SYM 35
by Emerlyn“Young Master. I came here today because I have a proposal for you.”
“Please speak.”
Madam Hwang dismissed the attendant holding the medicinal soup with a gesture and took out a handkerchief embroidered with elaborate flowers in gold thread.
Seeing that handkerchief, Eun-hyeon felt a throbbing in the wrist that Madam Hwang had once scratched.
After seeming to stay quiet for a while, what scheme had brought her here now?
“As you know, the clan has been troubled in many ways recently, hasn’t it?”
“The Danmok clan head visited not long ago.”
When Eun-hyeon mentioned Danmok Sageuk, Madam Hwang’s eyebrows trembled.
She still shuddered thinking about how Danmok Sageuk had caused such an uproar.
Though she had maintained friendly relations with the Danmok clan for many years, only now did she learn what kind of person Danmok Sageuk was. Her head still ached remembering his drunken shouting. How worried she had been throughout, entertaining his drunken behavior while anxiously hoping he wouldn’t say something that shouldn’t be said.
Though Danmok Sageuk stayed at the Namgung clan for only three days, Madam Hwang felt like she had aged ten years in those days.
To quickly drive Danmok Sageuk back to his clan, she had even drawn money from her maiden family, the Golden Pavillion. Only after being given a considerable sum as consolation money did Danmok Sageuk return home.
“Haah. No matter how great the grief of losing a child, how could someone who leads a clan behave like that…”
Madam Hwang shook her head in disgust. She took a moment to compose herself before looking at Eun-hyeon.
“I feel that these continued disturbances in the household might be due to my lack of virtue. So I was thinking of visiting a temple to make offerings, and I wondered if the Young Master would like to join me.”
“…A temple?”
Madam Hwang nodded and smiled gently.
“There’s a temple called Godeoksa not far from Hefei. I’ve been going there since before marriage, as there’s a truly devout monk there.”
“I see.”
Eun-hyeon nodded along perfunctorily. Madam Hwang continued.
“Would you like to come along? It’s a chance to build bonds with your mother and make offerings for the household.”
Had Madam Hwang been such a devout Buddhist?
Without his old memories, he couldn’t know for sure.
But regardless of her religious devotion, it was hard to believe there was no ulterior motive when someone who had treated Eun-hyeon like a thorn in her side suddenly wanted to make temple offerings together.
The problem was that he couldn’t guess what Madam Hwang was aiming for.
“The lord seems to have many worries lately, often staying up at night. If we make offerings together for the family’s peace, perhaps heaven will look kindly upon our Namgung clan.”
“I apologize. I fear my unworthiness might cause needless trouble for others. Since Buddha is said to be everywhere, I will sincerely make offerings from my quarters. Though I cannot go to Godeoksa with you, my heart will be with you.”
At Eun-hyeon’s words, Madam Hwang’s lips twitched before she rose.
“Young Master, is that truly what you think? How can people trust and follow someone so weak who claims to be the Namgung clan’s young master? Even the fatigue of traveling to make offerings is part of the devotion. This mother is greatly disappointed in you today.”
Madam Hwang glared at Eun-hyeon with irritated eyes, but Eun-hyeon said nothing.
Finally, Madam Hwang stood up abruptly.
“Eung-wang and I have matters to attend to, so we must leave now.”
“I won’t venture far. Please take care. Eung-wang, though the weather has warmed, the roads are still slippery, so take good care of mother.”
Eun-hyeon’s manner of even giving instructions to his younger brother Eung-wang was truly that of the young master.
Madam Hwang’s lips twitched once more before she rose.
* * *
“Nanny! You should have come with me today. Do you know what I had to go through? Really, I’m at my wit’s end.”
As soon as Madam Hwang returned to her room, she threw down the handkerchief she was holding and shouted.
The nanny picked up the handkerchief and signaled the attendants who had followed Madam Hwang to leave.
Since Madam Hwang was cruel to attendants when angry, they quickly withdrew at the nanny’s signal.
The nanny began preparing Madam Hwang’s favorite snacks and brewing tea to soothe her ill mood.
“What did the Young Master say? Did he refuse?”
“Eun-hyeon, I don’t know when his tongue became so smooth, but he slipped away quite skillfully.”
“That must be the Jegal blood showing. But wasn’t it expected that the Young Master would refuse?”
“Yes. But his refusal isn’t the problem. Do you know what I saw in his quarters today? I saw the clan head’s personal attendants.”
Madam Hwang’s face hardened.
The attendant who introduced herself as Hwahong was definitely one of the clan head’s personal attendants.
In the Namgung clan, there were children selected from those of lower status who showed promise, trained in martial arts and raised as attendants.
Each of them was as skilled as a first-class master, moving secretly on the clan head’s orders.
They prioritized the clan head’s commands above all else and handled unsavory matters that couldn’t be brought to light. Even Madam Hwang, as the clan matriarch, merely knew of their existence.
Yet such people had been assigned as Eun-hyeon’s attendants.
“He’s never given them to me as attendants. What reason could there be for allowing them to serve the Young Master?”
“…Surely not. The Namgung clan head has always prioritized martial prowess, hasn’t there? There’s never been a Namgung clan head who couldn’t master the Imperial Sword technique. Don’t think too far ahead. The clan head must have done this out of concern after the Young Master’s recent kidnapping.”
“No, that’s not it. You should have seen how that attendant spoke to me today. If anyone at my maiden home had addressed me like that, my father would have torn out their fingernails and toenails and had them flogged.”
Madam Hwang drummed the table nervously.
The nanny quickly offered her ganro tea, Madam Hwang’s favorite.
The tea, bitter at first taste but sweet going down, was carefully maintained by the nanny to never run out.
“Was she that impudent?”
“She was so impudent I wanted to gouge out her eyes right there, but she’s not the problem. The problem is that the lord has begun to take Eun-hyeon to heart.”
“…Wouldn’t he be concerned since Eun-hyeon is weak and recently went through such an ordeal?”
“If they were attendants assigned for such a simple reason, would they have dared to confront me like that? The moment I entered the room, every attendant watched me as if I were an enemy.”
The nanny’s expression also turned serious at Madam Hwang’s words.
“You mean…”
“It means the lord knows how I regard the Young Master and what I’ve been doing. Having his personal attendants with Eun-hyeon is his warning to me.”
“…My lady.”
Madam Hwang set down her teacup.
Her reaction was quite composed compared to her initial anger.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“Now, the lord and I have crossed a river of no return.”
“My lady! There’s no need to think that way… Surely the clan head wouldn’t put the Young Master in the clan head position? Young Master Eung-wang will be the Namgung clan head without you having to try.”
“Yes, that’s true. But when Eung-wang becomes clan head, where do you think my position will be?”
“…Pardon?”
Madam Hwang looked at the nanny and smirked.
“You’re foolish too, nanny. Do you think the lord will leave me be when Eung-wang takes the clan head position? But I have no intention of stepping aside like this. Nanny, I need to write a letter to Father. Prepare writing materials.”
“My lady, what are you planning…”
“If the lord has the Namgung clan, I have the Golden Pavillion. The lord has lived his whole life wielding a sword and thinks swords move the world, but I think differently.”
Madam Hwang picked up the brush at the desk where the nanny had prepared the writing materials.
“What moves the world is gold. Even swords can be traded with gold, can’t they? Nanny, deliver this letter directly to Father, without passing through anyone else’s hands.”
“Ah, yes, my lady.”
Madam Hwang glanced at the nanny once before beginning to write with a steady hand.
The nanny felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding as she watched Madam Hwang.