Rise of an Empress

The Fugitive

"You have recognized me," General Lee Jong In smirks.

"No, I don't know you. You are scary," Concubine Seo breaks eye contact between them.

"Don't pretend, Concubine Seo. Why have you escaped from the palace? Are you trying to escape from punishment? What grave sin have you done?" He gives an evil smile.

"None cares about me whether I have escaped or not. All want me to die. I can't bear to live there anymore," she whimpers.

“That doesn't mean you can escape. You have to go back right now, Concubine Seo. Do you think you can live freely from now on? You have committed treason by leaving the palace without the Emperor's permission. They will send out a warrant to kill you if you are to be found by royal soldiers. You are now a fugitive of the palace if they have already discovered that you are missing."

"What's new about that? I am dead whether I go back or not. They have found out already. Still, I won't go back to the palace," Concubine Seo's eyes became teary.

She wipes the tear from her cheek. An awkward silence engulfs the two of them. General Lee feels awkward as he thinks the concubine is telling the truth. He gives her some time to gather herself.

Concubine Seo remains still for a few moments. She has decided to keep herself calm. Both are silent right now.

Suddenly, she tries to run away through the back. She knows well she can't run away. But she still wants to try. Because right now, the general has an injured arm, and he is not ready. At the same time, she knows attempting to run away with an injured ankle is nothing but foolishness.

But after a few steps, Concubine Seo tripped over a stone and fell to the ground. Her attempt failed. General Lee is going to drag her to the palace.

"Please no," Concubine Seo says in a frightened voice to General Lee who is standing beside her right now.

But surprisingly, General Lee sits on the ground and keeps a hand on her injured ankle. The ankle is almost purple right now on her milky white skin. He applies pressure so softly over her injured ankle which makes her whimper in pain. He says, "You are hurt here."

"But it's nothing compared to when you will drag me back inside the palace," Concubine Seo hiccups while crying.

"You know what, I don't have any idea whether you have escaped from the palace or not. I would let you go if you give me a rational reason to run away. It's because of me you have hurt your leg. So I am trying to treat your leg. Otherwise, how will you walk? Even if I drag you to the palace, you have to walk," suddenly General Lee carries her in his arms.

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General Lee takes Concubine Seo to the nearest inn of the city. He didn't carry her in his arms the whole way. He made her walk on her own feet before entering the inn. The inn owner is familiar with General Lee and works as a royal spy for him. So, Lee Jong In doesn't want to draw extra attention to the concubine.

Entering inside the rented room he tells her to sit on the floor bed. He is now searching for something from his box.

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Concubine Seo gasps looking at the acupuncture needle* set in Lee's hand.

(A/N: I have added the description of acupuncture below)

"Let me treat your leg," General Lee is about to touch Yunhee's leg to fix it with acupuncture.

But she moves her leg hurriedly, "It's not so serious. I hate needles."

"You have pain and can't walk properly. It's almost purple. Trust me, I am not that bad. My mother taught me. She was so skilled in acupuncture," Jong In tries to assure her.

"No… Please… No… Is it safe?"

"What do you mean by safe? You have just seen me burn the head of the needles in a candle. It's completely safe," Jong In forcefully takes her leg in his hand and massages softly over the ankle.

"Safe for preg-?" Before she completes the sentence, the needle pierces her skin. She screams in fear of needles, not in pain.

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General Lee went outside, keeping Concubine Seo locked inside the inn. He was over-trading an important map that he had bought from a foreign political merchant. His mission was to purchase it safely and then hand it over to one of the most trusted royal administrators of Emperor Sinjong. 

Meanwhile, he had a fight with foreign spies in the middle of the forest when he was carrying the map with him. Concubine Seo witnessed the exchange of arrows between him and the foreign spies.

After handing over the map to the royal administrator, General Lee feels relieved. He has completed the mission successfully. Now he will go on a break from work for a few days until his superior general of the army calls him back again.

When he comes back to the rented room, he finds Concubine Seo sleeping peacefully on the floor bed. She has almost curled himself into a ball because of the cold, snoring. General Lee fixes the blanket on her. She was talking so highly about wandering in the forest, but after getting just a floor bed in the inn, she is sleeping and snoring. She is too fragile to have a random life like commoners.

But as he fixes the blanket, Concubine Seo's sleep gets broken. She hurriedly gets up from bed, "Are you going to drag me now?" She panics while panting.

Is Concubine Seo acting? General Lee questions himself. Releasing Concubine Seo is more harmful to him. What if she takes her revenge after returning to the palace. Whether she is planning for revenge or not right now, what will she do after returning to the palace? She will hate General Lee more from the bottom of her heart after this incident. She will accuse him in the palace of having a secret relationship with Concubine Park. 

General Lee got involved in a trap of Concubine Park once unknowingly. He doesn't want to fall into another trap to destroy him in his hand. After going back to the palace, Concubine Seo will seek revenge. Fatality caused by a woman is more shameful for a warrior like him. He would prefer death in war, but not from execution caused by an illegal relationship with a concubine of the Emperor.

"Listen, Concubine Seo. I am already involved with one concubine. I am personally not interested in being involved with another one. I will let you go. But the question is where you have planned to go?" General Lee says in a cold voice.

"I don't have any plans yet," Concubine Seo lies. She doesn't know whether she will trust this general or not. Maybe he is just brainwashing her. But at the end of the day, he will drag her to the palace beyond her consciousness.

"You can't trust me, can you? Honestly, I know what's the consequence of forcing you back to the palace? Right now we both know each other's one grave secret. Let's just forget everything after I help you. None of us are going to disclose each other's secrets, okay?"

Concubine Seo nods. She still can't trust this man who forcefully pierced a needle in her leg. She says with fear, "I will go now then."

"You are still close to the palace. At this rate, you can't go far. You will get caught soon because a lonely young pretty merchant is more suspicious as a fugitive. I will help you to reach Gwangyang city by horse. Staying with me is safer for you right now. I don't think you can walk far with an injured leg. Now take a rest. We will start our journey early in the morning. Don't dare to escape," General Lee prepares his bed on the door of the room.

The inn’s owner has thought of Concubine Seo as General Lee's property. It's better not to break his illusion. It's better for Concubine Seo. Because no one will dare to keep eyes on ferocious General Lee's property to give up their own life.

[ Acupuncture: an ancient Chinese and Korean method of treatment using needles… In this method several needles were used to insert in specific points of the human body.]

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