Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Dang Family Manor
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"Dang Mujin!"
Mok Wana jumped up from her seat, not hiding her delight.
There was a smudge of soot on her lips, and in her left hand, she held a half-peeled roasted chestnut and a taro.
Dang Mujin chuckled at the sight.
When they had first met in the Demonic Cult, Mok Wana had been hostile and prickly toward strangers.
But at some point, she had become incredibly bright and optimistic.
It seemed like she was belatedly enjoying the childhood she had missed out on, or perhaps reclaiming her naturally laid-back nature. Either way, it was a good thing.
Dang Mujin approached Dang Jesun, who was sitting next to Mok Wana, and said,
"What have you been up to?"
"I was giving Wana a snack. Or maybe it's the other way around—Wana's the one taking care of me. She looks after me so I don't get lonely."
Just from Dang Jesun's tone, it was clear how much he cherished Mok Wana.
Dang Mujin wondered if this was how he'd treat a younger sister if he had one.
"I'm glad to hear that. I was really worried when we first brought her home whether things would work out."
"You did the right thing bringing her. Thanks to Wana, I haven't been bored this past year even without you around. She keeps me company, and she's no slouch when it comes to being diligent."
Hearing the praise, Mok Wana puffed out her chest proudly. Dang Jesun's compliments continued.
"She helps out diligently at the clinic too, and she's smart—picks things up fast. Now she reads medical texts with ease."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
When they first met, Mok Wana couldn't even read. That's why she couldn't make sense of Yi Chung's research notes and was just mimicking things clumsily.
People who didn't start learning to read as children usually never did in their lifetime.
Aside from physicians, officials, or merchants, not knowing how to read didn't hinder life at all, so it was even more common.
Dang Mujin had thought it impressive enough that she was learning to read late in life, but to handle medical texts? That was no ordinary feat. Intelligence aside, she must have put in tremendous effort.
"She's smart and kind. Even while busy with her studies and chores, when Seol-yeong is tied up with work, Wana steps in to look after Yeong-i. Yeong-i even acts like she has two moms. And she doesn't even know what her own dad's face looks like."
As Dang Jesun shot Dang Mujin a sidelong glance, Mok Wana pointed behind him.
"Yeong-i's here!"
Turning around, Dang Mujin saw Dang Yeong.
Her chubby cheeks stood out, as you'd expect from a two-year-old. And there was a clear imprint on her cheek from where she'd been sleeping. She must have just woken up.
Dang Jesun's face broke into a beaming smile at the sight of his granddaughter. Dang Yeong toddled over without crying or fussing.
But when she spotted Dang Mujin, she hesitated, skirted around him slightly, and climbed into Mok Wana's arms. It wasn't an exaggeration to say Mok Wana doted on her like her own daughter.
"Looks like she prefers Wana over you."
After hearing Dang Jesun's stories, Dang Mujin felt a bit down.
"Guess she's forgotten my face after all."
"Can't be helped. But you can close the distance little by little. You're not the first father to leave a young child for the battlefield and come back."
Dang Yeong wriggled a bit in Mok Wana's arms before settling into a comfortable position. Both Mok Wana and Dang Yeong looked utterly at ease.
"She does this a lot normally, huh."
"When Yeong-i wanders off alone, people bring her back to Seol-yeong or Wana. If Seol-yeong's busy, to Wana. If Wana's busy, to Seol-yeong."
It was a heartwarming scene. It made Dang Mujin feel like his absence over the past year hadn't left much of a gap—in fact, almost regretfully so.
After playing with Dang Yeong for a bit, Mok Wana spoke up as if remembering something.
"Oh, right. There's something I want to show you."
"What is it?"
"Wait a sec."
Mok Wana handed Dang Yeong to Dang Mujin, divided the roasted chestnuts and taro between Dang Jesun and Dang Mujin, and disappeared somewhere.
Dang Mujin worried the girl might cry in his arms, but surprisingly, Dang Yeong stayed quite calm. It wasn't that she was fond of him—it felt more like she trusted him because he was someone Mok Wana knew.
A moment later, Mok Wana returned, changed into new clothes.
A simple green outfit. It didn't look expensive or fancy, but it suited her perfectly.
Women wore green on happy occasions. Dan Seol-yeong had worn an expensive green dress on their wedding day too.
Mok Wana spread her arms and spun around in place.
"How do I look?"
"It suits you well. Who bought it for you?"
"I did. With the money I've saved bit by bit from my earnings and occasional pocket money. Didn't waste a single coin."
Dang Jesun's expression turned a bit somber.
Dang Mujin knew what emotion was behind his father's look. It resembled a father's face when sending off his grown daughter.
"If you needed clothes, you could've just asked me to buy them. I can afford that much."
"It's fine. Doesn't it look good on me?"
"Yeah. You could get married tomorrow looking like that."
This was the usual kind of banter.
But Mok Wana's response to Dang Jesun's words was unexpected.
"I don't need to get married."
Hearing that seemed to lift his mood, and Dang Jesun let out a hearty laugh.
"Haha. Still, you'll want to start a family someday."
"No, I read Bai Hu Tong Yi recently. It said weddings are only for taking a principal wife."
"...Huh?"
Bai Hu Tong Yi was a book from the Later Han dynasty. It covered all sorts of topics, including rites and customs.
Of course, neither Dang Mujin nor Dang Jesun had read it. It wasn't required reading for scholars, nor was it a medical text.
The issue wasn't whether they'd read it—the context felt a bit suspicious.
Dang Jesun fell deep into thought.
Weddings are only for principal wives. And no need for a wedding.
Those two statements pointed to one thing: wanting to become a concubine somewhere.
Dang Jesun's expression grew serious again.
He secretly thought of Mok Wana as his own daughter.
Even the thought of her getting married and leaving hurt his heart. Let alone sending her off as a concubine in some irregular marriage.
Dang Jesun believed it was far better to give her plenty of jewelry and marry her off to a decent man. Dang Mujin felt the same.
But first, he needed to clarify the situation. For something as important as marriage, you couldn't ignore the person's own wishes.
Dang Jesun asked Mok Wana,
"...So you've got someone in mind?"
Mok Wana nodded shyly. Clear affirmation.
"Who is it?"
Dang Mujin and Dang Jesun both leaned in with serious expressions, waiting for her answer.
But Mok Wana bowed her head, cheeks flushing red up to her ears, and pointed at Dang Mujin.
"...?"
"Me?"
With her head still down, Mok Wana nodded slightly.
"You're joking, right?"
A small shake of her head.
Dang Jesun and Dang Mujin's faces hardened even more.
People naturally learn a lot from playing with neighborhood kids and meeting all sorts of folks from childhood.
But Mok Wana had been cooped up in a cave since she was little, and after that, she'd spent all her time at the Dang Clinic.
Even after coming to Chengdu, her outings weren't enough to fill the gaps from her childhood.
In short, Mok Wana often acted in ways detached from ordinary people. She was naive in many ways.
People found her quirks amusing. They weren't selfish or malicious.
But this was way beyond something you could just laugh off.
Dang Mujin stammered,
"Th-that's... a bit bewildering."
He clutched his head, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
"You know whose daughter Yeong-i is, right?"
"Seol-yeong's."
"And you know who her dad is?"
"You."
"You know I married Seol-yeong, right?"
"Yeah."
No way she didn't. The whole conversation up to now had assumed she knew all that.
Besides, even if Mok Wana was ignorant of many things, she wasn't stupid.
As Dang Mujin and Dang Jesun stared at her, Mok Wana lifted her head and declared confidently.
"Headmaster Im said he has a principal wife and two concubines. Everyone else does too. All the clan heads and sect leaders have concubines. Now the Dang Clinic is the Dang family manor, right?"
Dang Mujin felt an intense wave of dizziness.
Even if a ruthless unorthodox master had appeared and held a knife to his neck, it wouldn't have flustered him this much.
Mok Wana took a step closer to Dang Mujin. Her round eyes stared straight at him.
"Don't you like me?"
"No, it's not that I don't like you. It's just... the direction is a bit off. You get what I mean?"
Trying to refuse as gently as possible, Dang Mujin added haltingly,
"Besides, something this important can't be decided so lightly. For example... yeah. Seol-yeong's opinion matters too."
Of course, truly high-status, authoritative men often took concubines without consulting their principal wives.
High officials or heads of great martial clans did that.
They saw it as their natural right, usually just informing the wife after the fact.
But that had nothing to do with Dang Mujin.
For one, he had no intention of taking a concubine, nor could he. As Hyun-gong had sharply discerned, Dan Seol-yeong currently held the real power in the Dang family manor.
But Mok Wana dropped an even more devastating bombshell.
"Then I'll just go get Seol-yeong's permission."
Her attitude was so casual, like she'd head off to find Dan Seol-yeong right then. Dang Mujin instinctively reached out and grabbed Mok Wana's shoulder.
"No. Absolutely not."
If she did that, they might both end up dead. Him and Mok Wana.
Dang Mujin sensed a real threat to his life.
Mok Wana seemed to have anticipated he wouldn't accept it easily.
Instead, she turned and stared at Dang Jesun. She was asking him to persuade Dang Mujin.
A flood of memories flashed through Dang Jesun's mind.
The green clothes bought by saving every little coin.
How she was kind to everyone, but especially affectionate toward him.
Her much more respectful demeanor than toward ordinary adults.
How she tried to make a good impression on Dan Seol-yeong.
Her willingness to tackle difficult medical studies.
How she'd turn away sharply from any local men who approached.
It all pointed to one thing.
Mok Wana was dead serious right now.
"Uh..."
Dang Jesun truly cherished his daughter-in-law Dan Seol-yeong. But at the same time, he thought Mok Wana was a wonderful girl.
But he couldn't help with this. And he shouldn't.
Dang Jesun rose unsteadily from his seat.
"I... I..."
He began backing away slowly.
"Well, this is a really tricky matter. Wana, how about we talk about it later?"
Dang Jesun flashed an extremely awkward smile at Mok Wana, then turned and hurried off somewhere. He probably had no destination—just wanted to escape this place, this situation.
But Mok Wana had no intention of giving up easily. She trotted after Dang Jesun.
Finally, Dang Yeong toddled after Dang Jesun and Mok Wana too.
Dang Mujin sat there dazed, staring at the small flame while lost in thought.
His marriage to Dan Seol-yeong, heading into its third year.
They'd been apart the past year, and yesterday he'd even been chased out of the house. But aside from that, no fights, no drama. A truly harmonious couple.
But things were starting to change rapidly.
Just then, an unpeeled chestnut in the fire burst with a loud pop.
An incredibly ominous sight.
Was it hinting that his relationship with Dan Seol-yeong could explode like that?
Suddenly, he recalled what Dan Seol-yeong had said. About creating a hidden weapon surpassing Storm Flower Needle.
If things continued like this, he'd be the first test subject for that weapon. Dang Mujin shuddered involuntarily.
'I need to persuade Wana before it's too late.'
Dang Mujin unleashed his lightness skill toward the direction Mok Wana had gone.