Chapter 65 – “There won’t be any obstacles?” (1)

It had been a few days since Dang Hye-won and I had enjoyed each other to our heart’s content.

“These horses are of the highest quality, even suitable for military use. They have excellent stamina and are well-trained…”

The person who spoke was from the finance department, Je Jae-gak, and his words were quite lengthy.

The point was that we weren’t just giving them away, we were lending them, so be careful when you ride them.

“Why are you saying such things without any certainty? Soho, don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly, a middle-aged man with a very narrow face interrupted Je Jae-gak’s words.

“In an emergency, it may be difficult to stop such things! Are you Je Jae-gak, even though you’re talking like that?”

Listening to his words, it seemed that this man was also Je Jae-gak, and quite a high-ranking one at that.

[Je Jae-gak of the Dangga.]

According to my mother’s premonition, Je Jae-gak, who was in charge of finance, and Gi Myo-gak, who was in charge of technology, were on the same side.

However, since the authority of the Dangga had been reduced this time, Je Jae-gak had switched to speaking and acting like a daughter-in-law to Paeng Yeon-hwa.

Gi Myo-gak was still hanging on to the Dangjo-myeong coin. Perhaps Je Jae-gak would be wiser.

“Thank you for your consideration, but the words of this person are also correct. Unless it’s a dire situation, we will handle it that way.”

Je Jae-gak had a sharp expression, and the others had a look of understanding.

“That’s right! I understand the importance of sticking to principles, and Kang So-hyeop is not thinking like a young man these days!”

The attitude of the Dangjo-nim changed to that of a Woodyr-class battleship.

Anyway, my mother and I were able to receive horses, clothes to change into, and emergency rations thanks to Je Jae-gak’s consideration.

My mother wouldn’t need the emergency rations since she knew the way.

Paeng Yeon-hwa came close to see us off, but suddenly stopped when Hwang Bo-hyo-seon and Mong-a ran over in a hurry.

“Are you leaving now?”

“…Yes. What’s the matter?”

“It’s just that…”

Hwang Bo-hyo-seon was originally supposed to accompany us, but he had to go catch a certain madu (horse) in a hurry, so he had to follow along.

“He’s going to accompany you instead for the Mong-a situation over here.”

Mong-a came forward with an uneasy expression and nodded her head.

I looked at my mother with a bewildered expression, but it seemed like it was just a sudden decision.

Anyway, there shouldn’t be much to worry about if he follows the lure of the sabu…

Chapter 65 – “There won’t be any obstacles?” (1)

Judging by the way their gaze flickered towards me, it seemed like I was the problem. If I had only traveled with my mother, I might have danced the Cossack dance in my head.

“We don’t have to accompany you, but…”

“No, didn’t you come here to make an offer to Soho at the direction of the princess? It’s only right to accompany them.”

“Since my mother has agreed to accompany them, there’s no need to worry.”

“Really!?”

Mong-a suddenly rushed forward, glancing at my mother and awkwardly smiling.

“Well, Soho? I’m the eldest, so you can speak more comfortably, right?”

What the hell, why is she so uneasy? It’s the first time she’s talked to me since greeting me, you know?

“Of course, sir.”

“Hmm… Soho, Bin-ni was originally sent by the Muryeom-maeng at the request of the Amipa, but…”

“…”

“If the Muryeom-maeng has other circumstances and asks for help, it’s hard to refuse.”

There’s another Woodyr here. What’s with the change in attitude?

“What about Je-gal Yeohyeop? Bin-ni wants to accompany them and lend some strength to the journey.”

Mong-a looked at my mother with honey dripping from her eyes. Is she really not a lesbian?

Did she think I was the only one accompanying them and make a sour face?

“If Mong-a-saetae is accompanying us, we’ll be more secure.”

Paeng Yeon-hwa!

Perhaps because she couldn’t bear to see what Mong-a was doing to me, Paeng Yeon-hwa accepted the offer with a light heart.

It wasn’t easy for my mother to reject Paeng Yeon-hwa’s agreement in front of the Dangga gasoldul…

“Please take care of us, Yeohyeop. Bin-ni will never be an obstacle on our journey.”

A useless lesbian seung was added to our party for the journey.

Watching the three of us ride away on horses, Paeng Yeon-hwa felt like she had eaten her fill without even eating.

“Younger brother, the world is a cruel place.”

It was an inevitable conclusion that Je-gal Mi-ryeong would be chosen as the person to accompany Kang Yoon on their journey.

Dang Hye-won was already pregnant, so there was no need to mention her, and as a teacher-like figure, Paeng Yeon-hwa was not enough to fend off the ambitious Je-gal Mi-ryeong.

It was smoother to introduce her as a chair rather than a disciple-like person.

There was no problem with that, but I was dissatisfied with Je-gal Mi-ryeong’s attitude when the three of us met.

It was unfair to slowly encroach on Paeng Yeon-hwa’s turn. Moreover, she hadn’t seen her for months.

“It would be much harder if there was a Mong-a situation.”

If it were Kang Yoon, she might suddenly want to do it in the grassy field, but if Mong-a was accompanying them, that would be nipped in the bud.

Even if that wasn’t the case, they would have to be cautious about mixing their bodies in a guesthouse.

Chapter 65 – “There won’t be any obstacles?” (1)

Paeng Yeon-hwa secretly raised a toast to her own judgment, but she felt a presence approaching from behind.

“Oh, Mother! Has Kang Yoon already…?”

“They’ve already left.”

“Ugh…!”

Her daughter, Dang-yeong, was in tears, and her son, Dang-mu-hon, was speechless as he watched his sobbing sister and her new sister-in-law.

“I told them they would let us know when they left…”

“Nunim…”

Paeng Yeon-hwa felt her stomach fill up slowly, like a feeling of being satiated.

A mother who had attached herself to the man her daughter liked.

No sane person could feel comfortable with that.

“Kang Yoon will come back, right? He won’t meet some three-legged woman on the way back, will he?”

“…I don’t think Kang Yoon is interested in that kind of thing.”

If it were the mother of those three-legged women, maybe.

Paeng Yeon-hwa had long known that Kang Yoon’s taste was for married women.

“The scent of volcanic ash. The taste of a shaman’s egg.”

Now that Nam Gung-se was being considered as one of the new three-legged women, the other two’s mothers were left.

“Please, let nothing happen…”

In front of her daughter, who believed her mother’s words like they were made of steel and let out a sigh of relief, Paeng Yeon-hwa prayed for that.

She didn’t even believe that Kang Yoon’s manhood could keep his promise.

“Problem.”

“Why?”

“If there won’t be any obstacles on the journey, why are you saying that?”

“What kind of obstacle could this be? This is just gravel.”

They moved slowly without rushing, leaving enough time in their schedule, and unpacked their luggage in a village that looked suitable.

They were eating at an inn, following the recommendation of my mother, when Mong-a’s chopsticks, which were picking at a mushroom dish, flew into the air.

“It might be sand, not gravel.”

“You middle-aged woman! I’ve finally found you!”

Several dirty-looking men who had piled up debts somewhere and were sharpening their knives were staring at them.

“Bin-ni has no hidden enemies, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who are you?”

“You bitch! Did you forget about me?! You talked to me and then disappeared!”

Mong-a tilted her head.

“You seem to be in good shape for someone who’s been throwing a fit about it…? You must have mistaken the person you’re looking for.”

“Of course, I’ve been getting treatment for my arms and legs…”

The guy who had been shouting suddenly stopped talking and collapsed.

This… crazy woman!

“I hit him with a bead and knocked him out with a punch!”

It was a move so fast that even I had trouble registering it. Mong-a took a deep breath and spoke.

“It seems like he’s seriously ill. Are you guys colleagues? You should take care of him…”

“Fuck you, bitch!”

Chapter 65 – “There won’t be any obstacles?” (2)

Excited men drew their swords and rushed towards them, and the surrounding area, which had already been on edge, turned into chaos as everyone ran away.

My mother trembled her head, but she gestured to me not to step forward.

To be honest, it didn’t seem like there was anything I could do. At best, I was just a bystander.

It didn’t seem like this would be any practical combat training, so I decided to just watch Mong-a’s martial arts skills.

Shupa-pat!

There was nothing to watch. Mong-a caught a wooden bead from her sleeve and bounced it off her finger, easily suppressing the attackers.

“Is that Tanji Gong…?”

Unlike the technique of sending a gust of wind with geomancy, this martial art involved using a tangible object to attack by bouncing it off the fingers.

It could be done with objects like beads, but it could also be done with amorphous objects like water.

Because it had a tangible form, its power was strong, but it had the disadvantage of consuming a relatively large amount of internal energy for each strike and requiring a prepared object to be thrown.

Mong-a subdued the unconscious men and sat back down, taking out a new pair of chopsticks and starting to eat the mushroom dish again.

In her nonchalant attitude, I felt a sense of unease, wondering if this kind of thing happened frequently.

“Daughter, bring this to Madam.”

“What is this…?”

“A medicinal soup that helps both the baby and the mother’s health. Your mother got it made at the doctor’s.”

Ah-hyun looked at the steaming soup with a hesitant look.

“Oh, why are you like this? Your mother also had this when she gave birth. Do you know how much women suffer when giving birth? You’ll make this for yourself later…”

“I’ll be back.”

Before my mother’s nagging could continue, Ah-hyun quickly took the bowl of soup and left.

When Madam Nam Gung-se left with Kang Yoon, Ah-hyun followed my mother and came here.

Since my mother was a rival of Madam Nam Gung-se from Jinju, her daughter, who was my mother’s daughter, also came here.

Although it was regrettable to be separated from Nam Gung-hye, who grew up like a sister to her, Ah-hyun accepted it because Madam Nam Gung-se had treated her like a daughter for a long time.

“But she’s pregnant…!”

Nam Gung-tan, the late husband of Madam Nam Gung-se and my mother’s husband, often had extramarital affairs and eventually passed away due to illness.

There was no radiation in between, but the fact that she was pregnant meant that it was ultimately the seed of an illegitimate man.

Just by looking at the fact that she came here to rest for three months, it was a clear fact.

“But why does everyone seem so calm?”

Everyone, including the rival families and their daughters, were only wishing for the safe delivery of Madam Nam Gung-se and the baby.

Even though Madam had committed adultery.

“I wonder if the young lady knows about this?”

Chapter 65 – “There won’t be any obstacles?” (2)

At least when I was three years old, no one thought that Madam Nam Gung-se had a child.

Some of the close associates, including my mother, seemed to know, but did Nam Gung-hye know about it?

‘She probably doesn’t know…’

The young lady with a virtuous and honest personality couldn’t deceive herself after knowing such a thing.

Ah-hyun was troubled. Should she tell the truth to Madam Nam Gung-se?

All of Nam Gung-tan’s direct descendants were already adults or almost adults.

‘At least she should know the truth.’

Ah-hyun received permission from the guards who were guarding the entrance of Madam’s residence and stepped inside.

Un So-young greeted her with a smile.

“Ah-hyun, what did you bring?”

“My mother sent a medicinal soup for Madam.”

A clear voice and comfortable clothing that didn’t press against her belly.

Watching Un So-young happily accept the soup and drink it in one gulp, Ah-hyun’s worries deepened.