Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 80

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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 Eighty
Lady Baek watched the tremor in Sam-cheon’s fingers as she gripped her skirt, frost settling across her own features. Just as a cold word was about to leave her lips, a young voice cut through first.
“I am also Mother’s son!”
“No.”
Lady Baek denied it calmly.
Though her voice had not been loud, its finality made everyone turn to look at her. It seemed less a statement that she would stop thinking of him as her son from this moment forward, and more an absolute erasure.
The young prince sensed the strangeness in the air and his eyes widened.
“My only true child is Prince Buyeo Hui.”
Her words that followed shook everyone to their core.
Not only the young prince but Buyeo Hui himself stared at Lady Baek in shock. As he watched her maintain her composure without a tremor, he found himself muttering under his breath.
“……That can’t be.”
Yet Lady Baek was not a woman who would utter falsehoods.
Lost in confusion at what he could not comprehend, the young prince—who had been frozen in panic—suddenly came to his senses.
“Mother, that is too harsh!”
Denial of reality.
But Lady Baek spoke with unshaken composure.
“You need not call me Mother anymore.”
“If I am not Mother’s son, then whose son am I?”
The prince’s voice shattered into a shriek.
Lady Baek exhaled deeply. It was a secret she had resolved to carry to her grave, a family shame meant to stay hidden.
“Prince Tae is the illegitimate child of my mother. She concealed the disgrace by making a deal with His Majesty. In exchange for rights to the gold mines, His Majesty granted you legitimacy.”
Without thinking, Sam-cheon drew in a sharp breath. This was a conversation she should never have witnessed.
[What a mess of a household.]
Sam-cheon instinctively glanced at Buyeo Hui. Fortunately, it seemed only she could hear Irae’s voice.
Sam-cheon tapped the inner pouch where she kept Irae, a silent signal to stay quiet.
[Understood. I’ll keep my eyes on things.]
Prince Tae’s jaw trembled as he spoke.
“Mother, your words go too far. You’re making a mistake about me.”
“I wish it were a mistake.”
Lady Baek uttered this momentous revelation without her composure wavering in the slightest.
“Is that why you gave the Jahyeon Merchant Guild to Buyeo Hui?”
“Do you still not understand the situation?”
“Understand? I understand perfectly! Because I’m not your true son, you’ve stripped away my share and given it to that man!”
Prince Tae spilled his grievance in bitter gasps.
In that moment, Lady Baek’s presence shifted.
“You never had anything to begin with. Do you understand what illegitimate means? It means no inheritance rights.”
“Mother!”
“You could have lived in wealth and honor simply by keeping silent. But you, Tae—you kidnapped Prince Buyeo Hui. His Majesty’s own son.”
Prince Tae’s words died in his throat. He had believed himself untouchable as a prince. But if he were not one—
“Your princely title will be stripped. You will be exiled.”
“Don’t lie to me!”
“This morning I received His Majesty’s letter and summoned you. If you wish, I can show it to you.”
Prince Tae’s jaw quivered violently.
He wanted to demand to see it at once, but he was terrified that all of this might be true. So instead he cried out meaninglessly.
“Mother!”
“Fool.”
“This is unjust!”
Lady Baek regarded the trembling prince with steady eyes.
She had raised him as her son for so long that affection had naturally taken root. Had he not crossed the line with Buyeo Hui, she would have tried to make something of him regardless.
But Tae had overstepped.
Lady Baek gestured without emotion. Her guards approached and seized the prince’s arms.
“His Majesty says he will send someone. Watch him closely until then—he is not to leave his quarters.”
“Mother!”
They subdued his struggling form with ease. Prince Tae was dragged away, his face the picture of disbelief at what was happening to him.
“This is unjust!”
The sound of his protests continued even after the door closed. And then, at last, silence returned.
Lady Baek exhaled heavily and turned to Sam-cheon.
“You have witnessed a shameful family secret.”
Sam-cheon, who had been looking down, quickly bowed her head.
“I will forget it.”
“Thank you. I summoned you partly to ask who stirred Tae to act, and partly to repay you for saving Prince Buyeo Hui. Tell me—is there anything you wish for?”
“The prince has already promised me a brush as a gift. That is enough.”
At her request for merely a brush, Lady Baek smiled with surprising warmth.
“If you ever desire something more, you need only ask. I have matters to discuss with Buyeo Hui, so wait outside for a moment.”
“Yes. I shall withdraw at once.”
Sam-cheon, whose hips were already eager to leave, rose quickly.
Once Sam-cheon had gone and they were alone, Buyeo Hui regarded Lady Baek with a face full of resentment.
“……Had it not been for this matter, I would have carried that secret to my grave. Since circumstances have forced the issue, perhaps you should take on several more businesses.”
“I don’t welcome it.”
“And it is time to break off your marriage arrangement. I have taken a liking to the third daughter of the Mok Household. Would you be willing to meet her?”
“I welcome that even less.”
Buyeo Hui’s face was full of defiance.
Lady Baek smoothed the edge of her brow and asked, “Is it because of that girl?”
Buyeo Hui did not deny it. At Sanchae, watching Sam-cheon move forward without hesitation, he had made his resolve: he would not turn away from this feeling.
“My heart is my own, Mother.”
“That girl is not unsuitable as your match.”
At this unexpected response, Buyeo Hui was caught off guard.
“Pardon?”
“Ju-hong told me. That girl saved your life, making her a benefactor to me and to the Baek Clan.”
Buyeo Hui understood well the value his marriage carried. If Tae lost his qualification as heir, that value would only rise.
“That may be true, but I expected you to oppose this.”
“The abilities of a Celestial Maiden would be of service in protecting both the Baek Clan and yourself.”
Buyeo Hui went still.
Within Sabigung there exists a Royal Archive, which only those with the sovereign’s permission may enter.
There lay records of how the royal house of Baekje has managed the Celestial Maidens across generations.
Every king who discovered a Celestial Maiden kept her close and elevated her. Their glimpses of the future were valued, though limited, but even more precious was the symbolic weight of what she represented.
Even after the royal house began to support Buddhism, the people still believed in the Celestial Deity. To maintain the loyalty of the common folk, it was essential to keep a Celestial Maiden within reach.
A Celestial Maiden who entered the royal house was assured wealth and honor, but never freedom.
Buyeo Hui had spent days in the Royal Archive, memorizing and copying the records, then brought them to Mokseo-gung. Gye-san, Sam-cheon, and Geum read them together, and as if bound by silent oath, they parted without speaking a word.
The day after reading the records.
Sam-cheon apologized to Buyeo Hui, claiming she had accidentally burned the documents. After that, the four of them never spoke of the “true Celestial Maiden” again.
Yet here she was, hearing of it through Lady Baek.
“There is no reason to object. However, to persuade His Majesty, you will likely need to reveal that the palace attendant Sam-cheon is the true Celestial Maiden.”
“I believe you have misunderstood, Mother. Sam-cheon is certainly quick-witted, but a Celestial Maiden?”
Buyeo Hui tried to deflect, but it would not work.
“Do you think I am the only one who has noticed?”
“…….”
“The excuse that she was a strategist for Princess Gye-san will not convince everyone. Those who know that the Ye Household’s Celestial Maiden is a fraud may, like me, arrive at the truth. If someone who asked Tae to hand her over suspects the truth, she could be in danger.”
Buyeo Hui’s face twisted.
Lady Baek was not merely speculating—she was certain.
“To protect that girl, shouldn’t you take over the clan as soon as possible?”
Lady Baek spoke calmly and then handed him a key.
“For today, accept only this. It is the key to the Baekho Room. There is also a brush there, worthy of a gift.”

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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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