I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 48

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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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The quiet study room was thick with the fragrance of sleep-inducing incense.
Beyond the study where only the soft sound of the brush tip moving could be heard, footsteps approached.
The footsteps stopped before the study entrance.
“Master, I am entering.”
The door opened and the Chief Steward stepped inside.
He bowed respectfully, but I paid him little mind, my attention fixed on the approval documents I had been drafting.
“Speak.”
At my brief command, the Chief Steward opened his mouth.
“The young lady has awakened, sir. Her fever has subsided, and she appears to have regained considerable strength.”
“Yeon-ah?”
My gaze, which had been locked on the documents moments before, suddenly snapped toward the Chief Steward.
I set down my brush and asked.
“Is she taking her medicine?”
“Yes. Today she consumed it all without vomiting.”
“That is fortunate.”
My expression brightened considerably.
Given that my naturally dark countenance had grown even more severe of late, this change was nothing short of a complete transformation.
“Furthermore, as you instructed, I have placed trusted contacts within all reporting channels. They are reliable men.”
“I see….”
As the Chief Steward continued his report, my expression grew serious once more.
Setting traps to catch rats was a necessary measure.
Yet I had to proceed with caution, lest hasty action fracture the family’s unity.
“Report even the smallest matters without exception. This affair must not leak beyond these walls under any circumstances.”
“Yes, Master.”
The Chief Steward bowed once, then withdrew something from inside his garment.
“And this.”
What the Chief Steward placed upon the desk was a newly bound manuscript.
“It has arrived from the Zhuge Clan.”
“At last.”
I took up the manuscript as though I had been waiting for it.
“A full month it took.”
Creating content that could be disclosed without consequence while still possessing considerable potency was no simple task.
“It is neither a forbidden technique nor a secret art, but it should prove sufficient for self-defense, or so I am told.”
I traced my fingertips across the characters inscribed on the cover.
This manuscript had been something I planned from the moment we departed the Gathering Venue.
To compile a self-defense martial art for the collateral branch’s daughters and the physically frail women of the Dang Household.
This was precisely the Guardian Whip Manual.
“Despite such an ordeal befalling the young lady, you issue such commands—your compassion is admirable.”
“Compassion?”
I let out a laugh tinged with self-mockery at the Chief Steward’s words.
“I am merely drawing a clear line where there was once ambiguity.”
As Dang Cheon-mu set down the document, coldness crystallized at the tips of his fingers.
“There will be no further mercy. Never again shall anyone dare to threaten my children in such a manner.”
Whoever they might be.
He had to protect his children—no matter what. That alone was his reason for existing.
‘Even if it destroys me.’
It was the moment Dang Cheon-mu clenched his fist with iron resolve.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, thunderous footsteps echoed from the corridor, and the door burst open.
Or rather—it was torn from its hinges.
“You wretch!”
In all the world, only one person would dare address Dang Cheon-mu in such a manner.
“Father.”
Dang Mu-seon. That was why he had not reacted to the overwhelming aura radiating from afar.
In one trembling hand, he carried a man with a limp neck—Jeon Eung—and in the other, a thick bundle of letters.
“How do you manage your affairs?!”
“Father, what brings you—”
Before the Chief Steward could greet him, Dang Mu-seon lunged toward Dang Cheon-mu.
“Argh! Father!”
Just before his razor-sharp nails could rake across Dang Cheon-mu, the Chief Steward seized Dang Mu-seon by the waist.
“Please, compose yourself! This cannot be!”
With each swing of Dang Mu-seon’s arms, the air itself seemed to split.
Though the Chief Steward’s face had gone deathly pale, Dang Cheon-mu appeared unmoved.
He understood now.
When Dang Mu-seon thrashed about wildly, it was no grave matter.
When Dang Mu-seon grew quiet and composed—that was when true danger loomed.
“From the moment you endured and countered those who attacked at Hoe-dong, I told you clearly—when such occurs, I will sever their limbs myself!”
“Father, please calm yourself.”
Dang Cheon-mu tilted his head just enough to evade the nails, speaking with unshakeable composure.
At his serene demeanor, Dang Mu-seon’s face flushed crimson with rage.
“Calm? CALM?! You dare speak of calm after seeing this?!”
Slam! Dang Mu-seon hurled the crumpled bundle of letters onto the desk.
Crack. The sound of the desk splitting echoed through the room.
The Chief Steward hastily smoothed out the wrinkled papers.
As Dang Cheon-mu’s eyes scanned across the multiple letters, they trembled.
Moyong Clan—compensation.
Zhuge Clan—compensation.
Hebei Peng Family—compensation.
All of them were letters from the great families of Murim.
Yet what truly mattered was not their origin, but their contents.
【…arranging an engagement between the Dang Household’s daughter and our second son would….】
【…since they are of similar age, their harmony in marriage would surely be….】
【…the alliance between our two families would become most….】
Grrrk! The sound of teeth grinding.
Screech! The sound of cracks deepening across the desk.
“How dare you presume….”
Dang Cheon-mu muttered through a darkened expression.
As both Dang Mu-seon and Dang Cheon-mu threatened to lose their composure, the Chief Steward hastily waved his hands in denial.
“It seems the Namgung Clan’s young master’s proposal has had considerable influence. They simply acted without proper thought….”
“Without proper thought?! How dare he propose to my daughter without any resolve or contingency plan!”
But his words only served to inflame the situation further.
Dang Mu-seon responded in kind, his fury mounting.
“That slick little brat made such a grand proposal, so they must have thought there was something special about Yeon-ah. Despicable wretches!”
Dang Mu-seon’s fists trembled with barely restrained rage.
“Didn’t I tell you to refuse him outright?”
As Dang Mu-seon pressed the matter, Dang Cheon-mu immediately countered.
“I did refuse him clearly.”
“You told him to try again when he’s older!”
“That was merely to spare him the cruelty of saying my daughter could never be his, so I showed him some consideration….”
“Ha! Show him consideration twice, and your daughter will already be married off!”
As Dang Mu-seon crossed his arms and let out a hollow laugh, Dang Cheon-mu’s expression turned fierce.
“That will never happen.”
“Right. With so many suitors circling about, you speak of ‘never’ so easily. Come here. You.”
Dang Mu-seon’s tirade did not end there.
He spoke of how in his day there was something called abduction.
How if a man fancied a woman, he would simply take her away and offer proper respects—and that was the end of it.
“That’s how I sent away my sworn brother….”
As if recalling a painful memory, Dang Mu-seon gazed into the distance.
Meanwhile, Dang Cheon-mu reviewed all the letters.
Having examined them to the end, he rested his chin on his hand and raised his eyebrows.
“Hmm.”
Among all those letters, there was no proposal from the Namgung Clan.
Even obscure families he’d never heard of had sent proposals.
“There was nothing from the Namgung Clan?”
At his question, Dang Mu-seon shook his head.
“Nothing. I only brought you the ones addressed to you.”
So he had given up after all.
Thinking that such shallow resolve was indeed the mark of youth, Dang Cheon-mu tore the letters to shreds.
“Gasp…!”
The Chief Steward started in alarm and grabbed Dang Cheon-mu’s hand.
“Master, why are you tearing up the letter? Shouldn’t you send a response?”
“There’s no need to respond. I’m rejecting all of them.”
“But sir, it’s improper to refuse outright without at least meeting them once. Propriety demands we hear them out!”
“There’s no need. I will never allow my daughter to marry. Never.”
Dang Cheon-mu answered with absolute finality, tossing the shredded letter onto the floor.
Then, as if struck by inspiration, he lightly tapped the desk.
Crack! Snap! The table split cleanly in two.
“I’ll send the girl away for recuperation.”
He spoke without a moment’s hesitation.
“…Pardon?”
The Chief Steward barely restrained himself from pressing his palm to his forehead as he asked.
“Did you say recuperation, sir?”
“Yes. The child is ill—how could she possibly meet anyone?”
“But sir…!”
“I had already planned this for her health anyway. How could her body recover in a place crawling with such eyesores?”
As he spoke, Dang Cheon-mu’s gaze drifted meaningfully toward Dang Mu-seon’s sleeve.
Sure enough, a small snake poked its head out from within the fabric.
“It’s rather sudden,”
“That’s an excellent idea!”
Dang Mu-seon, who had been listening quietly, clapped his hands in approval.
The Chief Steward’s face grew even paler.
‘Why do these two lose all reason whenever it concerns the youngest lady…?’
Dang Cheon-mu—taciturn and dignified.
Dang Mu-seon—who, even in absence, radiated an overwhelming presence.
He had revered and respected them beyond measure.
He took pride in serving them, maintaining a composed and proper demeanor all these years.
“I know a place with excellent waters. I’ll accompany her myself. I can’t let my granddaughter go alone!”
“Thank you so much, sir!”
He couldn’t fathom how they had come to this point.

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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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