Lee Yeong woke up before sunrise when Eunuch Jang called him from outside the chamber.
"Jeonha, it is time for the morning court."
Lee Yeong opened his eyes and looked at Yeon Joo, who was still sleeping beside him with one hand resting on his chest. He carefully moved her arm before sitting up.
"Do not wake her," he told the court ladies who entered with his royal robe.
"Yes, Jeonha."
Yeon Joo slowly opened her eyes when she heard the movement around the bed.
"Are you going to work already?" she asked sleepily.
"The kingdom will not manage itself."
"Come back early."
Lee Yeong looked at her before allowing Eunuch Jang to place the royal hat on his head.
"Stay inside my chamber until I return."
"Why? Am I your prisoner now?"
"You are safer here."
Yeon Joo pulled the blanket higher and closed her eyes again.
"I am going back to sleep."
Lee Yeong wanted to say something more, but Eunuch Jang reminded him that the ministers were already waiting. He finally left the chamber with the palace guards following behind him.
Yeon Joo slept for another hour before Court Lady Min brought her breakfast.
"Sukbin Mama, please eat while the food is still warm."
"I am not hungry."
"You did not eat properly yesterday either."
Yeon Joo sat near the table and poured hot water into her coffee powder.
"I will drink this first."
Court Lady Min sighed because she had already learned that Yeon Joo would never listen when someone told her to eat breakfast.
Suddenly, several court ladies entered the chamber without waiting for permission.
The woman standing in front wore the uniform of the Queen's senior attendant.
"Sukbin Mama, Her Majesty the Queen summons you to her residence."
Yeon Joo looked at her while still holding the coffee cup.
"I am not going."
The attendant's expression changed.
"Her Majesty has ordered you to appear immediately."
"The King told me to remain in his chamber."
"The inner palace is governed by the Queen. Every concubine must answer when she is summoned."
Yeon Joo placed the cup on the table.
"Then tell your Queen that I will visit her after the King returns."
The attendant stepped closer.
"You are refusing a royal command?"
"I am following another royal command."
Court Lady Min quickly lowered her body.
"Please forgive Sukbin Mama. She is still unfamiliar with palace rules."
"I understand the rules," Yeon Joo interrupted. "I simply do not want to go."
The Queen's attendant gave a signal to the women behind her.
"Bring her."
Two court ladies immediately grabbed Yeon Joo's arms.
"What are you doing?" Yeon Joo shouted as she tried to pull herself away.
"Sukbin Mama, please cooperate."
"Let go of me! Lee Yeong will cut all your heads off when he finds out."
The attendants ignored her and dragged her outside the King's chamber.
Court Lady Min tried to follow them, but one of the Queen's guards blocked her path.
"You are not permitted to come."
Court Lady Min watched helplessly while Yeon Joo was taken across the inner palace toward the Queen's residence.
When Yeon Joo arrived, the Queen was sitting calmly in the main hall with several noblewomen and attendants around her.
Yeon Joo's hair had become untidy from struggling, and one sleeve of her hanbok had slipped from her shoulder.
The Queen looked at her without hiding her displeasure.
"You finally came."
"I did not come. Your people dragged me."
"You refused my summons."
"Because the King told me to stay inside his chamber."
The Queen placed her teacup down.
"You continue to use the King's favour as an excuse for your disobedience."
"I am not making excuses."
The Queen looked toward her attendants.
"Make her kneel."
Yeon Joo stepped backward, but the women forced her down onto the hard courtyard stones.
"Release me!"
"You will remain there until you understand your place," the Queen said coldly.
Yeon Joo looked up at her.
"My place is beside Lee Yeong."
Several attendants gasped when she spoke the King's name so casually.
The Queen's face became darker.
"You entered this palace without a family, without a clan and without proper training. Do you believe that sleeping in the King's chamber makes you greater than every woman here?"
"I never said that."
"Then learn to obey."
The Queen ordered the attendants to leave Yeon Joo kneeling under the morning sun before returning inside her residence.
Meanwhile, Lee Yeong sat in the royal court while the ministers presented the latest palace matter.
The Chief State Councillor stepped forward.
"Jeonha, the Eastern, Western and Southern Clans have each sent one daughter to the palace."
Lee Yeong looked at him without interest.
"For what purpose?"
"They have come as tributes of loyalty and good fortune. The three clans wish Your Majesty a prosperous reign and many royal descendants."
Lee Yeong's expression immediately became colder.
The Queen entered the court through the side entrance, followed by three young women wearing ceremonial hanbok.
The first woman wore pale green and represented the Eastern Clan. She was the legitimate daughter of a respected scholar-official.
The second wore dark red and represented the Western Clan. Her father commanded an important section of the border army.
The third wore soft gold and represented the Southern Clan. Her family controlled several ports and important rice-producing provinces.
The three women knelt together.
"We greet Your Majesty."
Lee Yeong remained silent.
The Queen smiled toward the ministers.
"The three clans have shown great respect by presenting their daughters to the royal household. Accepting them will strengthen the harmony of the kingdom."
"I already have enough women inside the palace," Lee Yeong said.
The Queen's smile became slightly stiff.
"These women do not come only for companionship. They represent the loyalty of three powerful clans."
The Minister of Rites stepped forward.
"Jeonha, according to tradition, Your Majesty should grant each woman an official title and complete the royal consummation. This will convey good fortune to the East, West and South and show that the throne accepts their loyalty."
Lee Yeong stared at him.
"You are ordering your King to sleep with three women?"
The minister immediately bowed until his forehead touched the floor.
"I would never dare, Jeonha. I am only explaining the ceremonial expectation."
Another minister spoke carefully.
"If Your Majesty rejects them completely, their clans may believe that the Northern Clan has received special favour through the Queen."
The Queen remained calm, although she knew the ministers were placing Lee Yeong in a difficult position.
"These women only ask to serve Your Majesty," she said.
Lee Yeong looked at each of the three candidates.
They kept their heads lowered, but he could see their nervous hands resting against their skirts. None of them appeared to have chosen this life for themselves.
"They may receive official residences and suitable ranks," Lee Yeong said finally.
The Queen smiled.
"And the consummation ceremony?"
"I have not agreed to that."
"Jeonha, the clans will expect—"
"I said I have not agreed."
The entire court became silent.
Lee Yeong suddenly felt another headache forming behind his eyes. He pressed his fingers against his temple and looked toward Eunuch Jang.
"Where is Sukbin?"
Eunuch Jang hesitated because he had received a secret message from Court Lady Min only moments earlier.
"Jeonha…"
"Answer me."
"The Queen's attendants summoned Sukbin Mama."
Lee Yeong slowly turned toward the Queen.
"She refused the summons," the Queen explained calmly. "Therefore, I ordered her to be disciplined for disobedience."
"What punishment?"
"She is kneeling in my courtyard."
Lee Yeong rose from the throne so quickly that every minister lowered his head.
"How long has she been there?"
The Queen did not answer immediately.
Lee Yeong stepped down from the throne.
"The court is dismissed."
"Jeonha, we have not completed the concubine ceremony," the Minister of Rites said.
Lee Yeong looked back at him with a murderous expression.
"If she has been harmed, there will be no ceremony today. There may not even be a Queen by tonight."
He walked out of the royal hall without waiting for anyone, while Eunuch Jang and the palace guards hurried behind him.
The Queen remained standing beside the three new concubines, but for the first time that morning, the confidence disappeared from her face.