The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 16

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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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Fallen Noblewoman’s Survival Record, Episode 16
Once they’d ridden far from the city, a gorge ringed with boulders came into view.
A desolate ravine where not a single blade of grass grew.
When Seo Heon dismounted from his horse, the carriage trailing behind came to a halt.
The carriage door creaked open.
Through the gap emerged Jin Jae-in, wrapped in a white scarf.
Black hair rippled like water in the wind that swept across the land.
“Thank you for agreeing to my request.”
Jin Jae-in smiled brightly as she stepped from the carriage.
Seo Heon offered no reply.
He had brought her here simply because something weighed on his mind.
General Maeng, the servants—all of them.
From the moment she’d arrived in this strange place, she had encountered nothing but misfortune.
And besides… what had happened at the Watchtower.
‘I, too, have received help in various ways.’
Such a small favor was worth granting.
Yet that, too, was a puzzle.
Why had she wanted to come here?
As if in answer, Jin Jae-in, who had been gazing at the gorge, spoke.
“From a distance, it struck me as peculiar.”
Peculiar?
“Everywhere else is covered with snow or frozen over, but this gorge alone—not a speck of snow, the earth laid bare.”
In shaded valleys, ice melts slowly.
Yet Byeok Roe Valley remained pristine, untouched by accumulated snow.
Now that he thought of it, snow rarely accumulated in Byeok Roe Valley at all.
At that moment, Jin Jae-in pointed toward the gorge.
“Mountain goats.”
A herd of mountain goats clustered in the crevices of barren stone.
No Chong-gwan adjusted his spectacles and nodded.
“Animals appear frequently in this gorge. Perhaps it’s because people rarely venture here?”
“But isn’t that strange?”
The mountain goats were licking the gorge floor, where not a single blade of grass grew.
“Well, with no grass to be found, they must be so hungry they’re eating dirt.”
“It seems the rocks here must have some flavor to them.”
No Chong-gwan laughed at Jin Jae-in’s absurd remark.
So she could jest like that.
Yet her expression remained quite grave.
“You mentioned that no grass grows in Byeok Roe Valley, ice doesn’t freeze here, and lightning strikes frequently?”
“Yes, but—?”
Then Jin Jae-in fearlessly stepped into the gorge.
“Jin Jae-in!”
Without hesitation, she pressed her fingertip to a rock and tasted it.
“You’re tasting the rock?!”
No Chong-gwan tried to stop her from such folly.
But Jin Jae-in turned to face the stunned onlookers and spoke.
“The rock tastes salty.”
Salty?
In that instant, something flashed through Seo Heon’s mind.
At his gesture, No Chong-gwan followed Jin Jae-in’s example and tasted the rock.
And then—
“It’s—it really is salty!”
A saltiness so strong it made his tongue tingle.
“This is clearly salt…!”
At No Chong-gwan’s words, the warriors too couldn’t resist tasting the rock.
Unmistakably salt. Rock salt.
He couldn’t believe it.
How could salt be found in an inland mountain gorge that had no access to the sea?
The warriors immediately began searching the gorge.
And then—
“My lord…! Over here!”
A crevice among rocks where goats had gathered.
Beyond it, a vast salt cavern unfurled.
“It’s Soft Red Salt!”
Deep within the cavern.
Pink salt crystals bloomed in profusion like flowers scattered across a barren ravine, glittering in the darkness.
Soft Red Salt was a rare mineral found only on distant foreign continents.
It was not merely salty but carried subtle sweetness and umami that elevated any dish, treating it quite literally as a spice more precious than gold.
Seo Heon and the Chief Administrator followed the soldiers into the salt cavern.
“This—this is an enormous quantity, isn’t it!”
The Chief Administrator’s jaw fell slack.
There was so much Soft Red Salt that Byeok Roe Valley seemed to be made entirely of salt.
The deeper they went, the purer the salt became.
“Even a gold mine wouldn’t yield this much!”
“Who would have imagined this accursed valley held such natural treasure!”
Salt, so precious in the interior lands.
And a ravine of Soft Red Salt, which barely existed even on the continent itself!
Then Jin Jae-in, who had been standing back, smiled softly.
She already knew.
‘A thousand years of Byeok Roe Valley’s blessing should sustain us.’
In her previous life, this cavern was discovered some three years hence.
Even Seo Gon, who scorned the northern provinces, coveted this rock salt mine.
With salt prices particularly high this year, the cavern would become a treasure beyond measure.
Moreover, developing a salt mine would require vast numbers of workers.
The administrative office would begin recruiting salt miners starting tomorrow.
“I heard the relief supplies didn’t include salt, but fortune smiles on us.”
Seo-a laughed gently.
More than enough to fill Muk Province’s salt shortage.
Better yet—soon other provinces would bow their heads to them for salt.
* * *
Returning to the palace, Seo Heon burned all his previous correspondence and began drafting new letters.
The Chief Administrator watched him with quiet satisfaction.
“Ye Province has been troubled by salt supply troubles every year as well—this works out well.”
At the Chief Administrator’s words, Seo Heon nodded briefly.
“Isn’t it remarkable, though?”
Remarkable how?
“Ever since Jin Jae-in arrived, only fortune has befallen Muk Province. She’s truly a blessing, a walking blessing!”
The Chief Administrator clapped his hands together excitedly.
How many ills she had relieved.
General Maeng, Hye-rang, the salt—
“Would anyone have thought to find a salt cavern there without Jin Jae-in?”
Snow that never accumulated.
Vegetation that never grew.
Lightning that struck the land.
Everyone regarded the barren ravine with dread, yet never once suspected the salt was the cause.
‘It is strange…’
It was Jin Jae-in who proposed ascending Byeok Roe Valley today.
As if she knew salt would be found there.
A scene flashed suddenly through Seo Heon’s mind.
“I merely came up to see Muk Province from above.”
And the direction she had gazed toward then—it was the direction of Byeok Roe Valley.
‘Did she deduce it from that?’
From noticing the absence of accumulated snow in the ravine?
He recalled Jin Jae-in’s expression when she discovered the salt mine.
A face serene and still, unruffled amid the surprise and excitement of all around her.
She was a woman whose face had never been particularly expressive.
Always calm, always composed.
Sometimes another face would flit across her features, yet Seo Heon knew it was a mask.
A feigned smile.
Deliberate fragility.
Calculated coldness.
‘A woman wearing an even thicker mask than I do.’
He wondered what lay hidden beneath that facade.
Still.
“Ha……! Did you really think I’d throw myself from the Watchtower?”
Was that laughter genuine?
Seo Heon, who had fallen into thought for a moment, shook his head lightly to clear away the stray musings.
‘I have too much to do for such idle thoughts.’
Seo Heon picked up his brush again.
“If I present the emperor with the finest salt crystals, I can repay the debt to Wei Province, which sent the relief supplies.”
A conversation Jin Jae-in had had in passing with Supervisor Noh came back to him.
‘It’s as though she reads my very thoughts.’
The ink spread fluidly from the brush’s tip.
* * *
The garden of Wei Palace, flowers in full bloom.
“I didn’t know you held Jae-in so dear to your heart.”
Mok Yeon poured tea with a note of regret in her voice.
At that, Seo Gon fixed her with a steady gaze.
“Mok Yeon.”
“Yes, sir.”
“……I hear you’ve been seeking a match.”
Seo Gon asked as Mok Yeon set down the teapot.
“I’ve come of age, so my parents…….”
“Will you marry into Wei Palace?”
“Pardon? Are you serious?”
“You are a legitimate daughter of the Jin Family, are you not?”
Seo Gon nodded as though it were obvious.
“It should have been this way from the start.”
“From the start……?”
“Did someone not decline to take a Fallen Noblewoman?”
Seo Gon laughed softly.
Another jibe at Jae-in.
Mok Yeon laughed along with him and ventured carefully to speak.
“I’m worried about Jae-in—she’s sensitive to the cold.”
“……Is she?”
Seo Gon’s gaze drifted toward the window.
Now that he thought of it, she had shivered in winter once, and he’d draped cloth over her shoulders.
“I hear Jae-in volunteered to go to Muk Province.”
“Yes, she came to me suddenly and said she would go herself.”
“……Do you know why she did?”
“Perhaps she hoped to forge some connection between a Fallen Noblewoman and an imperial prince?”
“A connection with a prince? And she’d travel all the way to Muk Province for that…….”
Seo Gon let out a hollow laugh.
The hand bringing the teacup to his lips faltered.
“The fragrance is different from usual.”
“Pardon? It’s the same tea leaves we always use……. Shall I fetch new leaves at once?”
As Mok Yeon moved to clear the teacup, Seo Gon shook his head.
“Never mind. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself over the servants’ work.”
Seo Gon set down the teacup.
Then.
“Sir, a carriage has arrived from Muk Province!”
“What?”
At the news that shattered the stillness, Seo Gon’s brow furrowed.

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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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