I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 42

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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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“From the start, this was never a good plan!”
“Perhaps not. We shouldn’t have been discovered by the Family Clan’s branch members.”
“Are you seriously saying that now?”
In the dim light of early dawn, two figures exchanged sharp words in the quiet Garden.
As he grew indignant, the woman closed her eyes deeply.
She seemed to contemplate for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Since we can no longer extract their weakness from the shadows, there is no other choice.”
“…I suppose so.”
He gnawed at his lips and turned his head away abruptly.
He fidgeted nervously with his sleeves, appearing as though something was chasing him.
“If we don’t think of another method quickly…!”
***
“Whoa…!”
The Market District of Anhui.
I had wandered here so much before my regression that it felt as familiar as if I’d arrived yesterday.
Well, since it was just a place where people lived, it wasn’t much different from any other market district.
The difference from Sichuan was that the Clan Residence buildings were visible from everywhere.
Especially the Patriarch’s Hall, which towered high into the sky and commanded everyone’s reverence.
“We can see the Mountain and Castle Walls. Right!”
As I pointed to the Patriarch’s Hall and spoke excitedly, my Nanny nodded.
“Young Miss, your memory is truly remarkable.”
“Ahem.”
I placed my hands on my waist with a proud air.
My Nanny had been showering me with praise since yesterday, and my spirits were soaring.
“Young Miss, please just take a look at this silk!”
A woman with her hair neatly pinned called out to me.
With my Nanny and an escort in tow, the merchants were being particularly aggressive.
That aspect was interesting too.
When I walked through the Market District with Dang Mu-seon, I rarely had the chance to hear such calls.
Mainly because we flew above their heads.
Throughout my time in the Market District, bolts of silk and all manner of ornaments were thrust before my eyes, but…
“Wow!”
What truly captured my attention was, as always…
“This is Anhui ginseng…!”
Rare medicinal herbs.
With Anhui ginseng—the variety that only grew in Anhui—and all sorts of other herbs spread out before me, my eyes nearly rolled back in my head.
“There’s even pine root! This really is Sungdo!”
“My, young Miss, you seem quite knowledgeable about this. Have you studied the Agricultural Classic?”
As I held the herbs in both hands with eyes shining brightly, the Herb Shop Owner came rushing out and asked.
‘Oh no. I shouldn’t know this right now.’
I quickly set down what I was holding and scratched my head.
“Oh, it’s just… Grandfather told me about it. Said it was precious.”
“Is that so? According to the Patriarch’s words, it was quite difficult to obtain.”
The Herb Shop Owner moistened his palm with saliva and handed me a tiny ginseng root, smaller than my pinky finger.
“Do try it. Consider it a bonus for someone with such refined taste.”
“Huh? Oh, ah…”
I accepted it without thinking and popped it into my mouth. A bitter-sweet aroma burst across my tongue.
‘A bonus? That means he’s trying to make me buy it.’
It felt presumptuous, but what I’d just consumed was easily worth a silver coin on its own.
This is quite something.
I have no choice but to buy now. Hehe!
“Your body feels warm, doesn’t it? It purges the turbid qi from every part of your body.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
Just as the Herb Shop Owner said, my limbs quickly grew warm.
The claim about purging turbid qi was an exaggeration, but I did feel healthier.
“Hehe. You should try some too, Young Master.”
The Nanny watched me with a satisfied smile, then handed her purse to the Herb Shop Owner.
“Here’s the payment first. Let the young lady choose whatever she’d like from here.”
“Oh my! Oh my! Thank you so much!”
The Herb Shop Owner accepted the heavy purse and bowed repeatedly at the waist.
With the Nanny having already paid, I decided to thoroughly browse the medicinal herbs.
“Hmm. What should I get…”
“Young lady, would you mind waiting a moment? You look hungry, so I’ll bring some food. How about chicken skewers?”
The Nanny spoke up.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
I nodded without even turning around.
For some reason, sifting through the quality items was so enjoyable that my lips kept curling upward.
“Huh? This is…”
Then something caught my eye.
A small herb resembling a chestnut burr, tucked away in the corner of the display shelf.
“This is Changsan, isn’t it? It’s good for pollen allergies.”
“Exactly right! You got it!”
The Herb Shop Owner rubbed his hands together eagerly as he answered.
Did Namgoong Do-hwi buy this and take it?
“If you take this, does pollen not make you itchy anymore?”
I asked while turning the Changsan over in my hands.
‘I don’t know exactly how this works.’
Truth be told, there was no way I could know.
No herb in this world could truly cure pollen allergies.
Originally, Namgoong Do-hwi didn’t use medicine for this reason—instead, he simply avoided flowers altogether.
“Oh, that won’t do. But it does help suppress the cough.”
Just as I’d expected.
“It also delays the appearance of the red rash. Are you suffering from Flower Fever as well, miss?”
The Herb Shop Owner asked as if he were about to hand over a remedy immediately.
I shook my head slowly.
‘So that’s why there were no visible symptoms.’
But he must have suffered just the same.
“…Miss? Is there something troubling you?”
The Herb Shop Owner asked as though he’d kneel on the spot if I said something was wrong.
I started to shake my head but stopped.
I hesitated, my lips moving soundlessly, but ultimately I couldn’t hold back and asked.
“Herb Shop Owner, my friend took this medicine and then walked through the Flower Field with me. Why would he do that?”
“Pardon? Well…”
The Herb Shop Owner started to answer casually, but upon seeing my expression, he clamped his mouth shut.
After pondering deeply with a serious face, he finally spoke.
“Perhaps he simply wanted so badly to show you the Flower Field because it’s so beautiful?”
“Even with Flower Fever?”
“I can’t say for certain, but when children are young, they do such things just to look good in someone’s eyes.”
“When they’re young…”
“Oh! I didn’t mean you’re young, goodness, my tongue’s gotten away from me.”
Realizing he’d been rude, the Herb Shop Owner slapped his own mouth.
‘That’s not it—I was just a bit surprised.’
Yes.
Why hadn’t I thought of him as young?
He’s only seven years old now.
At an age where any strange choice would be unremarkable…
I realized I’d been too harsh and cold toward Namgoong Do-hwi.
Lately, with so many people trying to deceive me, I’d become overly sensitive.
‘Hmm. Then when he said he disliked me back then…’
Was that just a momentary sulk?
If he proposed to me the moment his anger subsided, and his eyes were so earnest because he genuinely liked me…
Everything fit perfectly into place.
“Oh no. Haven’t I made a terrible mistake?”
I’d rejected him, after all.
What if I’ve completely ruined things between us?
My heart grew anxious.
I’d have to apologize first when I returned.
With that resolve, I spoke brightly to the Herb Shop Owner.
“Herb Shop Owner! Just give me a little bit of everything.”
“Oh! Yes, yes!”
At my shout, the Herb Shop Owner’s hands moved with practiced efficiency.
‘I had intended to carefully calculate the quantities and take them, but….’
Apologizing to Namgoong Do-hwi took priority over everything else.
As the Herb Shop Owner busily filled an elegant wooden box with various medicinal herbs, he continued his explanation.
“The ginseng root will be this much… ah, since you have anisam, I’ll exclude the hwadu, Miss.”
“Yes.”
I nodded in agreement.
As the Herb Shop Owner set aside the box containing hwadu, a fresh, verdant scent suddenly wafted through the air.
‘Hmm?’
It was a smell I seemed to have encountered before—like a mixture of fresh beans and a medicinal decoction.
It was the same scent that emanated daily from the Nanny’s room.
‘Now that I think about it, hwadu is….’
Hwadu had to be handled with extreme care.
Even the slightest deviation in dosage would typically result in fever spreading across the entire body like wildfire.
‘…They consume this when running a fever?’
A strong question struck my mind.
“Here you are, Miss.”
Lost in thought, the Herb Shop Owner handed me the wooden box.
Dang Dam, seeing the clearly heavy box at a glance, quickly intercepted it and tucked it under his arm.
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head respectfully and quickened my pace.
‘I need to get to Do-hwi quickly….’
“Miss, won’t your paths cross with the Nanny’s?” Dang Dam, who had been following behind, called out.
His words stopped me in my tracks.
“Oh. Right. The Nanny!”
What was I thinking? I nearly left without her.
“Hmm. But….”
I paused briefly and glanced around the area.
The Nanny was nowhere to be seen.
She should have bought something to eat around here, which was strange.
Since I couldn’t even see her shadow, my concern began to grow.
When I spotted a woman selling skewered meat in the distance, I hurried over and asked her.
“Auntie, have you seen my Nanny?”
“Huh? Your Nanny?”
The woman looked flustered, glancing between Dang Dam and me alternately.
“Yes. She’s very tall, incredibly beautiful, and has a kind face!”
As I stretched out my arms to describe her, the woman clapped her hands.
“Ah! You mean the one as fair-skinned as you, Miss?”
Fortunately, the woman remembered the Nanny.
“Yes!”
The woman tilted her head curiously and pointed toward an Alley.
“She went that way, didn’t she?”
“Wow, thank you so much!”
I bowed deeply, and Dang Dam clasped his fists in gratitude beside me.
Without hesitation, we both entered the Alley.
The Alley was neither dark nor silent.
With the sound of people chattering and the brightness surrounding us, there was nothing frightening about it.
As we ventured deeper, the aroma of skewered meat grew increasingly pungent.
Could it be ahead?
After walking for some time, I spotted the Nanny’s silhouette in the distance.
“Nanny!”
I called out to her loudly.
My voice should have echoed clearly through the otherwise empty Alley, yet the Nanny did not turn around.
“Nanny!”
I called again, but she still did not turn.
I eventually ran toward the Nanny with all my might.
“Haa… haa! Nanny…!”
I caught up to her and steadied my breathing, though she still refused to turn.
“Phew— haa! Nanny, didn’t you hear me? I kept calling!”
I wiped the sweat from my brow while gripping her sleeve.
Then the Nanny slowly turned her head.
‘Huh?’
“I heard you clearly.”
It was not the Nanny’s face.
The woman before me was not the Nanny. She was a stranger wearing the exact same clothes as the Nanny.
Now that I thought about it, where had Dang Dam gone?
“Come along now.”
My vision suddenly turned pitch black.

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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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