Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 42

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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 42. Life
A faint displeasure crossed Suk-bin’s face as she traversed the corridor of Tongmyeongjeon.
Queen Min, who had been staying at Changdeok Palace, had relocated to Tongmyeongjeon after her condition deteriorated.
Suk-bin visited the Queen frequently to inquire after her health.
The Queen’s illness had reached a state beyond any remedy.
Suk-bin had long known the reports from the Royal Medical Bureau, but more certain than any information was the thick stench of death that permeated this place.
The corridor of Tongmyeongjeon was saturated with a nauseating, acrid odor of infected pus.
“Your Majesty the Queen. I have come to inquire after your health.”
Suk-bin bowed respectfully.
The Queen, her pallid face reclined at an angle, offered a faint smile.
Several festering sores on the Queen’s legs were suppurating in a pitiful state.
Even though a blanket covered them, that horrible stench could not possibly be concealed.
Recalling that a Palace Maid who had retched before the Queen had been sentenced to flogging, Suk-bin forced down her roiling stomach.
“Tell me some news from outside. Confined to the Private Chamber as I am, I am curious about how the world turns.”
At the Queen’s words, Suk-bin opened her mouth.
“Several days ago, His Majesty visited Jongmyo. Beyond that, there have been no particularly significant matters. However….”
“However?”
“It appears His Majesty is drawing Jang Hee-bin close to him once more.”
“Ha…!”
The Queen exhaled sharply as if in fury, then broke into a fit of coughing.
Suk-bin quickly brought a water basin and respectfully held it to the Queen’s lips.
“That treacherous creature, she persists….”
Tears welled in the Queen’s eyes.
“Because of that woman, countless people have perished. From the moment she entered the Palace, calamity has never ceased. I have repeatedly told His Majesty that she is the source of ruin for the realm, yet how can he act thus again?”
“Please calm yourself, Your Majesty. How could this be His Majesty’s fault? All of this stems from the scheming of Chwisuondang.”
“That woman has not come once to inquire after me since I fell ill. She refuses to acknowledge me as Queen. She still clings to the delusion that she herself is the Queen!”
The agitated Queen breathed heavily, but Suk-bin made no move to restrain her.
“Do you think I do not know what lies in that dark heart of hers? That woman—even now she gazes at the moon and prays for nothing but my death.”
“Do not speak such frightening words, Your Majesty. You shall soon recover.”
“Recover?”
Heh heh.
The Queen laughed weakly.
Her reddened eyes fixed upon Suk-bin with an unwavering stare.
With a swift motion, the Queen pulled away the blanket that had covered her legs.
….
Even the usually composed Suk-bin could not help but hold her breath in that moment.
It was far more than one or two sores festering.
The swollen sores, darkened to a crimson hue, were of monstrous proportions. It was as though her entire leg had become one vast, grotesque sore.
The sight of human flesh rotting away. The stench that clouded the mind.
Suk-bin barely managed to suppress the wave of nausea that rose in her throat.
“Now do you understand, Suk-bin?”
“Your Majesty….”
“I am dying. Death draws near.”
Queen Min squeezed her eyes shut as she gazed down at her own legs.
The Queen drew the blanket over herself once more.
“Jang Hee-bin firmly believes she will reclaim this position after my death.”
Tears streamed down her face as the Queen gnashed her teeth.
“I cannot bear to witness such a thing. Even as a vengeful spirit, I will prevent it.”
“….”
“I have already prepared my final testament. No matter how exalted the King may be, he cannot ignore the dying wish of a mother-in-law who has suffered a lifetime of torment.”
Suk-bin listened quietly to the Queen’s words.
The acrid stench no longer reached my senses.
Her vow to prevent Jang Hee-bin from becoming Queen again.
Her determination to restrain it through her very last will, no matter what.
Suk-bin was absorbed in the Queen’s anguished cry.
“The position of National Mother of a kingdom—surely it is not something anyone may presume to claim. The woman who sits in this seat must possess the qualifications to do so. Indeed, she must.”
Qualifications.
I contemplated my own qualifications.
I had borne Prince Yeonning and preserved the royal bloodline, tended to the ailing Queen with utmost devotion, and earned the respect of the palace women as the benevolent and virtuous mistress of Bogyeong Hall.
Could anyone possess more perfect qualifications than I?
“…Therefore, the Queen must become Gwi-in Kim.”
My train of thought came to an abrupt halt.
“Only a woman of noble blood like the Gwi-in possesses the qualifications to be Queen. Never again shall one of lowborn lineage reign as National Mother.”
“….”
I concealed my trembling fingertips within my sleeves.
The scorching rage buried deep within my chest surged violently.
It was I myself who had informed the King of the deposed Queen Min’s pitiful circumstances.
Though it had been part of a scheme to win the King’s favor, it was undeniable that the King’s interest in the deposed Queen had resulted from my actions.
‘Without me, you would never have been restored as Queen.’
And yet.
Gwi-in?
Noble blood?
Never again shall one of lowborn lineage reign as National Mother?
Ha.
I had to exert all my strength to suppress a bitter laugh.
“Suk-bin. You agree with me, do you not?”
“…Your words are most wise, Your Majesty.”
Biting down hard on my teeth, I offered my farewell and departed Tongmyeongjeon.
The acrid stench of corruption seemed to follow at my heels, and my pace quickened.
‘A puppet.’
Suk-bin recalled the curse doll that Yong-hee had brought as evidence.
Originally, the plan had been to corner Jang Hee-bin the moment the evidence was secured, but she had altered her strategy.
Queen Min was not a woman of sound judgment, yet she grasped one truth with absolute clarity.
That her death was imminent.
Queen Min would die.
Soon. In terrible agony.
‘I must preserve this evidence until that moment arrives.’
Queen Min’s death would never be dismissed as a simple illness.
A death brought about by the vicious curse of Jang Hee-bin.
When the Inner Palace trembled with such horrifying rumors….
‘That is when I shall present this evidence before the King.’
Pfft.
Suk-bin released a laugh she had long suppressed.
‘We shall see who emerges victorious.’
Queen Min would soon perish and vanish.
And Gwi-in Kim was merely a woman of a prestigious family with nothing else to her name—hopelessly lacking in discernment.
So if she could only eliminate Jang Hee-bin….
Suk-bin’s grand ambitions would surely come to fruition.
***
“Hwang Bong-bong. Let’s have dinner.”
“Huh?!”
I jolted awake with a start.
Seol-hyang was setting down the evening meal.
I noticed the blue darkness of dusk had already fallen beyond the door.
‘Hwang Bong-bong, get yourself together.’
Bom-bomi had vanished, and Yong-hee was the prime suspect in her disappearance.
Despite how exhausting the day had been, I had actually fallen asleep in the midst of all this.
And why was my heart pounding so violently?
I couldn’t even remember what dream I’d had, yet cold sweat drenched my skin.
“Why are you sweating like this? Are you ill?”
“No, I’m fine. Really.”
Seol-hyang’s expression was filled with concern as she looked at me.
“Truly! Goodness, I slept well!”
I stretched languidly and offered a bright smile, and only then did Seol-hyang’s face relax.
“Eat quickly and let’s go out. We should play with the fire torches, gaze at the moon, and make wishes. Have you ever played with fire torches when you lived outside the palace?”
“No, never.”
“Some children cry out of fear during the fire torch play. But our Hwang Bong-bong is so brave, you won’t even blink an eye, will you?”
True enough.
I certainly think so myself.
“Sun-rye was remarkably skilled at fire torch play since childhood. Watching her, you lose all sense of time.”
Seol-hyang chattered away excitedly, but truthfully, I had no interest whatsoever in the Rat Fire Play.
It was just playing with fire, after all.
Of course, I had taken certain precautions.
They had chosen a clearing quite far from the pavilions, and mentioned preparing water buckets in case of accident.
‘But do we really have to do something so dangerous? If a fire breaks out, it would be a catastrophe….’
It was a game meant to ward off misfortune for the year ahead.
In this era with so little entertainment, playing with fire must be thrillingly exhilarating.
‘Though I’m not interested, of course.’
…Yet my earlier thoughts proved hollow.
The moment the Rat Fire Play actually began, my perspective shifted.
Sun-rye, Chwisuondang’s official glutton, strutted forward and put on an absolutely dazzling fire show.
“Wow…!”
I found myself clapping and gasping in admiration before I could stop myself.
In that moment, I felt deeply sorry for ever doubting whether Sun-rye earned her keep, given how much she ate.
“Hwang Bong-bong, you try too.”
Sun-rye pressed a bundle of dried mugwort into my hand, shaped like a small stick.
“Just wave it back and forth. Once it’s burned down, toss it into that water bucket over there.”
“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”
At first, I simply traced circles in the air.
My original intention was to keep rhythm with the others, but watching the sparks bloom from my fingertips proved quite entertaining.
I drew circles, waved it this way and that….
Then suddenly, I scrawled a single character across the empty air.
生.
Life.
To others’ eyes, it must have looked like a child’s meaningless scribbles, wild and purposeless.
But before my eyes, the character for “life” burned bright and clear, then faded away.
‘Let us live.’
Let us survive.
Let us not die.
‘Not just me alone, but all of us together….’
We will survive, no matter what.
“Let’s wrap this up now.”
Han Sang-gung spoke.
“Before we head inside, let’s look at the moon and make a wish. His Majesty is expected to arrive soon, so hurry.”
As if they’d been waiting for this, everyone clasped their hands and closed their eyes.
I could barely hear Han Sang-gung’s soft voice praying for Jang Hee-bin’s restoration to favor.
Sun-rye made a glutton’s wish, saying she wanted to eat meat broth every day.
I could also hear Seol-hyang’s voice beside me.
“Please keep our whole family healthy, keep everyone in Chwisuondang safe, keep our Hwang Bong-bong from getting sick and help her grow well….”
“….”
Something felt strange.
My family.
My Hwang Bong-bong.
My precious one….
When had so many people begun calling me “mine”?
I closed my eyes quietly as well.
So naturally, my wish was….
“All of us at Chwisuondang….”
That was when it happened.
A acrid smell brushed against the tip of my nose.

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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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