Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 41

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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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41.
Lee Yeon looked up at the sky.
It had already been several days since Jinyul left the Capital City by royal command.
The order to leave the Capital City and inspect all the government offices across the country had filled Lee Yeon and everyone else in the Seo Family with shock and worry, but Jinyul’s face had remained calm.
“What was bound to come has come.”
Jinyul had said nonchalantly.
“If anything, it could be considered a bit late. Normally, I would have only stayed in the Capital City for about two days, but now I’ve been residing here for months.”
Smiling as he noted that the King had shown a great deal of patience, Jinyul had instead worried about Lee Yeon.
“It is you I am concerned about. I am so anxious that something might happen while I am away that I can barely bring myself to leave.”
Lee Yeon was also aware that Jinpyeong had intended to summon the two of them to the palace, as Jinyul had shared the news with her.
When Lee Yeon asked how he knew such things, Jinyul had simply shrugged, asking if it was so surprising for him to have a few ears inside the palace.
And then he had entreated her.
“Be careful. I will be careful too, so please, you must be careful as well.”
He had worried about Lee Yeon until the very day of his departure, promising to return safely and quickly.
Lee Yeon turned her gaze toward the empty room.
“It has only been a few days.”
Yet it felt as though she hadn’t seen him for months.
Several times a day, she would catch herself calling out his absent name or talking to the empty air. It was to the point where she wondered if she had always relied on Jinyul this much.
After Jinyul left, someone else brought her rumors from the palace.
“So such an incident occurred.”
Seo Yeo-ro relayed the rumors circulating within the palace to Lee Yeon.
How Eun-oh had completely trashed the Queen’s Palace the day after the banquet, how Jinpyeong had rebuked her, how he could barely focus during Royal Court meetings, and how he had not visited the Queen’s Palace even once since.
Therefore, Lee Yeon was not surprised when Hong Ran ran to her with a face pale as a ghost.
“This truly is what was bound to come.”
She had not expected Chae Eun-oh, who had become the Queen, to leave her in peace now that she was the Grand Princess Consort.
Since that banquet, Jinyul and Seo Yeo-ro had detailed to her how Lee Yeon was being perceived by the Royal Court.
They told her she was being held in such high regard that people were saying it was embarrassing to even compare the Queen to her.
“If Chae Eun-oh finds out about this, she will leave me alone even less.”
She expected that the woman would surely try to humiliate her using her power and authority.
“Miss!”
Although Lady Han and Juhwa had cautioned her multiple times that she must now address her as the Grand Princess Consort, Hong Ran still called her that, as the title of ‘Miss’ seemed permanently engraved on her tongue.
“Miss, someone has arrived from the palace!”
“Bring them in.”
Lee Yeon calmly observed the person walking in behind Hong Ran.
There was a long scar that did not match the woman’s neat yet sullen face.
It was Court Lady Shin.
* * *
Upon Lee Yeon’s invitation, Court Lady Shin stepped into the tidy room and, as if she had no time to waste, pulled a letter from her bodice and offered it forward.
“The Queen has commanded me to deliver this.”
Lee Yeon received it politely with both hands.
The letter was sealed with the Queen’s crest. The moment she broke it open, a scent wafted out. It was a heavily sweet and thick fragrance, the very one Eun-oh favored.
Lee Yeon wrinkled the tip of her nose slightly as she read the letter.
“The Queen invites the Grand Princess Consort to a tea discussion today. Enter the palace together with the bearer of this message by the Hour of the Sheep.”
The Hour of the Sheep meant roughly two hours from now.
Lee Yeon folded the letter neatly and nodded.
“Thank you for delivering this. Please wait a moment while I finish preparing.”
With that, Lee Yeon had refreshments and tea served, and Court Lady Shin accepted the tea with a somewhat complicated expression.
She did not wish to, but a comparison formed naturally. Being human, she could not help but weigh the person she served against the person before her.
‘If only this lady had become the Queen…’
Then they wouldn’t have had to hold funerals for six court maids. They wouldn’t have had to clean up corpses with torn flesh and shattered bones. This scar would never have marked her own cheek either.
As those thoughts arose, Court Lady Shin shook her head. If Eun-oh ever read these thoughts, she too might end up tied to the torture rack.
At the same time, Lee Yeon was getting ready with the help of Chohee and Jain.
“Miss… are you really going? No, do you absolutely have to go?”
When Chohee asked with a tearful face, Jain spoke with an expression as if she were looking at someone utterly clueless.
“The Queen summoned her directly, so what kind of disaster would strike if she didn’t go?”
“But… who knows what will happen if she goes!”
Since going was a problem and staying was also a problem, the two of them let out a heavy sigh in unison. Instead, it was Lee Yeon who comforted them.
“It’s fine. I always knew this day would come. They say it’s better to get the beating over with early.”
“No, it’s best not to be beaten at all. Why should you be beaten, Miss?”
“She is right. Such a thing must absolutely never happen. It must not.”
The two retorted seriously to Lee Yeon’s half-joke, yet their hands kept moving busily.
Lee Yeon stood up, tucking the Queen’s letter securely into her bodice.
‘The Queen is summoning me for one reason only. It must be to establish her own prestige.’
Given my status as the Grand Princess Consort and the shield that is Grand Prince Jinyul, she won’t be able to flog me, but she will certainly try to humiliate me using her rank.
‘Even so, I will not avoid it.’
Thinking thus, she was just about to tell the two that she would be back.
A shadow fell across the doorway.
“Um, Miss.”
It was Hong Ran.
She stood there with her hands clasped together, a deeply worried expression on her face.
“Could… could I perhaps come with you?”
Chohee and Jain stared at Hong Ran with eyes as wide as saucers. Their expressions made it clear they thought it was absurd.
Lee Yeon also looked at her with a surprised expression.
“You…?”
“Yes.”
Hong Ran squeezed her hands tight and spoke with a tense face.
“I… I thought you might be very nervous, Miss. It’s frightening to go alone, but I thought having someone accompany you might give you at least a little bit of strength…”
“But is it permissible to bring someone from a private residence into the palace?”
Jain came to her senses first and asked calmly.
Lee Yeon pondered for a moment, then went to the opposite room to ask Court Lady Shin, who was drinking tea, if she could bring an attendant. To her surprise, Court Lady Shin nodded readily, rendering her worries pointless.
“Of course. It would be stranger for the Grand Princess Consort not to have an attendant.”
At those words, Hong Ran’s face brightened. However, seeing that, Lee Yeon became more concerned instead.
Her expression showed her fear that the stray arrows meant for her might hit Hong Ran if they went together.
“Ran, it would be better for you to stay here. I am worried that harm might come to you for no reason.”
“No, Miss. I can’t do that.”
Hong Ran said stoutly. She glanced toward where Court Lady Shin was standing and lowered her voice to a whisper.
“That woman is the Queen’s close confidant. You even asked if it was alright to bring an attendant, so wouldn’t it look even stranger if you didn’t bring anyone at all?”
Hearing that, it did make sense. If it reached Eun-oh’s ears, she might find even more fault with it.
As Lee Yeon let out a soft sigh, Hong Ran offered a faint smile.
“It’s alright, Miss. I’ll keep my head bowed as quiet as a dead mouse and stand firmly right behind you. I’ll just keep chanting like a prayer in my heart for you to find strength because I’m right here.”
At those words, Lee Yeon finally managed a small smile.
Following Court Lady Shin who led the way, Lee Yeon took a deep breath as she stepped out of the main gate.
“Let’s go, Ran.”
“Yes!”
It was her first step toward the palace since her regression. Yet, she did not tremble as much as she had in the past.
Because she was no longer alone, and because she now had a dependable shield at her back.

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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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