Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 72

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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 72. Jang Hee-bin’s Person
Tap, tap!
Clatter, clatter!
Crouched on the path in front of Hee-jeong Hall, I held a peculiar contraption in my hands.
It was a handcrafted fishing rod made specifically for Geum-deok.
The problem was, I had the fishing rod but not Geum-deok.
“Geum-deok…”
Come quickly.
I have something very important to do.
I swung the fishing rod with all my might, making it whoosh through the air, and struck the ground with sharp taps several times over.
It must have looked quite peculiar, but fortunately there were hardly any palace attendants passing by.
The royal guards patrolling the area saw me, but knowing that I visited the Royal Chambers often, they didn’t particularly stop me.
That was when it happened.
“Meow!”
With a delighted cry, Geum-deok came bounding out.
Pounce!
Geum-deok reacted to the fishing rod far more enthusiastically than to me.
“That’s it! Jump! Pounce, pounce!”
I swung the fishing rod while glancing sideways at the entrance to Hee-jeong Hall.
“Excellent! Well done!”
I raised my voice a bit higher.
‘Surely it’s time for him to appear soon. My arm is killing me.’
It was precisely at that moment.
I heard footsteps approaching from behind.
The King was finally making his appearance.
However, the King was coming from the direction of Seonjeongjeon Hall, the Private Chamber, not from Hee-jeong Hall.
Regardless, it was a success.
My objective was ‘to encounter the King as quickly as possible, no matter what.’
“Bong-bong, what brings you here at this hour?”
The King looked surprised, but he seemed quite pleased to see me.
“I came to play with Geum-deok after a long time, Your Majesty. Where have you been?”
“I was returning from the Private Chamber. It’s sweltering today—don’t stand about in the middle of the path like that. Come inside and play freely in the courtyard.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It was exactly what I had hoped to hear.
Swinging the fishing rod, I followed the King inside, with an excited Geum-deok bounding after me.
‘This is the first time I’ve come to Hee-jeong Hall at this hour.’
The courtyard inside Hee-jeong Hall.
Whoosh, whoosh—
My hands swung the fishing rod, but my mind was preoccupied with entirely different thoughts.
Looking back, whenever I visited Hee-jeong Hall, it was always late in the afternoon.
‘I’ve come far too early. What if the King is busy? I have something I really need to tell him….’
“Meow!”
Pounce.
Geum-deok was absorbed in the hunt, but I was busy reading the atmosphere inside the chamber.
Finally, the King emerged into the Inner Courtyard.
By then, he had shed his heavy dragon robe and wore a light linen garment instead.
‘Good—it doesn’t seem like he has anywhere urgent to be.’
Judging from his casual attire that he had time to spare.
“Excellent! Well done! Once more!”
I played with Geum-deok with even greater enthusiasm.
The King watched us intently for a long while.
Soon, he took my hand.
“Put that down now and rest for a moment. It’s hot today—have some sweet rice drink.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I hadn’t even noticed the beads of sweat forming from playing so hard.
I drained an entire bowl of sweet rice drink without leaving a drop.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been quite some time since you last visited Hee-jeong Hall.”
“It does seem that way, Your Majesty.”
“I’ve just had a splendid idea. Would you like to hear it?”
“Yes. What is it, Your Majesty?”
Could it be about my family…?
“I’m making a royal journey to Dongmyo in a few days. I’d like you to accompany me. Will you come?”
“….”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Aside from the sudden nature of it, the proposal made no sense.
Wait—where exactly is Dongmyo?
Is it the Dongmyo I’m thinking of…?
“Your Majesty, what sort of place is Dongmyo?”
“Ah.”
The King smiled faintly.
“Dongmyo is another name for Dongguan Wang Temple. We go there to pay respects at the temple of Guan Wang.”
“Guan Wang?”
Could it be…that person from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms…?
“Guan Yu, the great general of Shu, is enshrined as Guan Wang. He was a remarkable figure of tremendous martial prowess and dignity.”
“Ah….”
Now it came back to me.
King Sukjong was not only a cat enthusiast but also a devoted admirer of Guan Yu.
‘So the rumors were true—he ignores his ministers’ objections and goes to perform rituals for Guan Yu.’
I asked carefully.
“Your Majesty, would it be appropriate for me to attend such a sacred ritual?”
“Very well. It’s not such a distant journey, and you’ll get some fresh air and enjoy yourself.”
The King nodded with a pleased expression.
“Then, let me hear what you’ve been up to, Bong-bong. What were you doing before you came here today?”
Yes. This was it.
This was the very question I had been waiting for so eagerly!
Trying not to betray my tension, I broached the purpose of my visit today.
“I had my morning meal, and… ah, early this morning I went to Tongmyeongjeon with Jang Hee-bin.”
“Tongmyeongjeon…?”
It was clear the King had not yet heard the news.
His expression shifted in an instant.
“You mean Jang Hee-bin paid her respects at Junggung Palace?”
“Well…”
Uncertain how to explain, I tilted my head.
“She went to pay her respects, but… she couldn’t actually pay them. So I’m not sure whether to say she did or didn’t.”
“She went to pay her respects but couldn’t actually do so…?”
The King immediately grasped the meaning of my words.
“The Queen refused to receive her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“How curious. Tell me what happened.”
“Well… we waited outside for a very long time, but no palace attendants appeared. Then a certain gentleman came out, and it seemed Jang Hee-bin was uncomfortable speaking with him.”
“A gentleman—you mean a man came out of Tongmyeongjeon.”
“Yes. Da-nang…? Da-nang Minister…? That’s what she called him.”
“Hmm.”
Looking at the King’s expression, I was certain.
He understood that my garbled “Da-nang” referred to Dan-am.
“So you didn’t even enter and came back?”
“No, we did go inside, but she kept the door closed and wouldn’t open it.”
Watching his reaction carefully, I quickly added,
“The Queen was shouting. Telling us to leave, never to come pay respects again…”
“What exactly did the Queen say as she shouted?”
“…”
I hesitated for a moment.
The King nodded as if to say it was alright.
“Just tell me what you heard. It’s fine.”
“Well… she told her to shut her wicked mouth, called her a woman who would receive divine punishment, and said other harsh things too, but they were difficult words so I forgot them.”
“…Hmm.”
The King let out a low murmur.
His expression was ambiguous.
It was neither grave nor dark.
Rather, it resembled the look of someone who had expected this very thing.
“Jang Hee-bin made a difficult decision, yet things have come to this.”
“Yes. Jang Hee-bin said something similar.”
“What did she say?”
“That coming all the way to Tongmyeongjeon was not an easy thing for her either. So she asked that you would please receive her regards….”
“But…. In the end, Queen Min did not open the door.”
“Yes….”
I watched the King’s face, lost in thought, and added one more thing.
“After returning to Chwisuondang, it seemed Jang Hee-bin was weeping…. It pained my heart too.”
“….”
The King’s lips tightened.
In truth, I had not actually seen Jang Hee-bin’s tears.
I had only inferred it from the expression on her face and the trembling of her lips as she turned toward the Private Chamber.
“Queen Min shouted at you, then? You must have been quite startled.”
“I was not startled, but my heart ached.”
“What pained your heart?”
“She was angry, saying where does one dare show a painted face…. But Jang Hee-bin wore no cosmetics at all, and she went to offer her respects without even eating.”
“…So such things happened.”
The King, who had been lost in thought for a moment, then looked at me and asked.
“I heard your words well. Thank you for speaking so honestly.”
“It is nothing.”
Once I finished saying what I had meant to say, the tension finally eased somewhat.
I quickly changed the subject.
“But Your Majesty. How far must one walk to reach Dongmyo?”
“How far to walk? Why do you ask such a thing?”
“Well, if the road is long, I thought I should prepare sturdy shoes….”
“Oh my.”
The King let out a small chuckle.
“Did you truly think I would make such a young child walk all that way? Ha ha. I am not so cruel a sovereign as to work a four-year-old so harshly.”
“Then, how am I to go to Dongmyo…?”
I asked with a genuinely puzzled expression, truly not knowing the answer.
On horseback, perhaps…?
“I shall have my palanquin prepared. Have you ever ridden in a palanquin?”
“No. Not once in my entire life.”
“Ha ha. An experience for the first time in your four years of life. It shall be novel, so look forward to it.”
I smiled brightly as I watched the King burst into hearty laughter.
‘Mission accomplished.’
Having achieved my purpose, it was worthwhile to have rushed to Hee-jeong Hall.
Word that Jang Hee-bin had gone to pay her respects to Queen Min would soon reach the King.
But depending on who conveyed that message, its content would be entirely different.
Currently, those surrounding the King were mostly from the Seo-in Faction, and among them, the Noron dominated.
In other words, it meant that Jang Hee-bin’s visit to Tongmyeongjeon would be thoroughly reframed through Queen Min’s perspective.
The King’s favor toward Jang Hee-bin had been quite extraordinary of late.
He had even taken to calling her his “benefactor.”
Naturally, I did not expect such favor to be withdrawn over a single minor incident.
But the first words one hears can plant remarkably deep prejudices.
That is the nature of human hearts.
If the King heard first that Jang Hee-bin had conducted herself arrogantly during her visit to Queen Min, even if he did not believe the tale outright, his mind would be influenced—such was the psychology of men.
That was why I had rushed all the way to the Royal Chambers.
To be the first person to relay to the King what had truly transpired at Tongmyeongjeon.
To make him believe that I, a naive child ignorant of politics, had conveyed only pure truth.
It was a stratagem, if one wished to call it that.
One could not deny it was a cunning scheme.
But the moment I encountered Min Jin-won at Tongmyeongjeon—
That single moment had completely transformed everything I felt until then.
Queen Min came not merely from a noble house, but was part of a great family.
Queen Min’s blood relatives, led by Min Jin-won, held key positions throughout the Palace.
The Noron, who wielded political power, were those who would stake everything for Queen Min.
But Jang Hee-bin had—
No one.
No one to lean upon, no powerful backer to support her.
There was the Namin Faction, now merely a hollow shell, and some sympathetic members of the Soron.
But they were too preoccupied with their own survival.
In the end, all Jang Hee-bin possessed was the honor of being the Crown Prince’s mother.
And the King’s favor—which could waver at any moment.
That was all.
I wanted to help Jang Hee-bin.
That was why.
Why I resolved to act more boldly.
Why I decided to take a more active role in her affairs.
Knowledge of history would not allow me to stand against countless men of power.
And changing the great currents of history with a child’s body might be impossible.
But I wanted to be even a small strength for Jang Hee-bin.
That was the driving force that moved me.
With that as my purpose, I resolved from this moment forward to become thoroughly Jang Hee-bin’s person.

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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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