Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 19

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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-Blooming Flower Chapter 19
 
 
 
“……”
Gyeong Won-ui remained silent.
The ministers knew full well that Princess Sukjeong was once his fiancée, and though a few of their eyes drifted toward him, he showed not a single flicker of disturbance.
‘I heard he confined Princess Sukjeong to the Princess’s Residence.’
Chu Se-gu stole another glance at Gyeong Won-ui.
Everyone in the Capital City knew that as soon as Gyeong Won-ui captured the city, he tracked down Princess Sukjeong and put her under house arrest.
‘Is he trying to take revenge on the princess?’
If so, things were turning out well. Perhaps Princess Sukjeong would have her head taken by his sword before she could even leave for her exile.
“Though Princess Sukjeong was a believer in the Evil Cult, she did not openly flaunt it or act tyrannically, so the death penalty is too harsh. Furthermore, she is the sole remaining Legitimate Lineage of the late emperor, so please reduce her sentence to a deposition to commoner status as her punishment.”
“Deposition to commoner status is far too light. For the past five years, the wailing of the people who suffered because of the White Head Sect still shakes the heavens.”
Chu Se-gu stepped forward to counter.
“As stated previously, Princess Sukjeong’s only crime was donating her wealth.”
“And that very wealth aided and abetted the tyranny of the White Head Sect.”
As the back-and-forth argument grew longer, the emperor tapped his throne once to draw everyone’s attention.
“I shall depose Princess Sukjeong to commoner status and send her to the Gamban Detached Palace as a Palace Slave.”
Though it was the status of a Government Slave, he intended to let her live a less grueling life at the Gamban Detached Palace, where few people visited. In time, she would be forgotten by the world.
The ministers offered no further objections, and Chu Se-gu was satisfied.
Now that the Reward of Merit was fully settled, surely Gyeong Won-ui wouldn’t pester him to hand over a mere slave.
“……”
Gyeong Won-ui’s attitude as he sat there with an unbothered expression only solidified his conviction.
 
The Imperial Presence meeting came to an end. The ministers gathered and whispered among themselves. The main topic of conversation was the disposition of the deposed Princess Sukjeong. More and more eyes glanced at her former betrothed, Gyeong Won-ui.
“Ahem.”
Chu Se-gu cleared his throat loudly and tried to approach Gyeong Won-ui, but before he could, Gyeong Won-ui followed right behind the emperor as he left the Convenience Hall.
“Your Majesty, could you spare me a moment of your time?”
“I was just about to speak with you myself.”
The emperor dismissed the attending eunuchs and court ladies with a wave of his hand.
“Are you alright with Sukjeong being treated that way?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be?”
“My word, you really are…”
The emperor sighed as he caught the chill flashing beneath those indifferently cold eyes. He felt sorry that Gyeong Won-ui’s relationship with Yoo Seo-hwa had ended in the absolute worst way possible.
Whether he cared for the emperor’s feelings or not, Gyeong Won-ui bowed politely.
“Forgive my presumption, but may I make a request?”
“Speak.”
“I wish to surrender all the wealth and lands granted to me through the Reward of Merit. In exchange…”
An intrigued gleam entered the emperor’s eyes upon hearing Gyeong Won-ui’s ensuing request.
 
* * *
 
Yoo Seo-hwa had always governed her subordinates fairly. When they heard the tragic news about their mistress, the court ladies sobbed sorrowfully.
Court Lady Lee, who had barely recovered from her injuries enough to stand, also wept at the injustice.
“Calling you a believer of the White Head Sect is too cruel a slander. Your Highness was merely forced to make donations…”
“Do not say such things.”
Yoo Seo-hwa gently shook her head.
“And do not say that to anyone else either.”
“But, Your Highness.”
“Once we part like this, I will never be able to see you again. This is my final wish.”
“…Understood. But Your Highness has done nothing wrong.”
A bitter smile formed on Yoo Seo-hwa’s lips at Court Lady Lee’s stubborn words. Was her father’s sin not a sin?
Telling Court Lady Lee to take care of her health, Yoo Seo-hwa said her final goodbyes and stepped outside.
The Princess’s Residence was in chaos as its assets were being confiscated. Stripped of everything she wore and owned, Yoo Seo-hwa’s clothing was shabby.
As a slave, the only personal item she was permitted to keep was a single Dwiggoji carved with a magnolia.
“May I take just this one Dwiggoji with me?”
“Well, go ahead.”
The official in charge of sorting through the estate’s property looked at the crude wooden Dwiggoji and gave his permission.
Yoo Seo-hwa carefully tucked the Magnolia Hairpin into her bosom. Though she had no right to wait for him anymore, this was the one thing she did not want to let go.
Together with the other slaves of the residence, Yoo Seo-hwa left the Princess’s Residence under the guidance of the guards. The cold air greeted her.
‘It was late autumn when the Rebellion broke out and I was confined to the residence, but it is already winter.’
As she took her final steps across the threshold of the residence, she felt no resentment. A chilly wind simply blew through the massive hollow in her chest that had left her empty for the past five years.
‘Now that I am a Government Slave, I will never see Gyeong Won-ui again.’
Did Gyeong Won-ui desire this punishment for her?
Sorrow suddenly welled up inside her, causing Yoo Seo-hwa to bite her lip hard. She had no right to shed tears.
‘I do not know where I will be sent, but I wonder if I can become a Government Office Slave in Ganam Province.’
Ganam Province was where Lady Zhang and Gyeong Won-yeong must have suffered all kinds of hardships. She hoped that she could endure the same pain they suffered there instead, paying back even a fraction of her sins.
Perhaps she might even meet them once before they returned to the Capital City. It was a shameless thought, though.
Yet, a lingering attachment remained.
Because the last time she saw Gyeong Won-ui’s face, it was filled with hatred toward her.
‘…Let us stop. I will never see Gyeong Won-ui again anyway.’
Yoo Seo-hwa forced herself to shake Gyeong Won-ui’s face from her mind. She walked with her head down, staring only at the ground.
The Government Slaves who used to work at the residence were divided into groups and escorted to their new offices or palaces. One by one, the group thinned out until only Yoo Seo-hwa was left.
“Where are we go—”
She almost spoke down to the guard out of habit before changing her words. She was no longer of noble status.
“Where am I being taken?”
“We are almost there. Ahem.”
The escort’s tone was awkward, as if he also found it uncomfortable to deal with a woman who had been deposed from her princess status overnight.
After walking for quite a bit longer, Yoo Seo-hwa’s eyes widened in front of the mansion they arrived at.
She had only been here once, but how could she ever forget it?
It was the old estate of the Gyeong Clan.
 
From the second floor, the main gate of the mansion could be seen at a single glance.
Gyeong Won-ui cast his gaze out the window. He could see Yoo Seo-hwa standing perfectly still in front of the gate.
Staring up at the worn signboard with a pale face, she barely stepped through the gate after the escort urged her along.
Gyeong Won-ui’s eyes never left her retreating figure until her small, emaciated body finally disappeared around the pavilion.
“…Princess.”
That back view brought back memories from four years ago.
On her wedding day to Park Kwon-bok, her back view as she stepped down from the palanquin in her grand bridal attire and entered the Princess’s Residence.
Back then, he had also hidden himself far away, watching his beloved walk away to become another man’s wife.
‘No, I mistakenly thought she was my beloved.’
Veins popped out on the back of Gyeong Won-ui’s hand as he gripped the window frame.
It was in King Ning’s territory that he first heard the news of Yoo Seo-hwa’s marriage. Despite King Ning’s warnings to restrain himself since his body had not fully recovered, he simply could not bear it.
Risking danger to secretly sneak into the Capital City, Gyeong Won-ui had ultimately witnessed her wedding procession.
The Park Clan of Hyoju was an obscure family whose status was entirely unfit to marry a legitimate imperial princess, so there had been a great deal of talk even back then. Despite that, the deposed emperor pushed forward stubbornly.

……So that was how it was.
The pieces of the doubt he could not let go of, even while being harshly tortured in the Imperial Prison, finally fell into place.
The anonymous report that went up immediately after he showed Yoo Seo-hwa the dagger.
Yoo Seo-hwa, who ultimately ignored his summons sent from the Imperial Prison.
She was a woman who betrayed love. She was the enemy of his father and family.
“Damn it.”
Yoo Seo-hwa’s retreating figure, which had already vanished, became a freezing blade that pierced his heart.
He recalled the night the Rebel Army’s banners fluttered across the Capital City and the sky turned crimson.
Since his youth, Gyeong Won-ui had gone out to the battlefields as an officer under Gyeong Baek-jong, and under King Ning, he had led troops against fierce nomadic tribes.
Even considering his experience and the maturity with which he commanded an army at a young age, the fall of the Capital City had not been a particularly difficult battle. Emperor Geumche had lost the hearts of the people, and those inside even welcomed King Ning.
He struck off the head of the gatekeeper who offered foolish loyalty to the emperor until the very end and broke through the city gates.
King Ning worried about civilian casualties from urban warfare. Instead of immediately advancing to the Inner City where Emperor Geumche had hastily fled, he first stabilized the public sentiment of the Capital City.

He ordered, acting as if he had absolutely no relationship with Yoo Seo-hwa.
In the eyes of the commanding Gyeong Won-ui, flames were surging everywhere because the Imperial Guard had set fires while retreating to the Inner City, and the Geomgye were covertly looting in the chaos.

Gyeong Won-ui muttered to himself as if reminding himself.
It was not for Yoo Seo-hwa’s safety. If he lost the enemy he had spent five years sharpening his blade for right before his eyes, wouldn’t the vengeful spirits of his family blame him?
However, the person Wang Jeong-mun captured was not Yoo Seo-hwa. It was her husband.

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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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