Chapter 13
Chapter Four. Groping in the Dark
“Mmgh!”
“Eek!”
This was not the scene I had imagined.
Right now, I was in a messy scuffle with a man who was struggling desperately to keep his mask from being taken. I was hitting him more, but I had expected to subdue him cleanly and in one move.
This could not be called a martial artist’s fight. It was more like a back-alley brawl—no, more like neighborhood kids fighting over who gets to be the gang leader.
Successfully sneaking up on him with the Judge’s Brush was good. He was not skilled enough to notice my approach. He had no weapon.
And it was also good that my first strike, by pure chance, hit the mute acupoint on his neck, making him unable to speak.
The problem was that the Judge’s Brush is a weapon meant to precisely strike acupoints to disable an opponent. Through clothes, I had no idea which point was which.
I had memorized them hard, but identifying and striking them accurately in a short time was impossible. The opponent was not going to stay still.
I barely caught an opening and stabbed with the Judge’s Brush. I thought it was somewhere around the thigh where paralysis should occur.
“Here? Is it here?”
“Ugh!”
I stabbed the wrong place again. Paralysis, my foot. He just grabbed his leg.
But why was no one coming out? There was plenty of noise, and I even shouted that there was an intruder. Don’t tell me something already happened and I came out too late?
Should I deal with this guy quickly and go check? If I could just paralyze one leg, that should be enough.
“Hey, over there, is there someone else—agh!”
Sparks exploded in front of my eyes. He slammed his head into me with all his strength, then cruelly threw dirt into my eyes.
“Ugh, that’s dirty!”
When I wiped away the dirt through my tears and looked again, the culprit was already near the wall, running away. Despite limping, he was incredibly fast.
Still, with an injured leg, climbing over the wall seemed difficult.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
I was about to jump up and chase him when I froze.
I had not seen anyone else climb the wall, but someone was gripping the man by the neck. In an instant, the intruder went limp and was thrown aside.
D-dead? He’s not going to attack me too, right?
Contrary to my fear, a familiar face emerged from the darkness. Clearly a Gyeopseol officer—ah, Cho Jin-roe!
I was doomed. Of all people, why did it have to be him?
How long had it been since Jin Su-o warned me not to get caught using martial arts? I screamed internally.
Cho Jin-roe must have already been suspicious of me, and now I had just confirmed it for him. I should have stayed still. I regretted it too late.
My confidence that I could handle someone like this was the problem. How was I supposed to know that this junior eunuch was not completely clueless in body techniques?
If I ran away, he would only suspect me more. There was no choice. I had to deny everything as much as possible.
At least my fake identity as the daughter of a low-ranking military officer helped. I could probably explain it as simple self-defense.
While I was calculating, Cho Jin-roe left the eunuch behind and walked toward me.
“Are you alright?”
I thought he would immediately ask what happened, but he was unexpectedly considerate. I just hoped his observation skills were not that sharp.
“I’m fine, but that man tried to enter Her Highness’s sleeping quarters.”
Cho Jin-roe looked around and frowned deeply. Every time I saw him, his face was twisted like that. He might get wrinkles on that handsome face.
“Why were you alone?”
“I shouted and made noise, but no one came out. Could something have happened?”
As the questioning began, I put on a face that said I knew nothing and was worried to death.
After hearing me, Cho Jin-roe suddenly started sniffing around the building with a serious expression. Come to think of it, the scent of incense had been strong before sleeping. It was weaker now, but still there.
I thought it was just burned because of insects in summer, but was there something more?
Cho Jin-roe glanced at me with suspicion once, then opened the main gate of Cheongsangjeon. The guards passing by immediately ran over when they saw him.
“What is going on?”
“There was an intruder at Cheongsangjeon.”
Despite his serious face, his voice was calm. He assigned tasks one by one to the startled guards.
“You, report to Head Eunuch Kang. You, bring the royal physician. You two, take that one away and guard him until I return. The rest of you, search inside and outside Cheongsangjeon except the main hall.”
“Yes!”
The guards scattered in perfect order. Cho Jin-roe then spoke to me.
“Please go in first. I will be right behind you, so you do not need to worry about another attack.”
By strict rules, as a Gyeopseol officer, he could not casually enter the quarters of a royal concubine. But since something might have happened, he seemed to be prioritizing the situation.
He looked rigid and strict, so I thought he would insist on procedures, but he was more flexible than expected.
“Yes. Just a moment—the light…”
Cho Jin-roe picked up a lantern that had been left to the side.
“Let us go.”
On the way to the inner chamber where Wang Seonhwa was sleeping, we found nothing. No people, no suspicious objects.
Cho Jin-roe examined the door of the chamber and tilted his head slightly. I secretly tried to sense the presence inside.
One small breathing sound. Nothing else.
“It seems no one is inside except Her Highness.”
“Really?”
I fidgeted like a maid worried sick about her mistress.
“I will open the door. Will you go in first and check?”
“Yes. Will you stay outside?”
“I will stand in front of the door. If anything happens, I will enter immediately, so do not worry.”
When I nodded, Cho Jin-roe immediately drew his sword. Where did that dagger come from? I thought he only carried a longsword at his waist.
No, more importantly, why draw a sword to open a door? You said no one was inside!
“Um, why are you drawing your sword?”
Cho Jin-roe answered with action instead of words. With a clean, precise motion, he thrust his sword into the center of the sliding door.
Clang—along with the sound, the latch inside shattered.
“Why is the latch locked…?”
I was the one who always closed the door last every night, and I was the one who opened it in the morning. And Wang Seonhwa never used the latch.
In Seolmaegung, where the main consort lived, there was no lock to begin with. Cheongsangjeon did have a latch, but it was not used.
No one would dare enter a concubine’s room without permission.
“Go in.”
Cho Jin-roe slid the door open for me as I stood there blankly.
More important than the strange latch was Wang Seonhwa’s safety. I rushed inside and called out.
“Your Highness!”
Thankfully, Wang Seonhwa was lying quietly on the bed. She was even sleeping with a peaceful expression.
Only after checking that her breathing was steady and that there were no wounds did I finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Is Her Highness safe?”
“Yes. She just seems to be asleep.”
“Then please stay by her side until the royal physician arrives. There are no suspicious people around the inner palace, so I will check elsewhere.”
“Yes.”
The moment Cho Jin-roe’s presence faded, I grabbed Wang Seonhwa’s wrist.
Had the original story’s incident already begun? The thing I feared the most.
The incident where Mo Yong-biyeon poisoned Wang Seonhwa, drove her mad, and eventually to her death.
First, her pulse was steady. No fever. No strange veins. And finally…
I quickly checked our surroundings and adjusted my grip on her wrist. I could barely move qi at a very fine level, but I could lightly examine another person.
Soon, I opened my eyes with a hollow expression.
“…She’s just sleeping.”
Yes. Wang Seonhwa was really just asleep. Sleeping very deeply.
“I should stay still.”
Right. Medicine is for pharmacists, and treatment is for doctors.
A commotion broke out. It was caused by eunuchs trying to follow protocol, and the emperor ignoring them and barging in.
After that, an elderly royal physician slowly walked in. Apparently, the emperor had said something, because even the Chief Royal Physician had been summoned.
The chief physician slowly approached the bed, sat down very slowly, and prepared for the examination. Even the hand checking the pulse moved so slowly it made one sleepy.
The emperor waited with an impatient face, but he could not interfere with the examination.
Only after an unbearably tense amount of time passed did the physician turn his head.
“What is it, then? Where is she unwell?”
“Your Majesty, I apologize, but Her Highness is simply in a deep sleep. There is nothing wrong with her body.”
“What?”
“I believe the sleeping incense was a bit too strong. With the windows closed and no fresh air coming in, she could not wake up.”
What? Sleeping incense?
As I stood there confused, a sharp scolding flew at me.
“You—if you did not properly attend to Young Lady Yeong, what were you doing?”
