I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 16. Is This What ‘K-Style Gratitude’ Looks Like?
Stepping out of Jang’s Butcher Shop after closing the deal so swiftly.
So Yeon-hee pressed a hand to her chest and swallowed hard. There were another 120 coins—a substantial sum—nestled in her possession.
Of course, some of that would go toward making sausages for the next delivery, but even then it was only fifty coins.
Considering she’d also be selling Tanghulu in Jin City, the start was remarkably smooth.
‘For now, let’s start with five jin every three days as a trial. Then we’ll gradually increase the volume, right?’
This gradual scaling of orders was exactly what So Yeon-hee wanted.
At the moment, with no proper equipment or facilities—just a cottage industry operation—it was difficult to meet large volumes.
‘Besides, there’s still time before the season for mountain ginseng ends. I should squeeze out as much profit as I can.’
Delivering Fragrant Sauce every three days and retailing fifty Tanghulu at a time would net her two hundred fifty coins.
That was well over triple what she’d earned when selling at the market fair.
‘Of course, the workload would triple as well. That’s the catch.’
Still, if she stayed this diligent, surely gathering five sacks of white rice would be no great hardship?
For her father’s sake, So Yeon-hee resolved to work without rest, pouring in every ounce of effort.
She hurried along the main road toward the agreed meeting place, drawing steadily closer.
“Madam! Please, please try to breathe! Can you hear me?”
“Is there no physician nearby? Someone fetch a doctor at once!”
In front of Geumho-dang, a shop that sold premium confections, a crowd had gathered and voices rose in panic.
Peering closer, she saw an elderly woman struggling—something had lodged in her throat as she ate.
Her face had turned blue, the airway completely blocked, and death seemed to hover mere moments away.
“Oh no, what do we do!”
“If rice cake chokes you, not even the Jade Emperor could save you!”
Choking deaths from Glutinous Rice Cake and similar foods happened quite frequently, even in modern times.
Some foreign jellies had even had their imports banned because of it.
Any delay now might make this irreversible.
So Yeon-hee pushed through the crowd without hesitation.
“Move! I need to perform Emergency Treatment right now!”
The crowd, seeing a young woman of modest appearance and unpolished manner, hesitated—but parted for her nonetheless.
Without a second thought, So Yeon-hee positioned herself behind the Old Lady and wrapped both arms around her, clasping her hands just below the sternum.
“You insolent creature! What are you doing to the Madam!”
A maidservant, noticing the close contact, rushed forward and seized So Yeon-hee by the hair.
“Let go! If the elder dies because of this, you’ll be responsible!”
So Yeon-hee gritted her teeth and pressed her clasped hands firmly together.
In the moment the maidservant hesitated at her sharp warning, So Yeon-hee pulled with all her strength, delivering short, forceful compressions to the Old Lady’s sternum.
Once.
Twice.
And a third time.
“How dare you—!”
Just as the maidservant opened her mouth to voice another protest—
A sensation traveled through So Yeon-hee’s palms. Something was moving.
“Cough!”
The Old Lady drew a sharp breath and expelled a half-palm-sized piece of Glutinous Rice Cake with a violent cough.
“Madam!”
“Are you alright, Madam?”
So Yeon-hee, feeling the tension drain from her body, barely caught the weakening Old Lady and eased her gently to the ground.
Then she exhaled in belated relief and smiled brightly.
“Whew. Thank goodness the treatment worked. You’re safe now.”
The crowd that had gathered for the miraculous scene began to murmur—but only for a moment.
—Ding.
[Good Deed Achieved: You saved a life through Emergency Treatment.]
[100 Points have been awarded.]
[Current Points: 146]
An unexpected jackpot had landed.
‘My goodness. How many points is that? One hundred at once?’
At the rate of a thousand won per point, she’d just earned the equivalent of ten thousand won in a single act.
‘Of course, I would have stepped in even without the points.’
Someone was in danger, and she was in a position to help—how could she turn away?
To do so would make her no better than Ju Ha-jin, her lifelong enemy.
Even if she’d never be a saint or a sage, she had to live like a proper human being.
Surely there was no price to be put on a human life.
But if this Good Deed Points system applied not just to her but to everyone, then perhaps the world might become a slightly warmer place.
“Sob… Thank goodness you’re safe, Madam! I thought something terrible was happening…!”
“Madam, are you hurt inside? Should we call for a physician right now?”
As the maidservant and servants fussed over the Old Lady, So Yeon-hee hastily tried to salvage her hair, which had been viciously torn at.
The way that maid had yanked it—strands came out at the slightest touch.
‘Thank goodness I was born with thick hair. If I’d had any hair loss, I’d have grounds to sue for assault.’
She understood the urgency—concern for her mistress’s safety—but did she really need to grab hair? A tug on the sleeve would have been just as effective.
So Yeon-hee could have explained the situation readily enough.
In the end, everyone was unharmed and she’d suffered no major injury, but the slight disappointment lingered.
Specifically, that they hadn’t even thanked her for saving their mistress’s life.
‘Oh well. Never mind. My good deed is known to Bodhisattva—why would I need their thanks?’
So Yeon-hee checked on them once more, then set off without looking back.
The Old Lady reached out too late to stop her, but the crowd had already swallowed any trace of her departure.
* * *
“I’ll never manage this. How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of such troublesome affairs!”
So Yeon-hee laughed awkwardly at her mother’s scolding.
“Well, I tried to ignore it. But a life was at stake.”
Her body had moved before her mind could deliberate.
Even now, she felt no regret.
If So Yeon-hee hadn’t helped that Old Lady, the woman truly would have lost her breath.
The notification had confirmed it—that she’d saved a life through Emergency Treatment.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, I did something right. What trouble could come from that?”
“Do you not understand how dangerous it is for our family’s name to be on people’s lips? No matter how good your intentions, your actions can become the seed of calamity and put us all at risk!”
“So should I have let her die? Besides, that Old Lady—her bearing wasn’t ordinary. If I’d left her there, it would have caused an investigation and been far more troublesome.”
The high-born always behaved this way, she’d noticed. Life and death were heaven’s decree; you could give your all and people still died—yet they’d never accept it. They’d blame everyone around them.
When someone close to them fell to illness or accident, not only did the servants face punishment—everyone nearby would be held accountable.
If that Old Lady had truly died, everyone present would have been thrown into prison without question.
Even someone who’d merely witnessed it would be asked, “Why didn’t you save her?” and sentenced for that alone.
Absurd as it was, such was the pre-modern mindset in a society where Sati Culture had only recently faded away.
Hearing this reasoning, even Jang’s expression softened somewhat.
“Regardless, next time try your best to avoid getting entangled. Never forget that Yeon-ga’s people have their eyes on us.”
“I’ll remember, Mother.”
So Yeon-hee nodded obediently to her mother’s fearful warning.
Though it stung, her words held weight.
‘If it’s that madman Ju Ha-jin, he’d do far worse than that.’
Even if he couldn’t come to this remote region himself, sending an assassin or two would be nothing.
So Yeon-hee reflected that it was sheer fortune the Crown Prince and her Master’s protection had kept their place of Exile hidden.
The very next day after that eventful first visit to Jin City.
So Yeon-hee returned to Jin City with a basket of Tanghulu to begin her business in earnest—only to find herself facing a predicament as absurd as her mother had predicted.
“I’m sorry, but… what crime did I commit? There must be some reason you’re doing this?”
“Silence! A crime was committed, or Yeon-ga would not have issued an Arrest Warrant! You would do well to confess!”
Wang, the prefect of Jin City, his voice gruff and unyielding, was waving something—unmistakably a Wanted Poster bearing her likeness.
‘So I save someone’s life and get an arrest warrant in return? Is this… what K-style gratitude looks like?’
Faced with a situation both baffling and infuriating, all she could manage was a helpless laugh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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