Chapter 28
Dongbaek emptied her teacup in one gulp and set it down on the table. Satisfied with seeing her empty cup, Zhang Rang brought up another topic.
“The imperial palace will soon become lively.”
Quickly catching the intention behind Zhang Rang’s words, Dongbaek carefully asked about what she had guessed while facing Empress He.
“Empress He seemed unsettled. Is Consort Wang pregnant?”
“You’re precise. Yes, Consort Wang is pregnant.”
“They’ll try to kill her.”
Dongbaek said in a monotone voice. Zhang Rang nodded with an appreciative smile, impressed by how young Dongbaek accurately understood the situation.
“It doesn’t matter if Consort Wang dies. But the emperor’s bloodline growing in her womb must be saved.”
“Because it’s the imperial bloodline?”
“Yes. Because it’s the imperial bloodline.”
It was the simplest yet most important reason. The fact that the child carried the blood of the imperial dragon, that Yu family blood flowed through its veins—this alone made the child in Consort Wang’s womb a descendant of heaven. Dongbaek nodded in understanding.
Zhang Rang fed off the authority of the imperial family to enrich himself. Everything he did—selling official positions, manipulating the emperor to accomplish what he wanted—were all actions that deceived the emperor and weakened imperial authority. The more the emperor acted as a puppet in Zhang Rang’s hands, the more people harbored resentment toward the imperial family. So wasn’t chaos unfolding right before their eyes?
On the other hand, Zhang Rang worked just as much for the imperial family. His current thinking of trying to preserve as much imperial blood as possible was part of that effort. Perhaps it was because he, as a eunuch, needed to side with the imperial family as much as possible to maintain his current wealth and power. After all, when the host dies, the parasite dies too.
He had already risen to the highest position he could reach. He wielded absolute power to the extent that no one in the country could oppose him.
But supporting Empress He any further would tie his fate to hers completely—a fate Zhang Rang did not desire. It was far better to maintain a neutral stance than to align himself fully with her faction.
Moreover, the emperor currently only had Prince Yu Bian as his heir. If Yu Bian were to die, another member of the Yu family would become emperor, and unfortunately, the current second in line for succession hated the Ten Regular Attendants. For Zhang Rang, having another prince as backup was beneficial in many ways.
“I’m telling you this so you don’t make any mistakes, so conduct yourself well.”
“Don’t worry. Feigning ignorance is my specialty.”
When Zhang Rang clapped his hands twice, a servant brought in a well-wrapped box to the room. When Dongbaek received it, it was heavy. It seemed to be a tea container.
“Don’t drink too much or you’ll get stomach problems. Just one cup a day.”
After giving this warning, Zhang Rang made a shooing gesture with his hand. Dongbaek nodded and left Zhang Rang’s room carrying the container in one hand.
As Dongbaek was walking toward her room, a servant caught up with her, scurrying along. When Dongbaek stopped walking, the servant bowed deeply.
“The madam is calling for you.”
“Mother…? I understand. I’ll go soon. Ah, take this to my room. It’s a precious item that Zhong Changshi Zhang Rang personally brewed. Handle it carefully.”
“Yes.”
Dongbaek handed over the box she was carrying and headed straight to Geumhwa-dang. It was a short distance from Zhang Rang’s quarters to Geumhwa-dang. When Dongbaek entered Geumhwa-dang, Housekeeper Wang welcomed her warmly.
“The young lady is waiting inside.”
Dongbaek smiled slightly and nodded at Housekeeper Wang’s words, who still called Geum Danyo “young lady,” and strode into the room.
“You called for me?”
“It’s been a while, Dongbaek.”
Geum Danyo smiled warmly at Dongbaek and offered her a seat. Dongbaek sat down, making light conversation.
“I’ve been busy lately. Since I’m serving the prince, I keep having to enter and leave the palace, so I feel I’ve been negligent toward you, Mother. I’m sorry.”
“What is there to be sorry about when you’re doing important work? The busier you are, the better, isn’t it? So, are you getting along well with His Highness the Prince?”
“He’s only about four years old. Fortunately, he seems to look upon me favorably, but…”
Dongbaek answered, recalling the small-framed prince who had trembled in her arms. He was certainly weak-minded. Whether it was because she knew the future or not, in Dongbaek’s eyes, Bian didn’t seem to possess the qualities of an emperor at all.
However, she had no intention of actively working to depose Prince Bian and enthrone the soon-to-be-born Prince Xie. Even if the future would ultimately flow that way, there was no advantage for her in actively intervening. Following Zhang Rang’s way of thinking, it seemed best to carefully navigate between the two sides.
As she recalled the affairs at the imperial palace, her thoughts deepened again. Dongbaek smiled gently toward Geum Danyo and asked…
“But why did you call for me?”
“It wasn’t anything major—I was waiting to tell you when you visited, but you’ve seemed busy lately. So I called you before it got delayed further.”
“True, I haven’t been visiting much. To make up for it, shall we go flower viewing sometime? The spring flowers are in full bloom these days.”
“Oh my, flower viewing? How delightful!”
Geum Danyo blushed with joy, looking just like a young girl. Watching her, Dongbaek also smiled with happiness. Geum Danyo asked if three days from now would work, and when Dongbaek counted the days, she happened to be free. Just as Dongbaek was saying she would get permission from Zhang Rang and thinking about where they should go, Geum Danyo spoke up.
“Come to think of it, it’s been 4 months since you turned 11.”
“Time flies so fast. It’s already been a year since I became your son.”
“Yes. Speaking of which… Dongbaek, have you noticed your chest getting fuller lately?”
Geum Danyo asked in a voice only Dongbaek could hear. There was no need to worry about her chest yet since secondary sexual characteristics hadn’t appeared, but since Dongbaek was quite tall, she seemed to assume her development would be good too.
However, Dongbaek would only be an AAA cup even when fully grown. Perhaps because she knew this, she had never worried much about that aspect. Dongbaek shook her head, blushing with embarrassment.
“No, not at all. I’m growing taller quickly, but that area…”
Not knowing about Dongbaek’s future development, Geum Danyo let out a small sigh of relief. She seemed to have been worrying alone. She continued speaking to Dongbaek.
“If you’re going to continue living as a man… your chest will be uncomfortable. You might think it’s nothing since you’re still young, but…”
If Dongbaek were to live as a military official rather than a civil official, her chest would be even more of a hindrance. Geum Danyo’s tone grew heavy.
“Dongbaek. Do you truly intend to live as a man for your entire life?”
As a woman herself, she couldn’t help but imagine how difficult a path Dongbaek was taking. Geum Danyo worried several times a day about what would happen if Dongbaek’s true gender was discovered. At such times, while the words “give up” would rise to her throat, she also wanted to see where Dongbaek would end up, carrying on with her own will. Geum Danyo continued to stare at Dongbaek with trembling eyes.
Dongbaek nodded immediately without a moment’s hesitation.
“Yes. For life. I’ll continue living as a man, and since I can’t let this be discovered, I probably won’t share a bed with a man either. So I won’t be able to have children. But I won’t regret this choice.”
At Dongbaek’s resolute words, Geum Danyo showed a concerned expression, but somewhere in her heart, she felt relieved. This level of determination was necessary to live a life deceiving others. Geum Danyo handed Dongbaek a beautifully wrapped silk package.
“Open it.”
First Zhang Rang, and now Geum Danyo too. Thinking she was receiving unusually many gifts today, Dongbaek untied the loosely tied silk end. Carefully wrapped in the silk was a leather vest.
The well-tailored leather vest was short, only long enough to cover the chest like a sports bra. The front panel was lined with stiff fabric to suppress the chest, and the inner lining was thickly finished with high-quality cotton. Even the side openings that allowed for putting it on and taking it off alone showed how much thought Geum Danyo had put into it.
Dongbaek felt grateful to Geum Danyo. She hadn’t even thought about preparing for this, yet Geum Danyo had prepared this for her.
Dongbaek immediately took off her outer clothing. Her long robe flowed down smoothly, leaving only her white undergarments. Her figure showed through the thin undergarments. Her chest still flat and not yet developed, muscles appropriately toned from martial arts practice, shoulders a bit broader than a girl’s… She looked completely like a boy.
Dongbaek draped the leather vest Geum Danyo had prepared over her shoulders above her undergarments. She raised one arm to tighten the strings at her side, but being her first time, it felt awkward.
“Come here.”
Geum Danyo pulled the strings tight. Somehow such strength came from those delicate hands that Dongbaek had to inhale sharply at the strong pressure. Only after tying the knot with meticulous movements did Geum Danyo pat Dongbaek’s shoulder.
Dongbaek looked down with satisfaction at the chest binder that fit snugly enough to be slightly painful. Even if others saw it, they would think it was chest protection against surprise attacks rather than something to suppress breasts.
If she bound herself like this from now on, her chest wouldn’t grow much in the future. No, it might not grow at all. Dongbaek smiled slightly as she adjusted her clothes. Since she didn’t have much of a chest to begin with, having none at all wouldn’t make much difference.
‘The only problem is menstruation.’
In terms of annoyance, menstruation was worse than breasts. Three days to a week each month. Especially the first two days when even moving around was difficult. The more evidence left behind, the easier to be discovered. If she went to war, dealing with it would be particularly difficult.
‘The fortunate thing is that I’m more likely to go as an officer rather than a common soldier.’
As an officer, she could be given a personal tent. This was another reason why she couldn’t give up Zhang Rang’s backing.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
