The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 166

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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 166

Soya took Cheongha’s hand and went out for a morning walk together.

It was obvious that her Elder Brothers would appear soon.

Walking together with everyone was nice, but Mother only had two hands.

Including her Elder Brothers and Soya, there were four people who wanted to hold Mother’s hand…

Since she had monopolized Mother last night, it seemed she would have to yield Mother’s hands to her Elder Brothers when they appeared.

So she wanted to have even a little more time alone with Mother before her Elder Brothers showed up.

Though Soya was usually not greedy, she kept wanting more time with Mother.

Being with Mother made her feel warm like sunshine and cozy like clouds.

There were many other good adults at White Tiger Palace, but this was a feeling that neither Father, nor Aunt, nor Yeonjeong or Sanho could give her.

“I’m so happy that Mother came to White Tiger Palace. You know, I’ve been carefully collecting every single letter from Mother that Chirpy brought me without missing any.”

“Oh my, really?”

“I’ll show you my treasure box this evening! It’s something I don’t even show Father, my Elder Brothers, or Seolyeo. Yesterday I couldn’t show you because my Elder Brothers didn’t go to sleep until late…”

“Oh my, how wonderful. Are you sure it’s okay to show Mother something so precious?”

“Yes, of course! Mother is Mother after all!”

“Ah, Mother is so happy. How did such a pretty youngest baby become Mother’s daughter?”

“Hehe.”

At Cheongha’s generous praise, Soya felt good and laughed out loud with a hehe.

The two mother and daughter were walking through the inner courtyard of White Tiger Palace, holding hands and chattering away.

They encountered a woman coming from the opposite direction.

It was that woman who was said to be the representative of the Half-Moon Bear Family.

The woman spotted Cheongha and Soya and hesitated for a moment, then soon smiled and greeted Soya.

“Hello, Young Lady. Good morning.”

“Hello. Juri of the Half-Moon Bear Family.”

Soya, who remembered the woman’s name, greeted her back.

“It’s quite early for a young lady, but you’re up and diligently taking a walk. How admirable.”

Soya, who had been quietly listening to the woman’s words, sensed a subtle atmosphere.

From childhood, Soya had been able to clearly distinguish between others’ goodwill and hostility.

She felt like she could somehow understand the true nature of the uncomfortable feeling she had subtly felt every time she encountered this woman.

The woman had clearly seen Cheongha, yet she was pretending not to see her and only greeting Soya.

“This is our Mother.”

Soya gripped Cheongha’s hand tightly and deliberately spoke with strength in her voice.

Then she stared quietly at the woman, as if telling her to hurry up and greet Mother.

“Ah… Um…”

The woman seemed a bit troubled and drew out her words, then soon smiled brightly and said.

“Even if she’s the birth mother of the Young Masters, you can’t call just anyone Mother, Young Lady. Wouldn’t that put Saeon in a difficult position?”

Despite her smile, her tone was exactly like someone scolding a child.

Soya’s face instantly hardened.

“Did you just say ‘just anyone’?”

“And people from the Half-Moon Bear Family don’t greet outsiders from the Western Lands first. Even if the other party is from the Azure Dragon Family, the ruling family of the Eastern Lands.”

Instead of answering Soya’s question, the woman looked at Cheongha with a gaze containing subtle hostility.

The Half-Moon Bear Family was one of the influential families in the northwestern region and among the White Tiger Family’s retainers, having taken on the important duty of guarding the border between the Western and Northern Lands.

Even during the recent war, they had achieved great merit by preventing demon beasts from crossing into the Western Lands while guarding the area closest to the Northern Lands’ border.

This woman, who was the legitimate daughter of that Half-Moon Bear Family, had actually been admiring Saeon for a long time.

Even after Saeon married, she couldn’t let go of her feelings for him and ended up missing her marriageable age.

After Saeon divorced Cheongha, she had been looking for opportunities, but there had been few chances to get close to him.

However, with the end of this war as an opportunity, her family was recognized for their merit in guarding the frontier, and the woman had pestered her father, the Family Head, to come to White Tiger Palace as the family’s representative.

Originally, she should have returned to her family after the merit evaluation was completed, but she used various affairs in the northwestern region as excuses to stay by Saeon’s side and try to seduce him.

Saeon, whom she had admired since childhood, still possessed such youthful and handsome looks that it was hard to believe he was now a father of four children.

But there was one existence that subtly bothered her.

It was Soya.

A few days ago, when Soya came to Saeon’s office.

The woman was greatly shocked to see Saeon, who had a seemingly cold impression, smile warmly with curved eyes as soon as he spotted the child.

It was the first time she learned that he was a man who could smile like that.

Though she knew Soya was a very young child, the woman still felt terribly jealous.

So she sent away Soya, who had come to Saeon’s office on business as an excuse.

But after the child left, Saeon spoke in a cold voice.

[That conversation just now wasn’t your place to interfere. From now on, don’t interrupt conversations between my daughter and me.]

The woman felt humiliated, as if she had been insulted because of a child who wasn’t even Saeon’s real daughter.

However, she too had heard that Soya had awakened the power of a divine beast.

So she thought it was natural for the White Tiger Family to care about that child, and she tried to suppress her unpleasant feelings.

Anyway, when she became the mistress of White Tiger Palace, the child would have to become her daughter on the family register.

Since she would become the child’s mother in the future, she could understand with a generous heart, and any parts she didn’t like could be disciplined later.

But this morning, she discovered Soya taking a walk while holding Cheongha’s hand.

She already didn’t like Saeon’s ex-wife who had reappeared, and seeing Soya call that woman Mother made her unpleasant feelings surge.

‘Could it be that Saeon is trying to reunite with that woman?’

Such doubts arose, but if that were really the case, the Azure Dragon Family would have sent a palanquin and ornaments together.

‘Right, seeing how she came alone without even a palanquin, she must have just stopped by as a guest.’

Even while thinking this, the woman felt a bit anxious.

Although it was known that whenever that woman and Saeon met from childhood, they would fight with spears and swords, and that their marriage was for political reasons, not because of special feelings…

Cheongha was undeniably the birth mother of the White Tiger Brothers.

That fact alone meant there were many people at White Tiger Palace who welcomed Cheongha.

‘I need to suppress her in advance so that woman doesn’t shake Saeon’s heart just because she’s the birth mother of the Young Masters.’

So she had to establish dominance to prevent Cheongha from settling into White Tiger Palace again.

And she also had to discipline that stupid girl who couldn’t distinguish right from wrong and called just anyone Mother.

“Oh my, why do both of you have such expressions?”

Looking at Soya and Cheongha’s hardened faces, the woman let out a sneer.

“I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? I heard that when you divorced Saeon 10 years ago, your name was officially removed from the family register, so you’re an ‘outsider’ and ‘just anyone.'”

“Don’t talk to our Mother like that!”

Soya couldn’t hold back and snapped fiercely.

“Even if her name isn’t on the family register now, she’s Father’s wife and the mother of my Elder Brothers and me. She had to be away for a while, but she came back to become the mistress of White Tiger Palace again.”

Though no one had told her, Soya could understand.

That Father had kept the position of White Tiger Palace’s mistress vacant all these years only for Mother.

“You’re not someone who can treat her rudely, so apologize right now.”

“…This impudent little bitch.”

The woman dropped her fake smile and spat harsh words at Soya.

“You’re not even a real White Tiger, but just because everyone calls you Young Lady, you think you’re really a direct descendant of the White Tigers. Some rootless Cotton Ball who rolled in from who knows where.”

“I don’t care if you talk to me like that. But if you don’t properly apologize to our Mother right now…”

It was when Soya was glaring at the woman with strength in her eyes and confronting her.

Swoosh—

The sound of rustling leaves eerily filled the air.

While Soya and the woman, who had been glaring at each other, hesitated.

Crash—!

The woman’s body suddenly flew far away without warning.

“…?”

As Soya stared with wide, surprised eyes, plant stems that had instantly grown from the ground lifted the woman’s body into the air and wrapped around her tightly.

“Are, are you insane? For someone who isn’t the Family Head to threaten others with special abilities within White Tiger Palace violates the rules…!”

“To my daughter, right now.”

At that moment, an ominous voice they had never heard before rang out.

Step, step.

Cheongha, who had been standing beside Soya the entire time, approached the woman.

“Did you say she was some rootless cotton ball?”

In an instant, Cheongha’s eyes flashed with a sinister gleam.

Gasp.

‘I’ve seen those eyes somewhere before.’

Soya thought she had seen that chilling gaze somewhere before.

‘That’s right, at the Imperial Palace… Elder Brother Gaya…’

Even after turning the pavilion upside down and being subdued by Father, Elder Brother Gaya had glared toward where the Suzaku Family was located, trembling with that exact same menacing and mad look in his eyes!

‘Elder Brother Gaya… takes after Mother…’

Soya gulped and thought to herself.

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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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