Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 62
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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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Chapter 62: Blooming Even in the Mud
“Does anyone else know why the doctor came?”
“I was so shocked because I thought you miscarried that I made a mistake.”
A look of dismay spread across Deok-sun’s face.
It had been a visit so covert that even Deok-sun, the head slave, wouldn’t have noticed had she not been paying close attention, but she had ended up letting it all slip out.
“Ahem, still, not many people heard, so I made sure to seal their lips tightly. The problem is that I don’t think those fellows will actually listen to me, but……”
“Auntie, please do not tell the young master.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for him to know?”
“It isn’t as if I was truly carrying his child. It was merely a trivial incident where a common slave lost her footing.”
“Hmm…… Very well, then.”
After a moment of deliberation, Deok-sun agreed. Just as Seo-hwa said, it was not something that required a separate report.
“But my girl, did you really just lose your footing? There’s a railing on the bridge, so unless you were bending over quite a bit, there’s no way you would have fallen.”
Seo-hwa recalled the forceful pressure pushing her back and the silhouette of the unfamiliar man. However, she shook her head.
“I suppose I was simply too absorbed in watching the fish.”
“As long as it wasn’t anything serious, then it’s fine.”
Deok-sun patted her, telling her to get some rest, and left the room.
Left alone, Yoo Seo-hwa closed her eyes as she rubbed her lower abdomen, where no child would ever come. A desolate bleakness enveloped her sinking consciousness.
* * *
The first spring after the sky of Songyang State changed bloomed profusely in the Empress’s Palace as well.
The new master of the Empress’s Palace possessed a different temperament from the previous owner, the Deposed Empress, who had been strict and fair. Without ever raising her voice, she lacked presence, blending in smoothly like water into water or alcohol into alcohol.
She did not interfere in state affairs, nor did she whisper to the Emperor to give heavy responsibilities to her relatives. She seemed content merely with the fact that the grown Crown Prince and the other imperial princes were her own offspring.
The central ministers no longer paid much attention to the Empress either.
“Unlike Qiheng Province in the north, the spring in the Imperial City is indeed boundlessly beautiful. The early spring is wonderfully warm.”
“Not only spring, but the fragrance of all the seasons to come is a pleasure that Your Imperial Majesty will enjoy.”
“Your flattery whispered in my ear is quite enjoyable as well.”
The Empress laughed lightly and joked with the Jimil Sanggung. Strolling through the garden of the Empress’s Palace while leisurely taking in the scent of flowers, the Empress stopped in her tracks before a profusely blooming peony.
“It is a peony of such deep color, as if it has swallowed blood. One sees peonies particularly often in the Empress’s Palace; was it a flower cherished by the Deposed Empress?”
When she casually brought up the subject of the Deposed Empress, a wave of awkwardness washed over the attending court attendants. Court Lady Lee bowed her waist while reading the Empress’s countenance.
“They were transplanted from the Princess’s Palace, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, His Majesty did not bestow palaces upon the princesses, so the Princess’s Palace became empty. Come to think of it, I heard you were originally Princess Sujeong’s royal nursemaid, is that correct?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm.”
Beads of sweat formed on Court Lady Lee’s forehead.
In truth, this was a rather dangerous conversation—the fact that she had intentionally transplanted flowers cherished by a princess who had been deposed to commoner status into the Empress’s Palace.
Even so, Court Lady Lee could not look away and let the peonies, which were no different from what had sustained Yoo Seo-hwa’s lifeline, wither away in an empty palace.
Whether she knew of Court Lady Lee’s anxious heart or not, the Empress gazed at the peonies and remembered the flowers’ former owner.
‘Princess Sujeong, Yoo Seo-hwa…… She was certainly betrothed to General Gyeong.’
In her mind, the conversation she had this morning with her elder brother, General Lao, who had requested an audience, came to her.
At the Empress’s small chuckle, General Lao responded with a laugh of his own.
The Empress merely chose not to reveal her presence because she lacked greed, but she was a person fully equipped with the capabilities of an Emperor’s spouse.
General Lao was a loyal subject who had served the Emperor for decades since his time as King Ning, and he was a fierce general who had displayed great prowess in the northern regions. Since he had proudly carved his name as a first-class meritorious official of the restoration, there was no better family to ally with through a political marriage.
The conditions of Chu Se-gu’s family were not inferior either. However, to General Lao, there was something more important than political matters.
Catching General Lao’s underlying meaning, the Empress smiled gently.
The Empress and General Lao were siblings who closely resembled each other—in the sense that they lacked greed and were loyal to the Emperor. Putting aside political matters, General Lao, who had no personal ambition, merely wished for his son, who had lost his wife early, to be happy.
A shadow fell over General Lao’s face.
A greedy wife was not inherently bad. However, the problem was that General Lao’s second son possessed a gentle and unambitious temperament just like his father.
Could a couple with differences as vast as the sky and the earth truly live together in harmony?
Breathing in the scent of the peonies, the Empress emerged from the memory of the confidential conversation she had shared with her brother. Though she had not chosen to mention it to General Lao, the marriage talks between Chu Na-yeon and Gyeong Won-ui had been highly unexpected as well.
‘I thought the temperaments of those two would never mix, like water and oil…… Though that is not what matters in a marriage between families.’
The Empress felt a sense of intrigue from the figure of the court lady who had risked danger to intentionally transplant the flowers cherished by her former master, who was the former betrothed of Gyeong Won-ui.
Returning to the Inner Palace, the Empress dismissed her attendants, leaving only her closest confidante and Court Lady Lee.
“Court Lady Lee.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Because of the issue with transplanting the peonies, Court Lady Lee looked pale and tense with nerves. The Empress formed a smile.
“Do not tremble so. I called you because I wish to hear the story of Princess Sujeong. I was at King Ning’s Residence and the princess never left the Imperial Palace, so I have never met my niece.”
“If that is the case……”
“Tell me the story of the former master you served.”
Court Lady Lee swallowed her dry saliva. Perhaps this would be an opportunity to reveal Princess Sujeong’s unfair treatment.
The trembling gradually vanished from Court Lady Lee’s voice as she conveyed the life of Yoo Seo-hwa, whom she had practically raised herself.
“Hmm, if your words are true, she does not seem like a person who would believe in an evil cult.”
“She was one who, along with the Deposed Empress, advised the Deposed Emperor that he must not faith in the evil cult. To say she is a believer of the White Head Sect is utterly preposterous.”
“But is it not also a fact that she attended the events of the White Head Sect and contributed a massive amount of wealth?”
“That alone is something this servant does not know the reason for either. I asked Her Highness several times, but she did not answer.”
“A bizarre matter indeed.”
Sipping the tea infused with a subtle fragrance, the Empress fell into thought.
Naturally, she did not fully trust all of Court Lady Lee’s words. However, the attitude of not hesitating even while knowing that defending a deposed princess carried a heavy crime was highly impressive.
‘If by any chance Princess Sujeong was framed…… No, it does not matter even if it is not the truth.’
Merely because there was hope for her former master to clear her name, Court Lady Lee would be loyal to her, who was her sole lifeline. The Empress liked that point the most.
The Empress turned to look at her confidante, the Jimil Sanggung.
“Obtaining permission from His Imperial Majesty to send a court lady to a subject’s private residence would not go against the laws of the palace, would it?”
“I believe it is entirely possible for a court lady carrying out Your Majesty’s command to receive the assistance of a slave while fulfilling the order.”
“Ah……!”
Tears welled up in Court Lady Lee’s eyes as she belatedly understood the quick-witted response of the Jimil Sanggung.
“Even in death, this servant shall never forget this grace!”
“Are you reacting so over a mere opportunity to meet her once? I shall look for a suitable pretext within the next few days, so wait without acting rashly.”
“Your Majesty’s benevolence is as vast as the rivers and seas!”
At the expected reaction, the Empress nodded her head with satisfaction.
* * *
In the past, Gyeong Won-ui was a good master who carefully looked after his subordinates.
The current Gyeong Won-ui, who had lost his peace of mind and composure, was not like that. Even so, it did not mean he whipped or abused his subordinates like other aristocrats.
Merely urging the butler to be mindful of their treatment and observing this himself was something the slaves were profoundly grateful for.
That was why the butler hesitated.
Whether to keep silent about what happened to the girl today as Deok-sun had requested, or to confess the truth to his master.
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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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