Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 102

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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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102.
Lee Yeon turned her head to look at where Jinpyeong had collapsed. He had already been dead for a long time, his body stiff and rigid.
The blood that flowed from his neck had dyed the stark white collar of his Dragon Robe red, and a horrific wound was clearly visible.
“It must have been an instant death.”
Jinyul muttered. He blocked Lee Yeon’s view with his own body as he continued speaking.
“She aimed precisely for the vital point. Like someone who had practiced it countless times beforehand.”
“Because in her heart, she must have stabbed him hundreds of times.”
She had merely translated what she imagined into reality; in her mind, she had undoubtedly killed him hundreds of times.
‘Not just Jinpyeong, but me and Hong Ran as well.’
Lee Yeon looked down at Eun-oh’s corpse with a hardened face. If the distance had been just a little closer, or if she had thought the guard was lax, that sinner would have definitely targeted Hong Ran and herself too.
‘She said so herself.’
‘I should have stabbed your belly!’
The malice overflowing in that voice gave her goosebumps all over again.
As Jinyul nodded, the eunuchs covered Jinpyeong’s body with a white cloth. And they covered the corpse of the deposed Queen Chae with a straw mat.
Meanwhile, all the officials, whose faces had turned pale from the series of utterly horrific major events, had been holding a meeting, and upon seeing this scene, they approached solemnly.
“Grand Prince, we are deeply sorry that such an unfortunate incident has occurred. This is surely an act that will incur the wrath of heaven, so the soul of the deposed commoner will never be at peace.”
As all the officials bowed and spoke, Jinyul nodded with a stiffly hardened face.
They looked into each other’s eyes and continued.
“Due to this rebellion, the positions of the King and Queen have become vacant at the same time, and the Imperial Guards and the Royal Court have fallen into immediate chaos.”
“Therefore, we request that the Grand Prince briefly oversee state affairs to handle this sudden crisis until the Foundation of the State is decided.”
Jinyul paused. He slowly lifted his gaze. The officials who met his eyes bowed deeply.
“We implore you.”
Jinyul’s eyes sank.
Just as he parted his lips to refuse, the Sangseon, who had been quietly watching the situation, slowly took a step forward.
“Grand Prince.”
He was the only person in the palace who truly cared for Jinyul, and likewise, someone Jinyul respected.
The Sangseon clasped his hands together and spoke.
“What is most urgent in the current situation is preventing a vacuum in state affairs. Since you are currently the sole direct descendant of this Royal Family, please accept our request, if only to preserve the Royal Ancestral Shrine and State Altars.”
“…….”
“Even though we are in a State Funeral, order will only be restored once the Grand Prince issues commands.”
Jinyul’s brow furrowed slightly. Lost in thought for a moment, he spoke slowly.
“Considering that this is an emergency, I will accept your request.”
The moment his words fell, everyone bowed deeply. At the forefront stood Hong Ran.
* * *
The State Funeral lasted for six days.
The entire country was greatly shocked by the sudden news of the King’s passing. And upon hearing the rumor that the cause of his death was none other than the deposed Queen Chae, they shook their heads.
‘Since such a wicked woman was brought into the sacred palace, our ancestors must have been enraged.’
‘In the first place, if we look closely, didn’t the former king also seize that throne through usurpation?’
At first, it started as whispers. However, the problem was that the controversy arose simultaneously in both the Capital City and the Royal Court.
‘The Grand Prince is the son of the Queen Consort, while the former king was the son of a royal concubine.’
‘Though she was elevated to Queen Consort after the Former Queen’s passing, strictly speaking, the line of succession should have favored the Grand Prince first.’
Belatedly, the controversy over Jinpyeong ascending the throne began to creep up.
Along with the talk that Jinyul had been unjustly deprived of the throne, it also became known that Jinpyeong had ordered only heinous missions to kill Jinyul for almost his entire life, turning the period meant for mourning the former king into a time of controversy instead.
‘Just think about the things the Grand Prince has done for us. He traveled all over the country to defeat vicious monsters, and he thoroughly inspected the government offices to weed out corrupt officials.’
‘Is that all? He rebuilt the city walls to ease the people’s anxiety and listened to each and every one of our grievances.’
‘He possesses brilliant swordplay, yet he also looks after the public sentiment with generosity; how is this not the vessel of a wise ruler?’
To the people, Jinyul, who looked after their safety and convenience right by their side, felt much dearer than a king inside a distant, high palace. They took it for granted that such a man should become king.
‘If he does not become the king, who else could possibly take that place?’
This was the public sentiment.
Meanwhile, it took nearly half a year from the King’s passing to hold the funeral, and after that, dozens of procedures had to be carried out over a span of three years. That was precisely why Jinyul had hesitated over the officials’ request.
‘I have no face to look at you.’
On the very night he accepted the officials’ request, Jinyul lowered his head before Lee Yeon.
Since Lee Yeon was three months pregnant, they would barely be able to see each other’s faces until her delivery month drew near.
He had failed to stay by her side even during ordinary times, so with things turning out this way during her pregnancy, Jinyul truly couldn’t lift his head.
However, Lee Yeon remained calm.
‘Taking care of the country is taking care of this child. Please establish order so that when the child comes into the world, they will not face hardships.’
At those meaningful words to establish order, Jinyul looked as if he had come to his senses, and from then on, he led the Royal Court meetings every day.
While he took command at the Jeongjeong Palace, Lee Yeon focused entirely on prenatal care and preparing for childbirth at the Seo Family Residence, and the Ministry of Rites prepared for the State Funeral.
On the first day Jinyul attended the Royal Court meeting, the very first command he issued as the acting king was this.
“The deposed commoner Chae shall undergo posthumous quartering and have her bones pulverized to the wind.”
He ordered to tear apart the limbs of the dead deposed Queen and grind her bones to scatter them in the wind.
It was truly a horrific and humiliating death where even the corpse could not be preserved. It was nothing short of a textbook example of not being able to die peacefully even in death.
“Furthermore, the house of the Chae clan shall also undergo destruction of the household, which must be executed immediately.”
The destruction of the household meant tearing down the house site and turning it into a pond. It was to completely erase the very trace that the Chae Clan had ever existed in this country.
It was a command that instantly demonstrated how fiercely the Grand Prince’s wrath burned.
With the command executed immediately, not only the deposed Queen but also her father, Chae Mun, had his grave exhumed and suffered the punishment of having his limbs severed even after death.
While Jinyul dedicated his efforts to the order of the Royal Court and the country, he also looked after his wife with utmost devotion. He made sure to take various foods and snacks prepared by the Royal Kitchen and sent them to Lee Yeon through Seo Yeo-ro, growing increasingly anxious as her delivery month approached.
“No matter what, I must absolutely stay by my wife’s side during her delivery month.”
That was one of the things Jinyul said the most.
However, except for the Yeojo, which was in the busiest situation alongside Jinyul, the other departments seemed to have no intention of letting Jinyul go.
“You must hold the enthronement ceremony immediately after the mourning period ends.”
“Originally, you should have been the master of the royal throne. This is a golden opportunity to set things right. How else can this be explained if not as a command from heaven?”
The one who ascended the throne by defying the will of heaven and the natural order had met a horrific end by bringing the wrong woman into the palace. Opinions popped up from everywhere that it was no different from a punishment from heaven.
Moreover, Jinyul, who was acting on behalf of the throne, handled tasks with a familiarity and steadfastness as if he had originally been doing that work, and all the officials, including the Sangseon who had served successive former kings, spoke in unison that no one else could have sorted out such a chaotic political situation so quickly and accurately.
In addition, the number of people who re-evaluated Seo Yeo-ro anew increased in an instant.
“The Inspector General’s foresight in piercing through the true caliber of a king at once is truly remarkable.”
“Is that all? He staked his own life and the survival of his family to offer candid advice, clearly fulfilling his mission as the head of the Saheonbu. Who else could risk their life like that?”
“You are right. The Inspector General was the only person who courageously opposed it early on when the former king bypassed the Grand Prince to become the Crown Prince.”
The memorial that Seo Yeo-ro had submitted when Jinpyeong pushed Jinyul aside to ascend the throne was talked about once more.
‘No matter how much she is a royal concubine favored by the former king, how can you raise a concubine’s son to the throne when the Grand Prince born of the legitimate Queen is rightfully alive?’
At the saying that it was a royal appeal submitted while carrying an axe, praise was widespread that he was indeed the head of the Saheonbu and the father of the Grand Princess Consort.
And at the same time, strong arguments arose from all directions that Jinyul must be raised to the throne.
“There is no one else but him to succeed to the throne.”
“He is finally finding his proper place. This is the natural order.”
Furthermore, there was also an opinion that if the reason Jinyul refused the throne was because of the pregnant Lee Yeon, then he should ascend the throne all the more quickly.
“If the Grand Prince ascends the throne, Lady Seo will naturally become the Queen. Then the Royal Family can establish a delivery room and assist with her ladyship’s childbirth.”
“Although her maternal home can prepare well enough, the Royal Family has various measures prepared against dangers. It will surely be of help during childbirth as well as before and after.”
Jinyul had not budged when he heard various words such as ‘You must fulfill your duty as royalty’ or ‘You must follow your destiny’. He had ignored them, not even listening, but when the Royal Court mentioned Lee Yeon’s childbirth and the child—
“I humbly accept your opinions.”
He declared his ascension to the throne.
It was solely for the sake of Lee Yeon and the child.

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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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