Chunghee means 'one who is righteous and dutiful'.

Dahee focus

The little brute had stayed true to his word and had headed out after the Daegu delegation that had left the capital early in the morning. Apparently, his wounds were not as bad as Dahee had thought them to be when she had seen the bloody rags last night, but it had been a sight to behold, truly horrifying. It made her wonder which kind of horror her husband would have to face in the oncoming battle, and she had decided to visit the temple and pray for him.

"Chunghee! Stay at mother's side," he called for her son when she noticed him strolling off to a toy vendor that was setting up his stall for the day market.

Her son pouted displeased but came running back to her to grab the hand she held out for him. "Good boy," she praised him and kissed her small sunshine's head. "After we prayed for your father, we can roam the market for a while. The food vendors will be ready by then," she offered to him.

Now the big black eyes in the small face shone with glee when he looked up at her. "Yes, mommy, quick." And he pulled her to follow her faster to the temple.

She smiled softly and allowed him to speed up her steps.

"You can make your own prayers," she told her two handmaids when they reached the temple and entered with her son. "Chunghee, go buy a prayer lantern for your father."

"Yes, mommy." Her small boy ran off with the money she had handed him to find a monk while she kneeled behind one of the tables in the temple hall to prepare the ink and brush.

The sound of quick light steps made her turn her head towards the entrance where Chunghee came in with a smiling man. "Teacher Han," she greeted him surprised and rose. Monk Han spent most of his time in seclusion and was only seldomly seen in the temple.

"Oh, my little princess," he responded with a smile, "Your teacher I no longer am." And he gestured her to sit with him.

"Teacher Han will always be teacher Han," she said happily. The old man, offspring of the famous scholar family Han, had taught her and her brother before he had decided to become a monk and retreat from the political world, and she still held him dear and even had asked him to become her son's teacher. Sadly, monk Han had refused, but she could not dislike him for his choice to spend the rest of his life in peace.

The monk laughed quietly. "Then show this teacher whether his student has improved," he joked and gestured her to write.

With the vigor of a young girl, she took the brush and dipped it into the ink. Her wish was a simple one, but since monk Han wanted to test her, she decided to use a poem to express her prayer.

Ten thousand miles and more between us,

Each at opposite ends of the sky.

The road I travel is steep and long;

who knows when we meet again?

Monk Han sighed when he received the paper to fasten it on the pretty red lantern. "The attack of Baekje has surprised the whole kingdom," he said gravely. "I will pray for young officer Bogum's safe return, too." Then he handed the lantern to Chunghee for him to carry it over to a brother who would hang it on the ceiling to accompany the other wishes.

A little wave of disappointment rolled through Dahee's heart at those words even though they were meant to console her. "Is teacher Han satisfied with me?" she asked to receive the words she truly desired to hear.

The old monk chuckled warmly. "Very. My little princess' writing is even more beautiful than before."

Satisfied she smiled back at him. "I will burn some incense and then teacher and I can talk for a bit longer," she told him and stood up to collect her son and take him to make their offering.

An incense later, she opened her eyes again and stood up. But when she turned to find monk Han, she was held back by a woman in expensive robes. "Older sister Soojin," she greeted the crown princess astounded. "What brings you to the temple?"

Only then she realized that her question was futile. Of course, the wife of the crown prince would pray for her husband as well. Being parted from him for the first time must be hard for her, unlike Dahee whose husband barely came home even in times of peace.

"I heard princess Dahee and monk Han talking about officer Park. And since we have not seen each other in a while, I wanted to ask if sister-in-law would be willing to spend some time with me," the princess said shyly. "We can console each other."

This sounded more like the crown princess needed consoling, but Dahee would not refuse her when she was coming to her so willingly. Maybe she could find out about her husband's weaknesses in case the little brute would fail again.

"I would love to," she answered and smiled. "Chunghee! Tell monk Han that we will meet him another day."

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"He has not received me for the night before his departure. What if he dies in battle and I end up as a childless widdow in the palace?" princess Soojin whined close to tears.

Dahee had chosen a teahouse for them and had sent off her son with the maids and some money to spend in order to be alone with the crown princess.

"What reason did he have to refuse you?" she asked, banning the curiosity from her voice. Which husband would deny his wife before weeks spent solemnly in other men's company?

"Officer Park was bestowed with the task to protect him that night because of..." the princess looked around with big frightful eyes before she leaned closer and continued in a whisper, "because of the assassinations my husband encountered."

So, Dahee had been right about little brute meeting the royal lap dog. She pretended to be shocked at the other woman's words. "Assassinations? In the palace? How is that possible?" She took Soojin's hands into her own. "Older sister must be dying from concern for her husband."

The crown princess pouted with teary eyes.

"But how can older sister still be childless?" Dahee enquired further. "Have you not been married for several years already?"

This had been the final blow to cause the other woman to break into tears eventually. "Had it only been that one night. But he avoids me at all costs. Sister, tell me, am I not good enough?" she sobbed very unattractively.

"Oh dear, you are a beauty," she assured the hysterical princess. "Tell this sister everything about your worries and we shall find a solution," she offered and pulled a handkerchief from her pouch to dry off her sister-in-law's tears.

"What can a man with such a beautiful wife be more interested in?" she asked softly.

"He works," princess Soojin choked out, "and if he does not, he is cultivating the sword or resting at the bathhouse." Her tone was petulant and Dahee thought to herself that it was not so unexpected for the crown prince to avoid her when she was like this often.

But her words were interesting, nonetheless. "The bathhouse?" she asked. "The bathhouse is led by concubine Oh. Could he be interested in her?" she mused to herself. It was not unheard-of that some men preferred older women, especially when they were as sophisticated and mature as her half-brother Namjoon.

"Oh no!" the older woman deflected her idea with shock-widened eyes. "The king would not allow that. His brother, the first prince, tends to him."

"The first prince?" Dahee repeated quietly. How interesting. Kings with peculiar tastes were nothing foreign either. But their half-brother? Could the crown prince be that bold? Maybe she was chasing the wrong shadow; maybe it was not about likes at all, but rather ability.

"Did you spend the night of your marriage together?" she asked abruptly, uncaring whether she made sense to her sister-in-law or not.

The woman looked startled. "O-Of course, we did."

Dahee searcher her face for details but could only see clear innocent eyes. So, she had to ask, "Did he... perform well?" It was an improper topic for them since their relationship had never been close due to Dahee leaving the palace for her husband before Namjoon had gotten married, but she was sure that her sister-in-law would not hold it against her.

A soft blush appeared on the crown princess' pale cheeks and she lowered her eyes onto the table. "Of course."

Of course? This contradicted Dahee's theory. So, the crown prince was courting their half-brother? It was hard to believe. But even if it was not that, there definitely had to be a closer bond between her two half-brothers to explain a regular visit to the bathhouse. Could it be strong enough to trip up the crown prince?

She kept the thought for later and focused back on the sullen Soojin in front of her. "Maybe it is due to stress that he cannot receive you. A man's libido is suffering from constant worry. And since the king is growing sicker with every week, your husband might not be in the state of mind to think of his domestic duties. He might not want to disappoint his wife," she pacified the princess.

"You think so?" Soojin asked meekly.

Dahee did not. If her half-brother was unwilling to receive his wife now, he would not change his mind after claiming the throne. Perhaps Soojin really was just a bother and a political decision in his eyes. Dahee could not resent him for that. A bright man like Namjoon would probably prefer a woman like his late mother, strongminded and sharp.

"I do," she lied. "Share his burdens with him and do not pressure him. I am sure he will come to you naturally," she advised her sister-in-law.

The older woman nodded, head still lowered from sorrow.

"My son should be back soon," Dahee said and rose from the table. "I shall meet him to go back home for lunch. Older sister Soojin." She bowed to the other woman.

"Sister Dahee. I was happy to talk to you," was the response she received.

Once out of the teahouse and reunited with her son who was happily eating sweets next to her, Dahee's mind was running. Just how important was half-brother Seokjin? What role did he take in the crown prince's life? A secret advisor perhaps? Maybe the first prince was not as politically unengaged as she had thought. If so, he could be a danger to her plans.

She needed to consult minister Park for some details regarding the war, so that she would be able to determine her next steps should little brute come back with empty hands.

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The lines Dahee writes are from a Chinese poem which is called 'on and on, going on and on' from Eastern Han Dynasty. It is about a wife's concern for her husband who went to war.