Fated to Love: a Joseon Love Story
Copyright© 2026 by Megumi Kashuahara
Chapter 12: The Truth
The accusation came on a Tuesday afternoon in the eleventh month.
A senior household servant presented himself at the palace administrative office with a formal complaint: the Crown Princess had been seen in intimate congress with her palace guard in a secluded corner of the Crown Prince’s private garden. The time was documented. The location was specific. The witness had thirty years of palace service.
The accusation was adultery against the Crown Princess of Joseon.
The news reached Seon through household channels before official notification. He was in the martial training ground when one of his attendants pulled him aside with barely contained alarm.
Seon listened. He understood immediately that the accusation was fabricated. But he also understood that fabricated accusations could destroy people if not countered with evidence.
He went directly to his quarters.
Sena was at her writing table. She looked up when he entered and understood from his expression that something significant had occurred.
He told her plainly: the accusation, the witness, the implications.
Sena set down her brush. “It’s not true.”
“No.”
“Where was Jiyeon?”
“I don’t know.” He said it directly. “I wasn’t with her. But the accusation is false. I know that with certainty.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know what the Crown Prince is capable of.” Seon sat down. “And I know the timeline doesn’t work. But knowing something and proving it are different things.”
Sena stood. “I was at the river with Jiyeon that afternoon. With her guard. We went to play.”
Seon looked at her. “You can prove that?”
“I was there. I can testify to the exact time we left, the exact time we returned. The guard’s duty log will confirm it. And if the guard was with us the entire time, he couldn’t have been in the Crown Prince’s garden.”
She moved toward the door. “We need to go to the Emperor.”
The Emperor’s investigation was thorough.
First, he reviewed the guard’s duty log. The record was clear: the Crown Princess had left the palace at 2:45 PM with her protective escort. They had returned at 4:30 PM. The entire window was documented.
Next, the Emperor summoned the Second Princess to testify.
Sena stood before her father-in-law and stated her testimony with the clarity she brought to everything: “The Crown Princess and I went to the river to play, Your Majesty. Jiyeon told me the guard was required to accompany her for protection. All three of us were at the river during the exact hours the Crown Prince claims the incident occurred. I was present the entire time. The accusation is impossible.”
Her voice was steady. Her eyes were direct. She was stating fact.
The Emperor listened without interrupting. When she finished he dismissed her with a nod.
Then the Emperor summoned the servant who had made the accusation.
The interrogation took six hours.
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