"The first question that we have for The Lord Nam and The Third Prince is this; a family with huge gambling debts attempted to end their lives. The wife and husband hung tried to hang themselves, but only the husband managed to survive with his young son. He did attempt to kill himself afterwards, but the neighbours intervened shortly afterwards. What punishment do you think suits the husband upon hearing about this pre-arranged crime? The Third Prince shall answer this question first." "It is my opinion that this cowardly husband should continue to carry out the plan that was agreed upon with his wife. But for the child, especially a son, his punishment should be reduced to support his last kin." "Very good, and how about The Lord Nam?" "I disagree with this opinion; the husband should be sentenced to full term for murder indeed…but here is something that we have overlooked. When the husband and wife agreed to this plan, nobody took the consent of the child, despite his sex. Girls also have a role ti play in our society, no matter how limited and we must reconsider the fact that the parents have this much damaging control over their sons life that ultimately resulted in murder. This case should then be deemed as a family matter; the father should be punished for murdering his wife and attempted murder of his own son. The government should then ideally step in and separate the son from his father and provide him with protection, such as placing him with other family members or in an orphanage." "I think that The Lord Nam here is unaware of the corruption that goes on in orphanages, such as trafficking…" "...which i believe is the very point that i am trying to make, Your Highness. There are cases of bribery, trafficking, slavery and kidnap going on in orphanages, where the children of your people reside in. So what are you doing about it? And what measures as a Prince are you taking to ensure that the lowborn who still contribute to your land are protected when it comes to debt that they have no means to pay off? Like government funded supples that do not only come into existence when it comes to war? There are more important matters to deal with in your kingdom apart from your harem, Your Highness."
"You bastard..." "And to back up this point of mine; my fiancé Seo Yeon has already approached the Emperor to sell of the exotic items that the palace stores with no intended use at all to aid the lowborn, such as; expensive fabric, fans, exported incenses and even spices that the palace chefs have not taken out the time to figure out their uses. And since there is no Empress or Official Princess Consort to deal with these matters, she herself has agreed to carry out this task in the local markets…" "Absolutely not! Seo Yeon has already done more for the people than The Royal Family has in recent years. I declare that my Imperial Concubine Park should be the one to contribute these items through to the custom house in the palace." "You really wish take the credit for my fiancé's ideas that none of your harem women could come up with? Very well, you can be my guest, it is about time The Royal Family actually did something for their people."
"Gentlemen! Onto the last question of the day; a highly infectious disease as prevalent in these lands only a few months ago. The capital sealed off the smaller hut villages where the plague began and temporarily stopped it. But soon afterwards, other cases began again sporadically, but they were quarantined in their huts, and it said that way until the plague was over. Consider this case and discuss ways to stop spreading the plague whilst keeping the huts under control and quarantined according to the proper guidelines."
"Just for reference, are we talking about the plague that The Third Process Consort allowed to happen due to a lack of impropriety in her marriage with The Third Prince himself here?" "Lord Nam…" "Forgive me, he can go first as usual."
"As to the second question; we must strictly separate the infected people from the rest of the kingdom; but the patients must be divided by the severity of the symptoms. That is the general solution, but...." "Yes?" "When the plague first spread, there were no distinct symptoms. At first, physicians thought that they had recovered, but then thee were over 20 cases of relapses within the following month. Therefore, if we release infected patients, who do not display any onset symptoms it could spread all over the capital, which it did in reality." "Very well, The Third Prince supports his arguments by using specific examples." "Hence, any contact with the infected people should be prevented at all costs, as well as providing support that will go to waste for nothing."
"Is The Third Prince saying that we should starve an entire village to death? Even those that are not infected? That entire village only held out because of those supplies! If ending the plague is the only way to protect the capital, we must kill the plague, not the people itself." "They already received relief without medical support, because it is impossible to avoid coming into close contact. If physicians had access to the source of the plague to treat even a few people, the plague could end up spreading int the capital." "So what exactly are you saying now, Third Prince?" "That the only way to end this plague is what we did with The Liadong War when the plague spread there; to eradicate it as we eradicate blight; for when the trees are infected, the branches that cannot be saved are cut off and burnt up." "So The Third Prince still thinks that we should 'eradicate' this plague via the people?" "Lord Nam, i am sure that even you are aware that most of those villagers are immigrants of unknown ancestors anyways." "So what if the plague does not end even after you kill your people?" "I rather think that The Lord Nam is rather emotional than rational today." "Is that really the best defence that you have right now, Your Highness? Insulting the opposition rather than tackling this virusu virus?" "Virusu? Would The Lord Nam care to elaborate?"
"What I mean by this is the plague reaches the people like water drops in the fog by the wind. They are unaware of the fact that they were infected, and superstitions led them to believe that they were indeed infected by earth elements such as wind, water and the air. And it is these false, ancient and unchanged superstations that lead about to the ignorance of plagues in general, causing the rest of the nation to fall into discriminatory and selfish behaviours, as it is shown in The Hut Village Arson Case that happened only 2 decades ago. Such anxiety and fear became hatred and those associated with those villagers were slaughtered on sight. This is why it is imperative to look into the plague in depth so we can understand where it comes from , to educate the people themselves and for us to prepare ourselves for the next one and reduce it if possible. This will only be possible with medical support and educators if possible to record everything and teach the next generation." "It sounds like The Lord Nam would rather have the people break away from the monarchy and become independent." "Not entirely; I wish to lead the Goreyo Dynasty from the dark ages and enlighten the people, but our monarchy would still hold onto the resources and leadership that our nation needs to thrive and progress into the future. Who says our nation cannot be a leading one and an example to the rest of the world?"
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"Well well, I never knew that you were so highly educated in poetry and well-versed in literature and history Seo Yeon. Servant, add 2 more pieces of cloud brocade for The Young Mistress Seo." "Mother Chung, I am only inadequately versed in these subjects; and my handwriting may be too inferior to be of any use to you…" "Not too inferior to help and old woman to copy she sutras for me I hope?" "Only if you are not troubled by my coarseness, otherwise, it shall be my great pleasure to serve you." "Young Mistress Seo, are you quite well?" "Forgive my sombre mood, but my fiancé is having his debate today with The Third Prince and i cannot help but worry for him; in case it will turn into some sort of hazing orientation for him and humiliate him in front of The Third Prince himself." "Fret not, this is exactly why we approached you on your brother's behalf to clam your mind with copying some sutras. But surely The Lord Nam as a scholar being devoted to his studies isn't a bad thing, is it?" "I suppose nit, but his reputation and future is at stake if he looses this." "I suppose so…I will be honoured to cope your sutras for you, Mother Chung." "Even though it may result in less time for yourself? 'Heavy snow broke the tree branches,' but you seem to be able to write in peace. And i can see that The Mistress Nam is being quite as usual." "My mind wasn't at peace, but copying these sutras has certainly calmed mw down..." "Have you finished already, Young Mistress Seo? You seem to have dark circles under you eyes." "Forgive me, The Royal Children under our care were unwell last night and i had to assist the physicians." "I also see that The Internal Affairs Department are doing a good job in their work; to make your nail shields so grandiose."
"Positions and labels are not so important; as long as the men in our lives place us in their hearts, otherwise what is the point in false respect? Isn't that right, Concubine Chung?" "I…" "Do not even get me started on my daughter-in-law here, she has been unfortunate to face my brother's cold and distant nature for her older sister, especially when it comes to simple chores as memorising old records and…" "Forgive me sister-in-law, but there were certainly no loopholes in the records that i went over. Besides, my older sister is not familiar with financial matters, and it would be a waste to have her go over it, especially when she has to raise her children and look after an entire household. She has even become known to delay food distribution and cause confusion…." "She may be a little slow when it comes to accounts, but there is nothing that any of us cannot learn with a little practise, right?" "And how long would that take? How many more tasks should be delayed by her stunted education? It is hard for the talentless to conquer even minor tasks and humiliatingly drag everyone else around them down with them and even give they're superiors a bad name."
"Maybe if the sisters came and work together, the entire household can progress effectively." "That is right sister-in-law, maybe if you helped out more in the family, my brother wouldn't bed you only once a month like his other concubines. Except that he is already with your older sister right now, instead of accompanying to the palace right after tending to state affairs. But then again, you must be so sweet-natured to your sister in order not to throw a tantrum about it." "Of course not, that is why i sent them both jade pillows so that they could rest on peacefully for the rest of their night, sister-in-law."