Chapter 32
Once Eun Jung reached the outer gates of Prince Hyo’s residence, she was immediately greeted by an attendant; who informed her that Prince Hyo was currently in his chambers awaiting her arrival. Although, Eun Jung recognized the impropriety associated with having a private meeting with her husband’s brother, she had no choice but to follow the attendant as he escorted her through the complex’s front courtyard. When they arrived at the entrance of Prince Hyo’s chambers, the attendant knocked on the door and announced, “Your highness, the Grand Princess Consort is here to see you.” Since Prince Hyo had been clearly anticipating the unscheduled visit, he nonchalantly replied, “Invite the Grand Princess Consort in.” Upon hearing the royal decree, the attendant pushed open one of the double doors and said to Eun Jung, “His highness will see you now.” After the attendant had taken his leave of her, Eun Jung entered the dimly lit room and closed the door behind her.
As Eun Jung advanced further into the unfamiliar room, she looked around and observed that Prince Hyo’s tastes were decidedly more extravagant than those of Prince JiangSu. Before she had a chance to dwell on the differences between the two men, Eun Jung heard Prince Hyo say, “I thought you would’ve come to see me sooner.” Upon hearing Prince Hyo’s statement, Eun Jung redirected her attention towards the sound of his voice, and noticed that he was sitting comfortably on his bed. Without bothering to acknowledge his statement, Eun Jung held up the small wooden box in her hand, and asked impatiently, “Where did you get this hairpin?” Finding himself exceedingly amused by Eun Jung’s apparent agitation, Prince Hyo countered, “Princess Soo Jin, can I assume that you don’t like the gift?” When he saw that Eun Jung had no intention of answering his question, Prince Hyo observed casually, “How rude of me. I probably should’ve asked; Yoo Eun Jung, do you not like my gift?”
Since Eun Jung had already guessed that Prince Hyo was aware of her true identity, she was not the slightest bit unnerved by his inquiry, and simply repeated herself by saying, “I asked you, where you got this hairpin.” Prince Hyo was duly impressed by Eun Jung’s ability to remain calm, and proceeded to make his way over to her before he replied, “Ask me again with that tone you use to talk to my brother, and I’ll definitely answer you.” Despite seeing the obvious frustration displayed on Eun Jung’s face, Prince Hyo extended his hand and brazenly attempted to caress her face. Eun Jung was completely disgusted by Prince Hyo’s blatant lack of decorum, and quickly swatted away his hand, as she glared at him with a newfound sense of hatred. Although, Eun Jung had clearly rejected his intimate gesture, Prince Hyo still felt strangely attracted to her feisty personality.
Unable to get past, what he considered to be Eun Jung’s incomparable beauty, Prince Hyo asked earnestly, “Is there anything I can do to entice you away from that useless brother of mine?” Thinking that Prince Hyo had lost, what was left of his clearly deranged mind, Eun Jung replied truthfully, “Even if Prince JiangSu no longer wanted me, I’d never go to you.” With a discontented sigh, Prince Hyo observed dryly, “Well if I can’t take away his wife, then I guess I’ll just have to settle with taking away his title.” Eun Jung was shocked by the ease, with which Prince Hyo declared his malicious intention, and asked incredulously, “Are you trying to blackmail me into helping you hurt my husband?” After a slight pause, Prince Hyo replied casually, “I don’t like the word blackmail, so I’d prefer that you use the term persuade.” Staring at Prince Hyo in disbelief, Eun Jung declared, “Go ahead and tell Prince JiangSu all about my deception. Even if he ends up hating me, I’d never do anything to hurt him.”
Undeterred by Eun Jung’s passionate declaration, Prince Hyo observed calmly, “I know that you love my brother enough to risk your life to protect him. But I do wonder; if you’re willing to risk the lives of those twenty or thirty little filthy brats and that old caretaker.” Eun Jung felt the air escape her lungs as she listened to Prince Hyo’s thinly veiled threats against the people at the orphanage, and thought that her knees would suddenly buckle beneath her. Seeing that Eun Jung was having a difficult time producing any sort of response, Prince Hyo smiled as he asked, “Did you know that no good deed goes unpunished?” Without allowing Eun Jung any time to process his question, Prince Hyo continued to say, “It was fate that one of your maids just happened to tell me that you had donated your entire dowry to the Precious Life Orphanage. When I heard about that, I just had to see the place for myself. I was shocked when I saw a missing person’s flyer, depicting your beautiful face, plastered outside the walls of the orphanage.”
Having heard enough from Prince Hyo, Eun Jung interrupted him by asking, “What have you done to them?” Prince Hyo glanced down at the wooden box in Eun Jung’s hand and replied, “Nothing… Well, actually I haven’t done anything to anyone, yet.” Taking a hold of Eun Jung dimpled chin, Prince Hyo tilted her face upwards and said, “Now that I have your undivided attention, I’ll explain what I need from you.” As Eun Jung wiped away the tears, which had formed in her eyes, she replied dejectedly, “Go ahead, I’m listening.” Prince Hyo was utterly delighted to hear Eun Jung’s response, and proceeded to outline what she was to do in the coming days. Once he had communicated the necessary information to Eun Jung, Prince Hyo proclaimed, “I probably don’t need to remind you of the consequences of trying to ruin my plans. But just to be on the safe side, I’ll let you know that my men are surrounding the orphanage as we speak, and they’ll have no problems setting that place on fire.”
Upon receiving Prince Hyo’s permission to leave, Eun Jung staggered out of his residence and made her way back to the Jaseondang. Eun Jung knew that there had to be a way to protect both Prince JiangSu and the people at the orphanage, but could not figure out what it was. When Eun Jung was nearly home, she saw a small rabbit crawl out of what appeared to be a solid wall and wondered where it had come from. As she watched the rabbit hop away, Eun Jung suddenly remembered that she had created a secret passage at the orphanage, which was nearly undetectable. The wheels in Eun Jung’s mind began to turn, as she contemplated her next course of action. Luckily for her, Prince Hyo’s plot called for Eun Jung to remain relatively inactive for the next couple of days, which she figured would be plenty of time for her to carry out her own plan.
Later that night, Prince JiangSu returned home from his meeting and looked for Eun Jung in their bedroom. When he saw that she was nowhere to be found, Prince JiangSu summoned one of the maids and asked, “Where is the Grand Princess Consort?” To which, the maid quickly replied, “The Grand Princess Consort is in your private library, but she asked us not to disturb her.” Upon hearing the maid’s response, Prince JiangSu excused her and wondered what Eun Jung could be doing. Since he was eager to see her, Prince JiangSu quickly made his way towards the library. When he arrived at his intended destination, Prince JiangSu opened the door and found Eun Jung sitting at his large oak desk. As he entered the room, Prince JiangSu asked Eun Jung, “What are you doing?” Surprised by Prince JiangSu’s sudden appearance, Eun Jung quickly hid something under the table and replied, “I’m not doing anything.”
Seeing that she was clearly lying, Prince JiangSu approached Eun Jung and asked, “What are you hiding?” Eun Jung shook her head and replied, “I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.” Prince JiangSu ignored the uneasy expression on Eun Jung’s face and proclaimed, “I don’t like surprises. So show me what you’re hiding.” Realizing that he would eventually get his way, Eun Jung reluctantly lifted up his winter cloak and explained, “I’m just patching this up.” Prince JiangSu looked at his cloak and asked, “Why are you doing that now? Winter isn’t for a couple of months.” After a slight pause, Eun Jung finally replied hesitantly, “I know, but I wanted to do it now, since I might not have the chance to do it later.” Thinking that she was being silly, Prince JiangSu took a hold of Eun Jung’s hand and said, “I don’t want you to do these kinds of things. Look at your hand, it’s all red.” With a somewhat forced smile, Eun Jung replied, “JiangSu, I hope you know that I’d gladly do much more than this for you.”
* just kidding*
and greedy. must be Prince Hyo's mother genes 
(mimicking dat cute bat in anastasia animated movie doing high-kicks)