Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 48

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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 48. Warmth
“Your hand slipped.”
“….”
“You have porridge on your face. Use this to wipe it.”
“….”
“Bong-bong?”
A soft tap on my shoulder made me lift my head.
I saw Prince Yeonning looking down at me with concern etched across his features.
The silk handkerchief he offered was already inches from my face.
“Yes. Thank you, Your Highness.”
I accepted the handkerchief, but I could not bring myself to wipe my face just yet.
My mind was in turmoil.
‘That was definitely honey.’
I did not doubt my own palate.
Within the Royal Palace, only two ingredients were used to create sweetness.
Corn syrup and honey. Those two alone.
Sugar was far too precious a commodity to be used.
Therefore, I could not have mistaken the taste.
Honey was food an infant should never consume.
Especially not for someone like Yi Hwon, who had not yet reached one year of age—it was absolutely forbidden.
‘From what I’ve gathered, feeding honey to a baby carelessly could even be fatal…?’
Honey, which was as deadly as poison to an infant, had been mixed into the porridge.
And Yi Hwon….
‘He cried incessantly in such an unusual way that everyone was deeply worried.’
If that were true, the answer could only be one of two things.
Either the honey was added without knowledge of its danger.
Or it was added deliberately, knowing full well it was poison.
“Caw caw!”
Even as these thoughts consumed me, Yi Hwon’s cheerful laughter pulled me back to awareness.
I swallowed hard and lifted my gaze.
The Crown Prince was watching me intently, his eyes filled with worry.
“Bong-bong. Are you truly all right?”
“Ah, well….”
“The porridge the child ate could not have been hot. Why do you wear such a grave expression? Is something troubling you?”
“….”
I could neither deny it nor confirm it.
‘I need to gather my wits.’
Only then did I take in my surroundings.
Prince Yeonning had dropped his spoon, and a Palace Maid was just entering the room with a fresh one.
For a moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of chaos.
If the honey had been added out of ignorance rather than intent, I could persuade the palace staff to overlook it.
‘But if someone deliberately fed him honey….’
Two people had been present when Yi Hwon was served the sweet rice porridge.
A young palace maid and Yun Sang-gung.
My gaze naturally drifted toward their faces.
Yun Sang-gung wore an expression of helpless delight watching Yi Hwon smile at me.
The young palace maid stood with her head bowed respectfully, extending a spoon toward Prince Yeonning.
‘Did one of them add the honey? Or both? Did people in this era not know honey was dangerous for infants?’
I could trust neither of them.
“Hmm…. Bong-bong, it seems something is troubling you.”
The moment the Crown Prince’s voice reached my ears again.
I recalled what he had said—the ‘covenant as the national heir.’
‘Yes. If both the sang-gung and the maid are under suspicion, it would be better to reveal the truth before the Crown Prince.’
Once I had made my decision, I did not hesitate.
“Excuse me, Yun Sang-gung.”
I spoke to Yun Sang-gung with perfect composure.
“What is it, Bong-bong?”
“Is there honey in sweet rice porridge?”
“Honey? In the porridge the young lady eats?”
In that instant, Yun Sang-gung’s eyebrows shot upward.
“That must never happen! Honey is the strictest of taboos for young children. An infant not yet a year old who consumes honey could develop wind illness, or worse, something catastrophic could occur.”
As Yun Sang-gung waved her hands in agitation, no trace of fear or tension appeared on her face.
I tilted my head and pressed further.
“Truly? But this porridge tastes of honey.”
That was when it happened.
Clang!
The sound of the spoon in the palace maid’s hand clattering to the floor.
Yet I was not looking at the spoon.
What I was looking at was the palace maid’s face, drained of all color.
Yun Sang-gung shook her head as if the very notion were absurd.
“Honey taste in sweet rice porridge? That makes no sense. How could such a thing be?”
“But I truly tasted honey. I said it tasted of honey because it tasted of honey, so how can you ask how it could taste of honey….”
Then the Crown Prince, who had been listening to our exchange with a grave expression, opened his mouth.
“Whether Bong-bong is mistaken or this is truly the case, we can simply verify it directly. I shall taste it myself.”
The Crown Prince did not waste time with formalities.
He picked up the spoon that had fallen to the floor and immediately scooped up a spoonful of the porridge.
‘This cannot happen.’
I urgently seized the Crown Prince’s collar.
“You must not eat it. I do not know what might be in it.”
“…Ah.”
If someone were feeding honey—poison to an infant—to the baby.
Perhaps the food contained not just honey, but other toxins as well.
The Crown Prince, understanding my meaning, set down his spoon.
“I, I shall taste it, Your Highness.”
Yun Sang-gung stepped forward urgently.
“….”
Mmph!
A strange groan escaped Yun Sang-gung’s lips as she took a spoonful of the date porridge.
Her eyes wavered like waves upon the sea, and then her hands began to tremble violently.
“No! How, how could this be….”
“So Bong-bong’s words were true.”
At the Crown Prince’s words, Yun Sang-gung prostrated herself on the floor.
“Your Highness! I do not understand this matter. How could anyone dare to put honey in the young lady’s porridge….”
The Sang-gung turned and cried out sharply.
“Gwon-ga! Speak now. Did you not prepare the date porridge!”
“I, I… know nothing of this!”
The Palace Maid’s entire body trembled.
Though she denied all knowledge, the Palace Maid’s behavior had been suspicious from the start.
The way she remained tense and frozen throughout, and how she panicked greatly and dropped her spoon the moment I mentioned tasting honey.
‘But the most urgent matter now is not the fact that honey was present.’
As if reading my thoughts, the Crown Prince sprang to his feet and declared:
“Then Yi Hwon has consumed honey! Yun Sang-gung, summon the physicians at once. Quickly!”
“Yes, yes, Your Highness.”
The sound of Yun Sang-gung rushing out and issuing orders to the Palace Maids could be heard.
When Yun Sang-gung returned to the chamber, her face had gone deathly pale.
“Yun Sang-gung.”
“Yes, Crown Prince.”
“I do not wish to suspect you, but it is clear that you bear responsibility for this matter.”
“Yes…. Your Highness. That, that is so….”
The Crown Prince issued a command as sharp as frost to the trembling Yun Sang-gung.
“I warn you now. Should there be any concealment, or should you attempt to shield anyone within the Palace, Father will not forgive you.”
“I shall remember, and remember again, Your Highness!”
Having issued his threat, the Crown Prince rose from his seat at once.
“Yun Sang-gung, you shall inform Consort Suk of the situation. I must go to the Royal Chambers immediately and inform Father of this matter.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The Crown Prince departed the Private Chamber with hurried steps.
Yun Sang-gung followed after him.
***
The storm seemed to have passed.
In an instant, Yun Sang-gung and the Crown Prince had left, leaving only me, Prince Yeonning, and a trembling Palace Maid in the room.
Ah, there was one more.
Yi Hwon, who seemed utterly indifferent to the chaos unfolding around him, continued to gaze at me with that vacant smile.
“….”
I regarded Yi Hwon with a complicated heart.
I wondered who could have tried to harm him.
Or perhaps it was merely an error born of ignorance?
Yi Hwon might have been consuming honey far longer than I realized.
I was seized with worry about whether he could recover without complications.
‘What if the honey he consumed in infancy hastened his death?’
“Hee-yung. Uh-uh-uh.”
Displeased that I hadn’t responded, Yi Hwon let out a pitiful sound and babbled.
“…You’ll be fine.”
Without thinking, I spoke in informal speech.
I hastily corrected myself.
“You’ll be fine, young master. Everything will be all right now….”
In that moment, Yi Hwon, who had been squirming, stretched both arms toward me.
As I leaned my body toward Yi Hwon….
“Uh-uh!”
Yi Hwon wrapped his arms around my neck and clung to me.
“….”
My heart stirred strangely.
A warm, comforting scent emanated from the small infant’s body.
His gentle warmth spread through me.
A tiny body capable of nothing.
A small child who could only babble a few words, unable even to express his own will.
‘How frightened he must have been all this time. How much pain he must have endured….’
A sharp ache pierced somewhere deep within my chest.
Without thinking, I held Yi Hwon tightly.
That was when it happened.
“Release that at once!”
Prince Yeonning’s stern voice rang out.
I turned my body while still holding Yi Hwon….
“How dare you attempt to spirit away the evidence before the prince’s very eyes! Do you truly wish to lose your head?”
The Palace Maid trembled at Prince Yeonning’s fierce rebuke.
In the maid’s hands was the bowl of sweet rice porridge that had been fed to Yi Hwon.

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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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