Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 65

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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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Episode 65
Hwa Hong’s pupils trembled. My question had caught him off guard, and after a moment of working his jaw, he broke into a broad smile.
“So you are Cho Ryeon’s daughter. You have her face entirely.”
“I came here to hear about my mother…….”
“I understand. But what can one do? When I see even your temperament is identical, it seems blood cannot lie.”
Hwa Hong unclasped his hands and rested his chin on them, watching me with wide eyes.
“Your mother was a woman who could never overlook suffering. A peerless beauty who had all of Seongdo bringing gold and silver to her feet, yet she was kind enough to take in a child who scavenged scraps from the alleys behind the pleasure houses—she took that girl in as her own servant.”
“……Are you speaking of Cho Ryeon?”
“That I am. I received a new life from her.”
Hwa Hong smiled and reached over, tucking my short hair behind my ear. His eyes held the tender affection one shows a young niece. He spoke as if singing.
“The answer is simple. Grow stronger.”
“…….”
“The Martial World follows the supremacy of the strong. In a world where might makes right, no one heeds the words of the weak. If there is something you wish to protect, you must naturally cultivate your strength.”
It was a commonplace truth anyone might speak, yet it sounded different coming from Hwa Hong.
Hwa Hong was a man who had made that trite, obvious thing a reality. Had he not risen from a pleasure house servant to master of an establishment?
“I hear you’ve become the disciple of the Poison King—the foremost master of the Dang Clan. That position cannot come easily, so you must be working hard at it in your own way.”
Hwa Hong paused for a moment, then continued with gravity.
“But thoughtless sympathy is worse than none at all, and a half-hearted resolve accomplishes nothing. If you wish to protect your people, you must devote all your time to growing stronger.”
His stern counsel made me unable to lift my gaze.
I was ashamed of those days when I complained that cultivation was difficult, when I should have been growing stronger with every passing moment. I bit my lower lip.
“Those are delicate hands. Let me see.”
Before I realized it, Hwa Hong had drawn close and unclenched my fist. He traced the nail marks on my skin and spoke gently.
“There is no need to blame yourself so. The world is harsh, that is all. I myself think it remarkable that you registered directly with the clan. You have already proven your capability.”
That was not true. I had proven nothing. I had only been noticed by Dang Jung while doing laundry as instructed.
I was merely…….
When I said nothing, Hwa Hong seemed to shift the conversation, tapping the table lightly.
“If keeping that maid becomes troublesome, it would be no problem to send her to Wol Hyang Ru. I would keep her at my side and teach her myself.”
“I am grateful for the thought. But I shall care for her myself.”
“Yes. Then would you teach the girl to read, perhaps?”
“To read?”
“The child must have means to protect herself as well. There is no harm in learning letters. She could conduct written communication and would find it easier to secure work even if she left the Dang Clan.”
“That makes sense. Thank you for the counsel.”
I nodded. Gyeong Ah was quick-witted; it would not take her long to learn letters.
Since she had once wished to become an innkeeper, teaching her simple arithmetic and how to keep accounts might prove helpful as well.
If she desired it, she could one day leave the clan to become an innkeeper, or open a guesthouse of her own.
At last I felt at ease, and my clouded mind grew clear.
Gyeong Ah was not dead.
I could not treat Gyeong Ah’s life as finished without knowing her own wishes.
Noticing that I had come to my senses, Hwa Hong smiled and spoke.
“Since you have taken the trouble to come here, I should offer something in return. Would you care to hear a small piece of information?”
“A small piece of information?”
“Yes. Nothing grand—merely how to make contact with the Hao Gate. You may one day need to find a branch outside Seongdo. It would be useful to know.”
He picked up the lidded bowl that sat on the table. I straightened my posture and adjusted my seat.
“There are no special markings on an inn or pleasure house that harbors a member. In most cases, even the proprietor does not know their own staff belongs to us. That is why one typically seeks out an acquainted member.”
“Much like how I came to find you.”
“Precisely. But there will be times when you have no acquainted members nearby. For such occasions, there is an agreed signal.”
Hwa Hong nodded and placed the bowl’s lid upside down on the saucer.
“Place the lid at an angle on the saucer, then arrange the chopsticks in an X shape on top. The spoon goes to the left of the bowl. Simple, yes? Try it yourself now.”
“Yes.”
I took the bowl he offered and mimicked the arrangement he had shown. Hwa Hong clapped his hands in approval.
“You memorize quickly. Once you display the signal and wait a moment, a server or courtesan will approach and ask if you need anything. Answer that the bowl has a broken edge and needs replacing. Then they will escort you to a secret chamber.”
“Thank you for teaching me. Do you have many branches of the Hao Gate scattered about?”
“Ah, I find it difficult to tell you where and how many other branches exist. Even I have a code of conduct to uphold.”
“I see.”
At his gentle refusal, I awkwardly scratched my cheek, and Hwa Hong quickly waved his hand.
“Instead, you may use my name freely. If the Hao Gate refuses to deal with you, tell them the Flower of Seongdo will answer for it. Then the Hao Gate will gladly offer you their aid.”
“……Yes. Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it. I am delighted to be of service to you.”
Hwa Hong answered with a bright smile, then glanced past me and his expression grew uncomfortable.
“My, your escort appears quite displeased. I fear I have troubled you for far too long. You ought to return and rest.”
Just as I turned my head in alarm, I caught sight of Deok Ju wearing a fearsome expression as she glared at Hwa Hong. The moment our eyes met, she quickly wiped it away.
I waved a hand at Deok Ju to signal that all was well, then opened my mouth again.
“There’s just one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“By all means, Miss.”
“My fourth brother, Ju Yeop, apparently visits the Wol Hyang Ru frequently. Do you happen to know what he does there?”
“You’re wondering whether he might be plotting something unsavory, I take it?”
His directness left me feeling a bit embarrassed. Had I been too blunt?
“Young Master Ju Yeop does possess an appearance that might invite misunderstanding, but people are generally more complex than their outward form suggests. I assure you, there is no cause for concern.”
Hwa Hong had smoothly reworded his reassurance—that though Ju Yeop looked like trouble, he was too simple-minded to actually be trouble—and now he draped his arm across his chair.
It was his signal that I was welcome to leave.
I nodded lightly and rose slowly from my seat.
As I walked back, I felt I understood something of what I needed to do.
* * *
When I returned to the Byeoldang, Dang Jung greeted me with scolding.
“Where have you been wandering off to with a sick body? Does it amuse you to squeeze this old man’s heart like a washcloth? Ah, your forehead is burning hot again. Go inside and rest at once.”
He began to scold me but then pressed his hand to my forehead and, finding it fevered, began sighing heavily in distress.
I gazed at him with a bitter smile.
There was no doubt that Dang Jung cared for me deeply. As my guardian and teacher, he was doing his utmost.
But I had to accept that he was a different person from me.
I could not measure Dang Jung—who had spent his entire life as a martial cultivator in the Rivers and Lakes—by my own values. That too would be arrogance.
At my gloomy expression, Dang Jung’s eyes widened and his hand cupped my cheek.
“Child, why do you look like that? What happened? Deok Ju, come here and tell me. What were you two doing outside?”
“Well, that is…….”
“No, Grandfather. It’s just… I felt a bit dizzy, that’s all.”
I cut off Deok Ju’s words with a vague excuse and bowed my head. As Dang Jung gazed down at my crown, he swallowed a sigh and suddenly lifted me into his arms.
“You’re troubled about something, aren’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“Your maidservant. She was your companion.”
Dang Jung clicked his tongue and began walking through the Rear Garden, patting my back as if soothing a child.
“How… how did you know?”
“What grandfather doesn’t know his granddaughter’s heart? I send out military provisions wrapped up to help you put on weight, and the servants devour them all at once—would it be strange if I didn’t notice?”
I hadn’t expected Dang Jung to understand my feelings, and I bit my lip hard.
At his tender voice, the stone that had been weighing on my chest began to melt. The tears I’d held back all day began to seep out.
“Grandfather told you before, didn’t he? Holding it in only makes you sick. Just cry.”
“But if I show my sadness… I thought you would dislike me…….”
As I sniffled and mumbled, Dang Jung let out a soft laugh.
“So you stopped watching for this old man’s moods? Or perhaps you never stopped at all.”
“I do watch your moods a lot, Grandfather…….”
“Right. I won’t scold you for looking after the servants. Do as your nature dictates. What else can I do?”
“Really?”
“Of course. Truly. Sometimes you’re so much like the Dang blood it astounds me, but then at moments like this, I wonder where on earth you come from.”
“……Wait, were you just insulting me?”
“What? Ha, who says this old man’s moods are being watched? You’re the only one in the world who speaks to your grandfather like that—you, Sohye.”
Dang Jung’s lips quirked up in a smile and he tousled my hair.
I laughed with him and wound my arms tightly around his neck. His familiar warmth and scent flooded me with such relief that I nearly wept.
As I whimpered, he softly whispered his comfort.
“Child. What is already done cannot be undone, but you can prevent similar things from happening again.”
“Yes.”
“To protect something, one must grow strong. Grandfather will teach you, step by step, so you can protect it yourself. Don’t be sad anymore.”
“Yes…….”
“But you cannot complain of hardship. Otherwise Yeop and Woon will go running to speak ill of this old grandfather.”
“Hehe. You heard about that?”
I laughed awkwardly and fidgeted with my fingers, and Dang Jung brushed my back gently.
“Stop crying now and close your eyes. Your fever keeps rising—you need to rest.”
Before I could even answer, Dang Jung’s fingers pressed the point at the back of my neck.
My consciousness blurred in an instant and my eyelids grew heavy.
“At an age when merely preserving one’s own body is blessing enough, and yet you speak of protecting others……. Tsk.”
I thought I heard the sound of Dang Jung’s sigh.

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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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