Chapter 17. The Secret of the Snail
They were inside the carriage on their way back from their outing to Buwan Port.
Cheongyeon had been holding her palm outside the carriage window when she suddenly pulled it back in surprise.
“A raindrop just fell on my hand.”
Manwoo frowned slightly.
“Hmm. Autumn rain won’t be much help with the harvest. I suppose I should send a letter to my parents back home.”
As expected of the young master of the Son family, which managed a vast farming estate, the unexpected rain immediately made him worry about his family.
Seongha reached for the window shutter.
“We should close this now. You might catch a cold.”
Cold drops of rain were beginning to fall, stealing the warmth from Cheongyeon’s small hand.
But Cheongyeon did not move.
“Let me keep it open just a little longer. I want to look outside too.”
Even after Seongha tried to stop her, Cheongyeon remained still and continued staring up at the sky.
Perhaps because of the gloomy weather, dark clouds seemed to gather over her peaceful heart as well.
Before long, the carriage followed the road north of the royal palace and entered Beopsindang.
The quiet forest road, where normally only the cries of mountain birds could be heard, was unusually noisy today.
A long procession of extravagant carriages, luggage carts, and attendants filled the road leading inside.
The moment Seongha realized who was responsible, his expression turned cold.
“How dare lowly servants block my path?”
Huyeong, the daughter of Namwan Guksa, was angrily scolding the lower-ranking priests and maids of Beopsindang who stood in her way.
Her red lips trembled from the humiliation of being turned away at the gate for the first time in her life.
Head Maid Nuchin bowed respectfully and repeated the same answer.
“The High Priests ordered us not to allow anyone into Beopsindang without permission.”
She stood as firm as a rock.
Even during her days as a servant of the Son family, Nuchin had earned the family head’s trust by understanding the wishes of those she served and carrying them out without leaving any room for mistakes.
Even if the person before her was royalty, she could remain calm without so much as blinking.
Though that was also why the argument had dragged on endlessly.
Huyeong snapped,
“The residence where I am supposed to stay has already finished being prepared. Why should I not be allowed inside?”
Nuchin replied calmly,
“The masters of Beopsindang are the High Priests. I believe it would be improper to enter an empty house without its owners present.”
Huyeong’s expression twisted.
“I am the daughter of Namwan Guksa and a woman who descended from heaven. I stand above the masters you serve!”
At that moment, one of the young maids bowing behind Nuchin suddenly raised her head and shouted.
“The only person who descended from heaven is Lady Cheongyeon! She alone is the true Heavenly Maiden!”
Her youthful face and voice immediately stood out.
It was Jeongyo, a maid from Cheonsingak.
Her interruption had been so sudden that even the experienced Nuchin had failed to stop her reckless words.
The water had already been spilled.
Normally, Huyeong would have had the child’s tongue ripped out and killed her on the spot.
But this time, she decided to continue the conversation a little longer, hoping she might uncover some weakness concerning the Heavenly Maiden.
“Well, I suppose that woman and all of you are equally lowborn. It makes sense that you would defend one another.”
“...”
Huyeong narrowed her eyes.
“Tell me the truth. Why did you call her the true Heavenly Maiden?”
Huyeong was infamous for treating servants and those beneath her viciously.
After standing in the rain for so long, the Beopsindang maids were already shivering, and Huyeong’s icy presence only made them tremble more.
But Jeongyo spoke with even greater certainty.
“Lady Cheongyeon is special. I can see it with my own eyes... the brilliant five-colored feathered robe she is wearing...”
Huyeong’s eyes widened.
“A feathered robe?”
During Beopsindang’s fundraising event, Cheongyeon had boldly stood her ground against Huyeong’s provocation.
After that day, Huyeong had searched everywhere for flaws in Cheongyeon.
But she had gained nothing useful.
The woman had no past whatsoever, almost as though she really had fallen straight from the heavens.
Then, several days before moving into Beopsindang, Huyeong had finally come up with an amusing idea that could put Cheongyeon in trouble.
She laughed loudly.
“It seems a little servant girl has become obsessed with silly rumors from the marketplace.”
Her smile turned cruel.
“Today will be the last day that fake Heavenly Maiden stays in Beopsindang. Soon enough, I’ll expose what she really is and drive her out.”
Just then, the Beopsindang group arrived before Huyeong.
Seongha’s cold voice cut through the commotion.
“What is all this disturbance?”
Cheongyeon immediately hurried over to the maids of Cheonsingak, who had been suffering in the rain.
“Heavenly Maiden!”
The maids quickly gathered around Cheongyeon.
Seeing how miserable they looked, soaked by the rain, Cheongyeon gently rubbed their backs.
“Everyone, let’s go inside. I brought gifts for you from Buwan Port too.”
One of her feet sank into a rain-filled puddle, and water streamed down her cheek.
But Cheongyeon did not seem to care.
Seeing this, Seongha walked over and held an umbrella above her.
Then he took a handkerchief from inside his clothes and gently brought it to Cheongyeon’s cheek.
“What will you do if you fall ill like this?”
In front of others, he behaved as though he were simply a High Priest attending to the Heavenly Maiden.
But there was something far more personal in his careful, gentle touch.
“Young Master Jin.”
Huyeong’s pride was wounded when Seongha did not even look at her.
She touched her forehead with the back of her hand and staggered toward him.
“Those lowly servants turned me away at the gate. I have been standing here in the rain so long that my entire body is trembling and I feel slightly feverish. How can you pretend not to see me?”
Yet because her servants had kept her standing beneath a large canopy the entire time, Huyeong was the only person whose feet had not even touched wet ground.
Seeing through her obvious act, Seongha smiled.
“It seems Lady Nam made this trip for nothing.”
He was trying not to show it, but cold anger filled Seongha’s eyes.
Not only had she disturbed the sacred and peaceful atmosphere of Beopsindang, but she had also caused hardship for the people under his care.
Even during his days as the young master of the Jin family, Seongha had never tolerated unwanted guests who intruded into his study or garden.
He continued,
“Please tell Namwan Guksa that Beopsindang has secured the necessary funds for the event so that we will not trouble the altar.”
Strictly speaking, they had not directly raised all the money.
Rather, through their agreement with the Rang Merchant Guild, they had gained access to festival supplies at a much lower price.
Either way, they were now free from Namwan Guksa’s interference, so Seongha’s statement was not exactly wrong.
His next words were firm.
“There is no longer any reason for you to stay in Beopsindang.”
Then he said,
“Please return home.”
However, Seongha’s ice-cold words did not discourage Huyeong.
Instead, her smile became even more poisonous.
“Is that so? But now that doubts are being raised about the new Heavenly Maiden, I’m afraid I cannot simply leave.”
Seongha frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Huyeong received a thick scroll from one of the attendants behind her and waved it before Seongha and Cheongyeon.
The back of the paper was lined with luxurious silk, making it obvious that it was an important document.
“This is a petition opposing Beopsindang’s Heavenly Maiden. The members of the Nam family and the religious leaders of the Hui Kingdom intend to submit it to His Majesty.”
With suspicious eyes, Seongha took the scroll from Huyeong.
He opened it and began reading.
His expression gradually darkened.
Huyeong smiled.
“What should we do? If this petition reaches His Majesty, I wonder what he will think about this new Heavenly Maiden.”
The petition declared that the new Heavenly Maiden presented by Beopsindang should rightfully be regarded as a heretic.
Most of it was nothing more than absurd accusations.
However, there was nothing to gain by provoking King Nampyeong, a ruler who would not hesitate even to execute meritorious officials.
Seongha had wondered why Huyeong had taken so long to move into Beopsindang.
So she had been busy arranging all sorts of schemes.
He almost found her effort admirable.
“If Lady Nam wishes so desperately to stay in our humble Beopsindang, then I suppose it would be difficult for me to refuse any longer.”
Even if all these factions had moved under Huyeong’s orders as a member of the royal family, what had truly motivated so many different groups to act together?
If he looked just a little deeper, the person who had written the entire script became obvious.
There was only one.
His father.
Jin Sangwon.
The man who had sent Seongha to Cheonhui Kingdom.
The man who had brought the Heavenly Maiden into the public eye.
Everything led back to him.
Jin Sangwon was the most powerful man in the Hui Kingdom.
Like moving pieces across a game board, he manipulated the political landscape at will.
At times, he would even use his own son as bait.
Ever since Seongha had moved out and begun living at Beopsindang, he had gone to great lengths to avoid returning to the Jin family residence.
But now, he felt that sooner or later he would have to meet his father face-to-face and find out what he was truly planning.
Huyeong’s face brightened.
“Then you’re giving me permission, aren’t you? I’m glad you’ve finally decided to look kindly upon my feelings, Seongha. I’m already looking forward to the days we’ll spend together in Beopsindang.”
Ever since Seongha had appeared, Huyeong had been unable to take her eyes off his bright and handsome face.
From childhood, Seongha had never shown even the slightest interest in the daughters of other noble families.
Moreover, because he had become a priest of Beopsindang at such a young age, no one could even properly bring up marriage talks with him.
Because of his upright and unwavering personality, Huyeong had always reassured herself that even if she could not immediately make him hers, at least no other woman would be able to steal him away.
Then, out of nowhere, she heard that he had brought back a woman of unknown origin and begun serving her as Beopsindang’s Heavenly Maiden.
Until now, Huyeong had only tried to find ways to draw him out of Beopsindang.
But since the situation had become urgent, she had chosen the opposite approach.
She would enter Beopsindang herself.
And now that everything was unfolding exactly as she had planned, Huyeong was quite pleased with her own cleverness.
She smiled sweetly at Seongha.
“Seongha, you’ll come to dinner tonight, won’t you? I had the Nam family servants prepare a banquet with rare and precious ingredients.”
Seongha immediately drew a line between them.
“You are here as a guest, so there is no need for you to involve yourself in Beopsindang’s household affairs. We will prepare dinner ourselves according to our rules.”
His attitude remained perfectly formal.
But Huyeong refused to back down.
“My staying at Beopsindang is only the beginning. From now on, the bond between us will only grow deeper. So please don’t refuse my kindness again.”
Huyeong moved closer to Seongha and then turned toward Cheongyeon with a relaxed smile.
“Lady Cheongyeon should join us as well. After all, it may be your final meal in Beopsindang.”
Seongha immediately checked Cheongyeon’s expression.
Normally, she would have clearly stated exactly what she thought.
But now she remained quiet, lost in thought.
Perhaps because she had been standing in the rain, she even seemed to be trembling slightly.
Her public activities as the Heavenly Maiden had barely begun, yet she had already become the enemy of countless people.
How must she feel after seeing a document filled with words from people who opposed her very existence?
A short while later, the long procession of Nam family people began entering Beopsindang.
The rain grew heavier.
Soaked in rainwater and sweat, the servants trudged forward under the weight of their luggage.
Suddenly, Huyeong sharply called toward the attendants at the rear.
“Wait! Be especially careful with that box.”
It looked like an ordinary wooden box.
Yet Huyeong treated it as carefully as though it contained gold and jewels.
A strangely affectionate smile appeared on her face.
“My precious friend is inside.”
The box was neither particularly large nor especially heavy.
Yet the moment the servants lifted it, they felt a strange pressure...
Along with an unpleasant, heavy pounding from within.
Thump. Thump.
Slimy, mucus-like liquid slowly seeped from the cracks of the wooden box.
