Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 44

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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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44.
The moment the pale-faced maid shouted urgently, the teacup in Chae Eun-oh’s hand fell straight to the floor.
Crash!
Forgetting that she had even dropped her cup, Chae Eun-oh covered her mouth.
‘Why?’
Why did it have to be right now? Why at this exact moment?
How long had she waited for this? She had prayed to the heavens and bowed before the Buddha statues, begging for him to step foot here. She had bent her waist and knees over a hundred times before those damned Ancestral Tablets, offering up her prayers.
Yet, he who had never once made a single visit had finally come for the first time since she became Queen.
Chae Eun-oh sprang up from her seat.
“Hurry.”
Her voice trembled with excitement. It cracked with anticipation.
“Prepare yourselves quickly. Hurry!”
Chae Eun-oh smoothed her hair. She checked her reflection in the Mirror. Thankfully, she had dressed up fully to meet the Grand Princess Consort.
‘The Grand Princess Consort—.’
Chae Eun-oh’s complexion shifted. The news of Jinpyeong’s arrival had caused her to completely forget about Lee Yeon for a split second. Chae Eun-oh called out to Court Lady Shin in a low voice.
“Seo Yi…… What is the Grand Princess Consort doing right now?”
“She remains on her knees, waiting for His Majesty.”
“Get her out of sight.”
Chae Eun-oh said, her brow furrowing deeply.
“Bring her into the palace and have her sit in the furthest room. Do not mention that His Majesty has arrived, and command her to wait in that room until I come. Understood?”
She had kept her waiting for that long in the courtyard, yet she was telling her to wait yet again. Only the location had changed; the punishment remained the same.
Court Lady Shin bowed her head and stepped out to deliver the message, while Chae Eun-oh sat back down, watching the maids hurriedly bring over her jewelry box. Then she paused.
‘Wait.’
It was because she remembered what Jinpyeong had told her last time. He had expressed disgust at the garments she wore during the banquet.
‘He called it…… vulgar.’
He had asked if she wasn’t ashamed to be dripping in such gaudy jewels.
This was not a banquet, nor was it an occasion to show off to others. If she went out adorned with accessories now, she would undoubtedly receive even harsher criticism.
Chae Eun-oh sharply slapped away the hand of the maid holding out earrings dripping with pearls.
“Take it away.”
Chae Eun-oh urged the maid holding the rouge container.
“Just make my lips a bit redder. To make me look full of life.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
It was then.
From outside the Queen’s Palace, the low, solemn sound of a drum echoed. It was the sound announcing the arrival of the King’s Palanquin.
Thump, thump—
Before she could finish applying her lip rouge, Chae Eun-oh stood up from her seat.
As she approached the door, the waiting maids threw the doors wide open to both sides.
Chae Eun-oh felt as though the floor was shaking.
‘Am I the one trembling?’
Thinking that, she looked ahead. Her lips hardened into a stiff line.
“Why—.”
Lee Yeon was still kneeling on the ground. Court Lady Shin was saying something to her, but Lee Yeon kept her head lowered and did not move an inch.
‘Could she have lost consciousness?’
If so, they should have forced her up and moved her!
Just as Chae Eun-oh glared fiercely, wondering what was taking so long.
“His Majesty the King arrives—!”
The stone courtyard of the Queen’s Palace vibrated.
At the eunuch’s cry, every single palace maid inside the court knelt and pressed their heads to the ground.
Jinpyeong snapped his fan shut with a click, and the palanquin bearers stopped in their tracks, carefully lowering it to the ground. Jinpyeong slowly stepped out of the Palanquin and set foot on the earth.
Rustle—
It was a late afternoon in early spring. Beneath the sunlight, his red Dragon Robe fluttered in the wind.
Jinpyeong walked with slow, deliberate steps. Three people stood out clearly within his field of vision.
The woman standing tall upon the towering stone steps, the one kneeling on the ground, and the person standing behind her—the three of them.
“……Ha.”
Walking in a straight line toward the Queen’s Palace without the slightest hesitation, Jinpyeong’s lips twisted.
His pitch-black eyes stared intently at the figure kneeling and bowing her head in the Queen’s courtyard.
The back of her neck was scorched red by the afternoon sun, and both hands resting on her knees were deathly pale.
“Please stand up quickly!”
As Jinpyeong drew closer, Court Lady Shin whispered to Lee Yeon in an urgent voice.
“Offering your greetings to His Majesty comes first. Hurry……!”
“Is that not the Grand Princess Consort?”
Jinpyeong, who had been staring blankly at Lee Yeon, opened his mouth.
“What sin have you committed to be doing this?”
His voice was already laced with anger.
Court Lady Shin’s face turned white. She immediately prostrated herself and spoke.
“I, I greet Your Majesty.”
“I asked what sin she committed.”
“It is not a sin…….”
Or was it? Since she had displeased the Queen, did it qualify as a sin?
Court Lady Shin closed her mouth before answering cautiously.
“The Queen commanded the Grand Princess Consort to attend a Tea Discussion, but…….”
“But what?”
“The Grand Princess Consort arrived earlier than the appointed time, so Her Highness commanded her to wait here until preparations were complete.”
“Hah.”
Jinpyeong let out a short breath. He glanced toward where Chae Eun-oh stood and asked.
“You left her like this not because she was late, but because she arrived early? Exactly how early was she?”
“It was a time short of ten minutes.”
“And how long has she been kneeling there like that?”
Court Lady Shin hesitated for a moment. At that, the eunuch glared at her with an expression that demanded she answer immediately.
Court Lady Shin lowered her head and replied.
“More than two Shijin have already passed.”
“Hah.”
It meant she had been kneeling like that for over four hours as punishment for arriving ten minutes early.
Jinpyeong’s brow furrowed. He glanced down at Lee Yeon.
Lee Yeon kept her head deeply bowed, looking as if she had lost consciousness while sitting.
‘She must have fainted.’
If she had known he had arrived, she was a person who would have stood up instantly. Because she had fainted, she could hear neither the court lady’s urging nor the announcement of his arrival.
Jinpyeong’s eyes flashed with a cold light.
‘You create this kind of spectacle?’
When he first heard that the Queen had summoned Lee Yeon to the palace, he thought for the first time that she was finally doing her duty.
‘I expected her to teach her a small lesson.’
Since her pride was sky-high, he figured she wouldn’t leave Lee Yeon alone after Lee Yeon had bypassed her to play the main protagonist at the banquet.
However, seeing Lee Yeon reduced to this state caused a surge of anger to rise within him. It was not out of affection for her.
‘Before I could even lay a hand on her, how dare you go first?’
Jinpyeong’s gaze, which had been fixed on Lee Yeon, slowly drifted upward.
Despite the fact that he had arrived, the Queen still stood tall upon the stone steps, looking down at the courtyard below.
Jinpyeong’s brow contorted violently.
‘Arrogant creature.’
He took a step forward. At his fierce stride, the palace maids lowered their bodies even further.
“The Queen is truly noble,”
he said as he advanced.
“Even though you know I have arrived, you do not even descend the steps.”
“That is not the case, Your Majesty,”
Chae Eun-oh bowed her head, putting weight on her right leg.
“As I was rising in haste upon hearing of Your Majesty’s arrival, I lost my footing and sprained my ankle.”
Chae Eun-oh lowered her eyebrows, speaking in a voice laced with pain.
“The steps are steep, so I could not easily descend. Please forgive me for failing to come out and greet you.”
“If I forgive you,”
Jinpyeong looked down at Chae Eun-oh.
“Will the Queen forgive the Grand Princess Consort?”
Chae Eun-oh snapped her head up. Her expression wavered.
“Why bring up the Grand Princess Consort in this……”
“Since the Queen has committed a discourtesy against me, I suppose I may also have you kneel upon these stone steps.”
Chae Eun-oh’s complexion changed drastically.
“Your Majesty!”
“Since you made her kneel for two Shijin for being ten minutes early, shouldn’t you, who are ten minutes late, receive more than double that punishment?”
Jinpyeong tilted his head slightly.
“Is my calculation incorrect?”
“I am the Queen, and that person is the Grand Princess Consort. How can you place us on the same level—”
“In my presence,”
Jinpyeong said coldly to Chae Eun-oh, who had descended the steps before she knew it.
“The Queen and the Grand Princess Consort stand on the exact same level. If you did not know, I shall tell you again.”
He leaned toward Chae Eun-oh and said chillingly,
“There is no difference. Between you or her.”
Chae Eun-oh’s face turned deathly pale.
Jinpyeong turned his head and looked down at Lee Yeon, who was still kneeling on the ground. She remained motionless, as if frozen in place.
Since the Queen never intended to receive her greetings from the start, this was not an order to observe etiquette, but merely a punishment.
“Hey, there.”
Jinpyeong raised his hand with a displeased look. He was about to tell the eunuch to support Lee Yeon and help her up.
It was then. Lee Yeon’s body flinched, as if she had regained consciousness. Her tightly closed eyelids slowly fluttered open.
The earth, mud, and a red hem casting a shadow before her eyes.
“……!”
Lee Yeon’s eyes widened. She snapped her head up. The pale complexion that immediately met those pitch-black eyes turned even more ghostly.
“Your Maj……!”
Attempting to rise in a hurry, her legs buckled and gave out. If she plunged straight down onto the ground, her entire body would undoubtedly be covered in mud.
Jinpyeong reached out his hand without even realizing it. However, even faster than him,
“My Lady!”
Hong Ran dashed forward.

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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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