Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 48

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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 48

“I speak the truth.”
Her pristine voice was resolute. Even with further questioning, she would never submissively reveal the truth.
Perhaps because his inner turmoil had subtly manifested, the grip of his hand tightened a fraction more, casting a shadow of slight pain over Yoo Seo-hwa’s countenance. Gyeong Won-ui only just realized he was holding her so tightly.
Releasing his grip, Gyeong Won-ui took a step back.
Yoo Seo-hwa folded her hands neatly as if nothing had happened. However, he saw that her overlapping hands were trembling faintly with tension.
“……Princess—”
Attempting to call out to Yoo Seo-hwa one last time, he hesitated, then turned his back.
Even if she remained silent, there was a way to unearth the truth. His steps as he retraced his path, cutting through the darkness, were hurried.

“Do you remember when the daughter of the Minister of State Affairs visited the ancestral residence last autumn?”
“Yes, I remember it, but what might be the nature of your inquiry?”
The Butler, summoned at such a late hour to face an abrupt question, rolled his eyes anxiously.
“Was there anyone who witnessed what Lady Chu did in the servants’ quarters at that time?”
“Well, everyone is so busy working during the day……. Is it the affairs of the nameless one that you wish to know?”
“…….”
Interpreting Gyeong Won-ui’s silence as an affirmation, the quick-witted Butler bowed his waist instead of asking a question like, ‘Why not ask the nameless one yourself?’
“There is a companion who is close with the nameless one. If it is that child, she might have heard something.”
“Bring her here immediately.”
Kkot-bun, who was brought in that way, was utterly beside herself.
Though she had committed no sin, the mere situation of being suddenly summoned to a private audience with the master was enough to make her spirit flee.
“W-when the young lady of the Minister of State’s residence came? At that time, y-yes. I did hear something from the nameless one, Master.”
“Speak.”
“Well, that, the truth is, the nameless one did not say it directly, but when this servant saw the situation, yes, it was that.”
Gyeong Won-ui patiently endured her frightened, rambling words.
“It seemed she had been slapped on the cheek by the young lady.”
Kkot-bun, who reported this in a trembling voice, almost collapsed to the floor.
Because her head was lowered, she could not even see Gyeong Won-ui’s face. Nevertheless, his passion that chilled and surged at that moment was enough to send goosebumps raised all over Kkot-bun’s skin.
“P-please spare my life!”
The flustered Kkot-bun, despite having done nothing wrong, blindly prostrated herself on the floor and banged her head.
“Are you certain?”
“I saw clearly that her lip was torn and her cheek was red and sw-swollen. I even r-remember telling her to cool it down with a cold silk handkerchief!”
“I understand, so you may return now. You must keep your mouth shut to the nameless one.”
Gyeong Won-ui’s voice sounded no different from when he first spoke to her, but it actually fanned her fear even more. Judging by a life spent weathering harsh storms, a person like Gyeong Won-ui is far scarier than someone who bursts into anger immediately.
‘Oh dear. What on earth is all this about? I thought I was going to die. Still, how fortunate that he isn’t a master who takes out blind anger on the slave before his eyes. It won’t bring harm to the nameless one, right?’
Kkot-bun hurriedly withdrew from the room.

* * *

Late at night, Chu Se-gu was receiving a report from his subordinate.
“How are things progressing? Is there still no advancement?”
“Because it is near Cui Shecheng’s hometown, the terrain is familiar to him, and our tracking is slow due to the one time we lost him when he faked his corpse.”
“Tsk, unable to handle even a single matter like that.”
“My apologies.”
The subordinate bowed frantically toward Chu Se-gu, who clicked his tongue with a displeased face.
“We have captured circumstances indicating he headed toward Ganam Province, and since we have blocked his ways to raise funds, he will be caught by the scruff of his neck before long.”
“Handle it with certainty. There must never be a second failure.”
“I will keep that in mind, Your Excellency.”
“Coaxing with money they cannot refuse is not a bad method either, but as expected, the most certain way to silence someone is killing to silence. I should have killed him long ago, but because I lacked certainty that the restoration would succeed, I left him alone, and now it has become quite troublesome.”
“Your words are perfectly correct.”
After the subordinate, who had been bowing repeatedly, withdrew and Chu Se-gu was about to head to bed, the Butler announced the visit of a guest. It was none other than Gyeong Won-ui.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“Knowing it is improper to visit at such an hour, I have been discourteous as I have an urgent matter to discuss.”
“Ahem, even between you and me…….”
“May I see Na-yeon?”
The corners of Chu Se-gu’s mouth, which had been displeased by the discourteous visit, twitched. He had misunderstood that Gyeong Won-ui, unable to suppress his youthful blood to see his daughter, had burst in in the middle of the night.
Failing to read the coldly frozen gaze in Gyeong Won-ui’s eyes, he laughed heartily.
“She probably hasn’t fallen asleep yet. I was just like you when I was young, so I understand your feelings. I thought you resembled your friend Baek-jong, but you possess hotter blood.”
Chu Se-gu ordered a servant to bring Na-yeon.
Though they exchanged a few words while waiting, it was a time when he felt an inexplicable anxiety at Gyeong Won-ui’s demeanor, which was somehow chillier than usual.
“Do you know that receiving a guest at such a late hour is against the etiquette of the gyubang?”
Na-yeon entered while casting a subtle glance.
She pretended to complain, but a smile hovered on her slightly upturned lips.
“Hahaha. You even changed into your nightclothes and adorned yourself beautifully in the meantime.”
“Oh, my. Father. It is not like that.”
“Since you are to be wed anyway, it will not be a flaw even if you stay alone for a short while. This old man will leave the room, so share your long-cherished feelings.”
Gyeong Won-ui stopped Chu Se-gu as he tried to stand up with a pleasant laugh.
“It would be best if Your Excellency listens as well.”
“Hm? Me too? What is it about?”
Before uttering the words he had prepared, Gyeong Won-ui composed his thoughts once more.
‘Thinking rationally, this is an unnecessary act.’
Although he had achieved great merit under the Emperor, for someone like him who had not completely cleared his family’s false charge, Na-yeon’s family would be a reliable supporter.
‘Furthermore, it is also an act that goes against the imperial will.’
There were several reasons why he should not do it, but Yoo Seo-hwa’s face when she mentioned the marriage alliance with Na-yeon overrode everything.
That moved Gyeong Won-ui’s lips.
“Please dissolve the marriage alliance with Na-yeon.”
The voice notifying the broken engagement was cold and composed as usual. Because of this, not to mention Chu Se-gu, even Na-yeon could not understand immediately and only blinked her eyes.
“What sudden absurd remark is this!”
Chu Se-gu, understanding the situation late, slammed the table and shouted. Gyeong Won-ui did not even twitch an eyebrow.
“I am merely making it clear this time what I have said from the beginning—that I do not wish for this marriage alliance.”
“It is a marriage alliance that His Majesty also desires!”
“I will report to His Majesty personally.”
“You, you……!”
Chu Se-gu trembled, becoming even more enraged by the calmly countered voice. Kicking back his chair to rise and point a finger, he flinched.
Despite the rage pouring from the front, Gyeong Won-ui’s expression remained invariably chilly. Only then did Chu Se-gu read the cold frost settled within his gaze.
A rage more spine-chilling and dispassionate than the eyes of a fiercely driven beast was right there.
‘I thought he was a submissive fellow like his father who died as a treasonous rebel……! Was it my miscalculation? Did I misjudge him, thinking him a mere boy?’
His dry saliva swallowed hard down his throat.
Because he had seen him since childhood, he had inwardly looked down on Gyeong Won-ui. He thought he would be a fellow he could easily utilize, just as he had utilized the straight-laced Baek-jong…….
The face of the dazed Na-yeon distorted.
“Brother, what are you talking about?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
“How can you humiliate me like this!”
It was true that Gyeong Won-ui’s attitude toward the marriage alliance had been lukewarm.
However, it was a union necessary even politically, and the Emperor had also implicitly wished for its fulfillment. While the marriage of the two was becoming an established fact, a sudden dissolution?
Furthermore, it was a unilateral notification from the man’s side. The public would surely view it as her having a flaw.
“Please excuse me.”
Unable to endure, Na-yeon chased after the back of Gyeong Won-ui, who turned around as if there was no longer any need for words. She had no state of mind to maintain her dignity.
“What on earth is the reason?!”
“Do you really not know?”
“How should I know such a reason!”
“I hear you met Yoo Seo-hwa when you visited the ancestral residence.”
“That is……!”
Na-yeon, who had been shouting with a flushed face, gaped. After merely sputtering her lips as if it were absurd, she managed to mutter.
“Just because of a trivial matter like that?”
“Do you think it is a trivial matter?”
“It is a trivial matter! I merely scolded a single slave for her fault!”
“No, she is not just a single slave. She is Yoo Seo-hwa.”
“That woman is no longer a princess! She is a lowly slave who can be bought with a few coins!”
No matter how much she thought about it, she had done nothing wrong. To Na-yeon, who was about to pour out her resentment, Gyeong Won-ui softly moved his lips.
“Chu Na-yeon.”
Neither his low voice nor the gaze looking at her was directed at a friend’s sister any longer.
“You seem to be mistaken, but Yoo Seo-hwa is a woman I personally requested from His Majesty. Meaning, she is entirely mine.”
“What did you say?”
According to rumors, it was clear that the princess, who was supposed to go as a palace slave due to the Emperor’s whim, had been bestowed upon Gyeong Won-ui. But, did that mean the rumors were not true?
Na-yeon, understanding the circumstances only too late, bit her lip.
“……Fine, I understand. I will apologize for privately scratching Emperor’s bestowal. I will not be jealous even if you take that woman as a concubine.”
“You do not understand.”
Gyeong Won-ui coldly cut off Na-yeon’s words, as she refused to acknowledge it until the very end.

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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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