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Chapter 9
“No one is going to admit they did it.”
When Hwi explained his reasoning, Gyesan blinked in confusion.
“Then… why are we doing this?”
Seeing his bewildered expression, Hwi thumped his own chest in exasperation.
“You’re hopeless. If we do this, everyone in the palace will know that the attendants from Yeonhwa Palace were the ones who beat up your maid.”
“So what?”
“Normally, incidents between palace servants get swept under the rug. Otherwise they can escalate into conflicts between their masters.”
“Right.”
“But you and Lady Hae are already at odds. Since everyone knows you’re the victim, they’ll naturally assume Lady Hae is the culprit this time too. Even if she wasn’t involved, it won’t matter. She’ll end up branded as a cruel woman who took her anger out on a little maid. The rumors that she starved and abused you will seem even more believable.”
“I don’t care if Lady Hae gets her revenge. I want to find the people who beat Samcheon. Samcheon spent the whole night groaning in pain, while the people who did this are probably sleeping soundly.”
The cheek Lady Hae had slapped was still swollen, and the beating from those thugs had left bruises all over Samcheon’s body.
Every time Gyesan looked at her lying in bed, anger welled up inside him.
Watching him fume, Hwi curled one corner of his lips into a smile.
“We don’t have to find them ourselves.”
Gyesan glared at him stubbornly.
“No. I want to.”
“Lady Hae will find them and punish them herself. Do you think she’ll just sit back while her reputation gets dragged through the mud?”
When he thought about it, Hwi had a point.
Seeing Gyesan begin to waver, Hwi continued,
“Besides, even if you found them, you were only planning to do to them exactly what they did to Samcheon, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. I’d beat them just as badly.”
“Lady Hae is the type to repay people tenfold. That woman is practically a snake.”
Gyesan remembered Lady Hae’s vicious expression.
If it were her…
She wouldn’t settle for ten times.
She’d repay them a hundredfold.
“Brother… are you a genius? So all we have to do is ruin Lady Hae’s reputation?”
“There’s more. Once word gets around that we’ve been questioning everyone, nobody will dare touch Samcheon again.”
“Because they’ll think we’ll step in next time too?”
“No fool would pick on a maid protected by members of the royal family. Maybe you’re not scary, but I certainly am.”
Hwi’s maternal family belonged to the wealthiest and most influential clan in Baekje, renowned not only for their fortune but also for their prestige.
If Hwi openly stood behind Samcheon, her life in the palace would naturally become much more peaceful.
“You came back even smarter than before.”
“Watch carefully and learn.”
“Okay! This time I’ll do it.”
Brimming with enthusiasm, Gyesan strode up and blocked another servant’s path.
“Was it you?”
Fixing the man with a piercing stare, he demanded.
The servant immediately bowed.
“May I ask what this is about, Your Highness?”
“Were you the one who beat Samcheon?”
“No, Your Highness. Are you searching for the person who assaulted someone named Samcheon?”
“Yes. I’m going to make them look exactly the way they made her look, so I thought it might be you.”
Realizing the situation was becoming serious, the servant turned pale.
“It absolutely wasn’t me.”
“Really? Then do you know anyone suspicious?”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“If you don’t know, then you may go. I’ll find them eventually. Anyone who beats up a child should’ve been prepared to get beaten in return.”
Standing a step behind him, Hwi nodded approvingly.
“Not bad.”
The two princes’ strange investigation continued until the rumor—
The maid from Mokseo Palace has been beaten half to death by attendants from Yeonhwa Palace.
—had spread around the entire palace twice over.
Lady Hae took special care with her appearance.
She painted her lips a deeper shade of red than usual and chose her most extravagant hairpin.
The woman reflected in the bronze mirror looked more beautiful than ever.
Satisfied, she turned to her maid, Danhwa.
“Send word to Father. Tell him to accept more requests. We need to refill our empty treasury.”
“Yes, my lady. I’ll relay your message.”
Danhwa bowed respectfully and withdrew.
One chest of gold had been emptied.
Recovering two more would finally soothe her irritation.
She had just risen, ready to leave for a social gathering, when Danhwa returned wearing a troubled expression.
“The boating excursion has been canceled. They sent word that the wind is too cold and suggested rescheduling.”
Lady Hae’s lips stiffened.
Since yesterday, one gathering after another had been canceled.
It was humiliating.
Still, as long as the Great King’s heart remained with her, this embarrassment wouldn’t last forever.
Even so…
She had no intention of forgetting this insult.
Pretending not to care, Lady Hae removed her hairpin.
“I was feeling tired anyway. I’ll take a nap.”
Just as she stood to change into more comfortable clothes, another maid rushed in, her face deathly pale.
“My lady! Something terrible has happened!”
“Stop making such a fuss. What could possibly warrant all this commotion?”
Annoyance seeped into Lady Hae’s voice.
The maid flinched in fear.
But staying silent would only make matters worse.
“Prince Hwi and Princess Gyesan are stopping palace servants throughout the palace and searching for the people who beat Samcheon.”
“Who is Samcheon?”
“The young maid from Mokseo Palace.”
The memory of the tiny little girl surfaced, and Lady Hae frowned.
“They’re looking for me?”
“No, my lady. It seems that maid was dragged away last night and beaten severely. They say she’s hovering between life and death.”
The maid’s voice grew quieter with every word.
“How ridiculous. Why is that such a problem? I was planning to deal with her soon anyway. Someone saved me the trouble. Let people suspect what they like. Once Their Highnesses catch the culprits, the rumors will die down.”
“My lady… the attendants of Yeonhwa Palace have become implicated.”
After delivering the news, the maid immediately prostrated herself.
Without realizing it, Lady Hae clenched her fist.
Her subordinates had apparently acted on their own, unable to distinguish what they should and shouldn’t do.
“I don’t recall giving such an order.”
“I beg your forgiveness.”
As the messenger bowed repeatedly, the other maids, who had been nervously watching the situation, also threw themselves to the floor.
Lady Hae let out a long sigh before setting down her hairpin.
“I’m going to sleep for a while. While I’m resting, find out how the rumors are spreading. And identify everyone involved.”
Without even changing her clothes, she retired for an afternoon nap.
After sleeping soundly, Lady Hae received Danhwa’s report.
When she heard the culprits had been identified, she stepped out into the courtyard.
Five palace maids were kneeling there.
“What if that maid dies?”
“I told you we should’ve stopped before it got that bad.”
“You’re the one who stomped on her the hardest.”
The women whispered among themselves until they noticed Lady Hae approaching.
They immediately lowered their heads.
Walking toward them at an unhurried pace, Lady Hae looked down coldly at her attendants.
“Why did you do something I never ordered?”
“We deserve death for our crime.”
“Please forgive us.”
The sight of them trembling in terror only irritated her further.
Because of these fools, her own position had become difficult.
The earlier accusations could at least be explained away.
She could claim she had simply been overzealous because she had never raised a child before.
To prepare for exactly this sort of situation, she had never physically harmed Gyesan herself.
She had only reduced the child’s meals—never starved him outright.
She had been careful.
If trouble arose, she intended to receive only the amount of criticism she could safely endure.
Nothing more.
But now a new rumor had been added—
That Princess Gyesan’s maid had been beaten so badly she was on the verge of death.
“So now they’re saying I starved a child for an entire week… locked her in a storeroom… had a maid flogged in front of the princess to terrify her… And what else? That I’m so devoid of maternal instinct and so cruel that I can’t even bear children?”
With every accusation Lady Hae listed, the kneeling maids shrank lower and lower.
“Why should I have to hear such things?”
“W-We… we’re sorry.”
Lady Hae looked down coldly at the women groveling before her.
What would it take to calm this fury, even a little?
Suppressing her rage, she finally spoke.
“Reflect on your actions while being whipped. I want your screams to echo beyond the storeroom. Ten lashes each.”
She turned away without another glance.
“Take them.”
