Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 80

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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 80

Today on Eogu Island, a modest banquet was held to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of the Old Man of the Hackberry Tree House.
Even calling it a banquet, it was merely a gathering where people brought whatever food and makgeolli they had at home. Still, flowers of laughter bloomed among the friendly people of Eogu Island.
Even though he was not from the village, Seog-seong, who had unexpectedly ended up sitting in the middle, was continuously offered makgeolli.
“At first, you looked like a useless gentleman with nothing but a decent build, but you’re more useful than I thought.”
“What do you mean decent build? He’s just fat.”
“You have that much flesh on you, so why are you so weak? You need to do a proper man’s share of work!”
“Ah, stop teasing me. Once you get used to the sea, don’t you want to come work on the boat? You don’t get seasick, right?”
Before Seog-seong could even reply, all kinds of words poured in from all sides. He did not dislike the warm attention.
‘If my fate is to be on the run anyway, hiding and living here might not be so bad.’
On one hand, Seog-seong’s mind was slowly changing.
‘Is it a relief that I don’t have a wife and children to be tied down to… Relief, my foot. Damn it.’
As he thought of the wife and son he had sent away before him, the rims of his eyes grew hot. To suppress the stinging tears, Seog-seong drained the makgeolli sloshing in his bowl in one gulp.
“This gentleman knows how to drink. Have another glass.”
A middle-aged man who loved alcohol smiled as he scooped up a generous amount of makgeolli. Seog-seong drank without even realizing his beard was getting wet from the makgeolli flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Seog-seong used to have a wife with whom he shared great marital harmony. She was a wife he loved so much that he never even took a concubine. The only worry was that they could not have a child, but twenty years after their marriage, they finally had a son.
‘If only our boy hadn’t fallen ill, I…’
His young son fell ill. The doctors all shook their heads.
Only one person, a doctor who had once been an Imperial Physician in the Imperial Palace, said he would try to cure him, though it would be difficult. Along with the words that an enormous amount of money was needed to compound the precious medicine.
Seog-seong did everything to save his son. He borrowed money here and there, and bowed his head to earn money. Even so, the money was insufficient.
It was around that time that Chu Se-gu approached him.
‘That son of a bitch! He tried to use me without even giving me the money!’
As he thought about it, anger surged within him again, and Seog-seong gulped down the alcohol once more.
“Huh? Who are those people over there?”
“What? What’s going on?”
The people who were enjoying themselves merrily began to murmur. Seog-seong also turned his head. A group of people was approaching toward the village.
Though simple, they were outfitted with weapons such as swords and bows. Although it was a poor island with nothing to steal, one could never be too sure.
“A-Aren’t they pirates?”
Fear spread among the people.
Toward the frozen banquet area, a tall young man who looked like the leader stepped forward. The people’s tension reached its peak, but the young man spoke politely.
“I am sorry for interrupting unintentionally. We are looking for someone, so may we excuse ourselves?”
The young man’s way of speaking and appearance made him look like a noble. As he politely apologized first, the frozen atmosphere gradually thawed.
“What kind of person are you looking for, my lord?”
“Is there not someone who arrived on the island not long ago?”
The villagers’ eyes implicitly glanced at Seog-seong, and just then, the young man also discovered him.
‘G-G-Gyeong Won-ui?!’
Recognizing Won-ui at a glance, Seog-seong stood frozen, not even daring to think of running away.
“Come on out.”
The tone that had been polite to the islanders turned somewhat overbearing as it directed toward Seog-seong. Seog-seong did not dare to resist and walked out hesitantly.
“I am sorry for this. Next time, I will send some delicious alcohol and meat from the mainland by boat.”
“Thank you.”
The people thanked Won-ui with bewildered expressions. They thought it was strange that a noble, who could have ruined the banquet and dragged Seog-seong away without facing resistance, would even provide compensation.
Shrinking his shoulders, the people whispered as they stole glances at Seog-seong disappearing with Won-ui.
“Shouldn’t we tell Eulsu and Eulsu’s wife?”
“I haven’t seen them for a while, where did they go?”
“Eulsu’s wife said her digestion wasn’t good, so she went for a walk with Dong-i.”
“Even on a day like this, that fellow Eulsu is so devoted to his wife.”
“Anyway, what is going on with that gentleman…”
Around the time anxiety and curiosity were buzzing, Seog-seong was sitting face-to-face with Won-ui at Eulsu’s house.
“Are you Cui Shecheng, who was the Yeongsa of Jinwu five years ago?”
“T-That…”
“Answer only with a yes or no.”
“Y-Y-Yes, that is correct.”
“Then you must also know for what reason I have sought you out.”
Overwhelmed by the cold aura of Won-ui, Seog-seong shrank as much as possible.
“Are you also the person who discovered the evidence that Gyeong Baek-jong colluded with Zhanghou State?”
“…….”
Seog-seong closed his eyes tightly. As expected, he had surely come knowing everything. Although no evidence remained, who else but himself would be the person to pretend to discover the forged letter at that time?
‘If it wasn’t for that bastard Chu Se-gu!’
Even his hands trembled violently.
Se-gu took advantage of Seog-seong’s situation of urgently needing money.
Even after Seog-seong pretended to discover the forged evidence, Se-gu held out, saying he could not give the money until the matter proceeded definitively. It was only after Baek-jong made a false confession that he barely managed to obtain the money.
‘By the time I hurriedly compounded the medicine, the proper timing had already been missed.’
His young son, who had been wasting away, died within a fortnight, and Seog-seong fell into despair. Giving up on himself, Seog-seong fell into gambling and incurred massive debts, and his wife, overlapping with the shock, passed away.
‘Still, falling into gambling was my own fault.’
Seog-seong’s shoulders slumped.
Even after his wife died, he could not stop gambling. Then the Rebellion occurred, Won-ui, whom he thought was dead, returned, and Seog-seong fled.
‘If he finds out the truth, he will definitely kill me… Because Gyeong Baek-jong was framed because of me…’
Even while sending his wife and child ahead of him and rolling in the gutter, his life was too precious, so he fled. He had hidden away in a place like this, but in the end, he came face-to-face with his own karma.
‘Should I try to deny it and say I absolutely didn’t do it?’
For a moment, such a thought occurred to him, but he gave it up.
If he had not fled to Eogu Island and had been caught elsewhere, he would have desperately denied it. However, on Eogu Island, he met Won-yeong, whose life had been ruined due to the crime he committed.
He could not bring himself to pretend not to know.
Seog-seong mumbled stamturingly.
“The people of this village are innocent… They merely looked after me without even knowing who I am, so please let it be only me who is killed.”
In his own way, he had gathered his courage to utter those words, but Won-ui, on the contrary, furrowed his brows.
“Why would I kill the villagers? I have no intention of killing you either.”
“B-But, the evidence I…”
“Of course, in my heart, I want to tear you apart and kill you this instant, but.”
If the twisted hatred that had turbidly disturbed his heart because of Seo-hwa had not been stripped away, Seog-seong probably would not have left Eogu Island with his limbs intact.
Recalling Seo-hwa, Won-ui relaxed his expression, but soon straightened his posture and sat down.
“Give your testimony. You will receive a fitting punishment for the crime of cooperating in perjury, but I will absolutely never take matters into my own hands privately.”
“I-Is that true?”
Seog-seong’s eyes widened.
“Then, were the people who tried to kill me not sent by General Gyeong?”
“Ah, I forgot about that story. The person chasing you is not just my person. On this side, we only began tracking you in earnest after a corpse resembling you was discovered in your hometown.”
“How can this be…”
Seog-seong slumped his shoulders with a hollow face.
“The bastards chasing me must have mistaken an innocent person and killed him. He happened to have a similar build to me, so even though I knew I was doing something terrible, I changed clothes with him, discarded even my Hopae, and fled…”
Listening to the incoherent story that followed, a look of caution drifted around Won-ui’s eyes.
“Your tone suggests you have an inkling of who it is.”
“……It is likely Minister of State Affairs Chu Se-gu.”
As expected. The conjecture was correct. Then the next problem was…
“Who is the person who instigated it by handing over the forged letter?”
Seog-seong could not answer immediately and hesitated, but eventually mumbled a single name.
“That is also Chu Se-gu.”
“…….”
Taking a deep breath, Won-ui closed and opened his eyes. His molars ground with a crunching sound. To calm the murderous intent boiling in his chest, he had to desperately endure.
He had harbored a vague suspicion just in case, but it was not certain. A hasty suspicion would also be an insult to Baek-jong, who had regarded Se-gu as a close friend.
‘But Father was deceived. Everyone was playing in the palm of that man’s hand.’
For what reason did Se-gu drive General Gyeong’s family to death? Money? Power? Honor? No, the reason did not matter at all.
The real enemy was none other than Chu Se-gu. That single fact was enough.
‘Without even knowing that I was being toyed with by the enemy, what on earth was I doing?’
With the enemy right in front of his nose, he had wounded Seo-hwa. The person who had suffered more than anyone else, and who was still suffering.
Even if Seo-hwa’s heart were to melt, Won-ui would never be able to forgive himself.
“……Can you testify?”
Despite his efforts to control his murderous intent, a bleak voice leaked out from between his teeth.
Startled, Seog-seong nodded his head repeatedly. Then, suddenly, he fumbled through his shirt and proferred something tightly wrapped in oil paper.
“A-And, I actually possess something like this.”

The time spent talking with Seog-seong was not long. Securing the testimony and evidence, they decided to discuss the detailed story again after going up to the Capital City.
“They say if it gets any later, we won’t be able to launch the boat, so let us depart before it’s too late.”
“Right now, you mean?”
At the words to depart immediately, Seog-seong was flustered.
“Do you need time to say goodbye to the villagers?”
“It’s not that, there’s something I’ve been trying to tell you since earlier, but actually, on this island, the General’s—.”
It was at that moment that the door opened.

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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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