I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 54

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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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Chapter 54. The Way of Water Management (3)
The room remained silent throughout So Yeon-hui’s account.
That Gong-jeon was in fact Wang’s land.
That he and Wang Sae-bu had conspired to conceal the hidden acreage and evade taxes.
That they had deceived Yu Min and the convicted prisoners into cultivating it under the guise of public land.
That the So Family had also fallen victim to this deception.
In the face of these shocking revelations tumbling forth one after another, So Jin exhaled sharply.
“So the land I worked all summer—it was Wang’s hidden field? And the money I paid… it wasn’t our household tax at all?”
Fearing that failure to pay the Public Field Tax might drive his family to even harsher circumstances, he had sold every piece of jewelry they possessed and given it to Wang.
As a result, his family had gone hungry nearly every day.
His eldest daughter had even made a terrible choice to keep herself from becoming a burden.
By Heaven’s grace, she had narrowly escaped with her life, and it had all become the past—but that did not erase the suffering she had endured.
Veins stood out across the back of his clenched fist.
Jang bit down hard on her lip. Hong closed her eyes without speaking, then opened them slowly. At this, So Yeon-u cried out with indignation.
“That wretch Wang Dae-seok! His own grandfather is such a man, and yet he dares insult our household? The nerve of him!”
He had apparently fought with Wang’s grandson just days ago. He seethed with unrelenting anger.
“So.”
So Yeon-su asked quietly.
“What happened in the end?”
“Wang Sae-bu was arrested, and Wang was taken away as well. The So Family’s labor on Wang’s land was recorded as tenant farming. See those five bags of rice over there? We have five more stacked beside them—that’s our share. If we’d asked Wang directly, he’d never have given it. But Lord Wi readily relinquished the money, saying he would collect it directly from Wang. And as it happens, we’re exempt from the Household Tax this year.”
Jang’s eyes widened.
“Exempt from the Household Tax? But more than that—my work all summer is being recorded as tenant farming? You mean to say all ten bags of rice belong entirely to the So Family?”
“Yes. That’s why we brought the rice back.”
A brief silence fell. Then So Yeon-u let out a shout.
“Amazing! So we won’t have to worry about rice for the whole winter?”
“Ten bags? Of course not! It’ll see us well past spring!”
So Yeon-su spoke quietly, but despite his usual composure, the faint upward turn at the corners of his mouth could not hide his delight.
Jang wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She tried to appear composed, but her voice trembled slightly.
“You’ve worked hard, Yeon-hui.”
So Jin rested his hand quietly on his daughter’s head. He said nothing, but the weight of that hand carried far more than words could convey.
So Yeon-hui smiled faintly and pointed toward the back of the cart.
“Well then! Now let’s build a chicken coop. And let’s make it a big one. Since we have a rooster, we’ll be able to see chicks come spring.”
At that, So Yeon-u’s eyes sparkled and he leapt up with a shout.
“I’ll name them! One can be Goldeneye, one can be Lucky—”
“So Yeon-u, we’ll eat those birds in the end. How are we supposed to eat them if you’ve named them?”
“Eat them? No! Absolutely not!”
The adults burst out laughing at the twins.
Yet for some reason, Hong’s expression was not as bright.
* * *
While So Yeon-u and So Yeon-su rushed into the courtyard, bickering over where to build the chicken coop, Hong approached So Yeon-hui.
“Yeon-hui.”
At her low, quiet voice, So Yeon-hui turned her head.
Hong sighed for a moment, then spoke slowly.
“You did well to resolve the tax problem.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
“However.”
Hong paused, then continued.
“Did Lord Wi truly help you with no price asked in return?”
The pointed question struck home, and So Yeon-hui’s shoulders flinched.
But what could she do? It was all exposed already.
She had no choice but to tell Hong about teaching Wi Jung the Water Purification Method and the Water Purification Secret.
It was only natural that Hong’s frustration burst forth with a sigh.
“Did I not warn you to watch your tongue? How could you act so recklessly again?”
It was not untrue. Yet So Yeon-hui found it difficult to agree.
“Grandmother.”
“What.”
“That knowledge—”
So Yeon-hui spoke slowly.
“The more people who know it, the fewer will die of plague. At this very moment, people are drinking foul water and perishing, when that knowledge could save their lives.”
Hong said nothing.
“Knowing that, how could I stay silent for our household’s sake alone? Somewhere out there, innocent people may still be dying helplessly over nothing but dirty water.”
The laughter of the two younger siblings drifted from the courtyard. The sound of chickens clucking and fluttering their wings too.
Could she abandon others’ happiness for the sake of this peace, precious as it was? So Yeon-hui could not.
“Yet are we in a position to spare concern for others right now?”
Hong pressed her temples as if troubled.
“Enough. What good comes from dwelling on what’s already done? I shall prepare the evening meal, so speak no more of this.”
With that and a sigh of exasperation, she rose from her seat.
Just as So Yeon-hui moved to stop her, So Jin, who had been silent, spoke in a low voice.
“Mother. Do you know what was hardest for me on the battlefield?”
Hong’s steps halted. The memory of sending her son into that danger had been so terrible that she could not bring herself to turn and face him, yet she answered.
“The enemy, surely. Or perhaps the harsh orders from the court.”
“No.”
So Jin shook his head quietly and spoke.
“It was dysentery.”
At those words, Hong’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
“When summer came each year, plague always swept through the camp. Soldiers who marched without a scratch from a blade would die in some distant land, never seeing their homes again, from nothing but a belly ailment. All because of water.”
So Jin paused.
“My heart was very heavy.”
A breeze passed through the courtyard. The raucous laughter of So Yeon-u and So Yeon-su seemed distant now.
“Had I known early what knowledge Yeon-hui has shared with Lord Wi—”
So Jin’s voice dropped low.
“How many lives might I have saved?”
Washing one’s hands before eating, ensuring water is always boiled before drinking.
Such simple knowledge it was. Yet so many had perished for its absence.
Hong turned her head slowly and gazed at her son’s profile.
So Jin still looked out toward the courtyard.
“What Yeon-hui has done is right, Mother. Such knowledge cannot be buried for the sake of our family’s gain.”
Hong watched her son for a long time, then slowly seated herself again. She gazed down at her own hands, which lay upon her knees.
Only after a long while did she speak.
“I… was always afraid that you would lose your life to the enemy’s hand each time you went to the battlefield.”
Her voice was low and steady, yet something in it seemed to falter.
“But that was not all. It was not enough to simply guard against death by the blade.”
So Jin watched his mother quietly.
“My thinking was narrow.”
Hong stopped herself short.
A silence filled the room from that point onward.
As the atmosphere darkened markedly and So Yeon-hui stood uncertain, Hong finally turned to her granddaughter and spoke.
“Yeon-hui.”
“Yes, Grandmother.”
“I understand now that your conviction is just.”
To have the power to save a life and refuse to do so is a sin.
To turn away from those dying now for the sake of future gain is not righteous.
“Yet I ask one thing of you. When you share such precious knowledge, share it only with those you can truly trust. Share it only with those who will use it rightly.”
That she could impart this caveat despite having reached such understanding could only be because of her profound love for her family.
So Yeon-hui brightened then and nodded with a smile.
“I agree with that too, Grandmother. I had no intention of teaching just anyone. I shared it with Lord Wi today precisely because I judged him to be trustworthy.”
Hong gazed at her granddaughter for a moment, then withdrew her gaze.
“Yes. You must possess that much discernment.”
Her tone remained gruff, though it could hardly be called criticism now.
Yet So Yeon-hui was entirely reassured.
‘Honestly, she can be so indirect.’
Still, she could rest easy now.
At least her father would not be dragged off to labor in a work gang this winter.

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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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