Ho Pil is a female author?
In the secretly infiltrated mansion, Im Ha-yeon couldn’t contain her shock at the identity of the person she saw beyond the window.
At first, she naturally thought it was a fake author, just as Kang Yoon-ho had said. Earlier, she had complained to him in a teasing manner, but no matter what others say, Ho Pil is certainly not just a close friend of Kang Yoon-ho.
But once she infiltrated the mansion, something felt off.
Martial artists were guarding a woman who was said to be Ho Pil. As soon as Im Ha-yeon confirmed this fact, her mind began to swirl with confusion.
Ho Pil was certainly known as a male.
If it were a fake author, they would have definitely presented a man. But a woman? No way, could it be that this wasn’t a fake and that it was the real Ho Pil?
With her shock still lingering, Im Ha-yeon returned with a face that clearly showed her dissatisfaction and asked Kang Yoon-ho.
“Is Ho Pil a woman?”
“It was a woman with silver hair. The kind of silver hair that’s common from overseas.”
This was another reason for Im Ha-yeon’s suspicion that the woman in the mansion was Ho Pil.
Silver hair is rare in the Central Plains but common in foreign lands. What if that’s why the author’s pen name is Ho Pil (胡筆)?
Moreover, if both Kang Yoon-ho and Ho Pil were from the same foreign place and became close friends, it all matched up perfectly.
“If the woman I saw is really Ho Pil, everything fits too well.”
“Silver hair? No way… Did you catch her name?”
Why isn’t she denying it? Im Ha-yeon unconsciously clenched her teeth at the expression on Kang Yoon-ho’s face that seemed to suggest he had figured something out.
“I heard her referred to as Young Miss Hyang.”
“Young Miss Hyang? So… was my guess right?”
What does ‘so’ even mean? Is she really Ho Pil?
There was a feeling simmering in her chest. To keep her emotions hidden from the man, Im Ha-yeon clenched her fists tightly.
Could it really be Ho Pil?
Even while grumbling about the wicked store manager in front of Kang Yoon-ho, she knew better than anyone about his good deeds.
She recalled one of those good deeds of Kang Yoon-ho that she was so familiar with.
Once upon a time, Kang Yoon-ho risked his life for Ho Pil instead of being dragged into the Tang Family.
Risks his life, really? Unless he was a proverbial liar like Yeonpa and Insangyeogeup, even as close friends, such an action wasn’t something just anyone could pull off.
But what if…
What if that was the action of a lover rather than just a friend?
As Im Ha-yeon recalled the realization she made in the mansion, her heart suddenly pricked. Her head felt cold, and she could sense nerves gathering at that location like they were pricked by thorns.
When did she last feel something similar? Oh right. It was when that man treated her oddly coldly while being kind to Ha So-so.
“I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you have, but that woman is not Ho Pil.”
Kang Yoon-ho firmly dismissed Im Ha-yeon’s logic.
“Isn’t it possible you recognized her as Ho Pil just because of that silver hair? It’s actually a common hair color overseas, isn’t it?”
“Silver hair can appear in the Central Plains too. Why? Isn’t there a family famous for silver hair? The Jeokgak family, you know.”
“Are you saying the person I saw belongs to the Jeokgak family?”
At Im Ha-yeon’s question, Kang Yoon-ho nodded.
“Right. She’s the granddaughter of Man Geum-jeon, they say. I learned about it when there was chaos after she ran away from Man Geum-jeon’s mansion that day. They were on the lookout for her, so I recognized her face.”
“The granddaughter of Man Geum-jeon is pretending to be Ho Pil? Why?”
“I don’t know that either. But at least now I have a clue. Really, thank you.”
Kang Yoon-ho stood up and bowed politely to Im Ha-yeon.
“Why the sudden gratitude?”
Im Ha-yeon waved her hands, flustered by the behavior of the man, which was unlike him.
“Sometimes I wonder how I would’ve managed if you weren’t around, so I’m truly grateful.”
I would have no idea how to manage without you either. With that thought, the final shred of doubt that had lingered in her heart flew away.
It really couldn’t be.
She had been suspicious for no reason. No, she didn’t even understand why she was suddenly feeling so strange.
“Not at all. I acted out for no reason.”
Im Ha-yeon smiled brightly, her face cleared of the thorns that had tormented her.
*
Who would have thought I’d end up facing a forced gender transformation crisis?
I could become instantly famous with a title like the ‘Beautiful Young Lady color hero’ in this world, but I don’t want to go that far just to up my reputation.
“I’m glad I found out who the fake Ho Pil is, but the problem is now I need to prove it in front of others… But still, I didn’t expect you to be back so soon?”
I asked Im Ha-yeon, who wore a meaninglessly smiling expression.
“At Heo Song’s place. It’s nearby.”
“Oh, I see.”
Now it made sense why she got back so quickly. But who would’ve guessed that Jeokgak Hyang would be the fake Ho Pil? What a coincidence.
The old man calls her a shy and introverted girl.
On the day I visited Man Geum-jeon’s mansion, the woman hiding in the box must have been Jeokgak Hyang. I was convinced once I recalled that brief encounter.
What kind of shy and introverted person pulls off such an elaborate scam? Especially right near the real Ho Pil.
Hold on, the fake Ho Pil lives nearby?
I rummaged through the drawer next to me.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to resolve the fake Ho Pil issue.”
If my guess is right, I have a way to handle this.
“Are you thinking of sending a letter to the Sichuan Tang Family?”
“Even if we send a letter to the Sichuan Tang Family, it would take at least a month or two for help to arrive.”
Before I even consider asking for help, just the physical distance alone presents a problem.
Plus, we’re only dealing with one bookstore in Wuhan. It would be better to handle this on my own.
“So, what do we do?”
“First, I need to meet the fake Ho Pil.”
Thanks to Im Ha-yeon, I’ve learned that it’s a fake, but I still need to confront the fake Ho Pil.
That would allow me to officially declare her a fraud.
“You want to meet her?”
“If the personality I heard about is correct, it wouldn’t be someone who could impersonate Ho Pil. And since I heard she has been kidnapped, it’s not too late to see what’s going on after meeting her.”
Man Geum-jeon, the head of guards for the mansion, and the martial artists who protected Jeokgak Hyang. I wonder how much they would have skipped school. If even 10% of what they said about her personality is true, then she is not the type of woman who would pull off such a bold deception.
Even if she intentionally masqueraded as Ho Pil, that wouldn’t matter. If I could just face her, I could use Jeokgak Hyang as a joker.
If Jeokgak Hyang was kidnapped, it involved the audacity of abducting a daughter of the Jeokgak family and could bring ruin to the Man Geum Library.
It would be even better if it’s confirmed that she did impersonate Ho Pil. I could just rush to Man Geum-jeon and call off this proposed engagement.
I could also mention it to Jeon Gil-san and tell him to discard the successor.
“How will you meet her? Are you thinking of kidnapping her?”
This girl is talking about something that could land her in big trouble. She’s the youngest daughter of the Jeokgak family!
“With my current light body movement skills, I wouldn’t be able to sneak into their home.”
I’d have to kidnap her then.
“It’s impossible to get past those guards.”
I guess it was too bold of me to consider crossing into the expert’s territory since I’ve become a little faster.
But it doesn’t matter.
“In that case, I’ll just have to boldly enter through the front gate and take her with me.”
“Huh? How?”
I have a plan.
After searching through the drawer, I finally found what I was looking for and showed it to Im Ha-yeon.
“We have an entrance pass.”
What I pulled out was a record of the carrier pigeon’s usage.
A log of delivery orders going in and out of Heo Song’s mansion, countless times a day.
In the mansion where the granddaughter of Man Geum-jeon, Heo Song, resides.
A figure in the guest room slightly opened the window, gave a small sigh upon noticing that the guards were still watching closely, and then closed it again.
Inside the guest room, the figure stood in front of the desk.
A beauty with silver hair and blue eyes. Some might mistake her for a foreign beauty because of her appearance and hair.
However, the silver hair was proof of being a direct descendant of the Jeokgak family, stemming from the union of Jeokgak Gongmyeong and a foreign woman, Lady Huang.
With an angelic appearance that looked like the first snow falling at midnight, her still youthful appearance guaranteed that she would soon be one of the renowned beauties in Hubei.
Her name is Jeokgak Hyang.
The youngest daughter of the Jeokgak family. A precious child, raised under the loving care of her parents, akin to a flower in a greenhouse.
Yet being that treasured did present her with a problem that even her parents were troubled by. It was a problem stemming solely from being too well-loved.
She was inherently an introverted girl.
With a timid nature, she loved reading books and drawing, and she would often avoid social encounters.
Of course, it wasn’t because she had any disease or issues; it was simply her nature.
Whenever there were family events, she would slyly slip away, leaving the tasks to her older siblings.
Whenever the need arose to meet people, she preferred staying hidden in her room, mastering the arts of evasion and escape whenever someone sought her out.
Ultimately, she preferred staying indoors over meeting people.
She was rather skilled at avoiding arranged marriages on top of that.
“After running away from all those escape attempts! I’ve somehow ended up as the fake Ho Pil author! Aaaah! Waaaaah!”
With her angelic appearance resembling pristine first snow at midnight, Jeokgak Hyang screamed with a face that showed none of her beauty.
