章 50: Chapter 50: Relationship turned sour

An old man sat all by himself brooding. On a desk before him is a mountain of paperwork needing his attention but forgotten.

Today, he will tender his resignation letter and go for retirement. Being a minister at court had not been quite easy for him but for the sake of family legacy and protection, he had taken up the post of minister of rite by appointment. What's the point of holding onto the seat if he can't even protect his own family.

"Chang-min , father's son"

The old man let out a sign and picked up the report to reread it for the umptieth time. He knows that he has done well or rather doing well on his own in the coastal area,but a man without a root is like a lion without his pride. Being successful is good but not when you have lost your identity. He winced when he stretched himself but smiled.

"Old age is kicking in,... I guess my time is almost here"

Rubbing his temple, he sighed again, he looked out of the window and saw the ten years old chang-min playing hide and seek with his siblings. When the tears fell from his eyes due to reminiscing, the image cleared out leaving an empty yard with no one in sight.

"My poor son" he lamented while blowing his nose on his hanky.

His steward announced himself and came in . The old man looked up at him and ordered for an information to be passed for him. He signaled him to come closer then whispered.

The steward nodded and his face broke into a smile. He bowed before his master and left the place to carry out his assignment. If all goes well, the oldest master's worries would be halved.

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The crown prince leisurely strolled into his mother's palace , his entourage flanking his side. Once one of the palace maid saw him , she ran inside to report to the empress before his announcement.

The empress mother doing her favorite flower embroidery pricked herself when the palace maid blurted out the information. She looked up at the girl and towards the door, smiled and stood up, her heart trembling with joy.

It's not everyday she gets the crown prince to visit so whenever he comes, she experiences pure bliss. Finally, the announcement came and he walked into her room with a gaiety so beautiful she could paint him. Only him knew that behind that gayness is a suppressed anger waiting to be exploded.

The empress ran towards her son not minding that it's against custom to do so. The crown prince stiffened at first but relaxed afterwards patting his mother's hands while taking her to sit down at her rightful place so that he can give a proper greeting according to the palace rules.

Seeing what he did, her gut knotted. She likes that her son has a respect for custom but there is something in it that scares her. Something she can't quite put her fingers at.

She straightened and composed herself looking like a proper empress. *bam!* finally it hit her, the missing piece of puzzle has come together. Her son is treating her like the empress not a mother. She smiled a bittersweet smile and ordered her servants to prepare tea.

The crown prince saw that her mother has gotten the hint but acted oblivious, smiling politely while waiting for the tea to arrive.

Some awkward moment of silence passed until the empress mother decided to break the ice.

"Seja...how have you been?"

He smiled at his mother's attempt to start a conversation but still indulged her. He told the story of a young boy that fell in love but before he could make it official, the girl was whisked away from him.

The empress grabbed her dress and squeeze it tightly unconsciously . She knows what the crown prince is driving at . He is repeating the story of what happened last year.

Is it already one year ? she asked herself. The crown prince completed his story with a question posed to her ."Your Majesty, how do you think the boy that suffered such injustice should feel or be?"

She clenched her teeth but didn't say anything. She released her grip on her cloth and received the tea brought in. Pouring for herself she also poured for her son while fixing her gaze on the cup daring not to see his dark face.

She remembered what happened.Despite the fact that the prime minister had twisted the story, she still got the real information through her spies. But whether the prime minister lied or told the truth, the girl her son fell in love is still not compatible.

A slave's daughter? What can she do? Despite the nobility that runs in her vein , a slave is a slave .

She looked at her son again and decided to ask him why he came , in fact she vaguely knows why he is there but she wants him to say it himself.

The crown prince swirled his tea then took a sip. Looking at his mother he smiled and placed down his cup on the table.

"You know why I'm here so just tell me"

The empress mother nodded but asked her son the question she wanted to ask him the moment he walked through her door.

"Are you here as the crown prince or as my son?"

He broke into a fit of laughter and replied "Your Majesty, what difference does it make to you , I'm just a tool of power for you in whatever identity I take... isn't it?"

Her heart broke when he called her 'Your Majesty' but she maintained her calm demeanor looking unperturbed as her heart shattered into pieces.

"Then Seja, you should know why l did it. You think because you are the crown prince you are powerful enough to fight against the whole noble caste. They were going to attack you, they are already complaining that within your few weeks of attending court meeting you already sabotaged all their plans. What will you do if they join hands and dethrone you ?" her voice rose from a low tempo to a high-pitched voice due to the anger vibrating inside her.

She has been happy that the crown prince joined court but after few days , she regretted allowing him do so.If she knew he would declare war against the nobles she would have delayed his coming of age ceremony as much as she could.The nobles are the pillar of their nation. The monarch might have the highest power but no building will stand if the pillar is shaken.

The crown prince lost his cool and stood up, he told his mother not to join his enemies fight against him or the brunt will be on her. He cautioned her against the prime minister and swore to her that he would get back that right sooner or later and give it to the people it belongs to .

That broke the last straw on the camel's back. She stood up too and mocked his son.

"Seja... I'm disappointed that the son l painstakingly raised will turn against me because of a useless wench he just met. A slave wench that worth less than a horse in the market. What? abolishment of the caste system? Dream on . Even if you manage to abolish it during your regime , a slave will always be a slave and by then she must have been married with kids to another lowly slave like her."

His face turned beet red due to anger and with one last look at his mother, stormed out of the place.

Immediately he left, the empress mother slumped down on her chair, weeping into her hands while beating her chest to dislodge whatever it is that is threatening to suffocate her .

As soon as he left his mother's palace, he ran without any sense of direction. Standing at the foot of a date tree , he yelled out his frustration while his servants cowered in fear.

"Seja? What are you doing near my palace?" a voice asked him. Wiping his tears with the back of his sleeves, he looked up to see the empress dowager looking at him worriedly. He ran towards her and grabbed her hands forcing himself to swallow the lump on his chest .

"Grandmother" he blinked back the tears.

The dowager led him inside her palace while ordering the servants to stay outside and give them some privacy. Well the privacy is for the crown prince. The future monarch crying outside and in the presence of his subjects will not bode well for him.

Patting the head of the son lying on her laps, her heart constricted when she wondered why the strong and courageous crown prince would be seen crying at the front of her palace .