The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 87
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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 87
“What! What is it!”
Hmm.
Well, it doesn’t matter.
Even without my questioning, these clever ones came in and spilled everything themselves, didn’t they.
Of course, there’s no evidence.
Even though Dangyeonhwa and Akmungi had worked hard to uncover the whole story, they couldn’t actually make that story public.
They weren’t the type of people who could speak before the Namgung about things whispered in hushed tones.
As such, nothing would be better than testimony from the parties involved, but well… they probably wouldn’t have given honest answers anyway.
Rather than that, isn’t this better.
Hehe.
“What the hell is it, I’m asking?”
Dangyeonhwa pressed impatiently. And for good reason, since Xie Baowei’s expression was… how should I put it.
“Uhuhuh.”
It was extremely irritating.
“What is it. What’s going on. What happened inside? Why is this lady all disheveled and why is this old man sweating in such an unpleasant way? Did you have a fight? What. Did you get hit? Damn! Let me go! I’ll go in there and teach them a lesson! How dare they touch our captain!”
“I’m not stopping you though?”
“Let’s hear the story first. What is it. Should I threaten them by saying you got beaten up?”
Dangyeonhwa quickly changed her expression.
She had been pretending to be all worked up, but now she was staring with bright, curious eyes.
Anyway, judging by Xie Baowei’s expression, it seemed like he could see a way to resolve things.
Such a clever one.
Xie Baowei lifted the golden cup with a triumphant face.
“What’s that?”
“Heh. Spoils of war.”
Only one corner of Xie Baowei’s mouth went up.
It was clearly a sneer.
“Wow… really irritating.”
Dangyeonhwa shook her head as if impressed.
Akmungi was the same.
Xie Baowei chuckled and tossed the golden cup.
Dangyeonhwa caught it reflexively.
“There! Now that we have the materials, go bring me the answer.”
Dangyeonhwa and Akmungi looked at each other with expressions that showed they had no idea what was going on.
Xie Baowei shrugged his shoulders and started walking.
“I’ve done my part. That’s what I’m saying.”
Should I get another round of acupuncture first?
Alcohol is… alcohol might still be too much?
“Let’s go.”
Xie Baowei took the lead.
Dangyeonhwa shouted.
“Hey. What is this thing, I’m asking? Explain first, you old man!”
The golden cup flew toward the back of Xie Baowei’s head.
.
.
.
Though I had said that to Dangyeonhwa, there actually wasn’t much time.
I stopped teasing them and briefly explained the situation.
These amazing, young, energetic, and quick-witted two talents put their heads together and whispered, then as expected, quickly brought me an answer.
It was during that short distance walking to Tianjian Hall’s Dangjujeon.
“So. Have you taken care of the matter?”
“Not yet.”
Namgung Hong is a middle-aged man well past fifty.
He was said to be from a quite distant branch of the main family, and was valued highly after showing his abilities as an adult.
Even so, having worked for the Namgung for nearly thirty years, couldn’t we say that both sides had fulfilled their roles to each other by now.
Xie Baowei raised his head.
“The Blue Turtle of the South Seas is here. It won’t be easy to get past him.”
“Didn’t I call you to stop it before it came to that.”
“I came to stop it before it came to that.”
“You’re the ones who are late.”
“You could have stopped it yourself, couldn’t you.”
Namgung Hong smiled gently.
He smelled the rising tea fragrance but set it down without drinking.
It was truly excellent tea with a clear jade color and a subtle yet broadly spreading aroma.
“It’s called Qishui Cloud Mist. A famous tea from the area. Please try it.”
“…I’ve heard of it. The fragrance is famous.”
Following his lead, I smelled the fragrance and held it in my mouth before swallowing.
It had a soft and refined aroma.
“You don’t seem to have deep knowledge of tea?”
“My wife likes it.”
“I see.”
Namgung Hong focused on the tea’s fragrance again.
His eyes lightly swept across the reception room of Dangjujeon.
Xie Baowei waited quietly.
“It’s been over twenty years since I joined the Heavenly Sword Hall.”
Xie Baowei found it uncomfortable dealing with his superiors.
It was because he had grown up without regard for hierarchy since childhood.
So he wasn’t good at being friendly or flattering people.
Still, he knew one thing.
As people aged, everyone harbored a terrible loneliness.
Since Xie Baowei knew this all too well, he understood what needed to be done.
“Yet I devoted my youth to it.”
Namgung Hong’s eyes gazed far outside the window.
The deep blue sky was coloring the day.
Soon when the moon rose, tearfully brilliant moonlight would enter through that window.
Like those days when just sitting there naturally filled him with pride.
“That child is my daughter.”
Dangyeonhwa and Akmungi would be enjoying refreshments in another room.
Dangyeonhwa was probably stuffing several sweet pastries in her mouth and chewing, while Akmungi would be staring at the liquor before him, wondering whether to drink it or not.
In this room, there were only himself, Namgung Hong, and the maid who had been serving them all along.
“…The daughter they call illegitimate.”
Well, he had roughly guessed as much. They say heroes keep three wives and four concubines, but there are few places where that actually works.
When it’s hard enough to feed one mouth, how could one support multiple wives and concubines?
Still, someone of the Heavenly Sword Hall Master’s level might have had concubines, but apparently not even that.
“What shouldn’t have been a flaw became one.”
Hmm. It seems he feels somewhat wronged.
Thinking of how Namgung So had rambled on arbitrarily, Namgung Hong’s departure from the Heavenly Sword Hall probably wasn’t a beautiful farewell.
The aftermath could be seen in Namgung Hong’s face, who had gone from a well-aged middle-aged man to just an old man.
Regret and resentment. Directed at whom?
The fortunate thing was that it didn’t seem directed at his own daughter.
However, looking at the maid’s troubled face, it was clear he hadn’t been a good father.
“…So, are you saying you have no interest in this matter?”
“It’s something that happened outside my control.”
Namgung Hong sipped his tea again.
Not the Huimen black tea enjoyed in Anhui, but the Qishui cloud mist tea from this land represented his feelings.
He had to leave a place that had become more like home than his actual hometown.
But.
“Then for whom should I resolve this matter?”
“I don’t know. Should I ask Cheonjusan? Or perhaps waiting until Changcheon Sword arrives would be a method.”
Hah.
Meaningless words. In a situation where blades lurk underfoot.
Is this really that famous Unkeum? How disappointing.
…Is there any creature as powerless as a bird with broken wings?
He had seen countless cases of generals and soldiers aging instantly after suffering irreversible wounds.
“…I see. I understand.”
Tsk.
There’s no answer to be found here.
Xie Baowei gave up quickly.
It’s not easy to accomplish anything with someone who has no heart for it.
He didn’t feel much need to persuade him either.
He could just press the Tang girl and the Ak young man for answers again.
“…Do I seem ridiculous?”
Ah.
His expression must have slipped without him realizing.
Xie Baowei wiped his nose and mouth with one hand. But his twisted face wouldn’t return to normal.
It was pathetic.
“No. I was just being contemptuous.”
“Of what.”
“The daughter at least draws her sword calling you father, yet the father just waits for the day to die.”
“…!”
He had been a hall master after all.
Only half of the twenty warriors of Baekgeomtae were by Namgung So’s side.
It was a place he had devoted a full twenty years to. How could he have no people of his own in his own house?
They wouldn’t be unaware of the conflict between Xie Baowei and Namgung So.
“What do you know about….”
“Right. I know nothing.”
He didn’t know the heart of a loser.
No. He did know. He had run away before too.
Yes, he knew well. Very well.
“But I can clearly see that the world’s Unkeum is a coward.”
“…What?”
“People used to say to remember that behind Unkeum’s smile lies a blade! But the one sitting before me is a coward who doesn’t know how to fight, a coward who even resents his own daughter.”
“No! I! Not even once!”
“Then why is your daughter still wearing a maid’s clothes!”
Bang!
Xie Baowei struck the desk and shouted.
Oh my. He must have gotten excited without realizing it.
But now, the stage for hiding emotions had passed.
“If you say it’s not a flaw, then why do you treat it as if it were one!”
To begin with, serving someone could never be easy.
Being endlessly looked down upon, ignored, and treated poorly was daily life. Not because of the nobility or lowliness of their origins, but even more so because of the work they performed.
Though the work they did truly brought immense convenience to their employer’s life, people treated them carelessly.
It wasn’t that they were lowly or their work was lowly, but rather the heart of those who employed them and took it for granted was what was truly lowly.
“Don’t make rash assertions when you know nothing. I have never treated her that way, nor have I ever made her do such things. It’s just… the child wanted to be of even a little help to me… wanted to help, that’s… that’s all.”
Namgung Hong flared up and stood to face him, but after finishing his words, he bit his lips tightly.
Xie Baowei sneered coldly.
“Then why. I still don’t even know that person’s name.”
“…”
She had been a maid all this time. She would have followed behind them like a shadow, reporting every move to her old father.
Yet she had tried to bring out the best things to avoid any blame whatsoever.
Grateful for this, he had asked her name several times but never heard it.
Was she ashamed of her own name? No. She must have been ashamed that her name might bring shame to her father’s name.
Namgung Hong stared blankly at his daughter and pressed his lips tightly together.
Xie Baowei snorted and plopped back down in his chair.
He craved alcohol. Drinking tea like liquor seemed to calm his insides a little.
“Hah. I overstepped my bounds. Please forgive me.”
With a thud, the cup was set down.
Xie Baowei straightened his clothes and sat upright.
It was embarrassing. Getting involved in something that wasn’t even his business.
He felt he’d been acting a bit strange since taking in Yingying.
His gaze would linger on children for no reason, and when he saw parents and children together, he found himself listening in.
Something he had never experienced himself.
“The tea. It was good.”
Having just sat down, he found himself getting up again.
Namgung Hong seemed indifferent to whether Xie Baowei sat or stood.
His eyes were focused only on his daughter.
Xie Baowei shrugged his shoulders and turned his back without regret.
“Her name is Hee.”
Namgung Hong’s voice fell upon Xie Baowei’s back.
His steps halted.
“Namgung Hee. I was so happy to have a child at such a late age, so I named her Hee.”
Hmm. This was playing unfair.
“I’m not ashamed. I’m not ashamed. The only shameful thing was my old age. The child’s mother was a servant who stayed by my side for a long time, and I was never ashamed of her.”
Namgung Hong had one son.
A child he had with his deceased first wife at an early age.
That son, whom he had raised like precious gold and jade, could not forget his mother.
For the sake of the boy who had lost his mother at a young age, he couldn’t bring himself to remarry.
Namgung Hong pressed his lips tightly together again. This too was not something Xie Baowei—no, his daughter—needed to understand.
His words were right.
“…You’re right. I am a coward.”
Hmm…
It was quite an awkward situation. Xie Baowei scratched his cheek while still facing away.
He had spoken out impulsively, but this wasn’t something for him to forgive or comfort.
What to do. When should he turn around?
Namgung Hong closed his eyes tightly and let out a deep sigh.
“It’s been almost half a year since the Young Household Head disappeared. I never knew that a family that seemed so solid could split apart so easily. Just like my position.”
Namgung Hong’s lips twisted.
It was a smile of regret and self-mockery.
“One cannot go against the following waves of the Yangtze River… Since I too remained content with my lot, perhaps it was only natural.”
Xie Baowei slowly turned around.
Namgung Hong smiled warmly.
It was the same smile he had seen on the first day.
Now his character seemed great again.
“I thought it was all over, but I learned there are still battlefields remaining. Thank you.”
Namgung Hong cupped his fists toward Xie Baowei.
Even so, his gaze was directed toward his daughter. What he would fight for was obvious.
“Haha. They say you’re called the Mad Tiger. It’s not for nothing that you’re also called a fox. To lure out an old man who was planning to retreat to the back room.”
Xie Baowei clasped his hands together and bowed, stopping the hand that was about to go to the back of his head.
If you stay quiet, you’re halfway there.
“You’re too kind.”
Namgung Hong laughed pleasantly.
Uh… should he sit down again now?
Just as Xie Baowei was pondering this.
“Right. Then I should do my job now.”
Namgung Hong asked.
“Let me ask, what happened to the Young Household Head?”
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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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