[A Frozen Flower Fanfiction] Twin Blossoms, Twin Killings

This story has a happy ending.

Here’s how things unfold: Wang Qi never catches Hong Lin in the act, and Hong Lin is never castrated. Instead, he goes off to serve in the navy without a hitch.

While Hong Lin is away, the queen gives birth to a son but dies in childbirth. Wang Qi even grants two general amnesties in an effort to save the queen’s life. This is historically accurate, as is the queen’s death in childbirth, but no medicine can help.

So when Hong Lin returns, he and his master spend the rest of their lives happily raising the boy...

At this point, a problem arises! Once the child takes the throne, Hong Lin will face a very difficult situation. So Wang Qi tells him: “While I’m alive, I’ll keep things within the reach of my authority.” (According to history, Wang Qi would become a powerful and secure prince, whom Zhu Yuanzhang reportedly said was “as if he would be king of Goryeo forever,” as well as the right chancellor of the Great Ming. The Mongols would no longer oppress him.) “If you die first, I will not betray you” (meaning he’ll pass the throne to Hong Lin’s son and then take his own life). “If I die first, I hope you can...” (meaning Hong Lin will join him in death).

Hong Lin agrees, keeping his earlier promise: “I would give my life for Your Highness.”

This is their happy “double suicide.”

While serving in the navy, Hong Lin encounters attacks by Japanese pirates. (During Wang Qi’s rule, the pirates launched as many as 74 raids, which is why he hated them so much... There is even a Goryeo King Gongmin shrine in Korea that is said to have been built at Wang Qi’s behest after he appeared in a dream. Supposedly, it was very effective at keeping them away: even Japanese soldiers during the modern Sino-Japanese War didn’t dare cause trouble there... Ah, I’ve wandered off topic...) Hong Lin faces death in battle, is tempered by war, and witnesses the cruelty of killing and the hardships of ordinary people.

Hong Lin comes to understand the dangers facing the country and the plight of a small nation caught between powers, carefully serving a great power in order to survive. He realizes that his master’s current position and ability to wield control are not just the result of his birth. They also come from the hardships he endured from childhood and the many trials he faced after taking the reins of government. In the world of the three of them, the queen bears the burden of duty as a princess sent to marry abroad, while His Highness bears the burden of the state... Only Hong Lin himself has simply been loved. Because he is loved, he has easily enjoyed a privileged life, never knowing the true suffering of the world, including the struggle to survive for those below and the heavy burdens borne by those above.

And so, amid blood and fire, longing and reflection, Hong Lin awakens! As a person, simply holding a woman in your arms doesn’t make you a real man. A real man must face things bravely and make difficult choices. And as a courtier, merely suggesting that you draw a bow doesn’t make you the king’s equal. To escape the role of a mere entertainer, you need real talent and achievements...