The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12
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Before a broad table carved with lotus patterns sat three children and two adults. It was a gathering that should have blossomed with conversation, yet only a silence as heavy as death persisted.
Father had offered a brief greeting before clamping his mouth shut, and my aunt made no effort to conceal her discomfort. The twins beside her fidgeted, shifting their hips and shoulders as their patience wore thin.
I could see plainly that the twins wanted to speak to me, but I kept my lips sealed, following Father’s lead.
How long did this continue? Just as the twins’ chairs began to creak with restlessness, the door opened silently and Jang Seok-ryang appeared.
Father and my aunt exchanged puzzled glances.
Jang Seok-ryang, having offered a respectful bow, spoke.
“Fourth Young Master, might you spare a moment?”
My aunt turned her head with an irritated expression, clearly displeased that his business was not with her.
Father spoke with a rigid tone.
“Grandfather will be arriving soon.”
“It will only take a moment.”
“Very well.”
As Father rose from his seat, he fixed his gaze upon my aunt and spoke.
“Yeon, stay here and behave yourself. If anything troubles you, tell your father at once.”
My aunt’s eyes widened and her lips trembled, but she did not speak. I offered a reassuring smile and replied.
“Yes. Please don’t worry, Father.”
Father followed Jang Seok-ryang from the chamber.
The twins craned their necks to confirm my father had left, then exchanged glances with each other. It was So U-ak who spoke first, with Baek Li Pyo following close behind.
“Hey. You’re defective, right?”
“Your dantian is broken and you can’t use martial arts? Is that true?”
I nearly burst into laughter without thinking.
After my regression, my first meeting with So U-ak and Baek Li Pyo had changed. The timing, the place, the hour—everything was different.
‘Yet somehow their opening words remain unchanged?’
My aunt showed no inclination to stop the twins, leisurely sipping her tea.
Watching the twins giggle, I asked with perfect composure.
“Who told you that?”
“Well, Mother said… ouch.”
Baek Li Pyo suddenly bit his tongue and shot a glare at So U-ak.
So U-ak spoke without looking at Baek Li Pyo.
“What does it matter to you? It’s the truth anyway—you’re trash.”
“I’m going to tell Father.”
The twins flinched in alarm.
The twins had grown up spoiled, knowing no limits.
But who was my father? The background of being a young master of the Baek Li Family that the twins wielded so freely? Or merely the relationship of being their mother’s child?
He was not a man whose attitude changed or who showed leniency based on such things. The twins feared my stern father, whose backing could not be leveraged.
My aunt set down her teacup with a sharp crack against the table, glaring at me as though she would devour me whole.
“Tattling without shame—you truly display every vulgar mark of a street urchin.”
I spoke as though I did not understand why she was angry.
“But Father told me to tell you everything.”
“Do you think you’ll come out of this unscathed? How long do you imagine Ui-gang will stay confined to the house?”
In the past, those words would have frightened me into submission.
But I spoke as though I couldn’t hear a dog barking in the distance.
“I’m not sure. I’ll ask Father about that too—how long he intends to stay.”
My aunt’s face twisted into a grimace.
“You’re riding on your father’s coattails, speaking with such audacity…!”
“Ui-ran, what is this commotion about? Why are you raising your voice so loudly?”
At that moment, the door opened and my uncle’s family entered.
“Uncle! Why did you take so long? Come here quickly.”
My aunt welcomed him as though she had gained ten thousand allies.
After receiving her greeting, my uncle turned to scold me.
“And Yeon, how dare you speak to your aunt in such a manner?”
“Ha. Father, please don’t be too hard on Yeon. She’s still just a child, after all.”
Baek Li-myeong intervened with his uncle. It was truly a spectacle of chaos.
Baek Li-myeong smiled warmly and spoke to me.
“It’s been a while since that day, Yeon. Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
After greeting my aunt and the twins in turn, Baek Li-myeong took a young girl’s hand and approached.
“Yeon, this is my younger sister, Baek Li-ri. Now that I think about it, we’ve lived under the same roof all this time without proper introductions. Li-ri, that one over there is your cousin Baek Li-yeon, one year your senior. You’ve heard about her, haven’t you? Say hello.”
Li-ri was a pet name for Baek Li-ri; her actual name was simply ‘Li’.
Baek Li-ri was dressed in a pale yellow jeogori and a crimson skirt embroidered with white magnolias, her cheeks as fair and smooth as glutinous rice cake, her hair styled in an adorable topknot—every inch of her bore the unmistakable mark of a cherished child.
I smiled gently and greeted her.
“Hello. I’m Yeon.”
Baek Li-ri, upon seeing me, turned her head away with a coy expression.
Baek Li-myeong laughed as though he found it endearing.
“Ha. Li-ri is naturally quite shy with strangers.”
With my uncle’s arrival, the tense atmosphere that had surrounded me dissipated.
My aunt, compensating for all she had left unsaid, busied herself in conversation with my uncle, while the twins chattered away with Baek Li-myeong.
Perhaps wounded in pride that their opening assault had come to naught, the twins treated me as invisible throughout the conversation, and Baek Li-ri seemed utterly indifferent. I passed the time alone, counting the lotus petals embroidered on the tablecloth.
The door opened, and Father entered with Baek Li Pae-hyuk.
‘What is this about?’
Whatever they had discussed outside, Father’s complexion was considerably worse than when he had left. Setting aside my questions, I rose abruptly and bowed to Baek Li Pae-hyuk alongside the other relatives.
Baek Li Pae-hyuk entered without hesitation and waved his hand.
“All of you, be seated.”
* * *
The dishes arrived endlessly. It was incomparable to Father’s usual sparse meals.
Faced with such an astounding array of delicacies, everyone else merely picked at their food with chopsticks, all eyes fixed nervously on Baek Li Pae-hyuk.
Only I continued to reach eagerly toward the unfamiliar dishes before me with my chopsticks. Father, meanwhile, was busy transferring dishes from places beyond my reach to the space directly in front of me.
Baek Li Pae-hyuk set down his chopsticks and looked toward my uncle.
“How is Baek Li-myeong’s studies progressing?”
“Pardon? After the master from Jeonghyeon Academy retired, we’ve been inviting a private tutor to the house for instruction.”
My uncle, caught off guard by the sudden question, answered immediately.
Grandfather then inquired about Baek Li-ri and the twins in succession—matters concerning the Baek Li Family.
Everyone from my uncle to my aunt and Baek Li-myeong wore bewildered expressions as the Family Head asked about things he should naturally already know.
Grandfather even questioned Father without exception.
Then he asked with evident surprise.
“You’re teaching Yeon directly?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
My uncle interjected.
“Wouldn’t it be better to hire a tutor? You’re busy with affairs and will be away frequently.”
My chopsticks froze mid-motion.
Father, noticing my reaction, spoke.
“There are no plans at present, so it’s manageable.”
“When are you thinking of leaving? The martial world has been peaceful lately, but it’s not good for Danzhou to be absent from his post too long.”
Father’s expression clouded. Then Grandfather opened his mouth again.
“Enough. Ui-gang must have his own thoughts on this.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“A renowned scholar from Gyeongseong named Master Ki came down here recently, accompanying Seok Tae-ui.”
The moment I heard this, I understood what Grandfather was about to propose. I was also startled that he had summoned me to this gathering.
“This Master Ki is opening an academy here. I believe it would be best to send the children there for instruction going forward. What do you all think?”
The older Baek Li-myeong would attend morning classes, while I, Baek Li-ri, and the twins, who were a year older, would attend afternoon sessions.
It was presented as a suggestion. But coming from Grandfather, it was already decided.
At first, no one knew, but Master Ki was indeed a renowned scholar of considerable renown. He had left Gyeongseong to spend his remaining years in peace, to distance himself from the complexities of political affairs.
Upon arriving here, Master Ki opened his academy. Not to prepare students for the state examinations, but to occupy himself by teaching well-behaved children of suitable aptitude who could understand instruction.
Yet what of the connections he had cultivated and his knowledge as a scholar? Those aspiring seriously for the examinations came flocking like clouds seeking his counsel, and naturally the academy became an environment where one could interact with future civil officials.
Soon people realized what value this academy held. It took but a moment for those desiring admission to form long queues.
However, Master Ki had no intention of accepting many students. Naturally, a commotion ensued as everyone scrambled to become a student of the academy by any means.
In my previous life, I never attended this academy.
‘Back then, Grandfather had no interest in me, and Father was too occupied searching for a cure for my condition to pay attention to the academy.’
As Grandfather continued speaking, the twins’ faces grew pale.
“Two double hours of classes? That’s four hours?”
“That’s too much time wasted when we barely have enough for sword training, Grandfather.”
At the twins’ objection, Grandfather raised his eyebrows. Yet his tone remained gentle, for they were still young grandsons.
“Only the first period will be two double hours. The master understands martial affairs well. He will gradually reduce study time according to your progress.”
In the martial world, martial arts come first.
But for a family as renowned as the Baek Li Family, martial prowess was essential, and one must also master the Six Arts to some degree.
The Six Arts referred to six disciplines: ritual and propriety, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, and mathematics.
He did not expect us to master all of them. He simply wished for us to possess basic competence in each.
‘The family wouldn’t want to be seen as nothing more than empty-headed sword-swingers.’
The other prestigious Orthodox Sects faced similar circumstances. Even the Beggar Sect, despite its reputation as a gathering of vagrants, had numerous individuals versed in various disciplines as they rose through the ranks—a stark contrast to their public image.
Baek Li Pae-hyuk continued speaking.
“Even if you study at Jeonghyeon Academy for two hours, doesn’t that leave ten hours remaining? That’s sufficient. You’re not training with your swords all day long, after all.”
“What do you mean, Grandfather! Of course we train all day!”
“That’s right. We never put our swords down for a moment!”
….
Yet Baek Li Pae-hyuk’s expression gradually hardened. Even I, who had spent most of my time confined to the Residence Quarter in the past, had witnessed the twins countless times setting down their swords to romp about recklessly with their friends.
Never putting their swords down for a moment? That was hardly the truth.

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