Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 51

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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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51.
Chae Eun-oh doubted her own ears.
She could not understand the words she had just heard.
“Repeat that.”
Chae Eun-oh’s lips trembled.
“Say that again. Slowly, from the beginning.”
The eunuch, who had already delivered the exact same message three times, maintained an entirely expressionless face as he conveyed Jinpyeong’s words once more.
“All expenditures of the Queen’s Palace and any entry of outsiders are strictly forbidden. Furthermore, until the order is rescinded, the Queen shall remain confined within the Queen’s Palace.”
The eunuch bowed his head.
“That is the message I was commanded to deliver.”
“Why—”
Chae Eun-oh bit her lip.
This was unacceptable. This treatment made absolutely no sense.
As if she weren’t already dying of vexation from having Lee Yeon snatched away right in front of her eyes, she was now being shackled by all kinds of restrictions.
Chae Eun-oh almost roared in fury, but barely managed to suppress her voice.
“Why are my expenditures being blocked? Is this not an attempt to completely suffocate my existence?”
“All supplies necessary for daily life will be provided. Do not worry.”
“That is not what I mean!”
Chae Eun-oh let out a sharp breath.
Her chest felt suffocated. In her heart, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but the King’s eunuch stood right before her. Moreover, there were too many eavesdropping ears, so she did not want to raise her voice.
“How can His Majesty treat me like this? To isolate me both mentally and physically is truly too cruel!”
“Forgive my presumption, Your Majesty.”
The eunuch spoke calmly.
“Rumors are rampant that the Grand Princess Consort fainted after being summoned by Your Majesty.”
Chae Eun-oh shut her mouth. A flicker of panic flashed through her eyes.
“This story has spread widely not only through the Royal Court but even outside the palace. Everyone now knows that the Mother of the Nation severely persecuted a woman of the Royal Family.”
The color drained slightly from Chae Eun-oh’s face. She parted her lips as if to excuse herself.
“Th-that was merely to personally teach her the decorum of the Royal Family. It is an undeniable fact that the Grand Princess Consort committed a discourtesy against me.”
As Chae Eun-oh spoke, a mounting rage seemed to surge within her, and she glared at the eunuch.
“I intended to bring her inside for a Tea Discussion after administering her punishment. But who was it that blocked that? His Majesty suddenly barged in and—”
“Watch your words.”
The eunuch calmly warned her. He glanced at their surroundings.
“There must be many listening ears.”
“……Did His Majesty not suddenly intervene and carry the Grand Princess Consort away? Besides, is that rumor true?”
Chae Eun-oh’s eyes flashed coldly.
“The rumor that the Grand Princess Consort returned to her Private Residence riding in the Palanquin reserved solely for the King.”
“His Majesty personally bestowed it upon the Grand Princess Consort because she was unwell.”
It felt as though he were asking back just whose fault it was that the Grand Princess Consort had ended up in that state in the first place.
Chae Eun-oh gritted her teeth.
‘So it was true…….’
Even while adoring Jinpyeong, she had never dreamed of riding the King’s Palanquin. She had never even dared to imagine it.
Chae Eun-oh recalled that day, the day she had forced Lee Yeon to kneel. Jinpyeong had arrived that very day riding that palanquin. It was a palanquin painted entirely in red, adorned with blinds made of rubies and obsidian.
At the fact that Lee Yeon, not herself, had ridden that palanquin where dignity and luxury coexisted, Chae Eun-oh’s stomach turned to the point of driving her mad.
“Then, since I have delivered all of His Majesty’s words, I shall take my leave.”
“Wait.”
Chae Eun-oh gnawed on her lip and glared at the eunuch.
“Then is this also true? There is a rumor that she shared a royal meal side-by-side with the Grand Princess Consort at the Grand Hall that day.”
“Yes, it is true.”
The eunuch spoke politely. Chae Eun-oh no longer knew what to say.
‘Even a meal.’
The King had never even met her eyes. Far from a meal, he had never even permitted a single occasion for them to be together.
‘Yet why is he so tender toward Lee Yeon?’
He had rescued Lee Yeon from her hands, guided her to the Grand Hall for everyone to see, and even shared a meal with her.
‘The only thing they haven’t done is share a bed, so how is she any different from being the King’s woman?’
But the eunuch’s words were not over yet.
With a strange expression, he spoke to Chae Eun-oh.
“The Grand Princess Consort was not the only one who partook of the royal meal with His Majesty at the Grand Hall that day. Her attendant was also seated with them.”
“What?”
Chae Eun-oh’s head whipped around. She asked back with an utterly flabbergasted expression.
“A mere attendant dared to reside in the same space as His Majesty?”
“Not only was she present, but she also partook of the royal meal with them.”
“That is absurd!”
In the end, a roar burst forth.
Chae Eun-oh kicked back her seat, rising to her feet as she glared at the eunuch.
“Speak words that make sense! Do you dare utter falsehoods just because I am in this predicament!”
“Everyone with eyes and ears witnessed it, so you may verify it yourself.”
The eunuch said nonchalantly.
“He even went so far as to ask the Grand Princess Consort to give that woman to him.”
He took a step backward and bowed politely.
“Then, I shall now return to His Majesty. Please excuse my departure.”
The eunuch backed out of the room. However, Chae Eun-oh did not care whether he went or not. No, she had no room to care.
‘He asked for what to be given to him……?’
Chae Eun-oh collapsed into her seat. Her legs were trembling so much she could not remain standing.
“A woman…….”
He had asked for a woman. He had even shared a royal meal with that woman.
The face of the attendant who had accompanied Lee Yeon that day flashed through Chae Eun-oh’s mind. She was a girl of small stature with a reasonably pretty face.
‘He even shared a royal meal with a creature like that—’
An unbearable rage surged within her.
Until now, she had only been guarding against Lee Yeon, but an unexpected stone had rolled into her path. And a mere servant girl at that.
‘When you have never once sought me out all this time…… how can you turn your gaze to another woman and openly covet her?’
From the very first day of their wedding until now, Jinpyeong had never once visited the Queen’s Quarters. By now, there was no one in the palace who did not know this fact. Even the stablehands and the barn maids knew it. It was unbearably humiliating.
‘But what if this fact spreads?’
People would say there must be a reason the King shuns her, or that she has completely fallen out of the King’s favor.
Chae Eun-oh’s cheeks burned hot. She could already feel the shame and ignominy. Chae Eun-oh clutched her skirt with trembling hands before leaping up from her seat.
“Hurry and prepare me.”
The court maids, who had been bowing politely, looked at Chae Eun-oh with startled expressions. Court Lady Shin stepped forward with a calm face.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but did the eunuch not just convey that Your Majesty’s movements are restricted to this Queen’s Palace?”
“Therefore, I shall demand answers regarding that as well. Exactly why he is binding my feet. And today…….”
Chae Eun-oh bit her lip tightly.
She had to carve out her own path. She had to make it natural and justifiable for her to plant her feet and stand firmly in this palace.
By whatever means necessary.
“Hurry and make the preparations. You must exert more care than ever before.”
Court Lady Shin hesitated before finally nodding, and the court maids moved forward reluctantly toward Chae Eun-oh.
As Chae Eun-oh took off her heavy wig, she murmured to herself.
‘I will go forth myself and receive His Majesty’s Royal Grace.’
Today, without fail.

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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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