“Are the Sichuan Tang Family targeting Zhuge Seolrok?”
“What?! So, it’s true that Zhuge Seolrok could become Tang Seolrok?”
The rumors began to spread rapidly.
“That’s what I’m saying! I heard it clearly! The Tang Family is plotting something!”
A crisis for Zhuge Seolrok. No, a crisis for the Zhuge Family is approaching.
The man, who had overheard the conversation among the Tang Family, started speaking urgently about what he had seen and heard.
“Plotting? What in the world does that mean?”
“You know about the Bitter Liquid coming from Zhuge Seolrok, right?”
“That strange potion that shows traces of bleeding when sprayed? Why?”
The man didn’t know whether to feel frustrated or helpless seeing the bewildered expressions on people’s faces.
“Ha! While we’re wondering why, the Tang Family has already started preparing for research!”
“Research? You mean on Zhuge Seolrok’s Bitter Liquid?”
“Exactly!”
What the man saw was a discussion on whether the Bitter Liquid could actually be feasible or not, but in his mind, it concluded that the Tang Family was already conceptualizing research on the Bitter Liquid.
“Why on earth are they researching the Bitter Liquid?”
The man sighed faintly in frustration and revealed a shocking fact that those around him had not realized.
“Don’t you still get it? The Sichuan Tang Family has already begun preparations to seize Zhuge Seolrok!”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re saying the Sichuan Tang Family is indeed ready?”
“Think about Kang Yoon-ho getting broken off his engagement. The Tang family will reach out directly now. Isn’t it so unfair to call off the engagement after all the trouble? After all that hardship, a breakup? They’ll probably just ask Ho Pil to persuade him. They’ll lure him with the promise of revenge! Acting like they’ve prepared everything!”
“Is the Bitter Liquid just part of their preparation?”
“Imagine if Zhuge Seolrok becomes Tang Seolrok!”
“What a horrific thought!”
“Later on, our family will protest, asking why Zhuge Seolrok became Tang Seolrok! We were the originals! Why are they stealing our story?! But what if the Tang Family presents that Bitter Liquid in front of everyone?”
In a situation where both sides claim to be the originals, what would happen if the Tang Family presented proof of the Bitter Liquid?
“No way?! You mean the Bitter Liquid is from the Tang Family, meaning Zhuge Seolrok is also from the Tang Family?”
“That’s how it’s going to be!”
“No way!”
The people gathered around the man finally realized how the situation was turning.
“Those sinister Tang Family folks! They were already preparing!!!”
The Sichuan Tang Family had already started planning for a breakup. The Tang Family was going to steal the treasure of the Zhuge Family.
“Isn’t that a bit far-fetched? They should have some shame. How can Zhuge become Tang?”
Of course, there were those who had reasonable doubts.
“Do those who use poison and treachery even have any shame?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Yeah. Maybe others wouldn’t, but it’s the Tang Family, so it could happen.”
Everyone gathered nodded in agreement. Poisonous scoundrels. If it’s the Tang Family, it’s possible.
“Of course, it could be. But couldn’t they just genuinely want to see if they could really create the Bitter Liquid after reading Zhuge Seolrok?”
The one who initially doubted continued to assert his point without withdrawing.
“Ha! I feel like you think I’m just talking nonsense. I wonder if you can stay quiet after hearing this.”
Right. It’s a reasonable doubt. But at the same time, it’s absurd. The man who came to deliver the news smirked and burst out with a story that would dismiss any lingering suspicions.
“What else did you hear?”
“They say Zhuge Seolrok has been completed in one volume.”
People couldn’t help but doubt their own ears at the man’s words.
“What are you joking about? The Samaa Family and the Shadowless Thief?! The story between Zhuge Seolrok and Master Kang has just begun, hasn’t it?”
The first volume of The Rise of the Tang Family. Just like the first volume of Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes. We’re still at the tasting stage. The second and third volumes are bound to get even better. How can it be finished in one volume?
It’s ridiculous. They chuckled at the absurdity.
“The Tang Family clearly told me. Zhuge Seolrok is complete.”
The man’s eyes were ablaze, as if insisting he wasn’t lying.
“D-does that mean…?”
The man nodded toward the astonished people.
“Correctly speaking, it’s not a completion, but a forced serialization stop.”
“……!”
The doubts that had lingered in the minds of the gathered people vanished in an instant. Those who grasped the truth of the situation were able to come to one clear conclusion.
It’s a declaration of war.
They just hadn’t drawn their weapons yet, but it’s a declaration of war against the proud Zhuge Family. The Sichuan Tang Family is trying to steal the pride of the Zhuge Family.
“Damn those Tang Family folks! They’ve gone too far!”
“Showing their true colors. Damn scoundrels!”
“Are they really trying to stop the serialization of Zhuge Seolrok and turn it into Tang Seolrok?! That’s absolutely unacceptable!”
The people of the Zhuge Family gnashed their teeth in anger.
“Do you remember how much the reputation of the Tang Family improved because of The Rise of the Tang Family? There were even those in our family who wanted to learn martial arts from the Tang Family!”
“If the Tang Family takes Zhuge Seolrok, I can’t even begin to imagine what will happen!”
Even though the Tang Family’s influence is strong in the current martial arts world, there are still righteous factions that gossip about those who use poison.
But since the rise of The Rise of the Tang Family, what has happened?
Even martial artists from families competing with the Sichuan Tang Family have started to admire the Tang Family’s martial arts.
What if the Sichuan Tang Family ends up possessing both The Rise of the Tang Family and Zhuge Seolrok?
A sense of crisis began to swirl in the faces of the gathered people.
“Just because an engagement was made a bit earlier, they scheme like this!”
“Right! We should be getting married, who cares about an engagement!”
“We must do whatever it takes to prevent the breakup!”
“The marriage between Kang Yoon-ho and Lady Zhuge Hyang must happen!”
“Hurry and spread this news far and wide!”
“I can’t stand the sight of you!”
“How many days has it been? Stop hiding in your room and come out.”
“Didn’t I say I can’t stand the sight of you?”
The Head Family’s Hall of the Zhuge Family.
Head of Family Zhuge Geuk had locked himself in his study for days due to his wife’s circumstances.
“Just come out and eat a bite. I’ve made your favorite ravioli.”
“Does it look like ravioli is going to go down my throat right now?”
“I made it with all my heart thinking of you; are you going to throw it away?”
“No! Ha… How can there be this kind of secret between husband and wife?!”
Zhuge Geuk’s voice trembled with betrayal.
They were a couple who had depended on each other affectionately throughout their lives. Anyone in the family who knows even a little about the Zhuge couple wouldn’t hesitate to call it a “pairing of mandarin ducks.”
It was the matter of marrying off their precious youngest daughter. Yet, to hide the fact that there is another fiancée! Zhuge Geuk couldn’t believe this situation.
“I made a mistake. So let’s at least talk face to face.”
“She is my daughter! Our daughter! Not just your daughter!”
“I was just trying to resolve this nicely….”
Let’s marry her off first and reveal the truth after showing the grandchild. I never expected this to get so tangled.
Even Lady Jang, who always maintained her dignified attitude, couldn’t help but shrink her voice out of guilt towards her husband.
“Fine, go ahead.”
A deep sigh could be felt from behind the door. Father-in-law. Wife. The Elders’ Council. The man, who had taken the weight of it all, didn’t want to be angry with his wife any longer.
“Dearest… I’ll leave the food outside the door.”
Feeling her husband’s heart from beyond the door, the wife quietly turned herself around.
“I’ll deliver the meal myself.”
The man, quietly watching from twenty steps behind, approached the family’s matriarch and spoke.
“Head Steward?”
——
A knock echoed once more at the study door.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you in!”
“The lady has stepped away. Please open the door.”
That wasn’t his wife’s voice. It was the Head Steward, who managed the household’s affairs. Zhuge Geuk calmed his anger and spoke again, acknowledging the voice of his most trusted aide.
“Head Steward, you too, step away.”
“No matter how angry you are, work still needs to be done.”
The Head Steward stated his purpose for coming in a tone devoid of emotion.
“Do I look like I’m in a situation to do that?”
“If work could disappear based on moods, then there wouldn’t be anyone who overworks themselves in this world.”
The Head Steward brushed off the head family’s anger lightly, stating that he had no intention of leaving.
“Head Steward.”
“Unless you’ve mastered some sorcery that makes tasks disappear based on your feelings, please open the door. Right now, at this moment, there are piles of paperwork waiting for you, Head of Family.”
He was well aware of the Head’s feelings. He had given him a few days to process. He had let him wait long enough, and now it was time to resolve issues requiring the final responsibility of the Head.
“……Let me in.”
As the Head Steward entered, the usually neatly dressed Zhuge Geuk was nowhere to be seen. Only the weary father Zhuge Geuk, troubled by his daughter’s problems, sat there.
The Head Steward did not show any signs of this but presented the paperwork.
“I’ve only brought urgent documents for your signature.”
“Leave it here.”
“…….”
The Head Steward didn’t place the documents on the desk. He simply stared at the Head.
“What are you doing?”
“Should I summarize the content of these documents to allow you to vent your frustrations in the remaining time?”
The Head Steward responded in an impersonal tone to the Head’s irritable voice.
“Actually, these documents could be waited on for a few more days.”
“I’ll keep it brief.”
“……Explain it.”
Zhuge Geuk listened as the Head Steward reported on the backlog of work.
—
“I will proceed with the last one as the Head Steward said. Is that enough?”
The Head Steward quickly organized the signed documents and nodded.
“Of course. Now I shall close the door and let you vent your frustrations in privacy.”
Perhaps it was due to successfully achieving his goal, but there was a sharpness in the Head Steward’s voice.
“……I’d rather curse.”
The Head Steward seemed to have been waiting for those words.
“By now, the youngest daughter should be grown enough to hide in a box!”
“Have you come here at your wife’s request?”
“Only a request to deliver your meal.”
The gazes of Zhuge Geuk and the Head Steward naturally turned toward the food on the plate.
Lady Jang had outdone herself cooking a delicious meal for her husband.
It would usually be a trivial matter to quibble over cooking, but Lady Jang insisted on making dishes that she learned herself since they were the ones her husband loved.
“Head Steward. Do you think I’m doing something wrong?”
Zhuge Geuk, reflecting on his wife, asked his aide for his opinion.
“No. Lady Jang was wrong. Your father-in-law was wrong. The Elders’ Council made it difficult, and the Tang Family is making nonsensical assumptions.”
The Head Steward answered promptly.
“Of course, Master Kang is also at fault. He didn’t inform the father of a daughter that he has another fiancée. But…”
“But?”
“In the end, the one who must resolve this problem is the Head of the Family alone.”
The Head Steward said directly, as the advisor to a lord unsure of what to do.
“…….”
“It’s such an entangled mess that no one knows who’s to blame, but in the end, it is indeed a silver thread.”
The decision-making power lies with the Head himself. Just like how he approved those documents.
Zhuge Geuk realized why his aide had brought him paperwork that could have waited a few more days.
“Are you suggesting I accept him as my son-in-law?”
“The decision will ultimately be yours, Head of Family. However, it would be better to open your ears and start moving around instead of cocooning yourself in here.”
Just like the Head Steward’s summary report. The Head Steward didn’t add any more words.
“Head Steward….”
“It might also be good to show your face to the juniors who are worried about you.”
“You are indeed the only one who thinks of me.”
Zhuge Geuk smiled faintly and nodded at the Head Steward’s concerned advice.
“I’ll leave the ravioli here.”
The Head Steward bowed to the Head and turned to leave.
The door did not close.
“Delicious.”
The husband picked up the meal prepared with care by his wife.
