Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 23

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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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Chapter 23: Blooming Even in the Mud
 
 
 
Baek-jong shook his head.

He closed his eyes tightly. Hands that lacked the strength to even clench into a fist trembled with severe spasms.
Those who used to associate closely with his family occasionally sent servants or visited in person to offer words of comfort. Though it was of no practical help, it provided a fleeting moment of solace.
Yet, since the day he was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, not a single letter had arrived from Yoo Seo-hwa. She had not even sent a palace servant. It was as if no such woman had ever existed in Gyeong Won-ui’s life, vanishing in a single instant.
His father was right. Severing ties with the Gyeong Clan, who were branded with the treasonous crime of colluding with an enemy state, was the only way to protect Yoo Seo-hwa.
But.
But…….

It was far too coincidental.
Surely, it could not be. There was no way the Princess would frame him for treason. Won-ui believed it. He had believed it for quite a long time.
However, the imprisonment was harsh. His father’s tears were also too much to bear.
Fainting without even being able to sleep properly, being dragged out to be tortured again, and returning unconscious—this daily routine repeated itself. The sensations in his limbs only awakened when he was being tortured.
His body, mind, and soul were wearing away day by day.
Even harboring suspicion toward her felt sinful, but the agonizing pain drove him to the edge of a cliff.

Ultimately, Won-ui sent her a letter.
In truth, calling it a letter was generous; it was a miserable scrap of cloth. He tore his clothes, which had been ruined by torture, and bit his finger to draw blood so he could write.
He asked if it was truly her.
He asked if she was the one who had informed the Emperor of Jiang Huang’s Dagger.
A prison guard, who had been receiving hefty bribes from the acquaintances of Baek-jong and Won-ui, secretly delivered it to the Princess’s Palace. No reply of any kind returned.

A single word of denial would have been enough.

Even if it were a lie, if only he had that single word, Won-ui could have believed in Yoo Seo-hwa’s innocence and endured the brutal imprisonment. He would have held out while blaming himself for doubting her for even a moment.
However, she did not offer even a blatant lie.
As if he no longer possessed any value now that her work was finished.

There was a young girl who used to appear before him as she drew back the carriage curtain. There was a woman who would smile as if she possessed the whole world just from having a single flower pinned in her hair.
She was his woman. She was his love.
He had only waited for the day he could proudly hold her in his arms. Throughout the long, endless nights, he had intended to kiss her, share her warmth, and whisper just how much he loved her.
Now that he was bound to her in marriage, he would tell her he was the happiest man under heaven.
……That was truly all he had desired.
 
Chu Se-gu brought news of his mother and sister.
His confined mother had collapsed and could not even rise from her bed, and only his sister was barely holding on while nursing her. He said they could not even manage proper meals, let alone medicinal brews.
His father’s sobbing grew louder.

It happened back when Yoo Seo-hwa’s treatment was being discussed during the meeting in the Imperial Presence. Contrary to his appearance of total indifference throughout, Won-ui remembered every single exchange that had occurred in the Convenience Hall.
There was an old minister who had raised his voice with unusual vehemence, arguing that Yoo Seo-hwa, a princess of No Rank, should be stripped of her status, deposed to commoner status, and confiscated and enslaved as a government slave.
‘He was a man who, like Minister of State Affairs Chu Se-gu, betrayed the deposed emperor and colluded with His Majesty.’
Won-ui had instantly seen through the man’s insidious intentions.
He was a fellow notorious for his lechery, keeping young concubines who were the age of his granddaughters. His calculation must have been that if she became a government slave, he would eventually find an opportunity to claim Princess Sukjeong, who was renowned for her beauty.
‘I thought that such an end wouldn’t be so bad either.’
She was the woman he had failed to kill.
Just as his mother and sister had suffered shameful agony as government office slaves, he thought it would be a form of revenge for her to pay a similar price.

However, the moment the discussion concluded, he had rushed to the Emperor to make a request. Take back everything I am to receive, and give me only her.
Without even knowing what he would do or how he would handle things once he obtained her.
The result of that was his current state.
‘I don’t even know how many days it’s been since I last went home.’
Won-ui looked around the office. Rather than the ancestral estate he had reclaimed after five years, this office space had conversely become more familiar to him.
After Yoo Seo-hwa became a slave and entered the Gyeong Clan’s residence, he had not returned home at all, managing his meals and sleep entirely within the office.
Won-ui groaned quietly, placing a hand to his forehead.
‘The fact that the repairs on the main estate aren’t finished is merely an excuse.’
He simply did not know how he was supposed to treat her.
The woman whom he had intended to kill, yet could not.
“General, the Chief Eunuch has arrived from the palace.”
His deputy announced from outside. Won-ui roughly rubbed his face a few times with his palms to compose his expression.
“Tell him to enter.”
Chief Eunuch Gu, who entered the office shortly after, offered a greeting.
“Have you been well?”
“Have you also been in good health, Chief Eunuch?”
“Haha. What is there to change in an old man’s day-to-day life? Just being able to safely open my eyes in the morning is all thanks to His Majesty’s sacred grace.”
Having served the Imperial Family since the time of the late Emperor Xuanwen, he too had grown quite old. In the past, Chief Eunuch Gu was someone Won-ui only exchanged greetings with when occasionally granting an audience with Emperor Xuanwen, but now the man had become the Emperor’s hands and feet, and they saw each other often.
Five years was a length of time in which many things could change.
“What brings you all the way here?”
“His Majesty’s worry is great, General.”
“I am deeply anxious for causing him concern, but…… what about this humble servant has made His Majesty uncomfortable?”
“Why, he worries because you utterly refuse to return to your residence. Today is Sunhyuil, yet haven’t you been working since dawn?”
“The main estate is cluttered and unresolved, and the office isn’t a bad place to rest. Besides, the tasks that need to be settled are piled high.”
Chief Eunuch Gu laughed softly.
“His Majesty declared that if the General refuses, it is an imperial command, so I am to convey his sacred words to make you return home and rest comfortably at once.”
“…….”
Since an imperial command was mentioned, there was no longer any way to decline. Concealing his awkwardness, Won-ui raised his hands in a formal bow.
“I will just tidy up and head back.”
“His Majesty has separately sent medicinal ingredients known to be excellent for restoring vitality to the General’s residence. Have them brewed and get a good rest today.”
 
In the end, he was forced to return home almost against his will.
The Butler warmly welcomed the master who had returned after a long time. The Emperor had sent Won-ui home telling him to rest, but there was plenty of work to be done at home as well.
“My Lord, I have organized the list of items, excluding the fields and silk you ordered to be distributed to your subordinates.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Won-ui had requested to exchange all the rewards he was to receive for Yoo Seo-hwa, but the Emperor had not allowed that.
Consequently, the fields and silk granted to him as a first-class Meritorious Official were distributed among his subordinates.
What Won-ui possessed under his own name was merely the old mansion of the Gyeong Clan, along with the minimum number of fields and slaves required to maintain a living. To that, the wealth confiscated from Yoo Seo-hwa’s Princess’s Residence was added.
Thanks to this, the Butler had been incredibly busy with a mountain of work. Only now was the organization roughly finished.
“There are also items that can be liquidated immediately.”
He casually scanned the list submitted by the Butler. There was a strange part.

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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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