He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Jiphyeonjeon GPT (6)

Kim Gyeoul looked at me and bowed deeply first.

This was already the fourth time she had come alone under the pretext of taking care of our household affairs. So while greeting her like this wasn’t extremely awkward anymore…

How should I put it, I wondered if it was proper for her to welcome me like this when we weren’t even married.

“I congratulate you on safely completing Myeonsillye and returning. From what Dolsoe told me, it seems you didn’t experience anything too harsh, which is truly fortunate.”

Joseon’s Myeonsillye is literally hell itself. Compared to this, those seniors who acted like drill sergeants during college MT, tormenting juniors with all sorts of hazing while causing chaos, would seem like literal angels.

According to the Seongjong Sillok, when a 2nd rank senior commander first came to his department, he ordered a gweonji (a newly passed intern) to call the commander’s name without honorifics until Myeonsillye was over. If you didn’t treat all the officials working in your assigned government office to a feast lavish enough to break the table legs, they would threaten that things wouldn’t go well for you in the future.

If you couldn’t pass this, the military officers would unanimously say it was legal for a commander to be ostracized in the army, so that says it all. So I had steeled myself and went to deungcheong. But it was good that I didn’t have to go through it.

The problem was that the minister lords grabbed me and tormented me instead.

“The Vice Chancellor looked favorably upon me, so I didn’t have to experience such terrible things.”

“That’s truly fortunate.”

I agree a hundred times, a thousand times over. Myeonsillye is most severely carried out on those who just passed the civil service exam… so the Myeonsillye I would have faced probably wasn’t at the level of ‘literally killing a person.’

However, from the perspective of others who aren’t ministers, I am an ‘ecosystem disruptor.’ Passing the exam at 18 and reaching 6th rank before even turning 20.

Though it varies by exam ranking, ordinary officials usually reach the level of ‘junior 6th rank’ only at age 40… considering this, they might have tormented me to death out of sheer jealousy.

Thinking about it that way, being used like GPT by the Six Ministries’ ministers seems a million times better. At least for today.

“Instead, the minister lords of the Six Ministries brought me all sorts of difficult problems from their ministries. Minister Hwang (Hwang Hee) asked if I had any good plans for establishing markets in all counties nationwide, and Minister Heo (Heo Jo) inquired how to solve the problem of exam passers flocking only to Hanyang.”

I have never had a single romantic experience. I was perpetually single in Korea, and even after coming to Joseon, I’ve never dated anyone.

Combining my past life and current time in Joseon, for roughly over 40 years, I’m a total amateur who has never properly conversed with girls my age! That’s exactly who I am.

So at first, even talking to Kim Gyeoul was difficult. But perhaps beautiful women have the power to change men.

Kim Gyeoul listens with interest to whatever I say and even responds appropriately…

While I would still find it difficult to talk to other women, I’ve somehow become able to naturally open up even my inner thoughts to Kim Gyeoul.

Is this what it’s like for men who get conquered by exceptionally gentle beautiful girls?

Honestly, it’s nice to have such a beautiful conversation partner who listens to me so well here in Hanyang, a foreign place…

‘But I keep wondering what Kim Gyeoul’s own feelings are…’

“Previously, my father used to say that if you put an awl in a pocket, eventually the awl will pierce through and come out. He said that those with excellent character and outstanding abilities will naturally reveal and prove themselves. Since you have widely benefited the people of Jinhae County, I believe the ministers also recognized you and felt comfortable asking you about important matters without hesitation.”

What a truly exemplary response. If I weren’t someone who wanted to immediately submit a resignation petition and become a free man, I think I would have found great comfort in her words.

No, the speaker is a beauty and her words themselves are so lovely that even though I want to resign as soon as possible, somehow… I’m even thinking it might not be bad to continue government service for about 5 more years to help develop Joseon.

Is this why they say a man must meet the right woman? Depending on what kind of woman a man meets, the limits of his potential can either shrink or expand.

“I know it’s presumptuous for a mere daughter from a merchant household to say such things, but from what I understand, all government officials in the Royal Court must endure harsh Myeonsillye.”

“That’s right…”

The higher the rank rises, the less severe the hazing becomes. So the Jiphyeonjeon seniors probably wouldn’t have made me, a junior 6th rank official, do things like pretend to fish in sewage water.

But they probably would have made me drink about 2 doe (3.6L) of Bomb Shot and then act like a fool doing ridiculous things.

Or maybe it ended with making me spend a ‘huge amount of money’ to treat all the officials and having a somewhat harsh informal time (dropping honorifics).

Or, if they found it irritating that I was already junior 6th rank, they might have unleashed insane hazing under the pretext of giving Harsh Training to a young, ill-mannered newcomer.

‘She must have been very cautious about meeting men.’

And if the young lady coming and going from my house helping with household affairs had been from a ‘yangban family,’ I would have had to hold a wedding ceremony immediately.

And if the young lady who came and went from our house helping with household chores had been from a “noble family,” I would have had to hold a wedding ceremony right away.

But since Kim Gyeoul is from a merchant household, it’s ambiguous so no one says anything about it.

So while Kim Man-deok considers me the ‘benefactor of the household,’ if he were to instruct Gyeoul to keep her distance from me, she would drift infinitely far away without leaving any trace. Then I think I would truly feel heartbroken and lonely…

Love isn’t something that can be achieved by my feelings alone. Though I’ve lived in Joseon for 19 years, this is the one thing I still don’t understand well. It’s probably all because I lack confidence from being perpetually single.

“… I don’t know what you might think, my lord, but I do not dislike coming to your house.”

“…Is that so?”

“Since I was born, aside from my father and you, my lord, there has been no man with whom I’ve had such deep conversations. I too have women I could call friends. When I was in Jinhae County, we would swing together on Dano festival, and on Buddha’s Birthday in the fourth month, we would walk around pagodas. We would also climb mountains together at appointed times to play.”

Swinging on Dano festival and walking around pagodas on Buddha’s Birthday in the fourth month were events that even noble ladies of Joseon yangban households could freely participate in, despite the severe restrictions on women’s outdoor activities.

Moreover, among commoners who didn’t need to worry about political marriages and such, all sorts of things would happen on those days.

“Among the friends I was close with, Hye-suk and Myeong-jin have already married and moved to other counties. I vividly remember how we cried together before they left, grieving our parting.”

Marriages in the Joseon era often took place with neither the man nor woman having ever seen each other’s faces. Well, there were cases where they would create opportunities for brief conversations by chance (actually on purpose), but still.

In any case, it wasn’t uncommon for a 15-year-old maiden to marry a 50-year-old husband without knowing his face, depending on family circumstances.

“In letters we exchanged while I was in Jinhae, Hye-suk said that while her husband examines her body to get a son to continue the family line, he shows no interest in her otherwise. So she said her tears never dry from sorrow.”

Kim Gyeoul’s face was filled with pitiful emotions.

“Myeong-jin said that after her husband, who had been kind to her, failed the civil service exam, he became someone who was always angry, and he even said that the reason for his failure was because he married the wrong wife, making her life very difficult. She even said she felt like dying. But you, my lord, unlike my friends’ husbands, always listen well to what I say, and you always thank me even for the small help I provide with household matters. So I have never felt that coming to your house was difficult.”

By the late Joseon period, they bound women with thoroughly male-centered rules called ‘the seven grounds for divorce,’ saying ‘the main wife must not be jealous of her husband taking concubines.’ They taught that it was proper wifely virtue for the main wife to recommend taking concubines when she was pregnant.

Human hearts and emotions must be the same now as they were then.

“Then that’s fortunate. And on the way here…”

I took out the norigae I had brought in my sleeve and handed it to her.

“If it weren’t for you, Gyeoul, my life in Hanyang would have been very difficult. So I wanted to express my gratitude and bought a norigae that would suit you.”

This was behavior that didn’t suit Joseon sensibilities. Usually, such norigae should be bought by sending a servant to pick out just anything…

For a 6th rank official to personally select and buy it himself… it really didn’t make sense.

However, Kim Gyeoul accepted it without raising any particular questions.

“Lord Suchan.”

It was difficult for me to say with my own mouth, and my lips wouldn’t part easily, but since it was something I had to say, I decided to do it.

“If you don’t mind, please come visit often from now on. I find great comfort in Gyeoul’s visits.”

“Thank you, my lord… Since it’s late at night, I shall take my leave now.”

Having said those words hastily, Kim Gyeoul quickly rose from her seat.

Her face seemed to have turned somewhat red, but was that just how it appeared because of the candle?

In any case, let’s work hard again tomorrow.

**

Kim Gyeoul’s face as she left Kim Dae-bung’s house was flushed as red as a ripe persimmon.

She could also feel her heart racing wildly. To the point where she couldn’t control it.

“Why am I like this…?”

If a woman from Kim Dae-bung’s era had met the current Kim Gyeoul, she would have kindly told her: you’ve fallen in love.

However, Kim Gyeoul had no one to tell her such things.

“It’s not that I dislike the Suchan lord…”

Not only is he quite handsome, but he’s also always kind to everyone. He even remembers all the servants’ birthdays and gives them rice and alcohol generously, telling them to rest with their families on their birthdays.

Three days ago, when his servant Dolsoe was sick, he called a skilled physician and had medicine prepared for him, then let him rest fully.

If marriage is something that must be done according to her father’s orders… she thought it would be good if it were with someone as gentle as the Suchan lord.

He’s not someone who would treat her harshly.

Having such thoughts, she imagined how much he would cherish her if she became his woman.

“Who else in all of Joseon would treat a woman like me with such kindness?”

From the point when her father frequently sends her to Kim Dae-bung’s house, if Kim Dae-bung ever desires her… he would be allowed to untie her otgoreum.

It’s already been tacitly permitted.

Kim Dae-bung knows this too, but he’s just pretending not to know out of respect for Kim Gyeoul’s will.

Kim Gyeoul couldn’t refuse even if it came to that.

Because the head of the household’s decision is absolute.

“Even though you seem to like me, you’re being considerate and thoughtful toward me—what a truly caring person you are. Our Lord Suchan, that is.”

His kindness and thoughtfulness felt deeply grateful to Kim Gyeoul. On top of that, even when she did small things for him, he always said thank you…

Today, his sincerity in personally selecting a norigae from the market guild for her sake.

“You probably don’t know, do you, my lord? That the more you care for me, the more I fall for you…”

Kim Gyeoul returned with light steps to her father’s newly prepared house in Hanyang.

And unable to calm the fluttering of her heart from today, she tossed and turned for a long time after going to bed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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