Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 80

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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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80.
After that, Jinpyeong sought out Hong Ran day and night. It became an unsurprising affair for the two of them to greet the morning together, and it no longer felt strange for Sangseon to come to Yeongsongjae to offer Morning Greetings.
Today was no different.
“I hear there are books outside the palace that detail the carnal union between men and women.”
Jinpyeong spoke as he caressed Hong Ran’s waist, resting his chin against the deep curve of her valley.
“Have you ever read such a thing?”
Exposing her fair, rounded body, Hong Ran blinked and leaned her head against Jinpyeong’s shoulder.
“If I answer honestly, will you promise not to be angry?”
“I shall.”
Hong Ran smiled slightly, her pitch-black eyes curving into crescents.
“I have seen one before. However…”
As she raised herself up, the snow-white mounds she had been concealing beneath the blanket were laid bare to the morning sun. Hong Ran shielded her dazzlingly naked form with her arms, speaking as though overwhelmed by bashfulness.
“I did not understand what it meant. Had I not experienced it with my body like this, I would have remained ignorant for the rest of my life.”
Seeing it in a picture and experiencing it in the flesh were truly vastly different, she added, drawing a breathy chuckle from Jinpyeong’s lips.
“Is that so.”
He stroked Hong Ran’s hair with a deeply satisfied air.
Hong Ran was a woman who possessed a captivating charm that made the act of taking her a sheer pleasure. She was innocent yet eager, bashful yet bold. She expressed herself without reservation and remained utterly true to her desires. Furthermore, she completely surrendered herself to his overbearing urges, which left him more gratified than he could have ever hoped for.
Stroking Hong Ran’s hair as if she were a puppy, Jinpyeong suddenly asked a question.
“Is there nothing you desire from me?”
Hong Ran, who had been obediently leaving her head to his touch, tilted her head to the side. She stared up at him blankly.
“If you mean what I desire…”
“Wealth, jewelry, honor, status, that sort of thing. Or perhaps for your family to be brought into the palace.”
Hong Ran stared blankly at Jinpyeong as the words flowed effortlessly from his lips, but she immediately shook her head as if she had just heard something terrifying.
She shook her head so vigorously that she audaciously brushed off the King’s hand, then looked up at Jinpyeong with a pure, unblemished face.
“There is only one thing I desire.”
“And what is that?”
At his immediate prompt, Hong Ran gave her reply shyly.
“Please visit me more often.”
Hong Ran turned her head away in embarrassment, speaking in a tiny, hushed voice.
“Being held by Your Majesty is the only thing I look forward to in this palace.”
Jinpyeong’s eyes flashed fiercely for a brief moment. Entirely oblivious to this, Hong Ran kept her head bowed and continued speaking.
“Just being allowed to stay by Your Majesty’s side fills me with deepest grat—Eek!”
Hong Ran let out a sharp cry. It was because Jinpyeong had suddenly pulled her body into a tight embrace.
Jinpyeong held her roughly with one arm, pulling her to sit atop his two thighs. Her face flushed red at the immediate sensation of his firm physique.
“Your Majesty…!”
“I shall ensure that everyone in the world holds you in high esteem.”
Jinpyeong muttered.
“I will have my child through you, and I will not allow your child to be called the offspring of a Royal Concubine.”
Those words were as much a declaration to himself as they were to her.
Jinpyeong himself was born to a Queen who had risen from the rank of Chongbi. Though born a prince, he became a Grand Prince after the death of the Former Queen when his biological mother became the Queen, and following a series of events, he ascended as King. Because of this, he had been forced to endure all sorts of remarks that he would have preferred never to hear.
He muttered under his breath, as if drilling the thought into his own mind.
“I will never let your child be subjected to the insult of being called a Royal Concubine’s offspring.”
His words meant that Chae Eun-oh was effectively finished as the Queen, while simultaneously signaling that he would not leave Hong Ran to linger as a mere Royal Concubine.
Hong Ran did not offer words of profound gratitude, nor did she speak of the immense honor. She simply wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, looking completely overwhelmed by the rush of ecstasy and sensation flooding through her at this very moment.
Yet, in stark contrast to her violently trembling body, there was not a single shred of emotion within her pitch-black eyes.
* * *
Jinyul lifted his head. Rain poured down relentlessly from a sky thick with heavy clouds.
“Grand Prince.”
Chung approached, looking utterly drenched like a rat caught in a downpour.
“At this rate, we won’t be able to make any progress.”
“Indeed.”
Jinyul let out a soft sigh. He had known it would be arduous, but he never expected it to be this difficult; not a single thing was going according to plan.
The provisions they thought would be more than sufficient when they departed were already half depleted, and stone and building materials were in short supply. Above all else, the weather was the greatest adversary.
“If it keeps raining like this, how are we supposed to build the wall?”
Chung looked up at the sky and sighed. Standing beside him, Hong Jin fell deep into thought before turning his gaze toward Jinyul.
“Grand Prince, you mentioned that stones are scarce as well, did you not?”
Jinyul nodded his head.
“The manpower required to chisel stone is also severely lacking…”
Lost in contemplation, Hong Jin stared at the thick mud coating the ground, the straw and sand piled up inside the shelter, and the rain cascading from the heavens before speaking.
“Then let us bake bricks instead.”
The two men stared at him. Chung looked as though he had been struck upside the head.
Hong Jin continued.
“It is said the original rampart was raised with stone, but it has already been severely damaged by the wind and rain, so reusing it will be difficult. That means we would have to source new stone, but look at all these excellent materials we have right here.”
“Now that is a brilliant idea. I happen to be thoroughly sick and tired of baking bricks.”
Chung spoke, shaking his head side to side.
“I feel like we baked thousands of them back when we were building the perimeter wall for your estate, Grand Prince.”
“Then it worked out perfectly.”
Hong Jin smiled brightly and rested his hands on his hips. Before long, the soldiers who had ventured out were listening to their conversation.
It had already been over a week since they were rendered unable to work due to the unseasonable rain.
At first, they thought it would let up soon, but a day or two passed without it stopping at all, and even the sections they had managed to build were seeing their earth washed away, causing their morale to sap away. It was in the midst of this that Hong Jin brought forward such a proposal.
“But do we not require a kiln?”
“If it is something like that, we can whip one up in no time.”
Chung shrugged his shoulders. Hong Jin nodded along.
“Rather than idling about, it is a hundred times better to finish up quickly and return to our warm homes. How long can we afford to play the idle cricket?”
At his words, the surrounding soldiers nodded their heads. Their expressions grew animated with rising morale at the mere mention of home.
Chung forcefully struck the ground with his shovel in high spirits.
“Then since we are at it, let us begin right away! Whether that damned sky pours down rain or not, we shall start our work regardless!”
As he began to tear through the mud like a wild boar, the men burst into a mix of shouts and good-natured complaints, yet they all began to pick up their shovels with laughter.
Jinyul was the first to grab a shovel and step out into the rain that was coming down like sheets.
“Very well, tonight’s dinner shall be a special feast!”
At that, the soldiers who had been standing around idly all rushed out into the rain. When their superior officer was leading by example, there was no one who would dare to rest.
Looking at the atmosphere that had completely transformed from moments ago—when they were lost in despair, staring blankly up at the heavens—a smile spread across Jinyul’s face, which was now splattered with mud and rain.
Strangely, unlike moments before, a glimmer of hope began to appear.

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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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