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Chapter 5
I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated
Putting on a completely innocent expression, I answered,
“Hm? I just came out for a walk.”
“Really?”
At that, Gyogyo’s expression visibly softened.
She’s showing way too much relief.
“What is this place? It smells like medicine!”
When I pointed at the warehouse and asked, Gyogyo looked me up and down.
“You… didn’t go inside there, did you?”
“Huh? No! It’s too heavy to open. Open it for me, Sister!”
Gyogyo firmly shook her head.
“No. It’s dangerous.”
“Gasp, dangerous?”
I clasped my hands together, pretending to be frightened, and Gyogyo’s eyes gleamed.
“That’s right. If the Family Head finds out you went in there, you’ll be severely punished.”
“Uuugh…”
Maybe she liked my reaction, because Gyogyo pressed on smugly.
“Do you see this?”
A brilliantly shining hairpin sat atop her neatly tied hair.
A large jade gem was elegantly framed in gold.
“The Family Head specially gifted this only to me. Instead of giving something to you.”
I’d been wondering where she got that hairpin.
Even daughters from noble families couldn’t buy something like that so easily…
So Father gave it to her.
As Gyogyo stroked the hair around her hairpin, she spoke in a worried tone.
“But if you keep doing things that displease him, what do you think will happen? You’ll get thrown out.”
Somehow, words like these felt familiar.
“Oh dear, Yeon-ah, your sleeves are so worn out. Didn’t the Family Head gift you any fabric?”
She always acted worried about me while boasting about Father’s favoritism.
Back then, my heart would crumble every time and I’d feel miserable, but not anymore.
“I should be careful then…!”
I nodded enthusiastically.
My eyes even sparkled as if she’d given me valuable advice.
“Thank you, Sister!”
“Uh… y-yeah. Right.”
Gyogyo blinked, as if this wasn’t the reaction she expected.
Maybe I used to cry whenever she said things like this.
Actually… I think I really did.
Perhaps annoyed that I wasn’t crying, Gyogyo spoke again.
“…And you saw it again today, right? Brother Tang Rim really seems to hate you. His expression looked awful….”
I blinked as I listened to her words.
“……”
Just then, I realized something huge.
I’d heard words like this before too.
Words that pretended to worry about me while constantly reminding me I was hated.
“You need to eat now. Second Brother says he’s just waiting for the day you become a corpse. We can’t let that happen.”
“From now on, you need to prove your usefulness. Brother Tang Rim says he’s so ashamed of you because your dantian was ruined…!”
The cruel words in my memories became vivid.
Now I understood why Gyogyo’s voice had been mixed into them.
Those weren’t things Tang Rim or my second brother Tang Guiheon had said.
They were words Gyogyo had relayed to me.
And I had remembered them as though they were facts.
It was you.
Whether intentionally or not, the one who manipulated my memories was Tang Gyogyo.
I clenched my fists and glared at her.
“Why are you glaring at me like that? I’m worried about you.”
I felt wronged and furious. I wanted to knock this sly girl flat on the ground and burst into tears right then and there.
But I couldn’t.
Putting aside whether I’d lose, it was true that Gyogyo was favored by Father.
She’s definitely connected to the Hallucination Grass too. I need to use that and get rid of her in one move.
I barely forced my trembling fists to relax. I softened my tense expression and lowered my brows.
“But… Sister. Brother’s expression wasn’t bad because of me….”
Twisting my fingers together, I spoke in a worried tone.
“Sister, your stomach hasn’t been feeling well lately, has it?”
“What?”
Gyogyo narrowed her eyes.
“Ah, I really… shouldn’t be saying this…!”
I fidgeted anxiously and shuffled my feet.
Pretending to hesitate several times, pretending I was reluctantly forcing myself to speak, I let out a deep sigh before continuing.
“I think… your breath smells like poop. Brother’s face crumpled up the moment your face got close to him.”
“W-What?!”
Horrified, Gyogyo covered her mouth. Then she cautiously sniffed her own breath.
Maybe she really smelled something, because her face instantly turned bright red.
“I’m really worried about you too, Sister. What if you have some kind of illness inside?”
“Th-This…!”
Gyogyo clenched her fists and trembled.
“…So annoying!”
I thought she might attack me, but instead she spun around and stomped away furiously.
She was probably going to wash her mouth.
“Hmph, scrub well! Even your tongue!”
I stuck my tongue out at Gyogyo’s retreating back.
Still, even though I’d won the argument, I didn’t feel happy.
“……”
My eyes kept drifting back to the sparkling hairpin.
***
Countless pigeons flew into the pavilion.
The Tang Family’s second young master, Tang Guiheon, snatched the letters attached to the pigeons and began writing responses.
He was sending instructions to merchant guilds rooted throughout Sichuan.
“…Ugh.”
Nearby, Tang Rim sat on the railing with a deep frown, groaning under his breath.
Judging from the way he kept glancing sideways at Guiheon, he seemed to be waiting for him to start a conversation.
“Ughhh…!”
But as though he couldn’t hear anything, Tang Guiheon continued ignoring him.
“…Brother.”
In the end, Tang Rim reluctantly spoke first.
“What is it, little brother?”
Guiheon replied as if he’d been waiting for that.
“I saw Huiyeon.”
Pause.
The brush that had been moving as smoothly as flowing water suddenly stopped.
“It’s been almost a year since she came outside.”
“Did she seem alright?”
“…Well….”
Tang Rim moved his lips before letting out a deep sigh.
“Brother, do you know what this is?”
He handed over the box he’d been holding the entire time.
“Hm?”
Guiheon set down his brush and accepted the box. The moment he opened the lid, a peach blossom fragrance spread out.
“It smells nice.”
He placed a handful of incense on his palm and pressed it with his thumb. It crumbled instantly.
“It’s dried well. …Is it something burned in an incense burner?”
“Yeah. Apparently they burn it in Huiyeon’s room, but I’ve never seen it before.”
Guiheon’s eyes slowly narrowed.
With his pale skin, sharp features, cool smile, and fluid movements, everything about him felt smooth and slippery.
Like a snake.
By contrast, Tang Rim resembled a young hunting dog.
His competitive eyes and proud nose especially gave off that impression.
“There’s no way something from the Medicine Hall could exist without me knowing about it.”
“…That’s true.”
After examining the box slowly, Guiheon smiled coldly as though he’d figured something out.
The corner of his lips twisted.
A strong wind blew through, chilling the atmosphere.
Unaware of the change, Tang Rim rested his chin on both hands and muttered,
“That sick kid came out by herself looking for this. What are the servants even doing, hiding in the quarters?”
Crunch.
Tang Rim ground his teeth.
“I almost said something, but I held back because I didn’t want to scare her.”
“You did well.”
“Right? She probably hasn’t even fully recovered yet.”
Guiheon pushed the box aside. The hand writing the letters moved incredibly fast.
“It’s strange. Her clothes looked a little worn.”
Guiheon’s eyebrow twitched.
Whenever good items arrived through the merchant guilds, he’d sent them to Huiyeon whenever he had the chance.
“…Looks like there’s a rat.”
Someone within the Tang Family had rendered all those efforts meaningless.
“We all deliberately kept our distance from her. Me especially… I didn’t even have the right to approach her.”
Tang Rim’s shoulders drooped as he recalled past events.
“Yes. I’ll investigate what happened, as your older brother.”
Guiheon patted Tang Rim’s back and stood up.
But even as Tang Rim followed him to his feet, the worry hadn’t left his face.
“Here.”
Guiheon handed him something.
It was a long wooden box wrapped in silk cloth.
“A hairpin?”
Without even opening it, Tang Rim guessed the contents.
“Mm. A jade hairpin. It looked nice because it’s light.”
“Hmph….”
Tang Rim snorted and lifted his chin proudly.
“What’s the point of sending it? She never wears them. Tell her to wear these kinds of things.”
“You deliver it yourself.”
“……Huh?”
His raised chin immediately dropped.
“Me?”
Tang Rim pointed at himself, mouth hanging open, while Guiheon looked at him with clear innocent eyes.
“Don’t send it through a servant. You. Personally. Give it. To Yeon-ah.”
Guiheon smiled softly, his eyes curving.
“Understood?”
“How can I?! I still haven’t even— huh? properly apologized and— Gah?!”
Guiheon forcibly shoved the wooden box against Tang Rim’s chest.
Afraid of dropping it, Tang Rim hurriedly caught it with both hands.
“W-Whoa!”
The box bounced around awkwardly between his fingertips several times.
“Huff… huh?”
After finally calming his ragged breathing—
Tang Guiheon had already disappeared.
