Ch 339: The East Palace Ballad

A girl of thirteen or fourteen, yet her status is higher than the Prime Minister’s……. Cold sweat broke out in the Yu Clan Mansion’s Official. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was involved in a major incident. However, he was the vanguard of the Yu Clan. No matter how serious the matter, he had to resolutely step forward.

Thus, the Official steeled his heart and asked the person inside the carriage.

“Miss, I dare ask, what is your family name?”

A voice came from inside.

“Baek.”

“Ah, Baek.”

The Official breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally relax. A moment ago, he had worried that Donggungwon had brought someone out of the palace. As a Royal Physician, he would frequently travel to and from the palace, and those he treated would be concubines, princesses, or princes, if not the Emperor or Empress. Receiving a reward from these masters would not be difficult.

But the possibility of it being a concubine was ruled out. Concubines were not this young. Upon further consideration, if she was a girl of thirteen or fourteen with a higher status than the Prime Minister, she was most likely a princess of the Imperial Family. Whether legitimate or illegitimate, she was absolutely untouchable.

Therefore, he breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the person in the carriage was from the Baek Family. As long as it wasn’t a military family, it didn’t matter what family name it was.

However, at that moment, the loose strings in his mind tightened.

‘Baek, Baek Family?’

“I dare ask, are you perhaps the second young lady of the Mun Gukgongbu?”

The Yu Clan Official’s voice trembled. At this moment, he desperately wanted to hear ‘no’ from inside, but unfortunately, the answer he received was affirmative.

Baek Hak-yeom said.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Official knelt down with a thud.

“A commoner greets Princess. Princess, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand, ten thousand years!”

As he knelt, those surrounding the carriage realized the significance of the Mun Gukgongbu’s second young lady.

If she were merely the young lady of a minor family, she wouldn’t have startled the Official so much. But no one was unaware that the second young lady of the Mun Gukgongbu was the fiancée of the Tenth Prince! Moreover, a few days ago, she had become the stepdaughter of the Emperor and Empress and was granted the title of Angel Princess.

Today’s actions were like kicking a steel plank. A princess appeared from a casual kick, and even the Tenth Prince was involved! How was this to be settled?

The Official had been sweating profusely. He had sensed the other party’s arrogant demeanor. With such a strong backing, it was no wonder she dared to act so boldly! If he had known she was the Angel Princess earlier, no matter what he said, he wouldn’t have dared to act so arrogant, and he would have handed over what was requested earlier.

At this moment, the Official inwardly screamed, cursing Donggung’s Important Person for being too much. If he had known of this backing, he should have said so earlier. Why go through all this roundabout way? Now that things have come to this, what is to be done? If the Angel Princess gets angry, would he be able to save his life?

Donggungwon naturally couldn’t know what he was thinking. She only saw him kneeling on the ground and urged him.

“Now that you know everything, can you hand it over now? Or does the Yu Clan refuse to hand it over even in front of the Angel Princess?”

“How, how dare I, no, absolutely not!”

The Official quickly stood up.

“Everything earlier was a misunderstanding. This commoner was at fault for not knowing that Her Highness the Princess was coming. Princess, please forgive me. Please forgive me. The Donggung young lady is in the mansion right now. I will immediately order her to be brought here.”

After speaking, he immediately turned to the servants inside and ordered.

“Quickly, bring the Donggung young lady. Don’t forget, show proper courtesy. Absolutely no impoliteness. Make sure she takes all her belongings, and tell her that her older brother has come to pick her up and that she can go back.”

The servants, without a moment’s hesitation, immediately went to fetch someone. At this time, Baek Hak-yeom also had Yeongchun lift the carriage curtain. The Official could finally see Baek Hak-yeom’s face. However, he only glanced at her before bowing his head again. How could a servant dare to look up at his superior? That was an act of impiety. If he angered the princess, he would lose his head.

There’s a joke about the Third-Rank Official in front of the Prime Minister’s gate. Inside Sangdo City, the gatekeeper of the Prime Minister’s office wouldn’t even consider a Third-Rank Official. This Official usually had an arrogant attitude; unless it was Imperial Family, he only greeted with a smile those of equivalent status to the Prime Minister’s family, and rarely smiled at other Officials.

But this was only towards those beneath him. Having been an Official in the Prime Minister’s office for so long, he couldn’t help but observe people. It wasn’t enough to just observe; he had to constantly weigh people in his heart. No matter whom he met, he would place them on his scale, weighing this person as so many pounds, that person as so many pounds, before deciding his attitude towards them.

But he had extremely bad luck with Baek Hak-yeom. Before he could even weigh her, the scale had broken. This person was someone who couldn’t be weighed, or dealt with using his usual methods. Even if the Prime Minister’s Main Wife came out personally, it wouldn’t matter.

“I heard that Prime Minister Sir is painting a Landscape Painting.”

Baek Hak-yeom, still sitting in the carriage, calmly addressed the Official kneeling on the ground.

“I’m not sure how it’s progressing. Since this Princess has come all this way, I can’t just leave without reason, can I? Go and tell Prime Minister Sir to come out. And if he personally tells this Princess about the progress of the Landscape Painting, this Princess will report it to Father Emperor upon returning. Father Emperor also mentioned this a few days ago, and he remembers this good news.”

The Official wanted to cry at this.

‘Princess, since you came with Donggungwon, you must know everything, yet you ask such a question even though you know the Prime Minister is ill.’

With a deathly pale face, he slightly raised his head and begged.

“I am merely a slave. Although I am an Official, I am still a slave. Whatever my master orders me to do, I do. I cannot utter a word of refusal. Princess, please make the right decision. The matters in this ministry are truly not something a commoner can decide!”

“How can it not be decided?”

Baek Hak-yeom lifted the carriage curtain and looked around before nodding.

“It truly is so. While you are kneeling, are these people still pointing their swords at this Princess? Is the Yu Clan planning a rebellion?”

The Official shuddered and quickly shouted loudly at the guards.

“All of you, stand back! I said stand back! Have you all gone mad? This person is the Angel Princess and the future Queen Consort! Have you all grown tired of living?”

The guards finally came to their senses and quickly put down their weapons. They also knelt down and begged Baek Hak-yeom for forgiveness, pleading for their lives. But inwardly, they cursed the Official countless times. He was the only one kneeling; we all had to listen to him, yet he should’ve given a signal earlier! How were we to know what he was thinking?

Yeongchun, upon seeing the situation, coldly sneered and said,

“Relying on power to act obsequiously.”

And she said nothing more.

Baek Hak-yeom also said nothing. Since you refuse to admit that the Prime Minister is ill, then let’s treat it as if he isn’t! It was fine to find another seriously ill patient among the high-ranking officials in the Capital City; whoever it was didn’t matter. But since the Yu Clan abducted Donggungyo and threatened Donggungwon using her life, this debt must be settled properly. However, it seemed there was no need to bother with elaborate schemes.

Even while sitting in the carriage in front of the Yu Clan’s main gate, she could clearly smell the tuberculosis bacteria. Soon, everyone in this mansion would meet their end.

And she didn’t come to give the Prime Minister’s family the antidote. Unless the Yu Clan paid a price, they would never see a single coin of profit from Baek Hak-yeom’s hand. This was the price for troubling her disciple.

Finally, Donggungyo was led out by a servant.

Donggungyo was a fair and clean girl. Perhaps five or six years old, her face still had the chubby baby fat of a young child. Though she had monolids, her eyes were very large, and her black pupils were round. Combined with her round cheeks, she was incredibly cute.

She instantly liked this child. Baek Hak-yeom, who had risen from her seat before Donggungwon, waved to the child from outside the carriage.

“Are you Soyo? I’m Yeom Older Sister.”

Donggungyo hesitated for a moment. Yeom Older Sister? What Yeom Older Sister? Unconsciously, her gaze shifted towards her older brother, and she seemed to remember something. Perhaps her eldest brother had brought home a new sister-in-law.

But looking at her brother, who was about thirty, and this Yeom Older Sister, who didn’t seem to be an adult yet, it seemed… right?

“Yeom Older Sister, hello.”

No matter what, she had to be polite. Donggungyo smiled at Baek Hak-yeom. Her eyes curved like crescent moons, and two slightly crooked teeth cutely appeared.

Baek Hak-yeom also tilted her head and looked at her. The smile on her face was kind and genuine. She reached out to Donggungyo.

“Come, give me your hand. Older sister will help you up. Let’s go home.”

Donggungyo, without hesitation, used both hands and feet to climb onto the carriage. She accidentally bumped her knee, and frowned, rubbing it with her hand.

Baek Hak-yeom, seeing that she came empty-handed, casually asked.

“Your things? Why didn’t you bring them?”

Donggungyo said.

“I don’t have any belongings. I came empty-handed. The people who caught me didn’t let me take anything.”

The Yu Clan Official knew that he had to bow his head and apologize again. Before Baek Hak-yeom could speak, he quickly knelt down and beat his head against the ground. He didn’t do it lightly, and soon, the skin on his forehead was cut. But he only beat his head and said nothing, because he didn’t know what to say.

It was the Main Wife who ordered Donggungyo to be captured, and the person who captured her was the Prime Minister’s Secret Guard; he was merely an Official. He could usually bully low-ranking Officials by borrowing the tiger’s might, but this was something he truly couldn’t handle. Therefore, he could only beat his head, but even if he wanted to apologize, he didn’t know how. If he accidentally implicated the Main Wife, it would be worse than doing nothing.

Baek Hak-yeom naturally knew what he was thinking. She also didn’t bother to talk to the Official needlessly. After safely seating Donggungyo in the carriage, she turned to the Official and said.

“Tell your master everything I said and did here today, without leaving anything out. Whether it’s Prime Minister Sir or the Prime Minister’s Wife, tell whoever is currently capable of making decisions in the Yu Clan. And let your master know that this matter isn’t over yet. Donggungwon is this Princess’s disciple, and even her first disciple. This Princess just took on a disciple, and her family was bullied by someone. Truly, I’ve brought shame upon myself!”

Baek Hak-yeom finished speaking, turned, and entered the carriage, ordering Ma Pyeong-cheon.

“Alright, let’s go. Let the Yu Clan people think it over themselves. If they ever want to think things through, they can come to the Government Office to see me.”

Ma Pyeong-cheon whipped the horses. The carriage, amid the Yu Clan people’s complex gazes, kicked up dust towards their faces.

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