Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 44

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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 44. Suspicious Kindness
Suk-bin had come to Chwisuondang.
Suk-bin was requesting a meeting with Jang Hee-bin….
Her words threw everyone into confusion.
Jang Hee-bin, Han Sang-gung, and I alike.
‘Of all the timing…?’
It was nothing short of suspicious.
The fire had broken out the moment everyone except Jang Hee-bin had left Chwisuondang.
Naturally, we could only suspect arson from an outsider.
Of course, she might have simply stopped by out of concern upon hearing the news of the fire.
But considering the usual relationship between Jang Hee-bin and Suk-bin, it was nearly inconceivable.
“Suk-bin, of all people, at a time like this. I’m hardly pleased, but I cannot turn her away.”
“Yes. It would be best to see her first.”
“I have no intention of prolonging this encounter, so we must keep it as brief as possible.”
Jang Hee-bin was rising from her seat.
‘I cannot allow it.’
Almost by instinct, I grasped the hem of her skirt.
“Hwang Bong-bong. What troubles you?”
“That is…. Could you not stay with me, Jang Hee-bin?”
“Child. I shall meet with Suk-bin and return at once. So wait just a moment….”
“I do not wish to be alone….”
I squeezed back tears with desperate urgency.
‘I must discern Suk-bin’s intentions.’
Why Suk-bin had come to Chwisuondang.
I desperately needed that information.
“…Hwang Bong-bong.”
Jang Hee-bin’s eyes flickered violently as she beheld my tear-stricken face.
Han Sang-gung made to speak, but Jang Hee-bin silenced her with a gesture.
“Han Sang-gung.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Jang Hee-bin issued a quiet command.
“Bring Suk-bin here.”
***
‘What a terrifying expression.’
I thought as I watched Suk-bin enter the room, her face frozen in an icy mask.
It was only natural.
Regardless of how poorly they got along, Suk-bin was undeniably a guest visiting Chwisuondang.
Moreover, both Jang Hee-bin and Suk-bin held the same rank of first-rank concubine.
Yet I had summoned her to a cramped quarters meant for palace maids—neither the inner chamber nor the pavilion outside.
From Suk-bin’s perspective, it was a considerable insult.
‘But Suk-bin didn’t come alone.’
Suk-bin had brought two young palace maids with her.
Their faces were familiar to me.
They belonged to the group that had threatened me with a rod in front of Bogyeong Hall not long ago.
“As you can see, my circumstances are dire, so I couldn’t receive you in a more suitable place. What brings you to Chwisuondang, Suk-bin?”
Jang Hee-bin’s demeanor was equally cold.
She merely cast a glance toward Suk-bin.
She didn’t even offer a proper greeting.
Yet Suk-bin managed her expression quite well.
With her usual composed and serene face, Suk-bin spoke.
“Jang Hee-bin. I heard there was a fire. You must have been quite alarmed. I trust you weren’t injured…”
“Forgive me, but I haven’t the leisure for lengthy conversation.”
“….”
“So tell me what you came to say. If your purpose was merely to inquire after my well-being, you may leave now.”
Jang Hee-bin’s voice was cold and domineering.
The Jang Hee-bin who gazed endlessly at the King with eyes full of sorrow, longing, love and hate, and yearning.
The Jang Hee-bin who held me close and wept without end.
The human facets of Jang Hee-bin I had recently discovered.
Yet when dealing with Suk-bin or other concubines, Jang Hee-bin became an entirely different person.
One who reigns. One who commands.
With the stern gaze of one who shows enemies not a shred of mercy, Jang Hee-bin stared at Suk-bin.
“Hmm….”
Suk-bin let out a small sigh.
“Then I shall speak plainly. Around the time the fire broke out at Chwisuondang, my maids witnessed something suspicious. So I brought them here.”
“…Something suspicious?”
Jang Hee-bin asked, her tone skeptical.
Suk-bin commanded the palace maids.
“Speak.”
“Yes, my lady.”
One of the maids spoke first.
“We wanted to watch Sun-rye’s rat-fire play, so Sam-wol and I were passing near Chwisuondang. But we saw a maid carrying embers heading toward Chwisuondang.”
“Yes. At first, we thought nothing of it…… but the timing seemed to match exactly when the fire broke out, so we reported it to Suk-bin.”
“….”
Jang Hee-bin’s expression wavered between belief and doubt.
I shared that uncertainty.
It was no simple matter to divine Suk-bin’s true intentions.
‘A maid carrying embers into the hall?’
Even if the Palace Maids of Bogyeong Hall had witnessed suspicious circumstances.
Why would Suk-bin bother informing Jang Hee-bin of it?
‘Suk-bin doesn’t move without purpose. There must be some reason….’
While Jang Hee-bin remained silent, Han Sang-gung questioned the Palace Maids.
“Which maid did you see? Describe her appearance and distinguishing features.”
The maid answered as though she had been waiting for this question.
“She was a young maid, perhaps ten years old. Slender and thin-framed.”
A chilling silence descended upon the room.
A slender, ten-year-old young maid.
There was no doubt—they were describing Yong-hee.
In that instant, a revelation struck me like a blow to the head.
‘Suk-bin is cutting off her tail.’
Suk-bin had come to Chwisuondang in person.
She had presented her own Palace Maids despite enduring Jang Hee-bin’s blatant disrespect.
And in doing so, she had brought the existence of her spy—Yong-hee—into the light….
The meaning was unmistakable.
‘Either Suk-bin discovered that Yong-hee’s role as a spy had been exposed, or Yong-hee’s usefulness has been exhausted.’
Perhaps both.
‘And the person who uncovered Yong-hee’s true nature….’
…was me.
I, who had been feigning sleep all along, cracked my eyes open just enough to observe Suk-bin.
From my recumbent position, I could see her lowered face with perfect clarity.
Suk-bin’s expression was not the benevolent one she usually wore.
It was the face of one deliberating, calculating, watching for opportunity.
A powerful premonition seized me in that moment.
‘Perhaps it was Suk-bin who ordered Yong-hee to set the fire.’
All the circumstances pointed to Suk-bin.
The clue that could explain Yong-hee’s actions—actions that could not be accounted for by her being merely a ‘wicked child.’
Suk-bin held all of it in her hands.
Presently, Suk-bin lifted her head.
Once more, her face had assumed an elegant and innocent expression.
“Have you reported everything you witnessed, without omission?”
“Yes. We have told you everything without fail.”
“Then you may withdraw.”
“Yes, Suk-bin.”
The Palace Maids filed out of the room.
Jang Hee-bin, who had been silent until now, finally opened her mouth.
“A maid from my quarters set fire to Chwisuondang, or so the claim goes.”
“It may have been an accident rather than intentional. Though punishment cannot be avoided regardless….”
“Whether to punish or not is my decision. Before that.”
Jang Hee-bin tilted her chin slightly upward, looking down at Suk-bin as she spoke.
“What reason would I have to believe your words?”
…It was fortunate.
Setting aside the truth of the matter itself, the fact that Jang Hee-bin was not someone easily swayed by Suk-bin.
“Ah…. If you won’t believe me, there’s nothing to be done. Jang Hee-bin, I myself had no desire to become involved in the Chwisuondang affair.”
“Then why did you come seeking me out?”
“Because my palace maids happened to witness something. Setting fire to the Royal Palace, even if by accident, is no small crime—it warrants severe punishment.”
Suk-bin released a small sigh, as though exhausted.
“I acted with good intentions.”
“…Good intentions. You, toward me?”
“Yes. If you truly refuse to believe me, then pretend you heard nothing. I will also ensure my palace maids keep silent.”
“….”
A subtle shift crossed Jang Hee-bin’s expression.
‘This won’t do.’
If Jang Hee-bin believed Suk-bin’s words at face value, Yong-hee would be expelled from Chwisuondang and exit this stage entirely.
‘The fact that Suk-bin had placed a spy would remain buried as well.’
I could not allow that to happen.
I had to find some way, any way….
It was then.
“Jang Hee-bin. I have brought Yong-hee.”
It was Min Sang-gung. She had apparently been listening to the palace maids’ reports from outside and brought Yong-hee along.
Even Suk-bin was visibly flustered at that moment.
She seemed not to have expected a direct confrontation with Yong-hee.
Yong-hee, stepping into the room, froze upon seeing Suk-bin.
Yet Suk-bin averted her gaze from Yong-hee as though she saw nothing.
“Well then, you should assess the situation for yourself. I have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave….”
This won’t do!
Suk-bin was attempting to flee.
Thanks to Min Sang-gung, a three-way confrontation between Jang Hee-bin, Suk-bin, and Yong-hee had materialized—a stroke of fortune.
Yet Suk-bin was about to slip away?
That could not be allowed.
‘But…. If I choose this path, I truly will be crossing a river from which there is no return.’
I wrestled with the decision gravely, even forgetting to maintain my pretense of sleep.
In that moment, Suk-bin turned her body.
‘I cannot let her leave like this!’
And so I made my decision.
I shot up from my seat and called out to Suk-bin without preamble.
“Suk-bin!”
“…?”
Suk-bin turned to face me.
I exhaled sharply.
First, I took one deep, deliberate breath.
“That message you told me to deliver to Yong-hee back then—I forgot to pass it along.”
“….”
“I was so distracted that it slipped my mind entirely.”
A thin, brittle silence descended upon the bedchamber.
And then I spoke the words that would irrevocably define Suk-bin and me as perfect enemies.
“You told me to tell Yong-hee something specific.”
I met Suk-bin’s gaze directly as I spoke.
“‘A fortnight,’ you said.”

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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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