Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 12

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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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Chapter 12. It’s Not Your Fault
“Your Majesty. It is your son, the Crown Prince Yoon.”
The Crown Prince entered the private chamber of Tongmyeongjeon, Queen Min’s residence, and spoke with careful deference.
Queen Min had been bedridden for a long time due to a severe abscess.
The infected wound wept pus without cessation, and the room reeked with a stench that seemed to permeate every corner.
“…Crown Prince, you have come.”
Queen Min opened her eyes slowly.
There was no light in her gaze.
A skeletal frame, a face drained of all color, lips parched and withered.
Queen Min appeared less like a living being than a specter of one.
The suffering she endured was equally harrowing—a cruelty too severe for any living person to bear, yet it gnawed relentlessly at her youth.
Every medicinal remedy and acupuncture treatment had been exhausted.
Yet all knew what was coming.
“Your Majesty. How do you fare today?”
“Each day brings only greater agony. Yet your devoted visits each day are my sole solace, my son.”
Queen Min blinked with great effort.
“How could such a virtuous son spring from the womb of such a woman as I….”
“….”
The Crown Prince lowered his gaze.
His knuckles, pressed against the floor, turned white.
“Do not concern yourself with this mother’s failings. Rather, it is you I fear for. That your birth mother’s shortcomings might bring you harm—that alone occupies my thoughts….”
Queen Min’s clouded eyes fell upon the Crown Prince.
“Do not think I speak in condemnation of your mother. All my words flow from affection for you, from a heart that cherishes you. Do you understand?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Crown Prince’s voice trembled softly.
Just then, a Sang-gung announced the physician’s arrival.
After observing the proper courtesies, the Crown Prince departed Junggung Palace and exhaled a deep sigh.
Clenching his teeth, he walked forward, and without thinking, he struck his chest—thump, thump—with his fists.
***
“Bom-bomi! Go fetch Han Sang-gung for me.”
“Yes!”
“Bom-bomi! On your way, call for Bi-ja!”
“Yes!”
“Bom-bomi, could you tell the Sesuggan to bring two buckets of water?”
“Yes! Understood!”
From the day after Suk-jeong’s visit, Chwisuondang became a whirlwind of activity.
The Lunar New Year was fast approaching.
A cart arrived from the Saongwon.
It overflowed not only with ingredients—meat, fish, and fruit—but also with rice cakes and confections from the Saenggwabang, and spirits besides.
That was merely the beginning. Gifts from officials and powerful families arrived in an unceasing stream.
‘There are still many who believe Jang Hee-bin will reclaim her power.’
Such was my conclusion as I gazed upon the silk bundles piled high before her private chamber.
In any case, preparing food and organizing goods fell entirely upon the palace maids.
From the Sojubang came the delicious aromas of frying, boiling, and cooking throughout the day.
Being a child offered no exemption.
Yet I could neither cook nor manage heavy labor, so I became the errand runner.
“This must be exhausting for you, Bom-bomi.”
Seol-hyang appeared beside me and wiped the perspiration from my brow. The savory scent of oil clung to her garments.
“Just endure one more day. Once today passes, you can rest.”
As Seol-hyang said, the Royal Palace had its own form of welfare.
During holidays, most palace staff received leave. Officials ceased their duties, and the palace maids typically returned home to spend time with their families.
Of course, this did not apply to a parentless orphan like myself.
“I must hurry along. Work hard, little blessing.”
After glancing about, Seol-hyang popped a freshly fried piece of jeon into my mouth, still steaming hot.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
“Oh my, are you all right?”
“It’s h-hot, but it’s incredibly delicious. Hehe… Well then, I should go run those errands.”
To the Sesuggan, to the Sojubang, to the Saenggwabang, back to the Sojubang again…
‘My poor legs.’
By the time my duties concluded, dusk had already fallen.
As I sat on the veranda, rubbing my aching legs, Han Sang-gung called for me.
“Bom-bomi.”
“Yes, madam.”
“I need you to run one more errand. Go to the Crown Prince’s residence and tell Moon to come over for a moment.”
“The Crown Prince’s residence… you mean Jeoseungjeon?”
“You’ve already memorized the name of the Crown Prince’s residence? How clever you are.”
Han Sang-gung patted my head approvingly.
“After you return from Jeoseungjeon, you may go straight to your quarters and rest.”
“Yes, madam. I shall return shortly.”
I strode out of Chwisuondang with determined steps.
Though I was quite exhausted from rushing about all day….
‘To actually see Jeoseungjeon with my own eyes—what a stroke of fortune.’
Despite its ominous name, Jeoseungjeon (儲承殿) meant “the residence where the Crown Prince who will become king dwells.”
It had burned down during King Yeongjo’s reign and existed only in historical records in modern times.
‘I wonder what the Crown Prince’s quarters look like?’
My heart quickened as I peered toward the entrance of Jeoseungjeon.
‘Huh?’
Not a single palace maid was visible. The interior was eerily quiet.
Treading softly, I stepped into the courtyard of Jeoseungjeon.
‘…The Crown Prince?’
I glimpsed a figure in a blue dragon robe seated in the pavilion, viewed from behind.
‘His shoulders are drooping.’
Looking closer, his body seemed to tremble slightly.
‘Is he…crying?’
A solitary silhouette unbefitting a twelve-year-old boy.
Suddenly, his entire life flashed before my mind.
‘It would be hard to find anyone who suffered as much anguish as the Crown Prince.’
The epithet “the tragic king” attached to King Gyeongjo Yoon was not merely because he died young.
He had grown up in an environment that was essentially a battlefield.
To draw a modern parallel, it was like this.
A father who trembled with passionate devotion as if experiencing a thousand-year love suddenly reunited with an ex-lover, yet insisted they could not separate while keeping the boy’s mother as a concubine.
And that father ultimately caused the boy’s mother’s death.
‘When King Sukjong ordered Jang Hee-bin’s execution, the Crown Prince supposedly begged to be killed alongside her.’
I could not even begin to imagine what thoughts possessed a fourteen-year-old boy when he uttered such words.
I moved toward the pavilion without thinking.
It was just as I drew within a few paces.
“Did I not say for everyone to withdraw? I wish to be alone.”
The Crown Prince spoke without even turning around.
His voice was so blunt it belied the affection he had shown at our first meeting, yet a faint tremor resonated beneath his words.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I was searching for Moon the Eunuch….”
At that moment, the Crown Prince turned his head.
“…It was you.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Your name was Bong-bong, was it not?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I am Bom-bomi.”
The Crown Prince’s melancholy face seemed to brighten somewhat.
“Moon is not present at the moment. What is the matter?”
“Han Sang-gung was looking for him.”
“I see. Then I shall convey the message to my Moon.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Thank you.”
I stood there for a moment, dazed and uncertain.
I knew I should leave, yet part of me hesitated to abandon the Crown Prince alone.
The Crown Prince gestured toward me as I blinked.
“Don’t stand there—sit down.”
“Are you sure, Your Highness?”
“Of course.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Well then. As I struggled and grunted my way up onto the pavilion, a faint smile flickered across the Crown Prince’s face.
…At least smile without laughing, and help me a little.
I resented him for a moment, but in any case, I managed to settle safely onto the pavilion.
“….”
When I glanced at the Crown Prince, his eyes were reddened.
His face bore the marks of exhaustion and weariness.
“Your Highness….”
“Hmm?”
“Did something troubling happen to you?”
At my casual question, the Crown Prince seemed somewhat taken aback.
He laughed awkwardly.
“Ha ha. It seems so. Well then…. Bom-bomi, how was your day?”
“It wasn’t easy for me either, Your Highness.”
“Is that so?”
The Crown Prince nodded.
“It seems today was difficult for all of us—for you and me both.”
His voice lacked strength.
Swinging my legs that didn’t touch the ground, I asked the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness, why are you suffering?”
“…And you—why are you?”
“I just…. Life is hard for me.”
The Crown Prince laughed softly.
Yet his expression remained somber.
The Crown Prince spoke.
“The truth is…. I feel the same way.”
A quiet silence fell between us. Neither the Crown Prince nor I spoke for a long while.
I thought of the sorrow that this twelve-year-old boy already carried, and the greater weight that would crush him in the years to come.
I pitied him.
It was an emotion that didn’t suit my circumstances, yet it was genuine.
In that moment, the Crown Prince opened his mouth.
“Bom-bomi. Sometimes I have a certain thought.”
“What thought is that, Your Highness?”
“I wonder if I might be the seed of misfortune.”
The Crown Prince’s words left me speechless.
Yet he seemed to assume that a child as young as I was could not possibly comprehend his meaning.
“Had I never been born, the Royal Palace would surely be far more peaceful now. No—it would certainly have been better that way.”
The Crown Prince’s shoulders sagged.
“So many have died because of me. And still, there are far too many who suffer wounds from my very existence.”
I stared at him with my lips pressed firmly together.
So the Crown Prince was drowning in guilt.
Had he never been born, there would have been no bloodshed surrounding the investiture of the Crown Prince.
Jang Hee-bin would never have become Queen, nor would Queen Min have been deposed for bearing the King’s firstborn son.
And the tragedy of Queen Min’s reinstatement and Jang Hee-bin’s downfall would never have unfolded.
I gazed at the Crown Prince in silence.
Despite his dignified bearing, he was merely twelve years old.
He was still just a child.
“Your Highness.”
I spoke softly.
Though these words came from the lips of a small child, I hoped they might offer him solace.
“It is not Your Highness’s fault.”
The Crown Prince stared at me blankly.
“It is not your fault. The adults—the adults are the ones at fault.”
Gently, I patted the Crown Prince’s shoulder.
The Crown Prince drew a deep breath, his lips trembling slightly.
A droplet fell onto the hem of his robe.
I simply pretended not to notice.

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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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