The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 109

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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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Chapter 109

A joyous occasion had come to the Huangbo Family.

Children being born and raised in the family was something that happened yesterday and the day before, but this time was a little more special.

Everyone had kept quiet about it, but it was something they had all pondered at least once and had truly been waiting for.

​

“Didn’t I tell you? Making all those pointless worries. Lighting lamps before the moon even rises every single day – how could a child not come from all that effort?”

​

Those were Huangbo Yeon-gung’s sharp words. He got smacked on the back by his wife, but thanks to that, his teary eyes went unnoticed.

​

“Take your time swallowing that.”

“…I’m just drinking water?”

“Walk carefully.”

“The outhouse is right in front of us.”

​

Xie Baowei was even more of a mess.

He had refused all appointments and visits, sticking close by Lüli’s side, making a fuss as if she might get hit by falling flower petals or step on hand-washing water.

All the family wives were telling their husbands to learn from him.

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“Even though they say to be careful in the early stages, it probably doesn’t need to be this much.”

“Who said what?”

​

The human heart is cunning – there was a time when he thought living like this was fine too.

They already had many nephews and nieces, and there was Yingying too.

There was a time when he thought this was good enough since the two of them got along and were harmonious and warm together.

But now it was different again.

Having a child between the two of them was another kind of happiness.

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“Come here, Yingying. You’re going to have a little sibling.”

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And so the two of them cherished each other even more.

Their hearts were exactly the same.

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“Take good care of her.”

“…Yes.”

​

While everyone was happy, there was exactly one person.

Someone who was gloomy.

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“Are you okay?”

“Yes. It’s a good thing, isn’t it? I’m fine.”

​

The Hwangbo Family Estate’s hall was attached to the end of Daming Street, so one might think it was the end of the road, but there were many buildings around it too.

So if you went around the wide outer wall, there were many small alleys, and Yingying was crouched inside one of those alleys, looking outside.

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“You clearly don’t look okay though?”

“…I am okay though?”

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Such alleys were originally places where unsavory people could easily come and go, but it wasn’t easy for such groups to run rampant near the Hwangbo Family Estate.

Of course, Dangyeonhwa wasn’t afraid since she was confident she could steam and eat a few of those idiots.

The only thing to fear was this young child’s heart getting hurt.

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“I was like that too.”

“Like what?”

“I said I was like that too. When my sibling was born. Well, probably not as much as you.”

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Dangyeonhwa is the sixth daughter of Dang Gimun, the head of the Dang Family’s Zaixue Hall.

Above her are five half-siblings, and below her are two more full siblings.

As is typical in families with many children, siblings raised siblings, so she received less parental attention, but she remembered not wanting to lose even that little bit of attention.

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“…I’m useless.”

“That’s normal. Kids are useless.”

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Dangyeonhwa grumbled.

Yeah, yeah. That’s how life is.

So you need to grow up quickly and prove your usefulness, right? Or find another path like me.

To Dangyeonhwa, that was the natural way of things.

Of course, the Dang Family wasn’t such a cold place. They too had family affection and deep kinship loyalty.

The saying “repay kindness a hundredfold, repay grudges twofold” wasn’t famous for nothing.

However, since the Dang Family’s roots were in medicine and cultivation, it was a closed place where it was difficult to expand outwardly.

So what could you do? The existing people had to become more useful. If you weren’t useful, you’d be excluded.

(It didn’t actually mean killing or anything like that.)

So to Dangyeonhwa, that was the natural thing to say.

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“Stop worrying about useless things and just hurry up and grow. Then become a wandering hero of Gangho like me. That’s how it works. Got it?”

​

That was her way of comforting.

In Dangyeonhwa’s view, the Huangbo Family – no, Xie Baowei – was far too soft.

His relationship with Huangbo Lüli was the same.

How could a man have so little dignity? People would call such behavior henpecked and curse it.

If he had acted like that in the Dang Family, he would have been relegated to minor positions immediately.

However, even while saying such things, Dangyeonhwa had no intention of leaving Xie Baowei’s side.

She couldn’t leave.

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Smack.

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“Ow!”

“You come here. You little brat.”

“Ah, why are you hitting me!”

“What nonsense are you spouting to the child?”

“Ah, why? It’s true though.”

“True my foot.”

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Xie Baowei grabbed Dangyeonhwa’s ear and dragged her away.

Dangyeonhwa followed along in a line while crying out in pain.

Sigh. What am I to do with you?

Xie Baowei let out a sigh.

​

Dangyeonhwa smiled slyly.

That’s why.

The warm gaze that worried about her despite sharing not a drop of blood, and even the touch that hit and dragged her but never truly hurt.

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Thwack.

Ah. This hurts a bit.

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“What are you laughing at, you brat.”

“Geez.”

​

Surely your brothers will look for you. Your parents will miss you. Though he would lecture with the same words, Dangyeonhwa liked even that and followed him.

And Yingying quietly watched those two people disappear.

Huangbo Lüli crouched down beside her.

​

“Yingying.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“….”

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Drop. A single tear made its way down Yingying’s cheek.

Huh?

Yingying panicked and wiped her cheek.

I didn’t intend to cry.

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“I’m sorry.”

​

Lüli said.

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“I’m not saying sorry for pushing you away. I’m saying sorry for making you think I would neglect you.”

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Drop. Drop drop.

Tears flowed endlessly.

Now tears flowed so much that wiping them was meaningless as her sleeves became even more soaked.

So Yingying just kept her eyes open and left them be.

In her tearful eyes, Lüli’s face seemed to overlap with someone else’s.

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“I’m going to become a mother. Yingying. I will love this child just as your mother loved you.”

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Mother.

Sometimes there are days when she misses her mother so achingly.

No. That’s a lie.

Not sometimes, but every day. Not every day, but always.

She looked for her mother when opening her eyes, looked for her mother when closing them. It was like that before coming here and after arriving too.

But if there was something different, it was that what used to be achingly longing and painful was now just longing.

Thanks to Xie Baowei it became so, thanks to Lüli it became so.

That’s why she was afraid.

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“It’s the same.”

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Lüli took Yingying’s hand.

Now the two were no longer facing each other.

They were sitting together.

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“I decided to become your master, and that meant I would treat you like my own child. You don’t know how much comfort you’ve been to me through my many days.”

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They say ruler, teacher, and father are one.

That the sovereign, master, and father are one.

It means to serve one’s master like a father, but it also means the master should care like a father.

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“So, Yingying. Like that time in the past when you held my hand. Won’t you hold it again?”

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Won’t you congratulate me?

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Huangbo Lüli said. Tears welled up in her eyes too.

Yingying nodded. The two clasped hands.

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“Please become my child’s older sister.”

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This time without crying.

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“Yes.”

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Yingying answered.

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***

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After some time passed and Huangbo Lüli entered a stable period, Xie Baowei became a bit busier.

No, he became neglectful of Lüli.

His homecoming became so late that one might wonder why this person was acting this way.

He didn’t eat the lunch they always had together, and couldn’t play with Yingying, saying he had morning training.

​

Of course, Lüli didn’t yet need someone to take care of her.

Fortunately, she wasn’t picky about food and was too healthy to feel physically tired.

Rather, she needed to reduce exercise and food, which made Lüli feel frustrated.

​

“Wei Lang?”

“Mm?”

“Are you busy these days?”

“Uh… a little?”

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Of course, being busy wasn’t incomprehensible.

The situation in Gangho had rapidly grown tense and letters coming to Xie Baowei piled up in layers.

In contrast, the Hwangbo Family was growing rapidly – the Pyoguk and Sangdan that had been established before Xie Baowei and Lüli left for the Alliance had settled in, and the Taishan Alliance they had previously worked on began recruiting people again.

The existing main force, Byeokryeong-dan, also expanded further in size, and since there were so many seeking Hwangbo Family guards, there were many concerns about how to expand externally while maintaining that level.

The Five Elements Martial Arts Stage likewise saw a great increase in people.

Due to children from all walks of life flocking there, there were concerns about resolving their conflicts.

There was also the problem of having no one to teach them academic studies.

In the end, people – people were the problem.

Lüli’s issue was this.

What exactly did Xie Baowei have to do with this problem?

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“Does the Household Head give you many tasks?”

“It’s not that.”

​

As if. Someone who can’t even make a simple request and just drinks tea before leaving?

If others had seen the Household Head like that, they would all have been surprised as if seeing a different person, but this behavior in front of Xie Baowei had become a familiar sight.

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“Brother Yeon-gung wouldn’t be calling for something serious, would he?”

“I can’t tell either.”

​

Huangbo Yeon-gung had gotten along well with him from the moment they met again. Even now, whenever he had a little free time, he would come asking for a drink and would unnecessarily provoke Huangbo Lüli’s temper.

But lately, he had been worn to the bone with matters concerning the Five Elements Corps.

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“Then could it be Brother Laeyeon?”

“How could we know about someone who wanders outside all day?”

​

Thanks to his spirited nature, when the Hwangbo Family was in seclusion, he had organized a small trading company, but that didn’t really suit his tastes.

He wasn’t skilled at earning money, though he might be at spending it.

However, he had an excellent eye for good liquor, good food, and good products, so he would set up one of his talented cousins as the head of the trading company and travel around establishing trade routes.

He had become so fond of this that he even suggested leaving the Taishan Alliance activities to others.

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“…It wouldn’t be Brother Yeon-taek.”

“Haha… That’s right.”

​

Lei, the leader of the Bielian Corps and Hwangbo Yeontak, was called the greatest martial force of the Hwangbo Family.

Thanks to this, despite his fighting-loving nature, he actually rarely got into fights, because the Hwangbo Family couldn’t carelessly deploy their greatest master.

Where would that frustration go?

He would either torment his subordinates or seek out Lüli, but since Lüli was pregnant, he might well seek out Xie Baowei.

But Lüli was disgusted by that prospect.

Avoiding her watchful eyes to practice his uncontrolled swordwork?

It was tantamount to asking to die together.

​

“It wouldn’t be Grandfather either…”

​

Hwangbo Seungjeong was still in good health.

Rather, as if regretting the past days when he had only stayed with the family, he spent his time touring various places in Jinan.

When he stayed at the main house, he would always receive greetings from Xie Baowei and Lüli, but he didn’t call for them at random times.

So Lüli couldn’t help but be curious.

​

“What is it?”

“…The thing is.”

​

Xie Baowei hesitated for a moment.

It was something he had been pondering for a long time.

Compared to his thoughts, the result was too grand, and there was so much to be done that he had hesitated.

Wouldn’t things be fine as they were?

He had stayed because he thought remaining by Lüli’s side was the best path.

But now it was different.

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“Lüli.”

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Xie Baowei was originally a woodcutter who had lived in the foothills of Mount Tai, orphaned at a young age and raised as a lone wanderer.

​

“I need to start my own work.”

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Due to his weak foundation and lack of education, he had swayed like duckweed and grown alone like a thorn bush.

​

“Will you help me?”

​

In that life, he had by chance met one person and achieved the dream he had so longed for.

What could a man not do to protect his family?

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When Xie Baowei looked at Huangbo Lüli and spoke,

Huangbo Lüli answered without hesitation.

Her will was his will, and his will was her will.

Just like in those old days when Baowei had been blind,

Lüli smiled softly.

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“Do as your heart leads you.”

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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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