Even If Flowers Bloom on a Broken Branch - Chapter 96

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

96.
It was a voice that sounded like a total demon.
“Court Lady Shin!”
It was a desperate shriek meant to somehow block that mouth, but Court Lady Shin did not close her lips. Instead, she spoke loudly, cutting right through Chae Eun-oh’s voice.
“This is the medicine ordered by the Queen. She commanded me to find a drug that would block and dissolve a woman’s womb, so I searched far and wide to obtain it!”
From the medicine bottle held in her trembling hand came the sloshing sound of liquid.
Everyone lost their words and focused entirely on her. Court Lady Shin said through her sobs,
“She threatened that if I did not make Suk-ui Hong drink this today, she would slaughter the palace maids of Daehee Palace, so I had no choice but to bring it.”
“Court Lady Shin!”
Eun-oh shrieked. She truly screamed like a female yaksha.
“Will you not shut that mouth of yours!”
Court Lady Shin shook her head and raised her voice. She shuddered with horror.
“I was so terrified. I was in so much agony. I feared that if I did not commit this crime, innocent people would lose their lives, so I dared to attempt what should never be done. Please kill this sinner!”
Court Lady Shin cried out, slamming her forehead onto the dirt floor over and over again.
The complexions of the people turned completely pale.
“How could she…”
Court Lady Han muttered the words she couldn’t fully swallow. She looked at Eun-oh with a look of utter horror.
‘How can someone wearing human skin commit such an evil deed?’
The fact that she had prepared not just one but two drugs meant a stubborn determination to ensure that the hideous deed succeeded.
Furthermore, to block and dissolve a womb meant she intended to make it impossible for her to ever carry any life. It was not something a human would do. It was a wicked and hideous act that a normal person wouldn’t even think of.
‘And to someone who is already deeply worried about Grand Princess Consort’s conception…!’
To try to make someone infertile, just thinking about it made them shudder.
Because she herself could not receive the Royal Grace, she sought to strip away the happiness that someone else might possess.
“Furthermore…”
Court Lady Shin raised her head, her entire body trembling violently. Right in front of her stood Eun-oh, frozen stiff and turned as white as a pillar of salt.
Court Lady Shin glared straight at her and shouted. It was the unyielding, sharp teeth of someone prepared for death.
Those teeth bit into the nape of Eun-oh’s neck without a single moment of hesitation.
“In addition, she questioned me, asking whether the infertility drug could also abort a seed that was already in the womb.”
Whether it could also abort a seed already in the womb.
At those words, Hong Ran, who had been quiet until now, flinched. It was because Lee Yeon immediately came to mind.
The others must have thought the same thing, as they flinched and looked toward Eun-oh.
“How could…”
For the first time, rage tinged Hong Ran’s face. She had remained quiet when she herself was insulted and suffered, and even when she learned she had almost become infertile from drinking the drug, her expression now showed that this matter could absolutely not be overlooked.
Hong Ran bit her lip hard. A straight and firm resolve formed in her pitch-black eyes.
“Your Majesty.”
Hong Ran dropped to her knees on the spot as if she had made up her mind.
“This is a confession that the Queen intended to harm not only me but also Grand Princess Consort.”
Hong Ran spoke clearly and precisely.
“Since I too was present at the place where Her Majesty the Queen previously punished Grand Princess Consort, I anticipated today’s humiliation. However, I believed that my discourtesy in failing to greet Her Majesty the Queen was clear, so it was something I ought to endure. But.”
Hong Ran paused to catch her breath. It was because her voice shook with rage.
After catching her breath for a moment, Hong Ran continued speaking.
“There are things that must stop at mere thoughts. There are things that must never be put into action.”
As a woman receiving no love, she could envy, jalouse, and hate the person standing opposite her. It was something she could do, hating deeply in her heart.
However, harboring murderous intent and putting it into action were two vastly different things.
“Therefore, I beg you to look into this with your sagacity.”
“Please look into this with your sagacity!”
“Shut up!”
As Hong Ran cried out, the other palace attendants also bowed their heads and shouted the same words. At that, Eun-oh bared her teeth and screamed like a demon.
But now, no one feared or even pitied her anymore.
Court Lady Han stood by Hong Ran’s side, looking at Eun-oh with icy eyes.
That was actually on the milder side. The eunuchs and Sangseon were looking at Eun-oh with contemptuous eyes, and Jinpyeong—
“…”
He walked silently toward Court Lady Shin.
At the sound of his steady, thudding footsteps, everyone’s shoulders grew rigid.
Court Lady Shin prostrated herself flat on the floor, trembling like an aspen leaf. Jinpyeong spoke briefly.
“Raise your head.”
Court Lady Shin slowly raised her head. The blood flowing from the wound on her forehead pooled on the bridge of her nose and dripped down.
Jinpyeong looked down at Court Lady Shin with inorganic eyes.
“Is there not a single shred of falsehood in what you have said thus far?”
“There is absolutely none.”
Court Lady Shin said resolutely.
“I am glad that I could confess before the deed was done. Thank you for keeping me from committing a sin. Please take this terrifying thing from my hands.”
“You wrench!”
Jinpyeong slowly turned his head.
Eun-oh, who had been trying to rush toward Court Lady Shin, was being held back by the palace maids. She glared at Court Lady Shin with a face that looked truly like a demon’s.
“How could you!”
Eun-oh, whose face was flushed crimson with rage, suddenly whipped her head around and glared at Hong Ran. Her bloodshot eyes gleamed with venom.
“Why are you keeping your mouth shut! Are you not even ashamed of the lies you told with that tongue of yours!! Do you not fear the heavens!”
The heavens. The heavens, indeed.
A cold, mocking chuckle slipped from Jinpyeong’s lips.
He closed and opened his eyes as if there were no longer any need to remain in this place. The eyes he revealed were as ruthlessly cold as a sheet of ice.
“Sangseon.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When Jinpyeong called, Sangseon immediately bowed his head.
Turning his head away from Eun-oh, Jinpyeong said,
“Confine Chae 씨 to Yeonghangung and seal all windows and doors tightly. Not even a single mouse should be able to go in or out.”
“…!”
Eun-oh’s eyes widened dramatically.
From her blankly parted lips, a cry like a shriek poured out a moment later.
“Your Majesty!”
Eun-oh twisted her body and screamed like a demon.
“This is unjust. I am facing an injustice!”
“We will proceed with the steps to depose the Queen. Or.”
Jinpyeong turned his head to look at Eun-oh. Only contempt was layered in his gaze.
“We will take that wicked life.”
Eun-oh’s face turned completely pale. Before she could shout anything, hands grabbed her from all sides.
From the moment the King referred to her as ‘Chae 씨’ instead of ‘the Queen’, she was already no different from a deposed commoner.
“Your Majesty!!!”
Eun-oh struggled frantically but was ultimately dragged away by the palace attendants. Her shriek-like outcry echoed across Yeongsongjae Courtyard.
It was a demon-like scream filled with deep-seated resentment.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————