I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 34

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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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A few days had passed since the welcoming ceremony, and Father summoned the four of us siblings to the Patriarch’s Hall.
“I hear the Three Families Gathering will be held in Anhui City soon.”
Father opened his mouth at last, with us already seated before him.
‘As I suspected, that’s why he called us here.’
Since I’d anticipated this to some degree, I nodded quietly.
The Three Families Gathering had occurred periodically in the past, but the Dang Family had refrained from participating due to pressing matters.
However, things were different now. With the family’s strength considerably restored, I’d been vaguely thinking we might participate in the gathering.
“The Namgoong Clan, Father?”
Father answered Dang Gui-heon’s question calmly.
“Yes. The gathering’s host sent a letter requesting my personal attendance.”
Father seemed lost in thought for a moment, his interlaced fingers twitching slightly.
There had to be a reason why the host was personally summoning the Dang Family.
Father appeared to want to exercise caution.
‘Come to think of it…’
The host of the Three Families Gathering was none other than Namgoong Sae-ryun, the patriarch of the Namgoong Clan.
Namgoong Do-hwi suddenly came to mind, and I couldn’t help but smile.
My only true friend from my previous life. He was a man of good character.
With such a father, I doubted there were any sinister intentions behind this.
“May I go as well?”
Excited, I raised my hand eagerly and asked.
Father’s gaze turned toward me. The corners of his mouth curved upward.
“It seems Yeon-ah has become curious.”
“Yes. I’m wondering what Anhui City looks like.”
As I answered with an excited voice, Dang Lim, Dang Gui-heon, and Dang Eum all turned to look at me at once.
Then they quickly turned their heads toward Father and spoke.
“If Yeon-ah wants to go, of course she should.”
Father’s eyes widened, and he laughed heartily.
“Ha ha.”
Looking at me, Father nodded.
“Yes, let’s do that. It’s time we went.”
“Wow, how exciting!”
I clapped my hands brightly. My older brothers patted my head without exception.
I didn’t know it then.
That this Three Families Gathering would peel back another layer of the hidden secrets in my life.
***
The moment the decision was made to attend the Gathering Venue, we set out for Anhui.
Our means of transportation was a carriage.
Father, Dang Eum, and Dang Mu-seon could have traveled far faster on foot, but there was no helping it because of me.
In truth, Father wasn’t entirely pleased with the carriage either.
He complained that I would suffer from motion sickness and aching legs.
But surprisingly, I turned out to have a constitution well-suited to carriage travel.
Perhaps it was thanks to my Nanny, who had recovered from her heart ailment and now accompanied us, tending to my needs with meticulous care.
Not a trace of discomfort lingered in my body.
Whenever I felt the slightest queasiness, I would lean my head out the window and take deep breaths, which always helped.
When my stomach grew truly unsettled, Dang Mu-seon would quietly approach and press an acupoint to ease my distress.
“Young Miss is quite resilient, isn’t she?”
My Nanny handed me a bamboo tube filled with water, laughing softly.
“The young masters seem quite tense… hehe.”
“Yes. I’m tough.”
I answered brightly and gulped down the water from the tube.
My throat was parched from the journey.
As we drew closer to Anhui, my older brothers’ expressions grew increasingly rigid, their hearts seemingly heavy with the weight of the gathering after so long.
My own mind was equally turbulent.
‘I agreed to attend the gathering because I wanted to see Namgoong Do-hwi, but…’
Now that I understood the Dang Household had been consistently suppressed, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down completely.
Did that mean the entire Martial Arts Alliance had been rejecting us all this time?
I was already suspicious of external forces, and this only deepened my concerns.
‘No. That can’t be right.’
I shook my head vigorously, steadying my resolve.
Just then, I heard a soft knock on the carriage window from outside.
Dang Mu-seon closed the book he’d been reading and opened the window.
Dang Dam respectfully relayed his message, and Dang Mu-seon nodded curtly in response.
Soon after, he closed the window and spoke to me.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Rest well in the Guest Hall. You must be exhausted from the journey.”
My eyes flew open.
It seemed I too had grown weary of carriage life.
‘Finally, I’ll sleep in a proper bed after a month!’
My heart raced—not merely from the thought of soft bedding.
Namgoong Do-hwi. The mere thought of him made me smile unbidden.
I desperately hoped I wouldn’t harbor suspicions toward him and his family.
‘Yes. I’ve thought of something good.’
At this gathering, I would discover why the Dang Household had been ostracized and help clear up the misunderstandings between us.
And if we could unite our strength to defeat the villains threatening our clan, nothing could be better than that.
‘I’ll get close to Do-hwi and explain things to him first.’
That kid will definitely help. He’s a good person.
A good kid who became my friend.
***
The Sacheon Tang Clan’s procession dispersed into the Guest Hall within the Clan Grounds, and an hour passed.
Anhui City was in an uproar.
Members of the Dang Family, who had been secluded until now, had arrived in Anhui, and among them was Dok-jon himself.
This meant that Dok-jon would be attending the banquet held by the patriarchs and elders of the Murim clans gathered at the Gathering Venue.
As a result, everyone gathered in the banquet hall spoke Dok-jon’s name.
“Ahahaha! It brings back old memories. Didn’t you wet yourself the moment you locked eyes with that person!”
The elder of the Hebei Peng Family laughed heartily as he spoke.
“That never happened! Tsk!”
The elder of the Moyong Clan denied it irritably, but his expression was filled with concern.
Soon, the doors to the banquet hall opened.
The blue jade embedded in the high ceiling rang out.
Immediately, the noise in the hall subsided.
“….”
The Murim clans, befitting their exclusivity, each possessed a distinct character.
That character was evident in their appearance.
The Hebei Peng Family, with their robust builds and bearish impressions.
The Namgoong Clan, with their upright postures and clean, powerful features.
The Zhuge Clan, with their slender frames and elongated eyes that never ceased their scrutiny.
They were so distinctive that one could easily discern their origins at a glance.
Yet among them, the Sacheon Tang Clan stood out as incomparably superior.
The aura they possessed was quiet and intense.
Dark and inscrutable like the mist of dawn—the beasts lurking within that haze were too formidable to ignore.
As if to imprint such an impression, Dang Cheon-mu and Dang Mu-seon entered the banquet hall.
They walked leisurely to the seat marked by the nameplate representing the Dang Family and sat down quietly.
It was a position very close to the seat where Namgoong Sae-ryun sat.
It was Namgoong Sae-ryun who broke the silence that seemed to continue.
“How delightful it is to meet again like this.”
Dang Cheon-mu returned the greeting.
“As circumstances and timing have aligned, I too am pleased to meet once more.”
Neither of them looked remotely pleased or delighted.
Yet there was nothing strange about it.
They had all gathered either out of necessity for camaraderie or for mutual vigilance.
“To celebrate the Dang Family’s return to our Rapid Current Faction, we have prepared a grand banquet. Please enjoy yourselves.”
Namgoong Sae-ryun smiled benevolently and raised his cup.
Rapid Current Faction—another name for the gathering of Murim clans—caused Dang Mu-seon’s brow to furrow briefly.
He exhaled a sigh tinged with displeasure, but it was quietly drowned out by the music announcing the start of the banquet.
As Namgoong Sae-ryun had said, the Dang Family was the center of attention at the banquet.
Everyone from the Moyong Clan, who had arranged a betrothal with Dang Gui-heon, to all the other guests had come seeking to speak with Dang Cheon-mu.
All eyes were drawn to Dang Mu-seon.
“How does the Four Kings come to be here…?”
“Shh. You must call him Dok-jon.”
They didn’t dare approach him directly, instead busying themselves with whispered gossip as they stole glances at Dang Mu-seon.
Meanwhile, Dang Mu-seon merely gazed at the jade dew wine that had been brought to the table, savoring it as he raised his cup to his lips.
He paid no mind to their chatter.
It was around the time he had raised his cup once, twice, using the musical melodies as his only accompaniment.
Dancers clad in translucent silk garments, their skin visible beneath, approached Dang Cheon-mu with brazen smiles and coquettish gestures.
Once might have been coincidence, but as it repeated several times, Dang Cheon-mu turned his body completely away.
“Ha.”
Dang Mu-seon chuckled softly.
“It seems these young things are coveting the empty seat of a wife.”
At Dang Mu-seon’s teasing tone, Dang Cheon-mu’s eyes narrowed and his expression grew troubled.
“…There is only Seon-hwa for me.”
“Still saying that?”
It was not a question from Dang Mu-seon.
Dang Cheon-mu turned his head at the voice coming from beside him.
Namgoong Sae-ryun was gazing at Dang Cheon-mu with an intrigued expression.
At his noticeably lighter tone, Dang Cheon-mu’s jaw tightened.
“…It would be absurd to easily forget a woman who is the mother of my child and the companion of my life.”
At Dang Cheon-mu’s dry response, Namgoong Sae-ryun nodded.
“True words indeed.”
Dang Cheon-mu raised his cup while staring straight ahead.
He made it clear he had no wish to continue the conversation.
Yet Namgoong Sae-ryun persisted in speaking.
“With a father possessed of such deep devotion, his children will surely be equally devoted to their wives in time.”
Namgoong Sae-ryun shook his head regretfully, lamenting that he had no daughters to marry off.
“Ah.”
Then, as if a brilliant idea had struck him, he let out an exclamation.
“Come to think of it, don’t you have a daughter?”

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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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