The Five-Year-Old Baby Princess Rules the Palace - Chapter 76
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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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#76. That Guy is Definitely a Male Kumiho
Park Jeong-bin, swallowing his inner words, quickly rose from his seat and stepped down to the floor, grabbing Jihoo’s arm.
“Oh my, Young Lord, please get up now. Everyone is staring strangely.”
As Park Jeong-bin, disguised as a peddler, helped him up, Jihoo looked up at Eunhye and began sobbing again.
“Sob, sob, how could Princess… *hic hic*.”
“Shut your mouth. If you continue acting so conspicuously while Princess is here, I’ll knock you unconscious and drag you outside.”
Jihoo, who had been crying, swallowed his breath and stopped crying at the stern voice that rang low in his ears.
So the tavern owner that the scarred man from the Paper Shop at Yukeuijeon mentioned is indeed Princess Eunhye’s uncle.
Toward Jihoo, who was looking up at him with fearful eyes, Park Jeong-bin began making a loud fuss.
“Oh my, our Young Lord must have been terribly shocked when Princess suddenly disappeared!”
The people who had been sending curious glances at Jihoo’s dramatic entrance were nodding their heads at Park Jeong-bin’s loud voice.
“Our Princess said she wanted to see that general store over there, so we went there! Since we unintentionally startled our Young Lord, I’ll pay for today’s meal as an apology!”
At the antics of Jihoo wiping his tears with his sleeve and Park Jeong-bin, people chuckled and turned their heads away.
However, Eunhye and Lady Han, still with surprised eyes, could only stare intently at Jihoo as he hesitantly removed his shoes and climbed up to sit beside Park Jeong-bin.
The tavern owner approached beside Jihoo, who sat with his head deeply bowed, carrying another bowl of soup on a wooden tray, prepared from who knows when.
“Oh my, from the looks of it, you seem like a young lord from a noble family. Is that Princess over there perhaps your arranged bride? How did you come in calling so desperately? We thought our hearts would melt watching. Ho ho ho.”
As the tavern owner chattered while setting down the soup on the table, the surrounding customers laughed heartily, and Lady Han twisted her lips and raised her fist.
“What kind of loose mouth spouts just any words! Want to close your soup business today? How dare you pair anyone with our Princess! Ugh!”
“Oh my goodness!”
The tavern owner, who had shrunk back in shock at Lady Han’s fierce momentum, seemed to come to her senses as she raised her head and glared with both eyes.
“Well, from the looks of it, you seem like that Princess’s female servant, but how dare a servant girl speak so rudely to me!”
Oh no, this is trouble… Now it’s become a fight between two women. Park Jeong-bin squeezed his eyes shut at the chaos. Then he took money from his purse, slammed it down on the table with a thud, and spoke loudly.
“Stop it, both of you! Here’s the payment for the food. Princess, let’s go now. If we’re too late, the master will worry. Young Lord, hurry and come with us!”
Then Eunhye, who had been nodding regretfully as she stood up, quickly picked up a piece of meat pancake from the table with her hand and popped it into her mouth.
“Oh my, Princess, your hands!”
At that sight, Lady Han, who had been glaring at the tavern owner with a fierce expression, took out a cloth from her sleeve and turned to Eunhye.
Then she grabbed the small oil-covered hand and wiped the plump fingers clean while lifting her chin toward the tavern owner.
“Since we paid for food we didn’t even eat, wrap up this meat pancake. No, please wrap it up!”
The tavern owner, who glanced at the considerable amount of money on the table and snatched it up, took the meat pancakes from the table and disappeared toward the kitchen.
Only then did Park Jeong-bin sigh and shake his head before looking at Lady Han.
Ah, it’s truly fortunate that woman is a palace lady. If she had become a commoner’s wife, she would have beaten her husband like dried pollack.
Then he looked at Jihoo, whose face was covered in dust with thick tear tracks running down in two lines, and asked curiously.
“Young Lord, why did you come all the way here?”
Then Jihoo raised his chin as if it were obvious and answered.
“As a subject, worrying about and watching over the safety of the nation’s… anyway! It’s natural to be concerned about Princess’s well-being.”
Just as Park Jeong-bin frowned as if Jihoo’s answer was even stranger and was about to speak, the tavern owner approached the group with meat pancakes wrapped in oil paper.
“Hey there, since you didn’t seem to eat any of the food, I wrapped up a bit more, so take it and eat it when you get back. I’m sure it’s so delicious that you’ll definitely come again.”
The tavern owner glared fiercely at Lady Han, who was blinking at her, then pressed the meat pancakes into Park Jeong-bin’s hand and turned away with a huff.
“Haah…”
Park Jeong-bin sighed heavily again and shook his head while looking down at the meat pancakes in his hand.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
The gazes of the four people who came out of the tavern were all tangled. Lady Han looked at Eunhye, Eunhye looked at the spirit called Master Choi beside her, Park Jeong-bin looked at Jihoo, and Jihoo looked at Eunhye.
It was Park Jeong-bin who broke their silence.
“But Young Lord, exactly how do you know our Princess?”
Then Eunhye raised one corner of her mouth cutely and looked at Jihoo.
“That Young Lord is the son of Lord Jipyeong, who is my teacher, Uncle.”
Then Park Jeong-bin, who had been nodding as if he finally understood, suddenly furrowed his eyebrows thickly and asked again.
“But then, how does the Young Lord, who is Lord Jipyeong’s son, know our niece?”
Our niece?
With a shocked face, Jihoo looked back and forth between Park Jeong-bin in peddler’s clothing and Eunhye, then opened his eyes wide and asked.
“If I may be so bold… did you say niece? Is that truly what you meant?”
Then Park Jeong-bin looked at Jihoo with an expression as if he was seeing the most ridiculous person and frowned.
“An adult asked first, so where do you get off asking back so impudently?”
Then Eunhye burst out laughing. Didn’t that Jihoo fellow say something similar to her not long ago when she didn’t know she was a princess?
What was it he said about not being properly educated?
Eunhye looked at the flustered Jihoo with a satisfied expression and a bright smile.
“I apologize! I was so surprised and flustered that I committed a great breach of etiquette.”
Eunhye, who had been watching Jihoo bow his head deeply with a smiling face, looked up at Park Jeong-bin.
“Uncle, it’s nothing much. We happened to meet by chance in front of the palace… no, in front of the house the other day. There was also a mistake on my part, so please don’t scold him too much.”
Then she stepped forward toward Jihoo and smiled brightly.
“Looking at your disheveled clothes, it seems you also provided quite a bit of help with what happened today. You worked hard.”
Then Park Jeong-bin nodded and extended one hand toward Jihoo.
“You worked hard, Young Lord. Now go home and rest comfortably.”
Then Jihoo, who grasped Park Jeong-bin’s hand with both hands, raised his clear, jet-black eyes and looked at Eunhye with a pleading gaze, speaking as if begging.
“Princess, please let me accompany you just to the entrance. Please?”
Then Park Jeong-bin and Lady Han spoke in unison for the first time.
“Why should that be necessary?”
“Why?”
Jihoo, who instantly turned red up to his ears, buried his head toward the ground and spoke in a voice that seemed to crawl away.
“Just… I want to confirm that Princess enters safely.”
What kind of nonsense is this?
Lady Han glared fiercely at Jihoo.
Despite having dust all over his face, he was a young lord with exceptionally fair and clean skin, a rather prominent nose bridge, and large, beautifully lined eyes.
He was Lord Jipyeong’s son, wasn’t he?
Even when she encountered him at the palace last time, she had felt it, but he was so beautiful that it was questionable whether he was truly born male.
The eyelashes covering his eyes were so long and neat, as if an artist from the painting bureau had drawn each strand with a fine brush, so black and long.
And why were his lip lines so beautiful? Despite being male, he had seductive lip shape with upturned ends, and his lip color was like ripe cherries.
Lady Han shook her head as she looked away from Jihoo’s almost enchanting face.
Then, Jihoo, who had been keeping his eyes downcast with his head bowed, raised his beautiful eyelashes and looked at Eunhye.
“Couldn’t I go with you just to the front of the Palace, Princess?”
Wow! Look at this young lord, he’s enchanting people. Could this young lord possibly be a kumiho?
Lady Han stared intently at Jihoo’s face, which was as beautiful as a peerless beauty despite being covered in grime, and shook her head vigorously.
“Absolutely not! There are proper protocols, so why should a young lord who is an outside man walk together with our Princess? Absolutely not!”
That’s right. How dare he approach our niece!
Then Park Jeong-bin nodded as if agreeing.
“I’m grateful for the great help you provided today. I don’t know the details, but since you say you’ve met our Princess before, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep today’s events as a secret between just you and us.”
To Jihoo, who finally nodded weakly as if giving up, Park Jeong-bin spoke in a stern voice different from before.
“And it would be best to erase from your mind the place we went to earlier and what you saw there. If you ever get curious and go back to that place again.”
Park Jeong-bin, who cut off his words midway, lowered himself to look directly into Jihoo’s eyes.
“It would hasten your death, so you must forget today’s events. Understood?”
Jihoo looked at Eunhye once with a dejected face, then nodded silently.
Then he stepped forward toward Eunhye, who was blinking and looking at him.
“This humble one was very pleased to see Princess’s gracious face today. Please stay in good health until we meet again next time.”
“Yes. You also seem to have… worked hard today, so go back and rest well.”
“Yes.”
Jihoo, who bowed deeply toward Eunhye, turned around weakly. Then, as he was trudging toward the direction of his home, suddenly Eunhye’s clear voice was heard.
“Young Lord Jihoo! Wait a moment.”
Jihoo turned his head with a brightened face, and saw Eunhye, who had snatched the oil paper wrapped meat pancakes from Park Jeong-bin’s hand.
Eunhye stepped forward toward Jihoo, holding the fairly thick meat pancakes with both hands, and smiled brightly.
“I see you’ve also skipped your midday meal, so go home and eat this. I tried a piece earlier and it was quite delicious.”
“Ah, Your Highness, I am deeply honored!”
Jihoo knelt before Eunhye with a moved expression, raising both hands high to reverently receive the meat pancakes wrapped in oil paper as if they were an imperial edict.
What a damn ridiculous spectacle.
Lady Han watched Jihoo and muttered in disbelief, frowning at his behavior.
“Wh-what are you doing? You’re embarrassing us in front of others, so get up quickly!”
Eunhye was startled by Jihoo’s excessive display and shouted while waving her hands. Park Jeong-bin also shook his head in disbelief and turned around completely.
But Jihoo stood up with the happiest expression in the world and smiled beautifully at Eunhye, his eyes crinkling gently.
“This humble servant will deeply engrave Your Highness’s boundless kindness in my heart and devote my loyalty until the day I die.”
Damn, such grandiose words over a few pieces of meat pancake. How did such a cunning son come from a taciturn man like Lord Jipyeong?
Could that boy possibly be a kumiho that devoured Lord Jipyeong’s real son and is pretending to be his child?
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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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