Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 84

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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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84.
Chohee, Jain, and Lady Han gathered together, their heads huddled close. What they were staring down at with such serious expressions was the dinner tray brought out from Lee Yeon’s room.
Chohee muttered gloomily.
“She left everything behind again…”
“It looks like she barely even touched it.”
“Is it really that tasteless?”
Chohee brought her face close to the bowls and sniffed.
“Just the smell alone makes my mouth water.”
She couldn’t even remember the last time Lee Yeon had completely finished a bowl of rice. Although they had prepared seasonal fruits and side dishes with all their heart to stimulate her appetite, they were lucky if there was even a trace of chopsticks touching them.
Seeing that the rice bowl was only about half empty, as if she had eaten nothing but plain rice, made her heart ache even more.
“Chohee, are you planning to bury your nose in that tray?”
When Lady Han scolded her, Chohee sat back with a pouty expression.
“If Aunt Juhwa were here, she would have solved this in a heartbeat. Maybe her appetite wouldn’t have dropped in the first place.”
“That is true.”
Jain, for once, took Chohee’s side.
“It might be that everyone’s palate has grown accustomed to Aunt Juhwa’s cooking. Still, not eating this much is getting a bit serious…”
The three of them looked down at the dining tray again and let out a collective sigh.
Ever since Jinyul left to fulfill the Royal Decree, Lee Yeon had started her daily routine by waking up at the break of dawn without fail to fetch Pure Ritual Water.
Because she had practically cut off her grain intake while doing so, her weight had plummeted, making someone who was already thin look almost skeletal now. It was heartbreaking to see her doing nothing but sleeping from the afternoon onward, as if she had no strength left in her body.
“Even with us nagging her at her side to eat, it’s still like this, so I’m truly getting worried now.”
“Tell me about it. I can’t even face Daegam-manim. Every time I serve her meal tray, my heart just thumps wildly…”
Wondering if Lee Yeon’s lost weight would return once Jinyul came back, the three of them sighed in unison.
Then, a sudden thought struck Chohee, and she abruptly sprang up from her seat.
“Oh, right!”
As she bounced up as if she had springs attached to her knees, Lady Han looked at Jain with an expression that asked what was wrong with her now. At that, Jain said calmly,
“She must have remembered something she forgot. Like burning the cauldron left on the kitchen hearth to a crisp.”
“It’s not that!”
Chohee replied petulantly and grumbled.
“Do I always make mistakes? I just remembered something really important right now.”
“What is it that makes you jump up like that?”
“Preparing for Grand Princess Consort’s menstruation.”
Chohee whispered softly, keeping her voice down in case anyone else might hear.
“She used to have it around this time every month. Her skin is so delicate that she only uses pure cotton cloth well-dried in the sun, but I completely forgot to iron it neatly.”
As Chohee spoke, Jain muttered.
“Come to think of it, it’s already past the time it should have ended…”
Her menstruation was delayed, her grain intake had stopped, and she was dozing off at all hours of the day like a sick chicken.
“…!”
In an instant, the eyes of the three women met. Lady Han stood up like a flash of lightning. It was the same for Chohee and Jain.
The three people who had been sitting on the edge of the wooden veranda dashed forward as if their soles were on fire. Their destination, of course, was Lee Yeon’s quarters.
“My Lady!”
Chohee shouted at the top of her lungs for Lee Yeon and ran ahead of everyone. Behind her, Jain kicked off the ground with all her might and ran.
“Grand Princess Consort!”
“Oh, Grand Princess Consort!”
It was a roar so resounding and loud that it caused the sleeping Lee Yeon to bolt awake in surprise.
* * *
Lady Han was indeed a more experienced person than the two of them. Unlike Chohee and Jain, who had dashed straight to Lee Yeon’s quarters, she had run to a midwife.
The midwife immediately recognized that Lady Han was someone who worked for the Seo Family. Lady Han urged her to watch her mouth since nothing was certain yet, and the midwife promptly locked her main gate and came straight to the Seo Family Residence with her.
At that time, Lee Yeon, who had been taking a nap, was being bombarded with all sorts of questions from Chohee and Jain who had suddenly burst in.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
The elderly midwife firmly grabbed the wrist of Lee Yeon, who was still half-asleep, groggy, and utterly bewildered. Chohee, Jain, and Lady Han’s eyes sparkled brightly.
The midwife slowly closed her eyes.
“By any chance, how long has your menstruation been delayed?”
“About… two months or so.”
Chohee said, calculating the dates.
Now that she had spoken it aloud, a truly significant amount of time had passed.
Lee Yeon’s menstruation was Chohee’s responsibility. She used to prepare the cloth and medicinal herbs to reduce pain according to her cycle. No matter how distracted she had been, she had missed it for two months.
“You really are…”
When Lady Han scolded her, Chohee couldn’t lift her lowered head. Lee Yeon waved her hand.
“Chohee took good care of it. I told her not to worry about it.”
Lee Yeon said, stopping Lady Han.
“I thought my body was just broken. I figured the anger and anxiety from frequently entering and leaving the palace had accumulated in my body.”
Lee Yeon had also been mindful of the fact that her menstruation hadn’t come for over two months. To be honest, not having her monthly period was comfortable for her body, but it was gradually becoming a source of concern.
“Furthermore, my dizziness became much worse than before, and I felt so nauseous that I had absolutely no appetite. On top of that, because I woke up at the break of dawn, fatigue piled up, and I didn’t want to do anything except sleep.”
Lady Han’s expression grew stranger and stranger. The same went for Chohee and Jain. The more they listened, the more it perfectly matched ‘those symptoms’, to the point where it was baffling how they hadn’t realized it until now.
Bizarrely, and rather amusingly, the only person in this room who hadn’t caught on at all was Lee Yeon herself.
Then, the midwife slowly opened her eyes and said, as if driving home the final nail.
“Congratulations.”
As expected.
The faces of the three women brightened with joy in unison. Only Lee Yeon wore a bewildered look on her face. And in the next moment, that expression soon turned into pure ecstasy.
“You have achieved Conception.”
Lee Yeon was currently eleven weeks pregnant, experiencing every single symptom that an expectant mother goes through in early pregnancy.
* * *
The news of Lee Yeon’s pregnancy instantly spread throughout the entire Seo Family Residence. Before informing Seo Yeo-ro, Lady Han handed some jewelry to the midwife and strictly requested her to keep it a secret, and the midwife told her not to worry.
‘I have some wits myself. If the fact that the Grand Princess Consort has achieved Conception spreads through the Capital City, it will soon flow into the palace. If that happens, Lady Hong, who is in the palace, will be put in a difficult position, so why would I wag my tongue lightly?’
The elderly midwife was someone who used to be a palace physician-in-training in the past. She had left the palace and retired from the front lines due to her advanced age.
She urged Lee Yeon to get absolute rest and advised her to eat whatever suited her palate.
‘The time will soon come when your body rejects food. Or you might suffer because your body accepts it too much. Since you are harboring a young master in your womb, Grand Princess Consort must eat well to protect the child.’
Saying so, the midwife happily stepped out of the Seo Family Residence’s Main Gate, and Chohee, who had gone to see her off, simply unfolded a mat and sat down right there by the gate. It was in order to deliver the news to Seo Yeo-ro the very moment he returned home.
And the moment Seo Yeo-ro stepped past the house’s Main Gate, he was boxed in from front and back by Jain and Chohee without knowing why, and was guided straight to Lee Yeon’s room.
“Is that…!”
The words ‘Is it true?’ swallowed back deep into his throat.
“Yeon-ah!”
Seo Yeo-ro laughed out loud, which was a rare sight for him, and embraced Lee Yeon. What with expending his worries on Chae Mun and Hong Ran’s affairs, coupled with worrying about Jinyul, the wrinkles on his face had been deepening day by day, but in a single moment, his expression bloomed like a flower.
Seo Yeo-ro hugged Lee Yeon tightly over and over again, practically dancing with joy, and repeatedly urged her to get absolute rest no matter what.
“When your mother was pregnant with you, she had a very hard time. She suffered so much that she practically became a living corpse. There is a saying that the labor pains a mother goes through pass down to her daughter, so I am worried.”
“Of course. The events of that time are still vivid before my eyes. Yet, that daughter has grown up and a blessing has found its way into her womb.”
Lady Han’s eyes welled with tears. She had a look on her face as if she missed Lee Yeon’s mother.
“I will make sure to protect her well. Grand Princess Consort must be watching over her carefully from heaven as well.”
“…I suppose so.”
Seo Yeo-ro nodded. As if a thousand emotions were crossing his mind, a bit of moisture gathered on his wrinkled face.
And before long, extreme morning sickness found its way to Lee Yeon. It was a triple affliction of food cravings, vomiting, and excessive salivation.

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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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