I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 55

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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 55. The Wang Attack (1)
As the sun sank low and gold, the house of Wang, village head of Mangok Village, was suffused with gloom.
It was because Wang Chun-bae, the village head’s son, had returned from Jinseong—beaten by magistrates’ men until his backside was a mess of blood and bruises.
He could barely walk, a pitiful sight indeed, but the moment Wang himself set eyes on his son, he nearly flipped the table over.
“You senseless fool! What in heaven’s name were you doing in Jinseong!”
“Father, I—I was wronged! They dragged me away without warning and then they just kept beating me—”
“Without warning? Without warning, my foot! You got drunk and started trouble the same way you always do, and now—of all people—the County Magistrate caught you!”
Wang ground his teeth.
The money was one thing, but what truly burned was his honor.
The Wang family, which had ruled Mangok Village for decades, reduced to this humiliation. Worse still, when news came that Wang—the corrupt official in their pay—had been locked up in the county jail, fury blazed through his chest.
‘What grievance does the County Magistrate harbor against our Wang family? The moment he takes office, he arrests our man. I’ll grant that scoundrel was always too eager for bribes—I expected he’d come to grief someday—but this?’
He’d heard from his son that a daughter of the So family, who lived in that mountain cottage, was standing right beside the new magistrate. But Wang the village head paid it little mind.
Surely criminals wouldn’t have the audacity to march up to his residence and orchestrate such a thing on their own.
The newly appointed County Magistrate must simply be using the So family to make a show of strength at the start of his tenure.
‘Bah! Ungrateful wretch. After all I’ve done for them, and they betray our household like this?’
Wang gazed at the lamp and narrowed his eyes to slits.
He’d disliked those people from the moment they started their merchant business, dragging a cart around the countryside. How could wretch refugees—exiled here for their crimes—possibly have earned enough money to acquire such valuable goods?
They must have received them as gifts in exchange for selling Mangok Village’s secrets to the new magistrate.
‘Hmph! Insolent dogs. We’ll see about that.’
The county seat was a good two hours’ journey from here. No matter how impressive the County Magistrate might be, how could he possibly know everything that happens in such a remote village?
“They say the law is distant and the fist is near, don’t they?”
At Wang’s words, Wang Chun-bae’s eyes widened for a moment, then his mouth curved upward in a grin.
“Of course, Father. There’s no arguing with the fist.”
How perfectly their thoughts aligned at such moments.
Father and son’s eyes began to glint with the hunger for revenge.
* * *
It was the morning of the fourth day since the tax matter had been resolved.
So Jin had been squatting in front of the chicken coop since early dawn, examining traces, thanks to little So Yeon-u who’d come weeping to fetch him.
One side of the coop, woven from bamboo and reeds, had been torn open. The floor was scattered with feathers and stained with blood. One rooster had vanished entirely.
‘At least it’s not a large beast.’
A weasel at most, or a fox.
So Jin rose slowly and examined the tracks.
Judging by the direction, they led toward the valley where the twins sometimes played—not far off at all.
‘If the children get bitten, that would be trouble.’
In that moment, So Jin’s eyes changed.
“I’ll have to go hunting.”
“Hunting?”
“There’s no real danger. It’s just a fox or weasel at worst. If it is a fox, we can sell the fur or make it into winter clothes for your grandmother. She’s been feeling the cold much more lately.”
“Win-winter clothes?”
Turning a cute fox into clothing.
From a modern perspective, it was something So Yeon-hui found a bit unsettling, but seeing the state of the coop and the chickens inside, she held her tongue.
Meanwhile, So Jin had somehow retrieved his bow and quiver and fastened them at his waist. He clearly meant to eliminate the threat before any more damage occurred.
“Please be careful! They say that as winter approaches, larger beasts come down the mountainside.”
“Don’t worry. Would your father be bested by a mere beast?”
So Jin said that, raised his hand once as a farewell, and set out up the mountain path without hesitation.
As lethal as any human weapon, there was no real danger to fear—but then why did such unease creep through her?
So Yeon-hui suppressed the trembling in her body, tied her apron firmly, and steadied herself.
She needed to hurry and prepare the tofu before the women from the Shim family arrived for work.
* * *
Wang moved about half an hour later, around the time villagers gathered at the well to draw water for the day.
Wang the village head deliberately blocked the path to the well with his sons, waited for people to gather, then suddenly raised his voice.
“You’ve all heard, haven’t you? How my Chun-bae was unjustly beaten by magistrates’ men, slandered by those ungrateful criminal wretches! I showed them special mercy and allowed them to settle at the edge of our village. Can such betrayal be tolerated?”
Murmurs rippled through the gathered villagers, but their expressions were complicated. Behind the wary glances they exchanged lay a common thought.
‘That Wang Chun-bae surely stirred up trouble. Knowing his character, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.’
Besides, they had a rough idea of how he’d earned his beating—something about hiding his own land to avoid paying taxes and being caught by the officials?
Hmph. He tried to pocket state taxes, yet a beating was all he got. He should be grateful.
But despite their private thoughts, no one dared speak up. Wang the village head had lowered his voice and was slowly surveying the villagers.
“Honestly, is there a kinder village head than myself? I take exactly half the tenant rent—just half! This year and last year too. How many families have fed themselves because of my kindness? Isn’t that so?”
At those words, the villagers’ expressions hardened.
They realized Wang might cut off their tenancy or raise their rent if he was displeased.
For a landless tenant farmer, losing his tenancy meant death by starvation. An elderly farmer named Jung let out a sigh and asked quietly.
“Then, what is it you wish us to do, village head?”
Wang’s eyes flew open with an almost grotesque intensity as he curved his lips upward. Then he stroked his goat beard once and spoke.
“We must show those wretches that justice still lives in this village, mustn’t we?”
At Wang the village head’s side, Wang Chun-bae ostentatiously swung his club.
Jung could scarcely bear to look at the sight and dropped his gaze to the ground.
* * *
Shouts came from outside the So household’s gate just after breakfast time.
“You criminals, what are you doing in there! Come out and kneel this instant!”
So Yeon-hui, busy making tofu, heard the menacing voice from the courtyard and with a grim face extinguished the fire under her pot, then rushed outside.
She quickly ushered the twins into the room and gripped her apron.
‘Of all times for Father to be away. What is this?’
Startled by the commotion, Jang and the senior lady Hong hurried out, hastily arranging their clothes.
Just then, Wang the village head led a crowd of villagers bursting through the gate as if to smash it down and into the courtyard.
At first glance, there were more than a dozen of them. Especially those at the front—Wang the village head and his gang—were wielding clubs in their hands.
“Daring to slander decent villagers! You vermin deserve to be beaten to death! I shall deliver justice’s hammer upon you!”
Wang the village head roared.
The fury in his voice was so vicious that Hong and Jang trembled with terror in an instant.
Only So Yeon-hui, her fear forgotten in the need to protect her family, stepped forward.
“Village head, sir, from what I hear, you’re exaggerating. Who slandered whom? Who is the swindler who deceived us about silver, passing it off as legitimate currency, and made a fool of us all year?”
“Sil-silence! How dare you flap your mouth before an elder, you criminal filth!”
“An elder should act like an elder before he demands respect. Age alone doesn’t make you worthy. Did you teach yourself manners yourself?”
“This, this insolence! Wretched woman!”
Wang the village head’s face flushed crimson with rage. He gestured, and two burly men behind him stepped forward, clubs in their hands.
Jang quickly pulled So Yeon-hui back.
“Yeon-hui, step back inside! No, wait—apologize at once!”

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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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