Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 52

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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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52.
Reflected in the mirror, Chae Eun-oh looked exactly as she had on her wedding day.
Although she wore no lavish hairpiece, she had adorned her hair with a dazzling gold hairpin, and instead of her ceremonial robes, she wore a thin jacket that revealed glimpses of her skin beneath. Her neck, collarbones, and arms glistened with fragrant oils, accentuating her pale skin to a breathtaking degree.
Chae Eun-oh gazed at herself in the mirror.
‘If it is this much, he will look at me.’
The hands of the palace attendants applying her face powder were exceedingly careful. They brushed down every single strand of her eyebrows and baby hairs with meticulous devotion.
Chae Eun-oh rose from her seat. When the palace attendants naturally fell in line behind her, she waved her hand to dismiss them.
“There is no need for so many of you to follow. Court Lady Shin will suffice.”
At those words, the palace attendants stared at Chae Eun-oh with startled expressions. It was because she had always traveled with a long procession of attendants trailing behind her.
They had expected her to do the same this time, so they wondered what could have prompted her to say that only a single attendant was needed.
However, Chae Eun-oh had her own hidden motives.
‘I do not want to catch anyone’s eye.’
Originally, consummation was meant to take place with the King visiting the Queen’s quarters. For the Queen to go and seek out the King was utterly unprecedented, and she did not wish for many people to witness such a sight.
In truth, she had wanted to move quietly and secretly without taking anyone at all, but she felt it would be improper for a Queen to go without a single soul attending her, which was why she had permitted only Court Lady Shin to follow.
Chae Eun-oh draped a scarlet outer robe over her shoulders.
“Follow me.”
Court Lady Shin nodded and signaled with her eyes to a palace attendant standing by the doorway.
Soon, the doors of the Queen’s Palace swung open in the dead of night. It was an opening meant not for someone arriving, but for someone departing.
Even though it was spring, the air was chilly after sundown. Moreover, it was now a deep, late hour completely shrouded in darkness.
“Court Lady Shin.”
Chae Eun-oh endured the chill seeping through her collar and spoke with an unbothered expression.
“Is there not another path besides this one?”
Walking behind Chae Eun-oh, Court Lady Shin raised her head with a bewildered expression. Her face bore a look of confusion, as if wondering what she meant.
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but what do you mean by…….”
“I mean the path leading to the Grand Hall. I am asking if there is a side path known only to the palace attendants.”
Chae Eun-oh furrowed her brows in frustration.
“Can you not even understand that?”
“I crave your forgiveness, Your Highness.”
Court Lady Shin bowed her head. She spoke with a calm countenance.
“However, I cannot guide you along that path.”
“And why is that?”
Chae Eun-oh merely turned her gaze and glared at Court Lady Shin.
“Do you dare harbor resentment against me?”
“How could I possibly do such a thing? I am dissuading you because if you take that path, something contrary to your wishes will occur.”
“Contrary to my wishes?”
When Chae Eun-oh halted in her tracks, Court Lady Shin replied with an expressionless face.
“Does Your Highness not wish to avoid catching anyone’s eye? However, on the path you inquired about, far more palace attendants roam or rest than here.”
Chae Eun-oh glanced around her surroundings. People were exceptionally scarce to be seen.
“Furthermore, it is proper for the Queen to travel along the main path. If you were to take a narrow path at this late hour and run into the palace attendants, it would be troublesome in many ways.”
Court Lady Shin paused for a moment before speaking with deep meaning.
“For everyone must already know that His Majesty has forbidden Your Highness from leaving your quarters.”
“I have no wish to hear it.”
Chae Eun-oh, who had been listening with rare intentness, scowled deeply. She quickened her pace.
“Then there is no choice but to go quickly. I did not know this path was so long.”
Unlike during the day, the palace at night was somewhat desolate. No passersby were in sight, and the lanterns placed here and there barely warded off the darkness rather than illuminating the surroundings.
Shaking off the absurd thought that the darkness might swallow her, Chae Eun-oh hurried her steps toward the Grand Hall.
And when she finally arrived before the Grand Hall, what greeted her was utter silence.
Chae Eun-oh signaled to Court Lady Shin with her eyes.
“Announce me.”
Court Lady Shin also seemed a bit flustered. She, too, had never left the Queen’s Palace at this late hour.
Nevertheless, she calmly bowed her head and carefully approached closer to the Grand Hall. Soon, the eunuch standing guard at the door spotted her and assumed a bewildered expression.
Court Lady Shin lowered her voice and whispered to him.
“Please convey that Her Highness the Queen wishes to audience His Majesty.”
The eunuch’s gaze immediately turned toward the Queen standing below the stone steps.
Chae Eun-oh feigned ignorance of his downward gaze and forced herself to hold her head high with haughtiness.
The eunuch looked at Court Lady Shin with a troubled expression, told her to wait a moment, and then went inside. Yet, he did not emerge even after a considerable amount of time had passed.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Chae Eun-oh asked in a low voice. Having come dressed in such thin attire to begin with, she was now trembling slightly.
Remaining atop the stone steps, Court Lady Shin looked inside.
“Since he told us to wait a moment, he will surely emerge shortly. Please wait just a bit longer.”
“How much longer does he intend to keep me waiting? Tell him again. Tell him that I have come in person.”
At the prompt filled with irritation, Court Lady Shin peered anxiously before the Grand Hall with a troubled expression.
Just then, the door opened slightly and the eunuch from earlier emerged. However, he was not alone.
“Chief Eunuch!”
Court Lady Shin immediately bowed her head and greeted him politely. Her shoulders stiffened tightly with tension.
Chae Eun-oh recognized him as well. He was the elderly eunuch who always stood behind Jinpyeong.
Sangseon quietly questioned Court Lady Shin.
“What is the meaning of this commotion at this late hour?”
“I crave your forgiveness.”
Court Lady Shin replied with her head deeply bowed.
“I know it is a discourtesy, but the Queen’s command was absolute, so I had no choice but to come.”
“If you knew it was a discourtesy, you should have restrained her properly. Is a court lady not meant to watch over the conduct of her superior?”
“I have nothing to say for myself…….”
Court Lady Shin could only repeat her apologies, and Sangseon let out a soft sigh before turning his head to look at the Queen standing below the stone steps.
Bowing politely, he spoke.
“I greet Her Highness the Queen.”
“……You have worked hard.”
Chae Eun-oh received Sangseon’s greeting with a slight nod of her head. Then, she spoke with a haughty expression.
“I have come because I have something urgent to convey to His Majesty. Inform him within.”
“I am deeply sorry, Your Highness.”
Sangseon bowed his head and spoke calmly.
“His Majesty is currently taking his rest.”
“I did not ask for your opinion. I told you to inform the King.”
“Just as there are laws in the Queen’s Palace, there are also solemn laws in the Grand Hall. His Majesty’s morning begins early.”
Therefore, he meant for her to stop disturbing his rest and return, but Chae Eun-oh did not back down.
By now, her hands had turned stark white from the cold.
“You must know that the morning of the Queen’s Palace begins even earlier than that. However, the reason I came here despite that is because I absolutely must speak with him. I will say it once more. Inform him within. Hurry!”
“I have already informed him.”
Sangseon spoke quietly. Chae Eun-oh raised her head abruptly.
“That is why I told you to return. His Majesty stated that he would not meet with Your Highness.”
Chae Eun-oh’s lips froze instantly. Doubting her own ears, she asked back slowly.
“He said…… he would not meet with me?”
“To report it a bit more precisely…….”
Sangseon hesitated slightly before speaking like a sigh.
“He told me to clear you away.”
“……!”
Chae Eun-oh’s face turned white as sheet. It was due to humiliation and shame. And slowly, other emotions surfaced upon her face.
Disappointment, sorrow, resentment, anger, jealousy, and hatred.
“How…….”
She bit her lip.
Her entire body was trembling uncontrollably. Until a moment ago it had been from the cold, but it was no longer so. Now, a different kind of trembling was spreading like fire from her heart.
“How can he be so cold-hearted to me? Why to me alone……!”
Court Lady Shin and Sangseon quietly bowed their heads. The soldiers who were watching the scene also remained silent.
Chae Eun-oh bit her lip for a moment before snapping her head up.
“Then convey to him that I shall wait until he comes out.”
Sangseon’s lips parted as if he did not know what to say, and then he swallowed a sigh.
“Your Highness.”
“You said the Grand Hall’s morning begins early, did you not? I shall stand right here and wait until he comes out, so inform him as such.”
Chae Eun-oh stubbornly raised her head and glared at Sangseon.
“Hurry!”
Sangseon said nothing more. He turned his gaze to look at Court Lady Shin, then shook his head slightly and clicked his tongue.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
However, he, Court Lady Shin, and the soldiers all knew.
The King would absolutely not step outside this door tonight. Perhaps not even when the day broke.

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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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