Chapter 3

• KIM JUNGMYUNG'S POV
• TWELVE YEARS LATER
• The beautiful sound of the birds singing pleasured my ears as I lay on my soft bed, enjoying the peace and quietness in my room. But it all got disrupted by the noise of the door sliding open followed by the feet of my attendant, Mi Su, making contact with the wooden floor.
• "My lady, my lady."
• "What is it?" I groaned as I opened one eye to glance up at her.
• "You are going to be late for your history class if you don't get up now," she said in an anxious tone.
• "What's the big deal if I'm late? Just tell teacher Jang I'm not feeling well again." I turned around to continue my sleep.
• "Teacher Jang is not tutoring you today, Her Ladyship is."
• "What?!" I shot from the bed, throwing the cover off my body. That explains her anxiety. I couldn't bear my mother tutoring, she was sweet like every mother to their children but ruthless when it came down to my education."Why is that? What happened to Teacher Jang?"
• "Madam fired him because he was too lenient with you, so she said she would take over your classes herself."
• My eyes widened in horror and I shook my head. "No, this can't be happening to me. I won't be able to survive it."
• I've heard of karma but I never expected it to catch up with me so soon. Being the prime minister's daughter, I used that as leverage to make things difficult for my teachers because I knew they wouldn't want to offend me to trigger my father's wrath on them. This led to my mother routinely replacing them, believing them to be incompetent.
• "I think you should get up and get ready before your mother arrives here," Mi Su suggested and helped me out of bed as my other attendant came into the room and prepared my bath.
• They took off my white undergarment and I stepped into the wooden bathtub filled with warm water. A few droplets of rose oil fragrance were added to the water and rose petals were scattered into the water. Two attendants crouched next to me and washed my body as I relaxed in the tub.
• After I finished my bath, they helped me dress up in a red Hanbok which stopped above my abdomen paired with a black chima with red flower patterns, which started above my chest under the top and stopped at my feet that were covered with socks. I sat down on my chair as Mi su did my makeup as another attendant tied my long raven black hair to the back, plaiting the tail in a braid that stopped at my lower back with a red ribbon tied at the end.
• They served my breakfast which I ate as fast as I could, going against all the eating etiquette my mother had taught me.
• When I was done, I put on my black leather shoes with flower designs and stormed out of my room, rushing to the courtyard where my mother sat with her two personal attendants standing behind her. They took cover under a wooden shade that was built with the distinguishing feature of tiled roofing of customary nobility as opposed to the thatched roofing of a commoner's.
• "We are late," Mi Su whispered in my ear.
• "I know that," I hissed at her as beads of sweat formed on my forehead. My fingers tightened against my skirt and my heart pounded in my chest as my mom narrowed her eyes at me
• Plastering a fake smile on my face, I approached my mother and went down on my knees to kowtow in front of her. "Good Morning, Mother."
• "Why are you late?" she asked with a cold expression that sent a shiver down my spine.
• Still kneeling, I glanced back at Mi su and signaled her to come up with something that could get me out of trouble.
• She caught up immediately and said, "My Lady slept very late when she was studying the history of our country."
• "Really?" Mother questioned and turned to me. "Is that so?" She raised her eyebrows.
• "Yes, Mother." I smiled and nodded.
• "That's amazing. Come and have a seat." She beamed at me and I stood up to sit with my legs crossed on the pillow opposite her. "Since you've been studying so hard, can you give me a summary of the history of Joseon?"
• "What?" My smile dropped as I turned to Mi Su to help me out, but she put her head down and took a few steps back, leaving me to my doom.
• That traitor.
• "I'm waiting." My mother's honey-brown eyes which I took from her bore into mine as beads of sweat formed on my forehead.
• When I couldn't come up with an answer, I decided to tell the truth. "I'm sorry Mother, I didn't read the book."
• "Of course, you didn't, you are my daughter. I knew there was no way you would study without anyone forcing you." She glared at me.
• "But Mother, I don't see the importance of knowing any of these things. It's just a waste of time." I placed my elbows on the table separating us.
• She slammed her hand on the table, making me jump in fear. "How can you say education is a waste of time? You are going to be crowned as queen of Joseon soon. How do you expect the people will view the Kim family when they find out that my daughter is both lazy and uneducated?" she raised her voice at me.
• "Mother, you have to calm down and stop making a big deal out of everything."
• She rested her elbows on the table, holding both sides of her head as she sighed. "This girl is going to be the death of me." She stood and looked down at me with her intimidating stare, causing me to put my head down. I knew my mother was angry at me, so it wasn't the right time to test her patience. "As punishment, you are going to sit here and copy the history of Joseon fifty times."
• "What?!" My eyes widened in horror. "Mother, please don't do this. I promise to take my education seriously from now on."
• "That's the same thing you have been saying for the last five years." She turned to Yang Mi, one of her attendants. "Monitor her and make sure she completes it herself."
• "Yes, ma'am." Yang mi bowed to my mother as she walked away.
• "Mother, Mother," I called but she didn't look back until she disappeared from my sight.
• Mi su went to bring ink and paper for me and I glared at her as she handed the brush over to me. Yang Mi took my mother's seat and watched me copy the book word for word.
• The sun was starting to set, giving a golden glow at the horizon and my fingers were already aching from writing so long. After I completed my punishment, I went straight to my chamber and lay on my bed in my room as Mi Su massaged my fingers.
• "My Lady, I think it's best if you stop playing around and focus on your studies. You are going to become the queen soon, you should be able to present yourself as a proper lady of the Kim household," Mi Su voiced out.
• "You think so too?"
• "Yes, my Lady."
• Looking at my current level of understanding and knowledge, did I think I could handle the position of a queen? No.
• My mother was right, I wouldn't want to put the name of our family to shame when I moved to the palace. My brother, Kim Dae Young made our family proud by becoming the general commander of the Joseon army, so it was my turn to make them proud as their only daughter.
• "Mi Su." I sat up on the bed.
• "Yes, my lady."
• "I want you to get me some books in the library. Before the end of the week, I must memorize the entire history of Joseon and also the rules of the inner place."
• "Yes, my lady. I will go get them right away." She stood and made her way to the door with a huge smile on her face.
• "Get me some snacks from the kitchen on your way back," I yelled after her.
• I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. "Jungmyung, you can do this. You will become the greatest queen in Joseon in history." I smiled to myself.
• Glossary
• Hanok- Traditional Korean house.