Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 72

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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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72.
Eun-oh caught her breath.
Even though a long time had passed since she heard the news, her hands were still shaking violently. They trembled so much that the ink from her brush splattered like a fine drizzle across the Xuan paper she was resting on.
As Court Lady Shin quickly replaced the paper, Eun-oh bit her lip tightly and focused her attention on the tip of the brush.
「I respectfully address Your Majesty.」
She could not be certain whether he would actually read this letter.
However, she took up the brush because doing this was the best thing she could manage right now.
‘I have no intention of defending my father.’
If the evidence was that clear, it would be utterly useless for her to claim otherwise.
「As the Royal Court has been noisy lately due to matters entangling the Chae clan, I feel nothing but dread and bewilderment. I trust Your Majesty knows that from the day I entered the palace until now, I have had no way of knowing what transpired within my family.」
The first line had trembled, but the strokes grew firmer as they descended.
Eun-oh’s hand, which had been writing without a hitch, paused for a moment.
‘Ah.’
Chae Mun had recently visited Daehee Palace. She remembered that day, which had completely turned her stomach inside out.
After pausing for a moment, Eun-oh bit her red lips tightly.
Although they had met that day, there was not a single mention of embezzlement. There had only been a barrage of nagging and sarcasm directed at her situation.
‘So it doesn’t matter.’
It did not matter. Her conscience was clear. She truly had absolutely no connection to that matter.
Eun-oh continued to move her brush.
「Even if my parent has committed a crime, I have absolutely no knowledge of it, so I beg you to look upon my plight with pity and ensure that no blame falls upon me.」
There was only one reason why Eun-oh held the brush.
「Please do not doubt me because of this matter, and examine it with Your Majesty’s wisdom.」
It was to preserve her own position. It was to cut away her father and her family if necessary.
She could do anything if it meant avoiding the disaster and protecting this position.
「I will trust and follow only Your Majesty’s sky-like will.」
Eun-oh slowly set down her brush.
Court Lady Shin, who was standing beside her, carefully waved a fan over the Xuan paper.
Eun-oh waited for the ink to dry, then folded it neatly, placed it inside an envelope, and held it out to Court Lady Shin.
“Deliver it. It is an extremely urgent matter, so hurry.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Court Lady Shin respectfully accepted the letter and stepped backward to withdraw.
As Court Lady Shin placed the letter in her tunic and walked briskly, the Daehee Palace maids who saw her bowed deeply at the waist.
“Court Lady Shin, has your cough gotten any better?”
One of the palace maids cautiously examined Court Lady Shin’s face. Ever since she had been exposed to the cold dew in front of Jeongjeongjeon all night last time, Court Lady Shin had not been able to shake off her cold. Even though her fever had subsided, a dry cough continued to torment her.
Fearing that Court Lady Shin might face a reprimand from Eun-oh due to her coughing, the palace maids had gathered various herbs good for coughs, and thanks to their efforts, the scent of decocted herbal medicine never left Court Lady Shin’s quarters.
Court Lady Shin smiled faintly.
“Thanks to you, I have recovered a lot. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it… We are so reassured to have you here, Court Lady Shin.”
At the words of the young-looking palace maid, the surrounding maids also nodded. They had very anxious expressions.
“Ominous rumors are heard every single day. We hear that Her Majesty the Queen is in a difficult situation, and we also hear that the Gukgu will be taken to the Interrogation Ground. It is terrifying. We are afraid that disaster will reach us as well, Court Lady Shin.”
“Close your ears and your mouth. Pretending not to see what you have seen is the way to survive for a long time in this palace.”
Court Lady Shin spoke sternly and straightened her collar.
“Instead of spending time talking nonsense, clear the courtyard. The petals have all fallen, making it look incredibly messy.”
“Yes, Court Lady Shin.”
The palace maids shrank back with startled expressions and withdrew. Court Lady Shin nodded slightly and quickened her pace once more.
However, the place she was heading toward was not Jeongjeongjeon.
“…….”
Smoke was rising from various corners of the palace. They were incinerating dry leaves and branches. Court Lady Shin left Daehee Palace and walked for a long time before stopping at one of those places. Then, she slowly reached into her tunic and pulled something out. It was the exact letter that Eun-oh had told her to deliver.
“…….”
Court Lady Shin slowly bent her knees, crouched down, and parted the burning leaves. Then, she folded the letter in half and wedged it into the gap.
The flames immediately caught onto the paper.
“……I am sorry.”
Contradicting her muttered words, Court Lady Shin’s face as she watched it was utterly expressionless.
Court Lady Shin watched the letter burn helplessly in the flames and then took a step back. The letter, burning along with the leaves, soon vanished without a trace.
‘Her Majesty the Queen must already be standing at the edge of a cliff.’
The moment items stamped with the Royal Family’s seal were discovered following the stolen goods in Chae Mun’s storehouse, it was framed as treason. Furthermore, he was the Minister of Public Works. Since evidence of him using his authority for personal gain was being discovered one after another, charcoal embers would only pile higher and higher upon his head, with absolutely no possibility of them being removed.
‘Though of course, they say he is desperately denying his crimes.’
He had already crossed a line from which there was no turning back.
Watching the dwindling fire, Court Lady Shin murmured quietly.
“From now on, may you be anxious the entire time.”
May you experience for yourself that feeling of constantly walking on thin ice, Your Majesty.
Coincidentally, today was the forty-ninth day since the six palace maids had died.
Among them was a girl she had quite doted on. Throughout the entire time she suffered from the cold, that blood-soaked girl appeared in her dreams, torturing her.
‘You called out to the deceased all night long.’
Those who nursed Court Lady Shin all said the exact same thing. They said that the names she gasped out like groans when she lost her senses to the fever were all the names of the palace maids who died back then.
And as if by magic, on the day her cold was completely cured, Hong Ran made her palace entry.
‘As though those children sent her.’
It was probably a coincidence, but it was enough to solidify Court Lady Shin’s resolve.
On the day this face was scarred, more than half of her heart had already torn away.
“It was Your Majesty who made me like this.”
When no one is left by your side, only then will you finally remember us.
Court Lady Shin poked through the ashes to confirm that not even a scrap of paper remained, then turned away without any lingering attachment.
* * *
Just as Lee Yeon had said, repairing the border walls was no ordinary task.
Conducting surprise inspections of government offices nationwide took a long time, but it did not carry much danger or difficulty; however, rebuilding the collapsed walls faced various obstacles in terms of supply of materials as well as manpower.
Transporting stone, brick, lime, materials, and rations—the core resources for rebuilding the wall—all the way there was a challenge in itself, and since the collapsed section was substantial, the number of laborers required was proportional to it.
“It is a relief, at least, that winter has passed,”
Jinyul said, and Seo Yeo-ro, who was sitting opposite him, agreed.
“That is correct. In the bitter cold, the stones would freeze, making the work difficult. If the supply of military rations were delayed, the laborers’ dissatisfaction would rise, so it is rather a relief that we received the command now.”
“Though we must finish it before summer,”
Lee Yeon murmured. Her face was somewhat dark.
“You said it is a reconstruction rather than a mere repair, correct?”
Jinyul nodded.
“From what I checked last time, because it had been neglected for a long period, the stones were all cracked by rain and frost. Some sections had completely collapsed, and the condition of the rest is not that great either.”
“But will the local soldiers be of any help?”
“We will have to take a trustworthy artisan along.”
Jinyul spoke meaningfully.
“A man who baked thousands of bricks all by himself should be of some help.”
He was referring to the person who had built the walls of Jinyul’s private residence from start to finish all by himself. Chung had truly raised the walls to protect that spacious house entirely on his own.
From baking the bricks to applying the glue and raising the walls, he had done it all by himself. He had quite a bit of perseverance and skill, more than he appeared to have.
“And there is a new figure as well.”
Hong Jin was sitting in the direction where the three of them were looking.
He had been kneeling awkwardly as if wearing clothes that did not fit, and when the attention focused on him, he shrank back and nodded his head.
“I, I do not know if I will be of help, but……”
“You must be.”
“Ah, yes. I must be. I will be. I will definitely be of help.”
When Jinyul spoke bluntly, he answered as if he were about to jump out of his skin.
They said Hong Jin was highly adept at making things with his hands just like his older sister, and he possessed a talent for making people feel comfortable. And occasionally, he would come up with brilliant ideas that made people slap their knees in admiration.
“And since the person who will be in charge of meals is going along too, it will be of no small help in boosting morale.”
Juhwa, who was sitting modestly next to Hong Jin, bowed her head slightly.
“Then, do you go without leaving your heart behind?”
Jinyul looked at Lee Yeon and smiled slightly.
“Let us fight and meet in our respective positions, wife.”
Lee Yeon in her own way, Jinyul in Jinyul’s way, and Hong Ran in Hong Ran’s way.
Lee Yeon looked at him and then nodded.
“If you do not return by the hundredth day, I will personally go to the wall on the hundred and first day.”
At that threat, Jinyul assumed an expression as if he were in big trouble.
“That is a serious matter. My wife is a person who will truly do exactly as she says.”
She never speaks empty words, and with that returning reply, a smile mirrored across the lips of all five people.
And that afternoon, a massive amount of supplies and manpower left the Capital City along with Jinyul.
It was the first day a bowl of pure ritual water was placed in Lee Yeon’s room.

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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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