Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 52

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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 52
“……An escort?”
She sat in a daze for a while, then turned the next page and found detailed information about Palace Entry procedures and Salary, along with careful notes about precautions. Seeing it all written down made it feel real.
“They’re telling me to enter the palace?”
“I’ll send word to the Sabi Fortress branch.”
Wol-ya smiled like a painting toward the bewildered Yong-yong.
“Master, I only just arrived yesterday—do I really have to go back?”
She asked as though aggrieved, but her lips were already curling upward.
Sam-cheon, who had just retrieved the Letter, headed toward the Yeonmujang. As she drew near, she heard the voices of Buyeo Hui and Gye-san.
“She’s so small. Her strength must be weak. It should be the Short Bow.”
“The Short Bow has poor accuracy. Our Sam-cheon would be better suited to the stable Long Bow.”
“If she can’t draw the bowstring, it’s useless. The Short Bow is right!”
“If we’re careless and she shoots one of our own, that’ll be a disaster. The Long Bow!”
“P-please, don’t fight.”
Gan-su was here too.
As Sam-cheon stepped into the training grounds, the three of them who had been debating over the two types of bows turned their heads in unison. Gye-san greeted her with a broad smile.
“Perfect timing. Sam-cheon, come here.”
Sam-cheon hurried over and held out the Letter.
“A reply has come for Yong-yong.”
“For Yong-yong?”
Gye-san opened the Letter eagerly, her lips rising as she read through it.
“She’s asking for a higher Salary?”
“That’s fortunate. We’ll have more people to feed.”
Sam-cheon laughed brightly. Buyeo Hui, his mood inexplicably soured, asked a question.
“You said she wanted to learn archery?”
“Yes.”
Gye-san held out the Long Bow first.
“Go on, try drawing the bowstring.”
Sam-cheon drew with all her strength, but couldn’t pull it past halfway and let it slip. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t draw it far enough to nock an Arrow.
As Sam-cheon’s face fell, Buyeo Hui stepped forward.
“See? The Short Bow will draw much easier.”
Fortunately, the bowstring of the Short Bow gave way relatively smoothly. After observing Sam-cheon’s stance, Buyeo Hui taught her how to nock an Arrow.
“Now, spread your legs to shoulder width, place the bowstring, and look at the target. Aim for the center.”
Buyeo Hui explained the basics simply and stepped back.
Sam-cheon drew with concentration.
“That’s not it. You’re tensing your shoulders.”
Buyeo Hui gently grasped her elbow and adjusted the bow’s position with his other hand.
“Look at the target. Good. Now shoot.”
Sam-cheon released the bowstring as instructed. The Arrow, which she thought would fly straight toward the target, curved and embedded itself with a thud in a pillar of Mokseo-gung.
Seeing it fly in an unexpected direction, Buyeo Hui let out a cry of wonder.
“Wow, it actually went over there.”
“See? Brother! It’s dangerous. ……Would you rather learn the Short Sword Technique?”
Perhaps it would be better to hope for correction over a week, as Gye-san suggested. But she didn’t want to give up right away. She knew she had no talent for martial arts, but she wanted to try.
“If I learn it, it could help someday. Let me try just one more time.”
“We can’t have you shooting.”
It didn’t sound like a jest—he seemed genuinely worried—and Sam-cheon’s stubbornness only grew fiercer.
“Your Majesty, my Arrow is aimed at the target.”
“The last one was aimed at the target too.”
“I’ve got the feel for it now. I can do better this time.”
Sam-cheon drew the bowstring with renewed focus. The Arrow flew quickly and embedded itself in a tree far from the target.
“Just one more!”
Sam-cheon pulled the bowstring again, aiming at the target. The slightly faster Arrow missed and flew past.
“One more!”
Just as Sam-cheon’s Arrows kept flying, so the years flowed past.
As an adult, Gye-san led the military out to war. The battles in which Gye-san commanded and Sam-cheon participated resulted in great victories.
Delighted by the victories, Dae-wang established a separate unit and entrusted it to Gye-san. Gye-san named the unit the Gyeonwheon Unit and appointed Gan-su as deputy commander. Yong-yong, formerly an escort, was appointed training captain.
Though some mocked it at first as childish play, after four consecutive battles won with great triumph, all praised the Gyeonwheon Unit.
In the glittering winter of Year 660, Month 1, when Gye-san returned bearing the title “Undefeated General.”
Even in that season, Sam-cheon remained the sole maidservant of Mokseo-gung.
Sam-cheon stared at a Poison Bowl sitting alone in the corner of the Prison. Within it, Poison filled to the brim.
After all that suffering on the battlefield and just returning, was this how she would die?
‘This can’t be.’
She had to survive fiercely and return to Mokseo-gung.
Sam-cheon bit the soft flesh inside her mouth. The saying went that even if a tiger bit you, if you kept your wits about you, you could survive. Let her think about how this had come to pass.
An hour earlier, summoned to the Daejeon, Dae-wang had spoken to Sam-cheon thus.
‘Maidservant Sam-cheon, I shall give you Poison.’
And so Sam-cheon was locked in Prison with the Poison Bowl set before her.
There was no investigation, no statement, no interrogation—nothing related to the incident. Her life and death had been decided by a single word from Dae-wang.
Had she been falsely accused?
Or perhaps—.
Sam-cheon tore her gaze from the Poison Bowl and asked the Guard standing beyond the iron bars.
“What is my crime?”
Just a question, yet the Guard’s bandit-like face twisted.
“Don’t you know your own crime!”
The Guard blustered, but Sam-cheon didn’t blink.
“I don’t know, so I’m asking. I’ve been given Poison—shouldn’t I at least know why I’m dying? Shouldn’t I?”
“Be quiet before I beat you!”
In the forceful tone lurked the shadow of confusion; the Guard himself clearly knew nothing. Moreover, he only bluffed with threats—he seemed to have no intention of actually striking her.
It was unlikely born of his virtue; he must have been given orders.
Could it be that she’d displeased him simply by receiving his gift?
‘This is absurd.’
So petty. He would go this far.
If her suspicion was right, Sam-cheon could walk out of this place unharmed. Though with her life on the line, she ought to make certain.
Sam-cheon sighed loudly, for show, and picked up the Poison Bowl. Her exaggerated gesture caused the Poison brimming within to spill over the edge of the bowl and drip to the floor.
As she made as if to drink and die right then, the Guard rushed forward urgently.
“Lunch will be served soon. Eat first and then drink.”
“What kind of dessert is Poison? You eat and then drink it?”
“They say even a dead ghost looks beautiful if she’s eaten a meal first.”
“What good is a pretty face after death? I’ll die wronged.”
As she raised the Poison Bowl to her lips, an arm shot through the wooden bars. The Guard seized her wrist.
“Careful! Why are you in such a rush?”
“Your Majesty has given me Poison. I must drink it. What else can I do?”
“If you’re wronged, wait a bit. You might be cleared of guilt.”
“I don’t even know what charges brought me here in the first place. How can I prove my innocence? I returned from the battlefield a week ago. I know nothing of Palace affairs and can think of no reason for this.”
“Still, there’s no need to die this instant. Be calm and find a way to live.”
“Do you really think so?”
As she asked as if testing him, the Guard nodded vigorously.
When Sam-cheon set down the Poison Bowl as though reluctantly, the Guard showed visible relief. His face betrayed everything, and she became certain.
What Dae-wang wanted was precisely this situation—Sam-cheon receiving the Poison. And the Guard was watching to ensure she didn’t drink it.
‘She’s a hostage.’
A hostage’s value exists only while she lives.

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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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