Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 103

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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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Chapter 103
Sam-cheon often found herself thinking about it.
What happened to the deaths she witnessed in her dreams? When an event never came to pass, where was the rage left without its target supposed to go?
Was she meant to carry it with her, or was she meant to forget?
She’d tried to forget when she could, but cases that carried the weight of many deaths were different.
In particular, the sight of soldiers dying before her eyes had left deep scars on Sam-cheon.
Death on the battlefield is not quiet. Soldiers she’d exchanged warm greetings with just that morning had their necks torn away, their entrails spilled onto the ground.
Even if it had become nothing but a dream, it was a memory difficult to forget. Mid-breath, emotion would suddenly surge up and cloud her thinking.
The poisoning case was no different. It had faded into obscurity, reduced to a matter of catching a traitor, but Sam-cheon could not forget the faces of the soldiers who had breathed their last before her.
The rage that had pooled inside Sam-cheon finally erupted when the Great King issued his Royal Edict.
“This doesn’t make any sense!”
The moment she cried out, Gye-san brought both hands down hard on the table.
“Exactly! How long have we even been back, and now he’s ordering another military expedition?”
Gye-san’s jaw trembled visibly, fury getting the better of her.
Gyeol, who had been sitting quietly, rose unsteadily and threw open the window. Unable to bear the suffocation, she drew a deep breath.
[This is infuriating. Since when does wearing a crown make you a Great King? All that power, and he’s nothing but a spineless coward.]
Now she was being ordered to suppress Lawless Brigands who had illegally occupied a military facility. It wasn’t as if Baekje had only Gyeon-hun-gun; this was too much.
“Why now, of all times…….”
Gye-san muttered under her breath.
If Gye-san left the city, tracking down the culprits would become infinitely harder. The perpetrators were likely royalty or members of the Eight Great Houses—to pursue people of such power, Gye-san herself would need to be present.
But now that the Royal Edict had been issued, Gye-san had no choice but to go.
Moreover, with only a small expedition of roughly a hundred soldiers, at least one person had to remain at the barracks. Yong-yong would need to leave the unit for the sake of pursuing the Bie-gae-cho case, which meant Gyeol was the only option.
“Gyeol will have to stay at the barracks. It would be best to consolidate investigative authority under Yong-yong. What if we claimed that the person confessed to aiming for His Highness—that the crime was directed at the ruler himself, not the soldiers? And we could create an appropriate position for Yong-yong.”
Before she had earned the name Undefeated General, Gye-san had been a princess of Baekje. That alone was enough to secure cooperation from most quarters.
“I can think of no other alternative.”
When Gyeol nodded in agreement, Gye-san shook her head slowly.
“There’s no choice then. ……Could His Majesty be involved?”
It was a question with much left unsaid, but both Sam-cheon and Gyeol understood immediately. They had each, at least once, suspected that the Great King might be behind the poisoning case.
Neither could bring themselves to answer, and so Gye-san’s question became soliloquy.
The silence that settled coldly was broken by a voice from outside the barracks.
“Your Highness, preparations are complete.”
Gye-san rose first, with Sam-cheon and Gyeol following immediately.
Standing on the platform at the Dae-yeon Military Grounds, Gye-san surveyed the assembled crowd. Sam-cheon and Gyeol stood slightly apart, toward the rear.
Any trace of gloom had vanished; Gye-san’s voice rang out with strength.
“Last night, we apprehended a traitor. A considerable quantity of poison was found with him, and the investigation has begun.”
The soldiers stirred. The discovery that a traitor had been among their ranks—men with whom they’d stood back-to-back on the battlefield—struck them hard.
A few among those who had been eyeing each other like hawks suddenly realized that someone named Young-hwa was absent.
“The culprit confessed that he was a laborer in the Supply Corps, and that his purpose was to poison me. If anyone has information to report or suspicious circumstances to share, report to the adjutant.”
As murmurs began to swell, Gye-san’s next words silenced them all.
“A new military expedition has been authorized. As it is a small-scale operation of roughly a hundred soldiers, volunteers will be sought. Those wishing to participate should inform the adjutant by tomorrow. Volunteers will receive double pay for this month. That is all.”
At the mention of double pay, color returned to several faces.
With that, the formal address concluded. What remained was the matter of reassigning personnel.
Gye-san gave the soldiers time to consider, then continued.
“I wish to introduce those who have joined the command staff. Dam-no, Wol-ya.”
When Gye-san called their names, Wol-ya and Dam-no walked forward to the platform.
“You will not be seeing unfamiliar faces. Going forward, Dam-no will oversee the training of the soldiers. And Wol-ya and Yong-yong will be reassigned to my direct command. They will primarily handle external operations.”
Sam-cheon listened to Gye-san’s voice while watching the soldiers’ reactions closely.
“See, I told you they were nobles.”
“Hey, did I mess up anywhere?”
“Wasn’t I right? Hand over two copper coins each.”
“You blew it.”
The overall response was one of knowing satisfaction. Things seemed to have gone smoothly enough that Sam-cheon began to relax, when Gye-san’s voice continued.
“A rumor has been spreading that the palace attendant Sam-cheon is a military strategist of Gyeon-hun-gun.”
Sam-cheon’s eyes widened in surprise—she hadn’t expected such a public announcement.
“It is true. Though I cannot formally appoint her due to her status as my attendant, henceforth she is to be treated as a military strategist.”
Every eye in the crowd shifted to Sam-cheon, who stood behind Gye-san.
Beneath that avalanche of gazes, Sam-cheon’s pupils trembled.
‘Your Highness? You never mentioned this to me.’
If you follow the hidden path up from the main hall of Jong-am Temple, there are three forks in the road. Beyond the soldiers who guard that point, if you identify yourself and take the center path, you will find the hermitage where Tae dwells.
Throughout the morning, Tae had been gathering fallen branches and stuffing them into the hearth. When the sun set, harsh cold would descend, so the temperature had to be raised in advance.
Once the flames had grown strong, Tae leaned on her aching knee and pulled herself to her feet. As she thought of how the day was fading away in just this manner, a wave of resentment welled up inside her.
But Tae was powerless. Despite laboring so miserably, no one came to find her. Visitors were restricted to family only—there was no hope.
‘Once I escape this place.’
I will reclaim everything that was taken from me.
She clenched her fist in resolve when a rustling sound reached her ears. Thinking it might be a bird, Tae turned toward the hidden path—and her eyes went wide.
Standing before the woven-willow gate that reached to her waist, Gyeol looked around and spoke.
“The path is quite treacherous.”
“Th-thank you for finding me here. Brother—no, Your Highness.”
Tae had clearly suffered; her face had become hollow in just a few days. A person who had never lifted a finger her entire life would find hermitage unbearable, that much was certain.
“Why ‘Your Highness’? Call me brother, as you did before.”
“B-brother.”
Moving people to emotion is not difficult. For shallow ones like Tae, it was all too easy. As simple as it was, it was also tedious.
“Come inside. The room is modest.”
Tae threw open the door only to be startled by the jumbled pile of bedding scattered inside. It was not merely modest but slovenly as well.
“The mountain air is pleasant. Let us talk here on the porch.”
Gyeol sat on the edge of the veranda, and the embarrassed Tae closed the door once more.
“It seems harsh.”
“My knees are on the verge of giving out from doing 108 Bows every morning. I’m given no meals unless I perform the rite. It’s too cold to wash clothes, and I have to chop firewood for fuel. They say I’ll have to till the fields come spring.”
Though he had only opened the topic gently, grievances came pouring out in tedious detail.
“You won’t remain here long. I will speak to His Majesty and see what can be done.”
“No, please don’t. You’ll only get criticized yourself.”
Reading the distress on Tae’s face, Gyeol sensed there was a hidden story.
“Then what would you have me help you with?”
When he probed gently, Tae, who had been hesitating, suddenly cried out loudly:
“I wish to inherit the Baek Clan!”

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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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