Chapter 16
Chapter 16
“Huh? An escort?”
At that, Seol-yeong, who had been dozing in a corner, wiped the drool from his mouth and sat up.
“Yaaawn… If it’s an escort, does that mean—what was it—Brother Ak has arrived?”
“Most likely. But the timing is poor. We are about to leave the clan for a while.”
After studying the paper in silence, Yeo Il pressed money into Chang-a’s hand.
“Go to the marketplace and buy twenty tanghulu. If anyone asks why you are suddenly buying so many, say that Lady Namgung Soyo is leaving for Hubei Province for a while to search for her mother and wants to eat her fill before she goes.”
“Ah… yes! Understood!”
Chang-a looked curious about this “Brother Ak,” but she quickly nodded and left.
Once the maid was gone, Seol-yeong lowered his voice.
“Are you planning to summon Brother Ak to Hubei Province? Wouldn’t it be simpler to have him return to the clan and join us?”
“If I give him too much freedom, he will find excuses to wander. The reunion will be delayed even further.”
“Would it matter if it were delayed a little longer?”
“It may not. But it has been over a hundred days since we last saw each other.”
Seol-yeong scratched his chin and snorted.
“Anyone hearing that would think it’s some tragic bond that cannot endure a hundred days apart. Which it absolutely isn’t.”
Yeo Il did not respond. She tore the paper into small pieces.
As always, the calligraphy was too fine to discard lightly. Even to Yeo Il, whose formal education was limited, the intelligence in those strokes was evident.
She first met the one called Brother Ak when she lived with the old man.
Her first impression remained vivid.
A young master draped elegantly in a glossy black robe—clearly no ordinary person at a glance.
It was difficult to imagine him acquainted with the old man, who had been little different from a beggar.
[Yeo Il! Yeo Il, you brat. Remember this well. That one must never be released into the world. If you cannot control him, then kill him.]
After many twists of fate, he came to live under the same roof as them. The old man guarded against him repeatedly.
[He is a Cheonsalseong who failed to become a Cheongweseong. Had he seen the light of the orthodox path, he might have become extraordinary. But his birth does not permit it. That is all I will say. If the worst comes, cut off his head. Remember this.]
Less than half a year later, the old man died.
In a way, that warning had been the first will he left her.
It was better to keep Ak within sight.
It was also more convenient for Yeo Il.
She did not explain any of this to Seol-yeong.
Around mid-morning, Yeo Il left her room with Seol-yeong and Chang-a, following the servant sent by Namgung Jeok-myeong.
The method, however, was discreet.
They only boarded the carriage after leaving the Namgung Clan and reaching an area near Giyeon Pavilion.
“We will travel incognito to Hubei Province in preparation for contingencies. It may be somewhat inconvenient, but the Sogaju (Clan Heir)’s message is that this is for Lady Soyo’s safety.”
“Safety, my ass.”
At the servant’s words, Seol-yeong curled his lip.
“So incognito is the promise.”
It was not an extravagant condition.
Before the carriage door closed, Yeo Il asked,
“Lord Hui-myeong said he would accompany me. What of that?”
“He will depart half a day later and meet you at the midway point.”
The servant handed Seol-yeong a map marking the rendezvous route and withdrew.
“They are even making me the coachman? Hah. And they call this one of the Five Great Clans…”
Grumbling, Seol-yeong set the carriage in motion. Once they reached a sparsely traveled road, he spoke again.
“No matter how I look at it, this feels like a plan to quietly eliminate you mid-journey.”
Chang-a, who had been embroidering, looked up in alarm.
“W-what? Then shouldn’t we get down and run away now?”
Leaning against the carriage wall with eyes closed, Yeo Il replied calmly.
“If they attempt to kill me, I will survive and return.”
“B-but, Lady… what if the part about relatives in Hubei Province is a lie?”
“Chang-a.”
“Yes, Lady…”
“In your eyes, who do I appear to be?”
“Pardon? Well… you appear to be Lady Namgung Soyo, daughter of the great Namgung Clan.”
“Yes. I am Namgung Soyo. And the only wish of that Namgung Soyo is to find traces of her mother.”
“……”
“If even the smallest possibility exists that I may find my mother, then I will not hesitate to pursue it. That is what Namgung Soyo must do. Do you understand?”
After a moment, Chang-a nodded firmly.
“Yes, Lady. I will remember it, and remember it again.”
Thus, the carriage steadily advanced—only to encounter an assassin at the foothills of Cheonju Mountain the following day.
[Wash your neck and wait quietly, Namgung Soyo! I will return from hell and come for you first!]
Late that night, after burying the assassin who left behind that curse—
The carriage, which had not halted its journey, entered Hubei Province and stopped before a pavilion adorned with crimson lanterns blooming like plum blossoms.
At first glance, it resembled a brothel. The red lanterns reflected off the small lake, and the structure floated like a lotus leaf. On the signboard were the words:
Drunken Fragrance Garden (醉香園).
“It’s been half a year since we last came here. I think we earned quite a lot back then.”
As Seol-yeong said, this had been their first stop when descending the mountain.
The reason was simple.
“I wonder if noona is here.”
With the carriage window open to the night breeze, Yeo Il answered lazily,
“Who knows.”
They came to see Seol-yeong’s elder sister, Seol Seorin.
The carriage rolled forward quietly so as not to disturb Chang-a, who slept deeply inside.
She had not awakened even during the encounter at Cheonju Mountain. The journey must have exhausted her young body.
The pavilion doors stood wide open, yet no one came to greet them for some time.
Languid laughter and the sound of a pipa drifted nearby, but no one received them. The lone carriage seemed like an uninvited guest.
Seol-yeong rose from the coachman’s seat, lit a prepared signal kite, and sent it into the night sky.
About a quarter of an hour later, a young girl emerged from behind a pillar.
“For what reason have you come?”
“I came to see the proprietor.”
“The proprietor is not present. Do you have an appointment?”
“Tell her Seol-yeong has come. She will understand.”
“Seol-yeong… Please wait.”
After the girl disappeared, a woman in red gauze embroidered with gold approached with quiet steps.
Holding a red lantern, she stopped before the carriage and studied Seol-yeong’s face for a long moment before smiling faintly.
Seol-yeong raised an eyebrow.
“Something you want to say?”
The woman placed a hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
“My apologies if that made you uncomfortable. I had only heard of you and am seeing you in person for the first time.”
“Heard of me?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“She said Lord Seol-yeong is unfamiliar with women and lacks boldness, so we should bring as many beauties as possible to embarrass you until you flee.”
“What?”
Seol-yeong’s face flushed red.
“Seol Seorin, that so-called elder sister eight years my senior, is always up to something rotten…!”
“But.”
The woman tilted her head and glanced through the carriage window at Yeo Il.
“Seeing matters now… it seems the proprietor was teasing us. In front of someone so beautiful, what use would those many beauties be? They would be no different from stones tossed into a flower garden.”