Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 71

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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 Seventy-One
“Sam-cheon, are you all right? Open your eyes.”
Buyeo Hui’s anxious voice tapped against Sam-cheon’s ears.
As she slowly lifted her eyelids, Hui’s face filled her vision. His eyelashes were remarkably long. Wait, hold on.
“……Your Highness?”
“Thank heavens. I was worried when you wouldn’t wake.”
His face was far too close. As she pushed herself upright, she realized she’d been resting her head on his knee. But there was no time for embarrassment.
The earthen walls visible over Hui’s shoulder were ominous. The narrow space, reeking of staleness from long neglect, was barred by wooden gratings. Beyond the gaps in the bars, a dark corridor stretched into shadow.
“……We’ve been abducted.”
“It appears so. Ha.”
Hui swept his hair back with one hand, as if the situation were absurd.
Sam-cheon glanced around and felt inside her sleeves.
The earring was gone.
“Is Ju-hong all right?”
“He was downstairs, so he’s likely caught as well. No matter how skilled Ju-hong is, what could he have done after I became a hostage?”
She’d left Arang and Nuri behind, so they should be safe.
But Sam-cheon couldn’t understand it. Hui had been abducted in Ungiin-seong, where the Baek Clan held sway. In Concubine Baek’s own domain, no less.
A suspicion began to form.
“It seems my brother must have taken offense.”
The one who had prepared the tea was among Concubine Baek’s inner circle. Several faces among those downstairs had been familiar.
It made no sense that they’d all defected. But if they’d acted on orders from the Crown Prince, designated as the next heir, it was possible.
“Is it because of the Ja-hyeon Trading Company? And what will become of the matter? Concubine Baek wouldn’t simply let it pass.”
“Ju-hong called him a complete idiot.”
Ju-hong had said that about him.
Sam-cheon had never met the Crown Prince. Raised in Ungiin-seong as heir to the Baek Clan, she knew of him only through what Hui had told her.
She knew there was no brotherly affection between them, yet this extreme turn of events was still difficult to comprehend. But Hui’s reaction was strange somehow.
There was a kind of composure to it.
“Do you have a plan?”
“My mother placed someone to watch over my brother. She was worried he might cause trouble—it seems she had foresight.”
It was some relief to know there was a safeguard in place. Time would bring rescue, but she couldn’t simply wait idle.
Sam-cheon rose and surveyed their surroundings.
There were no windows, and the wooden gratings looked sturdy. She grasped them with both hands and pulled, but they didn’t budge.
Then the locking mechanism caught her eye. Sam-cheon examined carefully the wooden bar that held the gate shut without a padlock and spoke.
“I think I could open it by slipping my hand through the gap.”
She slid her hand partway into the gap, but a sharp splinter of wood scraped her knuckles, and she quickly withdrew. Rubbing her stinging hand, she said,
“That won’t work.”
“Leave it. The fact that they brought us alive means there’s room for negotiation. We weren’t killed outright, so we should be safe.”
“This could all be a dream too.”
“Perhaps.”
Hui smiled bitterly, then stared at Sam-cheon. It was odd that he’d deliberately brought her along in the abduction.
“Why did my brother drag you into this? Have you somehow displeased him?”
Sam-cheon shook her head firmly.
“We’ve never even met. I wonder why the Crown Prince would resort to something so extreme.”
“I’m not on speaking terms with him either, so I can only guess.”
“I didn’t realize things had become so strained between you.”
“Neither did I.”
Hui exhaled softly and continued.
“When I was young, I was resentful. Being a second son and having to yield everything—I couldn’t understand it. My paternal grandmother showed obvious favoritism as well. But as I grew older, things changed. My brother proved lacking in every way, and as you know, I didn’t turn out badly.
Sam-cheon gave a tepid nod of agreement.
“That’s true.”
“From then on, my brother began to resent things.”
Inferiority complex eats away at a person.
Perhaps bringing Hui here alive was meant to release the resentment that had accumulated all this time.
Even Concubine Baek couldn’t execute the Crown Prince, a royal son. But she could replace him as successor.
Once Hui was rescued, matters would become quite difficult for the Crown Prince, so he’d likely try to dispose of him while this opportunity presented itself.
Sam-cheon decided she couldn’t simply wait for Concubine Baek. She was glancing around for any escape when Hui touched her forehead lightly with his fingertip.
“Don’t worry. At least you I will see returned safely to Gye-san’s side.”
Sam-cheon’s head turned at an awkward angle. The phrase “at least you” troubled her.
“I should be the one protecting you with my life, Your Highness.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for me to save you than for you to save me? My brother is after me, after all.”
“Even so.”
At her stubborn gaze, Hui tilted his head and laughed softly. The distance between them was so small his breath seemed to brush against her.
“If only one of us can walk out of here alive, it should be you.”
Sam-cheon unconsciously gripped her skirts.
“I feel like I’ve been swept up in your affairs, Your Highness.”
“That may be true.”
“It’s limited, but when I see the future……”
Hui looked directly at Sam-cheon.
“Tell me. What do you see?”
Sam-cheon found herself trapped in his gaze.
Longing.
Emotions that until now had only flickered past came pouring down upon her.
Such direct feeling was burdensome. She wished he would humor her as before, playful and dismissive.
“You want to escape.”
“Very much.”
Hui laughed, inappropriate to the situation, with a raw edge to it.
“Why?”
“Because you’re a prince.”
Silence fell at that single sentence.
After a long moment, Hui murmured “I suppose so,” then turned his head to stare into the darkness beyond the bars. Then he called out in a loud voice,
“Is anyone there? Show yourself and I’ll give you treasure.”
“Will they come just because you say so?”
“My brother is said to be harsh with his subordinates.”
It was as Hui smirked that
heavy footsteps sounded, and a burly man appeared.
“D-don’t talk nonsense. Stay quiet, if you please.”
“I’m the thirtieth prince, Hui. We haven’t met before.”
Hui removed one earring and tossed it at the man’s feet.
“So what? Does being a prince change anything? You die the same way as everyone else if a blade finds you.”
“It does make a difference. If I die, someone will have to answer for it. Especially since my father and the Crown Prince value me greatly.”
“Don’t try such games.”
Hui noticed the man was afraid. He wouldn’t be afraid of a captive prince, so the situation itself must terrify him.
For someone who’d boldly kidnapped a royal, he had remarkably little nerve.
“I’m proposing a trade. There’s no one in the world who dislikes gold nuggets. Surely you don’t either.”
The man glanced down at the single earring at his feet.
Hui tossed the second earring as well. It traced an arc through the air and struck the man’s leather shoe, falling to the floor.
A pair of those earrings would have let him turn his life around entirely. The man made a small sound—”Ahem”—and pocketed the earrings.
Watching him, Hui pointed at Sam-cheon with his finger.
“If you bring this girl safely to the Ja-hyeon Trading Company, I’ll give you gold equivalent to her weight.”
Sam-cheon and the man both turned to stare at Hui.

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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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