The Five-Year-Old Baby Princess Rules the Palace - Chapter 55

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

#55. Happy Times

Huh?

The moment the door to the Crown Prince’s quarters opened, Eunhye and Lee-hwan, who had sprung up from their seats, widened their eyes at the sight of Queen Consort Park Ji-hee entering.

The waist of her majestic twelve-panel silk skirt was tightly bound with a cord, and the sleeves decorated with subtle gold leaf were rolled up above her wrists.

Moreover, behind Mother was Court Lady An, carefully following with a rather large round tray in her hands.

“M-Mother…”

Lee-hwan hurriedly came to his senses and stepped forward, bowing his head, while Eunhye also went to stand beside him with sparkling eyes.

‘There’s no ghost grandmother today?’

The Queen Consort glanced at the refreshments placed where the Crown Prince and Princess had been sitting, and a gentle smile hung at the corners of her mouth.

“The Crown Prince and Princess were having a good time together.”

“Yes, Mother. I have been negligent in not caring for the Princess more often.”

At Crown Prince Lee-hwan’s dignified words, the Queen Consort smiled warmly and shook her head.

“No, Crown Prince. The Princess knows how busy your days are, so it’s enough if you spend time together like this when time permits.”

“Yes, Mother. I will keep that in mind. Please, take a seat.”

When the Queen Consort sat down in the seat Lee-hwan had occupied earlier, Court Lady An, who had been following behind, set down the round tray.

“What are you doing? Sit down quickly.”

At the Queen Consort’s urging, without even rolling down her sleeves, Eunhye and Lee-hwan sat side by side in front of the table.

On the round tray was food that Eunhye had never seen before in her life, placed on a white porcelain plate lightly brushed with sesame oil.

“Mother, is this not boiled octopus? How did you…”

At Lee-hwan’s words, recognizing the food on the plate as boiled octopus, the Queen Consort smiled gently and nodded.

“That’s right. This is boiled octopus. Our Princess is probably seeing this for the first time, isn’t she?”

At the Queen Consort’s question, Eunhye nodded with her mouth half open.

“Yes, this is my first time seeing it.”

The pinkish-white octopus meat was cut into small, neat pieces and arranged like flower petals on the plate. In the center were finely julienned pear and fresh water parsley, arranged delicately and looking very appetizing.

The soy sauce served as a side dish gave off the savory aroma of sesame and the tangy scent of vinegar, making Eunhye’s small, cute nostrils twitch.

At that adorable sight, the Queen Consort laughed lightly, and Court Lady An, standing beside them, quickly bent down beside the table and picked up a small plate and chopsticks.

“I wanted to serve this with the main meal, but this mother took a bit long making it after such a long time. Still, it’s light food, so please try some.”

At the Queen Consort’s words, Lee-hwan looked at the food on the table with surprised eyes.

“Did you truly make this food with your own hands, Mother?”

At Lee-hwan’s question, the Queen Consort nodded with a kind smile, then used the chopsticks Court Lady An had provided to pick up a piece of boiled octopus, dip it in the sauce, place it on a small plate, and add some pear and water parsley on top.

Then she picked up all of it with the chopsticks and smiled at Eunhye, whose eyes had been shining the whole time.

“Crown Prince, may I let our Princess taste it first?”

“Of course.”

Lee-hwan also smiled warmly at Eunhye, who was already opening her mouth like a baby bird.

“Come, Princess, try it and tell me how it tastes.”

Eunhye eagerly accepted the boiled octopus that the Queen Consort fed her personally, still twitching her nostrils as she began to chew.

At that adorable sight, both the Queen Consort and Lee-hwan burst into laughter. Then Eunhye swallowed what was in her mouth and licked her lips with her tongue, smiling brightly as if it was delicious.

“Wow, Mother! It’s chewy yet savory, refreshing yet crunchy too. It’s very, very, very delicious!”

“Is that so?”

Eunhye smiled brightly at the Queen Consort, who nodded with a pleased smile, then put the tip of her chopsticks in her mouth and looked up at Lee-hwan.

“Brother, you should try it too. It’s really delicious!”

“Yes, now Crown Prince, you try some too.”

“Yes, Mother. Please have some as well.”

“No, I already tasted it while making it.”

The Queen Consort smiled warmly as she watched Eunhye and Lee-hwan enjoying the boiled octopus she had made.

“Princess, does it really suit your taste?”

Just as Eunhye was putting another piece of boiled octopus in her mouth, she smiled and nodded.

“Yes, even though I just finished my meal, it’s delicious.”

Then the Queen Consort picked up chopsticks from the table, picked up a piece of boiled octopus, and looked at Eunhye.

“Princess, I heard you were quite startled by the creature Lady Gyeongbin showed you recently.”

“Ah…!”

As if remembering that time, Eunhye rolled her eyes upward and swallowed the octopus in her mouth, then made a small frown.

“Yes, that was… really disgusting.”

Lee-hwan looked at Eunhye with a troubled expression as she shuddered.

Then the Queen Consort held up the piece of boiled octopus she was holding with her chopsticks to show Eunhye and spoke gently.

“This food is called boiled octopus, made by boiling a sea creature called octopus and slicing its flesh thinly. Also, what Lady Gyeongbin showed you was a creature similar to this octopus.”

“What? This is?”

At Eunhye’s surprised reaction, the Queen Consort smiled softly and nodded.

“What you saw was a creature called a small octopus, which is like a distant cousin to the octopus you’re enjoying now.”

“Ah… I find it hard to believe.”

To think that what she was eating so deliciously was similar to that bizarre and disgusting creature!

Eunhye quietly put down her chopsticks and blinked slowly.

“You said the boiled octopus you just ate was very delicious, didn’t you?”

Nod nod.

“The small octopus creature you saw also becomes very delicious food when boiled or stir-fried.”

The Queen Consort smiled at the adorable tilting face and brought the boiled octopus she was holding with chopsticks to Eunhye’s mouth.

“So don’t be afraid anymore. It’s just food that nourishes our bodies.”

At the Queen Consort’s words, Eunhye nodded and opened her small lips with an “ah.”

Lee-hwan, who had been watching that scene happily, picked up a piece of boiled octopus with his chopsticks and offered it to the Queen Consort with a smile.

“Mother, please say ‘ah’ too. I will feed you.”

“Hahaha! Well then, shall we try that?”

It was an evening when the happy sounds of Eunhye’s adorable giggling mixed with the joyful laughter of the Queen Consort and Lee-hwan brought smiles even to the faces of the court ladies outside the door.

After both the refreshment table and round tray had been taken away and the surroundings were tidied up, the Queen Consort looked at the Crown Prince and Princess sitting across from her with pleased eyes. Most of all, the most gratifying thing was that the Princess’s illness, which had caused so much worry, had noticeably improved.

The Queen Consort, who had been quietly watching the two children, looked at Lee-hwan and spoke.

“Crown Prince, I heard there was an argument today over the matter of Prince Chung-in and Hwanggu.”

Then Lee-hwan bowed his head as if apologetic.

“I am sorry for troubling your heart with my inadequacy, Mother. It was not a serious matter, just a brief misunderstanding with Prince Chung-in, so please do not worry greatly.”

Then the Queen Consort turned her head toward Eunhye and asked in a deliberately stern voice.

“Even though you are the legitimate Princess, Prince Chung-in is His Majesty the King’s son, yet you spoke back to him rudely?”

Then Eunhye, who had been looking at Lee-hwan, looked up at the Queen Consort with a startled face and quickly lowered her head.

“That was… Prince Chung-in… was dragging away brother’s Hwanggu and also… he spoke rudely to me first…”

As Eunhye poured out her story haltingly, pouting her lips as if feeling wronged, Queen Consort Park Ji-hee’s lips quietly curved into a smile.

This was a child who couldn’t even lift her head when looking at her, let alone talk back. Yet now that same child was getting all her thoughts out, even if haltingly. How admirable, how admirable.

The rumors circulating in the palace for the past two days were not false – this child’s illness had now completely healed.

But the Queen Consort hid these inner thoughts and once again gently scolded.

“Even so, wasn’t it wrong to speak rudely to Prince Chung-in, who is much older than the Princess?”

Then Eunhye, as if truly wronged, lifted her head briefly and looked at the Queen Consort with tears welling up in her eyes.

“But Mother, Prince Chung-in struck Nanny’s cheek. And very hard too…”

The tears that had finally burst forth fell with a patter onto the front of her yellow jacket.

Then Lee-hwan quickly bowed his head toward the Queen Consort and spoke.

“Mother, it is all my fault. I told Prince Chung-in he could come see Hwanggu but failed to set clear boundaries, which led to this incident, so please scold me instead of the Princess.”

Eunhye looked at Lee-hwan, who was defending her with tear-filled eyes, then looked up at the Queen Consort again.

“No! Hwanggu’s neck was all scraped up, bleeding and everything… Prince Chung-in was dragging Hwanggu away…”

“Enough. This mother was upset, so I acted that way. How could I not know your hearts?”

The Queen Consort slowly nodded toward the lovely Princess and dignified Crown Prince looking up at her and continued speaking.

“I have heard everything about your argument with Prince Chung-in that arose from his wrongful behavior. However, is this not the palace? And are you not this nation’s only legitimate prince and princess?”

Eunhye, who had been looking up at the Queen Consort, quickly wiped away the tears that had flowed down her face with her sleeve.

“The palace is a place where things that happened can become things that never happened, and things that never happened can be made into rumors. Also, you are always being watched silently by many people.”

The Queen Mother, who had been looking with pitying eyes at the reddened area around her eyes that she had wiped with her stiff silk sleeves, gestured for Eunhye to come closer. Then Eunhye, who had cutely pursed her lips, glanced at Lee-hwan and approached the Queen Mother on her knees.

“Therefore, as legitimate prince and princess, you must maintain dignity but be careful and more careful with all your words and actions. It is absolutely unacceptable for the affairs of the Crown Prince and Princess to be carelessly discussed by others’ loose tongues. Do you understand your mother’s words?”

The Queen Mother gently embraced Eunhye who had approached her, drawing her into her arms while smiling kindly.

“Yes, Mother. I will keep it in mind and keep it in mind again.”

“Yes, Mother. This girl will also keep it in mind.”

The Queen Mother nodded at the two children’s dignified responses and tightly embraced Eunhye who was fidgeting in her arms.

Along with the interesting rustling sound, a sweet floral fragrance wafted up.

Ah, how long has it been since I held this child? To think she’s this small, soft, and fragrant…

The Queen Mother, who had unconsciously closed her eyes tightly and lowered her chin over Eunhye’s crown, slowly opened her eyes at the rich floral scent penetrating her nose.

“Princess, now that I look, you have two more sachets I haven’t seen before. Seeing how full of floral fragrance they are, did your nanny make them for you?”

Eunhye’s eyes, who had been grinning happily in Mother’s warm embrace after so long, became round like a rabbit’s eyes dipped in soy sauce.

Ah, what should I say?

The fact that I have flowers from Taeshin Kingdom’s Goddess Sinmul and Sinmok is a secret, isn’t it?

At that moment, the Queen Mother’s hand holding Eunhye touched the rustling sachet!

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