The rumors about Jang Eun Sook were nothing new. They had been around for years, changing shape like smoke but never fading.
When she was a young, people said she was cursed.
"She was born sickly," an old woman whispered, their voices low as they huddled in corners. "Always burning with fever, too weak to stand, that's why she never steps out."
"I heard she couldn't even walk for years," a servant once claimed, eyes darting around as if speaking of her would summon bad luck. "Some say her legs were twisted, that she crawled like a wounded animal."
"She wasn't just sick," another woman said, "she was ugly too. Skin pale like a corpse, eyes too big for her face. A child that looked wrong."
Others believed something far worse.
"That girl was never normal," an older noblewoman muttered over tea. "Have you seen the way she looks at people? Like she's searching for something—something dark."
"She wasn't just sick," a merchant's wife added, her tone hushed. "She was mad."
"She used to sit for hours without moving," a gisaeng recalled, shivering at the memory. "Didn't cry, didn't laugh, just stared. A child like that? It's not natural."
People whispered that she used to scream at shadows, that she once tried to drown herself in a well, that a monk was called to chase out the demons in her.
"She's not just odd," one man whispered, "she's touched in the head. Her own family hides her away like a shameful secret."
Then came the whispers about why no man dared to claim her.
"She's twenty-four and still unmarried," an old scholar pointed out. "A noblewoman that age? Something must be wrong with her. Her age mates are all married with children."
"I heard her first betrothal was broken off," a servant girl said eagerly. "The groom's family suddenly withdrew. No one knows why."
"She was probably cursed from birth," another suggested. "And any man who dares to take her will suffer the same fate."
For years, people spoke of her like a ghost, it was either something strange or something wrong or something to be pitied or feared.
But then, Jang Eun Sook came back. And this time, she wasn't a quiet, sickly, ugly girl or crazy girl anymore.
This time, she was something else entirely.
—
The night of the banquet should have belonged to Princess Wang Min Suh. Instead, Jang Eun Sook stole it right from under her.
"She was the most beautiful woman there," a merchant's wife whispered excitedly. "Even the princess couldn't compare."
"But they say she's as arrogant as she is beautiful," a nobleman scoffed.
"More than arrogant—she's insane," another added. "No respect for anyone. Not even the princess."
"She didn't even greetHer Highness," a noblewoman gasped. "Just ignored her and not even a nod! As if she was the royal one!"
"She didn't even acknowledge the other nobles," someone else said. "The only person she listened to was Madam Han."
A gisaeng smirked, adjusting her jeweled hairpin. "Of course. She's Madam Han's daughter. She doesn't act like a noblewoman, doesn't follow their rules. But when Madam Han speaks, she obeys like a trained dog."
A scholar stroked his beard. "Then she's nothing but an illegitimate child of Lord Jang and Madam Han. That explains why she acts like she has nothing to lose."
"Nothing to lose?" an old woman muttered darkly. "She nearly took a man's life at the banquet."
Gasps rippled through the teahouse.
"She pulled a sword on Choi Jung," a man at the next table said. "Nearly slit his throat in front of everyone. She would have done it too, if Madam Han hadn't stopped her."
"And she used a gisaeng's sword," a noblewoman whispered. "What kind of noblewoman carries such a thing?"
Another woman shuddered. "She walks like she owns the world, like everyone should bow to her. Have you ever seen a woman act so shamelessly?"
"They say she was raised differently," a young servant whispered, his eyes wide with excitement. "That's why she's so bold. She doesn't care who she offends."
A nobleman clicked his tongue. "A woman like that is dangerous."
The gisaeng laughed, sipping her wine. "Or maybe she's just a woman who doesn't kneel."
But whether they spoke with admiration or disgust, one thing was clear—Jang Eun Sook was impossible to ignore.
And that was exactly why Princess Wang Min Suh was furious.
—
The banquet had been meant to celebrate her, yet all anyone spoke about was that woman.
Jang Eun Sook had stolen the night.
At first, Min Suh had tried to ignore it, but the whispers followed her like a plague. Even among her own court ladies and maids, she heard their hushed voices, their conversations stopping the moment she entered the room.
The final blow came when she overheard two court ladies whispering outside her chambers.
"The princess is beautiful, yes," one admitted hesitantly. "But Jang Eun Sook… there's something about her. A wild beauty. Untamed. She looks like a goddess. Like she doesn't belong to the earth. She's the most beautiful person I have ever seen"
"That's what makes her unforgettable. Indeed her beauty is out of this world," the other agreed.
Something inside Min Suh snapped.
With a sharp movement, she grabbed a porcelain vase and hurled it against the floor. It shattered into pieces, the sound slicing through the stunned silence.
The servants froze. No one dared to move.
But she wasn't done.
One by one, she tore through her chambers—ripping apart silk cushions, knocking over tables, crushing delicate ornaments beneath her feet. The gifts from the banquet? Destroyed. The jewelry she had worn that night? Tossed aside like trash.
How dare they compare her to that woman?
How dare they whisper Jang Eun Sook's name in the same breath as hers?
Breathing heavily, she stood in the middle of the wreckage, her fingers trembling with rage.
But no matter how much she destroyed, she couldn't silence the voices in her head.
The rumors would not stop.
And worst of all, deep down, she knew—
Jang Eun Sook had already won.