Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 42

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 42: Blooming Even in the Mud
 
 
 
Chu Na-yeon’s face contorted as she listened to the urgent whispering.
“Are you sure you didn’t missee her? That woman has the nerve to follow him all the way here?! After she betrayed him!”
“I wasn’t completely sure if she’d just been called out to work at the temple for no particular reason, so I couldn’t bring myself to tell you right away, My Lady.”
“But you’re absolutely certain it’s that nameless nobody?”
“I’m so sorry for telling you so late, My Lady.”
The maid shrank back, burying her neck in her shoulders. Unable to contain her rage, Chu Na-yeon viciously twisted her rabbit-fur muff.
‘As long as she isn’t that damned princess, it’s fine. Whether he takes a concubine or plays around with a maidservant, I can turn a blind eye as long as it doesn’t threaten my position. But anyone but Yoo Seo-hwa!’
She did not think Gyeong Won-ui still harbored lingering feelings for his past love, but the problem was that Yoo Seo-hwa was now a slave living under the same roof. If that woman kept catching his eye, there was a risk it might spark an unexpected ember in the man’s vengeful heart.
Her mind made up, Chu Na-yeon gestured to call the maid back over.
“You, you’ve gotten pretty well-acquainted with the slaves of the Gyeong Clan while the Buddhist Ritual was going on, haven’t you?”
“Yes, My Lady. Since we kept bumping into each other in such a tight space, after all.”
“Then work your magic and butter those fools up.”
Pressing her face close to the sedan window, the maid nodded continuously as Chu Na-yeon whispered into her ear. Whatever the case, she was just relieved her master’s wrath was being directed somewhere other than herself.
 
* * *
 
The exhaustion that had built up over the past months slowly began to melt away. Staying at the temple allowed Yoo Seo-hwa to sleep deeply for almost the first time in months. Thanks to that, her recovery was swift.
“Thank you. Thanks to your care, I recovered without falling terribly ill.”
Even after Deok-sun left, there had been a young boy who brought her meals every time and looked after her sleeping quarters.
When she bowed her head to express her gratitude, the boy looked rather flustered instead.
“Why, why are you bowing your head like that? I didn’t do much, just brought you some porridge.”
“The temple must be incredibly busy, so how could the kindness of looking after someone helplessly bedridden be considered small?”
This time, the boy’s face turned bright red.
“The Abbot told me to tell you to come see him before you leave.”
Glancing around awkwardly as if he did not know what to do with himself, the boy blurted out those words and rushed out of the room. Yoo Seo-hwa was a little taken aback.
‘Did I say something strange?’
She had only wanted to express her gratitude, but she must have made a mistake somewhere. She would have to apologize the next time she saw him.
‘Still, he looks somewhat familiar, but I can’t place him at all.’
She pondered over it while tidying up her bedding, but nothing came to mind. She had probably just mistaken him for someone else.
Her only luggage was a cloth bundle wrapping a few clothes. When she stepped outside with the bundle, the boy, whom she thought had gone far away, was standing there waiting.
“You don’t know where the Abbot is.”
“You must be busy, so if you could just tell me the way, I will find him myself.”
“Explaining it is more complicated, so just follow me. I just need to drop you off quickly and get back to work.”
The boy turned his back to her first without even looking at Yoo Seo-hwa’s face.
Following behind the boy as he walked at a brisk pace, she gently spoke to him.
“Earlier, did I commit some sort of discourtesy—”
“Don’t, just don’t say anything, whether it’s thanks or an apology!”
She did not know the reason, but since he looked genuinely disgusted, Yoo Seo-hwa closed her mouth. Guiding her in silence to the pavilion where the Abbot was, the boy vanished without even a word of farewell.
Bowing her head toward the pillar where his back had just disappeared, Yoo Seo-hwa stepped inside.
“Is your body well?”
Han Gak, the Abbot of Beopjisa, welcomed her with gentle, compassionate eyes.
She had wondered ever since she received the message to come find him, and as expected, Han Gak seemed to know exactly who Yoo Seo-hwa used to be.
Han Gak soon cleared up her question.
“As I currently bear the undeservedly heavy responsibility of being the Abbot, leaving this humble temple is no easy task. However, in the past, when the imperial concubines held Buddhist functions, they would occasionally invite me. I have glimpsed you from afar a few times.”
“Please, do not call me Princess. Those words are entirely inappropriate. The person standing here is merely a lowly slave, so please speak comfortably to me.”
“What are the fleeting affairs of humans that we should presume to judge the karma of the mortal world?”
At Han Gak’s hearty laugh, Yoo Seo-hwa felt even more restless and unsure of how to behave.
As if to ease her discomfort, Han Gak changed how he addressed her.
“I did not ask for you because of any urgent business. I heard your health has been poor these past few days, so I was merely worried about whether you had recovered.”
“Thanks to your kindness in letting me rest comfortably, I am completely fine now.”
After exchanging pleasantries, they engaged in truly casual conversation. As they shared small talk, Yoo Seo-hwa also vaguely remembered.
Back when the wife of her elder brother, who was now deposed and called the Deposed Empress, held Buddhist rituals, she would occasionally invite Yoo Seo-hwa along. Since Yoo Seo-hwa spent her days loneliness in the palace estate, barely meeting anyone unless it was Hong Ok-geum, the Crown Princess had invited her out of consideration, so Yoo Seo-hwa had attended a couple of times. She felt as though she had seen Han Gak back then.
“Though I cannot dare to fathom the depth of your agony at losing both your brother and your husband, please do not think of giving up on yourself, and do not let yourself be deeply buried in your anguish. The Buddha resides within your heart as well.”
At Han Gak’s consolation, Yoo Seo-hwa swallowed a bitter smile.
For her greatest agony was not the downfall and death of her brother and husband.
‘I am truly a wicked woman. Rather than worrying about my brother who might have been forced to commit suicide by poison, it pains me so much more to step into Gyeong Won-ui’s shadow.’
 
After Yoo Seo-hwa withdrew, Han Gak raised his voice.
“Mang-a, are you there?”
“Did you call for me?”
The boy who had guided Yoo Seo-hwa to the Buddhist Hall opened the back door with a sullen face.
“Even after seeing her up close, has your mind still not changed?”
“Did I ever even have a mind to change?”
Mang-a stubbornly clamped his lips shut. Instead of sighing, Han Gak chanted a Buddhist prayer and rolled his prayer beads.
His mind drifted back to his last meeting with the Deposed Empress several months ago.

She was a lady so virtuous that it felt pitiful for her to be denounced as the wife of the foolish Deposed Emperor.
Because she had been praised for her fair character, she had even escaped the punishment of exile, but she had chosen to embark on the long journey herself to attend to the Deposed Emperor, who was confined to his house under guard, waiting only for the day he would receive the poison.

A shadow fell across the Deposed Empress’s face for the first time as she calmly continued to speak.

As she said those words, the Deposed Empress bowed deeply to Han Gak.

That was how he came to take charge of the boy. He had given him the new name Mang-a, meaning to forget, in the hopes that he would forget his past of devotions to an evil religion.
The boy clearly seemed to know the truth about Yoo Seo-hwa, yet he refused to open his mouth to this day.
“She is someone who is silently bearing a burden that is not even her own sin.”
“……Whether she does or not, what does that have to do with me! Imperial family or nobility, they’re all the exact same bastards anyway!”
As if he did not want to hear any more, Mang-a shouted hysterically and dashed outside.
Han Gak sighed. Even though he was risking danger by hiding a remnant of the White Head Sect because he could not refuse the Deposed Empress’s earnest plea, Mang-a remained unchanged.
As a Buddhist, he could not bring himself to threaten a young boy, which only added to his frustration.
‘Just how deep must Mang-a’s pain be for him to be like this……’
The low sound of chanting prayers echoed softly inside the Buddhist Hall.
 
When entering Beopjisa, she had passed through the Mountain Gate where a wide, well-paved road opened up because they were following large carriages, but when leaving, she had to use a side door through which slaves and porters drifted in and out.
‘As expected, the path toward the side door is rough, so I must be careful.’
Gathering the hem of her skirt slightly, Yoo Seo-hwa carefully made her way down the narrow, rugged mountain path. Although she stepped mindfully, the hard, frozen ground was slippery, and she ended up losing her footing and falling.
“Ah!”
A short scream escaped her lips. Yoo Seo-hwa let out a sigh as she brushed off the dirt and stood up.
Because she had put her hand down incorrectly when tumbling forward, her wrist throbbed with a dull ache. Pulling up her underskirt and underpants, she saw that the skin on her knees was also scraped.
“I’m not a child, so what am I doing?”
She brushed her scraped palms together to dust them off. By now, she was entirely used to this level of injury. She was no longer of a status where court ladies would make a fuss over a mere scratch.
Picking up the cloth bundle she had dropped while falling, she slowly made her way down the path again. Her ankle throbbed, but it was manageable enough to walk.
How long had she been walking like that?
The distant sound of a horse whinnying reached her ears, and the sound gradually drew closer.
‘Since it’s near a temple, surely no one is out hunting…… Did someone lose their way trying to go to the Mountain Gate?’
Whichever it was, a slave like her could not stand in the way. Yoo Seo-hwa stepped to the side of the path.
Before long, the sound was right upon her.
As the presence drew near, a horse approached Yoo Seo-hwa, who had stepped aside and bowed her head.
‘It must be someone who lost their way.’
She was preparing an answer to explain that she herself was new to this path and did not know the way back to the Mountain Gate very well, when a completely unexpected voice fell over her.
“What on earth are you doing in a place like this?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————