"What are you saying, Your Highness? I am just punishing the thief who took my necklace," Queen Ji-Hye coldly replied. she and her entourage walked past the King.
King called forth his eunuch, "Find out what has happened, what was stolen, and the true thief!" He ordered the eunuch.
It did not take long for news of Jin-Ri's incarceration to reach the Cherry Blossom. Yeng pants as she hurried to Lady Hu's quarters, bursting in, she immediately notified her, "My Lady! Jin-Ri...Jin-Ri is being held in the prison complex? Is that true?"
Lady Hu calmly led Yeng to a seat. "I'm afraid so, so far details are still vague as to what happened, I'm still waiting for word from our contacts within the palace."
"My Lady, we must help her, we must see how she is doing right now," Yeng asked Lady Hu, pleading with her.
"We will, I promise." Lady Hu let out a troubled sigh. "We will see her tomorrow," Lady Hu assured Yeng, yet deep inside Lady Hu was thinking, how can they help the court maiden who was accused by the Queen herself?
That night, King Man-Ju descended into the dungeons. Upon entering, he quickly covered his nose, repulsed by the odor of damp floors and the overwhelming stench of urine and other human waste. A guard escorted him through the dimly lit corridor of cells. The King surveyed the cramped quarters, where prisoners were confined behind sturdy wooden bars. As they recognized their sovereign, they reached out, calling for his attention and pleading for his compassion.
"Your Highness, I was loyal to your father; I'm innocent and have been falsely accused!" an older man cried out.
"Have mercy on me, Your Highness!" a young woman wept.
"Your Highness, I don't want to die; please help me!" a young man shouted, desperation lacing his voice.
The pleas of the prisoner went unheard, as the King had come for one purpose alone. The guard escorted him to the final cell, which was notably smaller than the others, constructed from interlocking iron and barely spacious enough for an adult to fit inside.
King Man-Ju knelt beside what resembled a dog cage. Jin-Ri lay asleep, curled up, trying to make herself small to fit in the small cage. As he gently pushed aside the hair obscuring her face, a surge of anger welled up within him at the sight of her battered features.
Fuming, the King rose and seized the guard by the throat. "What is the meaning of this? Why is she treated like this? She is not an animal!" His voice reverberated through the dungeon corridors and waking up the slumbering court maiden.
"I apologize, Your Highness, but I was simply obeying the Queen's commands," the guard said, his voice quivering as he faced the King's impending wrath.
"Free her this instant, or I will make you all pay dearly!" the King thundered, forcefully throwing the guard to the ground. The guard quickly regained his footing and bolted from the dungeon. Just as the King was about to chase after him, he felt a soft grip on his robe. He glanced down to find Jin-Ri holding on tightly.
"Your Highness, they are only fulfilling their duties. Please, don't unleash your anger on them," Jin-Ri urged King Man-Ju.
"What are you suggesting? Should I just leave you here like this?" King Man-Ju shouted once more, "I demand you release her at once!"
The guard hurried back, his hands shaking as he juggled a set of keys that clinked together. He unlocked the door to Jin-Ri's cage, and the King pushed him aside, quickly assisting Jin-Ri out.
Jin-Ri struggled to her feet, the discomfort of her cramped surroundings weighing heavily on her. With determination, she made her way to an unoccupied cell and secured the door behind her. "What are you doing?" the King inquired, bewildered by her actions.
"Guilty until proven innocent," Jin-Ri replied, her voice steady. "At this moment, I am a criminal unless I can prove otherwise. I cannot bear the thought of being labeled a criminal for life. Prince Young-Sik..."
"HE IS NOT HERE! I am! If he chooses to let you languish in this cell, I am different! I am the King, and if I declare you innocent, everyone must accept it!" King Man-Ju asserted, his voice thick with emotion.
Despite her pain, Jin-Ri managed to smile and shook her head gently., "Your Highness, you don't understand. The prince would go to great lengths to clear my name; he wouldn't misuse his power to free me. He believes in doing things the right way."
"How can you think of him at a time like this? You should be focusing on your own situation, and you need to let me assist you!" King Man-Ju urged concern was etched on his face as he looked at the weary court maiden.
"Because it is the right thing to do, Your Highness." Jin-Ri softly explained
"If you'd rather rot in this place than accept my help, then so be it!" The King said, disappointed at the court maiden, he then quickly left the dungeon.
Jin-Ri sat in a corner of her cell, lifting her face to gaze at the window, tears cascading down her face as she returned to a time when she and the prince had just started to know each other. They were, as usual, wandering around the marketplace.
"Your Highness, my feet are killing me! Aren't you tired of wandering around?" she complained, slumping with her arms dangling at her sides.
The prince, however, was in high spirits, strolling with a cheeky smile. "Oh dear, is our little Miss Shameless feeling worn out?" he teased.
"Well, unlike you, I wasn't schooled in the fine art of aimless wandering," Jin-Ri shot back, dropping all formalities.
"Wow, your level of shamelessness is reaching an all-time high today," The prince answered back
"Your Highness, can I just, can we just please rest for a few moments? Or at least let me get some water?" Jin-Ri pleaded with the prince, who just scoffed and continued to walk. She groaned some more, knowing the prince did not grant her request.
The two walked a short distance, then the prince stopped. "Are we going to rest?" She asked the prince.
Prince Young-Sik responded by pointing at something. Jin-Ri looked at where the prince was pointing, and her eyes grew big in delight. It was a refreshment stand. She quickly approached the stand and browsed the drinks. "The mango juice, please," She requested from the storekeeper, who quickly got a bowl and filled it.
Eagerly, Jin-Ri accepted the drink and consumed it all in one gulp. "Ahhhhh." She smacked her lips after drinking it all. She was on her way back to the prince when she bumped into a man with his son. Jin-Ri bowed in apology, and so did the man.
"Had your fill?" The prince asked his grinning court maiden
"Yes, Your Highness," She replied happily, "I must say..." Jin-Ri was not able to finish what she wanted to say when someone shouted at her
"THIEF!" The man that she bumped into earlier shouted, accusing her of stealing something.
"Thief? Who are you calling a thief?" Jin-Ri angrily shouted back
"You shameless witch! After you bumped into me, my money was gone, you're a pickpocket!" The man accused Jin-Ri
"Your Highness, can you even imagine... this character?" Jin-Ri spun around, her eyes widening as she discovered the prince had slipped away, leaving her to handle the mess alone. "That infuriating little goblin! Did he just abandon me here?!"
Just then, as if on cue, two roaming soldiers arrived. "What is going on here?" One of the soldiers asked
"This woman is a thief, she bumped into me on purpose to steal my money," The man narrated to the soldiers
"I am most certainly not! I am the personal court maiden of Prince Kim Young-Sik; he would vouch for me...if he were here," Jin-Ri declared, her face scrunching because of the mess she was in.
"See, how shameless this thief is, she even dared to impersonate a royal court maiden," The Man told the guards
"Is this true?" A soldier asked
"Of course not! I am the court maiden of the prince," Jin-Ri once again declared defiantly
"Then where is the prince?" The other soldier inquired
Jin-Ri scratched her head. "He was here a while ago; I think he ran off because he doesn't want to be seen," She explained
"How convenient, take her," One of the soldiers instructed
"Hey, hey, hey! Get your hands off of me! Where are you taking me? Let me go now, or you will hear from the prince! I'll tell on the royal guards of your abuse! I'll sue!" Jin-Ri shouted as she struggled to break free.
A few moments later, at the security office, Jin-Ri was thrown in jail, and the doors were locked. "Get me out of here! I don't belong here, HELP! Get me out of here! You two, what are your names? I will report both of you to the King himself!"
"Shut up!" One of the guards yelled at Jin-Ri, "Oh my goodness, you talk too much and you are too noisy!"
"Well, you better let me go or I swear I will scream so loud, your ears will burst" Jin-Ri cockily warned the soldiers
The guards ignored Jin-Ri, who pouted and sat on the cell floor. She cursed at the prince, who suddenly left her in the dust. "You despicable goblin, you...mark my words, I will crush the reason you are called a man, the next time I see your ugly, smug face!" She thought to herself
"If that is how you felt, maybe I shouldn't have returned," A voice from outside the cell chimed.
She turned her head towards the voice, "You!" Jin-Ri angrily replied as she stood up. "How could you? Why did you leave me there? You know I was innocent; you could have helped me. One word from you and I would have been free, yet you just left. You are a coward!"
"Free? Out of this cell, maybe, but not free. People would still think you are a thief, and the only reason you got out was because of some high-ranking official. You would not want that," Prince Young-Sik explained. "The thing that must be done is to find evidence to prove you are innocent," He added.
"Find evidence? You were supposed to be my evidence, but you just vanished like the coward that you are. Get out of here, I can find a way to get out, I don't need your help, nor do I want to see you," Jin-Ri told the prince. Her mind raced at how angry she was with her master.
The moment the prince turned around to leave, the guards came with two men, they opened the cell doors and said, "Hong Jin-Ri? You are free to go"
"Wait, what?" She inquired, confused at the sudden events, "I'm happy that I am getting out of here, but why?" She continued to ask as she quickly got out of the cell.
"That man who visited you? He caught and made these two confess, they were the real pickpockets. That man was even able to return the stolen money," One of the guards explained
Jin-Ri suddenly reached out with both hands and started yanking a handful of hair each from the two pickpockets. "You, sorry excuses for men, framing a little girl like me. I am going to tear your scalps off!"
The guards were able to put the pickpockets inside the cell and save them from the rampaging Jin-Ri. "Enough of that! just go home," Said one of the guards
She walked out of the security building."It doesn't hurt to apologize for your mistake, Jerks!" She hollered back
Upon exiting the security building, she saw the prince talking to a man with a child. The man noticed Jin-Ri approaching and bowed as a gesture of apology."We are deeply sorry, miss, for accusing you. We hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us,"the man said, bowing to the court maiden. The man bowed to the prince and left with his son.
Fidgeting with her hands, Jin-Ri slowly approached the prince, who had a smug grin on his face. She lowered her head and started to mumble, "Sorry, Your Highness, for the mean things I said, I should have understood that you were just doing what was right."She said, her voice barely above a whisper
"Speak up!" The prince told his court maiden, his voice raised
"Sorry, your Highness, for the mean things I said, I should have understood that you were just doing what was right."She repeated her words with a clear and loud voice."Also, thank you for getting the real thieves so I can get out."
The Prince smiled, ruffled her hair, and turned around to walk. Jin-Ri quickly followed him."Your Highness, is that why you suddenly disappeared?"She asked, referring to the capture of the real thieves
"I knew I had to capture them before they blend in with the crowd. So, I tailed them to their hiding place,"Prince Young-Sik explained. "You see, even if I told them not to arrest you, without evidence to clear your name, you will be labeled a thief, and you would never be free."
Back in the palace dungeons, she sat on the cold cell floor, the prince's words echoed throughout Jin-Ri's mind, and her tears continued to flow. "Where are you, my prince? Please help me," She pleaded, hoping her words would be carried by the wind to her prince.