Episode 9: You Won’t Be Able to Do Anything for a While
The guard who had bowed to Yuan So-ye ordered the inspection maid beside him,
“Check her!”
Without hesitation, the maid searched Jin Sung-yeo’s body.
Up until that moment, Jin Sung-yeo looked confident. There was nothing to find, so why would anything turn up?
But then—
From her waist, the maid pulled out a neatly folded small packet.
The moment it was revealed, Jin Sung-yeo’s expression twisted.
Inside the packet was yellow powder.
The guard took it and asked coldly,
“What is this?”
“I… I don’t know! This isn’t mine!”
The palace maids watching began to murmur.
No matter how much Jin Sung-yeo protested, no one believed her. People trust what they see.
“What are you waiting for? Take her away.”
Yuan So-ye gave the order without changing her expression.
It didn’t matter whether the powder was poison or not. In the imperial palace, suspicion itself was enough.
The guards dragged Jin Sung-yeo away as she struggled desperately.
Now, she would be locked up and interrogated for quite some time.
Yuan So-ye turned to the trembling palace staff and said firmly,
“Forget everything you saw and heard today. If a single word leaves your mouths, you will all be held responsible.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After receiving their answer, she left the kitchen.
Outside, Chae-hee followed her, fanning herself in excitement.
“Wow, Your Highness! I never imagined she’d use poison. She’s so bold!”
Yuan So-ye replied quietly,
“That wasn’t poison.”
Chae-hee blinked.
“Huh?”
“It was pollen.”
“…Pollen?!”
Chae-hee almost shouted, but Yuan So-ye quickly silenced her.
Only then did the others look away.
Eun-ryeong stepped closer and whispered,
“Your Highness… how did you know how to fold the packet like that? And the pollen?”
Yuan So-ye smiled faintly.
“That’s not something you need to know.”
In truth, she had prepared it in advance.
She had gathered yellow pollen earlier in the garden. When sending Jin Sung-yeo away, she secretly slipped the packet into her clothes.
It was a perfect trap.
“Let’s go to Baekun Palace. I need to see Lady Yeongbi.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
At Baekun Palace
Lady Yeongbi sat with her eyes closed, holding her forehead.
After hearing everything, she slowly opened her eyes and glared at Yuan So-ye.
“You may leave.”
But Yuan So-ye didn’t move.
“I said leave.”
“I still have something to say.”
Yeongbi frowned.
“Speak.”
Yuan So-ye hesitated deliberately, then said softly,
“I’m worried about Your Ladyship’s safety…”
Yeongbi turned sharply.
“What nonsense is this?”
“I’ve heard the guards show no mercy during investigations. I fear they might misunderstand… that Jin Sung-yeo was sent by you.”
It sounded like concern.
But it was a clear threat.
Yeongbi understood immediately.
If Jin Sung-yeo spoke under interrogation, Yeongbi herself could be implicated.
After a long pause, she asked,
“What do you want?”
Yuan So-ye smiled faintly.
“Nothing. I only wish to accept Your Ladyship’s kindness.”
It was a warning.
Don’t send spies again.
“…Very well,” Yeongbi said coldly. “There won’t be another incident like this.”
“Thank you, Your Ladyship.”
A complete victory.
As Yuan So-ye left, the sound of something shattering echoed behind her.
She didn’t look back.
That Night
Late at night, inside her chamber—
Heavy breathing broke the silence.
“Huff… huff…”
Yuan So-ye’s body was drenched in sweat.
She had taken the Great Huan Dan to increase her internal energy, but something was wrong.
No matter how much she tried, the energy wouldn’t settle in her core.
“It’s already the second one… and I still failed…”
Her head spun. Nausea rose. Her vision blurred.
Forcing the energy circulation had injured her internally.
“Damn it… what kind of body is this…?”
Everything went dark.
When she woke up, she was lying on the bed.
The royal physician was checking her pulse, while Eun-ryeong and Chae-hee stood nearby in panic.
“Your Highness, please remain still,” the physician said calmly.
He examined her carefully, then asked,
“Have you taken anything besides the medicine I prescribed?”
She shook her head.
“Have you fallen or injured yourself?”
Again, she shook her head.
The physician frowned.
“This is strange… Your body is in serious condition. Your internal energies are in chaos, your meridians are blocked, and you’ve suffered internal injuries.”
Yuan So-ye’s expression darkened.
So that was the problem.
Her energy couldn’t gather because her meridians were blocked.
Taking such a powerful elixir in that state had caused severe backlash.
Chae-hee suddenly blurted out,
“Your Highness… did you take an elixir from the pharmacy?”
Yuan So-ye shot her a sharp glare.
The physician froze.
“An elixir?! Your Highness, you don’t practice martial arts. This is extremely dangerous!”
“Can it be treated?”
The physician hesitated.
“It depends on what kind of elixir it was…”
“…The Great Huan Dan.”
“The one from Shaolin?”
“Yes.”
The physician’s face turned pale.
