The Young Consort Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 46

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Choeun Yemyeon was a child who grew up basking in her own excellence. Born into a powerful and renowned family, she was showered with love, and as she grew, praises of her brilliance laid at her feet. Compliments were always sweet, especially when they were true.

She believed her world would be everlasting, even when she entered the imperial palace as the Crown Princess’s consort, recognized for her superiority. But the charm of life is its unpredictability. What awaited Choeun in the palace was dreadful.

“Well done.”

In the palace, Choeun was nothing more than a burden. She was used to capturing everyone’s attention with her family’s abilities, but in the palace, all eyes were invariably on Yehwa.

It might not have seemed much different on the surface, but Choeun felt the distinction sharply.

Although Choeun still received praise, the focus was ultimately on Yehwa. Choeun couldn’t understand why Yehwa, who was clearly inferior to her, received more adulation.

“It’s not because Her Highness is more outstanding than me!”

Finally, unable to contain her frustration, Choeun burst out one day. She truly felt wronged. To anyone’s eyes, she was more exceptional. In every aspect.

Yet, invariably, all attention and interest were directed towards Yehwa.

“It’s merely because Her Highness is more noble than I, no! It’s because others cherish Her Highness more than me!”

To this day, Choeun recalls her young, clear voice from that summer. Such boldness, speaking up to the Crown Princess without regard for her station, was undoubtedly madness.

But then again, at that time, Choeun was just a ten-year-old child living in her own world of self-admiration.

“Her Highness must have inherited our family’s abilities strongly!”

The Yemyeon family’s power was seduction.

Choeun thought Yehwa enchanted everyone with her bright face and relaxed speech. As she fervently argued her point, Yehwa, watching her with gentle eyes, realized she had finished speaking and simply said one thing:

“Wow. You’re really intelligent.”

Caught off guard by the slightly admiring comment, Choeun was momentarily speechless. It was an unexpected response.

“I’ve always been intelligent? It’s Your Highness who’s foolish!”

“Right. It seems so.”

Even to her sharp retort, Yehwa responded in her usual even-tempered tone, always maintaining her detached yet seemingly naive demeanor.

But on that day, a faint smile hung on Yehwa’s lips. Choeun found it odd but finally came to her senses and quietly slipped away.

Three days later, a consort’s decree arrived.

“I don’t wanna!”

“Aeun!”

“I don’t want to! I won’t be a consort. I won’t do it! I’m neither a queen nor an empress! I’m going to be a family head!”

Choeun threw away her dignified appearance and for the first time threw a tantrum while lying down. The servants sighed at the sight of her fine silk clothes getting hopelessly wrinkled.

“But there’s no choice. You have to go, what can we do.”

Soa, the head of the Yemyeon family and her mother, sighed and said so. Choeun, seeing her mother speak of something as impossible for the first time, forgot her tantrum and stared blankly at her.

“Go there? To the palace, for life?”

“I don’t want to. I won’t go!”

When Choeun screamed again, the door suddenly opened, and someone strode in briskly. Everyone who saw her quickly bowed their heads.

“Her Highness, the Crown Princess!”

Yehwa looked down at Choeun without paying any mind to why she was there, confusing Choeun even more as she grew stubborn. Unlike herself, whose clothes were all wrinkled and dirtied, the Crown Princess of the Seora Empire was immaculately dressed in his official attire. Even that was infuriating, but Yehwa approached her with her usual expressionless face and knelt on one knee.

But for Choeun, being a noble yet witnessing a royal kneeling before someone was unimaginable. The court lady accompanying her was shocked and attempted to dissuade Yehwa, but she paid no heed and simply asked Choeun,

“Do you dislike becoming my consort?”

“Yes! I dislike it! I refuse to rot away as a lesser consort in the back chambers! Moreover, I’m not even a concubine, so why would I marry you? Please look for another lady!”

Describing the prestigious position of a consort as “rotting away in the back chambers” and treating the Crown Princess, who was supposed to continue the nation’s lineage, as if she were a lesbian, were both highly offensive remarks. Everyone in the room was appalled by her bold words.

Soa, becoming pale, hurried to cover her daughter’s mouth. Amidst the commotion, Yehwa remained calm.

“I’ll make you more powerful than the head of the Yemyeon family, so stop your tantrum.”

She handed Choeun a pouch, speaking in a tone devoid of highs and lows. Despite her resistance, Choeun inadvertently accepted it. It was quite heavy.

Though she disdained the Crown Princess, she was curious about the contents of the pouch. Upon opening it, she found a black pearl as big as an adult’s fist, with a bit of exaggeration.

“Such a trivial thing, I have plenty of these!”

“I’ll give you the sea that produces these pearls.”

It wasn’t just a pearl but the sea that bore them. Choeun’s mind raced briefly before it quickly made the calculations.

She was astute, and it didn’t take long for her to decide. As if she had never cried or thrown a tantrum, Choeun tightly held Yehwa’s hand.

“Please grant me the name Consort Hwa.”

“Yes, Consort Hwa.”

And so, Choeun Yemyeon became Choeun Aryun.

Of course, even after entering the imperial palace, she worried she might have believed Yehwa’s words too readily, but Yehwa did not speak idly.

She may not have gained a loving spouse, but she found a master to serve for life. She might not have ascended to the head of her family, but she became the right hand of the empress, commanding the world.

Choeun thought her life could not be more perfect until the youngest daughter of the Yeoran family entered the consort quarters.

Initially, she was relieved about the Yeoran family’s consort issue, which had been a headache for her.

Considering the consort’s young age and being a woman, Choeun, as the emperor’s confidante, firmly believed this posed no problem for Yehwa.

She wasn’t particularly worried even after hearing that Mirinae and Garam frequently visited the child’s palace.

Being of Yeoran blood, the child wouldn’t bow or bend easily, and being a pampered young lady, plus the empress’s protection, Choeun only worried about her being too arrogant.

However, her nonchalant attitude didn’t last. It began with a casually made comment by Yehwa one day.

“I will appoint Consort Cho as a princess.”

What did she say she would do?

Choeun thought she had misheard. Unfortunately, she had heard correctly, and so had Giyun Yeoran.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, then quietly laughed behind his hand.

“It’s an infinite honor to offer my unworthy daughter to Your Majesty.”

Adopting a consort as a daughter was an act unimaginably contrary to morality. However, who would dare overturn a decision agreed upon by two of the nation’s most powerful figures?

The heavens seem indifferent. How come they pour all their power into curing Your Majesty’s illness without bestowing a single blessing upon the land?

Choeun respected and loved the Empress as much as she revered her own parents, for she lived and thrived in the country by the Empress’s grace. Yet, sometimes, her younger self would emerge.

To think, she had completely fallen for a child, and that too, a child with obvious backing, and had hastily given her a title. She wanted to grab the back of her neck and fall backwards.

As if that wasn’t displeasing enough, Yehwa ended up doing exactly what Choeun had feared.

“What have I done wrong, exactly?”

Inside the palanquin on the way to the Eastern Palace, Choeun fumed, recalling the events of a few minutes ago.

The series of events that unfolded after she told the child, who made absurd claims about famine crops, to go sleep in her palace were truly absurd.

The consorts, who would normally keep quiet as long as Yehwa and she weren’t harmed, whether it involved killing or fighting, started blaming her. Amidst this, she was expected to protect the princess and ensure she was treated with the utmost care, without facing any hardship.

But the most ludicrous part was Yehwa’s fearsome face.

“Apologize to Sanya.”

Choeun’s eyes widened at Yehwa’s words. She knew that Yehwa imposed such punishment on the consorts who dared to bother Sanya.

But Choeun was justified. The imperial court was not a playground for children. It was unacceptable to bring up something that seemed to come straight out of her imagination in such an important place. Especially when Choeun was already dealing with the headache of other consorts who were always dissatisfied and finicky, her treatment was very mild and kind.

“But, Your Majesty!”

“Quiet, Choeun. It is only because of our personal relationship that I am not punishing you. Shall I apply the stern laws of the imperial family to you?”

Choeun had no choice but to close her mouth. It was an unfair situation, but Yehwa was right. No matter how much she had received the imperial surname, as a mere consort, she couldn’t reprimand Sanya, who was a princess.

Realizing the hidden meaning in the gentle tone, the Empress also noticed, so Choeun couldn’t just brush it off.

Eventually, Choeun had to leave the main hall reluctantly. She boarded the palanquin with tears, but Choeun’s journey to the Eastern Palace was not smooth.

Because she ‘coincidentally’ had to encounter consorts who were ‘coincidentally’ loitering near the Eastern Palace.

“Lady Consort Hwa, they request a moment of your time.”

This was the fourth time. Choeun was astonished. It was absurd that those who would snarl at each other upon eye contact were now poking her in the side, telling her not to bother the princess. She was curious about what kind of sorcery that tiny girl had used.

But it was unthinkable. Choeun scoffed. She didn’t know what had been done, but Choeun herself possessed the supernatural ability of seduction.

There was no quarrel she hadn’t engaged in and no quarrel she hadn’t won in the political arena. As if she would lose to an eight-year-old child.

“Stop the palanquin. Since she desires to see me so much, shouldn’t I show my face?”

“You’re just a warm-up.”

With her morale boosted, Choeun walked away with confidence.

* * *

Later, at the Eastern Palace.

“I don’t like this, I don’t like that. I really can’t tell if those women intend to work or not!”

Choeun shouted in an agitated voice. At that, Sanya furrowed her brows and muttered, “Oh dear.”

“It seems the others lack the capabilities compared to Lady Consort Hwa.”

“Well, that might be the case. But if they are lacking, shouldn’t they work even harder? Anyway, the effort…”

Sanya tilted her head at Choeun’s lecture about the importance of effort. After chewing and swallowing the snack in her mouth, Sanya asked,

“But isn’t it difficult to control the weather and bring rain on your own?”

“Yes, it’s difficult. But it’s not impossible since there’s a precedent. If it’s truly impossible, one could just stay in that area during the planting season and provide water.”

“I see. But why didn’t you mention that?”

“That’s because those women don’t want to be away from Her Majesty’s sight and prefer to stick their heavy behinds in the palace!”

Choeun grumbled annoyedly when a small, warm hand gently patted her shoulder.

“Oh dear. You must have had a hard time. You must be thirsty, please have some tea.”

With those kind words, a cup was offered. The tea was pleasantly warm and tasted sweet; it was a high-quality dew tea.

Cheered up, Choeun smiled and was about to continue the conversation when she hesitated, noticing Sanya smiling softly in front of her. That sight quickly brought her back to her senses.

What am I doing right now…?