The Return of the Namgoong Clan’s Granddaughter - Chapter 90

* * * 

 

Cheonghae greeted the rising sun from his seat. 

 

Cheonghae, who didn’t like alcohol and noisy gatherings, quietly slipped away from the banquet once it had reached a certain level of revelry after the Heavenly Martial Arts Festival’s feast. 

 

Originally, as it was a major event for the family, he would have stayed until the end, but he wasn’t the main character of yesterday’s banquet.  

 

Yesterday’s banquet’s main character was his older brother, Cheongwoon. No, it was his brother’s daughter, Seolhwa. 

 

Cheonghae had done his best to prepare for this Heavenly Martial Arts Festival. 

 

With the discussion about the position of the Young Patriarch beginning now, it was an opportunity to gain recognition in front of all the elders of the family.

 

That’s why he did his best, but he lost. He showed the ‘peace’ of the family, but his brother showed the ‘glory’ of the family. 

 

Even though they had withdrawn from the front lines, all the elders of the family were martial artists. Naturally, as martial artists, they couldn’t help but be more drawn to glory than to peace. 

 

Cheonghae accepted the result. It was a joyous occasion for him as a younger brother that his older brother, Cheongwoon, had reached the supreme level. 

 

However, that doesn’t mean he was good enough to sit in the banquet hall laughing heartily. The more he tried his best, the greater his disappointment was.  

 

Tuk, tuk.

 

Cheonghae looked at the small box on the desk, no bigger than the palm of his hand. 

 

He recalled the words of the child who had come to see him last night.

 

* * * 

 

“Seolhwa, what brings you here?” 

 

Returning to his office, Cheonghae stood by the desk and looked at the child with a surprised expression. 

 

“Hello, Uncle. I stopped by for a moment on my way back to my quarter.” 

 

“Brother—I mean, where’s your Father?” 

 

“He’s still at the banquet hall.”

 

“So, are you alone?”

 

“Yes. I have something to tell you, Uncle.” 

 

What could a young niece have to say coming alone at this hour? 

 

Although he was curious, Cheonghae invited Seolhwa inside. 

 

“First, come in. I’ll get you some tea.”

 

“Then, excuse me. I’m fine with the tea. I’ll be leaving shortly.” 

 

“…Is that so? Sit down.” 

 

Cheonghae poured water instead of tea and placed it in front of the child. The two sat across from each other at the table. 

 

“What is it you want to say? Judging by the fact that you came all this way at this hour, it seems to be urgent.” 

 

Seolhwa smiled and placed a small box in front of Cheonghae.

 

“What is this?”

 

“It’s a medicinal pill.”

 

“A pill?” 

 

When Cheonghae opened the box, a strong scent of medicinal herbs wafted out. 

 

Inside the box were small pills the size of a fingernail, just as Seolhwa had said. 

 

“It’s really a medicinal pill. What kind of medicine is it?” 

 

“Take this when your chest feels heavy and your mind is dizzy. This medicine will cure Uncle’s symptoms.” 

 

“So it’s a medicine that relieves fatigue. Thank you.” 

 

“Who do you think is behind this, Uncle?”

 

“?” 

 

Cheonghae’s hand, which was about to close the box and put it away, paused. 

 

Cheonghae placed the box back on the table and asked. 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“It’s about the military unit. Surely, you don’t believe that the Commander of the Red Dragon Unit was behind all of this, do you?”  

 

“Hmm… Are you saying that I ordered the Commander of the Red Dragon Unit to do those things?”  

 

“No.”

 

Seolhwa faced Cheonghae firmly.

 

“Not Uncle, but Aunt.”

 

“!”

 

Cheonghae’s face hardened.

 

Seolhwa looked at his hardened face for a moment and pointed to the box that Cheonghae had put back down.

 

“That pill is an antidote.”

 

“!”

 

“The symptoms you mentioned earlier are symptoms of poisoning.”

 

“…What?”

 

“It may not be the case right now, but if those symptoms appear someday, take that pill. You’ve probably been poisoned gradually, so if you do, you’ve already consumed quite a bit of poison. However, that antidote should be sufficient…” 

 

“Wait….” 

 

“I didn’t mix anything strange into it. You can have the antidote checked by a trustworthy physician if you’d like.” 

 

“Wait, wait… . Give me time to think…” 

 

Cheonghae sighed deeply, touching his throbbing forehead. 

 

His expression grew complicated as he stared at the box.

 

After taking a long moment to steady his breath and gather his thoughts, he asked with a confused expression. 

 

“So, you’re saying… that your aunt is trying to poison me?” 

 

“Yes.”

 

Because in her previous life, that’s how he died. 

 

Cheongwoon, who gave up his position as the Patriarch to find his daughter, and Cheonghae, who was poisoned and died young. 

 

That’s why the third son, Cheongsan, was the Patriarch of the Namgoong’s Clan in her previous life. 

 

“That’s ridiculous. Why would my wife want to do that to me?” 

 

“That shouldn’t be the first question.”

 

“What…?” 

 

“Why don’t you ask why Aunt is behind this incident?” 

 

“!”

 

“Uncle knew that the one who made the Commander of the Red Dragon Unit control the sword force was Aunt?” 

 

Namgoong Cheonghae didn’t answer. However, his silence replaced his affirmation. 

 

“My aunt wants to control Namgoong. Just as she tried to control the military force, she wants to manipulate Namgoong as well. That’s likely why she chose to marry you, Uncle.” 

 

Yeon Soran is the daughter of a large merchant. 

 

Namgoong Cheonghae and Yeon Soran chose to marry not out of love for each other, but for the benefits they could gain from one another. 

 

It was a political marriage that the two wanted. 

 

“But what happens if you can no longer become the Patriarch, Uncle?” 

 

“…She would probably kill me to burden the family with debt. That way, it would be advantageous for her when elevating Soryong to the position of Patriarch.” 

 

That’s right.

 

Even though she only gave a few words of context, Namgoong Cheonghae was aware of his situation.

 

‘I’m glad I investigated Namgoong Cheonghae’s death in the previous life.’

 

Originally, the plan was to ambush Namgoong Cheonghae during his long journey, but, unexpectedly, he died during the trip. 

 

As she investigated the reason, she learned some very interesting facts about Yeon Soran. 

 

“How on earth do you know all this stuff?”

 

“The place I was working at before was good at gathering information.”

 

“…I see.” 

 

Since she was said to have been working in a brothel, he probably assumed it was the Lower District Sect.

 

There was no need to explain it in detail.

 

“I’m not planning to reveal that Aunt is behind this incident.” 

 

“…Why?”

 

“Because that’s what you would want, Uncle.” 

 

Namgoong Cheonghae turned a blind eye to Yeon Soran’s actions even though he knew about them. 

 

It’s not because he loves Yeon Soran. 

 

If it were revealed that she was behind this incident, Cheonghae’s reputation would be tarnished, and he’ll be pushed one step further from his position as Young Patriarch. 

 

“I want Uncle to compete with Father fairly.” 

 

Namgoong Cheonghae is smart. And he is capable. 

 

His martial arts may be inferior to Cheongwoon’s, but he is strong in tactics and skilled in family affairs. 

 

If he were to live and support Cheongwoon, the Namgoong family would become incredibly solid both inside and out.

 

To achieve that, Namgoong Cheonghae must lose with as much dignity as possible.

 

He must do his best to fight, lose, admit it, and then surrender. 

 

If he faces a defeat that he cannot acknowledge, he will surely withdraw from the front lines and attempt to quietly read books instead. 

 

‘In that sense, should I say one more thing?’

 

She’s curious to see how Namgoong Cheonghae will react once he learns about ‘that.’

 

“And… there is something else that Aunt is hiding.” 

 

“…What is it?” 

 

Namgoong Cheonghae looked completely clueless. However, she had no intention of telling him this right away. 

 

“You should find out about that, Uncle. It’s not my place to get involved.”

 

“…?”

 

“It’s getting late. I think I’ll get up now.” 

 

Seolhwa stood up and faced Cheonghae, taking a polite stance. 

 

After bowing slightly, the child hurried out of the room with quick steps. 

 

After the child left, Cheonghae remained in the same spot, staring blankly at the door. 

 

‘Thirteen… was it?’

 

The same age as his son, Soryong.

 

She was born just a few months before Soryong, yet how could there be such a difference? 

 

Could it be that their different backgrounds made such a big difference?

 

‘No. That child must be particularly smart.’

 

Seolhwa was only thirteen years old, but she didn’t seem like a typical thirteen-year-old.

 

Throughout the conversation, he tried to read the child’s thoughts, but each time, she would shock him with her words, distracting him. 

 

As if to say, “Don’t try to learn about me.”

 

Her depth of insight was so profound that it was beyond measure. It was hard to believe she was only thirteen.

 

* * *

 

Knock. Knock.

 

Namgoong Cheonghae, who had been lost in thought, looked up at the sound of a careful knock on the door. 

 

“Who is it?”

 

– This is Woong, Father. 

 

The voice of his second son could be heard from beyond the door.

 

Only then did Cheonghae realize that it was already dawn.

 

Rubbing his tired eyes, Cheonghae tidied himself up after a restless night and then responded. 

 

“Come in.”

 

The door slid open and Namgoong Woong came in.

 

“!”

 

After seeing him enter the room, Namgoong Cheonghae’s face turned pale with shock.

 

His clothes were torn, his hair was disheveled, and covered in sweat. 

 

This was because Namgoong Woong’s appearance looked unusual.

 

Namgoong Cheonghae rushed over to Namgoong Woong. 

 

“What on earth is this? What happened?” 

 

Namgoong Woong spoke in a calm voice to him as he turned the child’s body around to check. 

 

“There’s no injury, so don’t worry. It’s just that I’ve been training hard and it’s become like this.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

Only then did Namgoong Cheonghae let out a sigh of relief. 

 

He had appeared in such a mess since early in the morning that he thought he’d been hit somewhere, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be the case.

 

“What on earth have you been practicing to end up like this? You weren’t training in something dangerous, were you?” 

 

“No, I wasn’t. More importantly, Father, I have something to ask of you.”