Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 75

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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 75. A Hundred Days’ Spring Dream
A smile played across the Crown Prince’s lips as he watched Hwang Bong-bong’s retreating figure, jingling softly toward Sung-gyeong Hall.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Your expression is as warm as if you were looking upon your own younger sibling. It seems you are quite fond of that young palace maid.”
“I cannot bring myself to deny it.”
The Crown Prince’s tone, which had been bright with laughter, grew notably serious.
“However, Master, if you were to encounter a child like Bong-bong yourself, you would understand my feelings.”
“Heh heh. She is merely four years old, is she not? What could possibly make her so extraordinary?”
“Well, Bong-bong is certainly a young child, and yet….”
The Crown Prince paused to gather his thoughts before continuing.
“She is dignified without being fussy, and despite having weathered many hardships, she stands as firm as a great tree. At times, she even imparts wisdom like a teacher.”
“Ho ho…. I did not expect you to speak so highly of her. It sounds like extraordinary praise indeed.”
“It is sincere, without falsehood. Bong-bong is truly a special child. Sometimes she seems like an old soul in a young body.”
“An old soul…. Heh heh. Now that you mention it, I am reminded of someone.”
“Who might that be, Master?”
“A ten-year-old cousin who resides at my home. Wherever he learned such mannerisms, that boy is the very definition of an old soul.”
“If he is your cousin, Master, he must surely be a clever and intelligent young nobleman.”
“You are too kind. He is rather troublesome, as he loves to wander about outside.”
Lee Tae-jwa, whom the Crown Prince had been observing intently, spoke as if a good idea had just occurred to him.
“Master, what if you were to bring your cousin to the Royal Palace sometime? It would broaden his horizons, and the scenery is particularly beautiful at this time of year.”
“Would that truly be permissible?”
“Yes. Bring both your son and your cousin into the Palace. It would be a valuable experience for children destined for official service.”
“I shall do so. I am deeply grateful that you would extend such consideration to my own blood relations, Your Highness.”
Lee Tae-jwa bowed deeply, his expression one of genuine appreciation.
***
The atmosphere felt distinctly different from usual.
That thought crossed my mind the moment I stepped into Sung-gyeong Hall.
It had been a hundred days since I began coming and going from Sung-gyeong Hall as though it were my own home.
The Palace Maids of Sung-gyeong Hall, who were usually so quick to laugh, wore expressions heavy with sorrow today.
“Bom-bo! Bom-bom-bo! Byah-byah!”
Yet Yi Hwon remained radiant as ever.
The moment I entered the room, Yi Hwon toddled toward me, having escaped the Nurse Attendant’s embrace.
“Euh-byah-byah-byah!”
“Did you miss me so much, young prince?”
I patted Yi Hwon’s back as he clung to my neck, wiped the drool from his lips, fed him unseasoned pancakes, and more.
Whenever the Nurse Attendant stepped away for a moment, our secret time together would begin.
“Shark, oh, family…!”
“Doo-doo-dah-dah!”
I would sing a beloved melody about introducing an adorable shark family.
Yi Hwon loved that song so much he would shriek with delight.
After babbling for a while, dancing with enthusiasm, and playing merrily in the Nurse Attendant’s arms, Yi Hwon eventually fell asleep.
I carefully turned to the Nurse Attendant and asked.
“Nurse Attendant, is something wrong at Sung-gyeong Hall today? The Palace Maids looked so gloomy….”
“Well, Suk-ui has taken ill again. That’s why everyone’s like this.”
“Again?”
“Yes. She seemed healthy for a while, and we all thought she’d recovered, but the illness returned yesterday. She can’t even get out of bed.”
“….”
By our age reckoning rather than Western age, Yi Hwon was two years old this year.
Suk-ui would pass away from illness when Yi Hwon was five years old.
‘Three years…. That’s all that remains.’
I thought this while watching Yi Hwon sleep peacefully.
The image of Suk-ui’s face, laughing brightly during a recent walk with Jang Hee-bin, came to mind.
It wasn’t just that day.
Recently, Suk-ui’s complexion had brightened, and her vitality seemed quite good….
‘Was she merely appearing well for a moment? Does her fate to die remain unchanged?’
Suk-ui, who would later become a First-Rank Consort and receive the posthumous name ‘Myeongbin Park’, would die merely a year later.
The historical records contained only the fact that ‘Myeongbin Park passed away’ and details of her funeral arrangements.
No information remained about her symptoms or the name of her illness.
“I… it seems Suk-ui has been unwell for quite some time. Exactly what is ailing her?”
I asked the Nurse Attendant carefully.
Fortunately, the Nurse Attendant was a talkative person.
“We don’t know exactly what the problem is. Even the physicians couldn’t determine the cause.”
The Nurse Attendant, without suspicion, told me the symptoms Suk-ui had been suffering from.
“She continues to waste away without reason, her skin breaks out in red patches, she suffers severe abdominal pain, and has no energy. Except for the past two months, she’s been like this ever since giving birth to the young prince. How much she must be suffering….”
The Nurse Attendant’s words trailed off.
“Hee-yuu….”
Yi Hwon stirred softly in his sleep, uttering gentle babbles.
My heart ached seeing him sleep so peacefully, unaware of the grave situation surrounding his mother.
“Alas…. My poor little one….”
The Nurse Attendant, sharing my sentiment, adjusted Yi Hwon’s blanket and murmured softly.
“….”
I remained lost in thought.
There was one particular point in the attendant’s words that nagged at me.
“But…. Suk-ui, you seemed quite well these past months, didn’t you?”
“That’s exactly why I’m going mad. For the past few months, it was as if the illness had washed away. She had her hair done, took walks, ate her meals well.”
…Something was wrong.
The suspicion arose almost instinctively.
Suk-ui, who had been ill ever since giving birth to Yi Hwon.
How could she have recovered so miraculously over the past two months?
In that moment, the Nurse Attendant spoke to herself.
“A fleeting spring dream, they say—that’s exactly what it was. A hundred days like a dream….”
A hundred days.
The moment I heard those words, why did the image of Gwi-in Kim flash through my mind?
Gwi-in Kim, who had been confined for a hundred days.
And Suk-ui, who had appeared completely recovered during those same hundred days.
Honestly, I was confused.
What came to mind were the images of Gwi-in Kim I had witnessed.
Gwi-in Kim was that kind of person.
Someone who couldn’t hide her emotions, impulsive, sometimes reckless and foolish in her actions.
Could such a person possess the ability to orchestrate such an intricate tragedy?
Moreover….
‘Would Gwi-in Kim have reason to hate Suk-ui so intensely?’
What I suspected was not something that could be done out of mere jealousy.
It required a cold-blooded malice capable of actually harming someone’s life.
Even if Gwi-in Kim were not a virtuous person, would she harbor such intense malice toward Suk-ui…?
“Uu-uu. Bom-byah-byah-byah.”
Yi Hwon’s voice, now awake, pulled me back to reality.
The whimpering Yi Hwon reached out his hands toward me.
When I extended my hand, Yi Hwon grasped my finger tightly.
“Oh my. The young prince is awake. Bong-bong, wait a moment. Let me warm some rice porridge for the little one.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
While the Nurse Attendant stepped away.
“Hwon.”
“Byah-byah?”
“Am I being overly suspicious?”
“What are you doing?”
“I already have mountains of work to do. Am I really wasting time on baseless suspicions…?”
“Why not?”
“Sigh. I don’t know.”
I shook my head.
Watching Yi Hwon grin at me with such delight, I finally made my decision.
‘Calm yourself. There is no evidence to suspect Gwi-in Kim.’
I had no desire to act rashly and suspect someone based on mere conjecture alone.
‘But…. Suk-ui’s condition truly is quite strange.’
Rather than an illness, it felt like symptoms of some kind of addiction.
Though I suspended my suspicions about Gwi-in Kim, I needed to investigate Suk-ui’s condition with certainty.
“Yi Hwon.”
“Hmm?”
“I just…. hope you never experience anything sad.”
“Coo?”
Perhaps sensing the melancholy in my expression, Yi Hwon nestled into my arms.
“Bom-bo! Woo-byaa-byaa!”
With his arms wrapped around my neck, Yi Hwon patted the back of my head gently.
“…Are you comforting me right now?”
“Gua-a! Bom-bom-bo!”
…It was probably just my imagination.
Yet even as I thought this, Yi Hwon’s gesture seeped into my heart like a small solace.
“Thank you, little Crown Prince.”
For comforting me.
For being my comfort.
Watching Yi Hwon burst into bright laughter, I made my resolve.
With a little more caution.
And with careful deliberation….
I would investigate Suk-ui’s condition.

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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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