Moonlight Drawn by Clouds Volume 1 Chapter 17

**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.

Ma JongJa dragged the novice eunuchs to the armory. About ten wagons were standing in front of the armory. Inside these wagons, there were piles of spears.

"What are you all standing there for? Go and clean the armory and move all these spears inside within two hours."

Ma JongJa pressed the absentminded novice eunuchs.

Everyone knew that the main duty of a eunuch was to take care of all the Palace chores. However, all the difficult, dangerous, and dirty chores were dumped on the novice eunuchs that had received 'bul-tongs'. Yesterday, they were told to clean all the bird poop off of the Palace buildings. Today, they were told to clean the armory and transport all the new spears inside. The novice eunuchs peered inside the dusty armory and looked like they were about to cry.

"Why are all your expressions like that? If you don't want to do this work, then why don't you receive a 'tong' next time?"

Ma JongJa sneered then turned to look at Raon.

"If anyone slacks off, they will be caught. If you don't finish this within two hours, you will all pay for it."

After firmly threatening them, Ma JongJa intentionally bumped into Raon's shoulder with his as he disappeared off somewhere. Raon's shoulder tingled.

"What an S.O.B."

Watching Ma JongJa's figure going further away, Dogi cursed under his breath.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Let's hurry up and start moving. If we don't finish this within the time given to us, there will probably be hell to pay."

Raon rolled up her sleeves and was the first one to walk into the dusty armory.

Time passed by. They had finished cleaning the armory and were in the middle of moving all the spears inside.

"Aren't you SamNom?"

Hearing the familiar name, Raon thought that she had just misheard it.

"Hey, SamNom."

Tap, at the strong hand tapping her shoulder, Raon turned around. She saw a man with a rough complexion and a bushy beard.

"Chun-seobang ahjussi?

(T/N: 'ahjussi' = term used by younger people to call a middle-aged man)

It was Chun-seobang, the blacksmith of Banchon.

"Is that really you, ahjussi?"

"That's what I should be saying. Are you really SamNom?"

Chun-seobang kept rubbing his eyes with his thick hands as he asked.

"Yes, ahjussi. I'm SamNom."

"Aigoo, SamNom! Do you know how sad all the people of UnJongGa were when you disappeared? How did you end up becoming a eunuch?"

"Well, it's a long story. Anyways, how have you been?"

"I'm fine as always. What about you? Are doing okay? No one's bullying you, right?"

Chin-seobang looked around with his rough face and his voice boomed.

"There's nobody like that."

If she told him there was, she was afraid he'd grab them by the collar. Raon quickly took Chun-seobang somewhere quiet. This was because she had something to ask him.

"Chun-seobang ahjussi, have you happened to see my mother?"

She only asked in case he had seen her by any chance. She didn't expect much, but the answer she got was unexpected.

"Not only did I see her..."

"What? What do you mean? You've seen her?"

"SamNom, your mother... she began working at Gu-yeonggam's tobacco store last month."

"My mother is working at Gu-yeonggam's tobacco store? What kind of work does she do? No, more importantly, what about DanHee? Who's taking care of her if my mother is working? Has DanHee's illness gotten better?"

As if a dam had burst, Raon asked a rush of questions. Chun-seobang became dazed. With a dull expression, he just blinked and replied.

"Ask me one at a time. You'll forget to breathe."

That was easier said than done. Chun-seobang laughed pleasantly and began to answer Raon's questions. 

"About three days after you suddenly disappeared, the people of UnJongGa began to pester Gu-yeonggam about your whereabouts. We wanted to find you, SamNom. Gu-yeonggam endured and endured. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and went to your house. He met your mother there and came to find out that you had to leave home because of the cost of your sister's treatment. Gu-yeonggam saw the conditions your mother and sister were living in and gave your mother a job at his store."

"Gu-yeonggam did......?"

Raon's eyes began to well up with tears.

"Please tell him 'Thank you' and that I will never forget his kindness." 

"Don't worry about it. He probably offered because it's thanks to you that his business was booming. Don't think too much about it."

"Another thing, ahjussi. Do you have any news about DanHee?"

"Why wouldn't I? I've seen her a few times because she accompanies your mother to the tobacco store."

"Really? Then are you saying that DanHee's health has improved to the point that she can go outside?"

"How would I know that? Anyways, about that... I wonder if I should even tell you this."

"What is it?"

"SamNom, about your sister..."

"Yes, what about DanHee?"

"Her condition doesn't look too good."

"What?"

"She looks like a dead man walking. Her face is as white as plaster, and she's also stick skinny. She almost doesn't even look like a living person. That's what women's gossip is saying nowadays."

"You're saying our DanHee is like that?"

Boom, Raon felt as if her heart had sunk to hell.

She didn't get better from the treatment given by the 'god of medicine'?

Chun-seobang kept talking, but Raon couldn't hear anything. Raon just stared over the tall walls at the sky. After a while, Raon turned back to Chun-seobang.

"Ahjussi, I have a favor to ask you."

"What? If it's you, SamNom, I will do anything as long as it doesn't risk my life."

"Could you tell my mother that I'm doing well and that she doesn't have to worry about me?"

"Hey, I would've done that even if you hadn't asked me."

"And...... could you update me news about DanHee the next time you enter the Palace?"

At Raon's request, Chun-seobang had an awkward expression on his face as he scratched the back of his head.

"About that... That would be a bit difficult."

"Why?"

"I was only able to enter the Palace today because Pang-yeonggam had fallen sick. The Palace isn't a place where someone like me can just come and go as I please. I don't know when I'll be able to come back again."

The only reason Chun-seobang was able to enter the Palace today was because Pang-yeonggam, who was in charge of the delivery of spears to the armory, had suddenly gotten a horrible stomachache, making him unable to do it himself. Chun-seobang had therefore come in his place. No one knew if he would ever return to the Palace in the future.

"Is that so...?"

"If you're that curious, why don't you leave the Palace and visit them, SamNom?"

"Me?"

"I don't think all eunuchs are not allowed to leave the Palace. The eunuchs in that eunuch village said that they were able to leave and enter the Palace."

(T/N: I think the 'eunuch village' that Chun-seobang is talking about is a village where retired eunuchs went to live out the rest of their lives, like a retirement community for eunuchs)

"Really?"

"Ask around. There will definitely be a way for you to leave the Palace for a bit."

"I will. I'll figure it out a way to leave."

Raon could think of one person who would know how to leave the Palace.

---

The path leading to the back gardens of the Crown Prince's residence. There was a path going through the thickly dense forest. As she walked down that path, Raon kept looking around.

"They said he'd be somewhere around here."

Raon mumbled under her breath and walked around for some time when she saw a figure wavering behind a boulder. Raon hurriedly walked towards the figure.

"Eunuch Jang!"

Behind the boulder, Eunuch Jang kept writing then erasing something on the ground. At the abrupt call, he collapsed onto the ground. 

"Aigoo, Eunuch Hong!"

"I'm sorry, did I surprise you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, no, I'm fine."

Eunuch Jang quickly got up and began to sweep the floor hurriedly. The words that had been written on the floor vanished. 

What was he writing so furiously on the ground?

Raon was curious, but at Eunuch Jang's efforts to hide it, she refrained from asking. 

"Anyways, Eunuch Hong, what are you doing all the way over here? Were you looking for me?"

"Yes, I had something I wanted to ask you. But......"

Raon dragged out her last word as she looked at Eunuch Jang's expression.

"Eunuch Jang, why do you look so down? Did something happen?"

Nowadays, Eunuch Jang was the one who cleaned His Highness the Crown Prince's bedchamber. The Palace had been abuzz with news about Eunuch Jang's skilled hands that had satisfied the Crown Prince's fussy temperament. There was a group of people that were waiting for his downfall, but Eunuch Jang hung in there and was doing well. 

So why was Eunuch Jang's expression so downcast?

"Did His Highness scold you?"

Raon perched herself on the boulder and asked. Eunuch Jang powerlessly shook his head and sat down next to Raon.

"Then what's the matter?"

"I'm worried."

"What are you worried about?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Why are you worried about him?"

"He always sighs whenever he sees me."

"He sighs?"

"Yes, that's right, but I wouldn't be like this if that was the only thing."

"What else is there?"

"He keeps nosily asking me personal questions."

"What? Why is His Highness asking you personal questions?"

"That's just it. I don't know the reason why he's doing this. He keeps asking me who I'm close to, who I meet in the mornings, whether I go to the JaSunDang often. He keeps asking and asking...... Sigh."

Not knowing that the Crown Prince was actually curious about Raon and not him, Eunuch Jang kept sighing. 

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be like this...... I was supposed to live quietly, going unnoticed. But somehow... it seems that His Highness has fallen for me."

Having fallen into a deep misunderstanding himself, Eunuch Jang grumbled. Raon widened her eyes and looked up.

"That can't be right. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"My intuition is not wrong here."

"Then the Crown Prince is really... for Eunuch Jang?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But what could the Crown Prince be lacking to...... How can that be?"

Unable to believe it, Raon asked Eunuch Jang once more.

"If it only happened once or twice, I wouldn't be saying this. Ever since I started cleaning His Highness's bedchamber, he has constantly been asking me about my day."

"I see. But to think that it's none other than His Highness the Crown Prince. It must truly be worrying for you."

"Of course it is. I'm very worried. Even though some monarchs have been known to be shameless, they say that if a king falls for a woman, the nation will decline. However, if he falls for a eunuch, the foundation of history will crumble. Ah! This is why I wanted to live quietly in the shadows. In the end, everything's gone to hell. What am I going to do now?"

As if understanding his situation, Raon nodded.

"It really must be unbearable for you. It was the same for me with someone I knew as well. His preference also swung that way."

Raon was thinking about Young.

Flower Scholar. If it wasn't for his unusual preference, he truly would have been the perfect young man by society's standards. Alas, it seemed that the Crown Prince also shared the same preference as Flower Scholar. I guess there are more men who swing that way than I thought.

"Anyways, Eunuch Hong. Your expression earlier also didn't seem all that pleasant. What's wrong?"

"I was looking for you, Eunuch Jang, to ask you about something."

"Me?"

"Yes. Earlier today, I met someone who I knew before I entered the Palace."

"And?"

"Thanks to him, I received news about my mother and my younger sister."

"Ah, now that I think about it, I think I remember you mentioning an older mother and a sick sister."

"Yes, they're people that only have me to lean on in this world. Since I'm stuck here in the Palace, I've been worried sick about my mother and DanHee. On top of that, today I heard that DanHee hasn't been looking very well lately and......"

"Then why don't you go home and visit them?"

Eunuch Jang spoke as if it wasn't anything to worry about.

"Is it possible for me to visit them?"

Raon's raised her voice and asked.

"Of course. If you have a travel pass, you can go in and out of the Palace as you wish. How do you think the alternate eunuchs are able to enter and leave so freely?"

(T/N: 'alternate eunuchs' = eunuchs that live outside the Palace and come into the Palace to serve on specific dates - kind of like part-time eunuchs)

At Eunuch Jang's words, Raon's heart began to beat faster with hope.

"So you're saying that as long as I get a travel pass, I can leave and enter the Palace whenever I want?"

"Of course."

"Where can I get a travel pass?"

"Why? Do you want to receive a travel pass too?"

"Yes, I really must leave the Palace."

"But......"

"But?"

"Unfortunately, novice eunuchs like Eunuch Hong can only get one if they receive a special command from the Imperial Palace."

(T/N: 'Imperial Palace' = the residence of the Emperor)

"What? A special command from the Imperial Palace?"

"That's right."

"But there's no way anyone from the Imperial Palace knows about me, so it will be impossible for me to receive a travel pass."

Raon's hope vanished, leaving her depressed.

"Don't be disappointed. There's another way to receive a travel pass."

"What is it?"

Raon's eyes glittered with renewed energy.

"Well, it's not that hard, so you'll be able to get it with no problems."

"So what is this easy way to get the travel pass?"

"Isn't the exam for novice eunuchs coming up soon?"

"Yes, it's coming up at the end of the month."

"It's a tradition for the Department of Eunuchs to issue a travel pass for the novice eunuch receiving the top score so that he can go visit his home for a day."

"......"

That's the easy way?

"There's no other way than that?"

"Apart from that...... no. So if you'd like to leave the Palace, you must study. Study."

In the end, that's the only way. I have to get the top score in the exam. If not, I won't be able to see Mother or DanHee outside the Palace. If that's what it takes, fine! I'll just do it! I'll get the top score! Like Grandfather said, "Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. When there's a will, there's a way." If I just put my mind to it, anything is possible. But......

Raon thought about the amount of material she had to study, and she put on a sullen expression. 

Will I be able to do it?

Eunuch Jang patted Raon on the back and encouraged her.

"Eunuch Hong, don't worry over it. All you have to do is memorize a few things. What's so hard about that?"

"How many times did you have to take the exam, Eunuch Jang?"

"I......"

He furtively got up from his seat and gave an excuse.

"I like the Palace better than my home, so... Hahaha."

Eunuch Jang laughed loudly.

"......"

Raon turned her gaze away from Eunuch Jang's laughing face and looked at the faraway palace buildings in the distance.

---

**UPDATE STARTS HERE**

At this time, Young had gone to the back gardens to take a brief stroll. He stood still, his face stiff. He was focusing on Raon as she was sharing stories with Eunuch Jang behind the boulder.

"What are the chances......"

...That he would run into the brat here?

This was the Palace, and Raon was a eunuch. It wasn't strange that he would be strutting around in a place like this. However, why now? Why at this exact location? For some reason, this was strange to Young. With much effort, he turned his head away. However, the next moment, Young turned his gaze back on Raon. It was fun to watch the brat. He felt that it was strange how Raon could be so eye-catching even though he wasn't a woman. Whenever Young saw Raon, he couldn't help but smile.

However, that mustn't happen. He had to be someone without blood or tears. It was uncomfortable that the brat broke down his longstanding plan so easily. As he was turning around, Young realized that his touching his lips again. What this some kind of uncontrollable reflex?

"Yul."

Young called out in a low voice. Young had come for a walk to clear his head. The only person around was Han Yul, the Crown Prince's personal bodyguard. At the quiet call, a young man in a red officer's uniform approached Young and lowered his head.

"What would you do?"

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"If there was someone that you were uncomfortable to meet, what would you do?"

At his master's question, Yul cautiously looked up.

"If it were me......"

Yul looked over his master's expression as he spoke.

"If I had to fight that person, I'd fight him with all I've got. If that isn't possible, I guess I'd just go with the flow and get used to seeing him."

"Right? If I keep running into him even though I'm avoiding him, I should stand my ground and face it like a man."

Young chanted as he took his gaze off of Raon with clear eyes. He felt that his clouded head had cleared in an instant. If he couldn't avoid him, properly standing up to him and winning over him was one way to do it. And if that didn't work......

Yeah, sometimes...... just going where the wind takes me isn't a bad idea either.

As he was returning to the Crown Prince's residence, Young's face carried a slight smile.

---

After finishing all her work, Raon returned to the JaSunDang and immediately searched for ByungYun. 

"Kim-hyung! Kim-hyung!"

He was usually sleeping up on the crossbeam lazily, but today he was nowhere to be seen. 

"Kim-hyung, just where are you?"

For some reason, the book in her hand felt even heavier than usual. However, Raon didn't feel discouraged. There were still five days until the exam, so she still had some time. The most urgent matter was figuring out the interpretation. It would be easier to memorize something if she understood the meaning behind it. 

"I'll just figure out the meaning behind everything with Kim-hyung. If I do that, I'll be able to finish interpreting this book in three days, and I can spend the remaining two days memorizing it. Yeah, like Eunuch Jang said... Memorizing a few texts isn't such a big deal. I'll be the top scorer in no time!"

By encouraging herself, Raon consoled herself. However, she still didn't see ByungYun even after the curfew bell rang. Raon let out a long sigh as she flipped through the pages of the book filled with writing. She couldn't help but be discouraged. 

"I'll just see how far I can go on my own."

She began to recite the words in a low voice as she read. However, before she even read through a few pages, Raon's head began to tilt to the side. Due to her difficult work during the day, her willpower wasn't enough to stop the drowsiness. Raon drifted off to sleep.

Bang. Raon's head fell onto her book. At the same time, the door to the JaSunDang opened.

Chapter end