The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 92
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 92
While the Wulin Alliance usually doesn’t establish branches, in a place like Nanjing, they do tend to set up a decent building.
That said, it wasn’t for recruiting guards or buying and selling information.
This was the front yard of Jiangnan Yilian, and most matters were handled under the name of Nanglian.
It was simply a building where various people could come and go in addition to managing the messenger service, along with a few guards to protect it and a few workers to manage it.
However, since it was far from Luoyang, they mainly used local people, and there had been instances where these local people used the branch building as an inn instead of uncertain wages, but it wasn’t particularly important.
That is, until Xie Baowei’s group spent the entire day wandering around today.
Wumeng Inn
A large plot on the western outskirts of Nanjing.
The trio of Samjeoljo stood before a shabby inn.
The reasonably maintained inn standing awkwardly in a not-so-well-managed neighborhood was surprisingly quite busy.
It was partly because it was a time when people gathered, but originally the business wasn’t too bad either.
Of course, Xie Baowei’s group didn’t need to know this.
“…What on earth.”
“Ugh. Why did they have to name it so obviously.”
After visiting three tea houses and three inns each to find the location of the Wulin Alliance’s Nanjing branch, their stomachs and bladders were both full.
“Does the Alliance provide meals?”
Despite daring to put “Wumeng” in the inn’s name, the innkeeper just made such rude remarks listlessly.
Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten his original purpose, so even amid the bustle, he had kept one separate residence empty.
“Ugh. Finding this place feels more exhausting than the journey to Nanjing.”
Dangyeonhwa muttered as she buried her head on the table with a ‘thud’ sound.
Finding the way was certainly exhausting, but more than that, she seemed a bit overwhelmed by the countless people and scenery she had seen along the way.
Considering her background, it was understandable.
One might think, “But she’s from the Dang Family,” but regardless of the Dang Family’s enormous scale, their lifestyle wasn’t much different from that of a rural family.
After all, wasn’t it a family that became famous for medicine and poison? Instead of rice fields, what spread out were fields of rare herbs and medicinal plants.
Even though there was the large city of Chengdu right next to it, it wasn’t close enough for little Dangyeonhwa to go out and play day and night.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
“Mmm… Yes.”
Thanks to moving early, it wasn’t yet past sunset.
Originally, he had thought of going out for a stroll, but after the tiresome wandering to get here, he didn’t feel like going out.
Besides, going through all those crowds with a child was exhausting for him too.
“What the hell is this birthday celebration anyway.”
Sigh.
Dangyeonhwa said while keeping her head buried on the table.
Akmungi quietly sat beside her and let out a long sigh.
This quiet young man had similar feelings to Dangyeonhwa.
Xie Baowei pulled up a chair and sat in front of them, saying.
“Now, now. Watch your words.”
“Sigh. Leader Xie acts like some old man at times like this! What can’t I say.”
Such impudent words.
This was the birthday celebration of the imperial consort favored by the Emperor himself. It wasn’t a subject to be discussed carelessly.
“Isn’t it a place where the nation’s consort holds a birthday celebration to show her benevolence?”
“Benevolence my foot. Hmph.”
Still, when Xie Baowei hardened his expression and looked at her sternly, she didn’t continue her words.
As an awkward moment settled, Dangyeonhwa pouted her lips, then abruptly stood up and went into her room, slamming the door shut.
“Why is the wind blowing so hard!”
That, that little brat.
Xie Baowei sighed and shook his head.
Beside him, Akmungi burst into hearty laughter.
It was laughter he hadn’t seen in a while. He had seemed deep in thought, but had he sorted things out a bit?
He thought so, but.
“Then, shall we loosen up our bodies a bit and have a sparring match?”
“…Again?”
“Yes. I still don’t quite understand. I think I need to clash bodies to know even a little.”
What made you strong. And what will make me strong.
Akmungi looked at him with earnest eyes.
Xie Baowei looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.
He missed Hee-mae.
***
I heard that Lüli was touring some village in southern Anhui.
She would only return after touring all the way to Jiangsu Province? As soon as I heard it, I thought, “Ah. She got tricked by Miss Jegal.”
And Lüli’s desperate anger was also pressed firmly into the letter.
– When I return, first, I’m going to give Seulhye a knuckle rap on the head. Very hard.
At times like this, I could see the childhood Lüli exactly as she was, and it made me smile.
That knuckle rap probably won’t be an ordinary one. Her hands aren’t ordinarily painful.
Unlike the always bright and honest Lüli of childhood, she had changed a bit as she grew up.
She who was always honest and direct about her feelings had become, how should I put it, a bit shy.
Or rather, more cautious.
The long letter, as long as her heart, contained anger toward Jegal Seolhye along with detailed accounts of where she had stopped with Yingying, what they had eaten, what they had seen, and where they would go.
But her heart was contained in only the last single line.
– I’m happy that Yingying seems to be opening her heart little by little. The child misses you very much. I feel the same way. When we were together, a thousand days felt like one day, but now one day feels like a thousand days.
It was enough.
Thud.
“Ah, stop looking at that already. Did you coat it with honey or something?”
“Are you going out?”
While sitting at the living room table reading and rereading Lüli’s final letter for the umpteenth time, Dangyeonhwa’s door opened.
Having already washed and prepared herself, her face was clean and her complexion bright.
“You wouldn’t know since you just woke up from being drunk, but the sun is already high in the sky, you know?”
Oh. Has it gotten that late already?
At her words, I looked out the window and indeed the sun had risen high.
It was a truly clear day.
“Oh no. Senior is going to hear about this.”
“Come now. An adult can have a drink after finishing a hard day’s work.”
Dangyeonhwa shook her head disapprovingly.
Xie Baowei crossed his arms and spoke with a stern expression.
“It’s not like I do this every day, so cut me some slack?”
“Hmph. Just wash up and rest more. I’m going out and will be back.”
Last night, after moving with Akmungi until our muscles trembled, we had Yangha Daegok wine paired with the famous Jinling Yanshuiya (salt-water duck), and I ended up drinking too much.
Dangyeonhwa had eaten some snacks in moderation before going in, and the young Ak had stayed a bit longer to keep me company before retiring.
What happened to the remaining alcohol?
…You shouldn’t leave alcohol unfinished, so I drank more and fell asleep.
The insufficient snacks were supplemented by Lüli’s letter.
“Alone?”
“No?”
Dangyeonhwa chuckled as if asking what kind of nonsense that was.
Soon Akmungi emerged from another room. He too was neatly dressed, but fatigue hadn’t completely left his eyes. The bruises around his eyes were noticeable.
It was because emotions had run high due to all the sparring.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all.”
When Xie Baowei spoke sincerely, Akmungi smiled bitterly in response.
This quiet and gentle young man could hardly refuse requests from his tomboyish team member.
Does she remind him of his younger sister from his family?
“Well then, we’ll be back.”
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, here and there?”
“Be careful. Don’t follow strangers who offer you candy.”
“Ah. What am I, a child?”
“At fourteen, you are a child.”
Tsk.
While Xie Baowei focused his eyes on the letter again, Dangyeonhwa left.
He was a bit worried about letting her loose in such a big city, but well… with Akmungi there, it should be fine.
After reading for a while, wind entered the empty separate residence.
Riding that wind, a single pink petal gently flew over and dropped softly onto the letter.
Looking toward where it came from, it was the courtyard with its doors wide open.
No wonder it felt warm outside – pale pink peach blossoms were falling like snow.
They said it was the end of the season.
…Is Lüli watching this too?
-I don’t like them much because they’re too flashy.
On a day when spring was at its peak, there was a time when cherry blossoms and peach blossoms were woven together and hung in front of the door.
It was after we had a big fight.
Young Lüli grumbled like that but still smiled.
That smile and her flushed cheeks were the color of peach blossoms.
A few days later, people came from the Hwangbo Family Estate.
Young Lüli disappeared, leaving only her fragrance behind.
I spent days in a daze in the dreamlike empty room, and when I came to my senses, it was autumn.
Only after many long days had passed did I welcome spring again.
That’s why Xie Baowei didn’t particularly like peach blossoms.
“…Let’s wash up.”
Xie Baowei shook his head clear and got up.
If this Wumeng Inn on the outskirts of the city had one advantage, it was the large bath built in the rear garden.
Thanks to that, he had been able to soak his body thoroughly the previous evening too.
During the day the water was lukewarm, so it wasn’t as good as at night, but this time there were fewer people using it, so he was able to wash thoroughly before coming out.
Was it around the end of the Wei hour (1-3 PM)?
It was an awkward time to actually go out, but…
Today is a nice day, after all.
“I wonder where our first and second went.”
Xie Baowei roughly dried his hair, straightened his clothes, and left the house.
Let’s see.
Where the Young Boy would go is obvious. First, she would have gone to buy lots of sweets.
And after that… hmm. Did she go flower viewing at the Qinhuai River? Or maybe to see the famous glass pagoda at Dàbào’ēnsì Temple.
After asking the innkeeper various questions, Xie Baowei cheerfully went outside.
The afternoon sun was warm.
Flowers were everywhere on the streets. When the gorgeously bloomed peach petals scattered like snow, purple wisteria clusters that had taken their place swayed like waterfalls along the walls.
Azaleas bloomed red in patches along the wall surfaces, and peonies emerged above fallen peony leaves, adding more color.
“…Where was the flower market again.”
Originally, I had planned to first visit a temple in the northeast that was said to brew exceptional peach blossom wine.
But seeing these flowers, my feet headed toward the flower market like a bee drawn to nectar.
It would be nice to buy a precious bonsai sapling or something.
Though bonsai are incredibly expensive and precious, it would be good to gift an old pine for grandfather’s sake, and for my elder brothers, osmanthus saplings that symbolize success would be nice too.
I had already decided what to buy for our Lüli.
What could compare to Jinling’s famous green plum blossoms?
Hmm, mm.
Thinking of the faces that would light up with joy, I found myself humming naturally.
Xie Baowei walked with a spring in his step.
Since there was a national celebration, there were many people even in the outskirts.
Moreover, the place Xie Baowei wanted to go was near the Qinhuai River, which was considered the heart of Nanjing among the flower markets, so there were even more people.
What started as walking eventually became following the wave-like flow of people, and after walking and walking, he arrived at the famous Confucius Temple and Qinhuai River.
“Ah, seriously.”
Hm? That’s a familiar voice?
“I told you to get lost, didn’t I?”
It was Dangyeonhwa.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
