I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 17

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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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Gradually, as the sun rose along the horizon, his figure came into view.
A man draped in a black military robe.
His hair, only half-pinned up, was disheveled, and his lips bore cracked wounds.
Dark eyes beneath shadowed lids, and within them, pupils parched and drained.
“….”
I drew in a breath.
The tension I’d felt when facing Gong Myo seemed laughable now—my entire body tingled with electricity.
That languid, irritable face grew steadily clearer.
I thought I’d forgotten everything, yet that face was as familiar as if I’d seen it yesterday.
‘And yet it’s so different.’
It wasn’t the image I’d recalled every day, the one I’d tried so hard to forget.
The aura he radiated was sufficiently oppressive, but there was no fear in it.
‘He’s exhausted.’
This was my real father.
“Go tell the Elder Brother Faction at once.”
Gong Myo pulled me into a tight embrace and cried out.
“The Family Head has arrived…!”
His voice trembled ever so slightly.
***
“This is absurd!”
“Has the Family Head forgotten what happened two years ago!”
“Our family’s standing will be dragged through the mud!”
The shouts of the Collateral Faction members echoed through the Council Chamber.
‘Ugh. My ears hurt.’
Sitting on Dang Lim’s lap, I buried my face against his chest.
“Want to sleep?”
Dang Lim asked, patting my back.
I shook my head and rubbed my cheek against his chest.
I’d thought Father’s arrival would silence them, but I was wrong.
‘There was a family precept.’
I vaguely recalled hearing about it.
Our family guarded a precept as fiercely as life itself.
【The Sacheon Tang Clan incurs no debts.】
By settling all grievances thoroughly, we ensured that the forces of Murim would never underestimate us.
Yet remnants of the Demonic Cult attacked our family, and Mother—the family matriarch—was murdered.
I didn’t know all the details, but our family’s standing had plummeted….
“Isn’t that why the Family Head went to war!”
At the resounding shout, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Learning the reason Father had gone to war, my heart grew troubled.
To uphold the family precept and declare ‘Our Dang Household still stands strong.’
But calling it a restoration of prestige, this is clearly being used as a pretext to drive out the Family Head.
“After a whole year without even eliminating the remnant forces, you return to the family for something so trivial!”
“In the first place, the Family Head shouldn’t be away for this long!”
Unable to bear it any longer, our side erupted in rebuttal.
The hands of the man in the green robe darkened with anger.
“That’s precisely why the family’s hierarchy is being shaken!”
I’d seen this person before. Was he the Poison Hall Master? Likely so.
“What did you say? We’re merely trying to stabilize the family’s center…!”
Voices rose again.
Just as I and the Elder Brother Faction Deputy, who sat at the head seat overseeing the meeting, were both rubbing our temples at the cacophony of shouts,
the door burst open.
Sunlight poured in through the opening.
Father had returned after changing out of his travel clothes.
All he’d done was exchange his outer robe for the Dang Household’s green robe.
Father passed by us and ascended to the highest seat.
I looked up properly at Father, who had taken the supreme seat above the Elder Brother Faction Deputy.
His eyes gleamed with weariness—no, with utter disgust.
Up close, it was painfully evident that he was exhausted and on edge.
Yet his bearing was disheveled, and the wrists visible beneath his sleeves were covered in scars, so everyone couldn’t help but take notice.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it…’
The Council Chamber fell silent as if it had never been noisier than a marketplace.
Everyone, like me, was looking up at Father.
But Father said nothing. He merely closed his eyes slowly and opened them again.
‘He looks so worn out…’
I felt reassured by Father’s arrival, yet seeing him like this unsettled my heart.
What frame of mind brought Father here? I was desperately curious.
There was no sign of concern for me.
‘Gasp!’
Our eyes had just met.
Instinctively, I averted my gaze from those dark pupils.
Why did I look away? As if I’d committed some crime.
I leaned against Dang Lim’s shoulder and pretended to doze.
Was Father still looking at me?
As my heart raced alone, the Elder Brother Faction Deputy made eye contact with the Chief Steward who had entered behind Father, then opened his mouth.
“The Family Council Meeting…”
To formally announce the beginning of the Family Council Meeting.
But before he could finish his words,
“Wait.”
Mun Yak, standing beside Dang Seo-o, raised his hand sharply.
“I have a question for the Family Head. Have you abandoned your family oath?”
The moment I heard those words, Dang Lim’s face crumpled.
While our faction stirred with unease, Dang Seo-o’s people began opening their mouths one by one.
“What became of the subjugation campaign?”
“Did you truly return for the Family Council Meeting?”
I studied Father’s expression as questions poured forth.
Father didn’t appear angry like Dang Lim was.
I wondered if he found it galling that these men thought only of casting him out, rather than welcoming him or inquiring after his welfare.
Father remained silent until they closed their mouths.
Once silence descended, he rested his chin on his hand and parted his dry lips.
“As you know, I’ve only just come from the battlefield. In such chaos, one cannot distinguish enemy from ally.”
His voice bore much resemblance to Dang Hee-yeon’s—languid and gentle.
Yet his tone was savagely sharp.
“Since that remains the case, I trust you’ll exercise caution.”
It was no answer to their questions.
‘In other words, if you provoke me carelessly, I’ll simply kill you.’
At Father’s warning, everyone fell silent. Mun Yak, who had been openly defiant, retreated with a ashen face.
As the Council Chamber grew quiet, the Elder Brother Faction Deputy spoke again.
“…Before we commence the Family Council Meeting, I must announce that we have received a delegation of authority from the absent Supreme Elder.”
I glanced around at his words.
Dang Mu-seon hadn’t come. Was he not part of the Collateral Faction?
“Therefore, any objection raised during this council shall be considered an affront to the Supreme Elder.”
The moment the Elder Brother Faction Deputy finished speaking, the atmosphere of the Council Chamber plummeted entirely.
Silence reigned.
‘Just how terrifying is this person.’
The pressure was no different from the Patriarch’s threat to kill anyone who stepped out of line.
Their combined display of dominance had worked well.
The Family Council Meeting proceeded without incident.
The Patriarch’s brief opening ceremony passed in an instant.
Nestled in Dang Lim’s arms, I blinked several times before Dang Hee-yeon rose to her feet.
“As I conveyed beforehand, this council concerns the past year’s matters regarding the Fourth Young Lady, Dang Hee-yeon.”
Dang Hee-yeon spoke while looking up at the head seat.
‘So she reported that as well.’
I thought I’d only sent that one strange letter.
“Our younger sister has been of delicate constitution, and we siblings have been unable to remain at her side. The Maid and physician should have attended to her, yet they have been neglecting her.”
At Dang Hee-yeon’s words, the Elder Brother Faction Deputy’s eyes narrowed as he listened.
Soon two figures walked forward before the Patriarch’s seat.
A woman and a man who appeared relatively young.
“Jungyeon Branch Master, Yakseong Branch Master. As those responsible for this matter, explain yourselves.”
The Elder Brother Faction Deputy commanded them.
‘So both of them were Branch Masters.’
And it was directly tied to my own wellbeing.
I hadn’t recognized her face because it was my first time seeing it.
In other families, the branch masters were often connected by blood to the family head.
But I’d heard that so many of our people died during the war that the executives couldn’t be linked by genealogy.
That’s why there seemed to be more unfamiliar faces among them.
They bowed their heads deeply and spoke in trembling voices.
“Even with ten mouths, I have no words to offer.”
“It was my negligence….”
“We’re not here to hear apologies.”
The Elder Brother Faction Deputy clicked his tongue. His irritated tone completely deflated my spirits.
“Explain to me—what is the reason the direct descendant of the family head has been left unattended?”
At his pressing question, the Jungwon Branch Master hesitantly opened her mouth.
“…There was no time. The previous branch master, the Lady, she….”
The previous branch master. That was my mother. It was natural for the family head’s wife to oversee the household affairs.
Since Father hadn’t remarried, she must have been someone who temporarily held the position of branch master.
She swallowed hard before continuing.
“With the backlog of work and the aftermath of the Demonic Cult remnants to handle… we were overwhelmed.”
The Medicinal Properties Hall Master also stepped forward and spoke.
“I too was focused on managing the aftermath and supplying provisions for the expeditionary forces, and so….”
The skin beneath their eyes was dark. They had burst blood vessels in their eyes from such severe sleep deprivation.
‘Hmm. They really were busy, it seems.’
I tilted my head while resting my chin in my hand.
‘But is what they’re saying actually true?’
It could have been a lie.
No matter how busy they were, it didn’t make sense that they wouldn’t know how I was doing even after a whole year had passed.
It’s possible the people reporting in the middle deliberately hid it.
‘Ugh, my head hurts.’
This is something I can only know by conducting a thorough investigation of the Collateral Faction.
Let me not think too deeply about it.
As I shook my head, Dang Lim gently stroked my hair.
“Are you sleepy? You can just sleep if you want.”
“Mm….”
How could I sleep when they’re talking about me? I’d stay awake out of curiosity alone.
Even if his hand stroking my head felt incredibly pleasant.
The Elder Brother Faction Deputy exchanged a brief glance with Father.
When Father nodded slightly, the Elder Brother Faction Deputy spoke.
“There will be consequences for failing to fulfill your proper responsibilities.”
The two of them bowed respectfully, received permission, and left their seats.
“We shall move on to the next matter. Young Master.”
The Elder Brother Faction Deputy turned his gaze toward Gui-heon.
Dang Hee-yeon’s gaze turned toward me for a moment.
Without thinking, I clenched my fists and pressed my lips firmly together.
I meant it as encouragement, but I wasn’t sure if it came across properly.
That was because Dang Hee-yeon quickly turned her head away.
For some reason, tension began to build, and I straightened my posture.
Everyone seemed to share my sentiment. Their expressions grew even more grave.
‘This is where it really begins.’
Dang Hee-yeon cleared her throat and rose slowly to her feet.
“…And, we discovered poisonous plants in the Young Lady’s Chamber, which had been left unattended.”

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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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