Chapter 006
The Daughter-in-Law of a Murim Family —
Perhaps my complexion looked particularly terrible, because one of the ladies beside me spoke to me with concern.
“Oh dear. It seems your health still has not recovered?”
“I-I’m recovering.”
I forced the corners of my lips up into a smile, but the elderly lady sitting across from me clicked her tongue.
“You are far too frail. How can you possibly fulfill your duties as the daughter-in-law of the Hwangbo Family? And for such an important position, your background is even unclear…”
“Enough.”
The Grand Madam cut off her complaint with a short and firm voice.
The elderly lady who had been criticizing me had no choice but to close her mouth, but she could not hide the dissatisfaction written all over her face.
One of the ladies who had been watching the situation quickly changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, we never heard how you met Woon-gyu. Even though the person herself is right in front of us, we have only heard about that child from other people.”
She had probably brought it up randomly to change the atmosphere, but it worked surprisingly well.
Even the other ladies began looking at me with sparkling eyes.
Of course, for me, who had to make up something that had never happened, this was quite troublesome.
“Suddenly, I remembered something from the past. A few years ago, didn’t the young lady of the Tang Family visit this family estate with her elders?”
“Ah, you mean Eun-ah (珢兒). That child has grown into a fine young lady now.”
“I can still vividly remember that little girl falling in love with Woon-gyu at first sight, chasing after him and crying her eyes out. She was only seven or eight years old, so he could have indulged her a little, but he never paid her any attention.”
“To be honest, wasn’t the reason Eun-ah became known as the Poison-Blood Flower because of the terrible reputation she earned by taking action against the women around Woon-gyu?”
“……”
I think I just heard something extremely frightening.
The Tang Family? The Poison-Blood Flower? She took action against the women around him?
I looked at the lady who had said it with trembling eyes, and she nodded with a kind expression.
“If she hears that there is a woman who actually managed to steal Woon-gyu’s heart, that child must be terribly heartbroken.”
“Even though it was only a feeling from childhood, can one really forget their first love so easily?”
How can you say such terrifying things while smiling?
Seeing my pale face, the lady covered her mouth and laughed.
“Oh my, your face is as white and beautiful as white jade. It is so lovely without even a trace of color.”
I became pale because I was shocked.
“I can understand why he did not give his heart to the Tang Family’s girl. It seems Woon-gyu likes fragile women who awaken his protective instincts.”
It is not that I awaken his protective instincts. If I don’t have someone protecting me, I will really die.
I felt like I was about to burst into tears, so I desperately blinked my eyes and tried to calm myself down. The lady who had been looking at me kindly asked another question.
“So, how did the two of you meet?”
Here it comes.
Judging by all those eyes filled with curiosity, I could not get away with a vague answer.
If I hesitated too much, I might raise unnecessary suspicion, but I also could not make up a detailed story in this situation.
Let’s keep it as simple as possible.
Something that anyone could believe.
“We met in a deep forest where very few people went.”
“A forest where very few people went?”
“As you have already heard, I have lived by wandering from place to place and barely making enough to survive.”
I lowered my head slightly as if I were embarrassed.
“Since going hungry was part of my daily life, I thought I might as well gather some medicinal herbs. So I entered the forest, but I ended up getting lost.”
“Oh dear.”
“There must have been wild beasts in the forest. It must have been dangerous.”
“I could hear the sounds of animals from every direction. Panicking, I searched for somewhere to hide and found the entrance to a cave. However, there was already someone inside.”
“Could it be…”
“It was him.”
“That child, in a cave?”
“He said that he had gotten lost.”
Everyone widened their eyes as if they could not understand.
“Even if that child got lost in the forest, why would he need to take shelter in a cave?”
“Wasn’t he around twelve when he first hunted a tiger?”
“What does darkness matter to him? His eyes should have been able to see everything around him clearly.”
As they whispered among themselves, I quickly added,
“He was injured.”
“Injured? What happened?”
“How badly? How did he get hurt?”
Questions filled with concern poured out.
I lowered my eyes sadly and shook my head.
“I don’t know either. I couldn’t ask him anything. He just looked extremely exhausted, and fortunately, he gave me a corner of the cave to stay in. As time passed, his breathing became heavier, and his body grew so hot from the fever that it felt like a fire. I had nothing and didn’t know how to do anything, so I couldn’t even call someone for help.”
“And then?”
“He seemed thirsty, so I collected the dew drops that had formed on the leaves near the cave, one drop at a time. Somehow, I managed to make just one mouthful of water.”
“You collected dew?”
I don’t know either.
Seeing the ladies staring at me with wide eyes, I continued my lies smoothly.
“By the time I finished, morning had come, and fortunately, it seemed his fever had gone down. But after regaining consciousness, he asked me to promise that I would not tell anyone.”
“Injured? Who could possibly have done that to Woon-gyu?”
“And where were the guards who were supposed to stay by that child’s side?”
“I told you. It was clearly not an ordinary disappearance.”
Listening to their increasingly noisy chatter, I quietly turned my head away.
Fortunately, I had survived the crisis.
Just as I was sighing in relief, I happened to make eye contact with the elderly lady who had complained earlier, as if she was displeased with my presence.
When I saw how fiercely her eyes were burning as she looked at me, I felt relieved.
At least one person does not like having me in the Hwangbo Family.
It would be great if she actively opposed bringing me into this family.
But then—
The elderly lady who had been glaring at me suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Woon-gyu’s cultivation is at least at the Peak Realm. If someone like him had difficulty breathing and developed a fever, he must have been poisoned.”
Before I could say anything in response to the elderly lady’s forceful statement, she continued seriously.
“I have heard of this before. Sometimes, in deep forests where people rarely go, medicinal herbs that have existed for a very long time can become spiritual herbs.”
What is that?
“The dew you said you collected from those leaves must have formed on a spiritual herb. It is one of the purest and most precious medicinal ingredients. You must have needed to be extremely careful to collect it. Did you stay awake all night, collecting the dew from the spiritual herb for that child?”
“That…”
“Just because he gave you a corner of the cave to stay in?”
Her voice trembled with emotion.
I realized that the situation had somehow become even more complicated, but I could not say anything.
If I deny it now, there is no way to fix things either.
I was just saying whatever came into my mouth. Why does everything keep getting bigger?
I should just shut up.
When I kept my mouth tightly closed and did not answer, the looks in everyone’s eyes slowly began to change.
They went from simple curiosity to admiration, gratitude, and emotion.
The elderly lady, who was still holding onto my hand and refusing to let go, shouted in a loud voice.
“Grand Madam! This child possesses exactly the kind of character worthy of the Hwangbo Family! I will no longer oppose bringing this child into our family. Even if there is someone who opposes it, I will deal with them myself.”
“……!”
I looked at the Grand Madam in shock and fear.
She had been calmly sipping her tea, but she put down her teacup and smiled.
“With you saying that, I feel reassured as though I have gained a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.”
Why does it keep turning out like this?
Grandmother, weren’t we getting along just a moment ago?
Tears filled my eyes uncontrollably.
I watched wistfully as the ladies walked away, laughing and chatting happily, while all my strength drained from my body.
Seeing me like that, the Grand Madam smiled and comforted me.
“Do not worry. There may be many members of the family, but as you saw, once they consider someone one of their own, they take good care of them.”
That’s exactly the problem.
“Soon, we will proceed with the formal arrangements. Since we have already exchanged the marriage documents, I am thinking of making the engagement official by offering your wedding gifts at the ancestral shrine.”
Her gentle words stabbed into my heart like a sharp knife.
“Normally, the bride’s family prepares the wedding gifts, but your situation is special, so I think I should prepare them myself.”
She placed several drawings in front of me.
Even at a glance, the jewelry drawn on them looked extremely expensive and magnificent.
I looked through them without much interest, then suddenly spoke when an idea flashed through my mind.
“Even so, I don’t think it is proper to leave everything that the bride’s side is supposed to prepare to the family.”
“It is all right. Everyone understands your situation.”
“Then, at the very least, could I choose the items that will be offered at the ancestral shrine myself?”
“You?”
“Although it isn’t much, I have the seventy nyang I received in exchange for the pearl he gave me. I would like to return it to him as a gift with the same sincerity he showed me.”
The Grand Madam looked at me as though she had not expected that answer, then nodded.
“Then choose whatever you want. We can send someone to buy it for you.”
I carefully watched the Grand Madam’s expression before speaking.
“If it is all right, I would like to go to the shop myself and choose them. The ancestral shrine is where the ancestors of the family are enshrined, isn’t it? If I am going to offer gifts at such a sacred place, I feel that I should put in the effort of choosing them with my own hands.”
I looked at the Grand Madam anxiously.
After remaining silent for a moment, she slowly nodded.
“You have a point.”
Yes!
I desperately tried to lower the corners of my mouth that were about to rise all the way to the sky, and lowered my head deeply.
First, I need to get outside the family estate.
Whether I can escape or not, I need to get out of here and think of a way.
