The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 154

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“This precious thing….”

“He said it was to commend the previous Sa-ryeong-ryeong’s achievements and to bless your future.”

Nok Su-gyu’s fingertips trembled slightly.

How anxiously he had worried, thinking he had fallen out of favor with the Emperor due to his foolish younger brother’s actions.

But a blessing! This clearly meant the Emperor would cover past transgressions and embrace his family.

‘If Father were still alive, such an opportunity would never have arisen!’

Inwardly rejoicing while outwardly showing a moved expression, Su-gyu received the lacquered box with both hands.

“Your grace is overwhelming. I will engrave this kindness in my bones and never forget it.”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you. I too will pray for another Sa-ryeong-ryeong to be born in your family.”

Ahwol smiled broadly and clasped his hands behind his back.

“I shouldn’t keep the chief mourner too long. There must be many guests outside, so I’ll take my leave now.”

“Your Highness, I will escort you out.”

“No, that’s fine. I’m leaving quietly and don’t want to cause a commotion. Chief mourner, take a moment to catch your breath here.”

Ahwol spoke gently but firmly, then left the room with a light step.

As the door closed and he was left alone in the room, Nok Su-gyu let out the breath he had been holding.

The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

“Haha, hahahaha….”

Laughter burst forth.

‘I’ve gotten rid of that eyesore of a woman, and sent away that troublemaking burden, so now there are no obstacles left!’

Nok Su-gyu looked down at the lacquered box he was holding preciously like a treasure.

“I wonder what His Majesty has bestowed.”

His hands, swollen with anticipation, carefully opened the lid.

The moment the object placed on the gorgeous silk lining came into view.

Thud.

The smile completely vanished from Nok Su-gyu’s face.

His face, drained of color, soon turned white as a corpse.

“Th-this is…!”

What was inside was neither gold and silver treasures nor precious medicinal materials.

A black fragment, pitch-black and emanating a strange aura.

The very Evil Spirit’s Shell Fragment that he had fed to Su-jeong to make her steal Seo-yu’s body was inside the box bestowed by the Emperor.

* * *

As the sun was setting and twilight colors were casting shadows, the Medicine Hall was empty with all the Household Members attending the funeral.

Seo-yu was busily moving her hands.

‘The Sophora Root Powder should definitely be here… Ah! There it is. Thank goodness. It’s still in the same place.’

Her hands were quite familiar as she opened the medicine drawer and took out the Sophora Root Powder.

Sophora root was originally a good medicinal material for reducing fever and removing dampness. Myeongbu Herb was also a precious medicinal herb that boosted the vitality of the five organs and six bowels.

However, when these two were used together, they stimulated the stomach and induced vomiting, making them suitable as an emetic.

The problem was the terribly bitter taste characteristic of sophora root.

The sensitive Su-jeong would likely spit it out the moment it touched her lips.

‘Fortunately, I managed to get a plate of honey rice cakes…’

Seo-yu set down the basket containing the honey rice cakes.

She planned to form the medicine into pills and hide them inside the rice cake filling. The sweet honey and bean paste should be able to mask the bitter taste to some degree.

Seo-yu’s fingertips trembled slightly as she prepared the mixture.

‘Seollin, will this really work?’

She was attempting it because there was no other way, but she wasn’t confident.

The opponent was sorcery of unknown identity.

Just then, a familiar voice came from the sky along with a soft cluster of light.

[It should be quite possible! I saw that fake earlier, and they weren’t capable enough to properly handle Evil Spirit Sorcery.]

It was Seollin.

[If it’s sorcery forcibly deployed using a shell, then removing the medium from the body is ultimately most important. Once the medium disappears, the shell will lose its power.]

Then Dragon Spirit’s solemn voice was also heard.

[This Dragon Spirit will lend you power. I’ll maximize the medicine’s effectiveness to make the stomach churn violently, so don’t worry.]

“Thank you, Seollin. Dragon Spirit, I’m grateful to you too. I’m counting on you both.”

Seo-yu gained courage from the reliable support of the two Divine Spirits.

“But… how did Miss Su-jeong come to obtain Yeong-gwi’s shell?”

How did Su-jeong get her hands on such an extraordinary item?

As Li-han said, could there really be an Evil Spirit imprisoned in the Imperial Prison?

[I don’t know. I can’t tell you the circumstances. But one thing is certain – Evil Spirits don’t give their shells to just anyone.]

[That’s right. To Evil Spirits, their shell is like their own life, so they only leave it to very close people when their life is about to end.]

“Close people… like family or closest friends?”

[Exactly.]

Seo-yu’s hands paused for a moment.

To think that a precious relic left to one’s most cherished person was being used for such vile acts as stealing another’s body.

‘Then was Yeong-gwi betrayed by the person they trusted most?’

It was such a sad thing. A sigh escaped naturally from her pitying heart.

Creak.

She sensed someone’s presence from the direction of the door.

‘Oh no!’

Startled, Seo-yu hurriedly pulled her black hat down low. It would be disastrous if a Medicine Hall physician had come to get medicine.

But the voice that came was from someone she never expected.

“Seeing you here at this hour, you’re not a family physician. Did you also come to get medicine?”

Qilin Family Head?

Seo-yu, who had been blinking in confusion, lowered her voice as much as possible and carefully replied.

“Yes, my lord. The Young Miss I serve said her stomach wasn’t feeling well, so I had no choice but to stop by.”

“I see.”

Gi Tae-ha slowly approached. Seo-yu’s heart pounded as if it would burst.

His gaze lingered on the medicinal materials neatly sorted on the desk.

“Sophora root, White Atractylodes, Bitter Orange Peel…”

Gi Tae-ha, who had skimmed through the medicinal material composition, nodded his head.

“Though you seem young, your skills are outstanding. There are no gaps in the formulation.”

“You, you flatter me.”

Thank goodness there isn’t much Myeongbu Herb left!

Since she had already used it all, there was no Myeongbu Herb on the desk. Seo-yu, who had avoided suspicion, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Seeing how uniform they are in size and shape, your hands are quite skilled too.”

Gi Tae-ha carefully examined the medicine pills that Seo-yu had just made, then added calmly.

“You’ll become a fine physician in the future.”

“…Thank you.”

Seo-yu bowed deeply at the waist in greeting.

Even in this tense situation, the praise she heard from the Qilin Family Head, who was called the greatest physician of the age, stirred her heart.

As she was about to straighten her posture, she caught sight of Gi Tae-ha’s lips curving upward slightly beneath his black hat in her peripheral vision.

Then she heard a very quiet murmur.

“My daughter will become like that too, so I’ll have a wonderful colleague.”

…Daughter?

Seo-yu’s eyes, hidden in the shadow, widened.

As far as she knew, the Qilin Family only had Prince Tae-eon as their son.

‘Did he misspeak?’

While she tilted her head in puzzlement, Gi Tae-ha opened one of the drawers.

“The Chuanxiong Pills are here. I’ve disturbed you. I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, my lord. Please take care.”

Gi Tae-ha took one last look at the medicine Seo-yu had made before slowly turning around.

Seo-yu watched his retreating figure for a long time, captivated by an inexplicably strange feeling.

It was an odd sensation, as if one side of her chest felt both tingly and warm.

‘Wait! This isn’t the time to be doing this!’

Seo-yu, who suddenly came to her senses, quickly picked up a honey rice cake.

She carefully hid the finished medicine pills inside the rice cake.

After completing everything, she hurried toward the Sarangchae where Li-han would be waiting.

* * *

Before long, the sun was setting and the time for the funeral procession was approaching.

As the servants hurried to prepare to carry the coffin, the funeral procession was almost ready to depart.

Hwang Hyeon-rang and Bi-yeon, who had attended as guests, were also waiting on one side to follow the procession.

However, Su-jeong, who was standing beside them, was seething inside.

‘Why are all these elder brothers acting like this?’

Her blood brother Deer had become the chief mourner but was absent from his post, preventing the funeral procession from even starting.

And Golden Dragon, who had now become her elder brother, was wasting precious time looking for something as trivial as a handkerchief, which was truly deplorable.

The longer the delay continued, the sharper Su-jeong’s nerves became.

‘The Imperial Palace soldiers will come bursting in soon. I want to leave this house before I have to see their faces.’

Irritation surged up, and the sorrowful expression she was forcing herself to maintain kept threatening to contort.

That’s when it happened.

A ladybug that had flown from somewhere gently landed on Su-jeong’s shoulder.

It was a small visitor that had flown in seeking the late autumn sunlight.

“Kyaak!”

Ladybugs were the insects Su-jeong hated most. The way the spots were dotted all over them was so disgusting that she had detested them since childhood.

“Disgusting! Won’t you get lost?!”

Su-jeong screamed in horror and roughly swatted with her hand.

It was such a commotion that the mourners around looked over in surprise.

Bi-yeon and Hwang Hyeon-rang also looked at Su-jeong in surprise.

When the ladybug fell to the floor, Su-jeong lifted her foot without hesitation and stomped on it with a loud thud.

“How dare you cling to me.”

Her voice as she muttered while kicking the crushed bug away with the tip of her shoe was chillingly cold.

Hwang Hyeon-rang’s eyes wavered as he watched this scene.

His daughter Seo-yu was a child who couldn’t even carelessly step on a blade of grass.

The child who had cherished even the earthworms in the herb garden, calling them ‘friends who keep the earth healthy,’ was killing a living creature so cruelly.

“…Seo-yu?”

When Bi-yeon called her name as if she couldn’t believe it, Su-jeong’s expression changed completely as if she had just realized her mistake.

She forced the corners of her mouth up and made an awkward excuse.

“Ah, no… I’m just so afraid of bugs that I… I’m sorry for startling you, Mother.”

Though her words were gentle, contempt and irritation still lingered in her eyes as she looked down at the dead bug.

Bi-yeon felt a corner of her heart grow cold.

Though she wore Seo-yu’s face, it was an unfamiliar expression she had never once seen on her daughter.

Hwang Hyeon-rang slowly turned his head to look at Bi-yeon. Bi-yeon also faced him with a pale expression.

They could tell without speaking. The same suspicion had taken root in both their minds.

‘…She feels strange.’

In truth, it was something they had been feeling since earlier.

Though she was clearly their beloved daughter, they felt a terrible sense of discord, as if a complete stranger was wearing Seo-yu’s mask.

An inexplicable ominous premonition pierced coldly into both their hearts.

Just then, urgent footsteps could be heard from far away. The one approaching was Li-han.

“Father, Mother!”

Hwang Hyeon-rang, greeting his son, asked in a chiding tone.

“Li-han, why are you so late? Everyone has been waiting.”

“I’m sorry. Something serious happened and I couldn’t help it.”

“Something serious? What kind of matter?”

“Well…”

Li-han opened his mouth with a hardened expression. His fists were clenched tight as if in frustration.

“Something was stolen.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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