Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 65

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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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65.
Faced alone with the King, Court Lady Shin’s lips trembled. She stared at Jinpyeong with shaking eyes before hastily bowing her head low.
“I greet His Majesty the King.”
“If you have come all the way here.”
Jinpyeong spoke in a low voice. Before long, every palace attendant in the hallway was prostrated on the ground.
“You must have come because you have something that absolutely must be said to that child.”
Jinpyeong took a step forward.
“Well, what did the Queen say?”
Court Lady Shin fell to her knees and lowered her head.
“I, I beg your forgiveness.”
“Did she tell you to come to Daehee Palace and make her kneel on the muddy ground of Unlimwon like the Grand Princess Consort? Or did she say she would scratch her until she is scarred like your own cheek?”
Court Lady Shin bowed her head, utterly at a loss for what to do. Watching this scene unfold, the Sangseon spoke to her in a low murmur.
“Hurry and speak the truth.”
Court Lady Shin swallowed hard. Her throat throbbed with a dull ache. Even though she had done absolutely nothing wrong, her hands and feet shook like a poplar leaf.
Yet, Court Lady Shin felt a faint pang of guilt.
‘If I take that woman away according to Her Highness the Queen’s commands…….’
While she might not end up with scars on her face like herself, it was highly likely she would be punished just like Lee Yeon, or perhaps even worse.
The guilt of trying to push that woman forward just to escape the bitter words that would be thrown at herself made Court Lady Shin’s knees tremble weakly.
Court Lady Shin bowed her head and confessed the truth.
“The, Her Highness the Queen wished to see the woman Hong.”
Court Lady Shin’s voice shook pitifully.
“I was ordered to bring her to Daehee Palace, so I went to Unchaeheon as soon as day broke, but I was told that the woman Hong had already headed here, leaving me no choice but to come.”
Jinpyeong’s eyebrows twitched.
By a mere hair’s breadth of a moment, Hong Ran had not been taken from him.
‘The Queen already took away the punishment of Seo Yeon from me.’
And this time, she had tried to take even Hong Ran away. He felt extremely displeased.
‘Just how far does the Queen intend to interfere with me?’
He had intended to punish and mock Lee Yeon with his own hands for daring to reject him, but the Queen had struck her down first, making it difficult for him to touch her again.
If rumors spread that even the King had laid hands on Lee Yeon following the Queen, not to mention Lord Seo, even the Saheonbu might move.
‘If the Saheonbu moves, things become troublesome.’
As Lee Yeon was a figure once discussed as a candidate for Queen, many people would be watching her, so doing it once might pass, but laying hands on her repeatedly would draw all eyes.
Because Chae Eun-oh had stepped in first and left the situation ambiguous, he could no longer carelessly touch Lee Yeon.
As Jinpyeong fell silent, Court Lady Shin, who could not possibly know his inner thoughts, bowed her head and continued speaking.
“Since Her Highness the Queen cannot leave Daehee Palace by Your Majesty’s command, she entrusted that task to me.”
“So you mean it is my fault?”
At Jinpyeong’s immediate retort, Court Lady Shin’s face turned deathly pale.
“Kill me, Your Majesty.”
Court Lady Shin hurriedly lowered her posture. The atmosphere was so savage that it felt as if a bloodbath would erupt if she said even one more word. It was only for a moment, but everyone in the hallway was holding their breath.
After a very brief silence, Jinpyeong spoke curtly.
“Go and deliver this.”
It felt as if the faint sound of grinding teeth could be heard.
Jinpyeong shielded Hong Ran with his own body and looked down at Court Lady Shin.
“If she intends to inflict harm upon the woman Hong, from that day forth, the Queen’s quarters will not be Daehee Palace, but Yeonghangung.”
“……!”
The complexions of the palace attendants completely changed.
Yeonghangung was located in the most isolated part of the royal palace, and because it had been neglected for a long time, it was an extremely old and shabby place. Furthermore, because it sat among graves, it was thick with rumors that ghosts appeared there.
Sending her to such a place meant not only trampling upon the Queen’s authority, but it also signified that she had fallen completely out of the King’s favor.
“Tell her that if she wishes to sleep among the graves of the palace maids she has harmed herself, she should do so.”
In that instant, everyone knew. They instantly became certain of which way the King’s scales had tipped, and how the board of this royal palace was turning.
The entire axis had tilted not toward the haughty Queen from a renowned family that everyone acknowledged, but toward that young woman who resembled a deer from an insignificant family.
Court Lady Shin bowed deeply.
“I shall deliver it as you say.”
It was then.
An eunuch approaching from the end of the hallway flinched. As he hesitated, the Sangseon went over to him and listened attentively.
A look of brief embarrassment also flitted across the Sangseon’s face upon hearing the story. Jinpyeong glanced over in that direction.
“What is it?”
“Your Majesty.”
The Sangseon brought his hands together and reported politely.
“It seems the Grand Prince wishes to see you again, as there are things he could not fully report yesterday.”
It happened in an instant.
It felt as though light burst forth from Hong Ran, who had been standing a step back. At the mention of the Grand Prince, her face brightened in the blink of an eye.
‘Though she is likely thinking of the Grand Princess Consort, not the Grand Prince.’
He could not understand how her eyes could sparkle so intensely in a single moment like that.
Jinpyeong’s stomach twisted at the sight of an expression he could never see by his own side.
As if he had finished everything he had to say, Jinpyeong whirled away from Court Lady Shin and stepped into the room.
“Sangseon, command the Grand Prince to wait at Jeongjeongjeon.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Sangseon bowed his waist deeply. In many ways, it was a morning that chilled one to the bone.
* * *
The news that Jinpyeong had protected Hong Ran from the Queen’s court lady spread across the entire royal palace in a flash. On top of that, the fact that they had met in Seohwigak, his personal library, rather than Jeongjeongjeon, also spread like wildfire.
“Does that mean she wasn’t a mere object of amusement?”
There was no one who did not know of the ill-fated relationship between Jinpyeong and Lord Seo. Because of that, a few years ago, wild rumors had even circulated that Jinpyeong had tried to force himself upon Lord Seo’s daughter, namely Lee Yeon.
Upon hearing that, Lord Seo had shown a rare fit of rage, causing the rumors to vanish instantly, but it was a regular occurrence for Lee Yeon to be mentioned as a hollow candidate for Queen.
Yet, she had escaped the Gantaek through a astonishing method to break free from the fate given to her, and as if that weren’t enough, she had pushed a woman touched by her own influence into the palace.
“Just what kind of person is this woman Hong Ran?”
At first, people thought he was trying to take a subordinate belonging to her out of resentment for not being able to possess Lee Yeon.
“But doesn’t it look like he is treasuring her rather than simply taking her away?”
With rumors already rampant that the Queen was being neglected, everyone grew worried yet intrigued by the appearance of a new woman.
By the sole fact that she had caught the eye of ‘that’ King, Hong Ran had already carved a deep place in the minds of the palace people.
“So, where is that woman staying now?”
Thus, they wished to see Hong Ran’s face. They were curious about what she looked like and what kind of charm she possessed to bewitch the King.
Furthermore, she held the potential to become an important power within the royal palace.
“From what I hear, she comes from an insignificant family.”
“That might have made her more attractive to His Majesty. Since she has no ties to any prominent clan, even if she receives a Cheopji, there will be no one to back her up with their influence.”
“But……”
It was also a fact known to everyone that she had been an attendant to the Grand Princess Consort. However, they all held their tongues.
This was because bringing up Lee Yeon’s name in front of Jinpyeong was a taboo. Moreover, it was said that even the Queen would fly into a great rage upon hearing her name.
“That must be why.”
Ever since the incident where the Grand Princess Consort collapsed at Daehee Palace, the atmosphere there had always been like walking on thin ice. Under such circumstances, it was obvious without even looking what would happen if Hong Ran fell into the hands of the Queen.
Everyone whispered from time to time, murmuring about the atmosphere within the royal palace.
And as for Hong Ran,
“I believe it is only right that I go to greet her myself.”
She was still by Jinpyeong’s side.
While one person found him difficult, another feared him, another hated him, and yet another yearned to tread upon even his shadow, she stood demurely beside him, speaking her thoughts clearly.
“Although I am someone summoned by Your Majesty…… I dare not defy the command of Her Majesty the Queen either.”
After the person known as the Queen’s court lady returned, Hong Ran had been lost in thought for a while. And this was the remark she had cautiously brought forth.
“I know that my position is very ambiguous. And also that people refer to me as His Majesty the King’s guest……”
She was neither a palace maid nor a noble. Yet, it was an ambiguous and difficult position where no one could speak down to her either. Various rumors were also circulating regarding whether it was right to place her in the concubine quarters.
From Hong Ran’s perspective, the current situation could not help but be difficult. While she had often been spoken down to by others, she had absolutely never spoken down to anyone else.
Hong Ran carefully looked up at Jinpyeong.
“Your Majesty, if time is delayed without me visiting Her Majesty the Queen, rumors will spread that I am audacious and ill-mannered. Words might also circulate that I am an ignorant person who cannot distinguish up from down, relying on the backing of His Majesty the King.”
Hong Ran dropped her gaze and stared at the tips of Jinpyeong’s feet.
“I do not care if I am criticized…… but I speak of this out of worry that it might cause unnecessary concern to Your Majesty.”
At that, just as Jinpyeong was about to say something to Hong Ran, the Sangseon’s voice was heard from outside the door.
“Your Majesty.”
Faced with a situation where he was being interrupted for the already second time, Jinpyeong’s eyebrows twitched.
“The Grand Prince is waiting for you.”
Furious thoughts rose right up to his throat—asking whether that bastard waiting for him was anything new, or why he kept interrupting him—but Jinpyeong suppressed them tightly.
Then, looking at Hong Ran, he spoke.
“Follow me.”
Hong Ran widened her eyes in surprise. It was because she believed it was not a place where she should go. However, as it was a situation where she could not dare to refuse, she did not know what to do.
To her, Jinpyeong spoke curtly as he took a step forward.
“The answer to your request will also be given there.”
He was referring to the answer to her request that she must meet the Queen.
As it became a place where she had no choice but to go, Hong Ran lowered her head deeply.
Behind her back, the gazes from beyond the door pierced through. Every single one of them held a deeply meaningful look.

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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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