me a minute to process everything here. What exactly is going on here?"
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"Did you see that in the banquet hall earlier? We have been so harsh to her this entire time when we made her knell outside all day long…" "…we have humiliated her intensely, more than any other girl that has been bought in here by the Third Princess Consort, and we cannot break her! She is more deadly than those who have dared to seduce her husband, the Third Prince." "No-one has ever gained favour from our clients without serving them, and all this girl did was simply open her mouth and win over every single client we have that attended this monthly banquet that we hold for them! We do this so we can expose the girls to them more, and they just ignored all of us for hours on end! Are there ever going to be any good days for us at all? Or anyone else for that matter! Her and Hyeon refuse to serve anyone, so how will we earn anything from now on?" "Every woman in life either gains or looses favour, that i just how we get by. But we are far too superior in this game to be beaten like a babe like her." "Favour isn't just about numbers and you know it. It only takes a singe bewitching girl to cast men under her spell, and more than one. and I doubt that she will let us off easily from now on." "Like i said, we are both superior to her and we have the right to discipline her. She has no evidence for her kidnap anyway, so what can she do to us?"
So this is what my baby sister was up against and against her will…mostly anyways. I couldn't believe that our family history started in a brothel of all places and that my baby sister was being forced to relieve our mother's past here…hadn't life been unfair on us enough? Our orphanage, my best friend stealing my sister and then falling for her, going up against my mother's brother who turned his own sister into a brothel to hide her intelligence and excellence that only she had and now my sister was thrown int the exact same brothel that my father founded her in? And he stayed for her? He loved her enough to almost have to possess her before they escaped…and now the same people found her daughter? My sister? And the Princess Consort….the very wife of the man that I was forced to serve. How can i talk to him about this o save my sister? Who was she compared to his own wife? Going to him was no different than my sister and killing ourselves…Seon-Ho. I knew how manipulative and cunning he was, but I never really thought that he was telling me the truth up until now. I thought that he was just saying anything and everything to get what he wanted as usual but now I could see what a hindrance my sister had become in the eyes of those connected in the palace and they were all coming for her to tear her limb from limb…and she would only ever be safe with Seon-Ho. She was alright for now as long as i had power of authority over his affairs…and now i see why he was so willing to let me in this deep and retain some power when it came to my sister. His rantings and ravings against a Prince who couldn't even help me when i needed it the most and his stupid brother who hosted the banquet wasn't experienced enough to handle such situations since he was suddenly incapable of seeing me after my various requests.
I couldn't believe how utterly useless I had become in failing to protect my own sister and that her best chance of survival was staying in brothel and I couldn't even write him a letter. Moon-Bok and Chief Park had their own families now and Jeong Beom, he was my only hope now. And the kisaengs…ihwaru's kisanegs…I knew how I could help my sister until Seoon-Ho returned and I…I would have to marry them off immediately before anything else happened to them, or myself for that matter. And Hui-jae, I knew that this had something to do with her! Only she could think of dumping my sister in a brothel…which means that she was also connected to the Third Prince's wife…but how? And why? Was it because of Seon-ho or myself that my sister had to pay for her madness? What do I do? Please someone tell me what to do? Father? Mother?
Yeon, i had to listen to my little sister and whatever crazy plan she came up with to save us, just like he had taught her behind my back. She even said it herself that she didn't plan on staying here for long, just long enough to get her revenge…our revenge, despite the damage that this would do to her reputation, which is all a woman has in this lifetime to help her get by. But what else could I do? I couldn't risk getting on the bad side of my boss's wife in case it made things worse for us and Seon-Ho was at war and I couldn't just abandon the Prince…but maybe Yeon could help me in that aspect. This was the Princess Consort's brothel that she owned and used to dump her enemies in. If my sister went up against her, maybe there was a chance for me to finally be free of his iron grip on me. And the only person who could indeed go up against and female Royal Family member was my sister, just like my father had trained her to. So does this mean that he had already predicted his death before it even happened? Is that why he had trained her despite my wishes? To avenge him? And my mother? All of us, together?