Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 41

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

Chapter 41
Gyesan arrived breathless to find soldiers had already surrounded the children deep within the cave. Terrified by the sudden appearance of strangers, the young ones huddled together, trembling uncontrollably.
“Quiet! Where is the princess? Tell us now!”
Several children began to cry under the soldiers’ harsh demands.
“Stop that! Can’t you see you’re frightening them?”
At Gyesan’s sharp command, the soldiers froze and turned. One of them recognized her immediately.
“Your Highness!”
As the kneeling soldier scrambled to his feet, the others hastily fell into proper respect. Seonhye, who had rushed in from the entrance, dropped to one knee before Gyesan.
“Your Highness, my apologies. I was negligent, and I put you in danger—”
“Enough. Follow this passage—there’s a critically injured patient inside. Keep them alive.”
Seonhye, receiving the order, turned and gestured sharply. A physician and two soldiers bolted toward the deeper chambers.
Gyesan continued.
“Treat these children as well and see them returned home. They’re from nearby villages—find their families and contact them before the day ends.”
Following her orders, palace attendants entered and approached the children. Though still wary, at least they ceased their screams.
In the meantime, Samcheon had handed the injured child to the soldiers and hurried back. Standing at Gyesan’s side, she produced a record book she’d prepared in advance.
Gyesan accepted it and passed it to Seonhye.
“This is evidence that the Unregistered Iron Mine is connected to the Jin Family. There are still unread documents stacked deeper inside—examine and catalog them. Go further in and you’ll find those who were illegally mining in captivity; interrogate them as needed. Hold a proper funeral for the body in the secret chamber, and search thoroughly for any additional hidden spaces.”
Doubt flickered in Seonhye’s eyes.
“So everything you’ve been told is completely true?”
Even now, Seonhye was weighing the possibility of a trap.
That the vanished young princess had not only discovered a secret iron mine but had single-handedly neutralized the entire operation and rescued those imprisoned seemed far too convenient to be believable.
Which was why she’d brought all the reinforcement troops that had just arrived at Jeonghyeonseong. Yet this impossible tale was unfolding before her very eyes.
Gyesan, arms crossed, raised an eyebrow with exasperation.
“You can verify it yourself, can’t you? Must I provide proof as well?”
“My apologies. I overstepped. I’m grateful you’re safe, Your Highness.”
Seonhye bowed deeply and issued silent instructions to the soldiers. In that moment, Samcheon leaned close and whispered to Gyesan.
“Your Highness, I think it would be best if you told His Majesty directly about everything when we return. We mustn’t place our helpers in difficult positions, so we need to keep our stories straight.”
Gyesan’s eyes widened. Omitting any mention of Wolya and the others would require some careful storytelling.
“Understood. Just trust me.”
As soldiers bustled about, a makeshift camp sprang up in the clearing before the mine. Gyesan and Samcheon were led to the largest tent.
“I apologize for the poor accommodations. The Jin Family will surely have noticed our occupation of this place. Remaining at the auxiliary palace or in the city would be too dangerous, so we’ve brought you here out of necessity. We’ll prepare for your swift return to the palace.”
Gyesan fixed Seonhye with a hard, piercing stare—entirely different from her manner with Samcheon. The pressure in her gaze was unmistakable.
“That will do. I’m tired. You may leave.”
Startled by the dismissal, Seonhye hurried to add something.
“Your Highness, I must know what happened to you.”
“I won’t answer.”
“……I’ll need to take the palace attendant Samcheon for a moment.”
“I won’t allow it.”
“Forgive me. I accept responsibility for my failures when we return. But I must understand what transpired—”
Gyesan cut off Seonhye’s attempts at persuasion.
“While you were plotting my abduction, bandits attacked the auxiliary palace first. I fled with my attendant. With no one to trust, I hired guards to help me return. That’s when we discovered this place. That’s all.”
The account was dangerously simplified, but it was enough to make Seonhye back away. The realization that Gyesan knew everything caused her to bow even lower.
“My deepest apologies.”
“No one is to question my attendant. You could just as easily fabricate testimony about the abduction as you orchestrated the conspiracy itself. When I return to the palace, I will speak directly to His Majesty. Remember that.”
“Your Highness. Though you may take this for an excuse—”
Gyesan’s voice dropped to a sharp, cutting edge.
“I don’t wish to hear excuses. Now leave.”
“……I obey your command.”
After Seonhye departed, a brief silence fell over the tent.
Gyesan glanced outside, then let out a quiet laugh.
“How was that? Not bad?”
“Yes, Your Highness. You were magnificent.”
As Samcheon spoke with admiration, Gyesan’s shoulders rose with satisfaction.
“When I decide to do something, I do it well. But I have to say, I like it here.”
It was the most luxurious sleeping arrangement since the night of the attack.
Gyesan wrinkled her nose and stretched out on the bed. Her exhausted body felt like it was crying out in relief.
“You sleep too.”
Samcheon didn’t hesitate and lay down on the simple cot beside her.
As she settled in, her ankles throbbed. Getting up again, Samcheon carefully applied the Ointment that Yongyong had given her.
Using it, she was beginning to appreciate how excellent this remedy truly was.
Gyesan mumbled.
“My body feels like it’s sinking into the floor. ……Are we really going back to the palace now?”
“We won’t have to walk.”
“That’s true.”
The two fell silent for a moment. So many emotions had crashed through them and passed. This trip to the auxiliary palace had held far more than they’d anticipated. Countless deaths, incidents, calamities…….
When they’d left Mokseo Palace, nothing like this had seemed possible.
“In the end, we did nothing.”
“Your Highness?”
Samcheon’s eyes widened in surprise at the self-mocking tone.
“We didn’t see the flowers, didn’t take a boat ride. Didn’t visit that restaurant, didn’t buy souvenirs. I didn’t even get you that dried jujube.”
Looking back, she’d been so excited about those things when they’d set out from Mokseo Palace.
“But the soup was delicious. Yongyong was kind, and so were Wolya and the others. We’ll definitely go flower-viewing and boating later.”
“Let’s do that.”
“But Your Highness, just now—I heard that voice from the dream again. When I was leaving the secret chamber with the child, someone said ‘Thank goodness.’ Do you remember?”
She kept hearing these whispers, and it was unsettling.
“I heard it too.”
“You did?”
“I heard it. The screams startled me and I almost let it slip, but I told them to search for more hidden places because of it.”
So she wasn’t imagining things after all.
“If someone is trapped in there, they’ll be rescued, won’t they?”
“They should be.”
Having spoon-fed them this much, they ought to manage the finish well enough.
Samcheon settled back down comfortably. She’d rest a moment, then move again.
‘I like those people.’
Carrying a wooden tray, Samcheon headed toward her target with brisk determination. On the tray sat tea that Seonhye had brought and four teacups she’d hunted down from the camp kitchen.
Samcheon arrived at a shaded spot beneath the Ancient Tree where four soldiers were resting. All were unfamiliar faces—none of the soldiers who had accompanied her from the residence to the auxiliary palace were among them.
After confirming this, Samcheon approached slowly.
“You must be hot, soldiers. Please, have some of this cool tea.”
Samcheon smiled warmly as she offered the refreshing drink.
The chilled tea made its way to each of the gathered soldiers.
“Oh, thank you very much.”
The soldiers’ faces, scorched by the relentless sun, brightened considerably. Without waiting for one another, they drank and spoke.
“Ahh, this saves us.”
“This tea tastes wonderful.”
“Thank you. You’re the best, attendant.”
The soldiers smiled warmly at the young palace attendant who had shown them such kindness.
“It’s nothing much.”
“You’re the only one who looks after us. The other attendants can’t stand the sight of us.”
Samcheon collected the returned cups, then glanced at a soldier beside her, her eyes growing thoughtful and sorrowful.
“Surviving like that made me think of my father.”
A solemn, sympathetic sadness crossed the soldiers’ faces.
“I hear you’ve all been through a great ordeal.”
Samcheon looked down with a pained expression.
“Your Highness suffered terribly. I was just dead weight because of my twisted ankle.”

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