Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 30

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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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Blooming Even in the Mud Chapter 30

“Hey, what are you doing standing there blankly?”
It was Kkot-bun, who was walking toward the Servants’ Quarters. Tilting her head, Kkot-bun caught sight of Yoo Seo-hwa’s face and gasped in shock.
“What happened to your face? Did you get hit?”
“Ah… I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Only then snapping back to reality, Seo-hwa tried to turn her head away while wiping her blood-stained lips with her sleeve, but Kkot-bun was faster.
Grabbing Seo-hwa’s hand as she tried to pull away, Kkot-bun scanned her face and let out a pained sigh.
“Oh dear, your lip is torn and your cheek is swollen… Who did this? Was it those servant boys? I swear, I’ll kill them!”
“The other servants have nothing to do with this.”
Seo-hwa quickly held back Kkot-bun, who was about to storm off in a rage.
“Then who struck you? You don’t even wait on the guests in the Guest Room, so it’s not like you’d meet outsiders. Ah, come to think of it, I heard a guest barged into the Servants’ Quarters earlier. Don’t tell me…?”
Unable to deny it this time, Seo-hwa gave a small nod.
“Yes. Someone did come to see me just now.”
“To barge in out of nowhere and hit you like that, what is that young lady thinking?”
“I suppose she didn’t take a liking to me.”
Seo-hwa gave a bitter smile to Kkot-bun, who was feeling indignant on her behalf as if it were her own grievance.
“The rumor of a guest arriving must have spread quite a bit.”
“Well, our master is unmarried, so when some young lady comes looking for him, people are bound to gossip out of curiosity. I thought she might be the master’s future bride, but a mistress who acts like a thug from day one? I don’t even want to imagine it.”
Seo-hwa hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Has the rumor mentioned which household that visiting lady belongs to?”
“Hmm, I caught a snippet of it, but where was it… They said she’s from a very high-ranking family. Someone in the Department of State Affairs? Was it the Chu family or the Ju family…?”
“Was it Minister of State Affairs Chu Se-gu?”
“Ah, right! Right! I think that was it. Is it a name you know?”
“A little…”
Seo-hwa trailed off, casting her gaze downward.
Chu Se-gu was an old friend of Gyeong Baek-jong, and in the past, he had even pleaded for Baek-jong’s life, which was why she herself had once asked him to deliver letters and care packages to the Imperial Prison.
Since the two families had interacted closely, she had heard about Se-gu’s daughter once or twice from Gyeong Won-ui as well. Not only that, but she was also Hong Ok-geum’s sister-in-law.
She hadn’t paid much attention back then since it was just a passing mention…
‘Her name was probably Chu Na-yeon. Is it true that marriage talks are underway?’
The more she pondered the thought, the heavier her heart grew.
Their families matched well in status, and she was his friend’s sister, so wasn’t it a perfectly fine match?
“The swelling might get worse, so wet a silk handkerchief with cold water and hold it against your cheek.”
“Thank you. I will do that.”
At Kkot-bun’s concern, Seo-hwa barely managed to compose herself and forced a smile, completely unaware of how strained her smile appeared.

Meeting Chu Na-yeon as soon as he left his office, Won-ui could not help but sigh. She had always been prone to willful behavior as a coddled, only daughter, but today’s actions went a bit too far.
“For an unmarried woman to visit another man’s house alone without her family, what are you thinking?”
“You wound me, elder brother. Are we strangers?”
Na-yeon gave him a coy, sidelong glance, but Won-ui’s expression did not soften in the slightest.
“I had my father’s permission. Originally, I was going to come with my third elder brother, but my nephew suddenly fell ill, so what choice did we have? You know how much he dotes on that boy, since he’s the only son he managed to get from his concubine.”
“Even so, it is unseemly.”
“What does it matter if strange rumors spread? It’s not like they’d be making things up.”
“…What did you hear from the Minister of State Affairs?”
“Must I really say it with my own lips?”
Covering her cheek with her sleeve, she smiled shyly while stealing glances at Won-ui. By now, he should have guessed that the topic was about marriage talks, yet his face remained completely unchanged.
‘Then again… He’s always been so expressionless that I could never tell what he was thinking from the very beginning.’
Though she hadn’t cared all that much when they were younger.
‘Still, the two parties involved in the marriage talks are standing right here, so shouldn’t he at least show a hint of bashfulness?’
That was the one thing she found slightly dissatisfying.
If she became this man’s companion, her desire to have the absolute best would be fulfilled, but she would likely never hear him tenderly whisper words of affection for the rest of her life.
‘Hmph, it doesn’t matter. In the end, he’ll realize that I’m the only woman suited for him.’
Filling her head with such arrogant thoughts, she stepped closer to him.
“Are you just going to keep me standing here? My third elder brother praised your household’s new chef so much that I became terribly curious.”
“Go back.”
“Pardon?”
The words were spoken so flatly that Na-yeon blinked, failing to understand immediately. Won-ui rubbed the back of his neck with a slightly weary look.
“It is bad enough that you visited another man’s house, but if you even stay for a meal, the malicious rumors tarnishing your reputation will only multiply.”
“I told you I don’t care! After all, you and I are—”
“Na-yeon.”
A firm voice cut her off mid-sentence.
“I have not accepted the marriage proposal yet.”
Inherently quick-tempered and now facing consecutive rejections, Na-yeon flared up. At any other time, she would have thrown a tantrum or stormed off in a huff.
But today was different.
Before meeting Won-ui, she had encountered his former fiancée, and her temper had already been turned inside out because of her. The irritating residue of malice found its opportunity and burst forth.
“Surely you aren’t acting like this because of that slave woman, are you?”
“…….”
Had he answered yes, she truly would have flown into a rage, but Won-ui did not reply. Only his eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Hmph, I misspoke. You must have taken her in as a slave just to torment her and get your revenge.”
She probed him repeatedly, but Won-ui showed no signs of reacting. The way he remained largely unshaken even when provoked resembled Seo-hwa, which displeased Na-yeon a little.
Still, she was inwardly relieved. At least it didn’t seem like Won-ui had any other hidden motives.
“Go back before it gets late.”
“Fine. Since it was my mistake to drop by without contacting you first, I’ll leave for today.”
Won-ui silently escorted Na-yeon all the way to her Jade Sedan Chair. Offering a final greeting before lowering the curtain of the Jade Sedan Chair, Na-yeon quietly recalled the memories of the past.
‘There’s no way elder brother Won-ui has any other intentions toward that woman.’
Years ago, on the day before Princess Sukjeong Yoo Seo-hwa’s royal wedding, Na-yeon had secretly witnessed a certain man coming to find her third elder brother, Chu Sim-yang.

Strangely enough, not a single servant could be seen moving around Sim-yang’s quarters. The man was meeting Sim-yang in secret, as if he had targeted that exact window of vulnerability.
He was tall with a well-built frame, but his face was completely hidden beneath a Bamboo Hat.

Spurred by curiosity, Na-yeon stealthily tailed him.
It wasn’t out of some grand scheme. She simply intended to catch Sim-yang in a secret so she could badger him into buying her a jade ring later.
Quieting her footsteps, Na-yeon crept closer and pressed herself against the windowsill. The man did not take off his Bamboo Hat even inside the room.
Sim-yang’s face was twisted in a deep frown.

The man nodded silently, and Sim-yang dropped his shoulders as if utterly dumbfounded.

The man’s voice when he spoke those words sounded like the growl of a wild beast.
Na-yeon tilted her head, thinking the voice sounded familiar, but she was suddenly startled by the sheer murderous intent laced within his tone. She instinctively stepped backward, treading on a tree branch.
Despite it being a minuscule sound, the man rushed to the window in a single bound and thrust his hand out. In an instant, her shoulder was gripped by a ferocious hand. Before she even realized it, a dagger was clenched in the man’s other hand.

At first, she threw a tantrum, telling him not to speak such nonsense. However, she was curious about the man’s identity, and since Sim-yang promised to reward her separately later, she agreed.
The next day, she traveled around the Capital City from the morning with the man wearing the Bamboo Hat.

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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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