Jin-Ri, with a smile on her face, held the prince's hands and gently stroked his face. "Rest and sleep, my prince," she whispered to him. She then went over to Min-Jae to ask him a question: "How did you know each other?"
As Jin-Ri awaited Min-Jae's response, she felt a gentle tug on her hand. Glancing down, she was met with Young-Ju's beaming smile. "So, you're Jin-Ri! My uncle has told me all about you."
"Do you know the prince? Why do you call him uncle?" she asked, kneeling before the little girl
"Because he's my uncle! Papa is his oldest brother," Young-Ju replied with innocent clarity.
"His older brother?" Jin-Ri echoed; her confusion evident. "But the prince only has two brothers and the eldest is..." Suddenly, realization dawned on her, and her eyes widened. She turned to Min-Jae, who observed their exchange, and quickly knelt, bowing deeply. "Your Highness, I beg your pardon for not recognizing you."
"Get up, don't bow to me, I am no longer the crowned prince," Min-Jae said casually. "Seeing your reaction, I can assume that my brother did not tell you about me." Jin-Ri casually nodded, "Nice to know that little punk can finally keep secrets."
"Your Highness, will Yong be alright?" she asked Min-Jae, who was now playing with Young-Ju
"He will be, if anything that man is resilient" He stood up and approached the court maiden "So you're Hong Jin-Ri, if I don't know anything about you, seeing how you tried to shield my brother from harm will be more than enough for me to know you care for him deeply"
Jin-Ri sat on the floor right beside the sleeping Young-Sik, she stroked his hair tenderly "Yes, I do care for him deeply" She then shifted her glance at Min-Jae "Your Highness, the whole kingdom knows that you are dead, what happened and when did Yong find out that you were alive?" she asked her eyes filled with curiosity.
Min-Jae pulled a chair and sat. He then regaled the court maiden with the tale of how his wife rescued him from drowning, and how they fell in love. The events that led to him regaining his memories and how the two brothers were reunited when they rescued Young-Sik when he was beached after being severely injured.
"Fascinating, after all this time, after all these years, I'm just so happy that you and your brother are reunited again." He said with genuine enthusiasm and joy for the brothers. "Your Highness, if I may ask, why did you not return to the palace and claim your rightful place?"
"Because he loves his wife and daughter," a woman's voice declared
The two looked at the tent's entrance and saw Min-Jae's wife, Ha-Rin, standing with a bundle of dried wood tied to her back and with a smile on her face. "Mama!" The little girl shouted in glee, she jumped from her father's embrace and ran to her mother to hug her.
Ha-Rin then noticed Young-Sik in bandages and sleeping on the bed. "Is that your brother? He looks hurt, what happened?" she asked while looking over at the prince
Jin-Ri immediately answered, "The Guiong emperor had us hunted down by his assassins, and he was injured, trying to save my life," she stated with a hint of guilt in her voice
"The Guiong emperor did what?" Min-Jae asked, surprised, nearly jumping from his seat.
At that point, it was Jin-Ri's time to tell their experiences and tale while in Guiong "A Guiong captain wanted to buy me from Yong, of course, he said no, he tried to attack Yong and I was injured when I saved him" Min-Jae and his family listened attentively to Jin-Ri's tale "They would not let us go, unless I am given away. To get me that captain, challenged Yong to a battle, but my prince, of course, defeated him. But the emperor had us chased. To save the others, he and I decided to lure them away. He fought them off and got injured trying to rescue me."
"Oh my dear, you poor girl, you must have gone through so much." Ha-Rin expressed, "Who are you, by the way?" She then asked Jin-Ri
"So sorry, where are my manners?" She stood up and offered her hand. "I am Hong Jin-Ri, Prince Young-Sik's..."
"She's Uncle Young-Sik's future wife," Young-Ju said with a giggle, interrupting the two women with their conversation
"Hong Jin-Ri?" Ha-Rin's eyes grew wide. "You're Jin-R,i as in the Jin-Ri? My brother-in-law couldn't shut up about you, and upon seeing and hearing your tales, I can understand wh,y" she expressed
"He...he spoke about me?" Jin-Ri asked, discreetly smiling at what she learned
"Yes, Uncle Young-Sik said, that when he goes back to the palace, he will ask you to marry him." Young-Ju revealed to Jin-Ri, "You have to say yes, so I can go and eat all the yummy food. So did he ask you already?" the child curiously asked
Min-Jae and Ha-Rin, also intrigued by the question, looked at Jin-Ri eagerly, waiting for the answer. Jin-Ri noticed that everyone was looking at her, stuttering from the awkwardness of the question. "Uhm...prince, ah," she said, fumbling her words.
"She said yes." Everyone looked behind them and saw Young-Sik struggling to get out of bed
Jin-Ri quickly ran to the prince's side to help him sit. "You mustn't move yet; your wounds might open up and you will bleed again."
"I'm fine, don't worry about me," he said, standing up. He looked around and saw his brother, "Your Highness," straining as he bowed
Min-Jae walked over to his brother and helped him stand straight. "It is nice to see you again, brother," he expressed.
Young-Sik wrapped his arms around his brother, exclaiming, "I got her, I got her!" He looked at Min-Jae with a mix of excitement and urgency. "I've captured one of the traitors responsible for our mother's death and the loss of Princess Yoo-Na. I've caught one of the people who killed our father!" he proclaimed.
Min-Jae pulled back from the embrace, gripping Young-Sik's shoulders tightly. "Who is it?" he demanded, his voice thick with rage.
"It's Lee Eri," Young-Sik revealed. "She was the one who disclosed our caravan's route and poisoned our father. If I can just get her to name her accomplices, we can finally bring justice to our family," he explained to Min-Jae.
"It's Lim Do-Yung," Min-Jae disclosed to everyone, prompting a shocked gasp from Jin-Ri as her hand flew to her mouth in disbelief. Ha-Rin instinctively drew her daughter closer. "He's the one responsible for the princess's death and the one who nearly killed me," he added, his voice laced with anger.
"What are we waiting for? Your mere presence would be enough to charge him with treason. You must come with me... we need to bring them to justice and avenge our family," the prince implored Min-Jae.
"I can't do that. You know revealing myself would put my wife and daughter at risk," Min-Jae said, his voice tinged with sorrow.
"I can safeguard them, you can safeguard them, and Man-Ju will protect all of you," Young-Sik replied to Min-Jae's worries.
"Man-Ju is the threat! He poses a danger to my family!" Min-Jae interrupted, silencing Young-Sik. "He's not the brother we once knew! His ambition has clouded his judgment, and he'll do anything to cling to his power," he added.
"No, brother, you're not seeing the whole picture. He's just a pawn in this game, manipulated by his mother," Young-Sik insisted, standing up for the King.
"Wake up, Young-Sik! You know what he did, he made you execute your masters because he fears you might discover the truth! He's terrified of losing his crown!" Min-Jae exclaimed, disappointment heavy in his tone as he wished Young-Sik could see through Man-Ju's deceit.
"No brother, you're wrong...the masters were framed and now I know it was Lim Do-Yun who did it. Man-Ju was just following the rules, he thought the masters were traitors because Lim Do-Yun framed them," he further explained, unable to believe that Min-Jae saw Man-Ju as a malevolent King
"The prince is right, Yong, to cement his rule, he forced you into executing the masters," Jin-Ri reminded the prince.
Unable to answer back, he staggered out of the tent. Jin-Ri and Min-Jae were about to follow the prince, but Ha-Rin blocked their way. "You can't force him to see your point, he has to realize it himself. The more you force him to believe you, the more he will deny the truth."
She turned around to look at the prince staggering away. "This is something that we can't help him with; he needs to find the truth himself," She explained to the two. Jin-Ri and Min-Jae looked at each other, the sad expressions on their faces etched with concern as they watched the prince walk away into the dark.