Chapter 113
“Sorry. I went to do my makeup and suddenly fainted.”
Miyu spoke according to the scenario she had prepared in advance.
“Really? Where did it hurt?”
Boksil’s small eyes widened like a rabbit’s. Relief washed over Hwanghee and Byeon Hayun’s faces, who had imagined even the worst-case scenario.
“The doctor came by and said it was because your energy was weak.”
“Even I can see you’ve overworked yourself every day. That could have been serious. You really need to take care of yourself.”
Boksil scolded Miyu with a relieved expression.
“Can you walk? No? Then I’ll call for a palanquin.”
Byeon Hayun looked around and said. Miyu chuckled at that. A palanquin, not a taxi? It was absurd, and her laugh lightened everyone’s mood.
“Where on earth will you find a palanquin all of a sudden?”
“Heh heh, well, that’s true.”
Byeon Hayun replied playfully.
“I’ll even make you a medicinal soup tomorrow.”
This time, Hwanghee spoke.
“No, it’s fine now.”
Miyu waved her hand. She felt a surge of emotion from everyone’s warm concern.
“That gisaeng can be reckless. If something happens, she should have sent a message through the messenger, right?”
Boksil huffed indignantly.
“The messenger isn’t far away; you have to think of the person waiting, too.”
Her voice still carried anger.
“You’re right. If that happened, you should have contacted the messenger first.”
Byeon Hayun agreed with Boksil.
“We were all very worried.”
Hwanghee added his voice as well.
Miyu looked down at Baekmi, who had been quietly clinging to her skirt all this time. She felt pity thinking about how the child must have been anxious, too timid to speak.
Next, she glanced at Wuyu, who had quietly leaned against her side.
“Without you, I didn’t eat and just watched outside. He really behaves like a person,”
Boksil said, admiring Wuyu.
“It’s a shame she didn’t send a message, but I was worried too when you collapsed. The doctor came, and the housemaid stayed up all night caring for you… anyway, you went through a lot.”
Miyu gave a plausible excuse. The less the truth was known, the better.
Rumble rumble.
At that moment, multiple stomachs growled almost simultaneously. Everyone had skipped lunch, looking for Miyu since yesterday. Miyu herself had been fasting since yesterday noon.
“I’m starving! Let’s go to Gunchil’s place for some warm soup. After we eat, I’ll have energy. I’ll even give Wuyu a meaty bone to chew on.”
At Miyu’s suggestion, Yung and Wuyu excitedly went ahead, while Miyu, Boksil, and Baekmi walked slowly. Byeon Hayun and Hwanghee followed like dependable guards.
But Miyu felt her stomach twist. The thought of meeting the Queen Dowager tomorrow made her sigh heavily.
“‘Steal the Sabaal Telegram,’ huh?”
The next day. Changdeok Palace, Gyeongchunjeon Hall.
“Why does your complexion look like that?”
The Queen Dowager asked, noticing Miyu’s pale face.
“It’s nothing.”
Miyu deliberately took a deep breath, puffing out her chest. She tried to maintain her usual bright, gentle expression.
“Your Majesty, your face looks especially radiant today.”
“That’s because you’ve been coming often to do my makeup. But truly, your face doesn’t look well today.”
“I apologize. Actually, I fainted yesterday while out on a makeup trip.”
Miyu delivered the line she had prepared.
The Queen Dowager studied Miyu intently.
“Tsk, tsk, I thought so. Did you see the doctor?”
The Queen Dowager clicked her tongue. Though she seemed frail, she carried the presence of a true leader. Yet fainting… women were still women.
Compared to that, the old Queen Dowager herself still seemed formidable. It amused her.
“Yes. I was told to replenish my energy.”
Miyu pretended to be a patient to lower the Queen Dowager’s guard. To locate the Sabaal Telegram, she had to appear ill.
She had no idea how the Queen’s side had planned to summon the Dowager, but staying in the room required relaxing her guard and emphasizing her weakness.
“Your face still looks bad. Don’t overexert yourself.”
The Queen Dowager’s voice softened at Miyu’s haggard appearance.
“Your concern for someone like me leaves me humbled, Your Majesty. I’m fine. Besides, today I brought an apple facial pack for you.”
“Apple pack? What’s that?”
The Queen Dowager’s curiosity was piqued.
Miyu opened a round, flat container. Inside was a high-quality apple pack made from fine paper. Unlike normal packs, it did not have holes for the eyes.
“It’s a mask for the face. The beneficial elements of apple and honey penetrate the skin through the mask, whitening, moisturizing, and reducing wrinkles.”
“You are skilled in many ways.”
The Queen Dowager looked at the pack with satisfaction.
“You should wear it for half a day for the effect to work.”
“Really?”
“While you wear it, lying down will be more comfortable.”
While the Queen Dowager applied the pack, Miyu quickly scanned the room for possible hiding spots for the Sabaal Telegram.
‘Where would she have hidden it?’
She mentally went through each drawer of the cabinet.
‘It’s too obvious. She wouldn’t put it where everyone thinks.’
Miyu observed the Queen Dowager with the apple pack on her face.
She had blocked the eye openings just in case. If the Dowager opened her eyes, she might notice Miyu scanning the room.
‘Think like the Queen Dowager. If I were her, where would I hide a sensitive document like the Sabaal Telegram?’
The time to remove the pack was ticking closer. Miyu swallowed hard and scanned the room slowly.
‘Definitely not in a drawer. Then where? Somewhere no one dares touch. Does the Queen Dowager’s room have such a place?’
At that moment, Miyu’s eyes fell on one spot.
‘Bingo!’
“It’s time.”
She removed the apple pack from the Queen Dowager’s face and began her makeup work.
As she neared completion, she heard loud, shrill screams from the court ladies outside.
“What’s all the commotion?”
The Queen Dowager raised her voice at the senior court lady outside the door.
“Your Majesty, forgive me, but something hideous has been found under the Veranda of Gyeongchunjeon…”
“What?”
The Queen Dowager sprang up. Miyu followed, swaying slightly.
“Stay where you are; you’re not well.”
The Queen Dowager hurried out.
Miyu waited until the door closed, then swiftly moved. Her heart pounded like a pressure cooker’s valve.
She went straight to the portrait of the late king.
She reached behind the portrait.
‘Just as I thought.’
Miyu quickly retrieved the Sabaal Telegram and hid it in her jeogori.
A place no one dares touch—the king’s portrait. To touch it was like touching the king himself. In this era, handling a royal portrait was tantamount to treason.
People are products of their era. You can’t transcend it. In Joseon, women touching the king’s portrait was taboo, just like women couldn’t wear pants. Even a bold thief wouldn’t instinctively touch it.
But Miyu wasn’t bound by Joseon’s order. Without hesitation, she took the Sabaal Telegram from behind the king’s face.
Moments later, the Queen Dowager returned, looking stern.
“You may leave now.”
Miyu didn’t delay and left the hall. Outside, young court girls whispered in frightful anticipation.
They said a decapitated rat was found under the Veranda, apparently placed to curse the Dowager. The girls trembled, predicting chaos.
It was a ruthless scheme that cared nothing for their lives.
Miyu steadied her shivering heart, checked the Sabaal Telegram in her hands, and hurried out of the palace.
She headed straight to the home of gisaeng Yeonghwa, where the Queen’s brothers were waiting for the Sabaal Telegram.
Meanwhile…
Laughter filled the West Bedroom of Daejojeon. The Queen and her three brothers were all smiles.
The Queen looked down at the Dowager’s Sabaal Telegram with mocking eyes.
“To think she trusted such insignificant people—how absurd.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. There are only seven names listed here. Five have already retired or left office. Two are still relevant, but one is a minor official in Jinju, and the other a scholar at Hongmungwan. Far weaker than my own connections.”
Her eldest brother Kim Imju chastised the reckless second brother.
“Big brother, this time, the second brother isn’t entirely wrong. Even if those five were still in office, they wouldn’t pose a serious threat. But now, without them, this Sabaal Telegram is completely harmless.”
“Exactly, eldest brother. Being cautious is understandable, but even I am astonished that the Dowager trusts only these people.”
The Queen couldn’t hide a sly smile.
“Indeed, older people often cling to useless things as if they were precious. That’s typical of the elderly.”
Kim Imju replied.
The names on the Sabaal Telegram were once influential but now powerless. They could not strengthen the Dowager.
It is said that people become wiser with age, but that is rare. Most grow more foolish, unable to shed obsession and greed.
The Dowager was clinging to meaningless old names, dreaming the impossible.
The second brother bit his lip.
“What shall we do about the Hongmungwan scholar and Jinju official?”
“Wait. Stabilizing the current situation is more important. Those two are nothing; if we act rashly, the Dowager might notice and react.”
“Your words are wise, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Phew, what a relief. I worried that this chaos was caused by the Dowager, with the Sabaal Telegram behind it, but it was a false alarm.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Now we just need to handle the petitions from the scholars without worry.”
The third brother responded cheerfully.
“What about the gisaeng Bunjeon?”
The second asked Kim Imju.
“Best to leave her be. She stole the Dowager’s document herself, so she won’t reveal anything, and no one will know our involvement. I’ve already frightened her enough.”
“Then leave it to me. I noticed she is very beautiful.”
“Do not let lust ruin things. When it calms down, move carefully. Right now, we must tread cautiously, like on thin ice.”
“Heh heh, don’t worry.”
The second brother applied saliva to his dark red lips.
At the same time…
Disguised as a man, Miyu sat in Hyeonmungjae with Iun.
