A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 312

312. An Old Friend (2)

Sunbin watched Biyun’s actions with a tense expression. Biyun, holding a slender brush in her pale hand, approached him.

Swish.

‘Oof.’

Sunbin squeezed his eyes shut and flinched as the brush touched his face. Immediately, Biyun’s voice followed.

“I told you not to move, didn’t I?”

Sunbin felt unfairly accused. It wasn’t intentional; it was an unconscious reaction.

He didn’t argue, though, knowing it would only invite a scolding.

Swish, swish.

Following Biyun’s fingertips, the gentle sensation of the brush continued. He was curious about what she was doing, but Biyun’s face was too close for him to see.

Forced to endure the ticklishness, Sunbin stared at the antique, yet uninteresting, turtle-shaped wooden ornament in front of him.

“You know, don’t you?”

Biyun said suddenly. Sunbin turned to look at her questioningly, but immediately regretted it.

‘Ugh.’

Biyun’s face was too close. Her sparkling eyes, slender eyelashes, and perfectly formed nose were right in front of him.

Sunbin quickly averted his gaze back to the ornament, relieved he hadn’t made eye contact.

“What…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Didn’t I tell you not to move?”

Biyun frowned, immediately lifting the brush.

Sunbin was at a loss. Why ask a question if she wouldn’t let him answer? Especially such a loaded one.

When Sunbin remained still, Biyun sighed softly and picked up the brush again.

Swish.

Perhaps he was growing accustomed to it, as it was more bearable than before. Biyun moved the slender brush with delicate precision.

“I…”

Biyun said as she worked.

“…leaked information about the Outer Affairs [Yewon’s external operations] to the Imperial Family.”

Sunbin didn’t answer. The moving brush stopped and slowly moved away from his face.

“You know, don’t you?”

Biyun asked again in a calm voice. Without turning to look at her, Sunbin quietly replied.

“Yes, I figured you did.”

Lady Gyeonghui had drawn Cheonsugeom, Neung Cheonhwa, and Bigeom, Gongsong Geuk, to her side. Compared to that, Lady Gyeonghui’s side still didn’t know much about the Outer Affairs.

According to Old Master, Bigeom, Gongsong Geuk, was inherently cunning and wouldn’t have revealed much.

Cheonsugeom, Neung Cheonhwa, had also been distant from the Outer Affairs for a long time, so there wasn’t much to tell. Given her strong pride, it was unlikely she would have revealed everything.

Then how could Lady Gyeonghui have known about Cheonsugeom, Neung Cheonhwa, or Bigeom, Gongsong Geuk, in the first place and drawn them in?

It was a natural conclusion for Sunbin to suspect Cheongmyeongjeong [Clear Light Pavilion, Biyun’s workplace]. Of course, it was only a suspicion. That’s why Sunbin only mentioned the ‘possibility’.

“Aren’t you going to ask? What, how, and how much I leaked.”

Biyun was now revealing the truth herself, in an extremely calm and composed voice.

“I have a rough idea.”

Sunbin replied, looking at the turtle ornament. The brush wasn’t touching him, but he didn’t turn his face.

“It must have been about Cheonsugeom and Bigeom. Perhaps the content was something like a rumor that a formidable expert, expelled from the Emei Sect [a famous Taoist martial arts sect] and unknown to the world, was living in seclusion? Or that the former head of the Gongson Family was actually hiding tremendous power.”

Sunbin sighed softly. It was one of the ‘possibilities’ he had considered and pondered over countless times while spending time with Old Master in Hangzhou.

Lady Gyeonghui’s side must have been keenly aware of any news about the Outer Affairs. Naturally, they wouldn’t have missed such rumors.

“Ah, of course, it’s better not to use the words ‘Outer Affairs’ or ‘Yewon’ [the courtesan organization]. If you did, you might be traced back. It should have been presented as a common, unfounded rumor in the Jianghu [the martial arts world], shouldn’t it?”

A look of surprise flashed across Biyun’s eyes. It was exactly as Sunbin had said.

Of course, the actual content leaked was slightly different. It wasn’t just spreading vague rumors, but making sure it only reached ‘Soha’s’ ears.

However, the point about ‘Outer Affairs’ or ‘Yewon’ was accurate. Otherwise, as Sunbin said, Cheongmyeongjeong might be suspected and traced back.

“How did you know that…?”

Sunbin smiled and turned to look at Biyun.

“But what I want to hear is the ‘reason’.”

Sunbin asked, looking straight into Biyun’s eyes as she looked down at him.

“Why did you do it?”

Biyun, who had been looking surprised, suddenly let out a light laugh. It was clearly a sneer.

“Because I hated Hwayue.”

Biyun said, looking down at Sunbin.

“I hated that bitch who became the head of Yewon, surpassing me. When we were young, she used to cling to my sleeves, but as she grew up, she became the head of Yewon just because she was close to the Emperor, and she threw me into this Imperial Palace. I resented that bitch who pretended to know nothing and gave me worried looks. So, I did it.”

Biyun laughed as she spoke.

“Do you know how relieved I was when Hwayue was abandoned by the Emperor? Ha! I wanted to go to Hangzhou right away and see her face. It was really…”

Biyun turned her head, avoiding Sunbin’s gaze. She couldn’t finish her sentence and bit her lip.

“Is that an answer now?”

Sunbin saw her eyelashes trembling. He quietly said.

“Yes.”

Biyun closed her eyes. Her fate was now sealed. After closing her eyes for a moment, as if trying to calm the turmoil, she opened them again.

“Please turn your head. I want to finish what I was doing.”

She didn’t ask to be spared, nor did she ask for forgiveness. What she had done had no room for excuses.

Sunbin obediently turned his face towards the turtle ornament. The small brush touched his face again.

Swish, swish.

Biyun didn’t say anything, simply moving the brush silently.

Sunbin also entrusted his face to her, staring blankly at the turtle ornament in front of him.

How much time had passed?

“When I think about it, it’s really nothing.”

Biyun suddenly said, moving the brush silently. Her brush was still delicately tickling Sunbin’s face.

“Just because it was Hwayue and not me, I lived my whole life in jealousy, resenting my situation, and eventually betrayed a friend who was closer than my own sister. But nothing is left.”

Swish.

Biyun’s brush stopped. Quietly, but in a deep voice, she said.

“Why is my life so insignificant?”

Sunbin didn’t say anything. Biyun didn’t expect an answer either.

“It’s over now.”

Biyun put down the brush and placed it next to the makeup tools.

Click.

Sunbin raised himself from the backrest. At the same time, Biyun took a step back, put her hands together in front of her, straightened her back, and stood up straight.

“The rest will be taken care of by the servants. None of the other girls know about this…”

The reason why she told Sunbin first, and why she thoroughly prepared everything for Sunbin to infiltrate the Changeumgak performance, was precisely for this.

“Just kill me.”

Biyun said, looking straight at Sunbin.

“Hoo.”

Sunbin sighed. After glancing at the turtle ornament, he turned his head towards Biyun.

“I don’t know. Is it because everyone related to the Imperial Family is like this, or is it because they are smart and pretty?”

Biyun frowned, unable to understand what Sunbin was saying.

“What…”

“Why does everyone…”

Sunbin sighed softly once more.

“…not tell the truth?”

Biyun’s face was stiff. Sunbin knew she wouldn’t say anything.

‘It would be nice if they just told me everything, like the children at the Seowon [private Confucian academy].’

Sunbin suddenly thought.

The children always say what’s on their minds. That’s why they need education, but that’s also why there’s no need to struggle to understand the other person’s true intentions, and no reason to beat around the bush.

“Lady Gyeonghui, or rather Soha, was indiscriminately digging into everything about the Outer Affairs. Not just the martial arts sects or families, but also the merchants and even the civil and military officials of the court.”

In fact, the easiest area for Soha to investigate was the court’s ministers and officials. Naturally, it was the part that needed to be checked first.

“You must have sensed the danger. If left unchecked, it wouldn’t be long before Soha cast a suspicious eye on Cheongmyeongjeong.”

In reality, artists have no influence in the Imperial Family, unless they were eunuchs. Therefore, it was unlikely that Soha would pay attention to Cheongmyeongjeong.

However, if Soha, who was indiscriminately digging, started to pay attention to Cheongmyeongjeong, the problem would become serious.

Soha would realize that Cheongmyeongjeong was involved in the Imperial Family more often and more deeply than she thought.

“So you had to throw something that would divert Soha’s attention. Something so important that he wouldn’t look at anything else. And at the same time, Cheongmyeongjeong shouldn’t be suspected. Otherwise, the meaning of spreading the rumors would be lost in the first place.”

Sunbin said softly.

“So you decided to leak the rumors about Cheonsugeom and Bigeom and take all the blame yourself. Isn’t that right?”

If Cheongmyeongjeong was attached to the Imperial Family, why were they helping Sunbin now? Why hadn’t any threats been made to Yewon until now?

That meant that the information Cheongmyeongjeong leaked to the Imperial Family was extremely limited.

Biyun couldn’t say anything. Her eyebrows twitched as she kept her mouth shut.

“How…”

Biyun said with a look of utter incomprehension.

“How could you know that…?”

“You said that even the arrangement of a single stone or flower in the garden already had a perfect answer prepared.”

That was what Biyun had told Sunbin when he came here. Preparations to avoid even a single flaw being caught by those who despised and looked down on artists.

“That is precisely to protect the artists of this Cheongmyeongjeong. Can someone who cares about even a single flower or stone to prevent the artists from getting hurt, do something that would endanger the lives of everyone in Cheongmyeongjeong just because they hate someone?”

Biyun’s eyes were bloodshot. She bit her lip to hold back tears.

“…You are truly a cruel person.”

“Pardon?”

As Sunbin asked back, Biyun collapsed to her knees as if breaking down.

Thud.

“The children here have done nothing wrong.”

Biyun said in a trembling voice. Sunbin had revealed what she had been trying to hide until the end, what she wanted to protect at all costs, without even a shred of mercy.

He had cruelly uncovered and grasped what was more precious than Biyun’s own life.

“So please…”

Biyun, kneeling, lowered her head. Black hair flowed down, and tears sparkled and fell through it.

“Please spare these children.”

Biyun had no choice. Whatever the reason, the crime of endangering the Outer Affairs and the ‘one walking the path of the Emperor’ was great.

If Sunbin was truly angry, not only Biyun herself and Cheongmyeongjeong, but the entire Yewon might disappear without a trace. He had enough power to do so.

Therefore, this was the only remaining choice for Biyun.

But it was a completely unexpected reaction for Sunbin.

“No, I…”

“If you order me to commit suicide, I will do so.”

Biyun’s voice was trembling, but she never raised her voice or sobbed. She only said, shedding tears on the floor.

“Even if you order me to be beheaded, even if you want me to be hanged, I will do so. I will gladly endure dismemberment or slow slicing. So…”

‘Ugh.’

Sunbin shuddered involuntarily. The things Biyun was saying were all extreme punishments, especially the latter part.

Perhaps because she was familiar with the Imperial Family, Biyun spoke of them without hesitation. She may have been trying to express her sincerity, but for Sunbin, they were chilling words just to hear.

“Please, have mercy.”

Tears fell from her lowered head, leaving marks on the floor. Sunbin looked at Biyun and sighed softly.

‘Why lately…’

He felt that his expectations and people’s reactions were somehow misaligned.

Instead of being moved by his understanding of her sincerity, she was asking for extreme punishment.

Sunbin looked at Biyun, who had lowered her head.

“Would you really do anything?”

Biyun flinched at Sunbin’s soft voice. Her fate was now sealed.

But the answer was already determined. Without raising her head, Biyun replied.

“Yes.”

“Then.”

Sunbin said.

“Protect the artists here.”

For a moment, Biyun thought she had misheard something. She forgot her manners and raised her head to look at Sunbin.

Sunbin was looking at her with eyes as solemn and bright as a judge.

“Continue to do your job with sincerity and patience, as you have done until now. Even if the other party is the Imperial Family, never bend the pride of an artist, and show the dignified appearance of an artist that no one dares to ignore.”

A gentle smile appeared on Sunbin’s lips as he spoke.

“That will be enough.”

Biyun’s eyes trembled. She couldn’t understand what she had heard. No, she couldn’t believe it was true.

“Th, that…”

She, who had been indifferent even in the face of death, stammered.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

Sunbin said as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“I haven’t heard Biyun’s performance yet. Would it be alright if I asked you to play for me sometimes?”

Sunbin smiled brightly. But Biyun’s face was turning into a crying face instead.

“Then.”

Biyun bowed to Sunbin and came out, quietly closing the door.

Click.