Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 41

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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 41. Physical Evidence
Between Bogyeong Hall and Jaeduk-dang lay Tae-hwa-dang.
Tae-hwa-dang was the space Suk-bin used to conduct her urgent affairs.
Yong-hee entered the hall, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
She had sprinted all the way from Chwisuondang to Changdeok Palace, seizing the moment to slip away.
“Seeking me out at this hour? It seems you’ve brought momentous news. Am I wrong?”
Her tone was dry, yet her words carried weight.
She was reproaching Yong-hee for coming in broad daylight, when eyes were most likely to notice.
Fear seized Yong-hee’s heart, yet she forced herself to speak.
“Suk-bin. I have… I’ve brought something.”
“What is it?”
“Physical evidence.”
A flicker of interest crossed Suk-bin’s otherwise impassive gaze.
“Physical evidence, you say? Let me see it.”
With trembling hands that she struggled to steady, Yong-hee withdrew an object she had hidden within her jacket.
It was a doll—a crude, straw-woven thing.
It was the object Hwang Bong-bong called by that absurd name: Bom-bomi.
But Yong-hee knew the doll’s true purpose.
It was what shamans used when cursing people.
Raised in a household where rituals were performed constantly and dark magic was practiced, Yong-hee had recognized it the moment she saw Hwang Bong-bong carrying it.
“This is a curse doll. Shamans use it to harm people. I found it on the West Side of Chui-seon Hall.”
It was a blatant lie.
Yong-hee had ransacked Bong-bong’s room and stolen it from inside the half-closed cabinet.
Truth held no importance for Yong-hee.
What mattered was that she stood at the precipice of ruin.
Suk-bin had been pressuring her every few days, sending Chu Sang-gung to demand physical evidence.
She had even threatened to send Yong-hee to harsh labor if she failed to produce useful information.
Then Hwang Bong-bong had appeared.
That child had said terrible things.
She demanded Yong-hee go directly to Han Sang-gung and confess the truth.
She said spy maids disappeared without a trace, leaving no trace.
She threatened that if Yong-hee didn’t tell the truth, she would “do what she had to do.”
The way that pea-sized child had issued her threats was unnervingly menacing.
Yong-hee’s anxiety had reached its peak.
The physical evidence Suk-bin wanted had not materialized. Yet she lacked even more courage to reveal the truth.
So Yong-hee made a different choice.
She would steal this grotesque doll and bring it to Suk-bin.
“This is the physical evidence. You told me to keep close watch on Suk-jeong, didn’t you? I found this after she left.”
“You found it after Suk-jeong left?”
“Yes. I swear it, my lady.”
Suk-bin lifted the curse doll with her fingertips.
…She had already seen this object before.
Not in Suk-jeong’s hands, but in those of the four-year-old maid Hwang Bong-bong.
Where it came from didn’t really matter.
“If this is physical evidence as you say, then you must have seen with your own eyes Suk-jeong bringing it here, yes?”
“Yes? Ah…. Yes.”
“Then Han Sang-gung must also know that Suk-jeong brought this.”
“Ah….”
“Of course. Nothing happens in Chwisuondang without passing through Han Sang-gung’s hands.”
“Yes. That, that is correct.”
“If Han Sang-gung knows, then surely Jang Hee-bin also knows about this object. Is that not so?”
Gulp.
Yong-hee swallowed hard.
But now it was too late to back out.
The fear that her lie might be exposed made Yong-hee’s heart race.
“Yes. Jang Hee-bin also knows of it.”
At Yong-hee’s answer, Suk-bin nodded with satisfaction.
“I see. You’ve done something remarkable, Yong-hee. Finding such important evidence. Commendable.”
This was the first time she had ever received such praise from Suk-bin.
Yong-hee’s lips trembled with emotion.
“So, is there anything else?”
Yong-hee gathered her courage and decided to speak about Hwang Bong-bong.
“There is a four-year-old maid in my quarters….”
Yong-hee revealed everything about what had happened with Bom-bomi.
“She threatened me to go to Han Sang-gung and reveal the truth, but I did not budge.”
Yong-hee added carefully.
“Because I knew that you, Suk-bin, would believe in me and protect me.”
“….”
A bright smile bloomed on Suk-bin’s face, which had been unreadable moments before.
“You conducted yourself well. I have a good eye for people. Indeed, you are worthy of being my person.”
“I am grateful, Suk-bin!”
Yong-hee bowed with an emotional expression.
Suk-bin’s lips still curved in a gentle arc, but her eyes were cold and empty.
How could a ten-year-old maid be so foolish?
To expect mercy after being exposed by a mere four-year-old child.
‘A four-year-old did such a thing?’
She honestly found it hard to believe, but the conclusion was clear.
Her tail had been caught.
‘Then…. There is only one way. Cut it off.’
It was at that moment.
A maid who had rushed in whispered urgently to Yong-hee so that she wouldn’t be overheard.
“His Majesty intends to visit Chwisuondang tonight, my lady.”
“….”
Suk-bin’s expression turned terrifyingly cold.
Suk-bin promptly dismissed the maid.
Suk-bin, who had been watching Yong-hee grow anxious as if it were time to leave, produced a single silver ingot.
“Yong-hee.”
“Yes, my lady?”
Suk-bin herself took Yong-hee’s hand and pressed the silver ingot into her palm.
For a ten-year-old palace maid, it was a fortune she had never possessed in her entire life.
“My lady! I am grateful. Truly….”
“Yong-hee. Lend me your ear.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Suk-bin brought her lips close to Yong-hee’s ear.
The whispered words did not leak outside.
“Tonight…. The rat-fire play….”
Only a word or two could be heard.
When Suk-bin finished speaking, Yong-hee’s face had turned deathly pale.
“Can you do it?”
Suk-bin stared at Yong-hee intently.
Yong-hee’s gaze wavered with anxiety.
Forgetting she stood before Suk-bin, Yong-hee bit her lip.
After a moment’s hesitation, Yong-hee clenched the silver ingot tightly.
“Yes. I w-will do it.”
Yong-hee answered in a trembling voice and left Tae-hwa-dang silently.
“….”
Alone, Suk-bin gazed down at the curse doll.
“…Evidence.”
At last, it had come into her hands….
A fake.
In that moment, a subtle smile played at Suk-bin’s lips.
Whether it was real or fake mattered not.
Truth was irrelevant.
This object contains no truth, but the story woven around it will become truth itself.
“My lady. I am Chu Sang-gung.”
“Enter.”
Chu Sang-gung, who stepped inside, seemed somehow restless.
“It is that…. His Majesty intends to visit Chwisuondang tonight, my lady….”
“I have heard.”
“Ah…. Then, have you also heard about the Back Garden?”
“The Back Garden?”
Suk-bin repeated the words back.
Chu Sang-gung carefully opened her mouth.
“The Palace Maids who went to the Back Garden this afternoon witnessed the King and Jang Hee-bin together, Your Highness.”
“…Without the Crown Prince?”
“Yes. The atmosphere was very tender….”
It was a slip of the tongue. Chu Sang-gung hastily corrected herself.
“Jang Hee-bin’s demeanor was said to be quite coquettish.”
“….”
Suk-bin’s expression turned cold and rigid.
Suk-bin received detailed reports on which women the King shared his bed with.
Recently, the King had kept his distance from women. The reason given was fatigue from heavy duties and an eye ailment.
Yet just days ago, he visited Chwisuondang for the first time in half a year.
That alone was an enormous threat, but now they were strolling through the Back Garden together.
Had the flame of their affection been rekindled?
“Your Highness Suk-bin. I hear Jang Hee-bin has been keeping company with a young maid from Chwisuondang lately, and she accompanied them to the Back Garden today as well.”
“…A young maid?”
A young maid from Chwisuondang.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over her.
She had heard that name several times today and recalled it again and again.
“There are three young maids at Chwisuondang. Which one are you referring to?”
“The four-year-old maid of the Hwang family, Your Highness. The child the King frequently summons. I’ve encountered her once myself, and despite her tender age, the girl is remarkably cunning.”
“….”
Suk-bin fell into thought.
Four years old was impossibly young.
Yet from the moment I first met Hwang Bong-bong, the child was anything but ordinary.
I had given Hwang Bong-bong the order “the fifteenth day” as a test of the child’s abilities.
Remarkably, the girl had used that information as bait to threaten Yong-hee.
Moreover….
‘A child under the King’s protection.’
…And the child who had possessed this grotesque doll from the very beginning.
‘Ever since Jang Hee-bin began keeping company with that child, she has gained access to the King…?’
Suk-bin stared intently at the curse doll before her.
Should I investigate further?
No. Was there any need for such unnecessary trouble?
If this were a dangerous seedling.
If this were a cunning girl already scheming to sit at the very top at merely four years old.
Before she reached five, six, ten, or twenty.
Wouldn’t it be better to nip that bud in the bud?

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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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