Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 28

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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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Even though he was his father’s close friend, the man’s searching, scrutinizing gaze was unpleasant, and his excessive praise was often uncomfortable.

It had sounded almost like a sneer, wrapped beautifully to conceal a deep-seated jealousy.
However, when he had honestly shared this feeling with Gyeong Baek-jong, he had received a scolding.

Because that scolding also carried the warning to watch his tongue, Gyeong Won-ui never showed his feelings to his father again.
He sometimes worried that Chu Se-gu’s greedy nature might bring harm to his upright father, but the strict Gyeong Baek-jong would not tolerate such thoughts.
“Are you still very busy with official duties these days? I heard rumors that you did not even leave the office for a while, eating and sleeping at the government office. You must think of your health.”
“It was only because my own abilities were lacking. I am returning home now, so please do not worry.”
“Your abilities are lacking? That is the most amusing joke I have heard recently.”
Chu Se-gu let out a deliberate, boisterous laugh. It was precisely this behavior that made Gyeong Won-ui uncomfortable. Even though he was no longer conversing with his father, there was a subtle awkwardness within Chu Se-gu’s voice.
As if his ultimate target had shifted from Gyeong Baek-jong to Gyeong Won-ui.
‘No, let us stop these thoughts.’
There was no longer a father to scold him for his shortcomings. Gyeong Won-ui suppressed his uncomfortable emotions and wet his lips with tea.
“I am worried that you are wandering outside because there is no one at home to capture your heart. A man is only truly whole when he establishes a household and obtains descendants to offer incense to his ancestors, is he not?”
Gyeong Won-ui furrowed his brows. Only now did he discern the intention of Chu Se-gu, who had visited without an appointment.
“Your age will soon be Yili. They say you have not been able to hold a wedding yet due to circumstances, but shouldn’t you slowly settle down now? The estate will only become stable when there is a mistress. No matter how much you tend to it, doesn’t the estate feel desolate? That is all because the inner house is empty.”
“Thank you for your words, but I have no intention.”
“Won-ui, this might seem like meddling, but it is because I do not think of you as a stranger.”
Chu Se-gu set down his teacup and spoke in a serious voice.
“Are you not the sole bloodline of Baek-jong? Since I have watched you since childhood, you feel like my own child, which is why I keep meddling. How delighted Baek-jong would be in the afterlife if he were to see a grandson.”
“…….”
“Coincidentally, there is a child who is fully of marriageable age and has been waiting for you. I do not say this just because she is my daughter, but there is no woman who loves you as devotedly as she does. She is a child who has looked only at you for the past four years.”
The marriage prospect Chu Se-gu was recommending was none other than his daughter, Chu Na-yeon. Even though Gyeong Won-ui offered no particular response, Chu Se-gu continued speaking.
“Furthermore, His Majesty would be pleased with a marriage to our family. Do you not also guess His Majesty’s intentions?”
At the words that even dragged in the Emperor, Gyeong Won-ui swallowed the bitterness in his mouth.
‘Since the Imperial Court is currently divided into two factions.’
The old officials who had served Prince Ning’s Estate from the beginning, and the new officials who had sided with the Rebellion from within. Although no visible friction had manifested, it was true that a strange tension flowed between the two.
The representative official of the former was Gyeong Won-ui, and the representative official of the latter was Chu Se-gu.
‘There is no better symbol than the marriage alliance of the two representative families of the opposing factions. His Majesty must also wish that if I am to marry anyway, it would be with the Oh Clan.’
Suddenly, his chest tightened uncomfortably, as if suffocated.
Even after seeing Chu Se-gu out by prevaricating that he would think about it without any sincerity, the heavy, pressing weight did not lift at all.
‘Marriage…….’
Gyeong Won-ui slowly rubbed his stifling solar plexus with his palm and let out a sigh.
‘I also know that it is right to follow the Minister of State Affairs’ proposal.’
The reason in his mind was telling him. For the sake of the Emperor and for the sake of his family, he had to marry Chu Na-yeon.
Yet, a rejection that preceded reason was weighing down his chest. Gyeong Won-ui slowly murmured that name.
Yoo Seo-hwa.
Seo-hwa.
There was a woman he had once loved so much that he would not have regretted burning his life and soul like kindling. And that flame had vanished in vain without leaving any fruit. All that remained was a pile of ashes that could never catch fire again.
Having burned everything away, he would probably never be able to love anyone again.

* * *

Inside the Jade Sedan Chair heading toward the Gyeong family estate, Chu Na-yeon recalled her father’s words.
“Hmph.”
Chu Na-yeon snorted lightly.
“Even if Father did not request it, I would naturally handle it well on my own.”
Since childhood, Chu Na-yeon was a child who could only be satisfied if she possessed the absolute best of everything.
If a friend obtained a norigae decorated with jade, she had to have a norigae decorated with gold, silver, and the seven treasures. If a friend had clothes made from the finest silk in the continent produced in Gilzhou, she had to make not only clothes but even a perfume pouch to be used once and thrown away from that silk.
She was born greedy.

Chu Se-gu always praised Chu Na-yeon with such words, but despite that, she was still a daughter.
‘Unlike my elder brothers, I cannot enter public service in the Imperial Court or establish an ambition in the world; at best, I am just a daughter used as a tool for a political marriage.’
It would have been different if she were a son. But because she was a daughter, she could not satisfy her innate greed through success or power.
Chu Na-yeon satisfied her desires through brilliant adornments that made her stand out. Her greed, which always looked upward, was very similar to Chu Se-gu’s lust for power.
‘The finest man to make me stand out is none other than Gyeong Won-ui.’
Chu Na-yeon was certain.
‘I did not know when I was young. I never imagined that the friend of my third elder brother, who occasionally visited our house to exchange greetings, would become a flawless, perfect man. Since he was already the fiancé of another woman, I did not have much interest either.’
That was why three years ago, when Chu Se-gu, who needed a secret connection with Qiheng Province, tried to send Chu Na-yeon under the guise of recuperation, she had resisted.

Having been slapped severely and forced into a carriage, she headed north. Because her marriage discussion had fallen through and she had to be stuck in the barren north for a few years, she cried the entire way.
At the end of the incredibly long journey, Chu Na-yeon reunited with her third elder brother’s old friend, who had come out to greet her personally.
‘Hehe. Even thinking about it now, that day’s reunion was thrilling.’
The young man, whom she had always thought dull because he was taciturn and serious, had become a man hardened like ice and snow, harboring a cold heart.
While acting as her father’s pawn and moving as bidden, she had no interest in what they were plotting. What allowed her to endure the painfully boring life there was the greed to eventually possess that man.
“Hurry up.”
She urged the bearers. The speed of the Jade Sedan Chair quickened, and soon the estate came into view.
Because she had sent a servant ahead to inform them, the Butler was out to greet her.
“Welcome, young lady.”
While bowing obsequiously, the Butler could not hide his awkwardness. As the repairs finished, guests had followed rather than retainers who stayed, but it was the first time a woman had visited.
Moreover, there was another problem.
“I am terribly sorry, but the master has not yet returned from the office.”
It was a visit that merely threw a notification stating ‘I will arrive in fifteen minutes’ without even seeking Gyeong Won-ui’s consent in advance.
He was worried whether it was truly alright to let this discourteous guest inside.
‘The period I have served the master is not long, so I am even more troubled because I do not know well what his friendship with her is like.’
Although he had temporarily sent a servant to Gyeong Won-ui to ask, Chu Na-yeon arrived faster than an answer could return.
“I will wait until my elder brother returns home.”
Chu Na-yeon, who could not care less about the Butler’s dilemma, pushed her way inside almost half-forcibly. In truth, she had deliberately timed it when Gyeong Won-ui was absent.
There was someone she needed to meet before Gyeong Won-ui.

Relying on the sunlight shining through a window the size of a palm, she concentrated on her sewing for a long time before straightening her waist.
“Ugh.”
As she straightened her hunched waist, a groan slipped out involuntarily. Yoo Seo-hwa rubbed her lower back with an experienced touch and patted it gently.
As the repairs of the estate concluded, Yoo Seo-hwa was assigned to work in the designated Sewing Room.
‘In the past, needlework was the one area I lacked confidence in among the accomplishments of the Gyubang, but now, needlework is at least something I am good at.’
A bitter, self-deprecating smile formed on Yoo Seo-hwa’s lips and quickly vanished.
‘Let’s see. This seems to be done sturdily enough.’
Yoo Seo-hwa slowly smoothed her palm over the curtain she had been diligently sewing. Considering her clumsy skill in needlework, it looked quite decent, but she did not know how it would appear to others.
‘Since he said there is no need to prepare in a rush, should I try embroidering?’
Since it was a curtain to be used in the approaching summer, she thought embroidering green pines and bamboo would suit it well.
On the day she had been called by Deok-sun, Yoo Seo-hwa’s request was simple.

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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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