The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 34

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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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The Fall of House Seo, Episode 34
Mok Yeon never knew.
Whom she had brought into this room.
‘Probably just people she met at the Imperial Capital banquet.’
They were guests invited to show off her connections—not true friends to her at all.
After all, Mok Yeon had never moved comfortably among the nobility of the distant Muk Wang-bu.
But So Ah knew exactly how to win Hong Ok’s favor.
“The Fenghuang Danzong has a lovely cold fragrance, but the Geum Sara Tea carries floral notes—it’s meant to be enjoyed warm.”
“It seems Jin Dae-in and I share quite the palate!”
Hong Ok nodded in agreement.
Watching her, Mok Yeon’s face flushed crimson.
She had brought So Ah here to humiliate her—and instead was lifting her up.
“My, it seems young lady Seo has quite the appetite,” Mok Yeon said pointedly to Hong Ok, her words barbed.
Hong Ok stiffened at the dig.
But Hong Ok only nodded innocently as she placed a Crystal Fruit Candy in her mouth.
“Is there any pleasure greater than eating?”
Her face bloomed with contentment as she savored the confection that paired so well with the Geum Sara Tea.
Scorn flickered across Mok Yeon’s expression.
“Keep eating like that and your sash will burst.”
Hong Ok flinched at the taunt.
She remembered the remarks and pointed fingers of her relatives.
A pig with nothing but food on her mind.
Even her father had scolded her, saying she brought shame to the house with her unrefined behavior.
Then.
“A palate refined enough to distinguish such depth and variety of taste—why, young lady Seo must perceive far more in the same meal than others do.”
So Ah smiled gently, soothing Hong Ok’s anxiety.
“And what one eats, one can work off with movement.”
At So Ah’s words, Hong Ok’s lips softened into a smile.
Mok Yeon still did not know.
What Hong Ok would become in the years to come.
‘In my past life, she hid her identity and ran an inn in secret.’
The cuisine from that inn was so exquisite that people traveled from distant lands simply to taste her cooking.
Even the Imperial Court had sought her out, wanting to bring her into the palace.
‘I’d already meant to forge a connection with young lady Seo one day.’
Mok Yeon had handed her the perfect opportunity, arranging this gathering herself.
For So Ah, there was no reason to refuse.
“By the way, I’ve noticed the lord has been troubled lately,” So Ah ventured, touching her teacup as though speaking to herself.
She let the words drift out like an idle complaint.
“It seems people and goods have been flooding into Muk Wang-bu, yet there’s nowhere proper for the guests to lodge.”
The thriving trade with Ye Wang-bu.
And with all the commotion over the Byeokroe Yeom, the flow of outsiders into Muk Wang-bu never ceased.
“Merchants and laborers pass through, and yet there isn’t even a decent inn to speak of…….”
Her voice trailed off, and So Ah took another sip of tea.
A casual remark, tossed out like idle worry.
Yet Hong Ok’s lips, which had been chewing a Crystal Fruit Candy, went rigid.
“An inn, you say……?”
She swallowed the candy with a gulp, her round eyes gleaming with sudden interest.
“Food is the culture that represents a region, is it not? So it would be wonderful to have a place that could offer more than merely filling bellies and providing a place to sleep.”
As So Ah spoke, Hong Ok wet her lips with tea.
For her, food was far more than a means to fill one’s stomach.
It was a gift, a natural talent and sensibility.
Yet for a daughter of a noble house to run an inn was deemed vulgar—utterly unacceptable.
But deep within her chest, Hong Ok harbored a fierce hunger for commerce.
So Ah had aimed at that thirst with perfect precision.
“What sort of food do you think would draw people from distant places, young lady Seo?”
“Well, one must bring out the character of the local ingredients, surely!”
Hong Ok leaned forward, her voice suddenly animated and bright.
“Here in Muk Wang-bu, we’re famous for precious Byeokroe Yeom, pine nuts, mushrooms, and lamb—if we made use of those, we could create a pine mushroom lamb broth and……!”
Hong Ok was pouring out her words in excitement when she felt the cold stares of Mok Yeon and Mae Hee, and fell silent.
“Oh, forgive me—I spoke out of turn.”
“Pine mushroom and Byeokroe Yeom broth would certainly yield a different flavor entirely.”
Just as Hong Ok’s shoulders began to slump, So Ah nodded instead.
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Just hearing about it makes one want to taste it. To think of such a dish straightaway—you’re truly remarkable, Miss Seol.”
At So Ah’s genuine admiration, color bloomed across Hong Ok’s cheeks.
She had not expected to find someone who wouldn’t sneer at food talk as beneath them.
“Perhaps we might discuss such things again someday?”
So Ah extended her hand as she asked, her tone light and hopeful.
Hong Ok broke into a wide smile and grasped both of So Ah’s hands.
“Of course!”
Mae Hee, observing the scene, fanned herself with visible displeasure.
‘I didn’t come all the way to the Royal Palace for such pedestrian chatter.’
She had come hoping to cultivate at least some useful connection.
‘Coming from a Seo-nyeo background, she really has nothing to offer.’
As Mae Hee let out a quiet snort behind her fan—
“Miss Kim.”
So Ah’s gaze shifted toward Mae Hee.
“Your fan has caught my eye since a moment ago.”
“My fan?”
“Was it not crafted by the renowned Master Cho, using the Ungyeon technique?”
Mae Hee’s eyes narrowed.
She recognized the fan’s true quality?
“I’ve heard the Kim Family’s discernment is exceptional. Indeed, the rumors ring true.”
As So Ah offered the praise smoothly, Mae Hee began fanning herself with renewed vigor, her expression brightening.
‘I thought she had nothing worth noting, yet she does have an eye for such things.’
Pleased, Mae Hee naturally sipped the tea So Ah had poured for her.
Mok Yeon, watching this, swallowed a hollow laugh.
‘So Ah, you’re making sport of her!’
The sight of her playing up to curry favor was repugnant.
Since when had she learned to wag her tail so skillfully?
But So Ah did not stop there.
“Oh, how fortunate—something has just arrived that would suit Miss Kim perfectly!”
So Ah leaned over and whispered something to Young Gyo.
Young Gyo rose hastily and returned with a small case.
‘That is……!’
Mok Yeon recognized the case at once.
“You……!”
“I obtained this Jjeomchwi Binyeo recently, but I felt it didn’t suit me, so I’ve been troubled about what to do with it.”
So Ah opened the case without acknowledging Mok Yeon’s outburst.
Inside lay a hairpiece of deep blue adorned with pearls.
Each filament of blue waterfowl feather caught the light with an iridescent shimmer—a treasure so precious that the great ladies of the Imperial Capital would covet it desperately.
The very hairpiece that noble wives of the Imperial Capital would scramble to possess.
“How could you……!”
“I thought it would suit Miss Kim perfectly.”
Mae Hee forgot to fan herself, her eyes fixed on the exquisite Jjeomchwi Binyeo.
Unable to contain herself, Mok Yeon shot to her feet.
“That came from our house.”
“Yes. That’s right—our house sent it as part of my bride price.”
“Sent it? You?”
When she’d left home empty-handed at that!
As Mok Yeon let out a bitter laugh, So Ah tilted her head gently and smiled.
“Of course, I’m fully aware of the effort my sister took in seeing to its delivery.”
So Ah closed her eyes, her smile serene.
Delivery? Effort?
Heat crept up the back of Mok Yeon’s neck.
‘Just what kind of thing is that hairpiece!’
It was never meant to go to So Ah in the first place.
But Father’s attitude had shifted of late.
“Still, as the in-laws of the imperial family, we must maintain our standing. See that she wants for nothing.”
From the Byeokroe Yeom to the rarest silks.
A series of events had begun to put Muk Wang’s name on everyone’s lips at court.
Reading the subtle current, Jin Dae-in had belatedly sent the bride price gifts with care.
“You said the Jjeomchwi Binyeo was mine!”
“What of it? I can have another one procured for you, can’t I?”
“Do you think things can simply be procured? I waited four years to obtain that one!”
“Take it for now, establish your face with Muk Wang, then you can speak to So Ah—she’ll listen to you—and have her send it back. What of it?”
It was something she’d been forced to bring because her father placed worldly advancement first.
And now he wanted her to simply hand it over to the daughter of some provincial noble house?
“That’s not something you can treat carelessly!”
“Do you really think presenting a gift to Miss Kim is treating it carelessly?”
So Ah lifted her brows slightly as if at a loss, letting her gaze drift toward Mae Hee.
Mok Yeon turned her eyes toward Mae Hee, who stood nearby.
Mae Hee’s eyes had turned cold.
Oh.
Mok Yeon realized her mistake.
“What I meant to say was…….”
“Why do you fret so over a mere ornament, sister?”
As So Ah tilted her head in confusion, Mok Yeon’s face burned crimson.

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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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