I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 6

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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 6. Evening Meal
So Yeon-hui was her daughter, certainly, but one could hardly claim in earnest that she possessed any gift for practical living.
Even in the Capital City, she had been a girl with her nose in books, barely sparing a glance for household matters.
So who on earth had made the Fish Soup?
So Jin and the other adults of the So Household found themselves doubting their own ears.
“Your eldest daughter made Fish Soup? Is that truly the case?”
“Yes! The broth is incredibly rich and delicious! I could eat ten bowls if I had the chance!”
And this, from a child who’d only just awakened from her sickbed—how in the world had she managed it?
Jang, the matriarch of the So Household and mother to the three siblings, opened her eyes wide at her son’s unexpected enthusiasm.
Suspecting a jest, she pressed him again, but the boy remained earnest.
“I’m telling the truth. I caught loads of fish with my eldest sister in the Valley. And she sliced radish and wild greens she’d dug from the mountain, added them in—it was really delicious.”
What? She caught the fish herself?
When just two days ago she’d picked the wrong mushroom from the forest and fallen ill—reckless enough to endanger her own life!
However difficult to believe, however worrying it all seemed, there was one detail that gave her pause: So Yeon-u, who had tasted the Fish Soup, looked perfectly well.
His frame even gave off a faint, savory aroma that promised something delicious.
‘Could Yeon-hui truly have made that Fish Soup?’
As it happened, So Jin’s stomach had been rumbling since dawn, when he’d come out to work the fields.
Watching his wife voice her doubts while clutching at her empty belly, he suddenly spoke.
“Let’s head back.”
“Pardon?”
“The hoe’s broken anyway. We can’t manage much more work today.”
He brushed the dirt from his hands and clothes, then picked up the broken hoe and tucked it under his arm.
Supporting Hong, the aunt and So Yeon-hui’s stand-in in the fields, he added, “We should return home and check on the children’s condition.”
He needed to understand what was happening with his daughter.
* * *

Back at the house in a rush.
The adults of the So Household had barely stepped into the old Thatched House before they froze in astonishment.
They’d been uncertain because of the smoke visible from afar, but now the entire house was suffused with a rich, savory aroma.
So much so that when they dragged their weary bodies into the Main Room, three bowls of appetizing Fish Soup sat neatly arranged on a small table.
It was enough to make even a ghost weep.
“Yeon-hui, what is this Fish Soup?”
When Jang asked, her confusion evident, So Yeon-hui pulled out a chair and replied, “The Egg Porridge you made for me was truly delicious. I shared it with my younger siblings, and it was so good I nearly wept.”
“…Is that so?”
Wait, that wasn’t what she was asking.
“Yes. And so I wanted to offer something delicious to you and Father in return. I’m sorry for causing you worry, even though it’s late.”
She smiled shyly, though she did not quite meet her mother’s eyes.
In that moment, So Jin became certain.
His daughter must have known the mushroom was poisoned.
“Eating a Toxic Mushroom and collapsing! A child who’s never caused trouble in her life, and suddenly this—I don’t understand what’s happening. As if our family circumstances weren’t difficult enough!”
“Wild mushrooms all look much the same. It wasn’t intentional on Yeon-hui’s part—it was a mistake. Please don’t be too harsh.”
“I don’t know what to tell Grandmother. If she finds out the medicine cost two measures of rice, she’s certain to be angry.”
Perhaps because she was the eldest daughter. Perhaps because she had never once given her parents cause for concern, they had come to trust her implicitly without realizing it.
They believed that even in the chaos surrounding the household, she would understand their wishes and comfort her younger siblings well.
That she would endure even her grandmother’s aimless resentment.
‘Not knowing she’s merely a child who delights in a single bowl of Egg Porridge.’
So Jin’s eyes grew slightly moist.
He gazed at the Fish Soup his daughter had made by catching fish herself, his expression full of emotion.
How much hardship must this delicately raised girl have endured for this single bowl.
It was both heartbreaking and admirable.
Yet not all shared his sentiment.
“She’s already eaten porridge at midday, and now she prepares another meal? Such extravagance.”
Hong, the senior aunt of the So Household, furrowed her brows with displeasure, making her discontent plain.
Jang, the children’s mother, showed her hurt, but Hong’s expression remained unyielding.
“Do you know how much rice was spent on your medicine? Rather than reflecting on your carelessness, you busy yourself with such needless undertakings. You still haven’t come to your senses.”
“Mother!”
So Jin suddenly bristled, his voice rising sharply.
Hong, Jang, and the three children all jumped in surprise.
But at that very moment.
So Yeon-hui broke the awkward silence, stepping forward calmly.
“Grandmother.”
She did not hang her head in shame, nor did she harden her expression.
She simply approached gently and took Hong’s hand with affection.
“I know you’ve been worried about me all this time, haven’t you? I’m sorry for causing you such concern.”
“What, what do you mean? I never—”
“How could I not understand your heart? With my body weakened from eating the wrong mushroom, it must have pained you to see me preparing the evening meal without rest.”
So Yeon-hui spoke with a faint smile. At first Hong wondered if she was being mocked, but there was no mockery in that face.
If anything, it was suffused with deep affection.
“Don’t worry. I don’t misunderstand you anymore. When I was young, your sharp words would hurt me sometimes…but now that I’m older, I understand. That was all affection, too.”
And yet there was something melancholy about it.
As if each syllable carried yearning pressed deep within, So Yeon-hui’s eyes were full of quiet ache.
“What on earth did you pick and eat during the day? Was there poisoned mushroom mixed into the Egg Porridge as well?”
“Oh, surely not. I suppose I’ve simply matured a bit. In circumstances like these, one can’t remain a child forever.”
She pulled out the chair for her grandmother and helped her to sit.
And placed a spoon in her hands.
‘What in the world is happening? Why is she suddenly like this?’
They say that when people suffer great shock, they sometimes do things they never would have done before.
Could she have struck her head somewhere?
“Now, stop being upset and have a spoonful quickly. I sliced the radish into small pieces for you to eat comfortably.”
Whether aware of Hong’s bewilderment or not, So Yeon-hui attended to her grandmother with tender eyes.
And so Hong, almost without thinking, lifted a spoonful of broth to her lips and swallowed.
‘…!’
Hong had a thought.
Perhaps a spirit—a rather benevolent one—had possessed her granddaughter.
One with exceptional cooking skill, at that.
* * *
“I thought Grandmother would be much angrier, but it went more smoothly than expected. Right?”
“Yeah. Really. Maybe the fieldwork is taking it out of her. Her voice seemed drained.”
To So Yeon-u’s playful question, So Yeon-hui answered with a quiet laugh.
Truth be told, even she had been quite surprised by her grandmother’s reaction.
She’d expected a few more scoldings, but Hong had calmed down faster than anticipated.
“Doesn’t it upset you? That Grandmother resents you?”
“Upset? Why should I be? It’s not entirely wrong that the So Household fell because of me.”
Unintentionally, she had provoked the Fourth Imperial Prince’s displeasure and given him offense.
Because of that, the So Household had collapsed—how could her grandmother view her kindly in the moment?
It was too much to hope that a single bowl of Fish Soup would change her heart.
“Besides, Grandmother may speak harshly, but her heart is truly warm.”
When she says to always keep your posture straight, she truly means to hold yourself with confidence.
When she says not to smile needlessly, she means you needn’t strain yourself to please others.
“You think too much. It tangles the heart.”
There was a time when I thought those words were reproach—that she was calling me narrow-minded.
But they were not.
“The way of the world ebbs and flows. When fortune smiles, hardship surely follows. How could all this misfortune be yours alone to bear?”
It was comfort, telling me not to blame myself.
It was Grandmother’s gentle hand, extended so I would not suffer alone.
Knowing this now, how could I not endure a few shallow words of resentment?
And besides—how could I not treasure every moment of a family and a life regained?
“In any case, I won’t cause you worry anymore. I won’t give the adults any reason for concern.”
So Yeon-hui spoke with a lightness of heart.
Yet strangely, at those words, shadow fell across the children’s faces.
A creeping unease gripped So Yeon-hui, and she furrowed her brow.
“What is it? Why do you look like that? What on earth is wrong?”
The two children then chewed their lips, exchanged uncertain glances for a long moment, and finally forced themselves to speak.
“Father is in danger.”

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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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