A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 317

317. Deep Within the Imperial Palace

The performance at Changyin Hall was halted. The nobles of the imperial family who had been watching the performance were immediately escorted back to their residences under the protection of the Jin衣卫 [Jinyiwei, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a special imperial guard].

Some worried that the situation on the northern border had become urgent, while others speculated that since there were no immediate signs of trouble, it couldn’t be a major crisis. However, the imperial family was largely left in the dark.

The Jinyiwei remained tight-lipped, and even the eunuchs seemed to be uninformed about what had happened.

‘Surely nothing could happen within the imperial palace itself,’ they thought, but the nobles couldn’t shake off their unease.

History had shown that in truly dire situations, it was not uncommon to sacrifice the entire imperial family for the sake of the emperor’s personal safety.

Therefore, all the imperial nobles could do was pray that this matter, whatever it was, would pass without incident.

“Um…”

A young lady with large, anxious eyes spoke. She was an entertainer from Cheongmyeongjeong [a renowned entertainment house or troupe].

“Are we going to be okay?”

However, none of the other entertainers in the room answered. They, too, had been moved here without any explanation of the situation.

When the emergency signal sounded, the entertainers were also forcibly relocated. Originally, they would have returned to Cheongmyeongjeong after the performance, but the gates of the imperial palace were now firmly closed, and no one was allowed to leave.

Following the instructions of the Jinyiwei, who glared at them with menacing eyes, the entertainers were moved to a palace within the imperial palace. Even so, the palace was only a slightly larger mansion, and since it was not regularly used, it was ill-prepared for guests.

The entertainers, forcibly moved to a dilapidated and uncomfortable place, all gathered in the largest room as if by unspoken agreement.

The young ladies, sitting on beds, chairs, and whatever suitable furniture they could find, all wore expressions of anxiety.

Although they were talented entertainers, they were still young women. Some were tearful, confessing their fear, while others offered comfort, soothing each other’s anxieties.

“By the way…”

The entertainers’ gazes focused on the speaker. The young lady who spoke seemed unaware of this and continued to her friend next to her.

“That performance earlier was really amazing… Why, why are you all looking at me like that?”

Only then did the young lady realize she had everyone’s attention, and she looked flustered. Her friend replied sharply.

“Ugh, is this really the time to be talking about that?”

However, even the young lady who had scolded her soon let out a soft sigh and said.

“But it was amazing. It really was… amazing.”

Her words reflected a common sentiment among all the entertainers present. The young ladies nodded in agreement and began to talk amongst themselves.

“I think it’s been a long time since I cried while listening to someone else’s performance. These days, I just end up comparing myself. She’s better than me, she shouldn’t play that like that, things like that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Most of the time, I just think, ‘Okay, whatever.’ It’s like the old emotions are gone… But today was different.”

The entertainers nodded in agreement. Just thinking about the performance made the young ladies slightly shiver or wear wistful expressions.

Was it an instinctive attempt to shake off their anxious feelings?

The young ladies quickly became enthusiastic about the performance from earlier and began to talk to each other. Or rather, it might have been a perfectly natural reaction for entertainers.

“But who is she?”

At someone’s question, the room fell silent again. That was the question on everyone’s mind.

“Her name is Sonryeo.”

Another entertainer answered. People’s attention focused on her, and the young lady who spoke replied with a somewhat smug expression.

“She’s new today. I talked to her a bit before coming to the imperial palace, and she seemed quiet and nice.”

“Sonryeo?”

“Never heard of her. She seemed a bit clumsy, so I thought she hadn’t been at Cheongmyeongjeong for long.”

“Maybe the Sojus [managers or owners of the entertainment house] know?”

The entertainers immediately began to chatter. Thanks to that, the obvious question that should have been asked was delayed.

“By the way, where is she now?”

The young ladies looked around. However, they couldn’t find Sonryeo anywhere. The young ladies began to murmur.

“Um… Why isn’t she here?”

“Where did she go?”

“Could she be lost…?”

“What?”

The entertainer who knew Sonryeo’s name turned pale and jumped up.

“T, then that’s a big problem, isn’t it? If she accidentally goes somewhere she shouldn’t…”

This was the imperial palace. Even if such a thing happened normally, it would be a serious matter, but in the current situation, she could be killed without question.

The young ladies quickly became agitated. Anxious worries poured out from all sides.

“Maybe she went to wash her hands?”

“No. I just went, and there was no one there.”

“What should we do? S, should we go look for her now?”

“We can’t. We can’t even go outside.”

“Then what should we do?”

Click.

The door suddenly opened. The entertainers immediately shut their mouths and looked at the person who entered. It was Biyun of Cheongmyeongjeong.

“Ah, Lady Biyun.”

The entertainers’ faces brightened at the sight of her, but then turned gloomy again.

“Lady Biyun, Lady Biyun! Something terrible has happened.”

“What should we do, Lady Biyun?”

“Lady Biyun!”

Biyun was at a loss. Biyun’s face hardened reflexively at the sudden reaction of the entertainers.

“Quiet.”

It was a soft voice, but it was enough to silence the entertainers.

“This is the imperial palace. Everyone, be quiet.”

Everyone became solemn at Biyun’s cold voice. Biyun looked at the bowing entertainers and asked.

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“Lady Biyun. Sonryeo… Our Sonryeo is gone.”

One entertainer said, sobbing. Biyun was momentarily dumbfounded. When did they become so close as to suddenly call her ‘our Sonryeo’?

The other entertainers were the same. They all had tears in their eyes and worried expressions, and Biyun couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

“It’s true. She’s nowhere to be found. She didn’t go to wash her hands either.”

“What should we do? She’s here for the first time, so if she gets lost, it’ll be a disaster…”

“Quiet.”

Biyun calmed the young ladies who were about to become noisy again.

‘Really, what is this…’

Biyun sighed softly. But it wasn’t incomprehensible. After listening to such a performance, anyone would have no choice but to be kind to Sonryeo.

Moreover, Sonryeo was tall and slender, and she seemed clumsy to anyone, which subtly stimulated their protective instincts. It was only natural that the entertainers of the same Cheongmyeongjeong would want to protect her.

“Sonryeo is fine.”

At Biyun’s soft words, the young ladies wore expressions of relief.

“She’s okay? Really?”

“Ah, she was with Lady Biyun.”

“Where is she now?”

The entertainers, relieved of their tension, quickly began to chirp like sparrows.

“I told you to be quiet, didn’t I?”

However, at Biyun’s stern voice, the entertainers quickly fell silent. But since it seemed like she had to explain in detail, Biyun continued softly.

“…Sonryeo left first.”

The eyes of the entertainer ladies widened at once.

“First? When?”

“How did she leave? It’s a mess right now.”

“Did she leave alone? Does she know the way?”

Biyun answered quietly to the pouring questions from the young ladies.

“After the performance…”

The young ladies quickly closed their mouths and pricked up their ears to Biyun’s words.

“There were a flood of requests from the imperial family to meet Sonryeo personally. To the point where I thought something really bad would happen if we stayed like this.”

It was true that there were a flood of requests. However, most of them were canceled due to the emergency signal.

But the requests from the princes were quite serious. The Fifth Prince’s request to meet her later was close to pure admiration, but the messages from the Third and Fourth Princes to come to their palaces were very coercive.

Among them, the most difficult was the Second Prince.

Putting aside his politeness and courtesy, he came to Biyun himself instead of sending a eunuch. It seemed that even the fact that it was an emergency situation was not on the Second Prince’s mind.

“So I had no choice but to send Sonryeo out first. Thanks to the special help of a few eunuchs I know well. I’m sorry to you all.”

The entertainer ladies were convinced by Biyun’s explanation.

Although they were requests from the imperial nobles, in the end, entertainers were just flowers to them. They could pluck them whenever they felt like it, and throw them away whenever they lost interest.

Biyun was the one who protected the entertainers from such imperial power, even risking her own life. So it was understandable that Biyun had sent Sonryeo out.

Of course, the current situation was not normal, but with Biyun’s abilities, she would have found a way somehow. In fact, none of the young ladies knew exactly what the current situation was.

“You don’t have to be sorry. We’re fine.”

One of the entertainer ladies quickly said.

“That’s right. That’s really good. We were so worried.”

“That’s right. I’m so relieved.”

The entertainer ladies were relieved as if it were their own business and stroked their chests.

Biyun felt a little sorry at the sight. Sonryeo, no, Sonbin, was still in the imperial palace. Although she would leave the imperial palace before the entertainers later.

“Come to think of it, what was the song that Sonryeo played earlier?”

As if regaining their composure after their worries disappeared, one of the young ladies suddenly asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of it before?”

The imperial palace’s ancestral rites music strictly adhered to tradition and etiquette. In addition, the songs officially used in the imperial palace were regulated according to strict etiquette.

On the other hand, the songs played at Changyin Hall were relatively free. Even popular dramas were performed, but only to the extent that they did not offend the high-ranking officials.

“Could it be a song that our Sonryeo wrote?”

“No.”

The answer came from Biyun. Biyun said softly to the entertainers who were watching her.

“I heard that it was written by a trainee in Yewon [a music academy] in Hangzhou. They say the song doesn’t even have a name yet.”

She had confirmed it when she had listened to Sonbin’s performance in advance during the day.

She had thought about changing it to a traditional Gugum piece, but the song went so well with Sonbin’s, no, Sonryeo’s appearance that she had no choice but to leave it as it was. Fortunately, Sonbin had memorized all of Kangrin’s songs.

“A trainee?”

“Wow, she’s a scary junior?”

The entertainers clicked their tongues.

“Shall we play that earlier?”

Someone suddenly said. It was a proposal that the entertainers couldn’t help but be tempted by, but there was a problem.

“We left all our instruments behind.”

All the instruments the entertainers had brought were in Changyin Hall. Not even a small Xiao [a vertical bamboo flute] was allowed.

“Of course, I hid it.”

The entertainer lady smiled and fluttered her skirt, revealing a small Xiao inside.

“Um, I wrote a poem for it, what do you think?”

Another young lady hummed a tune, adding a poem on the spot. Everyone was an entertainer, so they had already perfectly memorized the song.

“Ah, will that person who smiled like a flower still be waiting for me?”

The throbbing of first love and the longing for home went really well with the tune.

The entertainers quietly began to sing along to the soft melody of the small Xiao.

Since the situation was what it was, they couldn’t sing loudly. But just humming softly made the entertainers’ eyes moisten again.

“Ah, will the peach blossoms of my hometown, which filled the whole neighborhood, still be blooming there today?”

Deep in the imperial palace, in a dilapidated and large detached palace, the faint singing of the entertainers flowed out.

*

*

*

Immediately after the emergency signal sounded and the performance was stopped, the imperial nobles and Cheongmyeongjeong entertainers hurriedly left Changyin Hall under the escort and surveillance of the Jinyiwei.

However, there was also someone who did not leave Changyin Hall. It was none other than the Second Prince.

Faced with the Second Prince’s firm will, even the Jinyiwei could not do anything. In the end, with the condition that it would be for a short time, the Jinyiwei guarded Changyin Hall and waited for the Second Prince to come out.

“If that is truly the Second Prince’s will.”

Biyun answered quietly in the silent Changyin Hall where no one was present. The windows on all sides that had been opened for the performance were already closed.

“I will ask the child’s intentions. Would that still be acceptable?”

The Second Prince nodded.

“That will be enough. But please make sure to convey that I am sincere.”

Biyun bowed deeply and accepted the Second Prince’s will. If he had come out forcefully, she would have brushed it off appropriately, but it was even more difficult to deal with him when he bowed and sincerely asked like this.

Moreover, wasn’t he the Second Prince?

After Biyun left, the Second Prince stood with his hands behind his back and waited silently for the result.

He looked calm on the outside, but his heart was pounding uncontrollably. Had his heart ever raced so much since his coming-of-age ceremony?

How long had he waited?

Rustle.

The Second Prince turned his head at the sudden sound of footsteps. However, the situation that appeared before him was something he had neither expected nor prepared for.

“Who are you?”

The Second Prince asked with a hardened expression. The person who entered was a young man with a gentle demeanor. A young man dressed in neat and rather luxurious scholar’s attire stood before him.

The young man did not look threatening at all. Nor was he hostile. But he couldn’t let his guard down. This young man had broken through the strict security of the imperial palace’s Jinyiwei and stood here now.

Swish.

The young man in scholar’s attire put his hands together and bowed. It was not imperial etiquette, but it was a very polite greeting.

“Please forgive my rudeness. It was not my intention, but I have become rude for a moment.”

The eyes of the young man in scholar’s attire looking at the Second Prince were incomparably deep and clear. And the moment he met those eyes, the Second Prince also noticed something.

Whose those clear eyes resembled.

It was easy to call out and summon the Jinyiwei. But the Second Prince did not do so.

“…What do you want?”

The young man in scholar’s attire replied with a soft smile.

“There is something I would like to say.”

After a moment of silence, the Second Prince let out a soft sigh.

“If it’s just a story, I suppose it’s possible.”

The Second Prince looked straight at the young man. The Second Prince’s shining eyes clearly showed his spirit.

“Please, sit down.”

The Second Prince offered the young man a chair in Changyin Hall that had been prepared for the performance. And he himself sat on another chair facing him.

Rustle.

The two men sat facing each other in the empty Changyin Hall.

“So, what is it that you want to say?”

The young man in scholar’s attire smiled faintly. And he began to speak in a quiet voice.

During his words, the Second Prince’s expression changed from moment to moment. And finally, when the explanation of the ‘Heavenly Transformation Scheme’ was over, the Second Prince was lost in thought with a hardened expression.

“If what you say is true.”

The Second Prince’s voice was slightly trembling.

“This is truly a serious matter.”

The ‘Heavenly Transformation Scheme’ was a serious matter that required preparing for even an internal war, depending on the circumstances. The fact that this was being carried out independently without the discussion of the court, and even secretly, was a serious problem.

Even if it was the current emperor who held a strong political leadership, there would be strong opposition, and if the problem was passed on to the next emperor, the court would be in complete chaos.

“But why are you telling me this?”

The Second Prince, who had been lost in thought with a serious expression, suddenly said.

“If you’re asking me to stop this…”

The Second Prince currently had no power. He could secretly spread rumors to form public opinion among the officials, but there was no guarantee that it would be effective.

“That is not the case.”

The young man said in a quiet tone.

“I will deal with this matter in my own way.”

“Your way?”

The young man in scholar’s attire smiled.

“A political solution.”

The Second Prince frowned slightly. He had no idea what the ‘political solution’ that the young man was talking about was.

“Then why are you telling me this…?”

“I just wanted you to know.”

The young man in scholar’s attire said calmly.

“Just how foolish it is to antagonize and even try to kill one’s own people, whom one should be caring for, just because of the possibility that they might become a threat.”

It was sincere. Originally, there was no plan to inform the Second Prince of this matter at all. But the young man realized that this unexpected event was perhaps an opportunity given by heaven.

An opportunity to convey his sincerity to the future absolute ruler, without any preconceived notions or vested interests.

After a moment of silence, the Second Prince suddenly said.

“There is one thing I would like to hear.”

The Second Prince asked with intense eyes.

“Do you acknowledge the authority of the imperial family?”

It was also a question that the Second Prince had to ask.

“Of course.”

The young man in scholar’s attire bowed lightly and answered. There was not a single moment of hesitation or hesitation.

“If the foundation collapses, nothing can stand. I, too, am just a commoner who lives under the shadow of the imperial family, which receives the will of heaven and cares for all the people.”

The Second Prince could tell that the young man’s words were sincere.

“Thank you.”

The Second Prince also said with sincerity. As if to say that it was nothing, the young man in scholar’s attire bowed again.

And the young man in scholar’s attire stood up. There was no permission to leave yet, but neither the Second Prince nor the young man cared about such things.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

The Second Prince called out to the young man who was about to turn around. The Second Prince slowly stood up and looked straight at the young man in scholar’s attire.

“She… Sonryeo, is she your relative?”

The Second Prince could clearly see the young man in scholar’s attire flinch. Had he thought that he wouldn’t know?

The reason why the Second Prince had decided to listen to this young man in the first place was because of that. The eyes of this young man were exactly like the eyes of the woman who had played the Chilhyun琴 [Chilhyun-geum, a seven-stringed zither], Sonryeo.

Moreover? Even the atmosphere that was subtly exuded and the awkward smile were similar to her.

“Can’t you give her to me?”

The Second Prince said with all his heart.

“It’s definitely not a momentary desire. I swear I will never make her sad, and I will always cherish her until the day I die.”

The young man in scholar’s attire flinched once again, but the Second Prince’s eyes were only serious. To the point where he even felt a sense of heat.

“Cough.”

The young man in scholar’s attire coughed dryly. After a moment of silence, the young man spoke with difficulty.

“I’m sorry, but she…”

After shrugging his shoulders slightly, the young man continued.

“Is someone who can never be with the prince.”

The Second Prince’s face hardened. But perhaps he had already been prepared for it.

While talking to this young man who resembled her and had admirable spirit and clear eyes, the Second Prince had sensed it.

That she, Sonryeo, belonged to a world unrelated to the imperial family or power, like immortals who had escaped the secular world.

Therefore, the young man’s words only confirmed once again that the Second Prince’s intuition was correct.

“This is just a momentary amusement. And she… already has a lover in her heart.”

情人 [Jeongin, lover]. The Second Prince closed his eyes at those words. But he had not given up.

“If she chooses me.”

The Second Prince opened his eyes and looked straight at the young man in scholar’s attire. His eyes were shining with determination.

“I will definitely make her the empress. The most noble woman in the world.”

It was truly a declaration that risked his life.

If these words were to reach the emperor’s ears, the Second Prince’s life would be as good as gone. It was as if the Second Prince had shown as much sincerity as he could no longer do.

“Cough.”

However, the young man in scholar’s attire, who was listening to this bold and sincere declaration, suddenly coughed. The Second Prince frowned slightly, but soon continued.

“Still, is it not possible?”

“I refuse.”

The young man answered with a firm expression, as if there was no room for discussion. The young man’s eyes were also shining with firm determination.

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