The Venomous Tea Party
When the five families that led the Tang Clan’s branch lineages held their assemblies, they usually gathered at Ihwa-jeon in Tang-gata. Once a month, the wives of the leaders of the five martial organizations would meet there.
“Hahaha!”
“Ohohoho!”
“Kyarruru~”
They softened the mood with refreshments and tea while chatting about the latest stories and rumors spreading through the markets.
“Did you hear that tale?”
“Ah! You mean the one about the noble’s wife and her servant running away in the dead of night?”
From there the conversation naturally drifted to cosmetics and clothing.
“This must be that lapis lazuli they say was brought from the Western Regions.”
“It truly is as blue as the sea.”
On the surface it looked like nothing more than a friendly social gathering, yet the meeting had a different true purpose.
“Have you heard the news from Shanxi…?”
Information from outside the clan.
“They say the balance among Chengdu’s merchant houses has recently begun to shift.”
“I heard the sixth daughter of King Uihyeon came to Chengdu to escape the northern cold. They say he dotes especially on his youngest.”
“With the war against the Mongols in the north growing fiercer, grain prices will surely rise.”
Since every woman present came from an illustrious family, even high-grade intelligence from beyond Sichuan Province found its way into these talks. Through this exchange of information, each family gained advantages; it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
While they were sharing valuable tidbits as usual, Eon Jungmi, who had been sitting quietly, set down her teacup and spoke first.
“I hear Young Master Tang Sanlong has returned.”
“I heard the same!”
The other wives opened their mouths as though they had been waiting for exactly those words. Badmouthing the direct descendants was the part of these meetings the branch wives anticipated and enjoyed most.
“They say he started throwing punches the moment he arrived.”
“Which means he learned nothing at all from his time in Guya-rim.”
“To behave like a tyrant simply because he’s a direct-line descendant!”
“This is exactly when we branch families must stand together!”
“If the third young master—who stirs up trouble the instant he returns—goes back to Tanggidae, I dread what the atmosphere will become.”
Their faces clearly showed how burdensome it was to have their own children sharing the same space as the notorious troublemaker.
“Must we simply watch this situation unfold?”
“That scoundrel coming back… After the third young master left and Tanggidae had finally settled down, I’m truly worried everything will fall into chaos again.”
“Exactly. Exiling him to Guya-rim for six months, then sending him straight into a joint mission with every year-group of Tanggidae in the second half without any further education? I’m nothing but worried.”
“It simply should not be allowed.”
Eon Jungmi had intended to steer public opinion on the matter, but the others were doing the work for her without any prompting. All she needed to do was add a few careful words.
Simpletons.
She had suffered a headache ever since learning Tang Sanlong had returned alive, but now that public sentiment was gathering on its own, she felt satisfied that she wouldn’t need to complicate things. She savored the fragrance of her tea.
“Mother! Mother! Come out!”
At that moment Tang Gihyo appeared, his face twisted with terror, desperately calling for his mother. Naturally, this created friction with the Doksu-dan warriors guarding the outside of Ihwa-jeon.
“I told you to get out of the way!”
Slap!
As expected, the dog’s habits never changed—Tang Gihyo’s hand flew first. Eon Jungmi’s expression stiffened for an instant, but she quickly regained control.
“Even though he’s already seventeen, he still comes running to this mother of his.”
The wife of the Pungcheon-dan leader, Lee Hae-yeon, forced an awkward smile.
“My son complains the moment I step into his room, so your mother-son relationship is truly enviable. Don’t you agree, Madam Yo?”
“Aren’t all sons like that?”
Yo Hee, wife of the Cheonryong-dan leader, gave a light nod, elegantly set down her teacup, and glanced at the woman beside her.
“All sons are the same. Madam Eon, I am truly envious.”
“Ahem.”
“Hmm.”
The wife of the Jiryong-dan leader, Ju Yang-seol, and the wife of the Uisaeng-dan leader, Bang Seon-yul—both childless—briefly showed discomfort before smoothing their expressions.
Yet Tang Gihyo’s continued shouts pulled every gaze back to him.
“What’s the matter, young master?”
“Mother! Mother!”
Completely terrified, Tang Gihyo looked around as if someone were chasing him. Eon Jungmi signaled the nearby Doksu-dan members with her eyes.
“It’s all right. Tell us.”
“Sanlong! Sanlong has returned!”
Just hearing the name was enough to send Tang Gihyo into convulsions.
“Gihyo.”
“What am I supposed to do now? Sanlong and I are in the same class! Hic… hic!”
The sniffling boy looked psychologically shattered. Even Eon Jungmi, who had maintained her composure at first, was gradually losing control. Watching her, Bang Seon-yul smiled faintly.
“It seems Gihyo is very frightened.”
“Indeed.”
Ju Yang-seol chimed in with irritating sweetness. Eon Jungmi shot them both a venomous glare, but the pair answered with contemptuous snorts.
Even though Eon Jungmi was the wife of the Inryong-dan leader, the other two were wives of leaders in their own right. Besides, their families were prestigious houses that did not fall short of the Jinju Eon Clan.
“Mother! Please! Do something about Sanlong! Please!”
Tang Gihyo begged and clung desperately.
“I think we should end things here for today.”
“It was truly enjoyable, as always.”
With faces that suggested they had witnessed something unsightly, Madam Yo rose first. The others slowly stood as though in agreement.
“Pfft.”
Madam Bang, who rose last, sneered at Tang Gihyo. Eon Jungmi’s face twisted savagely.
“Madam Bang!”
“Yes? Is something wrong?”
The innocent act made Eon Jungmi want to slap her across the cheek, but she knew provoking the woman could lead to unpredictable consequences. She bit her lip until it bled.
“…I will consider it a mistake.”
Madam Bang shrugged.
“What did I do? From the look in your eyes, I feel like I might get slapped like one of your maids. Given how heavy your hand is, that kind of glare is truly concerning.”
Bang Seon-yul refused to back down and met Eon Jungmi’s gaze head-on.
Not now…
Eon Jungmi endured with everything she had. Seeing this, Madam Bang gave a soft laugh and turned away elegantly.
“Then please comfort your son well. His heart is as delicate as a daughter’s, isn’t it?”
A vein bulged on Eon Jungmi’s forehead.
“Aaaargh!”
Only after everyone had left did Eon Jungmi finally scream as though having a seizure.
It was all because of Tang Sanlong.
“Tang Sanlong!”
“Has Tang Sanlong arrived? Where! Where is he!”
“…That scoundrel is not here.”
“No! He’ll definitely appear from somewhere!”
Eon Jungmi gently embraced her terrified son.
“It’s all right… It’s all right…”
Her face had never looked more venomous.
“So the branch families are opposing my return to Tanggidae?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you the one telling me?”
“Because I got marked too… sir.”
Tang Chiyeol spoke with the expression of a man forced to say something unpleasant. Tang Sanlong, sprawled beneath the eaves and munching on tanggwa, let out a soft chuckle.
“Switching from casual speech to polite is hard, huh? Just talk normally.”
“Got it.”
Tang Chiyeol’s face finally relaxed. Watching him, Tang Sanlong licked honey from his fingers and spoke.
“So you’re my guard now? You weren’t around before—why the sudden assignment?”
“How could I possibly know the clan leader’s deep intentions?”
“It’s a demotion.”
“Demo…tion…”
Tang Chiyeol flinched as though the word had scraped a wound.
“Forget it. Just think of it as vacation and take it easy. Anyway, I don’t plan on leaving the house for a while.”
“That’s fortunate. Rumors said you spent day and night in the capital, drowning in gambling and drink. You were even frequenting the pleasure houses.”
“That stuff doesn’t interest me anymore.”
“You played so hard you lost interest instead? Fascinating.”
It wasn’t exactly that he had lost interest. Martial arts training had simply become far more entertaining, and living that way again would clearly get him expelled from the Tang Clan. There was that consideration as well.
Eon Jungmi must be sharpening her blades. The opposition to my return to Tanggidae probably carries her influence too.
Rather, Tang Sanlong found the situation pleasant. To put it simply, he no longer had to deal with all those annoying tasks. The second half of fifth year in Tanggidae involved carrying out the clan’s missions, which was incredibly bothersome.
He already lacked time to train, and now they wanted to add missions on top?
The current arrangement was better.
“Hehehe.”
Since he hadn’t done anything wrong, there was no problem eating and sleeping as he pleased. It was practically the life of an immortal hermit.
“Ah~ I wish my Tanggidae days would just end like this.”
It would be nice if everything ended in this vague, half-hearted way.
Seeing his attitude, Tang Chiyeol also sat beneath the eaves and enjoyed the warm sunlight.
“Ugh… Maybe I should start training soon.”
“You’re diligent whether in Guya-rim or here.”
“A mediocre talent like me falls ten days behind after resting just one.”
With that, Tang Sanlong began loosening his body. The extremely bizarre movements naturally drew Tang Chiyeol’s curiosity.
“What are you doing?”
“Yoga.”
“Yoga?”
“Yeah. It’s a kind of mental training exercise from the Western Regions.”
Now that he had built his muscles to an adequate level, it was time to maintain them and focus on flexibility. Nothing was more important than flexibility in the Tang Clan’s martial arts.
I need to be able to throw daggers and hidden weapons from any posture.
In that respect, nothing beat yoga for developing flexibility.
“Ugh.”
Watching Tang Sanlong twist himself into strange shapes, Tang Chiyeol tilted his head.
“If you play around outside, do you only learn weird things like this?”
“Weird? This is training too. It’s not easy.”
“That posture?”
Tang Chiyeol performed the difficult pose without the slightest strain. This was exactly why geniuses were impossible. They casually accomplished what others achieved only through blood and sweat.
In the past, jealousy would have come first, but now Tang Sanlong had reached the stage of simply accepting it. One might ask if he had given up, but it wasn’t surrender—it was recognition that they were simply different. Envying another’s talent and becoming obsessed with it only exhausted and tormented oneself.
“You’re good at it. If you’ve got nothing to do, join me.”
“Sure.”
And so the bored Tang Chiyeol began doing yoga beside Tang Sanlong. Aeng-hwa, who had come to clean, frowned at the bizarre spectacle.
“This is weird!”
“I can hear you. You’re here, Aeng-hwa?”
Aeng-hwa quickly covered her mouth.
“Y-yes… What are you doing?”
“Yoga.”
“Yoga?”
“There’s something like that from the Western Regions. Want to try? It can give you a beautiful figure. It’s extremely effective for beauty.”
“I need to clean…”
“Do it after.”
Before long Aeng-hwa had joined Tang Sanlong and Tang Chiyeol, performing yoga beside them. Three people striking bizarre poses. At first glance, it was an undeniably strange scene.
“Ack! You startled me!”
Chief Steward Im, who had come to deliver the clan leader’s message, was slightly shocked by the sight.
“What… exactly are you doing?”
“Warm-up exercises. It’s been three days since the report, so this is our first meeting, right? Has the date to see my father been decided, Chief Steward Im?”
“Yes… Are you available right now?”
“Do I have to go immediately?”
Unlike his old self who would have jumped up at once, Tang Sanlong now hesitated. Seeing this, Chief Steward Im spoke.
“It seems…”
“My body was just starting to loosen up, but it can’t be helped. I’ll be back.”
“Let’s go together.”
“Why you?”
“I’m your guard.”
“I see. Lead the way.”
The three of them headed for the clan leader’s hall.
“Damn.”
The moment he stood at the entrance, curses nearly spilled from Tang Sanlong’s mouth. What had he done wrong that the elders and branch families were gathered again, glaring at him like that? He glanced at Chief Steward Im.
“I stayed inside the house for three whole days. Why are they staring like they want to kill me?”
“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”
Had he already forgotten throwing punches the moment he returned? At the steward’s innocent question, Tang Sanlong’s face said, Ah, there was that, wasn’t there?
“Those old farts. What are they going to nag about this time?”
“Old farts… You should choose your words more carefully…”
Even if the elders and branch families possessed lower martial prowess than the current clan leader, they were still genuine experts of the Tang Clan. At this distance they could easily hear everything Tang Sanlong said.
“I just want to go back home.”
With a sullen expression, Tang Sanlong entered the clan leader’s hall. Perhaps because he had mastered the Shipdok Shingong, the stinging gazes around him felt even sharper than before.