I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 68

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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 68. The Clumsy Hands Debate (1)
Meanwhile, Wi Jung and Ju Ha-yun, who had arrived at the So Household bearing the Crown Prince’s Word as their secret weapon for consultation on the aqueduct construction, could not hide their shock at yet another innovation unfolding before their eyes.
‘But they said they were building a house—why in the world are they using bricks meant for tombs…?’
Moreover, the bricks themselves were blood-red in color, as if made from something unspeakable.
No matter how hard one tried to find merit in them, nothing favorable came to mind, and the awkwardness was almost unbearable.
“So you’ve come seeking consultation on the aqueduct?”
“Yes, well—I did hear the general idea from your lady before, but now that we’re beginning the actual work, various practical problems have arisen.”
Watching Wi Jung dance around his words, asking for advice yet again in so roundabout a manner, So Jin felt a headache he thought long forgotten suddenly return.
In truth, he harbored no great ill will toward the Cheongyang Wi Family.
Though his betrothal to Wi’s beauty had been broken, he had in its place married his present wife and fathered three children.
Since So Yeon-hui began her trade, despite a few misunderstandings along the way, hadn’t the family prospered all the more thanks to the Wi Family’s aid?
Indeed, during his absence on a recent occasion, they had even stepped forward to rescue his family from peril.
By all reason, So Jin had no cause to dislike or shun them.
If only their visits to the So Household were not centered on his daughter, So Yeon-hui.
“Ah, what use could my unworthy girl be to gentlemen of such learning?”
“Come now, we have more than amply confirmed that So’s talents are extraordinary. I’ve heard her recite obscure texts I myself have neither heard nor read.”
“Ha—the child is simply overpraise for having read a few trifling volumes here and there.”
Was it a premonition that the atmosphere would not flow favorably?
Ju Ha-yun rolled up his sleeves before So Jin had even finished speaking, deftly steering the conversation in a new direction.
“Though your daughter’s talents are remarkable, surely we would wish to learn from your wisdom as well, Uncle? We are determined to miss nothing, however small, and to follow your example in all things. Let us first assist you in your work, and then we shall beg for your instruction. What must be done, and how? If you will but tell us, we shall attempt it at once.”
“No, no—how could men of such station engage in labor like this?”
“Station? Uncle, you and I are scarcely different in circumstance. Why then do you maintain such distance? I beg you, treat us as you would your own nephews—freely and without formality.”
Did that earnest exchange somehow restore a presence that had momentarily wandered?
Wi Jung, alarmed, quickly rolled up his own sleeves and hastened to add his voice.
“Yes, Uncle. Please, speak to us without restraint. We are young and wanting, and it pains us to receive your formal speech when we should be addressing you as kinsmen.”
How could he turn away men who had never bowed their heads anywhere in their lives, yet now did so before him?
So Jin suppressed his displeasure and regarded the two young men for a moment.
Nineteen years old this year. These handsome youths, who happened to be exactly four years older than his daughter, might well be ignorant of how harsh the world truly was.
Since their meetings with his daughter were intertwined with official duty and could not be refused, So Jin resolved to indulge himself in a touch of petty mischief.
Neither more nor less—as if putting fresh recruits through their paces.
“Listen well. Bricklaying is fundamentally the same as wall-building. The true heart of this method lies in applying this mortar between brick and brick to increase holding strength.”
“Mortar—it seems to contain lime. Precisely what and what are mixed together?”
So Jin hesitated a moment before speaking.
“Broadly speaking, sand, lime, and water are mixed together. However… there is also a rather special ingredient involved.”
At once, Wi Jung’s eyes brightened. He nodded knowingly and asked So Jin.
“I should have guessed—another secret formula from your lady?”
So Jin, rather than answering, let out a soft cough.
‘How in the world does one tame this cunning fox?’
Just as his deliberation deepened, as the saying goes—speak of tigers and hear their roar—So Yeon-hui happened to enter the courtyard, her bright face immediately rushing toward So Jin.
Without so much as a word of greeting, she threw herself against his arm and began to pout adorably.
“Father! Did you know? Our chickens have started laying eggs!”
Ah, so this was the reward of raising a daughter.
So Jin, whose edges had been sharp just moments before, was instantly disarmed by her endearing affection, and a smile bloomed across his face.
Astonishment flickered across Wi Jung’s features, yet remarkably, it did not end there.
“The chickens? I remarked that they fattened at an unusual pace, yet already they’ve come so far?”
“That’s just what I said—feed them okara and they’ll thrive without effort, won’t they?”
“Of course. It’s your doing, so how could it fail? I’ve always had faith in you. Truly, you’ve done splendidly.”
Who was this gentle man showering praise on his daughter in an unbroken stream without pause?
Wi Jung, who had just moments before been treading thin ice and gauging every nuance, stood frozen with shock.
Yet if one’s momentum were shattered by something so trivial, one could hardly call oneself a man of the Cheongyang Wi Family.
With a renewed resolve to open So Jin’s heart by any means, he brazenly wedged himself into the father and daughter’s conversation.
“Congratulations. It seems you’ve discovered a secret method for fattening the chickens?”
Upon seeing Wi Jung’s eyes sparkle with anticipation, So Yeon-hui turned her head away slyly.
She had freely shared the aqueduct knowledge, but this was different. Okara came from the essential process of making tofu, after all.
“There’s nothing mysterious about fattening chickens. Feed them a varied diet well, and that’s the answer.”
“And yet this okara seems to have quite remarkable effects…”
Really, don’t you have any sense of discretion?
Father’s mood had plainly grown gloomy, which was precisely why she’d made the effort to come find him and ease the atmosphere.
Yet here he was, pressing her with questions so needlessly—she should have simply laughed along and changed the subject.
As So Yeon-hui’s eyes flashed with exasperation, Wi Jung threw up his hands in mock surrender.
“Ah, I understand. I won’t ask another word. In fact, I’ll keep my mouth sealed entirely.”
Really, if he can’t even speak correctly.
So Yeon-hui glared at Wi Jung with annoyance before turning her head away.
“Father, I was thinking of serving egg dishes for lunch—would that suit you?”
“Indeed. And gentlemen, you seem to have had the remarkable fortune to arrive precisely as our hens began laying. What fortunate timing.”
Ju Ha-yun, watching this scene unfold, quietly picked up a trowel that lay on the ground.
If he did nothing, it seemed he would be made to feel unwelcome even asking for a sip of water, let alone a share of the egg dishes.
Was his quick, decisive action perhaps the closest answer to the right path?
At last, So Jin’s face softened again, and he began laying bricks.
Smooth stroke, swipe, tap-tap. Smooth stroke, swipe, tap-tap.
Around the time the steady rhythm and motion began to instill calm in the chest.
Ju Ha-yun too began gathering bricks to follow So Jin’s lead.
Then, awkwardly attempting to mirror So Jin’s method, he began spreading the three-component mortar with the trowel.
Screech, scritch-scritch.
Whether the angle was wrong, the mortar did not spread smoothly—only the sound of the trowel scraping the brick itself continued.
‘W-why won’t this work? It looked so simple when I watched…’
After several failed attempts with no visible improvement, So Yeon-hui finally stepped to his side.
“That’s not how it’s done.”
She took the trowel from Ju Ha-yun, then, using a snap of her wrist, placed a dab of mortar on the trowel and swept it smoothly across the brick below in one long, fluid motion.
“Like this—you have to apply it softly and pull away smoothly. The angle is crucial. Watch my wrist carefully.”
How long did her quick, rhythmic hand movements continue?
Ju Ha-yun, his face flushed crimson from neck to ears, watched every motion of So Yeon-hui’s hands with focused reverence.
“Like this, so the joint spacing is all equal. The key is controlling how much mortar you use so it distributes evenly between the bricks. And you check the vertical and horizontal alignment with the plumb line.”
Her offhand yet tender, measured voice, and the small wristbone that jutted delicately from the end of her slender wrist.
Each element that composed her seemed to scatter his thoughts.
Ju Ha-yun, perplexed, drew his brows together in deep furrows.
“Do you understand now?”
What name could one possibly give this feeling?
Unable to speak at all, he could only manage a quiet swallow.

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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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