I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 67

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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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“…Yes. So it comes to this.”
Dang Cheon-mu spoke those final words as he received the letter.
Dang Mu-seon, seated across from him, tapped his foot while keeping his arms crossed.
With his brow furrowed, he opened his mouth with clear displeasure.
“Tch. Those vermin from Changdok Valley. I’ve always wanted to teach them a lesson, but… now they’re flinging their filth at us?”
Unlike Dang Mu-seon, who let out a hollow laugh, Dang Cheon-mu appeared quite serious.
He set the letter down and glanced up at Seong-ya.
Like a thief caught red-handed, Seong-ya’s expression stiffened slightly.
Fortunately, Dang Cheon-mu’s gaze slid past him toward Dang Mu-seon instead.
“Intervening prematurely would be difficult. They’ll realize we’ve caught on to their scheme.”
At Dang Cheon-mu’s words, Dang Mu-seon nodded heavily.
“True. I can already imagine what nonsense they’ll spout next.”
Dang Mu-seon snatched the letter away, spitting out each word with deliberate venom.
“Since we don’t know when this massacre will be executed, we must devise countermeasures swiftly.”
“….”
Dang Cheon-mu’s expression darkened as he nodded.
He sank deep into contemplation.
By narrowing the Dang Family’s position, is all they seek truly our secret techniques?
For such an elaborate scheme, their methods seem far too…
‘Cunning.’
They sought to attack the Dang Family not through force, but through words and perception.
As if they had reason to shackle us even if they couldn’t bring about our immediate ruin.
Could there be something else—something different—that they truly desire?
“No suitable stratagem comes to mind at the moment.”
Beside the absorbed Dang Cheon-mu, Dang Mu-seon drained his tea in one gulp and rose to his feet.
“At times like these, one needs fresh air. You should ponder this as well. As quickly as possible.”
“Please go rest, Elder.”
After Dang Mu-seon departed, Dang Cheon-mu, having dismissed Seong-ya as well, remained in that spot, lost in deep deliberation.
The massacre could unfold as soon as tomorrow.
How should he intervene appropriately?
With no suitable strategy presenting itself, Dang Cheon-mu rose from his seat.
He intended to take Dang Mu-seon’s advice and get some air.
His steps naturally led him toward Cheongpung Garden.
It was a place he habitually sought whenever his heart needed solace.
A garden brimming with flowers his wife adored—a place that evoked her memory.
Each time the fragrance of those blooms brushed against him, his chest ached, yet Dang Cheon-mu had come to cherish that pain.
It reminded him that she had been by his side, even if only for a fleeting moment.
“Oh! You there!”
A cheerful voice reached Dang Cheon-mu’s ears, pulling him from his reverie.
It was Dang Lim.
“….”
Dang Cheon-mu pressed his lips firmly shut and headed toward the source of the sound.
Dang Lim was thirteen now—an age where one must preserve one’s dignity.
I should warn him not to make such a racket….
“Kyaaah! Haha!”
At the sound of Hee-yeon’s laughter that followed, Dang Cheon-mu stopped in his tracks.
It seemed Dang Lim was playing with Hee-yeon.
His expression softened somewhat.
As I drew closer, I could see the two of them playing with dirt.
They appeared to be competing to build their sand castles higher than one another.
Yet somehow, neither Dang Lim’s nor Hee-yeon’s sand castle remained intact.
It seemed they had each sabotaged the other’s once.
Hee-yeon crouched behind her sand castle and peeked out with a grimy, dirt-smudged face.
“Hehe, that’s not fair!”
Hee-yeon spoke while wiping the dirt from her nose.
“You attacked first, didn’t you? That makes you the bad one, and me the good one!”
“What? Ugh….”
Dang Lim shook his head as if he had no rebuttal.
“You’re too clever for your own good.”
Dang Cheon-mu’s eyes deepened as he watched them quietly.
As if grasping something, he slowly opened his mouth.
“…If we are attacked first….”
It is not cowardice.
“Huh? Father!”
Just then, Hee-yeon looked up.
When their eyes met, Hee-yeon broke into a bright smile toward Dang Cheon-mu.
Dang Cheon-mu shed his serious expression and smiled back.
Dang Lim was startled and hastily brushed the dirt from his face.
As I waved to them, I thought to myself.
I want to protect them.
‘…But Hee-yeon. I sense that you wish for the same as I do.’
Hee-yeon always appeared whenever I felt as though I had hit a wall.
And like a single ray of sunlight seeping into a dark cave, she had saved me.
It may be coincidence, but all that has transpired thus far has been precisely so.
And perhaps.
‘It feels as though you wish to protect her even more desperately than I do.’
***
Before I knew it, summer had arrived. And not just any summer—the height of it.
“Ugh! It’s so humid!”
The heat was unbearable enough, but this thick, oppressive air was driving me absolutely mad.
“Mmm…”
I fanned myself desperately, trying to endure the sweltering temperature.
“Miss. Would you like some ice? You’re starting to get heat rash!”
Gong Myo asked anxiously, fidgeting.
I shook my head and fluttered my collar open.
“No, it’s fine. You’re hot too, Myo. This fan is big enough to keep me cool!”
“Miss…”
At my words, Gong Myo’s eyes glistened as if moved by my consideration.
Dang Dam and Gong Myo were both sweating, but they seemed to be managing well enough.
I was glad I’d distributed the ice that Gwi-heon had brought to the household servants.
“Um… Miss?”
“Hmm?”
Another voice called out to me.
I turned my head to see Seong-ya standing there awkwardly.
“Oh, that’s right.”
I’d forgotten. Seong-ya had come to visit.
The heat had scattered my thoughts.
I glanced briefly at Dang Dam and Gong Myo.
Without needing to say anything, they understood and quietly excused themselves.
Once we were alone in the room, I straightened my posture and asked.
“What brings you here?”
“Ahem.”
Seong-ya cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“The matter regarding Changdok Valley has been resolved, so I came to report it.”
He continued in a low voice.
“The Household Head established a small medical pavilion near Changdok Valley and waited for their attacks.”
So Father had indeed read my intentions.
All those times I’d deliberately visited Cheongpung Garden where Father frequented, playing with dirt every day, had finally borne fruit.
“Hehe… and then?”
I smiled wickedly and clasped my hands together.
Seong-ya swallowed hard and continued his report.
“Everything proceeded exactly as you intended. Our counterattack completely devastated the Geumrin Sect.”
“That’s a relief. Phew.”
I exhaled a long breath of relief.
I’d been worried that things might not go according to plan.
The fact that everything unfolded as I intended meant the Geumrin Sect’s momentum had been completely crushed, didn’t it?
Of course, I’d been careful to ensure that medical pavilion couldn’t be traced back to the Dang Household.
“Hah!”
I sprang to my feet and stretched luxuriously.
Seong-ya’s shoulders tensed at the motion.
“Hmm?”
The moment our eyes met, he flinched visibly and turned his head away.
…This man has truly grown terrified of me lately.
What have I even done?
All I did was threaten him a little.
“Ah, Seong-ya.”
Seeing him reminded me of something I’d been meaning to ask.
He straightened his posture and responded formally.
“Yes, Miss.”
“I need you to send a letter for me.”
“Ah… I shall see to it at once.”
He nodded with an expression of visible relief.
It seemed he’d been dreading that I might ask him to do something far worse.
I retrieved the letter I’d stuffed away in the drawer and handed it to him, and he asked:
“Where should I send it?”
“To the Geumrin Sect in Changdok Valley.”
“Ah, Changdok…”
Seong-ya, who had been accepting the letter casually, trailed off.
“The Geumrin Sect?”
He asked again, as if seeking confirmation.
I answered matter-of-factly.
“Yes.”
His expression grew peculiar as he gazed down at the neatly folded letter.
“If I may ask… when did you write this?”
“Hmm? Oh.”
His question suddenly made me realize something.
It would indeed seem strange that I’d written a letter to the Geumrin Sect in advance.
‘But I had been thinking ahead—planning to send it if things went well.’
The Geumrin Sect was a powerful poison sect with connections to the Namgoong Clan, after all.
We had weakened them considerably, but they still held value as a tool.
‘There’s no need to explain all this to him.’
“I just wrote it beforehand, just in case.”
I gave a vague answer and ushered Seong-ya out.
As he left, I could hear him muttering to himself.
“Just in case…? Does that even make sense…?”
The door closed shortly after.
I pulled out the papers from the drawer, my eyes gleaming with anticipation.
It was a document organizing my future plans.
I had drawn a line through one entry with my brush, striking it out.
【Jungyeon Poison Sect massacre frame-up.】
Events had unfolded exactly as I intended.
I hadn’t expected success to come so smoothly.
A quiet confidence welled up within me.
“Now, what remains to be done…?”
What would happen next?
I gazed intently at the paper before me.
“Hmm?”
For the next several years, no major calamity would befall the Dang Family.
Why was that?
“Ah, that’s right!”
A significant incident would occur within the Sega Society around this time. They would be too preoccupied to trouble us for a while.
“Interesting.”
My eyes narrowed in that moment.
There was no need to passively await their attacks.
If only I could find a way to turn the incident befalling the Sega Society to my advantage…

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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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