The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 38

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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 Fallen Noblewoman’s Survival Record, Episode 38
‘Could it be… that execution would be spared?’
Hope—not hope, but something like it—was blooming in that moment.
[Therefore, a Brand Mark shall be impressed upon Hyogyeong’s forehead, and he shall labor in the Coal Mine for the remainder of his life.]
Hyogyeong’s eyes widened at this.
A brand mark.
To live as a criminal.
“No! Your Highness, anything but that!”
Hyogyeong fell to his knees in the mud and pressed his forehead to the ground.
He could not endure living with such a terrible disgrace—the mark of a criminal—displayed upon his forehead for all to see.
A man who had lived by the pen could never withstand the labor of a coal mine.
“Please, I beg you—take my life instead, Your Highness!”
Blood trickled from Hyogyeong’s forehead, spreading across the muddy ground.
But.
[Hyogyeong shall face that crime for the rest of his days.]
The punishment did not end there.
[Moreover, the Jipbaek declares that the criminal’s work is nothing but a Forged Text, a patchwork of the sages’ words.]
Hyogyeong’s eyes wavered.
“Forged? Forged?! It contains the very essence of my life’s work!”
The Jipbaek was his pride.
It was meant to be a masterwork that would endure in history even after his death.
His name was to echo through the generations.
And yet—a forged text from a criminal’s hand.
“Upon reviewing the Jipbaek, I found that roughly half of its passages overlap considerably with the teachings of the sages.”
So-ah added her words, citing specific passages from the Jipbaek.
[Whether one remains undefeated depends upon oneself; the opportunity to win depends upon one’s enemy.]
“This passage, I believe, was recorded long ago in treatises on strategy.”
[A long battle line is a long neck waiting to be severed.]
“This passage is no different.”
So-ah dismantled the Jipbaek’s passages one by one.
“That is—!”
“Would it not be more accurate to call this a commentary on the sages’ wisdom rather than a work of Hyogyeong’s own authorship?”
“But this is all—!”
“And who would read the work of a criminal who deceived others and sought to pin blame upon the innocent?”
So-ah set down Hyogyeong’s book with casual indifference.
Hyogyeong’s face had turned crimson, but he could not utter a word.
Before him, Seo-heon’s brush moved.
[Execute the sentence.]
A brief conclusion, written in but a few strokes.
In that same moment, soldiers seized Hyogyeong from both sides.
“Wait—please, wait—!”
Hyogyeong twisted and thrashed against them.
All composure before death had abandoned him.
The soldiers bound him and heated the Branding Iron over glowing coals.
“Your Highness! Your Highness—!”
As Hyogyeong’s cries pierced the air—
Sizzle—!
The red-hot Branding Iron descended upon his forehead.
Hyogyeong’s scream echoed through the Royal Palace.
His face twisted in agony and despair as an indelible mark was burned into his skin—a scar he would carry to his grave.
So-haengsoo, watching from nearby, trembled and went ashen.
So-haengsoo faltered, taking a step backward.
But then—a soft sound.
His back bumped against the soldiers standing behind him.
In that moment, Seo-heon raised his brush once more.
[The connection between Hyogyeong and the Cheonseong Merchant Company is now abundantly clear.]
The Secret Letter in his hand—
It was evidence of the conspiracy that Hyogyeong had fully confessed.
So-haengsoo’s body went rigid.
[For this Conspiracy, the Cheonseong Merchant Company too must face its deserved punishment.]
No’s words made So-haengsoo’s face drain of all color.
“Please, forgive me, my lord! I will do anything!”
So-haengsoo glanced sideways at the glowing branding iron and prostrated himself on the floor.
Then Seo-heon picked up his brush once more.
[First: Cheonseong is not a single man, nor does Cheonseong’s headquarters fall under Muokwangbu’s jurisdiction.]
Mercy gleamed at the brush’s tip.
Since the merchant company maintained its headquarters in Wiwangbu, he would not press the matter further.
So-haengsoo trembled with gratitude, bowing his head deeply.
“Your grace is boundless, my lord!”
But then.
[However.]
Seo-heon’s brush continued across the page.
So-haengsoo no longer cared what came next.
So long as he kept his life and escaped the criminal’s brand mark, he could bear anything.
Anything at all——
[Second: Cheonseong shall pay five hundred thousand silver taels to Muokwangbu as penalty.]
“……!”
Five hundred thousand taels of silver.
A single tael equaled a commoner family’s monthly expenses.
Five hundred thousand meant dismantling one of the pillars that supported Cheonseong entirely.
[Third: Effective immediately, all taxes levied by Cheonseong within Muokwangbu’s territory shall increase fivefold.]
Transit taxes, merchant stall fees, warehouse levies.
All of them swelled fivefold in a single stroke.
With revenues already shrinking because of Muokwangbu’s interference, such taxation amounted to nothing less than Cheonseong’s decline.
[Fourth: All Cheonseong ledgers recorded within Muokwangbu’s territory shall be subject to inspection by the Ministry of Treasury’s inspectors at any time.]
And finally—the authority to control Cheonseong’s very operations.
Once this took effect, conducting business in Muokwangbu would become far more difficult for Cheonseong.
So-haengsoo’s face went pale as he opened his mouth.
“My lord. Though I am guilty of supporting Hyogyeong, the punishment seems excessive for the crime……!”
The gaze behind the mask fixed upon him steadily.
【So the merchant haggling even over the price of his own guilt.】
[If you persist: I shall inform the Imperial Court that Cheonseong attempted to tamper with and replace imperial gifts.]
As Seo-heon issued this new command to No, So-haengsoo struck his head against the floor once more.
“My thinking was shallow, my lord!”
Should word of this reach the Imperial Court, the consequences would far exceed Muokwangbu’s mere regulations.
To lay hands on food destined for the Emperor—any who touched it deserved to see their line extinguished for three generations.
‘Even the Prince of Wiwangbu could not shield us from the Emperor’s judgment.’
So-haengsoo’s eyes filled with tears as he nodded in submission.
“Cheonseong will accept this penalty gladly, my lord.”
* * *
After soldiers escorted Hyogyeong and So-haengsoo from the chamber,
silence settled over the Throne Hall, and Ui-seop suddenly sagged into his seat.
“Minister! Are you unwell?”
A startled Woo-je rushed to support him.
Yet—
“Ha-ha, hahahaha……!”
Ui-seop broke into wild laughter.
“Five hundred thousand taels—five hundred thousand taels, you say……!”
He clutched his brow, laughing like a madman.
Already profitable, and now money would pour in from yet another source.
After laughing for some time, Ui-seop gathered himself and rose.
It was deeply satisfying to see Cheonseong rendered speechless.
Yet one concern remained.
“My lord, what if Cheonseong raises prices on goods or cuts off trade entirely due to these excessive rates……?”
“That is precisely what I intend.”
So-ah smiled as she answered.
One of the several tasks she had resolved to accomplish when first arriving here.
Muokwangbu’s economic independence.
In her past life, Muokwangbu had been hollowed out by Cheonseong’s capital, with the economy swayed by the merchant company’s every whim.
That had become the arrogant foundation for Seo-gon’s authority as Prince of Wiwangbu.
“The Byeokroe Merchant Company will be able to fill the void left by Cheonseong.”
So-ah’s gaze settled on Woo-je, who stood toward the back.
Thanks to their dealings with Yewangbu, she could now lay her own foundations within Muokwangbu.
‘Five hundred thousand taels in fines—enough to weather the transition.’
Cheonseong couldn’t withdraw all its operations immediately.
There was too much already invested and laid down.
But their foothold in Muokwangbu would shrink, bit by bit.
And that blow would ripple toward Wiwangbu as well.
Not forcing Cheonseong out, but making them withdraw of their own accord.
This too was exactly what she had wanted.
“In any case, it feels splendid!”
“I’ve never seen Cheonseong tuck their tail like this!”
No and several other officials chattered away in satisfaction.
Hyogyeong’s honor had been trampled and buried; Cheonseong’s coffers had run dry.
They hadn’t killed him—merciful, perhaps—but a harsher punishment than death itself.
In the midst of it all, Woo-je watched So-ah.
Not long ago.
When Cheonseong had inflated the price of medicinal herbs by several thousandfold.
When he’d stepped into gambling dens to earn that money.
“I’m thinking of establishing a merchant company in Muokwangbu and investing in it.”
That was when So-ah had spoken.
That she would build a merchant company.
That she wanted his talent for it.
He’d thought it absurd.
But here they were nonetheless.
In such a short span of time.
He gazed at So-ah without blinking.
Truly a remarkable person.
“Holding affection isn’t a sin, but you’ve chosen the wrong object.”
Woo-je suddenly recalled words Hyogyeong had once spoken to him.
He’d told So-ah that he was merely humoring Hyogyeong’s idle talk.
‘But….’
Just then, Woo-je became aware of another gaze directed at So-ah.
Hidden behind a mask, yet felt with perfect clarity.
Those eyes remained fixed on So-ah the whole while.
* * *
“Pack what you need for Wiwangbu at once!”
A sharp voice pierced through the Guest Quarters.
Mok-yeon gnawed at her lip, her gaze darting repeatedly toward the window.
‘How could Hyogyeong come to this?’
Her trembling fingers fiddled with the gold ring.
She’d trusted him because of his exceptional strategy.
‘If I’m caught up in this, it’s the end.’
She was the one who’d brought Hyogyeong here; she might have to pay the price for his crimes.
“Don’t worry, Miss. You’re betrothed to the Prince of Wiwangbu—surely even Muokwang wouldn’t dare touch you?”
Si-bi tried to reassure her from her side.
But wasn’t Hyogyeong also a man of Wiwangbu?
“Besides, isn’t the Muokwang Prince’s consort a woman of considerable standing?”
“Yes, no matter what, she’s family.”
Mok-yeon murmured, fidgeting nervously with the ring.
Still, she was So-ah’s relative.
She wouldn’t be treated coldly.
‘I even brought her a betrothal gift!’
Muokwang wouldn’t be stingy with family either.
The bond between So-ah and the Muokwang Prince seemed closer than she’d expected.
Then, slow and soft footsteps echoed through the Guest Quarters garden.
A woman entered with an unhurried gait, a lotus hairpin pinned in her hair.
“Sister, where are you going?”
At the sight of So-ah, Mok-yeon’s face drained of all color.

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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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