Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 87

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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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87.
As always, the palace was quietly bustling.
But today, the atmosphere was slightly different. Someone was rejoicing, someone was anxious, and someone was on guard.
‘No matter when I come, this place truly never puts my mind at ease.’
With that thought, Jinyul looked at the person standing before him.
The elderly man was, at the very least, the most familiar face to Jinyul in this place.
“I did not expect Sangseon to call for me separately.”
“I have come to see you because I have something urgent to tell you.”
“Is it by any chance about Daehee Palace?”
Sangseon looked at Jinyul with a wrinkled face. He nodded slowly. He closed his mouth for a moment as if choosing his words, and then parted his lips. His two lips stuck together and then separated.
“The behavior of the Court Lady of Daehee Palace is strange.”
His voice was low.
“It is said that she has been frequenting an apothecary recently. Most medicinal herbs should be in the palace, so since her outings were frequent, I pried, and she said she had a problem with her own body and was going to meet a physician.”
“What kind of problem with her body?”
“She said she thought menopause had come and wanted to be examined.”
Jinyul paused.
Menopause meant the same thing as the cessation of menses. It meant that the function of harboring a child in the womb had stopped.
Sangseon continued his words.
“It is a personal matter and not an easy issue to ask about again, so I could not inquire in detail, but since the timing is what it is, I came to inform you that I am keeping an eye on it.”
Whether that was true or just an excuse was impossible to know.
Jinyul nodded his head.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Jinyul, who had bowed his head briefly, thought for a moment and then continued.
“By any chance, would it be alright if about two people came along to the banquet today?”
“May I ask who they are?”
“They are the family of Her Highness Suk-ui Hong.”
Jinyul answered readily.
“Her mother and younger brother. Furthermore, they are the ones who gave immense help in the reconstruction of the City Wall this time. Without them, it would have been very awkward.”
Sangseon was silent for a moment and then nodded his head. It seemed his mind was swayed by the mention that they were the family of none other than Suk-ui Hong.
“Since it is not a matter for me to decide, I will ask His Majesty the King and give you an answer.”
The fact that Sangseon would report it meant it was already half successful.
Jinyul smiled brightly.
“Thank you.”
Sangseon withdrew after a polite bow, and Jinyul was left alone, looking at Yeonmudang where today’s banquet would be held.
In the space slightly smaller than Jeongjeongjeon, full preparations for the banquet were already underway.
‘I hope it becomes a good gift.’
He murmured softly.
If Hong Ran was happy, Lee Yeon would be happy too. If so, he too would be happy.
A faint smile appeared on the corners of Jinyul’s lips.
* * *
Lee Yeon exhaled a short breath inside the palanquin. Whenever she passed these palace gates, her heart pounded as if she were crossing a taboo line.
‘I feel like vomiting.’
She could not gauge whether this was due to morning sickness or something else. What was certain was that just by breathing, her stomach was turning inside out.
Lee Yeon pressed and wiped the cold sweat with the back of her hand as she looked out the window.
‘Madam…….’
Lady Han, Chohee, and Jain had hoped Lee Yeon would change her mind until the palanquin bearers lifted the palanquin.
‘You are not alone, and you are going through such a ordeal. Can we not report that your body is unwell?’
‘If you go like this and something big happens…… Ouch!’
‘Take what this girl said as nonsense. Even if you go, you must, absolutely must be careful. If by any chance you feel it is difficult, return immediately, understood?’
It was advice upon advice. Lee Yeon also had absolutely no intention of staying long enough to strain her body. She just intended to show her face, return with Jinyul, share this happy news, and enjoy their reunion.
‘The only saving grace is…… that I am not walking this road into the palace alone.’
Lee Yeon turned her head and looked out the window. Seo Yeo-ro, who had his white beard neatly trimmed, was riding a horse in a vigorous manner.
‘Father.’
Seo Yeo-ro was the head of the Saheonbu and the father-in-law of the Grand Prince, so he was rightfully qualified to come forth to today’s banquet. Thanks to that, Lee Yeon’s mind was much more at ease.
She calmly organized her thoughts inside her head.
‘They said Ran continued her Seokgodaemyung.’
From morning until evening, it was said she did not raise her body from the Bakseok. Since she did so for several days in a row, not just one day, her body must have been heavily damaged.
However, it was said Jinpyeong showed no reaction to it.
It was a blatant disregard.
‘Then, it could be that he might force it at the banquet today.’
At today’s banquet, Hong Ran, Jinpyeong, Jinyul, Seo Yeo-ro, and Lee Yeon herself were scheduled to attend. It was entirely possible.
Pushing forward with something the person themselves refused was also undeniably violence. It was not just a simple refusal, but a refusal with her whole body and whole being while continuing the Seokgodaemyung for days, yet he truly intended to push through.
Thinking of what was about to happen, her stomach was turning beyond nausea. At the same time, a voice came vividly to her mind. It was none other than Lee Yeon’s own voice.
‘It is not that there is no way at all.’
Before leaving, Lee Yeon had grabbed Seo Yeo-ro and said so.
‘The news of my pregnancy is a strict secret, and no one outside this family knows yet. Therefore, we might be able to dissolve the gathering with this.’
Seo Yeo-ro had a puzzled face, and Lee Yeon continued her words.
‘They say pregnant women are sensitive to shock. Moreover, I heard it is rumored that my body is weak.’
At those words, Seo Yeo-ro looked at Lee Yeon with a complicated face.
‘Is that not a fact, rather than a rumor? The rumor that you were carried in His Majesty the King’s palanquin in a near-death state is rampant.’
‘That is why I am saying this. Since I am even pregnant with such a weak body, they will think my physical condition is abnormal, and I intend to use that.’
‘Then, do you mean you will pretend to be sick?’
Lee Yeon nodded her head. And she showed a smile to him, who was looking at her with a face full of worry.
‘It is just a pretense, so do not worry. I will only do so when there is no place to retreat.’
Only then did Seo Yeo-ro nod his head. He had once again confirmed Lee Yeon’s will not to just be helplessly victimized.
‘But what should I do.’
Lee Yeon unconsciously placed her hand on her stomach. It was an action that had already become a habit after realizing that a bud of life had taken place in her womb.
‘I think my body is truly not well.’
Lee Yeon looked at Seo Yeo-ro outside the window once more, and then closed and opened her eyes for a moment.
‘Still, I can endure it.’
Thinking about meeting the two people, Jinyul and Hong Ran, she felt like she was gaining even a little bit of strength.
The flutter of meeting Jinyul after a long time and the anticipation of seeing Hong Ran mixed together, making her heart race.
At that moment, the palanquin came to a stop. It had reached the City Gate entering the palace. The palanquin bearers carefully lowered the palanquin to the ground.
“Madam, we have arrived at the palace.”
“I understand.”
Lee Yeon exhaled a short breath and prepared to get off.
In the palace, no one except the King and Queen could sit in a palanquin. Therefore, the last time the King sent Lee Yeon in his own palanquin was a truly astonishing thing.
“……Ah.”
Lee Yeon stepped onto the ground and slowly raised her head. A long shadow was cast in front of her. It was Seo Yeo-ro.
He extended his hand to Lee Yeon and said bluntly.
“Here, take it.”
Lee Yeon looked at the hand extended to her and smiled brightly.
Her father and Jinyul had quite a few things in common.
Both had tender dispositions and treated their subordinates well across the board, so rumors were rampant that their character was good. However, when they got angry, they were also people who burned more terrifyingly than anyone else.
‘To an extreme degree.’
When Lee Yeon took his hand, Seo Yeo-ro pulled with force and helped her stand up. The eyes of the two met briefly.
Just then, a palace attendant was coming forward in front of the City Gate to guide the two.
He straightaway bowed his head and greeted politely.
“I greet the Inspector General. Has the Grand Princess Consort also been well?”
When the two nodded, the palace attendant politely guided the way.
“Today’s banquet is scheduled to be held at Yeonheidang. I will guide you.”
Lee Yeon’s expression became peculiar.
It was a look quite different from when she visited for the Queen’s tea discussion last time. Perhaps because it was a banquet held under the auspices of the King, it felt as if everyone’s shoulders were tightly frozen.
“Let us go.”
As Seo Yeo-ro took his steps first, Lee Yeon followed behind him. It was the moment she stepped into the palace for already the fourth time, a place she thought she would never walk into even once.
Lee Yeon’s gaze hardened firmly.
* * *
“Excuse me, Inspector General!”
Lee Yeon looked up at the sky. She had already been caught for the third time while coming this far.
They had not even reached Yeonheidang yet, but because the ministers caught Seo Yeo-ro every few steps, the palace attendant who came out to guide them and Lee Yeon had no choice but to keep waiting behind them.
“Yeon-ah.”
Seo Yeo-ro, who was talking to them with a slightly displeased expression, looked at Lee Yeon with eyes full of concern.
“Would you perhaps like to go to Yeonheidang first? I am sorry for making you wait repeatedly.”
“It is alright.”
Lee Yeon glanced at the palace attendant. Although she did not show it, she seemed slightly anxious.
‘That person must have other work besides guiding us.’
Lee Yeon swallowed a short sigh and nodded her head.
“Then shall I go first, Father?”
“Yes. I will go soon.”
Lee Yeon nodded her head and signaled with her eyes to the palace attendant standing next to her.
With an expression of gratitude, she bowed her head slightly and led the way with quick steps, and before long, stopped in front of a pavilion she was seeing for the first time.
‘This place is…….’
It was a place she had never been to even once before her regression.
Unlike Jeongjeongjeon, Yeonheidang was a place where small-scale banquets were held. There was no reason for her, who could not go anywhere except for official events, to walk into this place.
‘But to come here like this, one can never know what life brings.’
Lee Yeon swallowed a bitter smile and slowly took her steps. The palace attendants who discovered her politely opened the doors from both sides.
As if the banquet had not started yet, palace attendants were moving busily and preparing. A few people who discovered Lee Yeon showed a gleam of curiosity in their eyes and tried to approach her.
It was then. Someone approached and snatched her arm.

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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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