Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 57

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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 57

Dal-rae, who had split the rice cake into exactly three pieces, even gathered up the remaining crumbs on the knife blade and ate them cleanly.
“I’ll cherish this taste all the way to my grave…”
“Your constant muttering ruins my appetite. It’s annoying.”
“Why are you picking a fight after stuffing your face so well?”
Because of her cynical personality, Dal-rae’s tone wasn’t gentle, and Kkot-bun glared at her. She stopped there only because she knew it wasn’t a malicious argument.
‘Come to think of it, it really is a wonder. The fact that she came to Yoo Seo-hwa’s room with me to eat snacks. Even a ill-tempered brat like Dal-rae must feel grateful for having her life saved.’
Either way, it was a good thing.
Simply wrapping up her thoughts, Kkot-bun chewed and swallowed the very last piece of Baekseolgi with deep regret.
“By the way, Dal-rae. I need to make some clothes, so may I take your measurements for reference?”
“Why me?”
“The person who will receive them is similar to you in height and stature, so I wish to use you as a guide.”
“Do as you please.”
Since it wasn’t a difficult task, Dal-rae stood up readily and straightened her posture. Yoo Seo-hwa meticulously recorded Dal-rae’s measurements.
“Thank you.”
“Who are you giving them to?”
“I intend to give them to my elder brother and sister-in-law at their Exile Location.”
At those casually spoken words, Kkot-bun and Dal-rae flinched in surprise. Although everyone had guessed she came from a noble background, this was the first time she had openly admitted it.
“Oh, uh… Soon Chu Sim-yang’s, ah, no, your brother’s punishment of exile will end! Ouch!”
“You shut up.”
Dal-rae smacked Kkot-bun across the back as she blurted things out in her flustered state.
Kkot-bun, who didn’t know the full story, had said it out of a desire to comfort, but it didn’t sound that way to Dal-rae.
‘Since a married daughter is considered part of another family, she’s excluded from guilt by association. But for Yoo Seo-hwa to become a slave, it means both her maiden family and her in-laws were completely destroyed.’
There was no way someone from a family that had committed such a crime would be easily released from their Exile Location.
She could roughly guess what the situation was, but she felt too self-conscious to offer any comfort. It didn’t feel like her place either. So, Dal-rae simply changed the subject.
“Your brother and his wife must have had a wonderful relationship, huh? Seeing how your sister-in-law followed him all the way to his Exile Location. It’s not like they’re going to build a monument for a virtuous woman for a treasonous family.”
“Indeed. The hardship must be immense.”
“Mm. I haven’t been able to meet my sister-in-law since the incident occurred, so I haven’t heard the full details, but she didn’t follow him out of lingering affection for my brother.”
“Eh, then why would she buy herself such suffering?”
“It is likely out of a sense of duty.”
“A sense of duty?”
Kkot-bun tilted her head, while Dal-rae wore a puzzled, knowing-yet-not-knowing expression.
With three people gathered together, a new topic of conversation soon emerged. Sharing the rice cake, the time spent in pleasant chatter passed quickly.
“Hey, look. It’s late, so let’s go now. She looks tired too.”
“Ah! I need to check the fire in the furnace before I sleep! I’ll go first!”
Kkot-bun waved her hand and vanished in a hurry. Dal-rae, who was about to follow her out, hesitated and looked back.
“Hey, Yoo Seo-hwa.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you, right?”
“Hmm?”
As Yoo Seo-hwa tilted her head, Dal-rae spoke rapidly with a scowl on her face.
“In the past, my sister was exactly like you. She was practically a walking corpse dragging herself around, but then she suddenly regained her energy.”
“…”
“But that turned out to be a very bad thing for her.”
In front of Yoo Seo-hwa, who gazed at her silently, Dal-rae miserably swallowed back the old memory she couldn’t bring herself to spit out.
Even with a lethargic face that looked ready to die at any moment, her sister had tried desperately to protect the young Dal-rae. Then one day, news finally arrived that their father had received the poison penalty at his Exile Location.
Her sister cried for a very long time.
Just as Dal-rae became terrified that she might lose her sister too, her sister miraculously recovered her spirits and smiled brightly. Just like those days when the two sisters and their father were perfectly happy without a single care.
She even secretly brought snacks to Dal-rae, who was throwing a childish tantrum because she wanted to eat them. Her sister’s hand had been warm as it stroked the back of her head while Dal-rae ate mindlessly.
Dal-rae had felt relieved. She believed her sister would continue to protect her in the future.
That very night, her sister hanged herself and died.
“I hope you don’t end up like my sister. It’s ridiculous for me to say this to you, but it doesn’t have to be me—it can be Kkot-bun, so if something’s wrong, just say something. Even if Kkot-bun is a bit stupid, it’s better than suffering alone.”
“…”
“That girl Kkot-bun likes you much more than you think.”
“…”
“After all, we have to live out the rest of our lives like this anyway.”
Yoo Seo-hwa didn’t offer any response to her words. She merely wore that habitual, faint smile.

* * *

Chu Na-yeon’s maid hovered anxiously in front of the room, holding the hot herbal medicine that had just been brewed.
‘I need to give this to the young lady before the medicine cools down… Sigh! What sin did I commit in my past life to not only be born a slave but also have to serve this lady, honestly.’
Opening the door and entering felt like opening the gates of hell.
Since ignoring it and not entering wasn’t an option either, the maid squeezed out a polite voice.
“Young lady, I have brought your medicine. May I come in?”
“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t need any herbal medicine?!”
“But the master insisted that you must drink it…”
“Tsk, come in!”
Feeling like a criminal despite having done nothing wrong, she stepped into the room. Chu Na-yeon had developed a sickness from pent-up rage ever since the day she received the notice of the broken engagement, and she had been bedridden with her head wrapped.
“Did you not convey to my father that drinking this herbal medicine only makes my rage worse?!”
“Yes, yes. I certainly delivered your words exactly as you said, young lady… But he said it is a good medicine for restoring a young woman’s vitality, so it is better than not taking it…”
The maid’s heart thumped with anxiety. To tell the truth, the words Chu Se-gu had appended after that were these:

As the maid fretted, unable to bring herself to confess those words, Chu Na-yeon cross-examined her.
“Is that really all? Given my father’s temperament, there’s no way he would only say words that are considerate of me.”
“Th-that was all I heard.”
“Speak honestly while I am still being nice. Do you want to be dragged out and flogged?”
“Th-that, well… Actually…”
Unable to endure any longer, the maid recited Chu Se-gu’s words. Though her voice faltered heavily, it was more than enough to convey Chu Se-gu’s raw fury.
Upon hearing the whole story, Chu Na-yeon’s face hardened fiercely.
‘Now I’m dead too. Given the young lady’s personality, the sparks are going to fly at me as well.’
Just as she despaired, thinking everything was over, Chu Na-yeon, surprisingly, merely bit her lips sharply. She didn’t strike her, nor did she take out her anger on an innocent target.
Instead, with an expression of sudden resolve, she snatched the medicine bowl away as if grabbing it.
“Hand it over.”
“It’s still hot, so if you drink it right away—.”
“Ah, it’s hot!!”
“Aaaah!”
In a fit of pique, Chu Na-yeon had tried to gulp down the herbal medicine, only to burn her tongue and the roof of her mouth. She screamed and overturned the medicine bowl. Consequently, the maid, who ended up drenched in herbal medicine across the front of her clothes, also screamed.
“How could you bring the herbal medicine while it’s still burning hot like this?! Do you lack the basic sense to cool it down before bringing it?!”
“I-I am sorry. Young lady, I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
“Get the hell out of my sight this instant!!”
The maid hurriedly picked up the broken pieces of the bowl, wiped up the soiled floor, and left the room. Sniffling and wiping her tears, she brewed the herbal medicine all over again.
It took one Shijin to brew and cool down the herbal medicine, which was packed with expensive ingredients.
Holding the lukewarm medicine, she visited for the second time. Chu Na-yeon’s expression remained as sharp as ever, but this time she emptied the medicine bowl without a fuss.
“You, you’ve been keeping ears out for news from the slaves of the Gyeong Clan Residence, right?”
“Yes, young lady.”
“What do they say about that slave named Yoo Seo-hwa? Did Gyeong Won-ui take her as a slave concubine or something?”
“I haven’t heard anything beyond what I told you last time. At the very least, it seems he has never approached Yoo Seo-hwa during the day when the other slaves are watching.”
“Is that so…”
Chu Na-yeon fell deep into thought.
The maid stole glances while clearing away the medicine bowl and sweeping up the fragments she hadn’t managed to clean earlier.
Prior to this, the stories about Yoo Seo-hwa that the maid had heard from the slaves of the Gyeong Clan Residence amounted to nothing much. Only that on a certain day in the past, Gyeong Won-ui had suddenly shown up during the day and taken Yoo Seo-hwa away with a terrifying look on his face.
She heard that because of what happened then, the slaves had spent some time watching to see if there was some sort of relationship between Yoo Seo-hwa and the master. However, since nothing else in particular happened between the two after that, they had stopped caring.
The maid agreed to some extent.
‘It would have been fine if you just ignored her. Why do you still care so much even after the engagement has been broken?’
While badmouthing her mistress extensively in her mind, she cleanly wiped away the far-flung broken shards and the medicine stains, finishing the cleanup.
“I will take my leave now, so please rest, young lady.”
“Come here before you go.”
“Do you have further orders?”
Chu Na-yeon’s eyes narrowed significantly.
“If someone offered money to slaves like you, how far do you think they would go?”
“What do you mean by doing something…”
“Are you going to play dumb and pretend you don’t know? I am asking if you would betray your master if someone else gave you money.”
“That is…”
Tense, the maid swallowed hard. Bringing up such a topic at this point could only mean one thing: the slaves she had bribed at the Gyeong Clan Residence.

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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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