.eighty three.
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"Find the four traitors of my empire and bring them to me personally. I want to stare them in the face as they lay dying and know that I have won."
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Yeon Hwa moved to the palace with her brother and mother once she became the third prince's betrothed, and as promised, he left his first wife for her. That meant that if he married the princess like he had promised, she would become the rightful queen of Goryeo. The first few days of her stay at that palace, she visited Minji at her home, but she was escorted there by guards. On the fourth day that she tried to visit, she was stopped by Yo on her way out. The guards had informed the king of everywhere she was going, and one of her stops was at a place he didn't like.
"I don't want you visiting them anymore." He stated with disdain as he regarded his younger brother and his wife. He had managed to stay updated during his almost two years in the forest, hiding out, and he knew they had a growing family. They had only been married six years and already had four children. Yo just thought everything they did was sickening. It seemed that whatever had happened between himself, the tenth prince, and his wife still irked him. He held a grudge against the two and it was something he would never forget.
The princess immediately opened her mouth to protest. "I don't see why it would be an inconvenience for you. Eun is our brother, and Park Hak Soon has been my friend since childhood. You cannot take that from me." She wasn't going to accept his terms to easily. Yo liked to control people and he was starting to get a little to controlling with her as well. Ever since she had moved to the palace, he decided what time she got up, when they ate, even what she wore. Now he was telling her who she could and couldn't talk to. Yeon Hwa had always been used to doing what she wanted. Her mother and brother never told her no, and she was the king's favorite daughter. He always had to please her with whatever she wanted. Having someone tell her no for once made it like a challenge for her.
His eyes were full of a deep hate and words seeping with greed as he explained to her. "The nobles say there's word around the village that Eun wants to take the throne from me. And he has a powerful family to back him up. Your precious brother, and his dumb wife, want to be king and queen of our nation. She wants to take the place that's rightfully yours. You shouldn't be so nice to them." He tried to persuade her with his words. As soon as Minji heard that Yeon Hwa was to be queen, and Yo's queen nonetheless, the general's daughter warned that it might not be such a good idea. Yo wasn't a good person and Minji feared he might try to hurt the princess.
Now Yeon Hwa was starting to see that her friend was right. He wanted to keep her away from her friend and her brother, who she was fond of. But she wouldn't be swayed so easily. Yeon Hwa scoffed, laughing in Yo's face with amusement as though he had just told her a funny story. "Don't sit there and act like you don't know our brother Eun. He has never in his life wanted the throne. Why would he want it now? And Hak Soon isn't interested in the crown either. All they want is to live out the rest of their days peacefully, away from all this drama." The princess also knew that the young couple were thinking of opening up a toy store to sustain themselves, since they knew they could not live off the king's good grace forever. Especially now that Yo was in power.
"The nobles have suggested that I take care of this problem before it gets any bigger." He said, showing no type of emotion towards his brother. He didn't seem to feel bad at all. Yeon Hwa, on the other hand, widened her eyes at the meaning of his words. She felt her stomach drop as the next words left his mouth. "Tomorrow I will make an official announcement--Wang Eun, Wang Han, Park Hak Soon, and Park Soon Deok are all considered enemies of my empire. They are to be arrested and sentenced to a public execution in the courtyard of the palace. Their entire family as well. We will wipe away the seeds of betrayal with the elimination of their bloodline."
