Chapter 569

Chapter 569 - Side Story 3

Tang Yu-jeong rolled around on the bed.

"Aaaaah! Frustrating! I'm so frustrated I could die!"

"What are you doing on my bed!"

Tang Gyeong tried to stop her but it was useless. Tang Yu-jeong hugged the blanket tightly and said.

"At this rate, I'll probably never get married and live alone forever."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Tang Gyeong clicked his tongue.

"Our family is so desperate for heirs, yet you're complaining about such privileged problems. Don't worry. Even if big sister doesn't want to go, the family will choose someone for you."

"I hate that even more!"

Tang Yu-jeong threw a pillow. Tang Gyeong hastily turned his head to the side.

Thwack! The pillow stuck straight into the wall.

The hairs on Tang Gyeong's neck stood on end.

A green tint appeared around his eyes and poison energy began to slowly leak out.

Tang Yu-jeong waved her finger side to side.

"This is why you still can't go outside - you get angry that easily and can't control your poison energy."

"Like I wouldn't get angry!"

Tang Gyeong's room walls were full of holes. Chopsticks, inkstones, handprints, even fan marks pressed in with the broad side were left everywhere.

"Oh my~ This is all this young lady's consideration to help you control your poison energy. You won't die from getting hit by this much anyway."

"I will die!"

"You're lying."

Tang Gyeong changed the subject.

"Don't you have any missions today?"

"Skipping."

Tang Yu-jeong smiled.

"If I skip indoor duties, I have to be outside on external missions for four days. Hehe."

Tang Gyeong looked at Tang Yu-jeong incredulously.

"Don't you know that if you keep skipping, your evaluation score gets deducted, and no matter how well you work, your grade drops and you get excluded from important missions later?"

The mission performance scores and attitude evaluation scores were methods newly introduced when Tang Ha-ran became family head, earning praise for recruiting talent fairly regardless of status or origin.

Tang Yu-jeong said without concern.

"So what if my grade is a bit low? I think there's no answer within the family. I need to go outside."

"What would you even do outside? Why do you want to go out so badly?"

"Because it's frustrating. Everyone calls me Poison Dragon's daughter, not seeing me as Tang Yu-jeong."

"Isn't it just that you want to go see handsome men?"

Tang Yu-jeong thought briefly before answering.

"That's part of it."

"Give up. It'll be easier for everyone if you just go to the marriage partner the family chooses."

"Arranged marriages by the family have never worked out historically. Look at Mom. Mom directly chose Dad and even became family head. So I'll also meet someone like Dad, like Mom did. No, someone even stronger than Dad..."

Tang Yu-jeong thought briefly and added.

"Someone passionate about their work."

"What's with that addition?"

"Looking at Dad, he seems so lethargic it's frustrating. I don't even know if he's the same person who supposedly fought against all the martial world alone."

"I think he looks relaxed and it's good. The leisure of the strong, you know."

"You're always on Dad's side when it comes to anything about Dad."

"Big sister. Come to your senses and give up. First of all, you're hung up on being stronger than Dad. There's no way such a person exists. Unless it's some two-hundred-year-old reclusive master."

"Hey! Dad also became the world's greatest master at twenty, so why would I need someone two hundred years old?"

Tang Gyeong said with eyes full of respect.

"Well, obviously Dad is the world's greatest Poison Dragon. Who could dare follow our dad?"

"Ugh, this Dad worshipper. Just you wait. Your future brother-in-law will beat you up every day."

"You know our family motto, right? A man who doesn't know shame or propriety is absolutely unacceptable. So such a person couldn't become my brother-in-law in the first place."

"Dad created Integrity and Defense."

"That's why it's the family motto."

"It'll be fine if he's stronger than Dad."

"Impossible."

"..."

Tang Yu-jeong flopped down on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

"Right. Someone as strong and handsome as Dad probably doesn't exist anywhere else in this world, huh?"

Perhaps feeling sorry for Tang Yu-jeong, Tang Gyeong said consolingly.

"Don't be too discouraged, big sister. Even if such a person exists, they wouldn't try to meet you anyway."

***

"Ah, good work!"

"You worked hard today too."

"See you tomorrow."

Tang Yu-jeong brightly greeted people she met while finishing her daily tasks and returning.

She treated not only the warriors she worked with but also the gatekeepers and maids she encountered the same way. Wherever Tang Yu-jeong passed, it overflowed with vitality. Because of this, many people in the Tang Family Estate liked Tang Yu-jeong.

"How can she be so bright?"

"I know. It's unimaginable in the old Tang Family."

Tang Yu-jeong was always a topic of conversation among the Tang Family's warriors.

"But has the young lady still not had any marriage news? She's already eighteen. With that level of beauty and personality... marriage proposals should be coming in from various places."

"She's sharp and works well so she's popular. Well, sometimes she skips work and runs around."

The warriors shook their heads.

"Looking at her as an individual, who doesn't know she's flawless? But marriage is a matter between families..."

"Must be that, right?"

Poison Dragon fought against the entire martial world. At that time, he created countless grudges. It would be difficult to become in-laws with enemy families.

That said, it wasn't that there were no marriage proposals at all, but most who came to discuss marriage came looking at the Tang Family's power.

Just by forming a marriage alliance with the Tang Family, one could wield tremendous influence in the current martial world.

Thus, the Tang Family couldn't easily accept incoming marriage proposals either. It had to be a family or sect that the Tang Family could sufficiently handle.

Because of this, Tang Yu-jeong's marriage discussions were not progressing smoothly in various ways.

However, conversely, this also meant that if a marriage proposal that met all conditions was offered, it would be difficult to refuse.

The warriors felt genuinely sorry.

"How pitiful. She grew up so carefree and bright thanks to her father, but now that's become poison."

Tang Yu-jeong also got scolded by high-ranking Tang Family elders while going around smiling brightly.

"In a position where you'll have to lead the Tang Family someday, you can't appear too light to those below. Those who must stand above others must also know how to be serious."

"When doing family work, there can't always be only bright matters. You have to make difficult and hard decisions, so are you going to keep smiling around then too?"

Even after hearing the elders' nagging, it was only temporary.

"Yes, I understand well. I'll be careful!"

The elders shook their heads.

It was true that Tang Yu-jeong's presence made the Tang Family brighter, but conversely, there were inevitably those who thought dignity was being damaged.

Actually, it wasn't that Tang Yu-jeong was always bright. That was in front of others - when alone, it was different.

Recently, Tang Yu-jeong often climbed to the roof of the tallest pavilion in the Tang Family Estate at night.

And sitting on the roof, she looked at the dim moon and thought.

"What am I? What do I want to do in the future?"

She was almost of age and marriage was right around the corner. As Tang Gyeong said, in the Tang Family where heirs were precious, marriage and childbirth were extremely important matters. It was an essential duty for those with the Tang surname.

Thinking that she would live like this, marry as told, have children, and spend her whole life bound to the family felt dismal.

Even if that was the unavoidable fate of those who became Tang family members, she at least wanted to live freely just once.

Preferably as Tang Yu-jeong, not Poison Dragon's daughter.

"Is that really so difficult...?"

Her mind became even more troubled by the fact that marriage proposals about her were already subtly coming from several places.

Tang Yu-jeong looked at the moon until late at night and only came down from the pavilion when the bell announcing the third watch rang.

***

"The Murim Alliance?"

Tang Yu-jeong's ears perked up.

She heard that some outstanding youngsters from the Tang Family would be going to the Murim Alliance.

"Murim Alliance!"

Tang Yu-jeong was nineteen and still hadn't left Sichuan.

Others supposedly received recognition as rising dragons and phoenixes in the martial world from eighteen, but Tang Yu-jeong hadn't even had a chance to earn a proper title other than being called Poison Dragon's child.

But going to the Murim Alliance would be different. Even if she couldn't shed the label of Poison Dragon's child, it was an opportunity to play in much bigger waters than now. Anyway, it would be better than Sichuan!

Tang Yu-jeong rushed to find the elder going to the Murim Alliance.

"Elder, will I be going to the Murim Alliance too?"

The elder looked at Tang Yu-jeong and seemed a bit troubled before answering.

"You can't go."

"Huh? Why not?"

"You've failed to properly perform missions and don't meet the qualifications."

"Th-that can't be! But I finished almost all the work I was given."

If Tang Gyeong had been there, he would have sneered, "You reap what you sow."

"Yu-jeong."

The elder sighed deeply and said seriously.

"You're not going to the Murim Alliance to play. If you cause trouble recklessly like you do in the main house, not just you but our entire family will be disgraced. How can I take you while taking such risks?"

"I won't do that!"

"You should have done that from the start."

"Hiing, Elderrr."

Tang Yu-jeong even shed tears deliberately, but the elder only looked troubled and didn't permit it in the end.

Tang Yu-jeong ran to Tang Ha-ran and begged.

"Mom! I want to go to the Murim Alliance too!"

Tang Ha-ran was surrounded by countless bamboo slips and cut her off without even raising her head.

"No."

She didn't even ask the reason. Tang Ha-ran clearly already knew why Tang Yu-jeong couldn't go to the Murim Alliance.

"Mom!"

"Go out. Mom is busy."

Once Tang Ha-ran made a negative judgment, she almost never reversed her words. Since Tang Ha-ran created the grade system, asking her to overlook it was an unreasonable request in the first place. As her own daughter, she would be even stricter, not carelessly apply exceptions.

Tang Yu-jeong gave up on Tang Ha-ran and ran to Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang was playing go by himself, placing stones one by one while carving them.

"Dad! I want to go to the Murim Alliance too."

Jin Ja-gang raised his head to look at Tang Yu-jeong. Tang Yu-jeong shouted forcefully.

"I'll go to the Murim Alliance, make great achievements, and spread our family's name throughout the nine provinces and four seas!"

Jin Ja-gang nodded at Tang Yu-jeong's words.

"That's a good purpose. I support you."

"Then I can go?"

"That would be under your mother's and Third Elder's authority. Did they permit it?"

"No."

"..."

"...Dad?"

"..."

"No, don't make that sorry face!"

Jin Ja-gang said in an apologetic tone.

"When your mother operated the Tang Family with the score and grade system, I also agreed."

"I know. That when rebuilding the Murim Alliance, you made principles the top priority guideline."

"Right, so now I can't violate that, can I?"

"But there must be some way. I'll be twenty next year - how long do I have to be like this? Dad became the world's greatest master at my age."

Tang Yu-jeong sincerely tried to persuade Jin Ja-gang. The thought that if not now, she didn't know when marriage would happen and she'd be trapped in the family made Tang Yu-jeong desperate.

"I'll go and do well, Dad. I won't bring disgrace to the family honor and I'll just do as I'm told."

"...Earlier, what you said about making great achievements and spreading the family name seems to contradict doing as you're told."

"Would I really do something wrong for the family?"

"I know you won't."

Jin Ja-gang consoled Tang Yu-jeong.

"But because your mother and father must be models for others, we have no choice but to be even harsher on you. So if they said no, then it's no."

Boom!

Tang Yu-jeong received a severe shock.

"Siiiigh."

Tears welled up and flowed. Jin Ja-gang panicked.

"Yu-jeong?"

"Because of Dad..."

Tang Yu-jeong cried out.

"I've lived so hard until now because of Dad, so why can I never live freely as I want even once!"

She had lived unequally all along. Because she was Poison Dragon's daughter and the family head's daughter, she paradoxically couldn't live as she pleased. Others liked that the family head was fair, but for Tang Yu-jeong, that fairness was applied even more strictly than to others, making it unfair.

"I hate you, Dad! Mom too!"

Tang Yu-jeong ran out of the inner courtyard crying.