NOVEL NEXT Chapter 543
The Head Family’s Hall of the Zhuge Clan.
Rumor has it that the Head of the Family was furious enough to eat someone alive just the day before. Apparently, the bodyguards couldn’t stop an intruder. Suddenly, the Head of the Family collapsed.
There was a brief moment of ominous rumors, but the business proceeded as planned.
“According to intelligence, it seems there was a massive civil war among the Hao Clan in Wuhan recently. The movements of those faction members trying to head north from Gangnam appear to have come to a halt, likely suffering significant damage from this civil war.”
“My daughter…”
“A suspicious movement was discovered in Wuhan. According to Hyun-won Dae’s report that arrived yesterday…”
“Our youngest daughter said she’d marry Daddy if she found a good man…”
She wants to marry a black-haired guy and throw dirt in her father’s eyes? How could our youngest daughter do such a thing?
It’s all that black-haired guy’s fault! Tempting our clueless daughter and trying to break her bond with her father!
Zhuge Geuk was still unable to shake off the shock from yesterday.
“Head of the Family?”
The Head of the Family’s condition seemed strange. A few of Zhuge Geuk’s close aides looked at the Head with concern, but he was oblivious.
“That black-haired scoundrel laid a hand on our daughter…!”
GASP! Sleeping with a girl who doesn’t know anything about men! BAM!
DADDY! I’ve completely succumbed to Master Kang!
CREAK!
As Zhuge Geuk recalled what happened yesterday, the armrest made of fine wood began to crack again.
“Head of the Family!”
Finally, unable to watch, his aide Hyun-won Dae pulled Zhuge Geuk back into reality.
“W-What’s going on?!”
“It seems news of our youngest lady has reached the Elders’ Council.”
“Didn’t I tell everyone to keep their mouths shut?!”
The fact that news of his youngest daughter had reached the Elders’ Council crumpled the Head of the Family’s brow into a scowl.
“Due to the arrival of people from the Man Geum Battlefield, it seems the Elders want to know what’s going on.”
“This is going to be a headache. Once the old geezers of the clan catch wind of this, they won’t stay quiet.”
What should I do?
Zhuge Geuk sighed softly, imagining the elderly members of the clan charging at him.
His aides also knew the situation, so they kept their mouths shut.
“Well then, can’t you just step up and solve the problem?”
Except for the woman who wasn’t invited to the Head Family’s Hall.
“Madam?!”
Everyone’s attention in the room turned toward the door.
Jang Young-young. The mistress of the Zhuge Clan confidently walked into the office.
“Hey, look at me.”
“I told you to stay at Man Geum Garden for a while. And I’m at work.”
Man Geum Garden, which the Head had decorated similarly to his father-in-law’s garden for his wife. Jang Young-young was under a sort of probation for her youngest daughter’s incident, having been told to stay at Man Geum Garden.
Of course, it wasn’t a formal probation, so she could leave as she pleased.
“Oh my. Are you all still working?”
The mistress of the Zhuge Clan, respected and feared just as much as Head Zhuge Geuk. Jang Young-young smiled politely while asking those who were still seated.
“W-We just finished the meeting, Madam.”
A storm was about to hit. The aides who had supported the Head couldn’t possibly be unaware of the situation.
“All reports are done. We were just about to leave!”
“Oh, we’ll stop here for today.”
There was no need to be battered by a raging storm. The aides hurriedly gathered their reports and left the room.
“Is that so…”
Her husband Zhuge Geuk could only watch in a daze as everyone fled like the tide.
——
“When exactly are you going to keep whining?”
Jang Young-young began to put away the disheveled chairs, speaking nonchalantly to open the conversation.
“Whining? This matter has now reached the Elders’ Council! There will be all sorts of nonsense about how I tried to take a black-haired guy as a son-in-law! If it gets out that you proceeded without my consent, you might end up being criticized by the elders too!”
Zhuge Clan is known for its history and tradition, even if not solely among the martial arts clans—definitely one of the most prestigious in the Central Plains.
Naturally, if the foundations and traditions of the clan are threatened, the so-called elders won’t stand down.
If the Head’s youngest daughter were to marry a black-haired guy, it was clear they would rise up against it.
“So… are you packing your bags?”
The mistress of the clan raised a brow, unfazed by his words.
“Madam! Are you going to keep talking like this?”
“The disappointed one is our son-in-law. How can a father-in-law put his son-in-law into prison on his first greeting?”
Jang Young-young shot back at her husband Zhuge Geuk as if it was absurd.
“Who said he was my son-in-law right now? How can you bring a guy I told to imprison into our house?”
“I was the one who took him there to meet you!”
Jang Young-young replied with an incredibly nonchalant face, raising Zhuge Geuk’s voice.
“Madam. You’ve clearly crossed a line with this matter! An engagement without my consultation?!”
His wife shrugged it off as no big deal, but this was a serious matter.
It wasn’t just a simple engagement process. It was an outright dismissal of the authority of the family’s decisions, disregarding her husband and blocking their direct line for their youngest daughter.
Zhuge Geuk and Jang Young-young’s marriage might have been quite good, but if it hadn’t been, the clan members would have been rallying to punish the wife.
“Heck?! You’re absolutely right. If you protected her better, would we be in such a mess now?!”
Jang Young-young pointed out, fully aware of the truth behind their situation.
“Didn’t I do my best to protect her? She’s still young,” Zhuge Geuk said defensively.
“Yours is just a view. I was already managing things for you back then when I was her age.”
“Uh, ahem! Madam, Hyun is a martial artist. Even aging slower, he can marry later, what’s the problem?”
“And who’s going to wait for a good guy until that age?”
“If I find one, that’s enough…”
“Isn’t it just going to be ‘be cute, and then I’ll let you date again’ next time you have a match?”
“……”
Knowing he couldn’t argue back, Jang Young-young sighed softly.
“Hyun is at the right age to get married now. We should marry her off while she’s still young and pretty. Do you think she’ll change just because she gets older? She needs to fall in love, have kids, and build a family to become an adult! Do you want to marry her to some useless potbelly when she’s a 20-something old maid?”
Being her mother, she envisioned her daughter remaining clueless even in her twenties.
“No matter what, we can’t let her live with that black-haired guy!”
Zhuge Geuk hastily shifted the topic to avoid imagining that scene.
“Why’s he worthless? Didn’t he become the heir to the Man Geum Battlefield recently?”
“What?!”
“The black-haired boy you’re currently looking down on! He’s the one who dealt with the demon that caused trouble in the martial world!”
This was something even the Head of the Zhuge Clan would perk up and pay attention to.