Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 63

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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 63. First Love
“Your Majesty. On such a sweltering day, how could you travel here without even a palanquin?”
The King had arrived at Chwisuondang.
In the meantime, after checking her appearance and receiving Hwang Bong-bong’s official seal of approval with an “You look beautiful!”, Jang Hee-bin greeted him.
“The Palace is most beautiful in summer, is it not? So I suddenly felt the urge to visit Changgyeong Palace. I wished to admire the scenery, see Hwan’s antics, and check on how well Bong-bong’s cushion is holding up.”
“….”
At the King’s words, Jang Hee-bin lowered her eyes slightly.
Beneath her long, sweeping lashes, a gentle smile played in her gaze.
“…So you didn’t wish to see me?”
Her voice dripped with coquetry.
“Hehe.”
The King smiled softly and brushed his hand lightly across Jang Hee-bin’s shoulder.
“The fact that Chwisuondang was the first place I sought upon arriving at Changgyeong Palace shall be my answer.”
“Your Majesty….”
An unmistakable smile bloomed across Jang Hee-bin’s face.
As if deeply moved, her eyes glistened as she spoke shyly.
“Your Majesty…. Do you think the common people outside know of this?”
“Know what?”
“That the one who rules all the people is such a romantic soul.”
The way Jang Hee-bin looked at the King was tender and affectionate.
“Romantic, you say. There was a time when I lost that romanticism, but somehow it has returned to me.”
The King met Jang Hee-bin’s gaze.
The light in their eyes as they gazed upon each other was sweet enough to drip honey.
…And between this middle-aged couple whispering of burning love, there sat one four-year-old child, utterly out of place.
That was Hwang Bong-bong. Me.
‘What a beautiful sight.’
I watched the unfolding romance before my eyes with a satisfied expression.
The deepening of their love meant my survival probability was skyrocketing.
Jang Hee-bin’s happiness was my happiness.
Jang Hee-bin’s survival was my survival.
Though there was a tiny, truly minuscule feeling of my skin crawling.
‘I must endure this.’
This wasn’t merely a love story between the King and Jang Hee-bin—it was my survival tale with my life on the line.
I held my breath as much as possible to avoid spoiling the mood, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Then, Your Majesty, shall we retire inside?”
“No, Jang Hee-bin. I thought perhaps we might take a stroll together today.”
“A stroll with Your Majesty? There could be nothing more delightful.”
“Good. I have something to discuss as well.”
“Something to discuss, Your Majesty?”
“We shall hear of it in due time.”
Soon after, the King’s gaze turned toward me.
I thought he had completely forgotten my existence, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“The weather is splendid. Will you come along as well, Bong-bong?”
…Me, specifically?
Why not just the two of them enjoying each other’s company?
Such thoughts crossed my mind, but when a royal command was issued, there was nothing to do but obey.
Just before leaving Chwisuondang.
“My throat is parched. Bring me water.”
At the King’s command, Han Sang-gung hurried to fetch water.
The King drained the water bowl in great gulps, then finally began walking alongside Jang Hee-bin.
Several palace attendants followed in their wake.
I too took my place beside the Royal Chambers attendant and trailed after the King and Jang Hee-bin with measured steps.
***
‘It’s gotten considerably warmer than before.’
Early summer, advancing toward midday.
The gentle breeze that had been stirring had ceased, and the sunlight had grown quite intense.
The crown of my head, warmed by the scorching rays, felt uncomfortably hot.
The King and Jang Hee-bin walked slowly, conversing quietly.
I could see the King’s profile as he spoke tenderly to Jang Hee-bin.
Though we hadn’t walked for long, his face was already glistening with perspiration.
‘Of course. He must be terribly hot in that gonryongpo.’
The gonryongpo is an exceptionally thick garment with poor ventilation.
With multiple layers of clothing worn beneath it, sweat pouring down like rain was inevitable.
It was no coincidence that boils were a chronic affliction among Joseon Dynasty kings.
‘Still, King Sukjong didn’t die from boils, so…. I suppose that’s something to be grateful for.’
I recalled the historical records of King Sukjong.
Like all Joseon kings, King Sukjong suffered from several ailments.
‘He himself had mentioned emotional distress, and he suffered greatly from eye disease.’
Yet compared to several other kings who died from terrible illnesses, he had met a relatively peaceful end.
He would die around his sixties, but for a Joseon king, his lifespan was actually quite long.
“Whew….”
Meanwhile, the weather grew even more oppressive.
Beads of sweat began forming on my forehead.
The palace attendants around me were also constantly wiping away perspiration.
While everyone suffered from the heat.
Only one person maintained an impeccably fresh and composed appearance.
Our Jang Hee-bin, of course.
‘At this point, one could truly say she was born to be beautiful.’
Not a drop of sweat, not a hint of breathlessness, walking as lightly as if treading upon clouds—such beauty.
She was the only woman recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty as ‘beautiful’ in such a manner.
As I marveled anew at Jang Hee-bin’s beauty,
the narrowing distance allowed their conversation to gradually drift into earshot.
“I was twenty years old then, wasn’t I?”
“The moment I beheld Your Majesty entering the Queen Dowager’s Residence, the world seemed to stop. You remain as breathtaking now, but truly, you were magnificent then.”
“I felt the same. Upon seeing you, my soul was utterly captivated—I even momentarily forgot to pay my respects to Queen Jangryeol.”
…Perhaps twenty years ago. A memory from when the two first met.
The King and Jang Hee-bin’s conversation remained anchored in that distant past, before either had truly left their youth behind.
Those brilliant years in one’s twenties.
A powerful young sovereign and an enchanting palace maid had fallen into a passionate love—that era of burning devotion.
The two seemed frozen in that moment.
“Do you remember when Your Majesty summoned me early one morning and bestowed upon me a golden pomegranate, overflowing with generosity?”
“How could I forget? It was a golden pomegranate sent specially by the Queen Mother herself. Yet I gave it entirely to Jang Hee-bin, and when she discovered this, she flew into such a rage.”
“Yes. That memory remains vivid for me as well.”
The King grasped Jang Hee-bin’s hand.
“The hardships you endured in those days were beyond measure. When the Queen Mother’s orders cast you out beyond the Palace walls—”
A fleeting shadow crossed Jang Hee-bin’s face.
“Yet you called me back. Because I believed Your Majesty’s words that I was your one true love, the waiting was not sorrowful.”
“….”
Mm.
The King exhaled softly.
The atmosphere shifted abruptly.
An awkward silence settled between the two who had been so warm and tender moments before.
A single point in their reminiscence of youth had made both their hearts uncomfortable.
As the King had said, Jang Hee-bin had been cast out beyond the Palace during her time as a favored maid.
It was due to the intense hatred of Queen Myeongseong, the King’s own mother.
The moment Queen Myeongseong passed from this world, the King summoned Jang Hee-bin back to the Palace and began lavishing her with boundless affection.
But….
‘It’s far too… similar a pattern.’
For a nearly identical history would repeat itself with the Queen.
The King deposed Queen Min and made Jang Hee-bin his Queen instead.
And as time passed, he recalled Queen Min and restored her to the throne….
A heavy silence stretched on.
Hands that had been one released from each other.
The tender gazes they had exchanged now turned each toward their own thoughts.
“Jang Hee-bin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I have something urgent I must tell you.”
“Please speak, Your Majesty.”
“Mm.”
In that moment, the King’s body swayed slightly. He stumbled as though missing a step, wiping beads of perspiration from his brow.
“Are you unwell, Your Majesty?”
“It is nothing. I am fine.”
The King resumed his walk and spoke again.
“Jang Hee-bin. I hear you have not visited Junggung Palace in several years.”
…No, this man.
Why bring that up now?
With the atmosphere already so grave, this was like detonating a bomb.
Yet… truthfully, it was a problem I had been wrestling with myself.
When Jang Hee-bin was executed, two major charges were brought against her.
One was that she had established an Abandoned Shrine to curse Queen Inhyeon, and the other was that she had not visited even once when Queen Inhyeon fell ill.
‘Since Suk-jeong has disappeared, I might be able to prevent the Abandoned Shrine from being established somehow….’
But visiting the Queen was beyond my power to control.
Speaking of the ‘Queen’ before Jang Hee-bin was practically forbidden.
“I am not unaware that relations between you and the Queen are strained, yet the Queen’s illness has deepened for some time now. Already, memorials criticizing your failure to visit her arrive constantly.”
“….”
Jang Hee-bin remained silent.
“Nevertheless, you must observe propriety, Jang Hee-bin.”
In that moment.
Jang Hee-bin’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
“…Is that why Your Majesty sought me out—to issue such a command?”
The King’s calm gaze turned toward Jang Hee-bin.
“Do not make enemies of the ministers. You are a clever woman; you will understand my meaning.”
The King spoke without hesitation or a trace of apology in his expression.
It was only natural.
He was the sovereign of Joseon.
His world revolved around him alone.
“Your Majesty.”
Jang Hee-bin’s voice trembled softly.
“Your command to visit Junggung Palace. Your words to observe propriety…. Yes. Your Majesty is right. I am now merely a concubine, so it is proper that I attend to the Queen’s health. However, Your Majesty.”
She paused for a moment before continuing.
“Though I have become a concubine rather than your consort, I….”
Jang Hee-bin lifted her gaze to meet the King’s eyes.
“Was I not your first love?”

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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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