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- Thread starter MangaDex
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- Jul 15, 2019
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My favorite character has appeared! My beloved Consort Deok. If the Empress Consort is a dragon among women, then Consort Deok is a boar. Now, one might think that a boar is not an animal to associate someone with. But I disagree. The Patron Bodhisattva of the Japanese Samurai was Marishiten, the goddess of light, dawn, illusions and war as well as the protector of nations against the sufferings of war. When she rode into battle, she did so seated on a boar. Consort Deok has her own battles to fight.
The relationship dynamic between the Empress Consort and Consort Deok is fascinating. We see that there is something intimate, something familiar in their interactions. Just like the Emperor, the Empress Consort is testing Longhee. Had Longhee wanted power, she would have rushed to take her place by the Empress, displacing the two higher-ranked consorts (interestingly, there is a Consort Sung mentioned here, but she is nowhere to be seen … for now). However, she did not do so. In fact, once again, we see Longhee cowering. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. And the message she is sending the Empress Consort is the same she sent the Emperor. She is a woman that can be controlled and used. And look at what the Empress Consort is doing! The Emperor wants to use Longhee to keep the Empress Consort occupied while he is plotting against deposing her son and the Empress Consort wants to use Longhee to take care of Consort Deok.
Consort Deok might, at first glance, appear petty. Geez, yet another Palace woman trying to usurp power, right? But then, one needs to think about the following. In the palace, Imperial favor is supreme. A favored concubine might very well walk all over an unfavored empress. And the servants are the ones who control the ins and outs of the palace. For sure, a favored concubine might have a servant beaten to death. In fact, she might have the personal servant of another court lady beaten to death without hearing as much as a reproach. Well, once a woman lost favor or never had any favor, even the palace servants would disregard her. What is more, they would trample her underfoot through small tricks. Bringing her less food, or subpar food, stealing her belongings, butchering her clothes. Servants had their own ways of taking revenge for being servants.
Concubine Longhee has the Emperor's SUPREME favor while on top of that, receiving the Empress Consort's backing as of now! And she was put on the same level as Consort Deok, so now the Empress Consort took the power Consort Deok had and split it into two parts (or three, one does not know how active Consort Sung is). If Empress Consort can control Longhee (especially if Longhee is raised in rank as the Emperor desires), every time Consort Deok will say black, Longhee will say white. You see why Consort Deok has no choice but to be aggressive? Longhee would end up having the same rank as her, the Emperor's favor, the Empress Consort's backing and two imperial princes as sons. And she has no backbone of her own to not do their bidding.
And we see how much Empress Consort Sookjung and Consort Deok Gwok love one another. They bite each other where it hurts most. As said in the prologue "women who share the same pain yet bite one another like beasts". Just that Consort Deok mocks Empress Consort based on the fact that she has no favor. Whereas Empress Consort outwardly threatens her with taking her daughter away. More about First Imperial Princess Soe in the upcoming chapters, but the thing is Imperial Princes would leave the Inner Palace and set up their own residences between ages 8 and 10! Their relationships with their mothers would be monitored and restricted. Imperial Princesses would stay with their mother until they married, between 15 and 17. Of course, a mother would love the child that stayed with her, living this horrid life of treachery and cruelty that is the Imperial Harem alongside her. And once these Imperial Princesses married, their lives would be miserable. If they were married out of the country, they were sent as to maintain relationships between enemy nations. You can imagine how appreciated they were in their new homes. If they were married to their father's subjects, these subjects would take their inferiority complexes, their rages at having to bow to imperial power, out on them. The Emperor could have hundreds of daughters, he generally only liked one of them, mostly if she was his first-born child. He would make her a Princess Royale and she would have some standing. But, it doesn't seem to be Soe's case, though she is the eldest child. The Empress Consort would never have poked that one with a stick if she weren't sure she would get away with it. And Consort Deok's reaction when Soe was mentioned by the Empress Consort proves that indeed Soe does not seem to have a high standing. As soon as her daughter was mentioned, Consort Deok submitted.
What I love about this character is how she does not abide by the social rules of the time. Now, it would be wrong, very wrong, to assume that there were no people having the same thoughts about the place of female children as Consort Deok in ancient times. In fact, there are so many daughters of soldiers that became legends in Ancient China, because their skills could match or be greater than that of men. Silla, one of the Korean kingdoms before they were merged, had 3 Queen Regnants! Of which one gave the great Emperor Taizong of Tang (possibly the greatest Chinese Emperor of all times … who had his legacy messed up by the even greater Wu Zetian, the one and only Empress Regnant of China) a major inferiority complex. Lo and behold, the amazing Queen Regnant Seondeok. And even Queen Regnant Jindeok, who came after Seondeok, was chosen by her brother, who should have ascended to the throne but was dying as the next in line because Seondeok did such a great job, so why not Jindeok?! And she did do a great job. However, though this mentality was far from absent, it was not prevalent either. Male heirs were favored legally as well as personally. Women could not inherit or own land, start their own families, etc. So Consort Deok's asking what was wrong with having daughters is such a cry of the heart. Such a walking, talking middle finger. And I love the woman for it. Consort Deok is an INDEPENDENT THINKER. This is not her only jewel. She has thoughts about other subjects that transcend her as a woman, but more of that in the upcoming chapters.
Anyways, the point is: Empress Consort Sookjung is Empress, she has a son who should be next in line, she also seems to have strong family backing. You would think dealing with Consort Deok would be below her. But it seems not. There is something dark and festering between the Empress Consort and Consort Deok.
I just can't!
And now about the Emperor and the Empress Consort. Did you see the Empress Consort speaking to the Emperor as his equal?! You see that this woman has VERY STRONG family backing. He comes to make demands of her. Or rather, requests. The Emperor should not, but could, rise a woman in rank. If he does it by himself, he comes across as lustful. So generally, he demands for the Empress to rise a woman in rank to show her virtue and for him to get both the goat and the money of the goat (what is the English equivalent for that? Have a cake and eat it too?). But the Empress Consort just lay down her own law. If he wants her to acquiesce to his demands (she is his subject, she should be doing what he tells her!!!), she wants Sogeo! And the main wife raising a concubine's child was not something out of the ordinary, in fact it was the order of things. But not in the imperial court. Generally, that would occur if the Empress did not have children of her own or if the concubine died. However, Longhee is about to become consort. Consorts were legal wives, though they were of much lower standing than the Empress Consort.
Have you noticed how the Emperor is lying! He wants to isolate Bongrim!!! He speaks of Bongrim being taught by Chief Advisor Jang as being something good for him, while ensuring Bongrim will not come in contact with his maternal family, since the Empress Consort wanted her brother to teach him. The Emperor has already poisoned the well against Bongrim in Chief Advisor Jang's mind, who obviously will not give him the care he deserves. It hurts me so much to just look at a five-year old child who already starts in the minuses with what seems a congenital defect be kicked over and over again by his own father. Bongrim did not choose to be born to them, he did not choose his congenital defect and yet here he is, being accused, being dragged around, with his needs being disregarded. All that counts is this chess game between the Emperor and the Empress Consort. Poor child.
The relationship dynamic between the Empress Consort and Consort Deok is fascinating. We see that there is something intimate, something familiar in their interactions. Just like the Emperor, the Empress Consort is testing Longhee. Had Longhee wanted power, she would have rushed to take her place by the Empress, displacing the two higher-ranked consorts (interestingly, there is a Consort Sung mentioned here, but she is nowhere to be seen … for now). However, she did not do so. In fact, once again, we see Longhee cowering. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. And the message she is sending the Empress Consort is the same she sent the Emperor. She is a woman that can be controlled and used. And look at what the Empress Consort is doing! The Emperor wants to use Longhee to keep the Empress Consort occupied while he is plotting against deposing her son and the Empress Consort wants to use Longhee to take care of Consort Deok.
Consort Deok might, at first glance, appear petty. Geez, yet another Palace woman trying to usurp power, right? But then, one needs to think about the following. In the palace, Imperial favor is supreme. A favored concubine might very well walk all over an unfavored empress. And the servants are the ones who control the ins and outs of the palace. For sure, a favored concubine might have a servant beaten to death. In fact, she might have the personal servant of another court lady beaten to death without hearing as much as a reproach. Well, once a woman lost favor or never had any favor, even the palace servants would disregard her. What is more, they would trample her underfoot through small tricks. Bringing her less food, or subpar food, stealing her belongings, butchering her clothes. Servants had their own ways of taking revenge for being servants.
Concubine Longhee has the Emperor's SUPREME favor while on top of that, receiving the Empress Consort's backing as of now! And she was put on the same level as Consort Deok, so now the Empress Consort took the power Consort Deok had and split it into two parts (or three, one does not know how active Consort Sung is). If Empress Consort can control Longhee (especially if Longhee is raised in rank as the Emperor desires), every time Consort Deok will say black, Longhee will say white. You see why Consort Deok has no choice but to be aggressive? Longhee would end up having the same rank as her, the Emperor's favor, the Empress Consort's backing and two imperial princes as sons. And she has no backbone of her own to not do their bidding.
And we see how much Empress Consort Sookjung and Consort Deok Gwok love one another. They bite each other where it hurts most. As said in the prologue "women who share the same pain yet bite one another like beasts". Just that Consort Deok mocks Empress Consort based on the fact that she has no favor. Whereas Empress Consort outwardly threatens her with taking her daughter away. More about First Imperial Princess Soe in the upcoming chapters, but the thing is Imperial Princes would leave the Inner Palace and set up their own residences between ages 8 and 10! Their relationships with their mothers would be monitored and restricted. Imperial Princesses would stay with their mother until they married, between 15 and 17. Of course, a mother would love the child that stayed with her, living this horrid life of treachery and cruelty that is the Imperial Harem alongside her. And once these Imperial Princesses married, their lives would be miserable. If they were married out of the country, they were sent as to maintain relationships between enemy nations. You can imagine how appreciated they were in their new homes. If they were married to their father's subjects, these subjects would take their inferiority complexes, their rages at having to bow to imperial power, out on them. The Emperor could have hundreds of daughters, he generally only liked one of them, mostly if she was his first-born child. He would make her a Princess Royale and she would have some standing. But, it doesn't seem to be Soe's case, though she is the eldest child. The Empress Consort would never have poked that one with a stick if she weren't sure she would get away with it. And Consort Deok's reaction when Soe was mentioned by the Empress Consort proves that indeed Soe does not seem to have a high standing. As soon as her daughter was mentioned, Consort Deok submitted.
What I love about this character is how she does not abide by the social rules of the time. Now, it would be wrong, very wrong, to assume that there were no people having the same thoughts about the place of female children as Consort Deok in ancient times. In fact, there are so many daughters of soldiers that became legends in Ancient China, because their skills could match or be greater than that of men. Silla, one of the Korean kingdoms before they were merged, had 3 Queen Regnants! Of which one gave the great Emperor Taizong of Tang (possibly the greatest Chinese Emperor of all times … who had his legacy messed up by the even greater Wu Zetian, the one and only Empress Regnant of China) a major inferiority complex. Lo and behold, the amazing Queen Regnant Seondeok. And even Queen Regnant Jindeok, who came after Seondeok, was chosen by her brother, who should have ascended to the throne but was dying as the next in line because Seondeok did such a great job, so why not Jindeok?! And she did do a great job. However, though this mentality was far from absent, it was not prevalent either. Male heirs were favored legally as well as personally. Women could not inherit or own land, start their own families, etc. So Consort Deok's asking what was wrong with having daughters is such a cry of the heart. Such a walking, talking middle finger. And I love the woman for it. Consort Deok is an INDEPENDENT THINKER. This is not her only jewel. She has thoughts about other subjects that transcend her as a woman, but more of that in the upcoming chapters.
Anyways, the point is: Empress Consort Sookjung is Empress, she has a son who should be next in line, she also seems to have strong family backing. You would think dealing with Consort Deok would be below her. But it seems not. There is something dark and festering between the Empress Consort and Consort Deok.
The raws are at chapter 73, we had a 20-year jump by the end of Season 1, and we are about to uncover what it is that happened between Empress Consort, Consort Deok and the Emperor.
And now about the Emperor and the Empress Consort. Did you see the Empress Consort speaking to the Emperor as his equal?! You see that this woman has VERY STRONG family backing. He comes to make demands of her. Or rather, requests. The Emperor should not, but could, rise a woman in rank. If he does it by himself, he comes across as lustful. So generally, he demands for the Empress to rise a woman in rank to show her virtue and for him to get both the goat and the money of the goat (what is the English equivalent for that? Have a cake and eat it too?). But the Empress Consort just lay down her own law. If he wants her to acquiesce to his demands (she is his subject, she should be doing what he tells her!!!), she wants Sogeo! And the main wife raising a concubine's child was not something out of the ordinary, in fact it was the order of things. But not in the imperial court. Generally, that would occur if the Empress did not have children of her own or if the concubine died. However, Longhee is about to become consort. Consorts were legal wives, though they were of much lower standing than the Empress Consort.
Have you noticed how the Emperor is lying! He wants to isolate Bongrim!!! He speaks of Bongrim being taught by Chief Advisor Jang as being something good for him, while ensuring Bongrim will not come in contact with his maternal family, since the Empress Consort wanted her brother to teach him. The Emperor has already poisoned the well against Bongrim in Chief Advisor Jang's mind, who obviously will not give him the care he deserves. It hurts me so much to just look at a five-year old child who already starts in the minuses with what seems a congenital defect be kicked over and over again by his own father. Bongrim did not choose to be born to them, he did not choose his congenital defect and yet here he is, being accused, being dragged around, with his needs being disregarded. All that counts is this chess game between the Emperor and the Empress Consort. Poor child.
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2020
- Messages
- 45
The major enigma to me is the Emperor... I don't think he truly loves or has desire for Longhee. It's all a power game, then?
And are his sons (and daughters) simply pawns?
Oh, and I love your translation and insights of the story. Thank you!
And are his sons (and daughters) simply pawns?
Oh, and I love your translation and insights of the story. Thank you!
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