Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 106

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 106
Deok-shim gently patted the back of Yeong-hwa’s hand, where a scab had begun to form.
“There’s a reason for it, I suppose.”
……
“You didn’t intend for things to go this far from the beginning. Perhaps you didn’t foresee it spiraling to such an extreme.”
Yeong-hwa could not answer. She had come with purpose and deceived them all, yet her emotions had not been entirely stripped away. She knew how genuinely Deok-shim had cared for her.
Maintaining her silence with averted eyes, Yeong-hwa heard Deok-shim draw a heavy sigh.
“I came because it was eating at me. Not every moment was a lie, was it? Surely among all those days, there was real sincerity somewhere?”
……
“I just wanted to know whether the girl who hummed so prettily was truly nothing but a fabrication. Though I suppose it hardly matters now. Take care of yourself.”
Deok-shim did not pour out recriminations or blame. She showed only compassion.
Having conveyed her sorrow, Deok-shim turned and left.
Yeong-hwa gazed blankly at her receding figure.
Who could know Deok-shim without thinking of their mother? She had been more a mother than Yeong-hwa’s own.
Mother to them all.
In that moment, Yeong-hwa realized she had been cast outside the circle. Though it was she who had meant to abandon them all, the sensation of rejection cut deeply.
“I……”
Yeong-hwa spoke for the first time.
“Thank you for everything. Stay well. ……I’m truly sorry.”
Deok-shim, who had paused at the threshold, replied without turning back.
“There’s no need. To protect my children, I too would do anything.”
Deok-shim continued on toward the command post barracks.
She had already resolved to do this before meeting Yeong-hwa. She simply wanted to part ways properly, to sever the tie.
Standing before the barracks, Deok-shim spoke.
“It’s Deok-shim.”
“Come in.”
At Gye-san’s permission, Deok-shim clenched her fists as if steeling herself and entered.
Inside the barracks were Gye-san, Sam-cheon, and Geum. All three smiled as though pleased to see her, yet exhaustion was plain on their faces.
Since she had come with information to report, Deok-shim bowed her head as she began to speak.
“Your Highness, there is a village called Anpo on the southwestern coast. If you take a drawing of Yeong-hwa’s face, someone there will recognize it. It is her hometown, and she has spoken of someone living there with longing.”
“……So you’ve met with Yeong-hwa.”
“Thank you for allowing us to say our farewells.”
‘The camellia flowers must be blooming by now.’
‘Snow never falls there, so she would never see a sight like this.’
‘They say there were floods in the south—I wonder if that place escaped them.’
Deok-shim had remembered the things Yeong-hwa would murmur without thinking.
Whenever a rainbow appeared beautifully or the first snow fell softly, when the flowers bloomed in profusion, she spoke of the seaside village where she was born.
And once she had mentioned the village’s name, only to startle and change the subject at once. Deok-shim had remembered that hastily-heard name because it matched her father’s family name.
“If she has a son, he would likely be living there. Of course, even that may be a fabrication, but I hope it will help clarify Yeong-hwa’s true identity.”
Deok-shim’s fingertips trembled as she recommended leveraging the search for the son to pressure Yeong-hwa.
She was drawing an innocent child into this to uncover the truth, and she harbored no regret. She had faith that even if the child were brought here, Gye-san would not treat him harshly.
“Thank you for telling us.”
Gye-san spoke heavily.
“I shall take my leave now.”
After Deok-shim departed, silence lingered in the barracks. Geum was the first to gather her thoughts.
“I’ll depart at once. I was staying behind anyway, so after going to Anpo and returning, I can guard the unit. I’ll be back in four days at most.”
“Take soldiers with you.”
Gye-san granted her permission. The rest would proceed as planned.
Four days remained until the expedition departed—busy days for everyone, it seemed.
Just past midnight, the second floor of the Maho Trading Company lay shrouded in darkness. Only the braziers lit here and there burned with a red glow.
Someone slipped quietly through a window that a bribed clerk had left open. As the intruder descended into the corridor, she carefully lowered the person she had been carrying at her side.
Once on the floor, Sam-cheon whispered.
“It’s to the right.”
“I’ve got the layout memorized. Just trust me and follow.”
Gye-san replied in a hushed voice and let out a soft laugh.
Unlike the tensely alert Sam-cheon, Gye-san seemed as relaxed as if taking an evening stroll. At the corner of the corridor, she stretched her neck to survey the area.
“Doing this makes me feel like I’m young again.”
“We’re breaking in, after all.”
“As long as we don’t get caught.”
The reason they had crept into this place like thieves was to secure a list of the Colored Glass Bottle’s buyers.
There was the option of requesting cooperation from the Maho Trading Company, but the risk of alerting the culprit was significant. Moreover, there was no guarantee the company would provide an accurate list.
The proprietor and his associates had left the company as soon as dusk fell, leaving this floor desolate and dark. All the clerks who lived in the compound would be asleep by now.
Confirming there were no sounds, Gye-san gestured to Sam-cheon. Moving forward in silence, their destination appeared.
Sam-cheon carefully entered through the heavy wooden door.
After closing the door soundlessly, she opened a window slightly. Unable to light a lamp, she had to rely on the brilliant moonlight.
Surveying the office, every item lay in perfect order. Not a speck of dust—the space was immaculate.
“The proprietor must be meticulous. Any disturbance would be obvious.”
Sam-cheon swept the space once more to memorize where things were placed. Confirming there were no hazards in the office, Gye-san took position right at the door.
“I’ll keep watch.”
“Yes.”
Leaving Gye-san to guard the perimeter, Sam-cheon began examining the documents. She would search through every record in here if necessary to find the buyer.
She picked up a book resting on a table draped in red silk. She scanned its neat, forceful script and set it back down.
Next, she retrieved the ledgers stacked in rows of ten on the wall shelf.
‘These are ledgers.’
Organized by period, she would need to check them all in reverse order. Eyes widening to capture every necessary detail, she heard I-re’s voice from her pouch.
[Really clean handwriting.]
Sam-cheon, who had been flipping through pages, froze.
I-re was right—it was far too neat.
Despite writing daily, there was not a single crease in the paper or ink smudge.
While Sam-cheon herself was tidy, she could never write with such precision.
Recognizing something was amiss, the carefully ordered interior took on a different appearance.
If the proprietor wasn’t simply obsessed with organization……
As Sam-cheon surveyed the space, she noticed the floor before the wall was worn smooth and polished.
Having replaced the ledger and standing before the wall, Sam-cheon began inspecting the decorative items nearby. As she lifted an incense burner, a hidden metal button came into view.
“What are you doing?”
The moment Gye-san asked, Sam-cheon pressed the button. Something engaged with a soft click, and the wall began to move.
Gye-san’s eyes widened as she kept her ear to the door.
As Sam-cheon stepped into the space within the wall, she found herself in an entirely different realm from the office she had thought merely tidy. The hidden interior was lavish beyond measure.
Exotic objects filled the space—porcelain and incense burners that appeared to have come from the Western Regions, uncut gems, carpets—with a broad table positioned at the center.
Sam-cheon picked up the ledger spread across its surface. She flipped open the cover, soft with accumulated fingerprints, and found it was indeed a ledger.
“This must be the real office.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————