Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 109

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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 109
The man who stepped down from the sedan chair wore a Dragon Robe that fell in heavy folds.
I whispered softly.
“Brother. That’s the Emperor, isn’t it?”
“He wore the Dragon Robe here? Does he want to be assassinated? Not a soul tried to stop him—there must be nothing but fools in the Imperial Palace.”
“Even if they tried to stop him, what good would it do if the Emperor wouldn’t listen? Maybe the Emperor himself is the fool…….”
“Those pathetic excuses over there must be his shadows. They can’t conceal their presence at all—I wonder why he brought them. They’re worse than the guards Sadoryeonju keeps around.”
“……Brother, you’re a martial artist through and through.”
His priorities are crystal clear. I’m more curious to see the Emperor’s face.
“They haven’t noticed us yet, have they?”
“No. By the look of things, they won’t know unless we shout. Let’s stay here until the Emperor leaves.”
Yeon Liang answered without much interest and reclined against the tree, leaning back at an angle. Yet he didn’t remove his hand from his sword hilt—he had no intention of letting his guard down.
I sat beside Yeon Liang and kept watch on the sedan chair.
“But still, when he confined her to the Hermitage saying he didn’t want to kill her with his own hands, why did he come looking for her now? Did he feel guilty?”
“It could be political. After the Deposed Queen fell from power, he might have come to fetch her to suppress the momentum of the concubine who’s now seized control. Since she’ll die soon anyway, there won’t be any loose ends.”
“What? That’s completely despicable. I should have given the Deposed Queen a tasteless poison to slip into the Emperor’s tea and let her exact her revenge.”
“That would be outright treason, sister. Ugh, this tickles. Hairball. Come out now.”
Yeon Liang chuckled and pulled Ju Ryeong from his breast. The creature dangled in midair, swaying back and forth while drowsily nodding off, and I clicked my tongue.
“Is Ju Ryeong sleeping in your arms now too?”
“Right? He seems to think I’m a moving bed.”
I’d thought that for a while now……. Ever since we shared our hearts.
“Go back to your master now. Ju Ryeong.”
Yeon Liang smiled and set Ju Ryeong down on my lap.
I stroked the creature’s sleek fur and waited for the Emperor to descend the mountain.
But the Emperor did not return until the sun set.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon, the Emperor’s retinue waiting outside started to prepare camp for the night.
“……Brother. We’re going to have to sleep in the open, aren’t we?”
“Looks like it. He plans to spend the night here.”
“I should have brought blankets. The cave floor is so hard.”
I glanced at the Emperor’s retinue and pouted before heading into the cave.
The Emperor didn’t descend from the Hermitage until past noon the next day.
After the sound of people had completely faded and we’d kept watch for another half-hour, the Deposed Queen, who had been sitting on a rock in front of the Hermitage, rose when she saw us crossing the ridge.
“Yeon…….”
The Deposed Queen who called my name had a pallid complexion. Tears as large as chicken droppings streamed down her face as she rushed toward me and threw her arms around me.
“Madam, what’s happened? Come now. Why are you crying?”
“Sob, sob—His Majesty……. His Majesty…….”
The Deposed Queen couldn’t find her words and broke into tears. I patted her back until her crying subsided.
After crying until her voice grew hoarse, the Deposed Queen drank the honey water Yeon Liang brought and finally opened her mouth in a half-ruined voice.
“His Majesty has commanded me to return to the Imperial Palace. He promises to grant me the rank of Imperial Concubine if I will stop Jin Bi’s misdeeds.”
So Yeon Liang’s words were true after all.
We exchanged glances in stunned silence, our eyes rolling.
The Deposed Queen’s eyes began to glisten again.
“I’m tired of fighting with these women who pretend to be my sisters and looking up at nothing but square sky. I don’t want to go…….”
Yeon Liang made soothing sounds and tried to comfort the Deposed Queen.
“Madam. Compose yourself. You don’t have to return to Jinling. Is there anywhere you could go? I’ll take you there.”
“That’s right, Madam. Come with us. We can leave this very day if need be.”
I quickly agreed, and a sad smile crossed the Deposed Queen’s face.
“How thoughtful you both are……. I’m grateful to have found such devoted friends. But I cannot go.”
The Deposed Queen gripped her sleeve with such force that veins stood out on the back of her hand, and her body trembled.
“In return for my coming back, His Majesty has promised to make my child the Crown Prince. But if I don’t return, he says he’ll send the children abroad as hostages.”
“What? His own children? That bastard, he’s insane……. Ack!”
“Steady, sister. Mind your tongue.”
Yeon Liang quickly cut off my outburst and exhaled deeply.
“He seems to have resented being deceived—that she would feign death while remaining healthy.”
“I believed there would be at least some affection between husband and wife……. But it was all my delusion. I was merely a chess piece that served his purpose—nothing more than a game piece he could move at will.”
The Deposed Queen’s lips trembled as she began to weep as if she might faint.
We remained silently at her side until she regained herself.
* * *
“Are you feeling better now, Madam?”
“Thank you, Yeon. I showed you something shameful.”
The Deposed Queen, her eyes swollen and puffy, sniffled and offered me a smile.
That smile pulled at something in me, and I squeezed her hand firmly.
What must it feel like to be blackmailed by a former husband using your child as a hostage?
If I were in her position, I’d have lost my temper and buried a Hidden Blade in his skull.
No—that scoundrel didn’t deserve a painless death. Seven days of poison that melts the body from within would be more fitting.
“Yeon Liang. Soften that look. You’ll frighten someone to death. Who are you plotting to kill?”
Yeon Liang clicked his tongue and jerked his chin toward the Deposed Queen. She had the wide, startled eyes of a frightened rabbit.
“Oh—forgive me, Your Grace. I was only dwelling on what you told us, and my own temper flared up a bit.”
I hastily rearranged my face into a smile, and the Deposed Queen’s startled expression dissolved into laughter.
“I feel better knowing that Yeon Liang is angry on my behalf. Thank you, sister.”
Her face had brightened considerably. Watching for her reaction, I ventured carefully: “Will you… return to the Imperial Palace?”
“The Emperor has come himself and ordered my return. How could I refuse?”
The Deposed Queen answered with a bitter smile, folding her hands and straightening her spine.
“You may not understand me, Yeon Liang, but I understand your heart. You and I have lived such different lives.”
“Your Grace…”
“Yeon Liang. I have spent my entire life as a flower for ornament. Born the legitimate daughter of a great house, I was my father’s flower—then a blossom adorning the Emperor’s garden.”
The Deposed Queen murmured this self-consciously, her gaze lifting to the sky. Harsh sunlight poured down over her face.
“I cannot live by my own strength as you do. I am weak, incompetent—someone who cannot do anything without someone to care for me.”
“That’s not true, Your Grace. You endured that brutal Imperial Palace with such steadfastness. You are strong.”
“How generous you are. I wish we had become friends much sooner.”
The Deposed Queen lowered her head, stroking my cheek gently as she whispered.
“What I mean to say is… whether I like it or not, I can only live within the Imperial Palace. That is the flower I was cultivated to be. So it is right that I return.”
Her voice was quiet, matter-of-fact.
I wanted to tell her she was wrong—that flowers do not bloom all at once.
They must pierce the earth, send up shoots, root themselves, and endure scorching sun and harsh wind before the bud ever opens into bloom.
I wanted to tell her that everyone fights their own battles, large and small—that she had always been striving.
But the words wouldn’t come.
To reduce her life, all the time she had spent blooming, to a few words from me would be presumptuous.
After a long moment of silent struggle, I finally managed to speak.
“I will respect your choice, Your Grace.”
“Thank you for understanding. I’m sorry to have stolen these moments from you both with my hesitation.”
“Not at all, Your Grace. A decision this important demands careful thought. Please don’t burden yourself with it.”
At my words, the Deposed Queen smiled softly, lowering her long lashes.
“When I return… my name will be forgotten again. No one will remember it. I will no longer be the Deposed Queen—only the Imperial Concubine.”
“Your Grace…”
As my face darkened, the Deposed Queen poked my cheek playfully. A mischievous smile danced across her features.
“I’m not asking you to grieve, sister. This is my choice. That’s why I have a request.”
“Speak, Your Grace.”
“Will you remember my name, Yeon Liang? Even if no one else does?”
“Of course.”
The Imperial Concubine—no longer the Deposed Queen—leaned close to my ear and whispered softly. I lowered my voice and whispered her name back into hers.
“What a beautiful name, Your Grace.”
Yeon Liang, watching us, folded his arms and pretended to look offended.
“What’s this? Your Grace, am I to be left out?”
“It’s a secret between Yeon Liang and me. Don’t tell Yeon Liang—I mean, don’t tell the Master.”
“Of course. I’ll keep it to myself.”
I laughed and winked, and the Imperial Concubine burst into genuine laughter.
“I wish I could give you gold in gratitude… but this is all I have now. Will you keep it for me?”
She slipped the Jade Ring from her finger and placed it on mine.
“It suits you beautifully. If I ever need your aid, I’ll send word to Jinling. Will you come, Yeon Liang?”
“Of course.”
“Even if there’s no urgent business, please send me word of your adventures in the Martial World. I’ll always be curious about my friends.”
“I will.”
At my fervent reply, the Imperial Concubine’s expression grew resolute.
“When I return, I will become the most exalted flower in this land. I will bloom gloriously from the highest place I can reach. Then we will meet again, won’t we?”
“If you call for me, I will come, Your Grace.”
“Thank you. My friend beyond these walls.”
The Imperial Concubine smiled as she spoke, but her eyes were flushed and wet with tears.

I held the Deposed Queen close without a word.
Hoping that the path ahead for my graceful friend would not be too lonely.

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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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