Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 83

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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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83.
Eun-oh stepped forward resolutely.
She knew the way to the Grand Hall all too well.
‘I’ve walked it hundreds of times a day in my mind.’
After her father died like that, she had been keeping as low a profile as possible, fearing she might get caught in the crossfire. In her heart, she wanted to go to the King every single day and plead her innocence, but knowing her eagerness might be viewed askance, she had been suppressing her breath and secluding herself in the Daehee Palace, albeit belatedly.
Yet this time, this was the one thing she could not tolerate. She could not just let it slide.
‘If Hong Ran gets registered into the Seo Family Residence.’
If that happened, she would truly be finished. She would simply be pushed aside.
If Hong Ran became Seo Yeo-ro’s Yangnyeo, not only would her low status—her greatest weakness—be resolved, but she would also gain the Inspector General as her adoptive father. She would acquire a massive backing that couldn’t even be compared to her own current state, having lost her father.
Furthermore, with the Grand Prince and the Grand Princess Consort as her family, she would have nothing left but to ride a wave of sweeping success.
‘I thought Lee Yeon would be the ambush, but there was an even greater fox of a wench.’
She looked so pure and innocent on the outside, yet she was so wicked inside, acting as if she harbored more than a hundred massive serpents in her belly.
Heaven knew how she had seduced Jinpyeong, but the sounds coming from his quarters every single night were said to be extraordinary.
‘Again?’
At first, she had used Court Lady Shin to find out where Jinpyeong greeted the morning. But there was no need to investigate. There wasn’t a single day that Jinpyeong didn’t seek out Hong Ran.
‘They say the sounds that woman makes are so shameful that one cannot even approach the vicinity of the Palace.’
If it was the Bedroom Arts, she had learned them no less than that woman. Though she had learned through texts, drawings, and words, she was confident she could amply melt Jinpyeong in practice.
However, she wasn’t even given the opportunity. Jinpyeong had not allowed her even a single night.
‘Why only that wench.’
The resentment of “Why am I in this state and why must I suffer this disgrace?” had long since shifted to “Why only you?”.
It was just that the target had changed from Lee Yeon to Hong Ran.
‘Whatever else happens, I must stop that wench from becoming a Seo, no matter what.’
Eun-oh did not trust Hong Ran. She found Hong Ran’s actions utterly absurd.
‘Fox-like thing.’
She was undoubtedly colluding with the King to put on such a show.
‘Receiving the title of Suk-ui must already be more than she deserves, so if she gets registered into the Seo Family Residence by the King’s command under these circumstances, a backlash will surely arise.’
By coming out with her hair unbound like that and raising her voice to ask him to cancel the idea, everyone who came out to watch would learn of the plan.
Since everyone would know, Jinpyeong would just have to push forward with it from his position, so while her mouth pleaded for him to withdraw it, she was bound to be grinning from ear to ear on the inside.
‘Do you think I’ll just watch that happen with my eyes wide open?’
Eun-oh gnashed her teeth. In her heart, she wanted to tear out that woman’s hair, but it was an eternal regret that she couldn’t do so since they were in front of Geonhwijeon.
Eun-oh stopped in her footsteps. A raging fire welled up inside her.
“Ah!”
That woman must have calculated up to this point. She must have foreseen that she would come rushing out. That was why she had set up her spot at Geonhwijeon instead of the Grand Hall.
Geonhwijeon was strictly the King’s space, a place where even she, the Queen, could only enter with permission.
‘That wench provoked me.’
She had insulted her, the Queen. She was mocking her, as if saying, “You can’t even get permission to enter a place I can frequent so easily.”
Eun-oh whipped her head around and glared at Court Lady Shin with an expression full of venom.
“Court Lady Shin!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Eun-oh’s body trembled violently with rage.
She knew it too. She herself knew that the moment she passed through the Grand Hall and went into the inner area right now, she would fall into a bottomless abyss uncontrollably. That was why, despite her soaring fury, she couldn’t cross that gate. Even though she knew the fox was wagging its tail, she couldn’t grab her by the hair.
But she had to do something. She needed something to break through this situation.
“What… what should I do right now?”
So, for the first time, she asked Court Lady Shin. What she should do now, what would be best for her to do.
As Eun-oh, who had always acted arbitrarily, asked for the first time, Court Lady Shin looked up at her with somewhat surprised eyes, but soon bowed her head with an expressionless face. The scratch mark left by a fingernail across her face stood out exceptionally well today.
“Please return to your quarters.”
“You…!”
Eun-oh bit her lip hard. She knew that much herself. She was asking what to do now, yet an utterly unhelpful answer had returned. Eun-oh chewed on her lip.
“And please spread a rumor that Suk-ui Hong has become arrogant and is disregarding the Queen.”
Eun-oh paused and looked at Court Lady Shin. Court Lady Shin continued speaking with a calm face.
“It is a fact that Suk-ui Hong has not come to pay her respects to Your Highness until now. Even if the country is in turmoil, it is a fact known to all that the head of the Naemyongbu is the Queen, so it is naturally something to be criticized for.”
“…That’s true.”
“Therefore, find a flaw. If you spread rumors questioning whether her essence would change just because her rank changed when her origin is so lowly that she doesn’t know her place, it will be able to thwart His Majesty’s plan at least a little.”
Eun-oh’s face brightened slightly. As she listened, it seemed to sound quite decent.
“Indeed, it is true that she hasn’t come to greet me, and it’s also a fact that her origin is lowly, so not a single word is wrong.”
Eun-oh briefly commended Court Lady Shin.
“Not bad for your thinking.”
Court Lady Shin quietly bowed her head. Eun-oh, with a face that looked slightly appeased from her anger, turned around sharply and commanded.
“Then I shall leave that matter entirely to you.”
From procuring medicine to spreading rumors and soothing the anxious Palace Attendants of Daehee Palace, Court Lady Shin had not a single day to rest comfortably.
Yet, she did not let it show and bowed her head deeply.
* * *
The reactions of the Royal Court ministers and the Palace Attendants were split in half as well.
Half of the people thought like Eun-oh, and surprisingly, about half of them believed that Hong Ran was genuinely refusing.
“A person ought to have a conscience.”
“And she didn’t seem to have the vessel for it anyway. She appeared to have no ambition.”
“Ambition or conscience aside, she’s someone who never had any connection to the Palace in her life, so she must be terrified. When she can clearly see the Queen’s father being torn apart like that, would she be able to sleep with her legs stretched out?”
At those words, several people cleared their throats with fake coughs. They were Palace Attendants who frequently visited Geonhwijeon.
“I heard she sleeps perfectly well, though.”
The people exchanged meaningful glances. The Palace Attendants of Geonhwijeon said they washed the Royal Bedding several times every day. According to rumors, it wasn’t just the Royal Bedding; the entire room was a mess every morning.
“Just what on earth does one do with a brush to…”
The people held their tongues, clearing their throats. Not long ago, it was said that all the brushes in Yeongsongjae were ruined.
The brush shafts were snapped, the hairs were entirely fallen out or flattened, and not a single one was intact, so the Palace Attendants cleaning up in the morning were left utterly bewildered.
“If things go on like this and Suk-ui Hong happens to achieve a Conception, the playing field will completely change.”
People’s gazes naturally shifted toward the Saheonbu.
It had already been several days since Hong Ran started her Seokgodaemyung, and Inspector General Seo Yeo-ro had been silent for the exact same number of days.
“But… isn’t the Queen being too quiet?”
Given her temperament, she should have torn out Hong Ran’s hair at least three times by now, so it seemed she was laying low as expected, given the timing.
However, the expression of the person who brought it up was unusual.
“A Palace Maid from Daehee Palace said that the Court Lady seems to be moving secretly under some command from the Queen.”
The expressions of the people turned significant.
Just then, someone approached with hurried steps from afar. It was a Palace Attendant from Geonhwijeon.
He spoke in a voice as breathless as his steps.
“He is returning!”
“Who do you mean?”
Who else could it be?
A moment later, scolding remarks could be heard from all around.
It was the news that Grand Prince Jinyul was successfully returning after rebuilding the City Wall.
It was an incredibly exquisite timing.

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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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