Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Mud Blooms Even in the Mire, Chapter 11

“We’ll be lucky if it just ends in a disaster! Given His Majesty’s temperament, the Crown Prince will be deposed, if not worse! If the Crown Prince is deposed, do you think you, as his companion, and our clan will survive intact?”
His voice was kept low, but the despair and rage embedded within were by no means small. All the time spent anxiously waiting for the day the Crown Prince would ascend the throne, while evading Emperor Xuanwen’s suspicions, had been in vain.
“But the Second Prince is still young…”
“No. Think carefully about it.”
Chu Se-gu explained, grinding his teeth.
“An emperor infatuated with a dissolute Evil Cult ascending the throne versus a young emperor ascending the throne. Which of the two do you think would jeopardize the imperial power more?”
“……”
There was no need for an answer. It was the former.
There were already historical precedents where a king in the former scenario had brought ruin upon his own kingdom.
Furthermore, although the Second Prince was young, his birth mother, the Noble Consort, was alive and well, so if she were invested as Empress even just for form’s sake, she could rule behind the curtain even if the Emperor were to pass away early.
Her maternal family was also a clan with a fair amount of influence, so they would easily be able to assist the young new emperor. Even if the power of the imperial in-laws became somewhat too strong, it was still better than the former scenario.
It was obvious what Emperor Xuanwen would choose.
“In an instant, our clan has been put in jeopardy as well!”
Unable to contain his fury, Chu Se-gu’s shoulders heaved violently.
Even if their connection to the White Head Sect remained undiscovered, they might still be implicated with the deposed Crown Prince, and the heads of their entire family could fly.
‘No, with an emperor who suspects first without question, he would definitely do that and more to eradicate the roots and all!’
Chu Sim-yang, who had failed to foresee the total destruction of his own clan, late in the day turned deathly pale.
“Wh-what should we do? Even if I tell His Highness to sever ties with the White Head Sect, it will be useless.”
Infused with a deep sense of inferiority, Crown Prince Yoo Jeong was not the kind of person to take another’s loyal advice to heart. Even if Chu Sim-yang offered a remonstrance, the prince would not even pretend to listen.
It was only a matter of time before Emperor Xuanwen found out, yet there was no way to break through the predicament.
“At any rate, His Majesty will not live long due to his illness. We must somehow conceal the Crown Prince’s misdeeds until he passes away, or else…”
Chu Se-gu ground his teeth.
“We must find a sacrificial lamb to take the fall, so that His Majesty’s eyes do not fall upon the Crown Prince—no, upon our clan.”

* * *

To use for self-preservation and to prepare for any contingency, Chu Se-gu had been secretly bribing those around the influential figures and imperial family members of Songyang State.
Because he had spread his information network wide and shallow, there was little high-quality information. Another reason was that most people were keeping a low profile to avoid Emperor Xuanwen’s purges.
‘But right now, even such trivial information is necessary.’
To clutch at straws, he had to scrape together whatever he could. With that thought, Chu Se-gu deployed his men and unleashed his funds.
The operations were carried out in absolute secrecy. Those who were bribed did not even know that the person buying the information was Chu Se-gu.
It was through these exact circumstances that information regarding Yoo Seo-hwa leaked in.
“It was the day Her Highness the Princess made a progress to the main estate of the Gyeong Clan. Her Highness dismissed the palace attendants and toured the estate alone with Gyeong Won-ui, so the other attendants are unaware of what happened. Only that one particular palace maid happened to witness it by chance, and she claims Gyeong Won-ui closed and locked all the doors and windows, and spent a long time intimately alone with Her Highness in his quarters.”
It was truly a trivial piece of gossip. The subordinate who delivered the report added a word, looking rather embarrassed himself.
“Since they are already betrothed and are a young man and woman, isn’t it quite possible for them to share some secret time together?”
However, unlike his subordinate, Chu Se-gu carefully organized his thoughts.
Gyeong Won-ui, at an age bursting with youthful vigor, unable to overcome his amorous desires, had engaged in a sexual affair with the Princess. Not only the subordinate, but the maid who witnessed it must have thought so too.
But Chu Se-gu did not.
‘Won-ui is not the type of lad to do such a thing.’
Chu Se-gu and Gyeong Baek-jong were lifelong friends. From the moment he heard the news of Won-ui’s birth, he had watched him closely as an infant and for over twenty years.
The Won-ui he knew was as sharp as a sword and a man of upright integrity. How many times had he discovered in Won-ui a grandeur that his own children lacked, and secretly mastered his feelings of jealousy behind Baek-jong’s back?
Won-ui was not the sort of scoundrel to touch his betrothed before marriage in violation of propriety.
‘At most, he probably sat facing the imperial princess and whispered sweet nothings.’
Even so, this was a useful card.
Were not Won-ui and the Gyeong Clan imperial relatives whom Emperor Xuanwen constantly watched with unslackened vigilance? If played right, it would serve as an excellent pretext to catch Emperor Xuanwen’s attention.
What mattered was not the ‘truth’ of what had transpired in Won-ui’s quarters. It was cooking up the superficial circumstance that ‘the two met in secret’ to make it look plausible. So that Emperor Xuanwen would keep his gaze fixed on them.
‘If I just find a suitable pretext and fabricate it, I can frame it as though the imperial princess met him secretly the moment she escaped the Princess’s Palace, away from the eyes and ears of the palace attendants.’
It was an opportunity too good to let slip.
‘To do that, I must fish up something more.’
He had all the money in the world. There was no hesitation in his mind about the fact that his friend’s clan might become entangled.
Rather, he even indulged in a peculiar imagination. Compared to his own children, whose talents could not keep up with their innate greed, he pictured Baek-jong’s future, where his clan would be jeopardized because of a child who possessed both talent and character.
Chu Se-gu’s true nature, corrupted by an ugly inferiority complex while keeping a good friend close by, whispered to him not to miss this chance.
Chu Se-gu pulled out a money pouch jingling with coins and threw it in front of his subordinate.
“Tell that maid to find out in more detail exactly what happened that day.”
“Pardon? Ah, understood.”
The subordinate could not hide his bewilderment, but he obeyed his master’s command without a word of complaint.

* * *

Lady Kim, a maid of the Princess’s Palace, anxiously bit her lower lip.
‘Her Highness is such a wonderful person.’
As the Emperor’s only precious daughter, she could have easily gotten away with having a nasty disposition, but Yoo Seo-hwa was not like that. She was a master who knew how to generously empathize with and bestow kindness upon her subordinates.
The Imperial Palace was a place where one could be killed by their master and buried without a sound. It was a place where one could not even show tears of blood.
Nevertheless, the attendants of the Princess’s Palace were the sole exception. Not a single person had ever suffered an injustice. There were more than a few attendants who declared they would serve Her Highness even after she wedded.
‘If only my mother’s illness were not so severe…’
If it were not for the fact that her sick mother and five younger siblings were relying solely on her, Lady Kim would never have sold out the movements of Yoo Seo-hwa that she had witnessed by chance.
‘I have committed a grave sin.’
Regret washed over her late in the day. However, the money pouch filled to the brim with coins flickered before her eyes.
With that money, she could procure good medicinal herbs for her mother’s illness and fill the starved bellies of her younger siblings.
‘Even if it is Her Highness’s secret, it’s just that she shared the pleasure of clouds and rain with Young Master Gyeong, right?’
Her destitute reality led to self-justification. Of course, it was against propriety for an unmarried woman to share affection with a man, but she was the Emperor’s precious daughter, and the counterparty was her betrothed, whom she was on the verge of marrying.
Even if it were discovered, it did not seem like anything disastrous would happen.
Having hardened her resolve, Lady Kim went to Court Lady Lee and discreetly explained the situation. Court Lady Lee’s face turned deathly pale.
“Is it true that Her Highness was in a secret room with Young Master Gyeong?”
“I beg your forgiveness. I hesitated over whether I ought to keep Her Highness’s secret, which is why I am late in reporting it. However, I felt that you, milady, should know in case any untoward incident arises for Her Highness…”
“I understand, so you must not breathe a word of this matter to anyone.”
“How could I dare?”
After strictly ensuring Lady Kim kept her mouth shut, Court Lady Lee hurried to see Yoo Seo-hwa.
“Her Highness, it is Court Lady Lee.”
“Come in.”
It so happened that she was in her room doing needlework, making an embroidered belt pouch to present as a gift to Won-ui.
“You only stepped out a moment ago, so why do you enter with such a frantic look on your face?”
“Her Highness, could you please dismiss those around you?”
“Hmm?”
At the sudden request, Yoo Seo-hwa even stopped her needlework and looked at Court Lady Lee. Her expression was solemn. When she gestured to her surroundings, the palace maids who had been standing in attendance bowed their heads and all withdrew.
Left entirely alone in the spacious room, Court Lady Lee dropped to her knees on the floor.
“What is the matter?”
Court Lady Lee carefully addressed Yoo Seo-hwa, who was bewildered by her sudden behavior.
“Forgive my presumption, but this servant has served Your Highness with all my heart for many long years, and I have even dared to feel a bond of affection for you.”
“Why do you say something so obvious? After the late Empress passed away early, you were the one who carried me on your back and raised me. I know better than anyone how devoted you have been.”
“If so, could you generously look past and forgive this servant’s presumptuous and foolish question?”
“Ask. What is it?”
Even after receiving permission, Court Lady Lee hesitated before she finally managed to ask.
“I venture to inquire. Is it true that when you made a progress to the Gyeong estate, you spent time with Young Master Gyeong in an intimate place?”
“How do you know about that matter…”
At the news that it had reached Court Lady Lee’s ears, Yoo Seo-hwa’s eyes grew round.
‘Surely she didn’t hear the conversation we had inside?’
To the startled princess, Court Lady Lee continued her words. It was an insolence for which she could not complain even if her head were lopped off for offering such blunt advice to her superior, but the situation being what it was, she had no choice.
“If your menstruation next month is delayed even by a single day, you must inform this servant. If you conceal it and miss the time to handle it, it will be a disaster.”
“What did you say?”
Only after mulling over Court Lady Lee’s words once more did Yoo Seo-hwa understand the context, and her cheeks flushed crimson. She hurriedly shook her head.
“I-I understand what you are worried about, but the kind of thing you are thinking of absolutely never happened. I merely shared a conversation with the young master.”
“What kind of conversation did you share that required you to lock all the windows tightly?”
“That is…”
Court Lady Lee’s suspicion was reasonable. If the Princess were to conceive from relations with a man before marriage, the Imperial Palace would be turned upside down.
However, she could by no means confess the conversation she had shared with Won-ui that day. It was better for her purity to be doubted.
Yoo Seo-hwa sighed and placed her needlework down on the table.
“I understand your anxiety, but I cannot reveal what happened inside that room.”
Court Lady Lee swallowed hard and bowed her head low. The tips of her fingers, neatly gathered in front of her forehead, trembled faintly with tension.
“If that is the case, this servant has no choice but to report this matter to His Majesty. Please do not be too incensed with me.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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