The Five-Year-Old Baby Princess Rules the Palace - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#17. Battle of Wills

Meanwhile, at that moment in Jagyeong Palace, Queen Dowager Jeong, who had been waiting for Lady Gyeongbin, gulped down the water brought by the palace servants.

“Lady Gyeongbin… I should never have allowed that woman into the palace back then.”

The wrinkled knuckles of her hand gripping the empty water bowl trembled finely.

Lady Gyeongbin Choi Hye-ryeong.

She was the precious youngest daughter of Left State Councilor Choi Nak-hyeon, and the woman who had almost become the consort of her eldest son who had been Crown Prince, then king, but died early after ascending the throne.

They say fate is determined by heaven.

Queen Dowager Jeong had wanted to create strong backing for her eldest son, who had received the Crown Prince position early due to His Majesty’s chronic illness.

Therefore, she had selected Left State Councilor Choi Nak-hyeon’s daughter as Crown Princess, but the councilor’s daughter vehemently opposed submitting her name for selection.

Rather than submit her name to become Crown Princess, she said she would shave her head and enter a temple to become a nun.

At his daughter’s threat that wasn’t quite a threat, Choi Nak-hyeon even performed the ritual of confession before the king to beg forgiveness, and the Crown Princess position was taken by the Minister of Revenue’s daughter, who now sat in the hollow position of Queen Dowager.

She hadn’t known then.

That long before marriage talks between the current king Prince Gyeongbok and Park Ji-hee, daughter of the great general, were even mentioned, that child Choi Hye-ryeong had been secretly in love with Prince Gyeongbok alone…

Queen Dowager Jeong slammed the water bowl she was holding onto the table with all her strength and shouted toward the outside.

“Why is there still no word from This Servant who went to summon Lady Gyeongbin!”

Just as the enraged Queen Dowager’s voice burst forth, as if timed perfectly, Lady Gyeongbin entered through the opened door, beautifully adorned and carrying a small table.

Unlike Queen Consort Park Ji-hee, Lady Gyeongbin had a slender figure and pale skin, and was clearly fox-faced at first glance.

Her long, narrow eyes that curved slightly upward held a certain haughtiness, and her unusually red lips formed an enchanting smile that harmonized with her smooth, prominent nose bridge to bewitch people.

Though she must have seen her displeased expression as she entered the door, Lady Gyeongbin set down the table she was carrying with a gently smiling face. Then she clasped her hands together and bowed.

No wonder His Majesty was bewitched by her…!

Queen Dowager Jeong glared at Lady Gyeongbin with fierce eyes as she sat down demurely after bowing.

“Queen Dowager, you summoned me. I happened to be preparing something to present to Your Majesty, so I was delayed a little. Please forgive me.”

She speaks well with that cunning tongue of hers.

Queen Dowager Jeong glanced at the table Lady Gyeongbin had brought and opened her mouth with stern eyes.

“What could I possibly want to receive from Lady Gyeongbin that you delayed your arrival preparing such a thing?”

A fierce energy emanated like the growling of a tiger.

“I apologize, Queen Dowager. I thought in my filial heart that I might help restore even a little strength to Your Majesty’s aged body.”

“Lady Gyeongbin!”

Queen Dowager Jeong’s angry voice burst forth at Lady Gyeongbin, who continued speaking with a bewitching expression without batting an eye despite her stern face and scolding tone.

Only then did Lady Gyeongbin lower her head with a hardened face, her lips trembling as she slowly raised her eyes.

“May I dare ask the reason for Your Majesty’s anger? If it’s because I arrived late after being summoned…”

Bang!

Queen Dowager Jeong’s palm, which struck the desk hard enough to break it, was trembling.

“Are you mocking me now? You surely have eyes and ears planted throughout the palace, so you clearly know why I summoned you, yet you babble with that shameless face and bewitching mouth.”

Lady Gyeongbin met Queen Dowager Jeong’s gaze that seemed ready to shoot blue flames directly, took a deep breath slowly, and quietly opened her red lips.

“Queen Dowager, I truly do not know what I have done so wrong.”

“Look at that brazen thing. Do you need to be beaten with a rod before you’ll prostrate yourself and beg?”

At Queen Dowager Jeong’s roar that burst forth again, Lady Gyeongbin clenched her teeth and lowered her gaze before speaking again.

“Perhaps you’re referring to when I brought nutritious food to Princess Eunhye’s Palace about an hour ago? If so, that was a small mistake on my part for not considering the princess’s young age.”

“A mistake? Did you just say mistake!”

Frost seemed to form in Lady Gyeongbin’s eyes as she looked at the Queen Dowager who seemed ready to slap her face at any moment.

“I am honored, Queen Dowager. I never dreamed Princess Eunhye would be so frightened. I only thought she would find it fascinating and amusing, so I brought it with a joyful heart. Please believe my sincerity.”

After finishing her words, Lady Gyeongbin bowed deeply as if truly repentant.

How truly detestable!

Queen Dowager Jeong’s chest heaved greatly as she suppressed her rising anger, and she looked coldly at the table Lady Gyeongbin had brought.

“So that is the fascinating and nutritious food that’s good for the body that you showed the princess and brought to me?”

Lady Gyeongbin looked at the Queen Dowager who was openly treating her with contempt while keeping This Servant beside her, her teeth clenched tight.

Why does this old woman hate me so much?

Though she had entered the palace as a selected concubine, wasn’t she a daughter-in-law who had borne two grandsons? Moreover, how great a role had her family played in supporting the current king’s ascension?

Lady Gyeongbin suppressed her rising anger and answered demurely to the Queen Dowager who wore a mocking smile.

“Yes, Queen Dowager, that is correct.”

Then she personally lifted the cover from the table she had brought. Revealed were two small dishes of kimchi cut to uniform size and appetizingly seasoned, and a fairly large brass bowl covered with a lid that gave off a subtle glow.

The back of Lady Gyeongbin’s hand was pale white as she suppressed her boiling heart with anger.

“This is called octopus soft-boiled soup. It’s a soup made with a creature called octopus caught alive and sent from my family’s mother’s hometown, said to be especially effective for restoring energy.”

Lady Gyeongbin opened the lid of the brass bowl with gentle hands and showed the Queen Dowager a serene smile she didn’t mean.

In the white broth that was still hot and steaming, plump octopus curled its body while giving off a subtle ocean fragrance.

Moreover, refreshing and light-looking white radish and green water parsley were harmoniously arranged with neatly chopped scallions in an appetizing presentation.

Queen Dowager Jeong looked at Lady Gyeongbin, who had changed her expression and was smiling mysteriously, and raised one corner of her mouth crookedly.

She couldn’t help but know about her unresolved anger, yet she was utterly shameless.

Lady Gyeongbin, are you trying to have a battle of wills with me now?

Queen Dowager Jeong looked at Lady Gyeongbin with disdain, who wore a serene smile as if nothing had happened just moments before, and opened her mouth.

“So you showed this precious thing sent from your family to the princess first? Though the princess is still young, she wouldn’t cry from being startled by food. How strange.”

Lady Gyeongbin looked at Queen Dowager Jeong, who was now addressing her with honorifics unlike before, with subtle eyes, then finally lowered her eye corners and even bowed her head as if admitting wrongdoing.

“I apologize, Queen Dowager. In my foolishness, I thought Princess Eunhye would be very amused to see the fascinating form of a living, moving creature.”

“Ha!”

At Queen Dowager Jeong who clicked her tongue as if astounded, Lady Gyeongbin bowed her head deeply as if sincere.

“Please believe me, Queen Dowager!”

Queen Dowager Jeong looked down at her with disdain, her lips twisting to one side.

“So, did our princess find it amusing?”

At Queen Dowager Jeong who questioned her with informal speech again, Lady Gyeongbin lowered her eye corners sadly and shook her head.

“Contrary to my thoughts, the young princess was only frightened upon seeing this creature’s appearance. Please scold me for my rashness.”

“Hah, you won’t say you did wrong until the very end! Lady Gyeongbin! How dare a mere concubine mock this nation’s legitimate princess! I heard you just turned and left after the young princess fell over in fright! And you dare bring this thing to me and push it forward? Do you fear nothing at all!”

Crash!

The enraged Queen Dowager grabbed the table with the soft-boiled soup with both hands and overturned it forcefully toward Lady Gyeongbin.

“Kyaaaah! Queen Dowager!”

The soup and side dishes on the overturned table poured over Lady Gyeongbin along with their bowls.

Water parsley and scallion pieces stuck all over her beautifully arranged hair and face, and a plump octopus sat on her expensive twelve-panel silk skirt along with the abundant broth.

“Oh my, Lady Gyeongbin, I was trying to get a closer look at the fascinating creature and my hand slipped.”

Queen Dowager Jeong suppressed the laughter that wanted to escape at the ridiculous sight of radish pieces and water parsley sitting atop Lady Gyeongbin’s elaborate hairstyle, and spoke in a pretend surprised voice.

“Queen Dowager! How could you do this to me!”

At Lady Gyeongbin’s scream-like cry, the door to the Queen Dowager’s palace opened with a loud noise. And through that door, Queen Consort Park Ji-hee strode in.

“Queen Dowager!”

The Queen Consort, who cried out in surprise at the absurd sight before her eyes and hurried over, looked down at the disheveled Lady Gyeongbin.

“Lady Gyeongbin… what happened here?”

At the Queen Consort who looked at her with surprised eyes as if she truly knew nothing, Lady Gyeongbin sent a venomous glare and clenched her teeth tight.

For a brief moment, the Queen Consort looked Lady Gyeongbin up and down with a cold smile, then spoke sternly toward the door.

“Someone come! Lady Gyeongbin seems to have accidentally spilled while carrying a heavy table, so come in and clean this up!”

Then she spoke to Lady Gyeongbin, who was trembling with uncontainable anger, as if pitying her.

“How can someone of the rank of 1st Grade Consort personally carry such a heavy table? How undignified. If someone who didn’t know saw Lady Gyeongbin’s appearance now, they’d think you were a tavern keeper from the marketplace.”

What?

As if blue flames had sparked, venomous eyes full of resentment glared straight at the Queen Consort. Then the Queen Consort, raising only one corner of her mouth at that sight, bent down and whispered coldly in Lady Gyeongbin’s ear.

“How dare you compare my daughter to a lowly marketplace person?”

Then she immediately turned and sat gently before Queen Dowager Jeong, bowing her head.

“Queen Dowager, are you hurt anywhere? Lady Gyeongbin seems to have made a mistake carrying the table alone without an attendant, so please forgive her for my sake. I will apologize on behalf of my poor management of subordinates.”

Then Queen Dowager Jeong, finally wearing a satisfied smile, looked at Lady Gyeongbin with an infinitely benevolent face as if nothing had happened.

“Lady Gyeongbin, from now on have your servants handle such tasks. How undignified for a 1st Grade Lady Gyeongbin who has borne two princes to personally do such work. Today I’ll let it pass for the Queen Consort’s sake. And I’ll consider that I’ve tasted Lady Gyeongbin’s mysterious creature dish, so please leave now.”

It was an order to leave.

Queen Dowager Jeong’s eyes were saying ‘Now get lost.’

Lady Gyeongbin, unable to burst with her resentful feelings and only taking deep breaths through her nose, squeezed her eyes shut tight then opened them before slowly rising from her seat.

An octopus that had been sitting wetly on her skirt fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

At this sight, Lady Gyeongbin gritted her teeth once more, clenched her fists tightly within her soaked hanbok, and slowly bowed her head.

“This humble consort humbly begs Your Majesty the Queen Dowager’s forgiveness for acting rashly out of filial devotion to offer precious food.”

Then even the water parsley and radish pieces that had been on her wet skirt fell to the floor with a plop.

Queen Dowager Jeong, who could no longer hold back her laughter, flared her nostrils and clenched her teeth while silently nodding her head.

Then she raised her wrinkled hand and waved it back and forth as if telling her to leave.

After bowing once more toward the Queen Dowager and backing away while dragging her soaked skirt, Lady Gyeongbin heard the Queen Mother’s mocking farewell reach her ears.

“Take care, Lady Gyeongbin.”

A menacing grinding sound came from Lady Gyeongbin’s mouth as she backed over the threshold of the Queen Dowager’s Residence.

I will definitely make you regret today.

I will definitely elevate my son to Crown Prince, make him king of this nation, and cause you bitches to shed tears of blood!

This was Lady Gyeongbin’s vow as she glared at the door closing before her eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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