# Chapter 62: Variables (1)
With Ryu Jeong-hyeon and the old ministers who had resisted to realize the supremacy of royal authority purged, Sejong declared the implementation of the Gyeongjang.
As the stubborn old ministers were swept away, the scales of power decisively tipped toward Sejong, and thanks to this, Sejong could run state affairs according to his own will.
As time passed and summer approached, Sejong summoned his ministers.
"Princess Jeonghye has come of age, so shouldn't we start looking for a consort?"
"I believe it is truly a good time."
"Then let us start looking."
"We receive your command."
At Sejong's order, the ministers responded pleasantly. For them too, they keenly felt that a joyous occasion was needed to cover the unfortunate events. Moreover, the protagonist, Princess Jeonghye, was one who monopolized the royal family's affection.
When the rumor spread that 'They are searching for Princess Jeonghye's consort!', Hyang smiled.
"Is Eul noin getting married? Many elders will be disappointed."
Hyang's evaluation of his sister Princess Jeonghye was simple.
"Maximum level affinity. Insider of insiders."
Such was Princess Jeonghye's affinity that when Hyang, wrapped in swaddling clothes, first met her, he was confused by the charm she showed to adults.
'Is this person also from the 21st century?'
* * *
When the rumor began to circulate that the secretaries of the Seungjeongwon had started looking for consort candidates, Princess Jeonghye threw a tantrum before Sejong.
"Father! This child wishes to continue living with Father and Mother!"
At Princess Jeonghye's tantrum, Sejong smiled and stroked the princess's head.
"Do you think I feel differently? However, when the time comes, meeting a partner and building a family is the natural way."
At Sejong's words, tears began to well up in Princess Jeonghye's eyes.
"This child's only wish, if she has one, is to be with Mother and Father even a little longer."
"Come now!"
Though Sejong put on a stern expression, Princess Jeonghye protested to him with teary eyes.
"This child refuses! She will continue to live with Father and Mother!"
"Come now! This child! Why are you throwing such a tantrum?"
"Father, I hate you!"
With those words, Princess Jeonghye kicked away from her seat and stormed out.
"Jeonghye!"
Sejong called out, but Princess Jeonghye did not look back.
At that sight, Sejong looked at Queen Soheon with a deflated expression.
"Well now..."
At Sejong's expression, Queen Soheon smiled warmly and made an excuse for the princess.
"Is she not still a child? Moreover, since she spends more than half the year at Lord Han Jae's (Lee Maeng-gyun's) house, she must not want to be separated from her parents."
At that time, the Joseon royal family had a custom of entrusting young princes and princesses to be raised in ministers' houses. By this custom, Princess Jeonghye was also living in Lee Maeng-gyun's house.
When Sejong could not hide his disappointed expression, Queen Soheon comforted him.
"Do not worry too much. This humble one will soothe Jeonghye's heart."
"I ask this of you. Sigh... They say children do not turn out as one wishes..."
In the end, even Queen Soheon stepped forward, but Princess Jeonghye refused with a stubborn attitude.
"The princess has stopped eating!"
"Oh my!"
Sejong was greatly surprised to receive the news that Princess Jeonghye had begun a hunger strike.
"What did the Queen say?"
"She is currently continuing to persuade Her Highness the Princess, but she is so stubborn..."
"This is... sigh."
Receiving the report from Sangseon, Sejong let out a long sigh.
"When one becomes quiet, now another one..."
* * *
The next day, at Princess Jeonghye's residence in Gyeongbok Palace.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived."
When the court lady announced Hyang's arrival, Princess Jeonghye replied from inside with a voice that sounded like she was dying.
"Show him in."
"Yes, Your Highness."
When Princess Jeonghye's permission was given, the court ladies opened the door and bowed deeply to Hyang.
"You have worked hard."
"We are endlessly grateful."
When Hyang entered, the door closed, and walking with long strides to where Princess Jeonghye lay under her covers, Hyang flopped down and called out to the princess.
"Well now! Sister, you are certainly suffering."
At Hyang's words, Princess Jeonghye threw off the covers and sat up abruptly.
"Enough! Hand it over!"
"Well now... tsk!"
Lightly clicking his tongue, Hyang rummaged through his sleeve and held out a paper bag containing malt taffy and another with honey rice cakes. Both the taffy and rice cakes were things Hyang had bought at the market after leaving the palace in plain clothes.
Watching Princess Jeonghye chew crunchily on the malt taffy she had pulled from the paper bag, Hyang lightly clicked his tongue.
"Tsk! Well now... In a palace with plenty of food, is this really necessary?"
"Quiet! If I don't do at least this, will Father not break his stubbornness?"
"Just catch a decent young lord and get married. If you're not careful, you'll hear people call you an old maid."
"Shut up! I'm doing all this for you!"
"Excuse me?"
At the unexpected words, Hyang's head tilted to the side.
Whether she was somewhat full from the taffy and rice cakes, Princess Jeonghye let out a burp.
"Burp! Now I can live a little."
"Well now! A princess with no dignity..."
"Enough, okay?"
"Fine, fine. But why are you suddenly dragging me into this?"
"Even if I leave when the time comes, I'm going to make Yu (Suyang Daegun), that damned fellow, into a proper human being before I go."
"Oh dear..."
At Princess Jeonghye's words, Hyang had to force a bitter smile.
* * *
Princess Jeonghye, recorded in original history as Princess Jeongso, was Sejong's first child. In original history, she was given the posthumous title Princess Jeonghye, but it was later changed to Princess Jeongso because it was said to be the same as her aunt's.
She should have died last winter according to the original history, but the one who survived through Hyang's cowpox vaccination was Princess Jeonghye. She was one of the variables created by Hyang's intervention.
Princess Jeonghye's position in the royal family was considerable, and this was because she was the eldest daughter of the legitimate line.
Among all the legitimate and illegitimate children Sejong had - though not a single one had been born yet - Princess Jeonghye was the eldest. Thanks to this, she was one whom Sejong and his wife held with special affection.
Princess Jeonghye's personality also played a part. As Hyang had said, she was truly 'an insider among insiders' with excellent social skills.
King Taejong and his wife cherished her until their deaths, and not only Hyeoryeong Daegun but even Yangnyeong, who had an awkward relationship with Sejong, cherished her.
While Princess Jeonghye monopolized the affection of the royal family's elders, she held a slightly different position for her younger siblings. Hyang evaluated Princess Jeonghye like this:
'The head of the discipline committee.'
Whether because Sejong's blood flowed in her, Princess Jeonghye was also quite intelligent. And perhaps because Yi Seong-gye's bloodline was added, she was quite spirited. However, having already realized her position and what she needed to do from a young age, if her younger siblings behaved rudely, she would strictly scold them.
For those younger siblings, the most unfortunate thing was that the standard for Princess Jeonghye was Hyang.
"We all know well that Hyang is not ordinary, but even considering that, you children are too undisciplined!"
Princess Jeonghye would strictly scold her younger siblings if they showed even slightly wayward behavior. She was so strict that Queen Soheon, upon seeing Princess Jeonghye scolding her younger siblings, would scold Princess Jeonghye.
"I won't say anything about you disciplining your younger siblings. But aren't you being too strict?"
When Queen Soheon said it was too excessive, Princess Jeonghye answered with a firm voice.
"Mother, those children are Mother and Father's precious children, and also this child's cute younger siblings, but at the same time, they are noble princes and princesses. How can I just stand by and watch when such princes and princesses, instead of setting an example, take the lead in causing trouble? As the royal family's eldest daughter, this child absolutely cannot overlook this!"
At Princess Jeonghye's firm answer, Queen Soheon could only sigh.
"Sigh..."
At her eldest daughter's appearance, the image of her eldest son who had stood up to Sejong even while being caned overlapped. Queen Soheon placed her hand on her forehead and lamented.
"Sigh. Both Jeonghye and the Crown Prince..."
* * *
The one who was scolded the most by this Princess Jeonghye was Yu (Suyang), and next was Yong (Anpyeong).
In Yu's case, it was hard to deny that environmental influence played a large role. Up to Princess Jeongui, who was right above Yu, they had entered the palace together with the Sejong couple, and Yong, the sibling right below, was born in the palace.
However, at that time, Yu was too young to travel long distances, so he had to live in a private residence until he was five years old when he entered the palace. Thanks to his status as a prince, there were almost no one who would scold him. As a result, he showed quite a free-spirited personality and an attitude of looking down on others.
Because of this personality, it was daily routine for Yu to cause various troubles even after entering the palace. And as time passed, Yong also began to participate in these troubles.
The eldest brother Hyang was already in a situation where he was planning big things not only with Sejong but also with the ministers, and as Yong reached the age where he liked to cause trouble, he and Yu started to get along well.
And Princess Jeonghye was not one to just let such a situation pass.
"These rascals!
As soon as word came that Yu and Yong had caused trouble, Princess Jeonghye summoned the two. Knowing well that being called by Princess Jeonghye meant being scolded until tears dried up, the two immediately ran away, but each time, Princess Jeonghye would grab her skirt hem and chase after them.
"Stop right there!"
And when caught that way, it went without saying that the scolding would be multiplied several times over.
As such incidents repeated, for Hyang's younger siblings, Princess Jeonghye became like a tiger before whom they would shrink and be unable to move.
Upon hearing the rumor that a consort was being sought, Princess Jeonghye set a single goal.
"Before I marry, I will completely fix Yu's manners!"
Anyway, due to Princess Jeonghye's hunger strike commotion, the decision on the consort selection was postponed. Not only because of the hunger strike, but also because Sejong himself was reluctant to marry off Princess Jeonghye too early.
"There is still time until Princess Jeonghye's coming-of-age ceremony, so let us postpone it a little."
"We receive your command."
At Sejong's decision to postpone the search for a consort, the ministers gathered in twos and threes to talk.
"His Majesty is truly soft when it comes to his children."
"Is she not a princess he particularly dotes on?"
Since Princess Jeonghye had a good image even among the ministers, no one said anything against it. The only concern was...
"If this goes wrong, we could become terribly busy with royal weddings."
"That is true. As soon as the consort selection ends, the Crown Prince's wedding will approach."
Meanwhile, upon receiving the news that 'Princess Jeonghye's consort selection has been postponed!', Yu's face turned pale.
He had been the one who cheered the most at the news that 'They are searching for Princess Jeonghye's consort!'
"Just a little more time and my world will come!"
At the news that the one who treated him most strictly would soon leave the palace, Yu felt like he had gained the whole world. But when he heard the news a while ago that 'consort selection has been postponed,' Yu's vision went dark and his whole body began to tremble.
"I'm dead... What should I do?"
Yu's nightmare was not yet over.
* * *
That Yu had fallen into panic was something even Hyang could notice. This was because Yu, who had been showing signs of acting up slightly as rumors of 'consort selection' circulated, had suddenly turned into a quiet model student.
"So there really is such a thing as a natural enemy."
Watching Yu and Yong sitting quietly and studying, Hyang burst into a laugh.
For Hyang, there was nothing to complain about. Though it was different from the original history, the fact that there was definitely someone Suyang feared was a very good thing for him.
"That said... when my sister gets married, am I next?"
Hyang put down his pen and leaned his back long against the backrest.
"Marriage... this is quite a dilemma. How should I handle my options? I can't just have three marriages like the original..."
Falling into worry about the super-sized event called marriage that was increasingly becoming reality, Hyang became lost in thought. While thinking about this and that, Hyang suddenly became curious.
"But come to think of it. Was this gentleman's married life a mess in the original because he was an enthusiast? Or was his married life a mess because he was an enthusiast?"
Hyang became curious as he recalled what he had heard in Korean history class.
However, there was something Hyang himself did not recognize, or rather, refused to recognize.
That was the fact that even in the 21st century, Hyang had no connections with the opposite sex, and was an enthusiast with 'terminal symptoms that even doctors had given up on.'
During his school days - especially university days - his legendary enthusiasm kept female students from approaching him at all, and afterward, he suffered from so-called 'sour grapes syndrome' - coldly speaking, 'moral victory' - and built a wall against women.
'Sour grapes syndrome' was a symptom commonly appearing in enthusiasts with terminal symptoms. It was likened to the fox in Aesop's fable 'The Fox and the Sour Grapes.'
"The reason I have no luck with women is because my standards are too high.
I need to lower my standards, but it's not easy? Hahaha!'
This was the same for Hyang in the 21st century.
And it was the same now, having transmigrated to the Joseon era. Until just before, Hyang had been worrying about his own marriage problems, but after creating a research institute and starting his enthusiasm in earnest, thoughts about marriage had been thrown far away to Andromeda.