Chapter 51
“Waaaah!”
“Namgung Jeok of the Namgung family has won!”
“Truly, the Namgung family’s reputation is not in vain!”
“The little kid who cried last year when his pants were pulled down has actually won!”
Watching this, Eunmyeong shouted in frustration.
“This is… impossible…!”
Smack!
“Still not fully disciplined, I see.”
Namgung Baek skillfully avoided the part where a rotten duck egg was about to hit and flicked Eunmyeong on the forehead.
“Ugh.”
Eunmyeong clutched his head and rolled on the ground.
From afar, Yuseong Munju could be seen handing a golden rat to Hongseol.
The light in Hongseol’s eyes as she looked at the prize shone as brightly as the sunlight pouring down.
The scene reminded him of when Hongseol had happily received a little rat doll from the Namgung siblings long ago.
From a distance, Namgung Baek smiled quietly.
“This time, the gift is from me, Hongseol.”
His smile was as clear and blue as a sky without clouds.
Meanwhile, the real Namgung Jeok was receiving personal attention from Maeran in Hongseol’s residence.
“Wow, no wonder my sister has been enjoying such relaxing hair brushing every day.”
As the warm sunlight poured in, Maeran gently combed his hair with a fine comb, and Namgung Jeok felt sleepiness creeping over him.
Seeing him dozing off, Maeran smiled and said:
“Miss, you really shouldn’t be sleeping right now.”
“Huh?”
“You were supposed to study with the eldest family head soon, weren’t you?”
“St-study?”
“Have you not woken up yet? This isn’t the first day. Most of your training time is spent reading books, isn’t it?”
‘Wow… my sister is such an amazing person.’
He thought he would’ve run away if it were him.
Rubbing his nose, Namgung Jeok marveled silently.
But Maeran frowned at the sight.
“Oh dear, there’s some food on your face.”
Earlier during the meal, some fish seasoning made of ginger and soy sauce had gotten on Jeok’s hands.
He looked at his dirty palms.
“Ah… that’s just an accident.”
“Wait here a moment.”
Maeran hurriedly returned with a handkerchief dampened with water and wiped Jeok’s face firmly.
“There, now our lady’s beautiful face is… oh?”
Maeran’s eyes widened like cartwheels.
“Oh my goodness!”
She tossed the handkerchief into the air and stepped back.
“What happened?!”
The guards of Changcheon Pavilion quickly rushed over.
“Uh, our lady…”
Trembling, Maeran pointed at Jeok.
There, under the white money mask, Jeok stood silently, looking glum.
“That’s the money mask of Changcheondae!”
“Who are you?!”
“I… I am Namgung Jeok…”
Jeok, inexperienced, didn’t know that if water touched the mask, it would nullify the magic.
Panicked, Maeran shouted:
“Young master! Then where is Miss Hongseol?”
“She went to <Anhwidoha> instead… Are you going to report it to Father?”
“I cannot not report this.”
Under the strict words of the guards, Namgung Jeok shrank even further.
Being scolded was inevitable.
‘I hope my sister is okay…’
He worried that the water might touch the mask.
Crunch.
Anxiously, Namgung Jeok bit his nails.
Meanwhile, in Yuseongmun’s pavilion, a lively banquet was underway.
“Haha, indeed, the Namgung family is remarkable!”
“Master Namgung Baek’s skill is not inferior even to many adults!”
“To achieve such things at that age.”
“And to take care of his youngest sibling, how admirable!”
“Not only that! Master Namgung Jeok is also very agile and courageous.”
The topic in the pavilion revolved entirely around the three sons of the Namgung family.
“You flatter me. It was merely luck.”
Bing Yuhwa smiled gently and brought her warmly heated cup of alcohol to her lips.
“How humble too!”
Just then, from behind Hongseol, who was petting the golden rat and giggling, a girl’s voice suddenly rang out.
“You were quite something, huh?”
It was Deung Soso, hands on her hips. Hongseol blinked in confusion.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Earlier! Facing off against that huge Myeo Eunmyeong—you made my hair stand on end!”
Hongseol’s cheeks flushed red.
To be recognized by the one she had admired—what a feeling.
“R-really?”
“Of course! You were the best!”
Encouraged by Deung Soso, the other children began to speak as well.
“That’s right! I didn’t know Namgung Jeok could be that brave!”
“Amazing! As expected of the Namgung family!”
Amid the overflowing praise, Hongseol didn’t know how to respond.
‘I never thought a day would come when my peers would compliment me like this…’
The children’s admiration continued for quite a while.
Among them, only Myeo Jungsan, Geum Myeong, and Eunmyeong frowned.
“Ouch…”
“What did you do to deserve praise!”
Geum Myeong, rubbing his swollen jaw after being scolded by his father, sulked.
Myeo Jungsan quietly chided:
“How can a bunch of big brutes not even defeat the weak Namgung kids!”
And it wasn’t just losing—Eunmyeong, still smelling foul despite washing, had rotten duck egg caked on his crown.
So, the other children slowly avoided him.
Eunmyeong ended up sitting alone in a corner, without a single peer to talk to.
‘Damn, damn!’
“By the way, have you heard the rumor that iris silk is popular at the castle lately? I want to gift it to my wife.”
“Oh! You mean the fabric sold at Hong’s fabric shop? I also had a dress made from that silk.”
“Actually, it’s not iris but dyed with a new secret dye.”
“Oh, really?”
“Recently, after iris silk, violet silk is becoming popular too.”
“It’s a frenzy! Many want it, but the quantity is limited. From early morning, the wives of high officials line up at the shop.”
“Ah! Lady Bing Yuhwa is wearing the violet silk, isn’t she!”
Wrapped in purple silk, Bing Yuhwa smiled gently. She looked like a single violet flower.
“Just as the rumor said… it’s beautiful.”
As people admired her, Myeo Jungsan sat alone, pouring drink after drink.
People murmured:
“Because of the violet silk, Myeo Jungsan’s Myeo Su Sanghoe recently suffered great losses…”
“They halved the price of silk, but it didn’t help. In fact, the losses doubled.”
“The huge investment in the iris silk estate was wasted, angering the head of the Myeo family.”
Hongseol’s eyes widened.
‘Myeo Su Sanghoe was owned by the Myeo family?’
The familiar “Myeo” character caught her attention, but she felt no regret. She was surprised by her own calm.
‘Still, they were my family once…’
Why? Hongseol lightly scratched her cheek with her round fingernail, deep in thought.
‘The head of the Myeo family had power, but did not follow righteousness and brotherhood.’
Concluding this, Hongseol nodded quietly.
Thanks to this, the poor women and children got work, so Hongseol decided to be satisfied.
At that moment, Myeo Jungsan’s heavy voice resonated through the pavilion.
“Minor losses can be quickly recovered, can’t they?”
From the children’s shameful defeat to the iris silk matter, he planned to fill his wounded pride with boasting of connections.
“Our Myeo family has connections, so recovery will be easy. From what I heard from Hugae…”
“How strange.”
Yu-hwa, silent all along, interrupted him and finally spoke. Everyone’s gaze turned to her.
“Three days ago, I invited the Habang Bunta-ju to the Namgung estate.”
Though poor, Habang Bunta-ju managed a large district like Habang. He wasn’t someone who could be summoned at will.
“The power of the Namgung family is truly different!”
Exclamations spread through the crowd.
Yu-hwa continued.
“But according to Habang Bunta-ju…”
Her lips, painted red, curved into a cold smile.
“Hugae has been in the southern regions for years under the orders of the Habang lord. How did Hugae come to Habang to meet Lady Jegal of the Myeo family?”
All eyes turned to Myeo Jungsan.
“Ah, that… that is—”
Myeo Jungsan’s lips trembled as if he wanted to speak, but he sealed them shut. His face was bright red.
