Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Chapter 90

Kyousl replied, “Yes, I do. As I said I liked outings, you recommended a special villa.”

Ruhae gladly replied, “Well, in the southern areas, there is one in Kongrimok. As that place is famous for hot springs, they made the villa for hot baths very well. As it is getting cold, it’s the perfect time for hot baths.”

“That sounds great!”

While she nodded, she didn’t know exactly why he brought up Kongrimok suddenly. When she looked at him with a curious expression, he added with a gentle smile, “And that villa is located in the easternmost of the southern area. I think I’m going to wrap up my provincial inspection there.”

“I guess what you mean is you want to visit….”

She felt her heart sank at that. Her expectation didn’t go amiss.

“Yes, if you come to visit the villa in Kongrimok secretly and stay there, I think we can have a good time there without anybody knowing.”

“Oh my god! Really? Can we do that?”

“The problem is you need to get the Crown Prince’s approval first to get there.”

“Ah…”

Her excitement quickly subdued. She felt heavy at the thought of getting Bipaan’s approval because she already offended his feelings recently when she was found with Ruhae in the shack on Mt. Mokak. She felt rather uncomfortable about trying to seek his approval of her outing to the Kongrimok villa.

Ruhae was well aware of her agony. That’s why he cautiously suggested it to her.

“If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to. It looks like I have entrusted you with a burdensome task that I can’t solve by myself, so I feel sorry.”

“No, you don’t have to feel sorry.”

“Well, it is my own greed. I just want to spend time with you alone in a place outside the imperial palace without being conscious of other people.”

“I am of the same mind,” she said.

He held her hands tightly.

When she thought of Bipaan, she got scared all the time, but she grew bold this time when she thought of spending happy time with Ruhae.

“We never know when we can have a chance to get out of the palace, can’t we?”

“Yes, you’re right. By the way, you said it was the special villa in Kongrimok, right?”

She made eye contact with him with sharp eyes.

“If everything goes smoothly, so you can visit and stay at the villa, let me put this flower between the windows of my room,” she said.

She was holding the purple flower, which was a perfect token of their promise. He grinned at the flower.

She made that promise like that to Ruhae. As it turned out, however, she was destined to depart for the villa with Bipaan. Of course, Ruhae and Kyosul never expected it.

While heading for the southern area with Bipaan, she became more and more gloomy with a heavy heart.

***

Bipaan’s parade was simple. The Imperial Army guards stood in a row before and after Bipaan’s horse and the Crown Princess’s sedan chair, but there were only a few court ladies and guards following the couple.

Kyoyoung, Bipaan’s second wife, saw them off and watched them heading toward the wall of the outer palace. Watching them disappearing in the distance, her eyes were blurred with tears. She bit her lip without anyone knowing.

After Kyosul supposedly sprained her ankle on Mt. Mokak, the Crown Prince took care of the injured Crown Princess and slept with her for several days. And several days after she went back to her residence in the Dongbi Palace, the Crown Prince asked to accompany her to spend time at the special villa in Kongrimok for recuperation. The Emperor gladly approved Bipaan’s request, deeply moved by his affection for Kyosul.

All these alleged facts made Kyoyoung very much upset.

She recalled Kyosul’s face, who confessed her hard married life to her, shedding tears.

She felt disgusted when she thought of Kyosul’s blood-shot eyes and tears.

‘I think I can’t love the Crown Prince for the life of me,’ Kyosul had confessed to her.

Recalling her feeble voice, Kyoyoung’s fists trembled with anger.

She thought she could make great friends with Kyosul. When Kyosul came to see her with a subservient attitude, she underestimated the Crown Princess. Looking back, Kyosul seemed to be much smarter than she thought.

Pretending to be immature and miserable, Kyosul obtained as much information about Bipaan as possible from Kyoyoung. In fact, Kyoyoung spent lots of time obtaining personal information about him while she had been staying with him for a long time. She thought Kyosul would lose favor with Bipaan by making all kinds of trouble, but she gained his favor in no time, occupied his room in the East Palace and was going on an outing to the special villa in Kongrimok with the Crown Prince.

“I was too innocent.”

Kyoyoung thought that she was foolish enough to be caught off-guard when Kyosul cried and hugged her miserably. She thought that Kyosul’s tears were fake. In her mind, it was Kyosul’s trick to make her let her hair down by trying to look miserable and then make the best use of her.

While Kyoyoung was lost in such thoughts, she heard some woman’s coquettish voice from behind. She turned her head back quickly and found Oran standing there.

“Don’t you think the little woman from a small country is so witty and sophisticated?” Oran said.

“Long Live the Princess! I’m honored to see you,” Kyoyoung bowed to her politely.

“Oh, we don’t have to stick to formality between us,” Oran said, waving her hand with a laugh.

Pretending to be familiar with her today of all days, Oran approached her.

She put her hand on her lips and whispered into Kyoyoung’s ear, “Don’t you want me to sprain one of your ankles or break one of your wrists, so the Crown Prince can come and take care of you in person?”

“Oh, don’t crack a joke like that, please,” Kyoyoung cut off her words sharply.

“I think you have to know how to manage your temper,” Oran said.

She continued, “To be honest with you, I expected the sedan chair carrying the Crown Princess would be turned upside down because of your fiery temper.”

Kyoyoung felt a prick in her heart. In fact, she had been burning with anger when she saw Kyosul departing for the southern area with the Crown Prince.

Casting down her eyes, Kyoyoung replied to Oran’s sarcastic comment calmly, “Well, I think you have misunderstood me. I just prayed for their safe journey because the Crown Prince and Crown Princess are going on a long journey.”

“Well, if you insist, let me believe you.”

But Oran didn’t pay much attention to what Kyoyoung said. Trying to read her mind, Oran kept putting out feelers about her thoughts about Kyosul.

“Don’t you think that little woman is sophisticated?”

“Your Highness, there are lots of people around us overhearing you.”

Though Kyoyoung asked her to watch her mouth, Oran didn’t care at all and continued, “How did she tempt the cold-hearted Crown Prince?”

Having said that, she checked Kyoyoung’s expression. Oran didn’t want to tip her about the scandal involving Ruhae and Kyosul yet.

“I hear she went out for outings often,” Oran said.

“Oh, I heard that the Crown Princess liked taking a walk very much.”

“Walk?” Oran sneered noisily, but Kyoyoung didn’t pay much attention.

‘Does she really believe Kyosul went out for a walk alone? Does she already know the scandal?’

Oran stopped to ask and sorted out her thinking before going further.

‘If she really knows about the Ruhae scandal, she can’t sit idle like this.’

At any rate, Kyoyoung was a good bait from the point of the West Palace.

Whether the bait was good or bad, the more, the better for the West Palace.

Getting closer to her, Oran smiled at her and said, “I would like to cultivate a friendship with you.”

“Let me tell you this once more. I belong to the East Palace.”

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“I know that, of course. I don’t want to take issue with that. I just would like to make friends with the people in the East Palace.”

She gestured toward Kyoyoung with her eyes, but Kyoyoung didn’t reply.

“It looks like there will emerge a good happy couple in the East Palace, but I feel somebody will feel lonely. That’s why I have come here to make friends.”

Oran’s words were a clear challenge to Kyoyoung, whose eyes began to wiggle with anger. Oran noticed it with her sharp eyes.

Kongrimok was a place famous for its hot springs. It was widely rumored that the hot springs there, which was just warm enough to soak, made the skin smooth and were effective against various skin diseases and inflammation. Although the rumors weren’t all true, it was a very attractive place where people could enjoy a relaxing time in the warm spring water.