Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 49

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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 49
How much had he heard?
“Your Majesty…….”
The King glanced at Hae Ssi once, then simply turned his back. He issued no verdict, heard no plea—only cast his gaze upon her as one might regard something worthless.
The Court Lady Seon Hye and Dan Hwa followed in his wake.
Hae Ssi tried to rush after them, but soldiers blocked her path. They shoved her back inside, then bolted the inner chamber door shut behind her.
Hae Ssi stumbled and sank to the floor as though her legs had given way.
“Ha.”
It was finished. She understood that now.
Hae Ssi stared at the sealed door of the inner chamber. When it opened again, her punishment would already be decided.
A laugh escaped her lips. So this was how her life would end—hollow and absurd. All that remained was to be ridiculed and cast into the Cold Palace, nothing more.
She had lost the King’s favor and was now merely a hostage to control the Hae family. They would keep her alive—barely.
‘How they’ll savor this.’
Hae Ssi had no wish to become entertainment for the other concubines.
Unsteady on her feet, she rose and smashed the vase near the entrance. Among the shattered fragments, she found a small poisoned bottle.
Hidden within the vase’s double chamber was a colorless, odorless poison—one that left no visible mark.
Clutching the bottle, Hae Ssi lit incense in the burner. She watched the thin smoke rise for a moment, then returned to her bed.
Everything was over now. Only humiliation remained. Better to die than be locked away in the Cold Palace, made a laughingstock. The King would never look back at those he had cast aside.
‘So I’m to drink this.’
Hae Ssi swallowed the poison. Then she lay upon her bed, retracing where things had gone wrong.
No matter how she turned it over in her mind, Gyesan was the problem. Letting the princess live had been a mistake. Had she dealt with it cleanly, matters would never have spiraled so far.
The fact that she herself lay dying while Gyesan walked free was a bitterness she could not bear.
“May you suffer for all your days—may your life be torment and struggle. Die shamefully, basely. Gyesan, I curse every moment of your existence to be marked by misery.”
Hae Ssi muttered her curse and waited for death. It was a selfish choice to the very end. And yet, the next morning, she woke refreshed.
When her eyes opened, the Court Lady Seon Hye and soldiers stood at her bedside. Seon Hye, who had set down the poisoned bottle Hae Ssi had drunk from, spoke in a flat, measured tone.
“Even at the last, you made a foolish choice.”
[I’m sorry. I made a mistake.]
Irae suddenly confessed her wrongdoing.
Samcheon, who had been sitting and reading texts, felt her heart plummet. That Irae—a curse spirit—would mention a mistake meant…….
“Did you curse someone?”
[No! Do I seem like that kind of curse to you?]
The denial itself alarmed her even more.
Since returning to Mokseo Palace, Irae had done nothing but bask in sunlight. The only issue had been keeping the windows from being closed.
If anyone else drew near, she didn’t speak. In fact, she rarely spoke at all.
“Then did you speak in front of others?”
[I’m being careful. I sense when people are near.]
“Then what?”
[A curse came flying in at dawn.]
“What?”
A curse, suddenly appearing—
[I couldn’t help myself. I ate it. I didn’t know I lacked such restraint.]
Samcheon’s lips parted slightly. She wasn’t sure whether to be more shocked that a curse had arrived, or that Irae had consumed it.
[It came into the Inner Courtyard and smelled so delicious. I couldn’t resist.]
She didn’t need to guess who had sent it.
She’d heard the rumors that morning—Hae Ssi had attempted to take her own life at dawn. The King had raged and declared that the Hae family would face charges as well, leaving the palace in turmoil.
So the one who had cursed Mokseo Palace could only be Hae Ssi.
It made no sense to curse the innocent residents of Mokseo Palace after bringing misfortune upon herself—but if she’d had any sense at all, she never would have done it in the first place.
Samcheon pressed a hand to her chest and spoke.
“You did well.”
[But the curse lost its purpose and was absorbed into me instead.]
“Isn’t it more likely it wasn’t the kind of reasonable curse that a spirit like you would expect?”
[Is that so?]
“This is a palace. There are many complicated interests at work here. So from now on, if you see any curse coming, simply consume it.”
[Are you sure?]
“In exchange, tell me about it. Information about where it was heading, things like that.”
[Understood. And I think I can wield curses now without needing to touch the Short Blade. Tell me if you need anything.]
“Yes. I hope there won’t be a need, but—”
Samcheon left the room to inform Gyesan of the situation. As she headed toward the inner chamber, the great gate of Mokseo Palace swung wide open. Only one person ever entered that way.
Just as expected, Hui strode through, calling out loudly.
“Gyesan! Come out. We’ve got to watch them take Hae Ssi away.”
At Hui’s words, Gyesan came running from the inner chamber.
“Right now? Let’s go! Samcheon, come with us.”
Before she knew it, she was following them outside, where Juhong—waiting at the gate of Mokseo Palace—nodded in recognition. Samcheon returned the greeting and moved to follow.
A crowd had already gathered in front of Yeonhwa Palace. Hui had arrived first and stood to the right of Geum, so Gyesan and Samcheon moved to join them.
“You’ve arrived.”
Geum seemed even more luminous than usual today—likely because it had been revealed that Hae Ssi was the one who had poisoned her mother. With a bittersweet smile, Geum turned her gaze back toward the main gate of Yeonhwa Palace.
Presently, the gate swung open.
Hae Ssi was dragged out by soldiers, her clothes in disarray. Her hair hung tangled and matted, her expression vacant.
“Who could have imagined the Concubine Hae Ssi would come to such a state? The world is full of surprises.”
“She reaped what she sowed.”
“Indeed, one’s end is peaceful only if one’s heart has been pure.”
“Will the Concubine Hae Ssi be confined to the Cold Palace, then?”
“No, she’s being sent to Jongamsa, I hear.”
“Goodness, His Majesty must have made his decision quite firmly.”
The voices of other concubines rang out. The palace women who had gathered could not speak it aloud, yet their eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Not a soul among them spared Hae Ssi a pitying glance.
Dragged from Yeonhwa Palace and cast upon the ground like a puppet with cut strings, Hae Ssi knelt vacantly, her eyes fixed on the sky above.
“Just kill me.”
At that moment, two court ladies seized her arms. Sensing danger, she thrashed against them.
“Let go! What are you doing?”
“If you struggle, you’ll hurt yourself.”
One of the court ladies drew a thin blade and began to cut her hair with rough, brutal strokes. The white jade locks that Hae Ssi had once taken such pride in fell to the ground like loose silk.
“Do you know who I am? Aahhh!”
Her cry turned into a shriek.
“I told you not to move. You’ve been nicked slightly.”
The court lady wiped away the blood that trickled down Hae Ssi’s forehead, then grasped her hair again. Whether from pain or shock, Hae Ssi remained still, curled in on herself, until her head was completely shorn.
All trace of her former arrogance—the haughty bearing she had worn while basking in the King’s favor—had vanished. Her hair fell away cleanly as the crowd savored their triumph in silence.
Watching from where she stood, Samcheon asked quietly.
“Isn’t the Cold Palace worse?”
“Normally it would be, but it’s Jongamsa we’re talking about.”
Hui answered as though it were obvious. Yet Samcheon—and Gyesan and Geum as well—exchanged glances of incomprehension.

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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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