A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 314

314. Entering the Palace

The long and arduous preparation process, especially grueling for Son Bin, was finally over, and the performers of Cheongmyeongjeong [a renowned entertainment troupe] were heading to the Imperial Palace.

A large, ornate carriage picked up the performers one by one, but Son Bin had to ride with Biyeon.

Clack, clack.

“Remember,” Biyeon said in a calm tone. Her voice was clear despite the sound of the carriage.

“From now on, you are not Master Son, but Son Ryeo. Son Ryeo, a performer belonging to Cheongmyeongjeong. Do you understand?”

“Yes?”

Son Bin, about to answer absentmindedly, paused. Sure enough, when he looked up, Biyeon’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

Son Bin quickly covered his mouth with his sleeve, flashing a smile as if to gloss over his mistake.

“An excessive smile only makes you look ridiculous,” Biyeon pointed out, frowning.

“A performer’s smile should always be faint and fleeting, like a mirage that appears briefly and then disappears. Remember that.”

‘I don’t think so,’ Son Bin thought.

Even Wonju Hwawol always smiled brightly, didn’t she?

It was clear that Biyeon’s words were overly influenced by her own tastes and beliefs.

But now was not the time to argue. Since he had entrusted everything to Biyeon, it was right to follow her wishes.

“And from now on, use this.”

Rustle.

Suddenly, Biyeon handed something to Son Bin. It was a small fan. A thin banana leaf fan shaped like a leaf, with delicate embroidery around the edges.

“Covering your face with your sleeve every time doesn’t look very good. It’s something I used to use, but it shouldn’t look too out of place.”

‘Oho.’

With sparkling eyes, Son Bin accepted the fan. It couldn’t be folded, but it was smaller and thinner than he thought, and very light, so it didn’t seem like it would be too much trouble to carry around.

Swish.

Son Bin raised the fan to cover his face. The banana leaf fan completely covered the lower part of Son Bin’s nose. It was definitely more comfortable than raising his sleeve.

“Don’t hold it too close to your nose. Don’t try to hide completely. Just lightly, with the feeling of concealing yourself, but also revealing yourself.”

Biyeon gave him more instructions.

He didn’t quite understand what ‘the feeling of concealing while revealing’ was, but Son Bin obediently followed her words.

“Good,” Biyeon said with a satisfied smile.

“Do that, Son Ryeo.”

‘Ugh.’

Hearing himself called ‘Son Ryeo’ to his face gave him goosebumps.

Son Bin turned his head and sighed faintly, with the small banana leaf fan covering his mouth, of course.

Biyeon’s satisfied smile deepened, but Son Bin didn’t see it. No, in fact, he didn’t care.

‘My head is heavy, I’m conscious of my chest, and why are all these accessories jingling so much?’

The powdered scent he had worried about wasn’t too strong. In the first place, he had applied light makeup, and perhaps he was already used to it.

But the wig was heavier than he thought. At first, it wasn’t a big deal, but as time went on, it became subtly burdensome. It was ridiculous that this was one of the lightest.

He tried not to think about his chest at all, but he couldn’t help but be conscious of it whenever he accidentally bumped into something or it caught his eye.

Moreover, why were the accessories on his wrists, ankles, earlobes, and hair so cumbersome?

He was constantly anxious that they would fall off with the slightest movement. If they got caught on something, his earlobes or hair might be pulled out.

‘This is basically telling me to stay still.’

Of course, that wasn’t the intention. Perhaps it was simply the choice of women who wanted to look pretty.

But the result clearly showed the position of women, and especially performers, in the imperial court.

Son Bin felt that he could understand Biyeon’s situation, which he had vaguely guessed, a little better.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Biyeon said, frowning. Son Bin realized he had been caught. He hadn’t meant to, but he must have been looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

“You don’t need to look at me like that. After all, everyone struggles in their own situation. We’re just a little more harshly treated. Just…”

Biyeon turned her head. The splendid streets of Beijing were passing by outside the carriage window.

“That’s all.”

Perhaps because the sun was setting, the streets of Beijing were dyed red in the twilight. The pitiful lights that were lit one by one somehow conveyed a lonely atmosphere.

“My performance…”

Suddenly, Biyeon said in a calm voice. She was still looking out the window. Son Bin blinked, looking at Biyeon’s profile.

“Anytime is fine. And…”

Perhaps because of the twilight, Biyeon’s face was slightly red. She said without making eye contact with Son Bin.

“Thank you. I…”

It seemed like her eyes were getting watery again. Son Bin lowered his fan, gave a gentle smile, and replied.

“You’re welcome.”

This time, Biyeon didn’t point it out. She stared blankly at the streets of Beijing.

Thus, the two quietly crossed the city and headed to the Imperial Palace.

The carriage arrived at the North Gate of the Imperial Palace. Because ChangEumgak [a music hall within the palace] was located at the northeastern end of the Imperial Palace, the North Gate was closer than the West Gate.

The North Gate was quite crowded. The performers who had left earlier had not yet entered. Naturally, their attendants and carriages were also gathered around.

“What’s going on?” Biyeon asked as she got out of the carriage, and the performers who had been waiting anxiously were overjoyed.

“Lady Biyeon!”

The performers ran up as if they had been waiting.

“Lady Biyeon, listen to this. The eunuchs say they’re going to search all of us.”

“Search?”

Biyeon frowned, and another performer quickly said.

“Not only that, but they say we have to take off all our clothes! It’s ridiculous.”

Biyeon realized that something was wrong. Biyeon looked up at the North Gate of the Imperial Palace.

A eunuch in a splendid uniform, standing in front of the North Gate, came into her view.

It wasn’t the eunuch who usually supervised the performers’ entry and exit, but someone she had never seen before.

Biyeon approached him with a light step.

Rustle.

As Biyeon bowed politely, the eunuch frowned. Watching this, Son Bin sensed that things would not be easy.

Sure enough, the eunuch’s attitude in answering Biyeon was quite overbearing.

“It’ll be okay,” a performer said in a small voice next to Son Bin, who was watching.

“Our Lady Biyeon is amazing at handling people. But who are you? I’ve never seen your face before.”

The girl was also someone Son Bin had never seen before. Son Bin was flustered. He couldn’t answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’, so what should he do in this case?

In the end, Son Bin covered his face with his banana leaf fan and gave an awkward smile, not forgetting to lower his eyes. The performer girl grinned.

“You’re shy… It’s okay, I was like that at first too… Oh? Look over there!”

At her words, Son Bin turned his gaze. The eunuch’s face, who had been talking to Biyeon, suddenly turned red and blue. On the other hand, Biyeon still had a smile on her face.

The eunuch, who had been huffing and puffing alone, finally sighed. Whatever the content was, he had surrendered to Biyeon’s words.

“I knew it. There’s no way a eunuch like that could be a match for Lady Biyeon. Lady Biyeon knows many concubines well and takes care of many old eunuchs. A newbie like that can’t do anything.”

The lives of eunuchs are surprisingly poor. If they don’t have power or a family backing them, their lives are miserable.

Cheongmyeongjeong was helping not only the performers but also such eunuchs, mainly old eunuchs who were about to retire.

Although they didn’t have power, their influence among the eunuchs was by no means small.

Part of the secret news that Cheongmyeongjeong obtained also came from them.

‘I see.’

Son Bin was inwardly convinced.

Moreover, since they had to perform in front of the nobles of the imperial court right now, that alone was enough to pressure the eunuch.

One word, asking if he would take responsibility if they were late, would leave the eunuch helpless.

As Son Bin watched, he suddenly saw Biyeon picking up a small pouch from the floor.

“Hee, they still give money?”

The performer girl next to him muttered. When Son Bin looked at her, the girl grinned.

“Eunuchs love money. So, they pretend to pick it up, saying, ‘Did you drop this?’ Looking at it that way, eunuchs are pitiful. They have nothing to rely on but money.”

The performer girl clicked her tongue quietly, looking at the eunuch. When you think about it, eunuchs are less than bugs in the imperial palace.

“But we’re lucky. We have Cheongmyeongjeong, and we have Lady Biyeon who takes care of us. Don’t think about anything else and work hard. Then Lady Biyeon will take care of everything for you. Oh, Lady Biyeon is coming.”

The performer girl approached Biyeon.

“How did it go?”

“The search will only be over the clothes. It won’t be too harsh, so don’t worry.”

The girls were overjoyed at Biyeon’s words.

“But you know? If anything seems strange…”

“Yes.”

The girls answered with a smile. Soon the search began, and the eunuchs began to search the performer girls’ bodies.

Soon, screams of ‘꺅’ or ‘Oh my!’ erupted from here and there, and eventually, even girls who were sobbing came out. Of course, they didn’t shed a single tear.

Even in that situation, the chief eunuch, who was in charge, didn’t scold the performers but stood far away and pretended not to know. In the end, the other eunuchs had no choice but to touch them lightly, watching their reactions.

And it was Son Bin’s turn. The eunuch glanced at the tall Son Bin and gestured. Son Bin stretched his arms out to the side. After lightly tapping his waist first, the eunuch’s hands gradually moved upward.

Son Bin closed his eyes tightly and pursed his lips. But the moment he touched his chest, Son Bin couldn’t help but flinch and groan.

“Ugh.”

The eunuch, who was already on edge because Son Bin was overly nervous, was also startled. At the same time, the glares of the other performer girls poured down.

“Cough, cough.”

The eunuch, who coughed in vain, became more careful. But he made sure to touch and check the parts where something could be hidden, such as the sleeves, arms, back, and legs, with his fingers.

“G-go ahead.”

At the eunuch’s words, Son Bin breathed a sigh of relief. And as a sign of gratitude, he gave the eunuch a light smile and bowed his head. The eunuch’s face immediately turned red at the sight.

“Son Ryeo.”

Immediately, Biyeon’s sharp voice flew in. Son Bin realized he had been caught and covered his face with his banana leaf fan.

“Come here.”

Biyeon had already finished her body search and was waiting inside. Son Bin left the eunuch and approached Biyeon.

“Don’t smile at just anyone,” Biyeon said in a small whisper.

“In the imperial palace, you must be careful in everything.”

Son Bin bowed his head at her words. Her words were a hundred times right.

“Not only men but also women. Especially be careful when the palace maids show kindness to help you. There are many women among the maids who like women.”

Son Bin couldn’t hide his surprised expression. He thought he only had to be careful of men, but he had to be careful of women too. It was something he had never thought of.

‘No, no.’

When he thought about it, it was something that had happened frequently in history.

Of course, if caught, they could not escape capital punishment.

There were many women in the imperial family who lost the power struggle and died with these accusations.

“Haa.”

Biyeon sighed.

“I feel uneasy. I wonder if I’m making a mistake…”

Son Bin couldn’t raise his head. And he decided to always maintain a blank expression in the imperial palace.

Thus, the body search of the performers was over, and this time it was the turn of the musical instruments.

Unlike the performers, the search for musical instruments was very strict. Wind instruments such as the tungso [a Korean flute] were carefully examined inside, and stringed instruments such as the geomungo [a Korean zither] and seul [another type of Korean zither] had to have their strings loosened.

There were girls who were really teary-eyed at the sight, but the eunuchs were merciless.

Only after the eunuchs looked around, tapped, and turned them over could the performers receive their instruments.

It was fortunate that they didn’t say they had to split them in two.

Well, if they split the instruments in two, they wouldn’t be able to use them at all.

“This isn’t a big deal,” Biyeon said suddenly.

“The inside of the imperial city is worse. If you accidentally leave ChangEumgak, you’ll have a lot of trouble.”

Since this was the imperial palace, that was perhaps natural.

Moreover, the emperor knew about the external affairs, so there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be something else.

No, there must be.

“So, inside, you must do as I say,” she said in a low voice, and Son Bin nodded.

Meanwhile, the eunuch began to examine the seven-stringed geomungo that Son Bin had brought.

Son Bin didn’t pay much attention to it, because there was nothing in that seven-stringed geomungo. His sword Baekro had already been entrusted to Biyeon.

Biyeon said she would get Baekro into the imperial palace.

Son Bin was grateful, but he wondered if it was possible. Seeing the instruments being carefully examined now, he thought so even more.

“Don’t worry,” Biyeon said in a small voice, noticing Son Bin’s thoughts.

“No matter how perfect the procedure is, there must be loopholes as long as people do it. A sword or two is no problem.”

Even if you control great water and move mountains, you can’t prevent man-made disasters. Son Bin had no choice but to agree with Biyeon’s words.

Meanwhile, another performer girl received Son Bin’s seven-stringed geomungo, which had been searched. She brought it to Son Bin.

Son Bin was startled when he received the seven-stringed geomungo.

‘Huh? This is…’

It looked the same, but it wasn’t the seven-stringed geomungo he had brought. Above all, he could hear the faint echo of Baekro from inside, which only Son Bin could hear.

“You’ve already noticed,” Biyeon said with a small smile.

“I told you? It’s no problem.”

Son Bin couldn’t hide his surprise. Until a little while ago, when he handed the seven-stringed geomungo to the eunuch, there was clearly no Baekro inside.

Did she bribe the eunuch? Biyeon explained to Son Bin, who was curious.

“It’s a simple switch. No matter how sharp-eyed a person is, if you poke at their mental loopholes, they’ll be easily fooled.”

In Sichuan’s unique art, Tianju, there is a technique called Bian Lian, face-changing [a traditional Chinese dramatic art].

They change several masks in an instant, and even though you know they’re going to change, you miss the moment.

No matter how the eunuchs glare, they can’t recognize the elaborate technique that exploits psychological loopholes.

Knowing it, but being fooled at some point, is the talent of the performers.

Eventually, all the long searches were over. The performers each straightened their clothes and hair and tightened the loosened strings.

“Everyone, keep your wits about you,” Biyeon said to the performers with sharp eyes.

“No more whining or complaining here. No need to act cute or pretty. This is a battlefield. Only skill is needed, our battlefield.”

The pupils of the performer girls shone. They all had the same determined eyes as Biyeon.

“So we will definitely win.”

“Yes, Lady Biyeon,” the performer girls replied in a low but determined voice. The excited feeling of entering the splendid imperial palace could no longer be found in them.

‘Ah.’

Biyeon’s words and the girls’ answers left a deep impression on Son Bin as well.

How fiercely are people living in places he doesn’t know?

He bowed his head again. And it was no longer awkward or ashamed to be with them. He even forgot for a moment that he was cross-dressing.

“Yes, that’s the look. You’re Son Ryeo, right?”

The performer girl who had spoken to him earlier smiled at Son Bin. She must have heard Biyeon calling him Son Ryeo.

“Don’t be afraid of the imperial palace. They won’t kill you for making a mistake, right? Ah, you might really die if you make a mistake…”

It was a statement that didn’t inspire confidence. Son Bin smiled awkwardly. Then the performer girl grinned.

Bang.

She hit Son Bin on the back loudly. He had already noticed, but Son Bin didn’t avoid it.

“Let’s go,” she said with a lively face.

“Whether they’re nobles of the imperial family or whatever, let’s shut them up with our skills.”