Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 77

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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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77.
Hong Ran looked at the table for a long time. Upon it lay a sheet of pure white paper.
The court lady sitting across from her was waiting patiently for her to speak.
“I am sorry.”
Hong Ran spoke with a self-conscious smile.
“This is the first time I am sending a letter, so I want to organize my words. I do not wish to waste such precious paper fruitlessly, either.”
The court lady hesitated at the honest and innocent words before smiling. Her stiffened face softened a little.
“Do not pay it any mind. It is an honor merely to face someone as precious as you.”
“Thank you for speaking so warmly.”
Hong Ran smiled brightly. Her clear smile, completely devoid of calculation, relaxed the court lady’s face even further.
With a relieved expression, Hong Ran sank back into deep thought.
‘A letter, you say?’
It was a request she had made during their morning meal today. At her cautious request, Jinpyeong had asked back as he dismissed the royal meal.
‘To whom are you sending a letter?’
‘To the Grand Princess Consort.’
In that instant, everyone who had entered the room to clear away the royal meal watched Jinpyeong’s reaction. They looked stiff, fearing he might grow angry.
Unconcerned by their expressions, Hong Ran calmly explained her thoughts.
‘As Your Majesty knows, the only people I have to rely on in the palace are Your Majesty and the Grand Princess Consort. And she worries about me as if I were a child left by the water’s edge. Therefore, I wish to reassure her.’
Jinpyeong’s eyebrows, which had shot up at Hong Ran’s words, lowered slightly. With a contemplative look, he gestured for her to continue.
‘I have received Your Majesty’s Royal Grace, and I wish to let her know that I have fully become Your Majesty’s person.’
‘Letting her know that you are my person.’
‘Yes.’
Hong Ran nodded. As if he liked those words, Jinpyeong tilted his head slightly. Hong Ran drove the point home.
‘Then my family, who resides at the Grand Prince’s estate, will also receive news of my well-being through the Grand Princess Consort. I want to convey to them that I am doing well.’
Was it due to the affection from spending the night together, or perhaps the satisfaction of taking her purity?
Jinpyeong granted Hong Ran’s request, and since then, she had been pondering over what to write in the letter.
Lost in thought, Hong Ran slowly parted her lips.
“My news is late. I am sending someone because I wish to have lunch with the Grand Princess Consort today, so I shall look forward to her joining me by all means.”
Almost simultaneously with Hong Ran’s words, the court lady wrote the text in a neat script.
In her heart, there were many more things she wanted to add, but since it would do no good for others to know, Hong Ran nodded as if satisfied with that. The court lady shook the paper lightly to let the ink dry well, then folded it neatly.
“Please deliver that to the Grand Princess Consort. We must hurry if we are to have lunch together…….”
“I will dispatch someone immediately.”
The court lady spoke softly, glancing slightly at Hong Ran’s expression.
“Also, if it is alright with you, may I apply a hot towel?”
“A hot towel?”
“Yes. Fomenting with it will make your back pain much better.”
“……Ah.”
Hong Ran’s face flushed slightly. She had been caught patting her waist with one hand. It was an inadvertent action, yet she seemed touched by the court lady who had noticed it without missing a beat.
“Thank you.”
The court lady smiled faintly, bowed her head, and left. Once left alone, Hong Ran slowly reached into her bodice and pulled something out. It was the medicine vial that Lee Yeon had sent through Jinyul last time.
Hong Ran took out a single pill from inside it and popped it into her mouth.
“……My lady.”
I will see you soon.
There were truly many things to report. Fortunately.
* * *
Lee Yeon raised her head. Even though it was early morning, the sky was quite bright.
‘I wonder if the sky is this bright there too.’
The sky would be the same everywhere, but she could not help worrying at every moment. The region where the border lay would be far more rugged than here.
“My lady, are you praying again?”
Chohee, who was sweeping the yard, approached with hurried steps.
Lee Yeon’s days were always similar. They began with pure ritual water and ended with pure ritual water. Every morning began with praying for Jinyul’s safety, and every night before bed, she prayed for Jinyul’s swift and safe return.
As Lee Yeon smiled brightly, Chohee let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“The saying that you only notice someone’s absence when they are gone fits perfectly. Since Aunt Juhwa is away, the kitchen is in absolute chaos. Even Lady Han is sighing, saying she does not know how she managed when the aunt was not around.”
“Is it that different?”
“Of course it is different. The types of side dishes have changed. And the taste is distinctively different too. You can tell by looking at the leftovers.”
I miss the times when the bowls were scraped clean, muttered Chohee, before she froze. It was because someone was standing at the gate.
“My lady, over there—.”
It was right when Lee Yeon looked toward where Chohee was pointing. Jain, who had approached that side before anyone noticed, walked toward Lee Yeon along with that person.
Upon seeing the person, Lee Yeon narrowed her eyes. It was because the woman was wearing a green ceremonial jacket.
‘A court lady?’
It was not the court lady from Daehee Palace who had come last time. Fearing that the Queen had summoned her again, Chohee and Jain’s faces hardened stiffly.
Lee Yeon faced the person calmly.
“What brings a person from the palace all the way here?”
“I greet the Grand Princess Consort.”
After bowing politely, the court lady reached into her bodice, pulled out a letter, and offered it respectfully.
“A precious person commanded me to deliver this to the Grand Princess Consort.”
A precious person?
Chohee and Jain looked at each other. Lee Yeon received the letter and slowly opened it.
「My news is late.」
It was a handwriting she was seeing for the first time, but the moment she saw that first line, it felt as though she could hear someone’s voice. A gentle yet firm voice, it was Hong Ran.
* * *
Meanwhile, Court Lady Shin was placed in an extremely awkward situation.
Ever since she was assigned to Daehee Palace, not a single day of her palace life had passed quietly, but lately, she truly felt as if she were walking on a path of thorns.
“We are sorry, but we received orders not to let you in.”
It was a rejection at the door.
The moment she said she came by order of the Queen to escort the woman Hong to Daehee Palace, she could not even step foot past the threshold.
At the polite but firm attitude, Court Lady Shin could no longer utter a word and turned around, swallowing one deep sigh after another. By now, she felt resentful toward Sangseon, who had assigned her here.
‘I did not know it would be such a harsh place.’
Because it was the closest position serving the Queen, she thought a path of flowers would unfold. Had she known it would be such a path of hardship, she would not have even rejoiced; only sighs came out.
‘She will fly into a great rage again.’
She had sought a meeting but was rejected twice. The first time was due to a royal decree, but this time, she could not even enter the Grand Hall at all. It was as clear as day that the Queen would throw a fierce tantrum again.
Thinking so, she steeled herself and returned to Daehee Palace, but contrary to Court Lady Shin’s expectations, Chae Eun-oh was quiet upon hearing her words.
“Is that so?”
Her face was still flushed red from the fever, but her expression was colder than ice.
Chae Eun-oh took off the cold towel placed on her forehead and raised herself to sit up.
“Court Lady Shin.”
Chae Eun-oh spoke slowly.
“What happened to the medicine I asked you to procure last time?”
At the appearance of Chae Eun-oh, who seemed to have changed by a layer, Court Lady Shin, who had been bowing her head, hesitated. Court Lady Shin slowly raised her head.
“Do you mean the medicine, Your Highness?”
Chae Eun-oh nodded.
“It has now become absolutely necessary.”
She had intended to take action before the consummation. Because she had not expected Hong Ran to enter Geonhwijeon so quickly, she had been somewhat leisurely, but now the time had truly come to move.
“And one more thing.”
Chae Eun-oh looked at Court Lady Shin.
“Procure the medicine for me to take my own life as well.”
Court Lady Shin looked at Chae Eun-oh in stark surprise. Her expression showed she doubted her own ears. Yet Chae Eun-oh did not even blink an eye.
“I have no intention of living while suffering such humiliation. If I am to be dragged down, I would rather end this life myself. Therefore,”
Chae Eun-oh spoke, looking straight at Court Lady Shin.
“Procure a deadly poison so that I may die as the Queen at my final hour.”
It was an order as chilling to the spine as frost.

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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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