Chapter 27 (1/2)

Kyosul got stiff as she was not accustomed to that kind of greetings. A little later, the soldiers raised themselves. Kyosul and the nanny approached the top gate to enter the garden. When Kyosul crossed the threshold and the nanny followed her, they stopped the nanny.

“We’re sorry, but only royal family members and top officials can enter this garden.”

The official title of Kyosul’s nanny was Lady Yuon. Though her rank was high enough to compare with most high-ranking officials, it was below the so-called ‘top officials.’ Embarrassed, the nanny stepped back and said to Kyousul, “Your Highness, let me wait here outside. So, take a walk slowly inside.”

“Got it, nanny.”

Nodding, she entered the palace and disappeared. Looking at her back with a worried expression, the nanny began to wait at a distance from the soldiers.

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When Kyosul arrived at the entrance of the garden, she smelled the fresh fragrance of flowers. She smiled naturally the moment the sweet smell of various flowers tickled her nose. As there were so many rare flowers in the garden, there was another gate inside for her to pass. The wall surrounding the garden was covered with unknown vines, where small and cute pink flowers were blooming fully. While looking at the flowers, she entered the top gate, exclaiming before she knew.

“Wow! How large the imperial palace of a great empire is!”

There were various roads through the endless flower garden with small shrubs planted on both sides. The roads were full of colorful, simple, mesmerizing flowers, all of which emitted all kinds of fragrance but made a great harmony. While walking along one of the roads, she chose only the road right ahead of her whenever she arrived at the intersection.

How long did she walk?

She wasn’t tired at all as she saw so many beautiful flowers. She came out to a large, empty place, which seemed to be the center of the garden. And there was a pool in the center, which was too small to be called a lake but not small enough to be called a pond. There were a small island and pavilion in the center of the pool. There were about five bridges leading to the island.

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“Can I walk over there?”

When she was hesitating, she heard a woman’s very sharp voice from behind.

“Who are you?”

When she turned around with a surprised look, a woman wearing a colorful wig with ornaments approached her, holding a long silk robe. This woman with red lipstick boasted of gorgeous accessories, indicating she was high in rank. She thought Kyosul was a lowly royal concubine who didn’t even get the number of concubine rank in the palace. The seniority of concubine rank in the palace was given, based on how much favor the Emperor gave to his concubines. Currently, there were three ranked concubines, and all other concubines were one step higher than chief court ladies.

Though Kyosul didn’t put on colorful accessories, she was wearing the golden dragon hairpin only the Crown Princess could wear in the imperial palace.

But that woman didn’t notice her hairpin and shouted at Kyosul, rolling her eyes sharply.

“Didn’t you hear my question? I’m the Emperor’s concubine. Who the hell are you as you dared enter this flower garden? Don’t you know this place is only accessible to the royal family members and top officials? What the hell are these imperial soldiers doing letting this woman wander around here? Let me give them a good scolding.”

Kyosul was so embarrassed by this woman’s barrage of sharp questions that she couldn’t say anything.

“Well…”

“How rude you are! How come you don’t show your manners to me, the Emperor’s concubine? Have you recently entered the palace?”

When Kyosul barely opened her mouth with hesitation, that woman stopped her with an arrogant look and looked her up and down. When Kyosul hesitated as she had never received this kind of treatment, that woman raised her hand, biting her red lips.

Surprised, Kyosul closed her eyes and curled up her head. But when this woman was about to slap Kyosul in the face, she was stopped by another woman.

“What the hell are you doing now?”

Kyosul turned her head toward another woman to check out if the latter was her acquaintance. But Kyosul didn’t know her. That woman was also decorated with colorful ornaments all over.

I think I have to walk around, colorfully decorated like them, Kyosul thought at that moment.

Kyosul usually went around in casual dress as her official garment was heavy and cumbersome, but when she bumped into strangers, her decoration told them the status of her rank in the palace. As the Mok Kingdom was so large and there were so many royal women, their decoration showed to each other how they were ranked in the palace.