TEDNCGUH 62

Chapter : 62

As Yeonhwa stepped outside, members of the Namgung family were gathered there.

Among them were Seong Yeon-taek, the Head of External Affairs currently staying at Namgung Manor, his daughter Seong Ha-ran, and most of those who had been in frequent contact with her recently.

“What brings you here?”

At Yeonhwa’s question, Seong Yeon-taek answered.

“We’ve stayed at the Alliance far too long. Had you returned even a day or two later, we likely would have sent our regards by letter and departed.”

“Well, you came all the way to the Alliance to ask for help with matters at the Anhui main house, only for trouble to break out here as well. Time slipped by without anything being resolved on either side. I suppose you must be in a hurry.”

Yeonhwa clicked her tongue.

Seong Yeon-taek did not deny it, so she continued.

“Then it seems you’ll be returning empty-handed. What do you plan to do once you get back?”

“…For now…”

He had no particular plan, but it seemed he intended to at least try something there rather than waste more time here.

Seeing him trail off, Yeonhwa fell into thought.

At that moment, Seong Yeon-taek’s gaze shifted—not to Yeonhwa, but to Yu Geon-myeong standing beside her.

Yeonhwa’s expression hardened.

She stepped in front of Yu Geon-myeong and warned Seong Yeon-taek.

“Has this person not done enough for the family already?”

It had been some time since word spread that Yu Geon-myeong had stayed at the Uichang Office, so it was hardly strange that rumors had circulated within the Martial Alliance.

But that fact could not serve as an excuse to ask him for help.

Honestly, Yeonhwa could not understand the conduct of the main house.

“The Danri Escort Agency, which recently had trouble with the Changcheon Unit, is connected to the authorities and was transporting official goods, so I can see how that might make things uncomfortable. But is it truly something that needs to be treated this seriously?”

At first, Yeonhwa had thought that whenever problems arose, they simply ran to Samryeong asking for help—habitually waiting for salvation to fall from the sky instead of resolving matters themselves.

But when even Seong Yeon-taek came to the Alliance over the issue, she assumed the damage must be too great to handle alone.

She thought they were looking for a way to minimize the losses.

To think they would try begging.

Her face turned cold.

Seong Yeon-taek, looking frustrated, pounded his chest with his fist.

“If the elders and the Head of Internal Affairs at the main house hadn’t wailed and complained endlessly, I would have tried to compensate and resolve it with our own strength. But when those who should be spending effort and money shut their mouths and refuse to move, what can I do?”

“…It seems the main house needs to be put in order as well.”

Though Namgung Manor had used Namgung Hye-chan’s recent scandal as an excuse to cut away some of the rot, compared to how thoroughly the incident involving Moyong Yun-oh and the Uiyeong Merchant Group had been exposed, much remained covered up.

It hadn’t exploded as dramatically as the Moyong Yun-oh affair, and Yeonhwa had drawn attention in a positive way, absorbing much of the scrutiny.

Using that justification, Yeonhwa had attempted to reorganize Namgung Manor. However, unlike the Grand Elder and Namgung Hye-chan, the family head Namgung Cheok—who had somewhat escaped suspicion—held out to the very end, preventing a complete purge.

Even so, compared to the poisonous weeds that had blanketed the main house for generations without ever being weeded out, it was considerably cleaner now.

Seong Yeon-taek nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. I’ll wait for that day to come.”

Until then, he would have no choice but to struggle on.

Come to think of it, he had shown far too undignified a side of himself in front of the young lady’s fiancé. He reproached himself.

It was clear Yeonhwa wasn’t angry simply because they sought help—she was angry at their attitude of trying to gain benefits without suffering any losses.

As he showed signs of apologizing before both Yeonhwa and Yu Geon-myeong, the latter looked embarrassed.

Yu Geon-myeong lightly held the tip of Yeonhwa’s finger, then released it.

He must have meant that he didn’t mind.

Though Yeonhwa thought he was too soft-hearted, she softened her chill.

“You don’t need to look so resolute, as if you must endure this somehow.”

Seong Yeon-taek’s eyes widened.

“Do you… have some good method in mind, my lady?”

“I’m not sure if it’s good, but there is one usable move.”

Not only Seong Yeon-taek, but Seong Ha-ran and the other family members focused intently, waiting for her next words.

The next day, while Seong Yeon-taek was moving about busily, someone approached him.

“Head of External Affairs.”

“Yes, Elder Pal.”

“Are you departing for Anhui now?”

“Ah, about that—it’s been postponed a few days.”

“Why? Weren’t you in quite a hurry?”

“…That’s true. But the young lady said she would help. Given the situation at the main house, we judged it better to wait and go together rather than return empty-handed and add to the burden.”

“She said she would accompany you to the Anhui main house?”

Elder Pal’s expression stiffened. Seong Yeon-taek’s eyes subtly darkened.

His tone turned cold.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Though of the direct line, Elder Pal was fifth in succession and no longer held a key position in the Council of Elders. Even if Seong Yeon-taek came from a vassal family, as Head of External Affairs he had no reason to shrink before him.

Perhaps sensing he had overstepped, Elder Pal shook his head.

“No. It’s just unexpected. Except for the first few years after her birth, she’s lived only at the Uichang Martial Alliance. Suddenly going to Anhui…”

“Hasn’t she simply been busy with Alliance matters all this time? Besides, no one expected the main house to fail at handling even this much.”

“That’s true. So as before…”

Before he could continue, Seong Yeon-taek cut him off.

“However! The young lady is the legitimate daughter of the family head. Even if she lived apart from the main house, the rights she was born with do not change. The main house has the duty to honor her!”

To oppose him now would be to shake the legitimacy of the direct line and deny the family’s foundation itself. Elder Pal tactfully shifted the subject.

“I only worry she might suffer needlessly. Even if she goes to Anhui, without any backing, how much can she truly help?”

“Ah, there’s no need to worry about that. Instead of staying cooped up in the Council Hall, perhaps you should listen to news of the outside world. Have you forgotten who the young lady’s fiancé is? At the very least, you should know where she’s recently been.”

“I know that, but… surely that man agreed to help her?”

“I can’t say for certain. But since he said he would go to Anhui with her, even without directly intervening, his status as the nephew of a high-ranking official alone should make the Danri Escort Agency and Magistrate Jo of Jihyeon think twice.”

“Cough… Ahem. I… suppose so?”

Unable to ask further, Elder Pal withdrew.

Seong Yeon-taek instructed his daughter Seong Ha-ran and his subordinates to prepare to escort the young lady to Anhui.

With the sudden addition to the schedule, their workload had multiplied.

Unlike the bustle around him, Seong Yeon-taek curled his lips faintly as he watched Elder Pal’s retreating figure.

Hurrying off, Elder Pal headed to the annex where the Grand Elder was currently staying at Namgung Manor.

It was called seclusion, but judging by the guards stationed around it, it was clearly confinement.

Unable to muster the courage to enter, Elder Pal instead went to see the family head.

The family head’s residence was also guarded by warriors from the Execution Hall, who were on bad terms with the Council of Elders, but it was not as heavily secured as the annex holding the Grand Elder and his eldest son.

As Elder Pal approached, a direct-line disciple stepped forward.

“Do you have business here?”

“I’ve come to check on the family head’s health. Surely you wouldn’t turn away someone visiting to confirm his condition.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the man opened the way without fully lowering his guard.

Elder Pal brushed off his robes irritably and entered.

Soon, the family head’s shout burst from within.

“No! Why is that impudent girl going to the main house now? Just as she harmed my elder brother and Hye-chan at Namgung Manor to build her influence, does she intend to do the same at the main house?”

As the family head fumed that helping resolve the issue with the Danri Escort Agency was merely a pretext to justify her trip to Anhui, Elder Pal sighed.

“Even so, we cannot stop her. With the Grand Elder and the eldest young master bound as they are, there is no one left to restrain the excesses she commits in the name of the legitimate daughter.”

Namgung Cheok, the family head, looked thinner and more wrinkled than before, a sinister aura deepening across his face as he moved his lips lowly.

Sensing what he was about to say, Elder Pal quickly leaned in.

At the words that followed, his eyes widened in shock—then slowly nodded.

The more he listened, the more it seemed that this was the only option left to them.