Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 19

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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 Nineteen
“A coincidence? Or perhaps I’ve been there before, though I don’t remember?”
As the answers tumbled out, Gye-san noticed something unsettling in Sam-cheon’s expression.
“But Your Highness, it’s far too identical to be mere chance—and it’s a place I couldn’t possibly have visited.”
“Then could it be a Prophetic Dream? What’s wrong?”
Sam-cheon hesitated for a long moment before finally opening her heart.
“I saw this Byeolgung in a dream. Not somewhere similar—it was truly here.”
Gye-san tilted her head. It was certain Sam-cheon had never come to Byeolgung before.
Besides, Byeolgung differed from Sabigung in everything—the very tiles of the roof, the color of the walls. There was no way she could have confused them.
“When did you have this dream?”
“The day before yesterday.”
“The day before yesterday was when you fell in the pond. You encountered the Celestial Maiden and experienced a Prophetic Dream by chance, didn’t you?”
“That’s possible?”
“I don’t know. There’s hardly anything documented about the Celestial Maiden.”
She was more legend than person—tales passed from mouth to mouth through generations. It was only a possibility, nothing more.
But Sam-cheon’s expression grew even graver.
Gye-san heard her murmur “It should be a Dog Dream”—and was about to ask for more details when she sensed movement beyond the door.
“Your Highness, it’s Seon-hye.”
“Come in.”
Permission given, Seon-hye entered the inner chamber.
“I have something to report.”
Her manner was cautious.
Gye-san nodded for her to continue.
“The attendants who accompanied you to Byeolgung are to undertake a secret mission in the surrounding area. There are palace attendants assigned to Byeolgung, so you’ll want for nothing. If needed, I can leave additional attendants behind.”
“A secret mission?”
Gye-san’s voice wavered slightly as she repeated the words.
The realization struck her: this journey to Byeolgung had never been a simple gift. It had a different purpose entirely.
“Yes. By the King’s command, we depart early tomorrow morning.”
It was less a request for permission than a statement of fact.
A secret mission for the King.
The very word “secret” made clear they had no intention of revealing its nature. Gye-san answered at once.
“Do so. Sam-cheon will attend to my needs. Since Byeolgung’s regular staff remain, everyone may go.”
Seon-hye seemed taken aback by Gye-san’s ready acceptance. Apparently she’d expected resistance.
“Thank you for your consideration. Once I’ve completed preparations, I’ll return in two days. I’ll pay my respects then.”
“Very well. Go safely.”
Seon-hye bowed deeply and left the inner chamber. A hollow wind seemed to blow through the room in her absence.
“My journey was merely a smokescreen for a secret mission, then.”
Her voice emerged thin, drained of its earlier brightness.
“Your Highness……”
Noticing Sam-cheon’s concern, Gye-san spoke with deliberate cheer instead.
“It’s all right. Let them undertake whatever mission they must, and we’ll have ourselves a splendid time.”
“Yes, indeed!”
When Sam-cheon answered brightly, Gye-san’s spirits lifted along with hers.
Come to think of it, they’d gotten on well enough when it was just the two of them. With the Byeolgung staff remaining, there would be no hardship.
‘With no one watching, we can have all the fun we——’
Suddenly the sound of Buyeo Hui’s voice intruded, the words he’d spoken in the dawn darkness a moment before leaving.
“……Sam-cheon, tell me about that dream. In detail.”
“Actually, now that I think about it, it was probably just a Dog Dream.”
She tried to laugh it off with a self-deprecating smile, as though embarrassed at having caused unnecessary worry—but Gye-san didn’t let it drop.
“I want to hear about that Dog Dream.”
When Gye-san asked seriously, Sam-cheon reconsidered. Perhaps it would be better to speak it all aloud and be done with it, given the uneasy feeling that lingered.
“Well, in the dream I was looking down at Byeolgung from above.”
What had begun as a light account spiraled into mentions of “Pollution,” then “death,” and finally “Great Adversary.” When Sam-cheon finished, she added:
“It was entirely a Dog Dream, wasn’t it?”
Perhaps it was, as Sam-cheon said. Yet the shock on Sam-cheon’s face when they’d first arrived at Byeolgung had been genuine—that bewildered expression, the constant glancing about, the fear barely contained beneath it all. Gye-san couldn’t dismiss it.
Gye-san’s expression became deadly serious.
“And if it wasn’t?”
Draped with Butterfly-Embroidered Silk, one corner of the room held a neat arrangement of books and scrolls. In a Tang Dynasty Ceramic Vase stood red flowers on the branch, which harmonized beautifully with the folding screen behind it.
Ha-bin sat before a low table, reading a letter her subordinate had sent, her brow furrowed.
‘I can’t use plague again.’
She exhaled softly—then felt movement at the door.
“Is Ha-bin within?”
“Father, please come in.”
Ha-bin rose immediately at the sound of Ha-sik’s voice.
Ha-sik entered and settled naturally into the seat of honor. Ha-bin, taking the place opposite, bloomed with a smile.
Ha-sik gazed at his daughter warmly and began to speak.
“Your grandfather has brought me glad tidings. It seems the royal grandson Buyeo Hui wishes to see you at the earliest opportunity. A match will be arranged soon, so conduct yourself with propriety.”
“……He wishes to see me, you say?”
Ha-bin found it incomprehensible.
Buyeo Hui had emerged from Mokseo-gung only after that mud-caked palace attendant entered. He must have heard the whole affair, yet he accepted the match anyway. She couldn’t fathom his reasoning.
She’d heard the King’s proposal wasn’t even welcome within the Baek Clan. So she’d given them grounds to refuse.
Jealous and vicious by nature.
Her reputation would be tarnished for now, but once she established herself as the Celestial Maiden, it would fade. Time would only raise her value higher—this much Ha-bin knew.
Unaware of his daughter’s thoughts, Ha-sik continued with obvious pleasure.
“The royal grandson is handsome in form and feature—you shall make a fine pair.”
“What use is a pretty face? He’ll never walk the path of the Great King.”
Had anyone else heard such a remark, they would have drawn condemnation. Ha-sik’s face went pale.
“How dreadful to speak so where others might hear.”
“Father, I don’t wish for this marriage.”
“The King desires to keep you near. Buyeo Hui is the thirtieth royal grandson and the second son of the Baek Clan.”
In earlier times, she would never have dared speak the first syllable of marriage to such a man. The family elders had been pleased, Ha-sik himself had been satisfied—yet only the bride herself showed reluctance.
“If I must wed one of the royal grandsons, let me be the Crown Prince’s second wife.”
“What nonsense is this? What are you lacking? Has someone among the elders put such ideas in your head?”
Ha-sik jumped to his feet as though he might cause a scene right there.
“It’s not the elders’ will.”
“Then why do you speak such folly?”
Ha-bin fixed her gaze on Ha-sik. The father she loved dearly was weak and indecisive.
A man who did nothing but give in to his wife’s wishes and apologize for his failures.
That was why Ha-bin wanted power.
“I don’t want merely to live a life of leisure and plenty. I want to become Queen.”
Her determination to pose as the Celestial Maiden at her grandfather’s direction stemmed entirely from this ambition. Ha-bin wanted to ascend to the highest position she could reach.
For a woman who dreamed of becoming someone capable of anything, a marriage to Buyeo Hui was worthless.
Yet Ha-sik struggled to accept what his daughter was saying.
“The Crown Prince’s wife already has four sons and two daughters. Even if you bore him a son, there’s no hope. And consider the Crown Prince’s age—surely you know he was born the same year as I?”
He laid out his objections methodically, but Ha-bin’s expression remained unmoved.
“But he will become the Great King.”
For Ha-bin, that point was paramount.

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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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