As she pressed for details, Sohwa shook her head.
“I couldn’t trace it all the way. I asked around and tracked it back to a few court ladies and handmaids, but that was as far as I got. One of them said she overheard it while doing laundry, but it came from the other side of a wall—she didn’t see who said it.”
Hwayeong let out a soft snort.
‘More like someone timed it to start talking right next to the laundry area,’ she thought.
The most effective way to plant a secret was to gossip just loud enough for the nosiest people to overhear—preferably through a pillar or over a windowsill—then slip away as if you never meant for anyone to hear it at all.
“Well, I’d call that a success.”
They didn’t know who was behind it yet—but if someone had gone this far, it meant the bait had finally been taken.
It wouldn’t take long now.
Everything was unfolding according to plan.
