Chapter 44
Although Dongbaek carried herself with maturity, her youth betrayed her in moments like this, making Zhang Rang chuckle despite himself. It was as though he’d glimpsed a childish side of her, and seeing how much she wanted this, he couldn’t find it in himself to refuse. If it pleased Dongbaek, there was little reason to deny her.
“Is there a young lady you’ve set your heart on? This is rather sudden. Since you like her, I won’t stop you. Which family’s daughter is she?”
Zhang Rang thought Dongbaek would be happy with his approval. But Dongbaek’s expression remained stiff. She shook her head and replied in a rigid tone.
“That’s where the problem lies.”
“Is she a commoner? Then, take her as a concubine. A man should be able to maintain ten wives and concubines properly.”
Zhang Rang, thinking Dongbaek was worried about social status, expressed his positive approval to reassure her. If the other party was a commoner, being a concubine was generous treatment. This was especially true since Dongbaek currently had no wife.
“She’s not a commoner.”
But Dongbaek continued to shake her head. Zhang Rang asked with a puzzled expression.
“If not a commoner, don’t tell me she’s a slave?”
“She’s the daughter of a noble family.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any problem, right? Though you’re adopted, you’re still my only son, Zhang Rang’s son. No family would reject you, would they?”
Even if the woman Dongbaek wanted was from the imperial family, he was willing to help. But merely a noble? What noble family wouldn’t want to be in-laws with him! Even those opposed to court eunuchs would feel the same.
Dongbaek lowered her gaze to the table for a moment, then raised her head again. Her eyes held firm resolve. Meeting Zhang Rang’s gaze with unwavering eyes, she spoke each word clearly and precisely.
“The lady I want is Commandant Dan Liang’s daughter.”
At Dongbaek’s words, Zhang Rang tilted his head as if deep in thought. Being someone who controlled the court, Zhang Rang could immediately recall who Dongbaek was talking about.
“…Commandant Dan Liang. Wait, isn’t his daughter supposed to marry He Jin? Don’t tell me…”
“Yes, I intend to take the bride for myself.”
At Dongbaek’s nonchalant words, Zhang Rang’s jaw dropped. He could only laugh in disbelief.
This wasn’t like saying they would pick persimmons that had fallen over the neighbor’s fence—Dongbaek was talking about something enormous as if it were perfectly natural. Zhang Rang finally picked up the pipe lying on the table.
After skillfully packing finely cut leaves into the pipe and lighting it, Zhang Rang took a deep drag and blew the smoke in Dongbaek’s face. Despite the white haze obscuring her vision and the sharp scent, Dongbaek’s expression remained unchanged. Rather, she continued speaking calmly.
“The lady has already given her consent.”
“…How?”
“I climbed over the wall.”
Dongbaek’s matter-of-fact response left Zhang Rang dumbfounded.
Climbing over the wall to get permission, really. It was just too absurd.
But looking at Dongbaek’s appearance before him now, it made sense. From what he’d heard, Dan Liang’s daughter was barely ten years old, or perhaps even younger. For such a young child, Dongbaek’s appearance was too overwhelming.
“So, what are you planning to do? Are you willing to make enemies of He Jin and Dan Liang just to take that girl?”
“We’re not exactly on good terms with them anyway, are we?”
“But we haven’t completely turned them into enemies either.”
Zhang Rang responded seriously. This was already beyond the issue of an engagement. This was He Jin, the Grand General. The Empress He’s brother. Whether they liked it or not, breaking off his marriage would cause rumors, and the delicate balance of power would undoubtedly be overturned.
“I trust in you, Father.”
“They might petition the Emperor. If that happens, you’ll have no choice but to return the bride after being thoroughly humiliated.”
To Zhang Rang’s worried words, Dongbaek smiled and answered.
“I plan to make the first move.”
“The first move?”
Dongbaek smiled at Zhang Rang’s puzzled question. Then, she spoke of a method no one else would have thought of.
“Yes, the pardon I received from the Emperor. I’ll use that. The day after I take the bride, I’ll enter the palace, inform the Emperor, and use the pardon. There won’t be any problems.”
“…You’re going to use that pardon just to get one woman?!”
Zhang Rang’s dry fist struck the table hard. His jaw trembled as violently as the table shook.
A pardon that could absolve any crime. To think it would be used for something like this!
Unable to control his temper, he threw the pipe he was smoking at Dongbaek. It missed her face and hit the wall. The pipe made a sharp sound as it left a long scratch on the wall before falling to the floor.
“You’re utterly bewitched—completely bewitched! And I thought you were smart…”
“It was an easily earned reward. It’s fitting that it should be spent just as easily.”
Despite Zhang Rang’s evident anger, Dongbaek remained calm. Seeing his child not even flinch an eyebrow, Zhang Rang gritted his teeth.
“You speak well. Fine, what’s your reason for wanting that girl so badly that you’d go this far? Is she a great beauty? Beauty is fleeting. Is she clever and brilliant? No matter how smart, she’s still just a woman. Does she overflow with charms that comfort you? That’s just covering up reality.”
Zhang Rang let his shoulders drop as he spoke with a sigh. His words, carrying years of experience, were filled with nihilistic sentiments about women.
Someone as dried up as Zhang Rang, who only valued women for their utility and treated them like objects, would probably never understand why she cherished Lili, even if he lived forever. Dongbaek smiled bitterly.
“That child will become my weakness. Whether she marries He Jin or stays with me. If that’s the case, I’d rather keep her in my grasp. It doesn’t suit my nature to let someone who might become my weakness roam free.”
Dongbaek didn’t back down an inch. Zhang Rang’s hand fumbled across the table. His hand, searching for where the pipe had been, stopped when he remembered he had thrown it. Zhang Rang let out a long sigh.
“You speak quite definitively. That she’ll become your weakness.”
“My instincts tell me so. Besides, keeping the pardon would only make others wary of me. It would be better to use it for something like this.”
“……”
Regarding the pardon, Zhang Rang seemed to agree as he made no particular counterargument.
Sensing Zhang Rang’s softening stance with uncanny perception, Dongbaek coaxed him with a bright smile and honey-sweet words.
“Father, you’re also my weakness. Mother is my weakness too. What difference would it make to place one more weakness where my two weaknesses already are?”
And those words particularly worked on Zhang Rang. He could certainly understand why that little girl had accepted Dongbaek’s proposal. If Dongbaek could handle the great Zhang Rang this well, a young child would have been putty in her hands. Zhang Rang replied grumpily with a slightly mischievous smile.
“Calling me a weakness, how impudent.”
“I say it because I love you, Father.”
“…Well, what can I do?”
They say no one can win against their child, I never thought I’d end up like this. Zhang Rang shook his head.
A man speaking so freely of love without shame. Unable to reject Dongbaek’s words any longer, Zhang Rang rose from his seat with an air of partial resignation and muttered.
“I suppose I’ll have to prepare the wedding chamber.”
At Zhang Rang’s defeated mumbling, Dongbaek smiled softly. It was perfect permission.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Clouds veiled the moon.
In an instant, darkness consumed the city of Chang’an. It was the hour of the ox, and all were fast asleep. A shadowy figure leapt gracefully over a wall. Dressed entirely in black, the masked figure blended seamlessly into the night.
The masked figure arrived at a modest room that wasn’t particularly luxurious. However, each item inside exuded elegance and refinement, clearly expensive at first glance. And what the masked figure targeted was the most precious and beautiful, the one and only thing in this world among everything in that room.
The masked figure quietly stepped into the room. Sure enough, a young girl like a peony bud just about to bloom was sleeping gracefully on the bed. The masked figure carefully lifted the girl who would one day become the most beautiful woman in the world. Even as she was lifted, the girl remained fast asleep.
Just then, there was a rustling sound from outside the room. Clicking their tongue, the masked figure adjusted their hold on the girl and lightly leaped over the window.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
Soon after, an ear-piercing woman’s scream came from the room where the girl had been taken.
“The young lady, the young lady!”
As the woman’s panicked voice woke the mansion’s residents one by one, lights began to appear. The masked figure left the mansion as quickly as they had entered.
Placing the girl in the hollow of a persimmon tree branch near the wall, the masked figure retrieved a bow and arrow hidden there. Nocking the arrow and drawing the bowstring with strong force in one breath. From the taut string and the masked figure’s open chest, one could tell how much strength was being used to aim the bow.
This is a declaration of war.
With maximum effort, aiming at the pillar of the master’s residence far away. The masked figure’s eyes suddenly gleamed sharply as they focused on their target.
In the suffocating darkness where even seeing was difficult, they calculated with precision. They steadied their breath—in and out—until the air stilled and the wind paused.
In that moment of stillness, the intruder released the arrow.
The arrow shot forth, tracing an arc as it disappeared into the distance. The bowstring vibrated in its wake. Slinging the bow over one shoulder and securing the girl on the other, the figure moved quickly.
The rest was easy. Right beside the wall stood a black horse as dark as the masked figure. The horse, which had been staying quiet without any fuss, quickly moved according to the masked figure’s touch, undisturbed by the impact of their landing from the tree.
Having achieved their objective, they leisurely left the mansion.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Thank you for reading! ♡
