I Became a Fallen Noble of Goguryeo

Chapter 22: Marriage (2)

It was the day of On Dal’s wedding, known as the hero of Gomchon. People from nearby villages gathered in groups.

“Is this On Dal’s wedding ceremony?”

“Did you hear? The King had said ever since childhood, if Princess Boknyeo cried, he’d marry her off to On Dal…”

“…Now that they’re closer in age and he planned to marry her to a Go from the North, she ran off from the palace saying, ‘How can the King speak with forked tongue? If the King breaks his word, who will heed it?’ I’ve heard it ten times today!”

“Geez, even the King is daring. Nobody dares joke like that at these occasions!”

Because of various political deals, the name “Go from the North” replaced Lelang’s Wang clan in the story.

Since rumors spread so quickly, our wedding resembled a bustling feast. Of course, people from Gomchon and surrounding villages came. It couldn't have been otherwise.

“Princess! It’s the Princess!”

“I want to see the Princess too!”

“So little! So cute!”

Word had already spread widely that Boknyeo was a Princess.

In that sense, now that only people from surrounding villages were there, the crowd was actually smaller.

There were two reasons for this state.

“Everyone step back! If any harm comes to the Princess, I will wipe you out! Those not invited may not enter!”

“Who dares speak nonsense about the Princess’s height?”

The first was thanks to the ten warriors carefully selected and dispatched by Go Yangseong.

At first, when the soldiers came, I was tense.

Normally in such cases, they might bring back the Princess, or nobles might storm in yelling “This marriage is invalid!”

Perhaps Boknyeo felt similarly, because she immediately raised her dagger and stood before the soldiers shouting, “Do you want to see me die? Hands off my husband!”

“I thought, is this the spirit of a Goguryeo Princess?”

While Princess Seonhwa of Silla suffered from malicious rumors in Baekje and eventually married the rumor‑spread originator Seodong, the Princess of Goguryeo simply drew her sword and declared, “I choose my husband—what’s the problem?”

Fortunately, there was no actual violence with the sword.

The soldiers quickly announced:

“I am Yeom Bu, Captain of the Guard, Princess.”

“Yeom Bu? You came?”

“Yes. And His Majesty wishes the Princess happiness here.”

In other words, the palace door remained closed.

Honestly, I admit. I dreamt these past few days, as an in‑law, I’d kick open the palace door and be acknowledged.

I remember the dream vividly.

When I kicked in the door, Gwak Geobyung and Hong Inhan and Kim Jwageun clapped and welcomed me into the in‑law squad, embracing me.

Then Yi Bang‑won with a mace laughed slyly and gave a congratulatory speech—and the dream ended.

Right. From the messy jumble of events, it was just a nonsense dream from when I was tired. I had no in‑law authority.

No wonder… such a thing can’t happen easily.

On Dal’s case itself shows that. Just because On Dal became a son‑in‑law, did he enter the palace at once?

No way. Even if he got first place on the Third‑Day Festival on March 3, he wasn’t treated as a son‑in‑law.

On Dal was treated properly as son‑in‑law only after achieving merit in the Baesan battle and becoming a victorious general.

Even though my past changed, I thought maybe the future would too. But nothing in life changes that easily.

After all, Go Yangseong was upright and fair, making “regardless of faction or background, ability comes first” the state principle when accepting members of the Domestic Fortress faction.

Once he set that tone, giving me a government post just because I’m a son‑in‑law makes no sense. It’d violate his own stated principle.

Yet calling me son‑in‑law without giving anything in return is just putting a blindfold and pretending. Being son‑in‑law isn’t a non‑office position. There’s a phrase “door‑knob power” for a reason.

So Go Yangseong’s stance was to avoid controversy—so in this situation, nobles couldn’t freely come to Gomchon.

If something untoward happened, and the King said, ‘The Princess is too endangered; I’ll recall her to the palace,’ nobles would be in trouble as well.

By now among nobles there must be talk that “don’t touch Gomchon if you don’t want to die.” In Goguryeo, “if you don’t want to die” isn’t a threat—it’s a warning.

They probably would kill you. And cruelly.

In games, more annoying than enemies is teammates who troll and benefit the enemy.

Right now Boknyeo is like a bomb—you get nothing from touching her. So at our wedding, no nobles attended at all.

Boknyeo summarized the situation in one phrase.

“So they’re acting like I’m a non‑existent Princess.”

“Are you perhaps upset about that?”

“Of course not. Didn’t I prepare for this?”

Saying that, Boknyeo looked around.

“Here comes the alcohol and meat!”

In old Goguryeo, when a man married, there were concepts of bride‑price and wedding gifts; the man prepared silk and money.

But that was in early Goguryeo when people raided.

In this later Goguryeo, men only prepared alcohol and pork for the feast when marrying.

If one gave more, people would insult you, saying “That household raised a girl not to marry but to sell as a maid.”

Politically, it’s a policy to encourage marriage and increase the population of independent farmers by reducing the cost of marriage gifts—but in my case, it was a great policy.

My wife is royal family…

If there had been bride‑price and gifts, my spine might have folded under the weight.

Dumdududung—dumdududung—

Hwarrruk!—

The roar of huge drums filled the village.

Huge flames roasted piles of pork skewers, and many people danced circles around them.

Just like a Goguryeo wedding: drums and fire bring dance anywhere. It was loud, but no one shouted “It’s too loud!”

Everyone, young and old, came out to enjoy together. Children and youth ran everywhere in excitement; those too tired played tuho and yut, and backgammon and baduk.

Feeling like a campfire… I thought as I stared into the fire.

Then my vision turned blurry.

“What are you doing, not drinking?”

Boknyeo with rouge and vermilion lipstick grinned and stood in front of me.

Boknyeo’s height is about 150 cm on average for the era, and I’m around 190, so even by 21st‑century standards I’m tall, so sitting like this our eyes met.

“Look, do you see those people? They seem to have hit it off.”

“Where do you mean?”

“Over there, over there.”

I followed Boknyeo’s finger. Two people were holding hands, whispering and giggling.

“It’s a bit noisy here. Shall we go rest somewhere? Over at the water‑mill…”

“By now the entire water‑mill must be full, right? You should’ve said so sooner!”

“Sorry. I’ve never experienced something like this before….”

“What, first time? Then… come to my place! My dad’s not home today!”

Truly, the land of free love.

Even amidst this, if a new couple locked eyes, they would soon be married and hold another celebration.

‘Is this a club or a wedding…?’

That thought crossed my mind briefly, but even so… it didn’t look all that bad.

Under the starlight, time flowed on.

The liquor jar showed its bottom, the wooden plate now only smeared with boar fat, glistening faintly in the dwindling firelight as the firewood burned out.

All the noisy clamor until that point felt like a day’s dream, now replaced by weary yawns and sticky silence.

By then, without a word needing to be said, the people turned away from the bride and groom and returned home, ready for tomorrow.

I approached Boknyeo, who remained alone.

“Wasn’t it too exhausting?”

“Exhausting? Not at all. It was just fun!”

Boknyeo grinned.

Perhaps because she had danced so joyfully under the firelight, the scent of her sweat faintly mingled with the alcohol.

“Do nobles do this too?”

“No. They hire professional musicians and courtesans, jesters and clowns. We nobles sit with the guests and just watch from the platform. Honestly, coming down and dancing together like this—it’s my first time.”

“Boknyeo, there’s something I want to show you.”

I took Boknyeo and led her toward the house.

It was a new house built for our newlywed life, about 200 meters away from my mother’s place.

Originally, it would have been fitting for the bride to stay with the mother-in-law, but my mother insisted she couldn’t subject a Princess to such treatment, and had a separate house built.

The villagers all pitched in, and it was built quickly.

“Right over there, that’s my field. It’s small because I don’t have any slaves.”

“A field…”

Boknyeo didn’t seem too surprised.

It was just a field, after all. From her view, I might have looked like someone bragging about their property in front of a second-generation chaebol.

But.

“Look.”

I carefully pulled out a crop from the soil.

Seeing it, Boknyeo let out a surprised sound.

“That’s balloon flower, right?”

“Look closely. Is it really just dried-up balloon flower?”

“…Wait, are you saying this is ginseng or something… huh?”

Boknyeo was taken aback. I held the ginseng up to her nose.

“Oh, it really… it really is ginseng?”

Balloon flower and ginseng had distinctly different scents. She had grown up eating ginseng—there was no way she wouldn’t know.

“So, you’re saying this isn’t wild ginseng from the mountains, but cultivated in a field?”

“That’s right. This whole field is ginseng. Out of what I first planted, about a hundred seeds took root. This one is five years old, and it should be ready to harvest next year.”

“You’re saying a five-year-old ginseng got this big?”

“Unlike wild ginseng, it received base fertilization and proper care from the start.”

“Fertilizer? What do you mean by fertilizer?”

“Well, fertilizer is…”

Boknyeo’s eyes widened as she listened to the explanation.

“So if you ferment manure and spread it, the plants grow better… and you can grow ginseng in fields?”

“That’s correct.”

“Unbelievable! This method should be spread across the whole country. No, this is even beyond that level!”

“That’s exactly what I want to say. But on my own, I could only spread it within Gromchon.”

People don’t blindly follow just because something is good. New methods are always followed by inevitable failures.

Failing once or twice and saying, ‘Ah, this is no good!’ and giving up—that’s actually a good outcome. Most don’t even try.

What’s needed to overcome that is authority.

People would keep trying Muhammad Ali’s boxing techniques even if they fail at first… but if it’s a street-fighting book written by Kim Insam, one failure and it’s used as a ramen lid at best.

And right now, by my side—

“This is something I must report to Father. Do you happen to have paper and ink?”

—was the Grand King's daughter.

Boknyeo, who knew Idu, took on the task of writing my farming method into a book on my behalf.

I, of course, never worried about thoughts like “What if others steal the method and toss me aside?”

A computer science friend once said that even with YouTube in the 21st century, people still often fail at coding. How much harder must it be to replicate a farming technique from a poorly illustrated book in this era?

‘In the end, books are only a reference. What matters more is a skilled technician who can guide step by step.’

In other words… me and the people of Gromchon. This farming manual was more like a self-promotion tool.

So, I explained the farming method beside Boknyeo, and she diligently wrote it down.

“Boknyeo, would it be possible for me to learn that too?”

“You mean Classical Chinese and Idu? Why?”

“I thought… it might help with my career.”

“Career, huh.”

At that, Boknyeo let out a hum.

“To be honest, just this book alone would be enough for people to praise you as the god of farming. You’ll have wealth too. Is there really a need to pursue advancement?”

Boknyeo asked.

“As the Princess’s husband, once you step into politics, the nobles will be all over you like wolves… why walk such a difficult path?”

She meant that since I was already born with a golden spoon, I could simply finish the book, toss it to someone trustworthy, and live leisurely.

To gain fame and fortune, while avoiding the hardships of politics—that wouldn’t be a bad life.

‘If… I didn’t know the future.’

I knew that Goguryeo had less than a hundred years left. In fact, in just forty years, it would be in an all-out war with the Sui Dynasty.

Knowing that, I had no intention of hiding in the mountains to live idly. Besides, I had another reason.

“Boknyeo. If I settle for this life, your name wouldn’t be remembered well, would it?”

In history, Pyeonggang remained known as a wise woman.

Because the ‘On Dal’ she chose became a great general of Goguryeo.

But what if he hadn’t?

Then the name Pyeonggang would likely be remembered as a woman who ruined state affairs for personal emotions.

“It wouldn’t be right if the person who chose me ends up insulted for that choice, would it?”

“Ugh.”

Boknyeo’s hand holding the brush swept across the paper.

“On Dal, please! Can’t you at least give a signal before saying stuff like that? Do you know how much paper costs? Now I have to rewrite this from the beginning…!”

Boknyeo was unexpectedly weak to such words.

Later I heard that Boknyeo, deep down, also hoped I would succeed.

“I just wanted to say, in front of Father, ‘Isn’t my husband amazing?’... something like that.”

“Then why didn’t you say so?”

“Considering I suddenly showed up and demanded marriage, I really have no shame pressing my husband to rise in the world like this….”

“If something like that happens again, tell me right away. We are husband and wife, aren’t we?”

After that heartfelt conversation—

Well-versed in royal affairs, Boknyeo laid out my career course like a famous Gangnam academy instructor.

“As you know, Father probably won’t be the one to summon you first. That wouldn’t align with the justice and fairness he always preaches.”

If Go Yangseong, who publicly denounces factional politics, appointed his own son-in-law to office, that would be blatant hypocrisy—and hypocrisy ranks as one of the top reasons kings have ruined nations throughout history.

Boknyeo let out a deep sigh.

“If only you weren’t the Prince Consort, perhaps it would’ve been easier to be recommended based on your merit. On the flip side, if you do manage to get appointed, it’ll be of great help.”

Indeed, my current situation was like being the hospital director’s son preparing for medical school.

No matter how powerful the director, if his kid couldn’t even get into med school and he tried parachuting him into the hospital, it’d end in disaster.

But if the kid made it into med school?

Frankly, promotions would be a given. Even if the director said nothing, people around would still take the hint.

“So in the end, you’ll need to prove your ability the proper way. It would be different if you gained office first and just happened to be the Prince Consort, right?”

“I understand. Then what should I do?”

“As I said, recommendation is difficult… and you’re a bit old to attend the Scholarly Academy. There’s no sign of war anytime soon either, so the most likely path right now would be the Heavenly Deity Rite on March 3rd.”

“Heavenly Deity Rite?”

“Yes. It’s an event held on the hills of Lelang where people gather to compete in martial arts and hunting. If you perform well, you can be appointed to office, and if you’re a noble, you might even gain a chance to enter the Taehak.”

This was an episode also recorded in the On Dal Yeoljeon. On Dal made his political debut after achieving excellent results in the Heavenly Deity Rite held on March 3rd.

“In fact, until recently, those from the Domestic Fortress Faction had difficulty joining government even with good results at the Heavenly Deity Rite. But didn’t Father recently order that there should be no discrimination against the Domestic Fortress Faction?”

“That’s true.”

“Because of that, some young men from the Domestic Fortress Faction are already heading to Pyeongyang in preparation for the rite to be held ten months from now. So it would be best for you to take advantage of this opportunity as well.”

At her words, I scratched my head.

“But while I’m fairly good at throwing spears, I know nothing about archery or horseback riding. I haven’t even managed to acquire a military horse or a horn bow.”

“What’s there to worry about? You can just start learning now.”

Boknyeo looked me up and down and said,

“You look like you’ll pick it up quickly.”

The drum seems to have been one of Goguryeo’s representative instruments. In fact, it was a key instrument across East Asia. Its sound was pleasant, and it was essential for warfare. There are also numerous records suggesting people loved gathering around to enjoy performances with it.

In addition, in the Dance Mural, there’s an image of a high-ranking figure watching jesters, courtesans, and musicians dance. The depiction in this scene was inspired by that.

Because the Korean Peninsula had a significant fluctuation in river water levels, waterwheels were not particularly widespread. Even in Joseon, there are several records of failed attempts to distribute waterwheels.

However, Goguryeo’s northern regions didn’t have water level fluctuations as severe as those of the southern rivers, which might explain the detailed records on waterwheels.

There are accounts like “Damjing taught the waterwheel to Japan” and even records stating that seven types of waterwheels were used. Judging from this, Goguryeo might have been a powerhouse in waterwheel technology.