Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 34

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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 Mud Chapter 34
 
 
 
It was some sort of Silk Pouch. Picking it up, she brushed away the dirt clinging to it. It was heavily damaged, as if the wild animals that frequently leaped over the walls had bitten and toyed with it.
Even though it had been left abandoned outdoors, the texture of the silk felt incredibly fine against her fingertips. It must have originally been a high-quality Silk Pouch.
“What could be inside?”
Feeling something nestled within the Silk Pouch, she untied the frayed string, and a Jade Box emerged. Yoo Seo-hwa opened the lid of the Jade Box. A soft exclamation escaped her lips.
“The scent is wonderful…”
It was similar to the Ointment she had received from Wang Jeong-mun, but the fragrance was far richer and cleaner. Animals, whose sense of smell was much keener than a human’s, must have caught this scent and played with the Silk Pouch.
It did not seem like the kind of Silk Pouch and Jade Box a Slave would possess, so who could have lost it? Could it belong to one of the Retainers staying in the Guest Room?
“Seo-hwa! Seo-hwa! Are you inside?”
As Yoo Seo-hwa stood in place savoring the deep, beautiful fragrance, Kkot-bun’s voice drifted from afar. Startled, she sealed the Jade Box, slid it back into the Silk Pouch, and tucked it into her sleeve.
“I am out here. I will be right there, so please wait!”
Shouting back loudly, Yoo Seo-hwa hurried over to her small room. Kkot-bun, who had been pacing back and forth waiting for her, waved her hand. She held a wooden gourd bowl in one hand.
“You’re not busy right now, are you?”
“I had a bit of free time, so I was taking a walk.”
“That’s great. I brought something delicious, so let’s eat before it gets cold.”
Stepping into the small room, Kkot-bun bustled about, setting the bowl down on the table. A mouth-watering aroma instantly filled the cramped space. It was a dish she had never seen before.
“What is this?”
“Suljigemi. We brewed some liquor today, and I roasted the leftover Suljigemi over the hearth. It’s really tasty.”
“People eat Suljigemi on its own?”
Yoo Seo-hwa was astonished. She had always known the Suljigemi left over from the brewing process to be something used as fertilizer once the alcohol was driven off.
“Of course. You have no idea how delicious this is. It fills your stomach and gives you a nice buzz, killing two birds with one stone. It’s so popular we can barely get enough of it. You can hold your liquor, right?”
“I can drink a little.”
“Hurry up and try some.”
Tearing off a piece of the warm, slightly charred Suljigemi, Yoo Seo-hwa chewed it gently, her eyes growing wide.
It was an unexpected delicacy. Though a hint of alcohol lingered, the savory, chewy texture was quite pleasant. Furthermore, as she had not tasted a single sweet thing since becoming a Slave, the subtle, sugary aftertaste made it even better.
“It really is delicious.”
“Right?”
Kkot-bun, whose eyes had been sparkling with anticipation as she waited for Yoo Seo-hwa’s reaction, grinned and tore off a piece of the roasted Suljigemi for herself.
“Making rice cakes with Suljigemi is amazing too.”
“It feels like it would be even better if you sprinkled sugar over it to make it sweeter.”
“Well, if I had sugar to waste on Suljigemi, I’d rather sell it to buy rice. Hehe.”
Sitting across from each other at the table—one on the room’s sole chair and the other on the bed—the two shared the roasted Suljigemi amicably.
“Are you finished with the embroidery on the Embroidered Curtain?”
“I finished just now.”
“Ah, I ran into the Chimmo on my way here. Don’t tell me the thing inside her box was the Embroidered Curtain you worked on?”
“That is correct.”
“Gosh, she had this massive grin on her face like she couldn’t contain herself. It’s obvious she plans to claim all the credit. She’s definitely going to brag to the Butler and Auntie Deok-sun.”
Kkot-bun clicked her tongue in frustration, but Yoo Seo-hwa dismissed it lightly.
“It does not matter. No matter who finished it, does it not belong to this mansion anyway?”
“Well, I suppose that’s true, but…”
Faced with an answer that sounded both detached and indifferent, Kkot-bun swallowed a sigh along with her Suljigemi.
Even after becoming a Slave, Yoo Seo-hwa did not despair or break down; though unaccustomed to the labor, she worked diligently and well. Yet whenever Kkot-bun looked at her, she often felt the woman was precariously close to the edge.
‘Is Seo-hwa really alright?’
It had been the same the other day when she was slapped by that young lady, and it was the same just now when she wore an expression as if the affairs of the world had nothing to do with her. She seemed like a faint candle flame that might go out at any moment, or smoke that would listlessly scatter, unable to withstand the wind.
Perhaps that was why, even when her own stomach was growling, Kkot-bun somehow found a way to bring Yoo Seo-hwa snacks. Kkot-bun did not know the hardships Yoo Seo-hwa had endured.
‘It must be hard, but I believe that as long as you’re alive, things will work out somehow. Cheer up, Seo-hwa.’
Just as she, a lowly Slave, clung to life and endured day by day without giving up.
 
Before they knew it, the roasted Suljigemi that had been piled neatly in the bowl was nearly gone.
‘I feel somewhat intoxicated.’
Yoo Seo-hwa pressed her palms against her cheeks, which were growing increasingly warm.
The alcohol infused within the Suljigemi brought on a sharp, tingly intoxication. Since it had been so very long since she last touched alcohol, her body might be reacting too sensitively.
Emboldened by the impulse brought on by the slight buzz, Yoo Seo-hwa voiced the question that had been weighing on her mind all this time.
“Kkot-bun.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Why are you so kind to me? You must not even have enough food for yourself…”
Kkot-bun’s kindness had become a pillar that helped her endure her life as a Slave, but on the other hand, it worried her. She feared that a Slave who could barely look after herself might be making things harder on herself by pouring so much care into someone as unskilled as her.
Suddenly, Kkot-bun’s cheeks flushed red.
“Well, about that, the truth is…”
Kkot-bun fanned herself furiously with her hand, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
“Something happened in the past that’s honestly too trivial to say out loud. That’s why I wasn’t going to mention it… Gosh. But since you’re asking, it feels wrong to just ignore it.”
“Is it an uncomfortable question? I am sorry.”
“No, no, it’s not uncomfortable…”
Hesitating in her embarrassment, Kkot-bun slowly opened her lips.
“Actually, about two years ago, I was sent on an errand to the Marketplace by the Government Office where I worked back then. It was pouring rain, so visibility was terrible, and the sound of the rain was so loud that I couldn’t properly hear the shouting ahead.”
Shouting ahead referred to the practice of servants yelling loudly to clear the path before a high official’s procession. In the Songyang State, this custom had worsened to the point where it was also shouted whenever a woman from a noble family went out.
“By the time I finally saw the sedan chair, I tried to duck into an alleyway, but I was walking too fast, twisted my ankle, and fell. Of all places, I ended up collapsing right into a muddy puddle overflowing with water…”
Kkot-bun shuddered, looking disgusted even now just thinking about it.
“Because of that, I ended up blocking the path of the sedan chair, and chaos broke out. The young lady or noblewoman riding inside… anyway, I don’t know who it was, but she ordered something from within, and a servant started cracking a whip, so I got hit a few times.”
“Good heavens. How could anyone be so ruthless?”
Yoo Seo-hwa gasped in shock at the mention of the whipping. Conversely, Kkot-bun smiled as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
“That’s just the fate of a Slave. It’s never happened once in this mansion, but up until then, it was something I experienced all the time. But back then, since it was in the middle of the Marketplace and they didn’t look like they’d let it slide easily, I thought I might die. But then, like a miracle, someone appeared to protect me.”
Kkot-bun spoke shyly, her fingers twirling.
“Another sedan chair arrived and stopped right next to us.”
Even now, the scene from that day was vivid to Kkot-bun. One of the women escorting the second sedan chair had blocked the servant who was whipping her and spoke sternly.

Sighing, the woman approached the shouting servant and whispered something. The moment the servant heard those words, he gasped in terror, ran to the sedan chair to inform his master, and the sedan chair fled immediately.
Swallowing the screams brought on by the skin-tearing pain, Kkot-bun had stared blankly at the sight. The maid clicked her tongue.

The owner of the second voice was a woman just stepping out of the sedan chair. Walking quietly under an Oil-paper Umbrella held by another maid, the woman bent down, entirely unconcerned that the hem of her skirt was being stained by the muddy water.

Kkot-bun had stared blankly at the hand extended toward her.
The woman who had suddenly appeared and saved her from being beaten to death did not seem like an ordinary human. She looked like a celestial fairy living in the heavenly realms.
“That person was you.”
“Ah…”
A faint blush belatedly stained Yoo Seo-hwa’s cheeks as well. Only then did a vague memory surface.
“Right. While returning home two years ago, I remember seeing a Slave being whipped… Did your wounds heal well?”
“Yes.”
Kkot-bun rubbed the tip of her nose and smiled shyly.
“Back then, you even had your maids escort me back with an Oil-paper Umbrella. Thanks to the generous amount of money you gave me for medicine, I was able to treat it properly. I kept that Oil-paper Umbrella as a treasured possession, but an official at the Government Office saw it and took it away, saying it was too extravagant for a mere Slave.”
The owner of the whipping sedan chair had turned tail and fled instantly, and the government official had also exempted Kkot-bun from work to let her recuperate after receiving a word from the woman who escorted her back.
Because of that, Kkot-bun had always believed her savior was a noble lady from an immensely powerful family.
Yoo Seo-hwa let out a soft sigh.

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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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