Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 8

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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 8. Discard, Omit, Burn, Bury
“Suk-jeong. What was that doll from earlier used for?”
Inside the bedchamber of Chwisuondang.
Suk-jeong, seated across from Jang Hee-bin, answered as though it were of little consequence.
“It’s nothing of importance, so there’s no need to concern yourself. When the time comes, I shall explain everything.”
“Is that so?”
Jang Hee-bin asked with evident suspicion.
Yet Suk-jeong smiled and deftly changed the subject.
“What matters most is this talisman. Please guard it carefully. You must keep it beneath your pillow for an entire month while you sleep.”
“You truly believe this talisman can win back a man’s heart?”
“Of course. Did you forget how my devotion completely cured the Crown Prince’s smallpox last time?”
“I understand. Since I’ve already witnessed its efficacy, how could I doubt your words?”
As Jang Hee-bin secured the talisman and Suk-jeong accepted the silver coins she offered, her face brightened with satisfaction.
“By the way, Jang Hee-bin. About that child attendant.”
“You mean Hwang Bong-bong?”
“Yes. She nearly gave Suk-bin an opening to exploit, but the child’s quick wit averted it. Quite cunning for her age.”
“She arrived at Chwisuondang just days ago. Now that I think of it, she was remarkably composed during her initiation—hardly like a child at all.”
“Was she?”
Suk-jeong, as if lost in thought for a moment, continued.
“A child who is not childlike… That may not be entirely fortunate, wouldn’t you agree?”
Jang Hee-bin fixed Suk-jeong with an unwavering gaze.
Her brother’s concubine.
Suk-jeong had become a grateful asset, serving as Jang Hee-bin’s hands and feet in place of her exiled brother.
‘Grateful though she may be, she sometimes forgets her place.’
Suk-jeong, meeting that piercing stare, lowered her eyes.
“Whether the child is childlike or not hardly matters. A servant need only perform her duties well.”
Jang Hee-bin laughed.
“In any case, Suk-jeong. You’ve worked hard. You may go now.”
***
“By the way, ma’am.”
After returning to the chamber, I carefully asked Seol-hyang, who was folding clothes.
“That Suk-jeong lady who visited today—does she come here often?”
“Ah. The younger mistress of Jang Hee-jae’s household… Why?”
Seol-hyang asked back with a reluctant expression.
“Oh, just… she frightened me a little.”
“She scared you too? She’s always been somewhat like that, but…”
“Did she frighten you as well, ma’am?”
Seol-hyang shook out the starch-stiffened jeogori with sharp snaps and gave her answer.
“Hmm. She’s the type to torment the Palace Maids with all sorts of superstitions. Turning your back to the sunrise brings bad luck, killing spiders is terribly inauspicious, you must sprinkle salt on nights when the full moon and new moon rise… She bothers people with the most peculiar things.”
“Ah, I see…”
It was a casual question thrown out without great expectation, yet I’d obtained valuable information.
‘So Suk-jeong is someone who believes blindly in superstitions.’
The implication was unmistakable.
‘From the moment she orchestrated the curse incident, her resolve to kill Queen Inhyeon was absolute.’
Her husband Jang Hee-jae being exiled would have made her anxious, certainly, but could she be even more wicked than I’d thought?
“Bong-bong, what are you thinking so hard about?”
“Huh? Oh, no, nothing.”
“Anyway, I’ll be gone for an hour or two. Don’t go anywhere else—stay here and read that Hangul book. Understood?”
“Why a Hangul book?”
“Why? Because you need to master reading and writing before you turn five. In a few days you’ll be another year older, so five will be here before you know it.”
“Master reading and writing before I’m five?”
Naturally, I feigned illiteracy and made a shocked expression.
“I’m not a genius! How am I supposed to memorize the alphabet already?”
I knew she was teasing me, but I had no choice but to play along.
“Why can’t you? Even young children should know Hangul. Do you know what happens if you can’t read in the Palace?”
“…What happens?”
“You get cast out from Chwisuondang and end up cleaning the outhouses.”
“Eek!”
I widened my eyes and opened my mouth to express extreme terror.
“So study hard. Unless you want to clean outhouses!”
“I don’t! I hate outhouses!”
Seol-hyang chuckled as she watched me hurriedly open the Hangul book, then left the chamber.
***
‘How on earth am I supposed to dispose of this eyesore?’
Alone in my chamber, I sank deep into thought.
‘Should I throw it in the Outhouse?’
Beep— absolutely not.
Human waste was recycled as fertilizer.
In the Joseon Dynasty, it was a precious resource.
The Outhouse was out of the question.
‘Then, what if I tied it to a stone and threw it in the pond?’
Beep beep beep! Absolutely not.
If something like that floated to the surface, the entire Royal Palace would be in an uproar.
The pond was out of the question.
‘Should I burn it?’
But where would I get fire?
In the Joseon Dynasty, fire was treated so preciously that there were dedicated officials to manage it.
‘Ah! I could throw it into the furnace when the ondol is burning.’
I scurried toward the furnace, but—
“Child! What if you get hurt? What are you doing lurking around here?”
…I was immediately chased away.
So burning it was impossible too.
In the end, only one solution remained.
‘I’ll bury it.’
There was some risk involved, but I concluded that method was my best option.
‘I need to go to the Northern Forest.’
The area north of Changgyeong Palace connected to the Back Garden of Changdeok Palace—a forested region with no particular use.
‘Should I sneak out at night to bury it? Or should I wait a few days and observe the situation?’
I hesitated for a moment, but soon made up my mind.
There’s a saying: strike while the iron is hot.
Rather than keep something like this and risk misunderstanding, it was best to dispose of it immediately.
‘Now that Seol-hyang is away—this is my chance.’
Taking a deep breath, I tucked the doll into my embrace and slipped quietly out of my quarters.
***
The Northern Forest of Changgyeong Palace was exactly as I’d imagined—serene and desolate.
All I could hear was the sound of dry branches swaying in the wind and the sparse, melancholy birdsong of late afternoon—
Scrape.
Scrape.
Thud.
Nothing but the sound of a small child digging into the earth with all their might.
I’d sourced the tool on-site—a thick, sturdy branch I’d found by searching the forest served the purpose perfectly.
‘Just a little deeper.’
How could digging a small hole be this exhausting?
Sweat beaded on my forehead and my arms trembled with fatigue, but I gritted my teeth and pressed on.
That’s when it happened.
Crackle—
‘Gasp.’
This sound was different from the natural noises I’d been hearing. Something had definitely stepped on the ground.
I froze in place.
A person? A patrol guard? A palace servant? An outsider?
Or perhaps… a beast?
‘There were quite a few records of tigers making their way into the Royal Palace.’
Either way—person or beast—both were problems.
Chills ran down my spine. My hair stood on end.
Soon after, the sound of dry leaves being trampled came again.
Extreme terror washed over me; I couldn’t even breathe.
Crunch, crunch.
Patter-patter-patter—
“Eek!”
The moment I lifted my head in fright at the rapidly approaching sound—
“Meow!”
…Meow?
Phew, I just aged ten years in an instant.
“Geez, you scared me!”
“Meow?”
I clutched my pounding heart and stared at the unexpected visitor.
A pair of eyes gazing blankly at me. A body the color of perfectly toasted bread.
It was what you’d commonly call an orange tabby cat.
But…
“What have you been eating to get so chubby?”
I’m not so lacking in character that I don’t realize how rude that remark was.
Yet the words tumbled out regardless.
“A wild boar perhaps?”
No. A civet cat maybe?
No matter how I looked at it, it was just a short-haired cat.
The feline’s build was truly impressive.
It was then that the chubby cat, scratching its ears frantically, approached me.
“Hey, stop that!”
Its target was the crimson ribbon dangling from my hair.
The creature swiped its front paws at my head in rapid succession.
…This damn cat.
To resort to hair-pulling on our first meeting—clearly its temperament was utterly ruined.
“You little beast. I told you to stop…!”
But the cat paid no heed to my desperate cries.
Finally, I wielded my secret weapon—the stick I’d been holding—high above my head.
“Goyang! Look at this!”
Whoosh, whoosh!
I swung the stick like a fishing rod, back and forth.
“That’s it! Good! Isn’t this much more fun?”
“Meowwww!”
The cat fell into a state of pure ecstasy at my dazzling hand movements.
To the right, then back to the left, darting about frantically before launching into aerial somersaults!
In my past life, I loved cats, but I never dared to keep one.
‘Instead, I lived as a keyboard cat enthusiast, watching all sorts of cat videos.’
I never imagined I’d put that knowledge to use after coming to the Joseon era.
“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s stop now, okay?”
“Meow!”
“How do you have such a cheerful spirit? What’s your name?”
I asked the question thoughtlessly, then shook my head.
A mere small creature living in the Royal Palace couldn’t possibly have a name.
…Or could it?
An important fact I’d forgotten suddenly came to mind.
King Sukjong, specifically.
‘King Sukjong was an absolute cat fanatic.’
King Sukjong was a genuine cat devotee.
He loved cats so much that he kept them by his side even during state affairs, and records surviving to later generations tell of how he gave them meat dishes at every meal.
I couldn’t quite remember if that cat’s name was Geum-deok or Geum-son.
“Meow?”
The cat cried out, noticing I’d suddenly gone quiet.
I examined the cat while thinking.
Might its bulked-up physique be the result of the meat dishes King Sukjong had bestowed upon it?
‘Surely not. There must be more than one or two cats in the Royal Palace.’
In any case, I’d wasted far too much precious time playing with the cat. I needed to finish my work and return to Chwisuondang….
“Meowww!”
Pitter-patter-patter!
“Hey! No! Come back here!”
It happened in a moment of carelessness.
The cat had snatched the curse doll in its jaws and bolted away at full speed!
“Hey, hey! Give that back!”
I had no time to think of anything else. I dashed after the cat in a frenzy.
The cat seemed to think it was playing an exciting hunt, bounding around me in a tantalizing dance—close enough to catch, yet always just out of reach.
“Hand it over right now! Hurry!”
I barely managed to grab the doll’s leg, but the cat refused to release its grip on the doll’s head.
After an intense tug-of-war with no quarter given, I finally wrenched the doll from its jaws.
‘…What? Has the sun already set?’
Suddenly, the world around me darkened as if twilight had fallen.
It didn’t take long to realize that an enormous shadow was looming over me.
“…”
Seized by an inexplicable chill, I slowly lifted my gaze.
What entered my field of vision was…
A crimson silk rippling with an eerie, blood-red hue.
In other words, the gonryongpo—the royal robe that symbolized the King.

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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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