Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 39

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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 39
The Blue House was empty.
Hae Ssi crumpled the letter and threw it to the floor. With that, all contact with the bandits was severed. A hollow laugh escaped between her delicate lips.
‘How did it come to this?’
She had only meant to frighten them.
The plan was simple: lock them away in the Bandit’s Lair for a few days, then slip a clue to Seon Hye. As Seon Hye went to rescue Gyesan from the lair, the bandits would all die—a clean resolution. But someone’s interference had ruined everything.
Now it was a complete mess.
Gyesan was truly missing, and every hired bandit was dead. Hae Ssi had poisoned them in advance, but she’d adjusted the dosage so symptoms wouldn’t appear for a week. So another faction must have intervened.
‘Did the Jin Clan really move?’
To make matters worse, a major investigation was looming—all because some girl from the Ye Clan claiming to be a Cheonguannyo had spouted nonsense about how “Princess Gyesan will one day become the Undefeated General.”
Hae Ssi had become the woman who starved the princess she’d promised to teach music and painting to. Whispers had already begun suggesting that this disappearance, too, was Hae Ssi’s doing.
Everything had turned against her.
‘If this is exposed, not even I can escape unscathed.’
The real problem was that she had no idea who had spirited Gyesan away. The intermediary’s disappearance was troubling enough, but even Dan Hwa, whom she’d sent to check on things, had not returned.
Someone was cornering Hae Ssi.
“Any sign of Dan Hwa?”
“None has been found, my lady. The escorts’ whereabouts are also uncertain. Not even a body has been recovered.”
She’d assigned capable people, choosing carefully, and they had all vanished together.
“Dan Hwa must be found.”
Dan Hwa knew far too much.
Of course, Hae Ssi trusted Dan Hwa. She had kept her at her side since childhood and treated her generously. The wealth she’d given Dan Hwa over the years would have bought three or four houses within Sabi Castle.
Besides, the lifeline of Dan Hwa’s most beloved younger sister lay in Hae Ssi’s hands—a sibling whose illness ran deep and required rare medicinal herbs continuously. Betrayal seemed impossible, yet unease gnawed at her.
She might not withstand torture.
“Do whatever it takes to bring her back. If that fails, find her corpse and lay it before me.”
“Yes, my lady. And also…….”
At the cautious tone of the court attendant, Hae Ssi’s eyebrows rose.
“What now?”
“Deok Sim, a court attendant of Mokseogung, has regained consciousness. The palace physician checked on her.”
At the continued report, Hae Ssi suppressed her irritation. Fortunately, it was nothing serious.
“It was merely a jest. Pay it no mind. Focus all efforts on finding Dan Hwa.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The attendant who had answered hurried out.
Just as Hae Ssi clicked her tongue in frustration, a commotion arose from outside the door, followed by an urgent voice.
“My lady!”
“Enter.”
Before she’d finished speaking, the door flew open and a court attendant who had been out of the palace rushed in.
“Disaster, my lady! A fire broke out in the Suwu Storage last night. Being silk, it spread in an instant. There are no injuries or deaths, but half burned and half charred—all goods are ruined.”
“……So only my silk burned, with no one hurt?”
“……Yes.”
“Someone should have been injured! They should have risked their lives to put it out! That’s not even a report!”
Hae Ssi shouted, then pressed her palm to her forehead. She barely contained her roiling emotions before giving her order.
“Whip every man who worked at Suwu Storage and cast them out. Sell the silk at whatever price you can get, and send the proceeds to my father.”
Men said misfortune never came alone, but this was excessive. It felt as though someone had deliberately set out to destroy her.
Yet she could not collapse now.
Samcheon handed over the Record Ledger. It contained precise figures of how much iron ore had been mined and where it had been smuggled. Those implicated would hardly escape execution.
“This is nearly a death roll, Your Highness.”
“If they were involved, they’ll be executed. By the records, nineteen children have died so far. I cannot forgive these wretches. Every last one must be caught.”
“Yes, I’ll search for more evidence.”
Samcheon began reading the ledger more carefully. Gyesan rummaged through various places, and in the box where the ledger had been stored, found a small wooden piece.
“What is this?”
“A seal, perhaps? We should set it aside for now.”
Gyesan placed the wooden piece on the table and stood.
“You keep reading the ledger. I’ll go check on the children.”
“Take a sword with you.”
“I will.”
As Gyesan left the space, her smile faded.
In the course of solving the crisis unintentionally, safety had been secured. Only one worry remained.
What did Wol Ya expect of Samcheon?
When Samcheon said she’d seen her true name in a dream, everyone’s energy had shifted.
A moment of exultation—a flash of some profound joy.
Even thinking about it now, Samcheon’s dream seemed mystical to Gyesan. Thanks to it, they had overcome two grave crises.
‘Samcheon might be a Cheonguannyo.’
She couldn’t be certain, but that was the sense she had.
In the Royal Library, which only the royal family could enter, there were records of the Cheonguannyo. Though brief, the description matched Samcheon far better than the girl from the Ye Clan.
They meant to take Samcheon away. Gyesan was grateful for their help, but she couldn’t entrust Samcheon to strangers she’d only just met.
If the situation turned ominous—
‘I’ll have to flee with Samcheon.’
Fortunately, they were letting Gyesan and Samcheon move about freely. Their skill was considerable, but their numbers were few; if an opportunity arose, escape was possible.
Once they reached the palace, these people could do nothing.
Gyesan steeled her resolve and surveyed her surroundings.
The men from the mine lay dead in neat stacks or sat bound tightly in one corner. Since testimony would be needed, some had been deliberately kept alive, their mouths fitted with suicide prevention gags.
With all will seemingly drained from them, no guards stood watch.
In the next chamber, the rescued children rested under blankets. They huddled together for comfort, as if only each other could be trusted.
No benefactors were visible there either.
Gyesan smiled gently at the children so they wouldn’t be frightened, then asked.
“Where did the people who helped us go?”
“They went that way.”
One child, speaking haltingly, pointed toward the entrance.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Gyesan moved in the direction the child had indicated, but found no trace of them there either. Even the cave used to confine the children stood empty.
The benefactors had vanished.
As mysteriously as they had appeared—like wind.
Meanwhile, Wol Ya observed Gyesan from not far away, watching as she searched.
“Will you truly depart like this?”
Dam No asked. The other subordinates, too, seemed reluctant, glancing toward Gyesan.
But Wol Ya’s resolve was firm.
“We were drawn in by unforeseen circumstances. With the confusion we caused, our faces have already been exposed—there’s little benefit to lingering.”
“Will you not tell her about being a Cheonguannyo?”
“Knowledge would bind her. She is still too young to carry such a burden.”
“That’s true enough.”
Dam No, his lieutenant, agreed on that point. The name “Cheonguannyo” alone could crush her if she weren’t careful.
“What of her guardian?”
“If we remove only Consort Hae Ssi, Mokseogung should not be a bad place for the Cheonguannyo.”
“The princess does treasure her greatly. I’ve given instructions, so preparations will be complete by the time we return.”
Wol Ya watched the retreating figure of Gyesan as she entered the mine again. Soldiers would arrive soon, yet her feet lingered.

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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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