IRTBACIWLATCP CH 02

Episode 2. I’m Back

Although Ji-ui’s family background was not particularly impressive, Hwan-a felt sorry for her after seeing how badly things had turned between her and the Grand Duke’s eldest son.

“I haven’t even had a proper chance to look around Gyeongseong yet. I don’t want to cause you any unnecessary trouble.”

Knowing that Hwan-a was kind-hearted, Ji-ui took out two nyang of silver and handed them to her.

“Thank you so much for taking care of me all this time.”

Hwan-a hurriedly waved her hands.

“No, you don’t have to. It was simply what I was supposed to do.”

“Miss Song is the benefactor who saved the Grand Duke’s eldest son, and she is also an honored guest of the Marquis’s residence. Accepting something like this…”

Although Madam may not think so, she should have been treated as an honored guest in the first place.

Ji-ui smiled lightly.

“It’s all right. I have plenty of money now.”

After saying that, she turned around and walked away without the slightest hesitation.

Hwan-a watched her retreating figure before eventually putting the silver into her robe.

Qingcang Pavilion

Hyeong-un stood stiffly in front of the bookshelf.

“Is that woman still outside?”

Deung-un answered carefully.

“Your Highness, Miss Song reportedly received five thousand nyang of silver from Madam and signed a written pledge that the two of them would never become involved with each other again. After that… she has already left.”

“That woman… I didn’t know she could be this heartless.”

Hyeong-un’s face darkened.

Unable to contain his anger, he swept everything off the desk. A cup fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Deung-un flinched in surprise before cautiously speaking.

“Your Highness, if you still regret letting Miss Song go, perhaps you could call her back…”

Unlike before, the current Hyeong-un was emotionally unstable, so even the servants had to carefully watch his mood before speaking.

Hyeong-un felt a faint ache in his legs. He grabbed the desk and barely managed to steady himself.

“Let her do whatever she wants. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Rather, I’m curious to see who in this world will actually take that woman away!”

When they were in Yeonghyeon, he had lived in the same room with Ji-ui for two years.

To outsiders, it already looked as though they had developed a deep relationship. In fact, everyone had already regarded her as his woman.

Hmph. Who would want to take a woman like that as his wife?

Hyeong-un’s expression twisted further.

His legs trembled slightly, and the pain began to rise again.

Deung-un hurried over and supported him.

“Your legs haven’t completely recovered yet. Please be careful.”

Hyeong-un sat down in the chair and spoke irritably.

“They’ll heal with time. I can recover even without that woman!”

It’s definitely not because I still have feelings for Ji-ui!

That woman’s attempt to tie me down like this won’t work.

Frowning, Hyeong-un placed both hands on his knees and gently massaged them, just as Ji-ui used to do, hoping to ease the pain.

But it had no effect.

He gritted his teeth and slapped his thighs hard.

“Why is she doing this? Why is she pushing me this far?!”

I overcame countless hardships and finally stood on my own feet again. I’ve finally returned to being a normal person!

But the Marquis’s residence was now in a precarious situation, while his mother was even digging into the truth behind what had happened back then.

He had to return—for revenge and for the sake of the Marquis’s household.

I can’t ruin my future because of a lowly woman like Song Ji-ui!

“With such a good family background and outstanding appearance, Miss Song will change her mind soon enough.”

Apparently somewhat reassured, he gave a quiet order.

“The Song family will be arriving soon. Don’t forget to go and receive them.”

On the very day he returned to Gyeongseong, he had already sent someone to summon the Song family.

The wealth and splendor of Gyeongseong could easily dazzle people’s eyes.

The Song family has always been poor. They’ll surely persuade Ji-ui to become my concubine.

“Yes.”

Just as Deung-un was about to leave, Hyeong-un asked again.

“Has anything happened on the Prime Minister’s side during the two years I was gone?”

Deung-un replied in a low voice.

“In the past two years, the Yeop family has met with several sons of prominent noble families. They also met with the Crown Prince and Prince Jing.”

The evening breeze slipped through the gaps in the window.

The candle flame flickered, casting a dark shadow across Hyeong-un’s face.

He clenched his fingers tightly and asked in a rough voice,

“And?”

“There was apparently a time when the Imperial Court hinted at marrying Miss Yeop Cheong-sa to Prince Jing, but Prime Minister Yeop refused.”

Hyeong-un raised his eyelids and sneered.

“Prince Jing has been poisoned. He may not even have much longer to live. If she married into that family, she’d probably spend the rest of her life as a widow.”

No matter how foolish the Yeop family was, they would never marry Yeop Cheong-sa to Prince Jing.

As for the Crown Prince, there was even less to discuss.

The Emperor currently valued the balance of power above all else.

If the Crown Prince took Yeop Cheong-sa as his wife, the Yeop family would instantly become the most powerful noble family in Gyeongseong.

And if the Crown Prince eventually inherited the throne, the Yeop family’s ambitions would only grow, making them even harder to control.

That’s why I have to suppress them before those ambitions can take root. In the end, I’ll be the one to marry Yeop Cheong-sa!

Deung-un smiled cautiously.

“If Prince Jing still held military power, he might have been able to compete for the position of Crown Prince.”

“But unfortunately, he was poisoned by a strange toxin, so no one can predict what lies ahead for him.”

“Now, the nobles who hold power in Gyeongseong avoid Prince Jing. They are only interested in the military authority in his hands.”

Hyeong-un’s eyes gleamed as he slowly clenched his large, knuckle-defined hands into fists.

“I’m not the only one who can’t afford to wait for that time.”

Prince Jing and Hyeong-un were mortal enemies.

But how am I any different from Prince Jing in my current situation?

The sunset disappeared from the horizon, and night settled over the land.

Ji-ui walked for a long time before finally managing to calm her thoughts somewhat.

She rented a room at an inn near Doyue Bridge.

She had chosen a second-floor room overlooking the river, so she could see the beautiful night scenery of the Doyue River. It was quite pleasant.

After closing the doors and windows, Ji-ui slipped the banknote into the jade ring on her left ring finger.

Ji-ui had originally been a military doctor in the twenty-first century.

Two years ago, she had died after being caught in an explosion while saving people on the battlefield.

Coincidentally, at almost the same time that the original Ji-ui died from a high fever, she awakened in the body of the second daughter of the Song family in Yeonghyeon, Yunzhou City.

Ji-ui had an older sister and a younger brother.

She had never been a beloved child of the Song family, so all the dirty and difficult work was always left to her.

Even though they were members of the same family, she could never understand why the Song parents favored their children so unfairly.

The original Ji-ui had died from a high fever, but no one had noticed.

That was how Ji-ui had gotten the chance to take over this body.

The jade ring had been passed down through her ancestors for generations.

It could not only store objects, but time also flowed differently inside the ring compared to the outside world.

There was even spiritual liquid and spiritual mist inside, which could accelerate the growth of plants.

If she placed a medicinal herb inside, it would grow overnight. If she left it there for several more days, it could even mature into a herb with ten years of medicinal age.

Now that I have five thousand nyang of silver, I can buy several shops, open a medicinal herb store and other businesses, and finally begin the plans I made long ago to make money.

If she took out a few varieties that had been explosively popular in the modern era and turned them into medicinal products, she could shock the entire capital.

“I don’t need a man, but I absolutely cannot be without money.”

“I, Song Ji-ui, will become the richest woman in this little country!”

Just as Ji-ui was making this grand declaration to herself, the inn attendant brought her some hot water.

Ji-ui scattered rose petals into the water, took off her clothes, and comfortably soaked herself in the bath.

She needed to wash away all the bad luck she had accumulated during the several days she had spent at the Marquis’s residence.

As the evening breeze blew, the candle went out.

A moment later, a black shadow pushed open the rear window and slipped inside.

“Who are you?”

Startled, she instinctively pulled her clothes toward herself.

But in the very next moment, the black shadow moved behind her with astonishing speed, and the cold tip of a blade touched the back of her neck.

“Don’t scream. If you make a sound, I’ll kill you.”

A thick murderous aura emanated from the black-clad figure, and his voice was equally cold and fierce.

The cold, sharp blade pressed closely against her neck.

If it went even slightly deeper, it felt as though it could tear through a blood vessel.

Ji-ui’s entire body stiffened, leaving her unable to move.

She knew a little martial arts herself, but right now she was completely unclothed.

Moreover, her life was in this man’s hands, so she couldn’t recklessly move.

The intruder seemed to be enduring tremendous pain, and the hand holding the knife was not entirely steady.

A bead of hot sweat fell onto her back.

The heat made the fine hairs on Ji-ui’s body stand on end.

Afraid that the man might accidentally hurt her, Ji-ui cautiously twisted her body slightly, but he immediately restrained her again.

His murderous aura grew even stronger.

“I told you not to move unless you want to die!”

She tried to calm him down.

“Hero, I’m a weak woman who doesn’t even have the strength to tie up a chicken. You don’t need to be so tense.”

I just got five thousand nyang of silver. I haven’t even started my business plans yet. I can’t die here!

The black shadow remained silent.

Downstairs, hurried footsteps were already echoing through the inn.

“Search everywhere. Search every room. He disappeared somewhere around here.”

Ji-ui spoke in a gentle voice.

“You’re injured, and you’ve also been poisoned. On top of that, you’re being chased by bad people. If you don’t hurt me, I can help you.”

The black shadow paused for a moment before asking suspiciously,

“How did you know I was poisoned?”

“Your sweat and the energy coming from your body tell me everything.”

“You must have been severely poisoned. If my guess is correct, you’ve just taken medicine to keep your mind clear.”

“But that medicine can damage your vital energy.”

Gyeong-un’s gaze sank deeply.

A flash of surprise passed through his eyes.

Who exactly is this woman?

How did she figure out so much information at a single glance?

Just then—

Bang!

The door to the room next door was violently thrown open, and a frightened guest’s voice came from beyond the wall.

“Wh-who are you? I-I’m just staying here! You can’t just search the rooms like this because you’re looking for someone!”

Gyeong-un narrowed his eyes and quickly scanned the room.

The room was clean but extremely sparse.

There were almost no places where he could hide.

The approaching footsteps were getting closer and closer. They were already heading this way.

“Don’t talk nonsense. If you say the wrong thing, you’ll definitely die.”

Gyeong-un jumped into the bathtub and hid himself beneath the water.

The next moment, the tip of his blade pressed against Ji-ui’s waist.

“You shameless bastard.”

Ji-ui gritted her teeth and swallowed the curse that rose to her lips.

Threatening me wasn’t enough. Now he’s even taking advantage of me while I’m naked.

Damn it. This man really isn’t an ordinary person.

If I ever get the chance to escape, I’ll definitely teach him a painful lesson.

The bathtub was narrow, making it extremely difficult for two people to fit inside.

He tried not to touch Ji-ui directly, but there was simply no room, so his upper body inevitably bent awkwardly toward her.

The warm water carried the sweet fragrance of roses into the air.

Her skin was smooth and soft.

Her cherry-red lips and snow-white neck were only inches away.

Gyeong-un’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

His face flushed, and he hurriedly looked away, tightly clenching his palm.

Even so, the hot blood throughout his body seemed to boil uncontrollably.

Bang!

The door opened.

Several men dressed in black stormed into the room.