Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 63

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

63.
The rumor that Jinpyeong had personally designated an outsider—who was neither a palace maid nor a young lady of a noble family—and brought her into the palace spread as if it had wings.
Among the officials, it was talked about as a highly bizarre affair, while the noble families viewed it as nothing more than a momentary deviation on the King’s part. As for the common people, they harbored a vague fantasy about the woman, calling it a literal lightning-fast rise to success.
After all, it was an undeniable fact that her life had changed overnight.
“Miss.”
Hong Ran slowly opened her eyes. The sky outside the window was still murky and dark.
A moment later, a palace maid opened the door and stepped inside. It was a palace maid wearing a red daenggi.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
Hong Ran stared blankly at the girl who spoke so affectionately to her.
‘What on earth is this sorcery?’
She had truly never imagined that her life would come to possess such vibrant colors.
When Lee Yeon saved her and moved her to a comfortable position within the Seo Family, she had thought that was the ultimate reversal of fortune, but now she was waking up in her own quarters prepared in the Royal Palace, being addressed as “Miss.”
‘Miss.’
To think she was being called a young lady—it felt awkward and astonishing every time she chewed over the word.
Who could have known that she, who used to make and sell norigae and bracelets in a shabby corner of the marketplace, would one day be addressed as “Miss” by the palace attendants?
‘Miss.’
Hong Ran thought of Lee Yeon.
Hearing the word “Miss” made her think of Lee Yeon immediately. For Lee Yeon was the savior of her life and the person who had captured her entire being for the rest of her days.
“Miss?”
Hong Ran lifted her gaze. The palace maid was looking at her with a slightly puzzled expression. It seemed she was somewhat flustered because Hong Ran had merely stared blankly at her face without replying.
Hong Ran smiled softly.
“Because it feels awkward.”
At first, she had used honorifics.
The habit of lowering herself and raising others was so ingrained in her speech that she had spoken that way, but the palace maid assigned to her had firmly insisted that she must never speak like that again.
‘You are someone whom His Majesty the King personally chose, Miss. You are clearly more noble than a mere palace maid like me. Please lower your language.’
So she had lowered her language. When the maid said that she herself might be severely punished if Hong Ran didn’t, Hong Ran promised that she would absolutely speak down to her.
At Hong Ran’s gentle reply, the palace maid’s eyes widened before she nodded.
“I suppose it would feel that way. Everything was unfamiliar to me too when I first entered the palace. Even so, we at least had companions, but you don’t even have that, Miss…”
As she spoke, the palace maid snapped her mouth shut. She cast a cautious glance at Hong Ran.
“I am sorry. It was just something that came up when we were talking among ourselves, and it was not something I should have said to you, Miss.”
“But it is the truth.”
Hong Ran smiled faintly.
“It must be nice for you to have companions.”
How did Hong Ran look to her, speaking so submissively of her envy without offering a single word of reproach? The palace maid’s expression darkened slightly.
In truth, Hong Ran was currently at the center of all rumors. Every single person in the Royal Palace whispered about her whenever they had a moment to spare, and whether it was the Grand Hall or the Queen’s Palace, whenever two or more people gathered, Hong Ran’s story was bound to come up.
There were various remarks about how enviable she was, how her life had blossomed, and how it must feel like the heavens and earth had turned upside down, but as far as the maid could see, the person sitting all alone in this room did not look entirely happy.
‘With all due respect, it is almost like…’
It was almost as if she looked lonely.
She looked just like a small bird that had fallen from its nest, standing all alone in an unfamiliar field.
“But, is there not a reason you called for me?”
“Ah, yes!”
The palace maid gasped in surprise and lifted her head. She had almost forgotten the very reason she came here.
The palace maid pinched her own knee and said, “His Majesty the King has summoned you. He sent word that as soon as you wake up, you are to proceed to Jeongjeongjeon immediately.”
“At this hour?”
Hong Ran looked out at the sky. It was still dark, indicating it was early dawn, but since he had told her to come immediately upon waking, she could not afford to delay.
When Hong Ran nodded, the palace maid went out straight away, saying she would bring water for her morning wash.
“To summon me from such an early hour…”
Lee Yeon’s voice echoed inside Hong Ran’s head.
‘I am sorry.’
It was the phrase she had heard continuously from the night before her palace entry until that very morning.
I am sorry, thank you, and please be careful.
‘Do not say it is for my sake; please care for yourself. Please think of your own safety. That is what truly benefits me.’
In truth, it was not something Lee Yeon needed to feel sorry for. Not in the slightest.
In the first place, it was Hong Ran herself who had stepped forward to accompany Lee Yeon to the palace when Lee Yeon received the Queen’s tea discussion letter, and it was also she who had caught the collapsing Lee Yeon and caught the King’s eye.
Lee Yeon blamed herself, saying she had dragged Hong Ran into the palace, but Hong Ran believed her own destiny had pulled her to this place. Lee Yeon was not to blame at all for her coming here or for the decision that had been made.
“Miss, I have brought the washing water.”
When she turned her head, steaming water was sloshing inside a brass basin.
“Thank you.”
She had desperately wanted to be of use, and she had been placed in a position where she could be of use. If so, then it was only right that she fulfill that duty properly.
The tip of Hong Ran’s daenggi, which was attached to her hair that had not yet been put up in a married style, was drenched in the warm water.
* * *
While they were preparing, the dawn turned into morning. Though they hurried their preparations, the palace maids did their utmost to adorn Hong Ran as beautifully as possible.
As if they were making her compete with someone.
“This is too excessive.”
In the end, the adornment came to an end only after Hong Ran spoke up. Hong Ran wiped the pure white powder applied to her face with the back of her hand and took off all the norigae that the palace attendants had greedily hung on her, placing them down on a small table.
“I have not received a single one of these myself. I will simply wear this one hairpin.”
“But Miss.”
The palace maids tilted their heads in confusion.
“Won’t it look too plain?”
“This appearance is who I am. And if I suddenly go out draped in heavy jewelry, the looks people give me will be strange.”
At that, the palace maids nodded. For when they heard it, her words sounded quite reasonable.
Thus, it was around morning, well past the break of dawn, when Hong Ran made her way to Jeongjeongjeon.
She had been stationed at Unchaeheon, which was located at the outermost edge of the concubines’ quarters. The palace attendants who saw Hong Ran walking from there bowed deeply in silent greeting.
“We greet Miss Hong.”
“Well…”
Standing before Jeongjeongjeon, Hong Ran hesitated for a moment.
Though she had resolved and repeated to herself the entire time that she would act resolutely and confidently, actually facing the palace people like this made her heart drop.
Hong Ran clenched both hands tightly and murmured to herself.
‘Please help me, Miss.’
Right now, Hong Ran’s behavior and manner of speech were completely modeled after Lee Yeon.
Because Lee Yeon was the most noble and elegant person she had ever seen in her life, Hong Ran was trying her best to paint that image within herself.
Hong Ran squeezed her fists tight and held her head up proudly.
“I have come because His Majesty the King summoned me. Inform those inside.”
That was the exact manner of speech Lee Yeon had used with the palace maid when they visited Daehee Palace. The words, while not overbearing, commanded elegantly and possessed a power that could not be defied.
The palace attendant, never imagining it was a mere imitation, stared at Hong Ran with surprised eyes before bowing politely and stepping inside. Other people were also looking at her with eyes full of surprise.
‘They must be evaluating me.’
The things she did, the things she said, and even her expressions would all be on everyone’s lips.
Hong Ran knew. They would not stop at evaluating her alone. For there was not a single person who did not know that she used to be the Grand Princess Consort’s person—that is to say, Lee Yeon’s person.
‘I will not become a disgrace to you, Miss.’
That sole mindset was the only thing keeping her legs from shaking beneath her.
And a moment later, the palace attendant came out alongside a royal eunuch and greeted her courteously.
“I shall guide you to His Majesty the King.”
It was the very first moment Hong Ran had come to meet Jinpyeong alone, without Lee Yeon.
And at that very same hour, Court Lady Shin, who had arrived at Unchaeheon, Hong Ran’s quarters, could not hide her bewilderment. She had come immediately upon receiving Eun-oh’s command to bring Hong Ran, but she had been met with unexpected words.
“…At this hour?”
They said she had already gone to Jeongjeongjeon after receiving the King’s summons.
The moment Queen Chae Eun-oh found out about this, the table would surely be flipped from the morning onward, and Court Lady Shin’s face grew rapidly dark.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————