The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 6

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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 6

Xie Baowei woke up early.

He lifted his throbbing leg and got up to see the dawn breaking dimly.

He quietly reached out to grasp his sword and limped lightly as he stepped outside.

Xingyaoshengshe was as tranquil as in his old memories.

It was quiet enough to suit its name meaning ‘a place where the heart is at peace,’ and it was a place that Xie Baowei found quite pleasing both in the past and now.

It was a scenery he had longed for even after leaving.

“Master Xie. Are you awake?”

Despite the early hour, someone was waiting as if expected, setting down warm water and a cup of tea.

Xie Baowei still looked at him with unfamiliar eyes.

He had aged considerably.

But it was a face that remained in his memory.

“It’s been a long time. Uncle Yan.”

He wasn’t such a bad person. There had been times when he approached quite warmly.

Like other servants, he had grown distant though.

“Please speak comfortably.”

The courteous face without a trace of dissatisfaction was quite bewildering.

As time passed, dissatisfaction had accumulated on their faces.

Was it jealousy? He couldn’t tell now.

At least, there had been no respect in that tone when they called him ‘young master.’

“You woke up early. Was your bed perhaps uncomfortable?”

“…It was comfortable. It’s just become a habit.”

-The sun is high in the sky, yet is that good-for-nothing Master Xie still in his quarters?

-What of it? Hasn’t this been going on for days? Leave him be. If we make a fuss, we’ll only be uncomfortable.

-Tsk. There’s nothing to see except that pretty face. Only our poor young lady is pitiful, living without knowing the ways of the world.

Xie Baowei shook his head.

Of course, there weren’t no people who liked and helped him…

But those who remained here weren’t among them.

It’s really hard to adjust.

Rather, it felt as if his old memories were wrong.

“When you wake up, the family head said to come by. Shall I escort you?”

This was truly bewildering.

The problem wasn’t that the family head was looking for him from morning.

Hmm.

“Don’t I need to go immediately?”

Without realizing it, he straightened his clothes and prepared to get up, then stopped and asked with a puzzled face.

Shall I escort you?

Shall I escort youuu?

“The family head said that yesterday must have been tiring, so let him rest well and call him slowly.”

Perhaps reading his expression, Yan Chosan laughed awkwardly and continued.

“So, Master Xie, please rest comfortably and call when convenient. I’ll be waiting. Ah, shall I bring up breakfast?”

“…No. I’ll go now.”

Really.

He couldn’t understand this cautiousness.

Xie Baowei shook his head and stood up abruptly.

First, he should dress properly.

***

Xingyaoshengshe was located in the northeastern outskirts among the large complex of halls of the Hwangbo Family Estate.

It wasn’t far from Tianhou Palace in the north where the family head stayed, so he could arrive quickly without walking hurriedly.

It seemed to take quite a while before.

…Ah. Back then, there seemed to be many people who would stop him even after walking just a little.

“It’s quiet.”

“Since Master Xie has come, it will become busy again.”

“…Pardon?”

Really.

To his casual remark while looking at the dusty tiles, buildings, and walls among the empty halls, an incomprehensible response came back.

What am I supposed to be?

“Really.”

“Please enter.”

Before Xie Baowei could ask anything more, the doors of Tianhou Palace opened wide.

Still, being the family head’s hall, several servants moved more busily.

Xie Baowei closed his mouth and stepped into the family head’s hall.

Even though it was the family head’s hall, the structure wasn’t much different.

Past the reception room at the main entrance, there was a large conference room to the east, and guest rooms and a library to the west.

In the central courtyard, like any martial family, only eighteen types of weapons and several wooden training dummies were set up.

It was spacious enough to be called the family head’s hall, but it wasn’t luxurious.

This was because it followed its owner’s temperament.

The main room had its doors open, and Hwangbo Seungjeong was sitting at the spacious dining table in the living room, holding tea.

He appeared upright as if yesterday’s weak appearance had been a lie.

“I humbly offer my morning greetings to the family head.”

“What family head? Call me grandfather!”

As he approached and bowed, he immediately scolded him.

Xie Baowei only smiled bitterly as if accustomed to it.

“You’re still drawing lines. What a petty fellow.”

“…Where would lowly blood go?”

Without realizing it, a sullen voice came out.

Hwangbo Seungjeong glared at him disapprovingly at that sight.

“Then and now. Your narrow-mindedness remains the same. They say people grow as much as they suffer, but you need to suffer more.”

“Yes. I am quite narrow-minded. So what. Even if you treat me like a human now, it doesn’t easily resolve.”

It’s really strange.

To those who looked down on and ignored him, he was rather respectful and couldn’t say anything, while to the one who showed him a ray of warmth, he complained like this.

At that, Hwangbo Seungjeong relaxed his glaring expression and let out a deep sigh.

“Come sit here.”

“…Yes.”

“Hey! Brighten your expression, you rascal!”

In the past, a staff would have already flown and left a bump on his head.

That’s how it was then.

When Xie Baowei came and complained, Hwangbo Seungjeong would always strike with a flick or staff blow.

And then he would gently counsel him with that stern yet soft voice.

-Endure it. Those are all inferior fellows being jealous. They’ll accept you soon. They have to. Those guys.

Then Xie Baowei would shed a single tear pretending to be hurt, then resolve his feelings and leave.

He felt exactly like the grandfather he never had. Though he was a bit intimidating.

Come to think of it, that was only briefly in the early days.

When did he start hiding away without showing his face at the family head’s hall?

“I’m sorry.”

So.

When the old, wrinkled hand gently stroked Xie Baowei’s missing finger.

When that stern and stubborn grandfather’s voice flowed warmer and softer than ever before.

When it was filled with regret and remorse he had never heard before.

Without realizing it, tears flowed down.

“Yes?”

Thwack!

“Ugh.”

“You heard me.”

No. Just now. Just now that person went somewhere and the stubborn family head from before returned.

Clutching his forehead from the unexpected flick, Xie Baowei raised his head.

“After you left, I turned the family upside down.”

And then all sorts of things came out.

Whether the family’s magnanimity was all fake, there were truly many petty and trivial things.

Those petty and trivial things numbered one or two each, and for many people three or four each, so there was no one who wasn’t ashamed.

“Baowei. I’m sorry.”

I failed to protect you.

And. The old man bowed his head.

Xie Baowei stiffened while awkwardly pulling back his hips.

Then he quietly closed his eyes and opened them again.

A long time had passed. He nearly died but survived.

It wasn’t that he had learned nothing from the Huangbo Family.

“It would be a lie to say I forgot. But it’s true that I tried to live by forgetting. So. Please raise your head.”

“Will you leave?”

“…I didn’t come with the intention of returning.”

“Try staying.”

“I’ll take my leave for today.”

Hwangbo Seungjeong saw off Xie Baowei as he left the room with a regretful expression.

Xie Baowei left Tianhou Palace with a somewhat relieved heart, and also somewhat embarrassed.

When he returned to Xingyaoshengshe, he could feel the servants sneaking glances at his quarters.

Unlike other halls, it was an annex with just one main building standing alone, making it even more noticeable.

At first he wondered what on earth that was about, but now he thought he understood.

Right. Everyone found out they had tormented me, didn’t they?

So they felt terribly sorry and wanted to die, didn’t they?

Thinking this way, his heart felt a little lighter and his questions were resolved.

So that’s why they were desperate to treat me well whenever they saw me. That’s what he thought.

But he understood that.

He roughly understood that they were trying to treat him well when they saw him.

But why.

It was when another thought followed.

“Hey, Baowei!”

No. Why again.

It hadn’t been long since he’d just greeted him and returned.

While the sun was still rising, he was eating a meager breakfast that was clearly too much for his poor circumstances, blankly gazing at the small pond in the back garden, Yuseoji.

Though it had a grand name, it was just a small artificial pond where a few carp swam around.

However, unlike when he used to live there, it was unusually cleaner, as if it had been well maintained.

Before, it was overgrown with weeds.

The elder, who usually had rice porridge for breakfast and received acupuncture, came directly to his quarters.

People crowded around him, supporting the family head.

They said his health wasn’t good.

Now he could see that yesterday’s events had clearly been too much.

The elder’s face, which had been a healthy bronze color, was half pale.

It was different from his face just moments ago too. That appearance must have been forced as well.

“Family Head.”

Thwack!

“You! Call me grandfather!”

Still, at Xie Baowei’s words, the staff headed toward his head.

Xie Baowei rubbed his throbbing head.

“Grandfather. There are many people watching.”

“…Hmph. Just because this old man hit his grandson a bit, there won’t be anyone else who’d dare look down on us.”

Right beside him, Hwangbo Yeonhwi, who was supporting him, smiled with a troubled expression.

Then Hwangbo Seungjeong stubbornly spoke.

While doing so, his scanning of the surroundings seemed to warn those gathered around, and he seemed concerned about his own actions.

“I’m fine.”

Xie Baowei hurriedly spoke. But his words didn’t seem to carry much weight.

“Ahem. …I’ll be careful from now on. Let’s go inside for now.”

***

The servants who had hurriedly followed the family head’s procession were dismissed, and the personal attendants were told to wait in the courtyard, so only three remained in the room.

Though not a very large room, it was a place used as an annex of a great family.

Two men from the Huangbo Family famous for their large builds, and Xie Baowei who was no less impressive. Still, it didn’t feel cramped.

Tea and refreshments were neatly arranged on the table.

“By the way, what brings you here.”

“Hmph. Is it such a big deal for me to see my son-in-law’s face?”

“…I suppose not?”

“Tsk. Should I say the old days were better. Should I say it’s better than the old days.”

Since he asked before even drinking a cup of tea, the family head answered bluntly.

Displeased with that answer, the old man’s stubborn eyebrows twitched.

Then soon, he stroked his beard and smiled bitterly.

“Well. It’s better than being dejected and hanging your head.”

“I’m sorry.”

At those words, Hwangbo Yeonhwi, the eldest grandson, bowed his head as if embarrassed.

Excluding the family head’s second son who had gone outside, that is, the second father, Hwangbo Yeonhwi was the eldest adult in the family.

He thought that if he had taken care of Xie Baowei without prejudice, there wouldn’t have been a situation where Xie Baowei wandered outside.

Xie Baowei silently only drank his tea.

Far from feeling refreshed, he only felt uncomfortable.

A private meeting with his wife’s grandfather and eldest brother-in-law. Setting aside the bullying, wasn’t this originally a situation where one would get indigestion even with a feast before them?

“Fortunately, didn’t our Brother Xie give us a chance to make things right. It’ll be fine if we do well from now on. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s what we should do. If only our Brother Xie gives us the chance.”

Saying this, both pairs of questioning eyes were on him. The sparkling yet desperate gazes of an elderly man of venerable age and a middle-aged man.

It was truly an uncomfortable situation.

Xie Baowei smiled faintly.

“…Yes. That’s right.”

“Haha. Of course, of course. That’s right.”

“Hahaha. That’s right.”

“Ha. Haha.”

Baowei laughed with a completely different meaning from the other two.

But surely these elders didn’t come just to say such things.

When he tried to drink tea again, it was already empty.

Before he could be surprised by “already,” Hwangbo Yeonhwi personally poured tea for him.

Meanwhile, Hwangbo Seungjeong opened his mouth.

“Baowei.”

“Yes. Family Head.”

“Tsk.”

“…Grandfather.”

“Is it you?”

There was no need to ask “What?” The meaning of what he was saying was clear.

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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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