I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 24

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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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As I listened to Father’s words, I began to see things I hadn’t noticed before.
The rare wood, treated with premium sap to preserve it excellently, had a slightly uneven surface.
And only mine bore a green flower carved into the lid.
“It was originally made for drying toxic herbs. But your Mother… she carefully dried flowers instead and kept them, saying she wanted to give them to you when you came of age.”
I saw Father’s lips curve upward ever so slightly.
‘So that’s what it was….’
I embraced the wooden box.
It felt even more precious, as though it had been passed down to me across the years.
Father fell silent for a moment, as if recalling that day, before speaking again.
“It was my lingering attachment to a woman as precious as life itself.”
We all looked back and forth between each other’s wooden boxes in unison.
Had Father kept this close while thinking of Mother?
And the reason he was giving it to us now was….
“All these years, I was neither the Patriarch of the Dang Family nor your father. My spirit was hollow, chasing only hollow revenge. And even that….”
Father let out a bitter laugh—as though mocking himself.
“…but now.”
Father’s gaze turned toward me. Only then did his smile become a true smile.
“I wish to stand again. I want to protect you all, who are more precious to me than life itself. Will you forgive this worthless father for his wandering?”
We stood there momentarily dumbstruck, our mouths moving soundlessly.
I never thought Father would speak so openly like this.
Well, he was the Patriarch—he needed to maintain his authority.
But now, he truly stood before us as a ‘father.’
The first to speak was Dang Eum, who had been rubbing his wooden box. His was the most uneven of all of ours.
“…I know how dearly you cherished Mother. How could we not understand your grief?”
“You have nothing to apologize for to us. We understand what you were feeling.”
Dang Lim added his voice as well.
“But Father. For Yeon-ah, an apology like this cannot be the end.”
I thought he was simply agreeing, but I was wrong.
Dang Lim stared directly at Father, who sat in the place of honor, and raised his voice.
“Do you understand how deeply you wounded Yeon-ah?”
He steadied his trembling breath and placed his clenched fist upon his knee.
“Why did my sister have to face her darkest hour without Mother or Father by her side?”
I watched Dang Lim as I listened quietly.
…Dang Lim.
‘Stop. I’m going to collapse!’
Dang Lim’s face had gone pale. He’d raised his voice, and now fear was consuming him.
How was he managing to say everything when Father frightened him so?
‘…Still.’
I was truly grateful. That he cared for me this much.
“Father, Lim is simply….”
As Father’s expression darkened, Gwi-heon stepped forward.
“Your words are true.”
Yet Father did not grow angry. Instead, he merely swallowed his sorrow.
“I shall carry this guilt until my dying breath.”
Father’s gaze turned toward me, and I saw profound remorse in his eyes. For some reason, it made me deeply uncomfortable.
“I merely ask for your forgiveness. You need not grant it.”
At Father’s words, both Gwi-heon and Dang Lim turned to look at me.
I shook my head frantically.
“No. No! Please don’t apologize. Don’t fight.”
Then Gwi-heon grasped my hand with a pitying expression.
“Yeon-ah. You can speak your true heart.”
I shook my head even more vigorously.
“That’s not it…!”
I clenched my fists in frustration.
Why must we have such conversations when the way they look at me, the way they look at each other, is so tender?
I squeezed my eyes shut and cried out.
“Love alone should be enough!”
“…Yeon-ah.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
I continued without hesitation.
“Even the brightest sun sets quickly, and the most beautiful flowers wither at once. People are no different. So…”
I felt the hard wooden box in my hand. The thought of Mother made my throat ache.
“When you’re with someone you love, I just wish you’d only love them. It’s too hard to resent them when you love them so much.”
I looked between Dang Lim and Gwi-heon.
Both of them must have resented Father at times. Even now, they likely want to ask why he abandoned them and left.
But that’s only because they love Father.
“Time is too precious to waste!”
At my words, they fell silent.
Then, slowly, they took my hands.
“Let’s follow Yeon-ah’s words.”
Gwi-heon asked Dang Lim gently.
“Yeon-ah is most precious to us, after all.”
“…Yes, brother.”
Dang Lim nodded.
As I leaped from my chair, both Dang Lim and Gwi-heon rose as well.
Without hesitation, I threw my arms around Father.
Dang Lim rushed forward and embraced Father’s chest tightly.
“…Hic!”
I heard Dang Lim swallow his tears.
“I missed you, Father.”
Father’s pupils trembled. He felt the dampness spreading across his chest, yet smiled as if to say there was nothing to be done about it.
Then Father opened one arm toward Gui Heon, who stood beside him.
Gui Heon gazed down at Father’s open chest and hesitantly stepped forward.
As Gui Heon awkwardly nestled into his embrace and lowered his head, Father patted his back with resounding taps.
“Ah, that hurts, Father.”
“Ha ha!”
Though Gui Heon’s words seemed sincere, Father took them as a jest and laughed heartily.
“I missed you. My son. My daughter.”
***
Thus we truly unburdened ourselves. Father shed the weariness of his long absence, and we released the emotions we had long harbored.
After our brief reunion, Father had to depart immediately to attend to pressing matters.
The three of us left the Patriarch’s Hall and made our way together to Cheongpung Garden.
Unable to contain our excitement, we had planned this outing on impulse.
There we played searching for flower petals within a wooden box, and drank tea.
Gui Heon shared stories of times when she had played together with Mother and Dang Eum, who now occupied herself with who knows what.
‘In truth, it was hardly the time for such things….’
I felt a touch of unease, laughing and smiling so freely when Father might be driven out.
Yet thinking of it as a way to honor Mother, we remained in Cheongpung Garden until the sun descended.
“Then, go on from here.”
Gui Heon escorted Dang Lim and me to the front of Jungwon Guild.
“Going first?”
Dang Lim sprang lightly atop the wall.
His eyes were still swollen from how much he had wept. Mine had already recovered.
So it seemed he intended to slip quickly through the window to avoid being spotted by the household staff.
After Gui Heon departed, I stood quietly and gazed up at the hazy moon.
It was unusually dim and enormous, as if I were dreaming.
As if I could grasp it by merely reaching out my hand….
“Young Miss.”
Someone approached and called to me.
Looking in that direction, I saw a man with his hands respectfully clasped.
‘I’ve seen that face at the Family Council Meeting….’
Was he the Patriarch’s Chief Steward?
He bowed deeply and spoke.
“The Patriarch summons you.”
***
It was my first time heading to the Patriarch’s Hall. I had no memory of it, and the path was unfamiliar.
Yet surprisingly, its location was close to the Joongyeon Dang.
It seemed to have been built intentionally near the Joongyeon Dang.
If I said this was the ancestors’ wish for the Jungyeon Branch Master and the Patriarch to live in harmony, would that be too grandiose a delusion?
Glancing around, I followed the Chief Steward’s guidance through a barren garden containing only stone lanterns.
“This is it.”
After wandering through the sprawling labyrinthine building, the Chief Steward came to a halt.
He stopped before a room that embraced a vast earthen courtyard as its back garden.
‘Is this Father’s bedroom?’
A Patriarch with a courtyard where not a single blade of grass grew.
It was too immaculate to be simply unmanaged—not a weed in sight.
Around the perimeter of the courtyard, I could see small holes dotted in a pattern.
‘Ah, I understand now.’
This was a training ground.
“Patriarch. Your daughter has arrived.”
As the Chief Steward spoke, the door opened immediately.
Stepping inside past the bowing Chief Steward, I saw Father dressed in black martial garments.
With his hair tied back in a low knot and shadows beneath his eyes, he appeared weary.
“Father, you called for me?”
Father, who had been drinking tea at the table, looked at me and smiled gently.
“Yes. I called because I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
My eyes brightened.
Would I finally have something substantial to help with, like my older brothers?
“Whatever it is, just tell me!”
“Would you read a book to me?”
“A book…, what?”
The request was far too trivial compared to my expectations.
Father rose and approached me, who stood dazed.
“I simply cannot fall asleep. Would you not read a book to me while sitting beside me?”
“Ah… yes.”
I nodded reluctantly, and behind me, the Chief Steward clapped his hands sharply.
At that signal, the Maids rushed in and moved with practiced efficiency.
“Huh?”
In an instant, the thin blanket was replaced with something fluffy and soft.
My dirt-stained clothes were swapped for a light white sleeping gown just as quickly.
“Now then. Read comfortably.”
“Eh, eh?”
Father lifted me up like pulling a radish and laid me on the Bedroom, pulling the blanket up to my neck.
“Uh, uh, uh….”
Before I could even react, Father picked up one of the many storybooks the Maids had stacked beside my bed and sat down at my head.
I reached out, wondering if he meant to give it to me, but Father opened the book himself.
After skimming through a page, Father’s face fell with what seemed like disappointment. It was clearly an act.
“Oh dear. This content is too difficult for you, isn’t it?”
“Then perhaps another book…?”
“I’ll read it to you.”
“What?”
“Now then, once upon a time…”
Without waiting for my response, Father began reading from the book.
What on earth was happening? I couldn’t make sense of it.
Why was I suddenly sleeping here?
And why was Father suddenly putting me to bed?
As I blinked, Father gently stroked my hair, starting from my forehead and moving downward.
Stroke.
Stroke.
The warmth of his touch spread through my entire body.
Perhaps it was from wandering about all day. My body grew drowsy in an instant.
Ah, suddenly sleep was calling to me…
Just as my consciousness began to fade, Father’s hand stopped.
His thumb gently brushed across my forehead.
“…Have pleasant dreams.”
His tender voice reached my ears.

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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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