Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 60

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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 60. Crime and Punishment
“Your Majesty!”
At the sudden appearance of the King, Gwi-in—who had been pressing me—hastily bowed her head.
But then….
‘Was she smiling…?’
It was only for an instant, but I distinctly saw a smile flicker across Gwi-in’s lips.
‘She’s smiling at a time like this? Why?’
The way Gwi-in held her bowed head while stealing glances at the King felt decidedly unnatural.
Meanwhile, Suk-bin remained as quiet as always, her head bowed.
As for me….
After offering proper courtesy to the King, I cautiously observed the situation before quietly squatting down on the floor.
Then I began picking up the scattered pastries.
I made sure not to forget staring at the dirt-covered confections with a pitiful expression.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have bothered with such theatrical behavior, but Gwi-in’s actions had genuinely irritated me.
I carefully gathered the crumbled dasik, brushed the dirt off the preserved fruits….
“Rise.”
At that moment came the King’s voice.
I stood up with my head still bowed.
In my hand dangled a single root of preserved bellflower.
“Gwi-in. Explain yourself.”
At the King’s words, Gwi-in opened her mouth as if she’d been waiting for this.
“Yes, Your Majesty. You must have been startled. I apologize for the disturbance. However, there was good reason for my actions.”
“Good reason?”
“The child from Chwisuondang was lurking near Hee-jeong Hall. She was wandering about the Royal Chambers with a bundle for no apparent purpose, so I felt compelled to question her.”
Gwi-in’s voice overflowed with satisfaction.
It was as if she were boasting, ‘Look at this great deed I’ve accomplished.’
I began to dimly understand the situation.
Perhaps Gwi-in had deliberately caused this commotion to summon the King.
‘Could she really have believed the King would be moved by this spectacle?’
Did she truly think her image of restraining a four-year-old child would appear as loyalty to the King?
The more I learned about Gwi-in, the more peculiar she seemed.
One moment she struck at vulnerabilities as if privy to Sung-gyeong Hall’s intimate affairs, the next she seemed completely ignorant of Palace matters.
A woman who committed foolish acts to capture the King’s attention….
An unpredictable figure.
In any case, Gwi-in was quite pleased with herself.
Moreover, she seemed delighted to be in the King’s presence.
“…Questioned.”
The King uttered only a single word.
In his gaze looking down at Gwi-in and in that brief utterance, undisguised displeasure was evident.
Yet Gwi-in seemed entirely oblivious to the King’s discomfort.
“Yes, my lady. I believe we must thoroughly prevent any suspicious Palace Maids from wandering about. After all, there is a risk they might disturb His Majesty’s peace of mind.”
That was when it happened.
“Heh.”
King Sukjong laughed.
It was a derisive laugh I had never heard from him before.
It carried both exasperation and barely suppressed fury.
King Sukjong leaned toward me.
“You must have been startled, little one.”
He gazed at the soil-dusted bellflower preserve I held in my hands.
“I wasn’t startled, but my confection….”
With the pitiful expression of a child robbed of her precious sweets, I let my shoulders droop.
“It was such a precious gift from Your Majesty, yet I’ve lost it all.”
A gift.
At those words, Gwi-in drew in a sharp breath.
“Do not worry. I shall bestow upon you twice as much. However….”
King Sukjong turned his gaze toward Gwi-in.
Only now did Gwi-in begin to tremble visibly.
‘How can she be so transparent?’
I found myself seriously reconsidering my suspicion that she was behind the Sung-gyeong Hall incident.
It was impossible to discern any cunning in Gwi-in capable of orchestrating such a scheme.
Either way, I could not be certain just yet.
“Gwi-in. I heard what you said well.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty….”
“That Bong-bong was loitering near Hee-jeong Hall carrying a bundle, you said.”
“Your Majesty. I….”
“That ‘bundle’ contained gifts I had bestowed.”
“….”
“You yourself cast the King’s gifts to the ground.”
“Your Majesty!”
Gwi-in, her face drained of color, spoke urgently.
“I had no knowledge of such a thing. When I asked the child about the bundle’s origin, she would not answer. How is that my fault? It is the fault of the child who acted suspiciously….”
“Ha ha.”
King Sukjong laughed once more.
It was unmistakably a scoff.
“I must reward Bong-bong. It is only natural that she kept secret her private audience with the King. Despite the intimidation of a mere concubine, the child remained faithful to her oath with me.”
“….”
A mere concubine.
Before me—a mere junior maid—he had utterly crushed Gwi-in’s status with those words.
“Your Majesty. I knew nothing of the child being summoned by you…. I acted in ignorance.”
“Ignorance does not erase guilt.”
“But, Your Majesty…”
“Have you forgotten what happened eleven years ago, Gwi-in?”
Eleven years ago.
At those words, Gwi-in’s face drained of all color in an instant.
“You spoke the same way back then. You refused to acknowledge the countless crimes you committed, and instead blamed others, claiming ignorance.”
Eleven years ago undoubtedly referred to the Incident of Succession, when Queen Inhyeon and Gwi-in had been deposed and cast out from the Royal Palace.
Even I felt a chill run down my spine in that moment.
In a sense, it could have been dismissed as a rather reckless act committed by a concubine desperate for the King’s attention.
Yet to invoke that incident from eleven years past over this matter…
It was a recorded fact that King Sukjong had treated Gwi-in with particular coldness.
‘I never realized his hatred ran so deep…’
Yet the King’s face, as he brought up the worst event of Gwi-in’s life, remained utterly unmoved and indifferent.
“Regardless of the Queen’s illness, the Royal Harem Administration cannot be allowed to fall into such disarray.”
The King’s gaze, which had been fixed coldly upon Gwi-in, shifted toward Suk-bin.
“Suk-bin. It seems you and Gwi-in are quite close.”
“…Gwi-in requested an audience, and we spoke briefly.”
Though her tone was ambiguous, Suk-bin’s words amounted to a denial of closeness.
Hearing this, Gwi-in’s face flushed a deep crimson.
“With two concubines of bin rank present, the Royal Harem Administration is in shambles.”
It was a cutting remark.
One of the two concubines of bin rank—Suk-bin—stood among those whose condition was “shambles.”
Suk-bin’s expression froze instantly as she grasped his meaning.
“Gwi-in, listen well.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You have committed the grave crime of deliberately damaging a royal gift.”
“I-I did no such thing. The child dropped the bundle…”
“Silence!”
At last, the King’s composure shattered.
Gwi-in, startled by his thunderous command, prostrated herself flat upon the ground.
“You have committed crimes grave enough to warrant immediate deposition. And yet you dare attempt to insult me with such pitiful excuses!”
The King spoke with terrifying severity.
He glared down at Gwi-in, who lay prostrate, his words grinding out like stones.
“For the next hundred days, you are forbidden to leave your quarters.”
“A-a hundred days? Your Majesty! That is far too harsh…”
“Or you may choose to leave the Palace as you did before.”
Gwi-in’s mouth finally closed. Her tightly pressed lips trembled.
Now the King’s gaze fell upon Suk-bin.
“Suk-bin.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You are a woman of discretion.”
“….”
“Is that not so?”
Suk-bin did not commit the folly of clinging to the King’s words like Gwi-in did.
“Y-yes, Your Majesty. I shall conduct myself with greater discretion henceforth.”
Soon after, the King’s gaze turned toward me.
I remained there, my expression downcast, fingering the soil-dusted bellflower preserve.
Whoosh.
The King’s hand gently stroked my head.
“Do not grieve. A confection is merely a confection. My regard for your merit remains unchanged.”
“Yes…. Your Majesty.”
What happened next was utterly astonishing.
The King extended both arms toward me and swept me into an embrace in one fluid motion!
Whoosh—my body lifted into the air. The very atmosphere of the world transformed.
I forgot even to breathe.
The Palace attendants following the King were equally seized by shock.
‘W-what on earth….’
Suspended from the King’s neck, I beheld the world anew.
I gazed down upon the ashen faces of Suk-bin and Gwi-in.
“Let us depart for Changgyeong Palace.”
The King proceeded forward without pause.
My vision swayed with each step he took.
In that moment, the world of Suk-bin and Gwi-in trembled.

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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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