Chapter 2: Sagely Resolving the Nine Layers of Anxiety

A morass of balefully sorrowful clouds hovered over the Sajeongjeon Hall in the Gyeongbok Palace. The King and Royal Consort were silent and didn’t speak. The eunuchs and sanggung held their breaths, and stood respectfully in solemn formation. The hall was so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

A maid handed over a silk handkerchief. Lotus raised her hand to discover that her face had become covered with tears at some unknown time. Madame Cao had slowly woken up by then, and the two didn’t speak as they looked at the king.

King Taejo knew what they wished to ask and said softly, “We have ordered Minister Yoon to negotiate and ransom the three bodies from the Japanese Pirates. They will be returned in a few days, and I will request Master Zichao to personally expiate the sins of the dead.”

Zichao was the eminent monk of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism