Surviving as a Maid of the Sichuan Tang Clan

My heart tightened.

From now on, I had to worry less about hidden weapons flying at me and more about ambushes creeping up on me. Without even realizing it, I’d stuck my foot into a blood-splattering power struggle.

My expression must have hardened, because Tang Jung tried to soothe me.

“There’s no need to be so tense. They won’t pounce right away.”

So that means they’ll pounce someday.

A headache rushed in. I’d suspected this ever since I found out I was an illegitimate child, but the situation was worse than I’d thought.

How many people knew I was Tang blood?

Tang Un knew I was his younger sister. I’d never met any other half-siblings, but if Tang Un knew, they would know I existed too.

Judging from how Madam Jin and the Head Steward reacted when they heard my name, the people who’d been in the Tang Clan for a long time also knew about the illegitimate child.

Unit Captain Tang Bugyeong had said he’d heard my name as well.

From the maids’ attitudes, it didn’t seem like any of them knew I was the illegitimate child the clan tried to keep quiet, but you never knew.

Simyang’s group had seen how I’d been getting called to Tang Jung’s quarters regularly these days.

If word got out that today’s argument between Tang Muheok and Tang Jung had happened because of me, someone might start connecting the dots.

Even by a rough estimate, the period when I could hide in Tang Jung’s shadow to escape the rain wouldn’t last long. Maybe half a year. A year at most.

I had to prepare a way to protect myself in that short time.

I bit down on my lip, and Tang Jung patted my shoulder.

“I told you, don’t be afraid. As long as this old man is standing, there is no one in the Tang Clan who can lay a hand on you.”

“But...”

That just means I’m prey they need to get rid of the moment you’re not around, doesn’t it.

I swallowed the rest of my words and looked up at Tang Jung’s face. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were full of worry.

He knew exactly what kind of situation I was in, and he was lying anyway.

Well. You couldn’t just tell some child who didn’t know the ways of the world that she might die if she made one wrong move.

For all his looks, he did have a gentle side.

I decided to let myself be fooled by Tang Jung’s white lie.

“Yes. I’ll trust you, Grandfather.”

At my awkward answer, Tang Jung’s eyes narrowed. He seemed to realize I was lying too.

Pretending not to notice, he smoothed his expression and changed the subject.

“You’ll be busy from now on. How far have you gotten with the Thousand-Character Classic?”

The sudden questioning made me stammer. Honestly, I’d skipped it the last few days.

“Uh... about thirty percent?”

“You’re slow. Apply yourself.”

Tang Jung frowned as he spoke.

“If you’re direct-line, there’s a pile of things you ought to learn properly. You at least have to get through your letters before you can do anything.”

Things I ought to learn? I thought I was just learning martial arts. I hesitated and asked cautiously.

“Aren’t I supposed to be learning poison arts?”

At my question, Tang Jung clicked his tongue.

“Do poisons just appear out of nowhere? All waters, in the end, return to one sea. It’s the same with poison. In the eyes of someone who understands the principles, there is no difference between poison and medicine. If you’re going to use poison properly, you first need to know what medicine is, don’t you?”

“Uh... yes.”

“To do that, you have to know the human body first. Once you finish your letters, we’ll start with medical texts.”

I nodded obediently, but it wasn’t exactly welcome news. That just meant books written in squiggly characters were waiting for me.

Seeing how displeased I looked, Tang Jung tried to talk me around.

“Medicine comes first. If you shove fire into a newborn’s hand, they can’t handle it and end up burning their own skin off. That’s what you look like right now, Sohae. Myriad-Poison-Immune isn’t some invincible secret art. It’s just a better physical condition than others have. If you’re going to handle poison, you need to understand how poison affects humans. There’s no need to be impatient—learn medicine first. Everyone in the Tang Clan goes through this process.”

Every word was reasonable, so there was nothing I could say back. Resigned, I nodded.

“Yes.”

Watching my face closely, Tang Jung pushed himself up from the stump. Was it that obvious I didn’t like it?

“There’s no time to play. Let’s go back. You, we need to get you through your letters quickly.”

“I haven’t finished looking at the flowers y—... yes.”

His stern gaze made my skin prickle. I clamped my mouth shut and trailed after him.

*****

We got back to Tang Jung’s quarters just as the mid-afternoon (around 1–3 p.m.) was coming to an end.

Honestly, with my eyes, it was hard to guess the time from the sun’s position. If Tang Jung said so after looking at the sky, then I just had to take his word for it.

Maybe I should ask him to teach me how to read a sundial too. They did beat a drum every two hours, though.

I sighed at my own ignorance. With how little I knew, of course Tang Jung would suspect me.

I looked perfectly normal but didn’t know my way around, couldn’t read the time. Yet I seemed to have poison resistance, and I caught flying throwing knives without blinking...

Anyone would think I was a suspicious maid. It was a miracle I’d survived this long without being killed.

Scratching my head, I looked up at Tang Jung. He was holding me at his side and scanning the back garden.

Why wasn’t he putting me down? Was something there?

Dangling from one arm, I poked him lightly.

“Grandfather?”

At my call, Tang Jung set me down and furrowed his brow.

“Go inside first.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll take a little walk before I come in.”

Then he disappeared from sight. I shrugged and went into the building first.

Whatever the case, I couldn’t forget my duties. Whether Tang Jung ate or not, I still had to prepare a late lunch.

*****

The “little walk” he’d gone for stretched on until the food cooled.

He only came back after I reheated the dishes, and in his hand was a blue silk pouch.

“Sohae, is this yours?”

At his question, I shook my head. I’d never seen it before.

“There was a letter with it, tucked beside the pouch.”

“What does it say?”

“Wait.”

Tang Jung unfolded the letter. I stood beside him and snuck peeks at it.

Of course, there weren’t many characters I could actually read.

White stuff was paper, black stuff was writing. So this is what it felt like to be illiterate.

I didn’t know what it said, but I could at least tell the handwriting laid out across the pure white paper was neat and orderly.

The good-looking handwriting made curiosity bubble up. Who wrote it?

“Grandfather, what does it sa—”

I asked without thinking and hurriedly shut my mouth. Tang Jung’s expression didn’t look good.

As he read, his face twisted more and more, and in the end he tore the paper clean in half.

“Grandfather?”

“Don’t read it. It’ll only hurt your eyes.”

I can’t read it even if I try.

He cut me off flatly, then burned the letter without a trace of regret. The crackling paper turned to ash and scattered into the air.

I couldn’t help admiring the clean finish. Wow. So this was true Samadhi True Fire.

Power: fifty points. Reaction time: twenty-five. Artistic score: twenty-five. A perfect hundred.

I traced the drifting ash with my eyes. I was curious what the letter had said, but figured there was a reason he didn’t want me to see it.

Tang Jung spoke curtly.

“Tell that kid from the Namgung Clan not to go jumping over walls so carelessly. He has no fear, sneaking around in someone else’s sect. Who knows where the mechanism traps are set.”

“Yes. I’ll tell him.”

Was that a letter Namgung Hwi left?

Come to think of it, he’d said he’d come today. Things had been so hectic I’d forgotten.

So the reason Tang Jung checked the back garden must have been because there were traces of an outsider coming in.

Either he wrote about jumping over the wall in the letter, or that brat actually came over the wall again.

But once I answered, a strange word stuck in my mind. My eyes went round.

...Mechanism traps? The kind that shoot hidden weapons at you if you touch them wrong, like in Indiana Jones? We have those installed here?

Considering this was a clan of poison and hidden weapons, it would’ve been weirder if they didn’t have defenses set up against intruders.

Then why did Tang Jung keep going over the walls?

Seeing my odd expression, Tang Jung snorted.

“I’ve lived in the Tang estate my whole life. You think I don’t know where the mechanism traps are?”

How did you know that, sir. You could open a fortune-telling stall.

“Honestly. Who taught you to treat your grandfather like he’s some fortune-teller? I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your face!”

He gave me a look like I was hopeless.

Did it really show that much?

I buried it under a smile and hurriedly covered my mouth.

Apparently, he’d been flying over the walls while neatly avoiding the mechanism traps up until now. ƒreewebɳovel.com

It was an eccentric stunt only possible because he knew the structure of the Tang estate down to the last corner.

The more I learned about this old man, the more of a weirdo he turned out to be.

Letting out heavy sighs like I was giving him indigestion, Tang Jung held the silk pouch out to me.

“This is yours, though. He says it’s rice-cake money.”

“Rice-cake money?”

“He says you lent him rice-cake money.”

“W-well, that’s true.”

It wasn’t wrong, but calling it “rice-cake money” made it sound weird. Like a bribe.

I hadn’t given it expecting to get it back, but if he insisted on repaying me, I had no ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) intention of refusing. With a pleased heart, I opened the silk pouch.

Inside were ten clean coins.

He really did pay back exactly double.

I couldn’t help a small laugh at the cute gesture. As I laughed, Tang Jung’s brows drew together.

“Sohae, do you like that kid from the Namgung Clan?”

“Sorry? What are you talking about. Who would like some snot-nosed little brat...!”

Ah. My mistake.

I hurriedly covered my mouth, but the words “snot-nosed little brat” had already flown out.

Watching Tang Jung’s reaction, I lightly smacked my own lips.

This stupid mouth. I couldn’t go around talking carelessly to precious young masters. At this rate I really was going to get in serious trouble one day.

But Tang Jung’s expression relaxed at my words.

“You don’t like younger boys?”

“I tend to prefer older, I guess? If they’re too young, it’s just... a bit much.”

If I had to choose, that was true. Even if they were older, unless they were more than twelve years up, it wasn’t much different from being younger anyway. freёweɓnovel.com

“I see. Understood. Let’s eat.”

With that, Tang Jung started his meal with a satisfied face. He looked very pleased with my answer.

What about that made him happy. I had no idea what he was thinking.

Sneaking glances at him, I quietly picked up my chopsticks as well.