Lady Noh shook her head after leaving Lee Gon's office. She called one of the palace staff on guard to tell her to make a sweet snack made of walnuts. The staff quickly ran to the Palace kitchen and delivered Lady Noh's message.
The Palace Kitchen swiftly made a walnut cake filled with chocolate, where people call it Hodu-gwaja. It didn't take them long to make the snack. Lady Noh came when the walnut cake was ready. The Palace staff showed the Hodu-gwaja to Lady Noh.
"Hm, smells good. Pyeha would love it"
Lady Noh takes Hodu-gwaja to Lee Gon's office. A waiter bent down and tasted a bit of cake that she served Lee Gon.
"The Palace Kitchen has worked hard to make it. From the flavor you can know how delicious this cake is," said Lady Noh.
"Wait. The Palace Kitchen made this?"
"Is there any problem?" Lady Noh raised her eyebrows.
Lee Gon saw the plate and shifted it away from him.
"Just for you"
"Didn't Pyeha ask for Hodu-gwaja earlier? Then why push now?"
"I want a walnut cake from the Hakwa Hodo Gwaja shop near Cheonan station which was opened in 1934 by the owner Sim Bok Sun. The walnut cake there is famous and delicious"
"Aigo my head..." complained Lady Noh.
Lee Gon pressed the button on his office phone.
"Yeong-ah, I'll give you a special order"
"Go to Cheonan, buy me a walnut cake from the Hakwa Hodo Gwaja shop near the station. Don't buy it anywhere else," continued Lee Gon.
"Ye? Cheonan??" Jo Yeong raises his voice.
"The distance from Busan to Cheonan is only 253 km, you can take the train for 3.5 hours or drive for 5 hours. If you leave now, tomorrow morning I can eat the walnut cake. Be careful on the way Captain Jo," concluded Lee Gon.
Jo Yeong hasn't made a sound yet but the call has ended. He took a very long breath.
Lady Noh comes out bringing back the walnut cake which Lee Gon refused. She runs into Tae Eul in the palace hall.
"How is Hwanghu-mama today?"
"Fine. I was just walking around the park with Seung Ah. What did you bring Noh Sanggung?"
Pyeha said he wanted walnut cake so the Palace kitchen made it, but apparently he wanted walnut cake from Cheonan. Now Captain Jo is going there.
"Cheonan??? It's very far from Busan"
"Really? I don't know what Pyeha was thinking. Gosh my head....gosh my heart..."
Tae Eul looked at the plate on the food trolley that the waiter pushed behind Lady Noh.
"So no one eats that walnut cake right? Give it to me, I want to eat it"
Tae Eul takes godu-hwaja to her room. She started to turn on the laptop and looked at the CCTV of Busan city traffic. She was getting bored because Lee Gon forbade hee from leaving the palace if there was no important need.
Jo Yeong raved inwardly because Lee Gon's orders weren't actually his duty. Even so, he always obeyed all of Lee Gon's orders. Even if Lee Gon told him to jump off the abyss, it looks like Jo Yeong would take it seriously.
Tae Eul thought, "I miss sleeping in the car, chasing criminals, and thinking about crime cases"
"I missed aboeji too..."
Tae Eul threw her body on the bed. Recalling all her memories during her life in the Republic of Korea made her sad to sleep because she was tired.
Waking up after sleeping for only a few minutes felt Tae Eul had had enough. She met Lee Gon in his study with strawberries for her husband's snack.
In such a large room, there was only Lee Gon alone. He struggled with the reports in front of him.
"I heard you told Captain Jo to go to Cheonan just to buy walnut cookies"
"That includes the King's orders"
"Palace Kitchen has worked hard to prepare it for you. At least eat one seed"
"Come here" Lee Gon nodded and grabbed Tae Eul's waist.
Lee Gon saw a red rash on Tae Eul's wrist. He checked her other hand too.
"Tae Eul what's wrong with your hand?"
"I don't know. I don't know either." Tae Eul was confused.
He stood up and saw Tae Eul's neck also had a red rash. Lee Gon forcefully unbuttons Tae Eul's shirt.
"Lee Gon stop it! The door is unlocked" Tae Eul defended the buttons of her shirt.
"Waeyo? What are you thinking? You have a red rash on your neck too, I want to check it out"
"Oh. You should have said that first" Tae Eul became embarrassed.
"Call a doctor!" shouted Lee Gon to the guard outside.
The palace doctor examines the red rashes that appear on Tae Eul's skin. Blood samples were also taken just in case.
"Was the last time Hwanghu-mama took medicine?"
"There is no"
"The food that Hwanghu-mama last ate?"
"I have not eaten"
Lady Noh suddenly remembered something.
"Hwanghu-mama ate hodu-gwaja from me. But I have made sure the food is safe" said Lady Noh.
"Is that true hwanghu-mama?" asked the doctor.
"Yes, but a little"
"I think these red rashes are the allergic effect of the peanuts Hwanghu-mama ate"
"I'm not allergic to peanuts"
"Ye Mama. However, it can happen in pregnant women, hormonal changes can cause allergies that have never happened before. I will prescribe medicine"
"What about my baby? Is it safe?"
"It's just a normal allergy, the baby will be safe"
Lady Noh ushered the doctor out. Lee Gon approached Tae Eul who was scratching her hand.
"Don't scratch, it can make the allergic reaction worse."
"But it's itchy"
Lee Gon gently rubbed Tae Eul's hand.
"Just rub it like this"
Lady Noh knocked on their door to give medicine.
"Pyeha, I'm sorry. This is all because of me" regretted Lady Noh.
"No, it's not your fault. It's because I asked for the walnut cake" replied Lee Gon.
"What are you two talking about? I'm just allergic to peanuts but listening to you guys it's like I have a serious illness. Don't blame each other, it makes it even more itchy to hear that"
Lady Noh and Lee Gon both stopped and looked at each other looking at Tae Eul.
"What's wrong with her" thought Lady Noh and Lee Gon.
Tae Eul can't sleep well because she often wakes up feeling itchy. Lee Gon beside her always rubbed Tae Eul's hands even though he was asleep. Sometimes his hands stop, and rub again when Tae Eul moves a little.
The morning came, Tae Eul woke up in good condition. The red rashes on her skin had disappeared. As usual, Lee Gon always got up early. Tae Eul changed clothes and approached Lee Gon who was at the racetrack.
The cool air and sunshine in the morning make the mood very good. Tae Eul brought some carrots and waited for Lee Gon to finish riding. She entered the horse arena towards Lee Gon who was talking to Maximus.
"How are you? Is it still itching?" Lee Gon checked Tae Eul's hands and neck.
"It's gone, no more itching. Annyeong Miss Maximus"
Tae Eul stuck a carrot near Maximus. The white noble horse devoured the carrots that Tae Eul was holding.
"She probably forgot how ahe used to dislike me so much"
"Maybe you didn't smile at her the first time you met her."
"Which crazier smiles at a horse"
Lee Gon smiled and caressed Tae Eul's cheek. He also stroked Tae Eul's stomach a few times which was still flat.
Palace photographers took several photos of Lee Gon and Tae Eul talking at the racetrack. By providing a description of the beautiful scenery this morning, this photo upload received tens of thousands of comments.
Some comments began to speculate if the Queen was pregnant again, seeing their King's hand touching the Queen's belly. Coupled with the theory that the Queen now rarely attends public events because she is pregnant. Busan Palace was still silent and had not responded to the rumors that were blowing like the wind.
Lady Noh rebukes Seung Ah and her team for being careless when choosing photos. Lee Gon just laughed when Lady Noh and Seung Ah reported the rumors circulating in the community.
"Let it be, unless the rumors circulating are not true then I will quickly refute them"
"Then when are you going to announce Queen Jeong's pregnancy?"
"When the lump in her stomach starts to show. I will show the world, my most beautiful work"
Lee Gon laughed. Lady Noh and Seung Ah were silent.