Mrs. Ma looked at Yeryeong with a penetrating gaze. She was asking if Yeryeong had been hurt by what Mrs. Bang had said earlier.
“I’m fine. I knew she deliberately wanted to show off in front of me and Mother.”
“Don’t pay attention to what others say. Is a child something that comes out of a factory? Your son’s surveillance is good; unnecessary meddling is just uncalled for. Tsk.”
Despite Mrs. Bang’s disgraceful retreat, Mrs. Ma’s face was full of irritation as she spoke with a cold tongue.
“…”
Seeing such a mother-in-law, Yeryeong tightly bit her quivering lips. In fact, since Mrs. Bang scratched Mrs. Ma’s nerves, Yeryeong had been holding back the desire to talk about Se-gyeong.
Even Crown Prince Taejo will get married soon. Moreover, our mother will soon have a charming son-in-law.
“But that child hasn’t come to us yet.”
Yeryeong smiled bitterly and pressed her belly. Seeing this, Mrs. Ma, not wanting her to worry, lightly tapped her on the back.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, a woman on the first floor looked up at Mrs. Ma. It was Im, the owner of this Hwaon Gallery and a long-time friend of Mrs. Ma.
“Hey, Hye-young, just a moment.”
Responding to Im’s gaze, Mrs. Ma nodded her head.
“I’ll go down for a moment. Yeryeong, take your time looking around here.”
“Yes. Take your time talking, Mother.”
Yeryeong watched Mrs. Ma’s back as she went down the stairs. It was the moment when Yeryeong turned her body to look at the paintings and enjoy them.
“Oh, surprise!”
Without a sound, Yeryeong brushed off the person standing behind her, startled.
“Were you surprised?”
“Oh, of course, I was surprised. Why are you standing behind me without making any noise, So-young?”
“I did make a sound. Unni was absorbed in other thoughts, so you didn’t notice.”
Grinning, So-young stood beside Yeryeong, leaning against the railing.
“The thing you pulled off earlier was refreshing.”
“Well, what can you do? It lacks dignity. It makes me wonder if she was too harsh on someone with a child.”
“Sister, seriously. Why look for dignity in a battle? Just win, that’s all you need. And both of you have already taken enough. I was slightly creeped out earlier when Mrs. Ma told you to have a safe delivery. Was that a blessing or a curse?”
“Maybe half and half?”
“To my ears, it sounded like a curse. Did you see it earlier? Mrs. Bang and her daughter-in-law leaving with their faces in ruins?”
“Yeah. I felt a bit relieved watching that. She’s always been asking me when I’m going to have a child. But was I a bit scary just now?”
“Why?”
“Because of those people over there.”
Yeryeong pointed to the women below.
“They all turn their heads away when they meet my eyes.”
“Rather than being scared, it seems they don’t want to show resentment. Sister, this kind of behavior in a gathering is the first time. They defeat people with words while chuckling.”
“Defeat with words. You’re quite expressive.”
“Still, among them, there must be people thankful to you, right? Besides you, Mrs. Bang harassed many other people.”
“She did? I didn’t know that. But were you kicked out? What were you two talking about?”
Yeryeong’s gaze turned to the person standing with Shim. The person who called Mrs. Ma was none other than Soyoung’s mother.
“It’s probably about the gathering. Now it has grown with so many people, but originally, it was a small gathering. Only people who have known each other for a long time used to gather.”
“I heard that.”
“But after Mrs. Yeo’s passing, she started bringing in people, saying she needed to introduce others. Mom felt the need for some organization.”
“…”
“Ah, and I met Yeo the other day.”
At the mention of Yeo’s name, Yeryeong’s brow furrowed.
“Where?”
“Where else? Here, in Korea.”
So-young answered, tilting her head.
“Yeo came to Korea? When?”
“A few weeks ago. She said she secretly came without telling her family.”
“Is she still in Korea?”
“No. She left again. But she said she would organize everything and come back soon.”
Yeryeong lowered her gaze in thought. Six years ago, Mrs. Ma, angered by Taejo’s injury, chased Yeo away, telling her not to think about returning to Korea, but it wasn’t obligatory.
In fact, the unrestrained colt had never appeared in front of Taejo until now.
“Why now?”
“Maybe she got tired of living abroad. She said she had enough after being overseas for six years.”
“Did she reflect during that time? It’s been quite a while, so it would be good if she’s different from her immature past.”
“Sister, people don’t change that easily.”
“Are you saying… she hasn’t changed at all?”
Yeryeong asked with a dismal expression, and Soyoung nodded.
“But why are you telling me that? You’re Yeo’s friend.”
“I want to be closer with Unni than with O Yeo-ri.”
Soyoung grinned at Yeryeong.
“I’m just giving you a heads-up because of the past. Besides, you can’t really stop Yeo-ri from coming anyway.”
Soyoung was right. Six years ago, O Yeo-ri left voluntarily for the purpose of escaping, but now there was no reason to stop her from returning.
“Have you heard when she’s coming back?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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