Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 36

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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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36.

“It was a political marriage. I was nothing more than a leash to control the Jade Emperor. My father’s shortsighted judgment was that if he bound me with a betrothal, the Jade Emperor wouldn’t act out.”
“….”
“It was a perfectly foolish miscalculation.”

Yeonhwa laughed bitterly as she spoke. I had no words of comfort to offer her. I could only listen in silence.

“That’s why I don’t want my younger siblings to end up like me. Not Suho, not Cheonhaerang. I hope they marry someone they actually love.”

Unlike my mother and me. Yeonhwa swallowed back words she couldn’t speak aloud.
Even knowing that Hand Ogeong was listening to every word, Yeonhwa had no choice. It was enough that only they were falling apart.
If anything could be called fortunate, it was that Suho had declared she would never marry. She wouldn’t even glance at a man’s shadow, or so she said.
And Cheonhaerang was….

“….”

With her words trailing off, only the sound of the river drifted through the pavilion. Yeonhwa gazed quietly at the girl before her.
The girl seemed to be carefully choosing her words. But what could a child so young and inexperienced—barely more than an infant to her—possibly say to her?
She hadn’t spoken seeking any particular words. She had simply wanted to say something, hoping that one day Cheonhaerang and this girl would become connected.
She wanted to free them from the constraints bound by the name of the Patriarch’s successor and Baekho.
Seeing that I was sinking deeper into troubled thoughts, Yeonhwa spoke first.

“I just wanted to tell you that. Well, let’s stop talking about such things now. Shall we discuss something more amusing? How are our Baekho successors growing up?”

She was referring to her nephews and nieces. I, who had been deep in thought all along, quickly turned to the new topic and exhaled a silent breath of relief before opening my mouth.

“Yes. Actually, my older sister was just….”

The sound of their cheerful conversation filled the pavilion.
Listening to their exchange, Hand Ogeong, who stood below the pavilion, recalled the woman’s words from moments before.

“It was a political marriage. I was nothing more than a leash to control the Jade Emperor. My father’s shortsighted judgment was that if he bound me with a betrothal, the Jade Emperor wouldn’t act out.”

“It was a perfectly foolish miscalculation.”

Did the woman know? It was not a misjudgment. The Patriarch’s assessment had been flawless.
…But what meaning did such things hold now?
Hand Ogeong let out a soft chuckle, gazing up at the sky.
The sky was remarkably clear, utterly at odds with his demeanor.

* * *

“Stop now. I really can’t continue.”

Cheonhaerang collapsed backward onto the ground. No matter how many peaches from the Peach Orchard he had consumed, there were limits to what the body could endure.
This relentless sparring—crude as it was to call it that—had been going on for hours now. He had exhausted every ounce of power from all five elements.
There was no stamina left to speak of. He felt utterly battered and broken.
Watching Cheonhaerang sprawled flat on the ground, Hand Ogeong’s clones burst into cackling laughter. It was unmistakably mockery.
Cheonhaerang thought these clones possessed far worse temperaments than the Jade Emperor himself.
Whether they mocked him or not, he decided he no longer cared. He quietly closed his eyes.
Lying there like this, a hunger he had forgotten suddenly surged back. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten a proper breakfast before being dragged here by the Jade Emperor.
But that wasn’t the real problem. The greater issue was that he had left without seeing Jiho’s face.
What was Jiho doing now? Was she managing well without him? If she was doing well, somehow that felt sad.

How much time had passed as he lay there with his eyes closed, picturing Jiho’s face in his mind?

“What are you doing, Cheonhaerang?”

Cheonhaerang slowly opened his eyes. To be honest, he had dozed off slightly.
Before him stood the Jade Emperor, looking down at him with an exasperated expression. Yet Cheonhaerang made no move to get up.
Still lying down, he spoke to Hand Ogeong.

“You’ve arrived?”
“Is that how you speak to your master? How disrespectful.”
“Would the Jade Emperor like to lie down as well?”
“Enough. Get up. You need to eat. If I don’t feed you, the princess will scold me.”
“What? Then Jiho is eating with us too?”
“The princess will bring her along.”
“She’s with my sister?”
“Yes, she’s enjoying the flowers.”

Hand Ogeong’s answer seemed careless, yet it was sincere.
Cheonhaerang sprang to his feet and rushed off in haste toward somewhere.

“Then I’ll go wash up!”

Hand Ogeong let out a hollow laugh at the sight of Cheonhaerang, who appeared noticeably more energetic, as if he hadn’t been struggling at all until now.

* * *

Could it be that she’s raising me like livestock…?
It was lunchtime again. With the sensation of eating continuously without a moment’s rest, such a thought crossed Jiho’s mind.
Fortunately, I didn’t eat lunch with Seowangmo. Though Yeonhwa was present.
Still, having enjoyed the flower viewing and conversation together, I felt a certain familiarity developing with Yeonhwa.
After Yeonhwa took her seat at the head of the table, I followed and sat down. Yet there was another place setting across from me, as if we weren’t just two.

‘What is this? Surely I won’t be eating with the Jade Emperor…’

The Jade Emperor had already disappeared by the time they finished the flower viewing. I couldn’t tell when he had left.
Yeonhwa paid no attention to whether the Jade Emperor had vanished or not.
I suspected the Jade Emperor himself found it uncomfortable to face Yeonhwa directly.
There’s a difference between showing it and hearing it spoken aloud. He had heard it directly from her lips, and she had said it bordered on hatred.
But even for a political marriage, seeing it to that extent made me think there was something unspoken beneath the surface. Yet delving too deeply into this seemed unwise, so it was better not to know.
I observed Yeonhwa. I was prepared to pick up my utensils once she picked up hers first.
But for some reason, Yeonhwa showed no intention of reaching for her utensils. It was as if she were waiting for someone.

‘It can’t be Seowangmo… because then the princess wouldn’t be able to sit at the head of the table. Then could it be…?’

My prediction proved correct. The one who entered was Cheonhaerang.
Cheonhaerang entered with a bright smile. His hair was still damp from washing.

“Hello, sister. Hello, Jiho.”

Seeing the rosy cheeks of the young man and his pale, fluttering hands, I momentarily lost my composure before barely catching myself.

“Ah, um… Hello.”
“I didn’t make you wait too long, did I?”
“Um, no. It’s fine.”
“Good.”

Watching Cheonhaerang greet them and show no regard for her, Yeonhwa let out an exasperated laugh before picking up her utensils and speaking to him.

“You must be hungry. Eat plenty, Cheonhaerang.”

You’ll just get pushed around again later anyway. That was what my sister’s words truly meant.
Still, Cheonhaerang didn’t mind. Simply seeing Jiho was enough to energize him.

“Jiho, eat plenty.”
“Mm….”

Jiho felt slightly awkward because Cheonhaerang wasn’t responding to Yeonhwa’s words.
Besides, to be honest, she wasn’t particularly hungry. She had eaten such a large breakfast, followed by dessert, and then refreshments on top of that.
There was no way she could be hungry when there hadn’t even been much time between meals.
But because Cheonhaerang kept adding side dishes on top of her rice, she couldn’t very well refuse to eat. Thinking she would simply have to skip dinner, Jiho scooped up rice with her spoon.
The fluffy white rice and the crispy grilled fish paired beautifully on her tongue. She certainly wasn’t hungry, yet the food went down smoothly nonetheless.
This was entirely due to the exceptional skill of the cooks in Cheongyeokgyeong.
As Jiho savored each bite with contentment, Cheonhaerang gazed at her with a pleased expression. Meanwhile, with precise chopstick work, he carefully deboned the fish for her.
Cheonhaerang felt satisfied just watching her, as though he had eaten his fill himself. He generously piled the perfectly flaked fish meat onto her plate.
Yeonhwa, observing this scene, had a thought. He normally wouldn’t pay such attention to anything.

‘…He’s really playing around, isn’t he.’

Yeonhwa let out a small sigh and shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t quite decide whether to say her brother had grown up well or not.

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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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