From then on, he stopped speaking of the King in a respectful manner, even using the informal banmal with his mother. He had the court ladies and eunuchs in his residence shout unspeakable curses to the King and Queen in loud voices, though they quaked and cried as they did so. They shouted vile accusations of a sexual and violent nature while the Prince looked on, smiling and nodding. When Princess Hwasun, his sister, came to visit, worried about the rumors spreading through the palace, he attacked and attempted to rape her. Even she was too afraid to say anything to the King, and the sickness proliferated.
Now the Prince became obsessed with death. He turned his rooms into a tomb, even constructing a bier that he slept in. Once that was complete, he began excavating a great underground tunnel that would lead from his residence to the others. Rooms were created underground, big enough to house all his weapons and even horses, should the need arise. He began threatening other royal family members, saying he would come through the tunnels and kill them in their beds. The whole court was in disarray.
By spring, life had become so unbearable in the palace that the Minister ofthe Right committed suicide. Within the next two weeks, the Minister of the Left and the new Minister of the Right also killed themselves. Lady Hong tried to hurt herself but was stopped before she could injure herself critically. I vowed to leave the palace but could find no way of doing so. The Prince had always left us royal secretaries unmolested, as he was afraid of what would be written down for future ages, but now nothing seemed certain, and we all wished and prayed to be relieved of our duties. Of course, there was no one who wanted to take our place.
Finally, the brother of a workman who had been killed sent a memorial to the King asking for justice. At first the King turned his anger on the man who sent the memorial and had him killed for his insolence. Then, upset and confused, he went to Lady Sonhui and asked her what should be done.
This kind lady who had suffered so much already assured the King she would visit the Prince and see if he could be helped. She knew it was hopeless but blamed the sickness and not her son. When she arrived at the Prince’s residence, she came upon a strange scene.
Prince Sado had prepared an elaborate feast for her as though it were an important royal occasion. He had tables piled high with fruit and even served ginseng cake and wine. The Prince read aloud a poem he had written on long life. Further, he arranged a big parade in her honor, so that while they ate, royal guards in new, brightly colored clothing rode by waving their banners while a military band played behind them. There were dancers and many musicians playing gayageum, a long stringed instrument with a sorrowful sound. Then a palanquin appeared with a flag raised high above it, accompanied by trumpets blaring and drums beating. Lady Sonhui was surprised when she was asked to ride in it, for it was most inappropriate. But she was so frightened by this exhibition of the Prince’s madness that she dutifully got in and was carried around the Prince’s residence. Though she was supposed to spend the night, she excused herself by saying she was not feeling well and went away. Before she did so, she took LadyHong aside and, gripping her hands tightly, said, “What should we do? How are we to act? It seems so hopeless.” The two women wept together.
Returning to her own residence, she dictated a letter to the King, which read:
A mother should never write these words and yet I am left with no other recourse. In order to protect the life of the Royal Grandson and to preserve intact the Yi Dynasty, which has lasted these four hundred years, the Crown Prince cannot be allowed to live. Even to make such a suggestion is an outrage and a sin against humanity, and may I never be forgiven.
Lady Sonhui then took to her bed and refused all sustenance.
The King reacted promptly on receiving Lady Sonhui’s letter. He announced that he would appear at the Prince’s residence within the hour and that the Prince should prepare to meet him. When the Prince received this message, he was uncharacteristically calm. While he dressed in the dragon robe of the Crown Prince, he called Lady Hong to him.
“This is the day I will be killed,” he told her.
“No, no, Your Majesty,” she said. “Speak to the King sincerely and he will forgive you. Ask him to help you, to give you more guidance. He cannot refuse.”
“He has refused me all his life. What makes today any different? That is not why I called you here. I want to see the Royal Grandson.”
Lady Hong trembled at these words but did not show her dismay. “He is with the royal tutors,” she said. “I will send him
