Moonlight Drawn By Clouds
/ Moonlight Drawn by Clouds Volume 1 Chapter 16
**T/N: As with the last chapter, I will be updating this page with the translation as I read. Newly translated parts will begin after the "**UPDATE STARTS HERE**" mark for those that are keeping up with me.
"One day, two days, three days, four days...... seven days."
The night was deep. A dim light shone from within the JaSunDang. Raon was pouting as she was counting the days on her fingers.
"It has been seven days."
It had been seven days since Flower Scholar had stepped foot in the JaSunDang. After their accidental kiss, he had stopped coming here.
Did something serious happen? Or could it possibly be because of the accident from that day?
Raon held up her hands and felt her lips. A kiss that only lasted a moment...... No, it was a touch that couldn't even be called a kiss. But the lingering image caused ripples in Raon's heart and made a mess.
If she knew that she had met Young in the Crown Prince's bedchamber, she would not have been suffering like this. But alas, Raon still did not know this fact. When she heard the Crown Prince's voice, she was so nervous that she wasn't in the right mind to recognize that it was identical to Flower Scholar's voice. On top of that, she wasn't even able to imagine that Flower Scholar was actually the Crown Prince. Therefore, Raon didn't realize that the two were the same person.
"What are you thinking so hard about over there?"
ByungYun looked down at Raon from the crossbeam and asked her.
"I-It's nothing."
Raon quickly shook her head and sneakily glanced at ByungYun.
"What? Do you have something to say to me?"
"No, not really, but......"
"But......?"
"I haven't seen Flower Scholar around here at all these days. I was just wondering if something serious happened."
"I heard that something troublesome had happened back at his home."
"Something troublesome?"
"I heard that his sister was sick."
"Aha, so that's it."
Thank goodness. So it wasn't because of that incident.
"So Flower Scholar had a sister? If she's his sister, she must certainly be a beauty, right?"
"Maybe. By the way, why are you asking me about Flower Scholar?"
"I haven't seen him, so I was just curious."
"You were curious?"
ByungYun's eyes suddenly gleamed.
"I wasn't super curious... just a little curious. As small as a grain of sand, no, as small as a dust particle. I just had a teeny tiny bit of curiosity, so small that it's insignificant."
"......"
"You know, it's like this. It's like the curiosity you get when you don't see MalBok from next door that you usually saw every day."
It's really just a trivial curiosity.
ByungYun gave Raon an unclear look and turned his back on her. Raon yelled at his back.
"I'm telling the truth. Seriously, I'm not curious at all."
"......"
"Kim-hyung, I'm not lying."
At that moment, ByungYun, with his back still to Raon, turned his head and asked her a question.
"Who is MalBok?"
"It was my next-door neighbor's puppy."
"Why did they name a dog MalBok?"
Raon answered solemnly.
"It has to do with a sad story regarding its fate."
"...... That's alright, I don't need to know. Just go to sleep."
As if he had lost interest, ByungYun turned his head back around.
Then why'd he even ask in the first place?
"I also really want to sleep."
Raon mumbled under her breath and opened up
---
Changdeok Palace. In the JoongHuiDang, the lights were not extinguished and continued to shine. After Crown Prince Lee Young had begun to help the Emperor with matters of government, the JoongHuiDang became the Crown Prince's office. Standing next to the doorway, Eunuch Choi worriedly looked at Young.
It was well past midnight. Having suffered insomnia from a young age, Young's symptoms had recently gotten worse. Worried that he would harm his royal person, Eunuch Choi couldn't endure it any longer and approached Young gingerly.
"Your Highness, it is well past the time for bed."
Young, who had his head buried in a book this whole time, lifted his head.
"Has it gotten this late already?"
"It is well past midnight."
At Eunuch Choi's words, Young looked around the room encompassed in darkness. He looked at the bowed figures of the eunuchs and court ladies who unable to retire for the night due to their master that would not go to sleep himself.
Their expressions must be showing signs of fatigue. In their faces, I see the face of that rascal as well.
Heaving a long sigh, Young shut his book and got up from his seat.
"Alright. Let's end it here tonight."
"Your Highness......"
Why are you so docile tonight?
These words were stuck in Eunuch Choi's throat, but he stopped them from coming out. Determined to take advantage of this docility and prepare the Crown Prince for bed, Eunuch Choi quickly opened the door of the JoongHuiDang.
Young exited through the JoongHuiDang door. Dozens of eunuchs and court ladies followed after him. However, after a while, Young stopped this procession when he stopped walking.
"Your Highness, is something the matter?"
Eunuch Choi looked up at Young's face with a worried expression. As if he hadn't heard Eunuch Choi's question, Young was silently looking over in the direction towards JaSunDang. All of a sudden, he began counting his fingers.
Seven... It has been seven days.
It had been seven days since he'd stopped going to the JaSunDang. He had used the Princess's sickness and other busy matters as an excuse, but the truth was that he had been uncomfortable. After accidentally bumping his lips against Raon's, Young felt uncomfortable. In addition to that, he had felt a bit mischievous and ordered her to clean his bedchamber, but even that didn't play out the way he wanted it to. The moment he realized that the eunuch wasn't Raon, he was a bit dumbfounded but also relieved. Whenever he thought of Raon, his heart tickled as if a hoard of ants was digging around in it. It was such a strange feeling, and he didn't like it.
I mustn't come into contact with that rascal until this strange feeling goes away. I won't be going to the JaSunDang for now.
Feeling his lips with his fingers as if out of habit, Young turned back towards his bedchamber with an indifferent expression.
---
One by one, the days spent training with the novice eunuchs passed. Raon left her room at in-shi-cho (3AM) and returned to the JaSunDang at yu-shi-mal (7PM). This difficult routine was repeated daily. When she returned, she couldn't even spare the time to rest her head for a little bit.
She had too much to study. Of course,
(T/N:
As Raon read the books well into the night, she let out a jaw-breaking yawn. ByungYun's voice came from above the crossbeam.
"You look tired. Just go to sleep."
"I can't sleep. There's an exam on the Confucian classics in a few days."
"......"
No more words came from the crossbeam above. Raon grumbled to herself.
"By the way, Kim-hyung. Why did Confucius have so much to say? I thought only the eunuchs were such chatterboxes, but the sages can put the eunuchs to shame. Mencius said this, Confucius said that. Saying this, saying that, this, that... All of this can fuck up your head, you know?"
"......Pfft."
In that moment, a strange sound came from above the crossbeam.
Huh? Is...Kim-hyung laughing right now?
Raon immediately perked up her ears. However, the sound of laughter no longer came. It seemed like she was mistaken.
Of course. He's like a stone Buddha. There's no way he'd laugh.
Raon turned her eyes back to her book. The pages were packed full of the words of Confucius.
What...... does this mean?
Raon was scratching her head when she looked up at the crossbeam.
"Kim-hyung. Do you happen to know what 'Know thyself, fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.' means?"
"......"
"Kim-hyung."
"Jeez, you're so loud. I can't fall asleep like this."
ByungYun jumped down from the crossbeam with an annoyed look on his face. Complaining in a rough voice, ByungYun sat down and leaned against the wall next to Raon.
"Like I said, Kim-hyung. Do you know what 'Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.' means?"
"......"
Like I thought, he doesn't know. Yeah, I guess there's no rule here that everyone in the Palace has to comprehensively know the scriptures, so it's possible he doesn't know. At times like this, having Flower Scholar here would be just perfect.
Raon had a wistful look on her face as she remembered Young drawing the painting of an ancestral shrine and writing the prayer for Medicine Lady WolHee's grandmother. Even if she wished for him here, there was no way Flower Scholar would just appear out of thin air right at this moment. There was no other way than to just figure it out on her own.
Still...... Aren't two heads better than one?
Pondering this for a while, Raon looked over at ByungYun.
"Kim-hyung, about this sentence... Do you think it means 'Speak delicately so that they may be pleasant to the ear, and make your complexion lovely', or something like that?"
"......"
ByungYun didn't reply and instead turned his head away.
This isn't it?
Raon scratched her head and bit the slender ink brush as she was lost in thought.
"Ah, then maybe this is it? Speaking delicately so that they may be pleasant to the ear, with a lovely complexion, doesn't make one a benevolent person!"
At that moment, the ever-silent ByungYun spoke up in an apathetic voice.
"Well, it seems like that's it."
Raon's lips widened into a smile.
Seeing how Kim-hyung is talking like that, I think it's right.
Raon quickly wrote a few notes down.
"Kim-hyung, know thyself......"
"Kim-hyung, Confucius said......"
"Kim-hyung......"
From that point on, Raon continued to ask questions. Whenever she did, ByungYun would either remain silent or respond with short replies. This was a lot more effective than studying alone. It was also like she was having a conversation, so it was a lot more fun for Raon. Like that, they went through a sentence one by one as Raon took notes. This continued on until Raon's voice faded away.
ByungYun, who had his eyes closed as he concentrated on Raon's voice, quickly opened his eyes. He saw Raon's figure slumped over her desk. Raon's hand was holding the slender ink brush. ByungYun carefully extracted the ink brush from her fingers. Then he piercingly stared at
Rustle rustle. ByungYun was fiddling around with the ink brush for a while before putting it down. His heart had still not given him permission to hold a brush.
"Annoying brat."
Glancing down at Raon, ByungYun put his jacket over Raon and went outside.
---
**UPDATE STARTS HERE**
September was approaching. It felt like the grass was full of dewdrops from morning till evening not so long ago. However, all of a sudden, cold winds had begun to blow.
"Bul-tong!"
Like every other day, a voice shook the school for novice eunuchs.
Eunuch Jin looked at Raon with an indifferent expression. He felt that while she was an intelligent child, she was still lacking compared to the other students. Well, this was to be expected. Almost all of the novice eunuchs had entered the Palace before the age of ten to be trained to become a eunuch. However, Raon was seventeen, receiving the training at a relatively older age. Therefore it was only normal that she was falling behind the others.
"If it continues like this, you won't be able to become an official eunuch even in a hundred years."
Eunuch Jin spoke those sharp words as he stuck a 'bul-tong' paper on Raon's forehead and left the schoolyard.
"I'll do my best."
Of course, Raon never had any intention of becoming an official eunuch. She only thought to do her best for three years to pay back her debt. Once she had paid back her loan to that nobleman, she planned on leaving the Palace. All she had to do was endure until then.
Immediately after Eunuch Jin had disappeared, Ma JongJa raised his voice.
"Those of you who received 'bul-tongs' come with me."
"Are we not making laps around the courtyard today?"
Dogi had an awkward expression as he asked.
"The Ministry of War needs some assistance."
Ma JongJa's short words silenced Dogi's mouth and exited the courtyard. The discouraged novice eunuchs followed after him.
"Let us go as well."
Raon followed Dogi and began to walk towards the Ministry of War. On their way, Raon saw a chaotic group of people walking over. The novice eunuchs moved over to the side to let them pass. Raon watched these people with a strange expression and asked Dogi a question.
"What kind of people are they?"
"You still don't know?"
"What do you mean?"
At Raon's returning question, Dogi whispered back.
"Actually this is a secret, but I'll tell you, so keep it to yourself, Eunuch Hong."
Raon knew as well as anyone that once a secret was known to Dogi, it was no longer considered a secret. However, at Dogi's earnest expression and his whispering voice, Raon nodded her head. As if reassured, Dogi began to speak.
"Those people...... are from the Princess's residence."
"The Princess's residence?"
"That's right."
"But it looks like there's some kind of trouble. There seems to be a chaotic air about them, meaning something unusual is happening."
"Like I said, you are quite intuitive, Eunuch Hong. You've guessed correctly."
"What's the reason they are like that?"
"The thing is... Her Highness the Princess has been in correspondence with a noble house's young master."
"......"
"However, this young master suddenly cut off all contact. Our poor Princess has contracted lovesickness due to this."
Raon already knew this a few days ago due to Dogi's chattering. However, Dogi told a new update to this story that Raon had not yet learned.
"So a few days ago, Her Highness the Princess sent someone to the young master's house. But......"
"But?"
"It turns out that the person Her Highness the Princess has been corresponding with isn't that noble house's young master but someone else. In other words, a ghostwriter has been sending those letters to the Princess."
"......"
Perhaps because she had also done work like this to put rice on the table, this news pierced Raon's heart and she kept her mouth shut. Dogi continued to tell the story.
"It's a given that Her Highness the Princess is absolutely furious that this person has made a fool out of her. Therefore, she has ordered for this person to be found."
"Whoever that person is, he sure has a lot of guts. To think that he'd do something like that to the Princess."
"That's what I'm saying."
"By the way, what will happen to that ghostwriter if he gets caught?"
"Hmm, probably one of two things."
"One of two things?"
"Hanged or beheaded, one of the two."
"What a pity."
A horse's ass or the ass of a horse. Dying by strangulation or dying due to decapitation. Either way, in the end, he's going to die. I know my life isn't that great, but that ghostwriter is really pitiful.
Chapter end
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