Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 65

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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 65. The Will of Heaven
My beloved concubine.
A weighty phrase that fell from the King’s lips.
Overwhelming emotion spread across Jang Hee-bin’s face.
“You said you would bear all responsibility, that if I faced great calamity, your life would be meaningless anyway.”
“Your Majesty… that was my true heart…”
Jang Hee-bin could say no more.
Patter. Patter.
Thick tears streamed down like rain.
“I know.”
“Your Majesty…”
“I know it all. Without a word, you proved your sincerity through your actions.”
Just then, the royal palanquin arrived to carry the King.
Jang Hee-bin hastily wiped away her tears.
The King’s gentle hand patted Jang Hee-bin’s shoulder.
“I shall never forget your loyalty, Jang Hee-bin. I will visit Chwisuondang soon.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Jang Hee-bin bowed respectfully.
The King’s gaze turned toward me.
By then, I had fully regained my senses.
“Bong-bong’s contribution is indeed great.”
“…I am honored by your words, Your Majesty.”
“We shall discuss the longer tale another time.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The royal palanquin bearing the King advanced toward Changdeok Palace.
Shortly after, the King’s procession, led by the palanquin, vanished completely from sight.
“Ah…”
Only then did Jang Hee-bin’s legs give way, and she sank to the ground.
“My lady, are you all right?”
The moment I approached and asked the question.
Jang Hee-bin suddenly embraced me.
“Thank you, Bong-bong. You saved His Majesty. If not for you, what would have become of him…”
In Jang Hee-bin’s earnest voice lay a desperate love for the King.
“…No, my lady.”
I shook my head.
“It was what you did. Because you found courage, His Majesty awakened.”
I meant it sincerely.
It was not my achievement.
It was possible only because of Jang Hee-bin’s tremendous courage.
What she held in her hands was not a small sweet and a single pill, but her own life itself.
Food given to the King is directly tied to his life and death.
Even if the King had suffered no grave harm, had he not awakened immediately, all suspicion would have fallen upon Jang Hee-bin.
Without profound love for the King and unwavering resolve to save him, no one would dare attempt such a thing.
“That I could find such courage at all—it was entirely thanks to you.”
Jang Hee-bin gently stroked my head.
“No, that’s not it….”
I spoke my honest truth calmly.
“It was your love for His Majesty that gave you courage. So please, don’t speak of my merit.”
“Ah….”
Jang Hee-bin’s eyes, gazing down at me, shimmered with warmth.
“My little blessing. It’s as though heaven itself sent you down to us.”
Perhaps it was because of Jang Hee-bin’s words.
Such a thought occurred to me.
‘Heaven helped us.’
I was not one who believed in the existence of God.
And yet, sometimes before certain events, I felt the will of heaven at work.
When the shaman O-rye, whom I met unprepared, cried out “Divine!” and trembled before me.
When Kim Che-geon appeared at the moment I faced death.
And today, when I escaped like a miracle from the brink of absolute desperation….
“Jang Hee-bin, you should rise now.”
I spoke, seeing her tears had ceased.
The sun that had hung directly overhead was now descending westward in the fading light.
Having sat on the ground all this time, Jang Hee-bin’s violet skirts were soiled with dust.
Suddenly, those dark stains became unbearable to look upon.
The suspicions and condemnations heaped upon Jang Hee-bin over countless hours, preserved under the name of history.
The filth staining her skirts felt like falsehoods that had hardened into truth itself.
Pat-pat.
I brushed the dust from Jang Hee-bin’s skirts with both hands.
“Why do you do this? The skirts need only be washed clean.”
“It’s just… such a beautiful and precious skirt, and I hate seeing it soiled with dirt….”
Jang Hee-bin tilted her head, watching me continue to brush her skirts.
“Child, that’s enough now. Let us return to Chwisuondang. And, Han Sang-gung.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Please carry Bong-bong back to Chwisuondang. She must have been quite frightened.”
“Yes, I shall do so.”
But I shook my head gently.
“No, you don’t need to carry me.”
“I saw you collapse earlier. If Han Sang-gung’s back is troubled, shall I call Sun-rye?”
“No. I… I want to walk with Jang Hee-bin….”
“Is that so?”
Jang Hee-bin grasped my hand firmly.
The warmth of her delicate hand transferred to me completely.
Walking toward Chwisuondang with Jang Hee-bin, I suddenly looked up at the sky.
Jang Hee-bin’s courage.
My quick thinking.
And a spoonful of heaven’s help.
‘Thank you.’
It wasn’t gratitude directed at anyone in particular.
To Jang Hee-bin, who had found her courage.
To the King, who accepted Jang Hee-bin’s sincerity without misinterpreting it.
To myself, who did not hesitate.
And finally, perhaps….
To someone watching me from the heavens above.
My heart swelled with inexplicable gratitude.
***
After resting in the Royal Chambers, the King quickly recovered his strength.
Furthermore, the Royal Physician offered the opinion that the honey candy had been an excellent remedy.
“Feeding something sweet to a patient who has suddenly grown weak is a well-known folk remedy, Your Majesty.”
…Yet the atmosphere in the Private Chamber was unfolding quite differently from the Royal Physician’s assessment.
The next day.
After expressions of concern for the King’s health as he entered the Private Chamber for morning audience were exchanged.
The ministers began to voice their opinions.
“Your Majesty. We nearly faced a great calamity. Above all, Jang Hee-bin’s crime must be severely punished.”
“Indeed. How could she dare feed Your Majesty food of unknown origin, without even tasting it first? It is truly an act worthy of grave transgression.”
“Had you not awakened after consuming that candy, what would have become of us? Though Your Majesty’s health is robust, we cannot set a precedent of failing to punish such a serious crime.”
All those voicing opinions were from the Seo-in Faction.
At the center of the Seo-in Faction stood Min Jin-won, the brother of Queen Min.
The Seo-in, who viewed the King and Jang Hee-bin’s growing closeness as a grave crisis.
For them, the fact that ‘Jang Hee-bin fed the King unclear food’ was like the finest bait imaginable.
The Seo-in unanimously petitioned for Jang Hee-bin’s punishment.
“Please grant us your understanding, Your Majesty!”
“Please grant us….”
At that moment.
Crash!
The sound of the King striking the armrest silenced the Private Chamber.
The King gazed upon the Private Chamber, now quiet as a tomb.
“Do you gentlemen believe it would have been right for me to simply close my eyes and perish?”
“How could we harbor such dreadful thoughts, Your Majesty? Our intention was merely….”
“I do not wish to hear it!”
The King spoke with finality.
Min Jin-won’s lips pressed firmly shut.
“The Royal Physician did not arrive for a considerable time. I could not move a single finger. My very soul seemed to drain away, and all strength abandoned my body. I was dying!”
The King’s violent fury swept through the Private Chamber.
“And you suggest I punish Jang Hee-bin rather than reward her? Would it have been right for me to perish?”
“Your Majesty speaks most unreasonably! That is not the intention—regardless, the act of feeding His Majesty anything without permission is a matter requiring severe punishment….”
“Enough of this tedious wordplay!”
The King seized the paperweight that lay beside the memorial and hurled it.
The heavy ebony paperweight tumbled across the floor with a dull thud.
“If Jang Hee-bin had feared your incessant prattling and refused to give me the confection, can you assure me I would still draw breath?”
“….”
“Then I shall speak plainly. Those who seek to condemn Jang Hee-bin are traitors who wish the King dead!”
The ministers’ faces drained of all color, turning ashen.
Traitors.
A dreadful word, denoting those guilty of sedition.
The ministers could not help but recall the violent purges that had swept through the palace in times past.
“Now then. Let any who dare speak Jang Hee-bin’s name in accusation come forward.”
The King’s piercing gaze swept across the Private Chamber.
“That person shall be the first to face judgment.”
It was a declaration sharp as a blade.
“….”
Min Jin-won stared at the paperweight lying in the center of the Private Chamber.
Once beside the throne, now scattered upon the floor.
Would the Seo-in Faction’s power, sustained for years since Queen Min’s reinstatement, not suffer the same fate as that paperweight?
A chill crept through Min Jin-won’s chest.
Crisis.
A crisis for the Seo-in Faction.
At the heart of that crisis….
‘Jang Hee-bin. And….’
The young maid of Chwisuondang who had given Jang Hee-bin the confection, now basking in the King’s recent favor.
Min Jin-won, head bowed, continued to gaze upon the paperweight.

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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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