Chapter 65. The Difference between the Clan Heads
Red Radiance Hall was the hall used by the Clan Head to receive honored guests or to converse with direct descendants.
Its splendor was indescribable—an ideal place to flaunt one’s prestige.
In particular, the second floor was a true paradise. The walls were made of folding windows, and when the windows hanging from the ceiling were drawn to one side, the entire garden became visible.
It looked as if a massive landscape painting had been hung—a rare and precious painting that changed with the weather.
Today, it displayed a lake nestled among lush greenery beneath a blue sky.
The Tang Clan arranged seats for the Clan Head and the elders in Red Radiance Hall, and prepared seats for the retainers in the garden. Thus, any commotion in the garden could be seen clearly from above.
Before long, the Clan Heads and Young Lords of the Five Noble Clans, along with their accompanying elders, had all gathered in Red Radiance Hall.
Each person who entered let out their admiration.
“Red Radiance Hall is beautiful no matter how many times I see it. Especially the garden visible at a glance—it’s truly a work of art.”
Everyone wore a satisfied expression, as if in agreement. The long table was set horizontally, allowing them to dine while admiring the beautiful lake and the flawless younger generation seated outside.
However, the Clan Head of the Tang Clan, Tang Ji-ha could not join in their smiles. He stared at the garden with a tense face.
Unable to bear it, Tang Hak whispered softly.
“Father, shall I go to the inner courtyard and check when they’ll be ready?”
“No, leave it be.”
Though he wanted to hurry things along, he feared that Lady Jang might rush her preparations if he did.
Not only Tang Hak, but Ye-hwa and Yu-hwa had also attended the Alliance of Noble Clans from a young age. However, for So-hwa, this was her first time.
That child was different from the others, so it was safer to bring her out only when she was a little older.
Once she reached around twenty, they could make excuses—that she had a unique body due to being a martial arts genius, or that her body had changed because of taking a rare medicine.
Unfortunately, due to So-hwa’s lacking martial arts, the former excuse was unusable. But thanks to her frequent troublemaking during travels, the latter excuse could still be used.
Tang Ji-ha knew all too well how obsessed and ruthlessly fixated the murim was unique constitutions, so he tried to keep So-hwa hidden. But that led to strange rumors.
That she was so hideously ugly she couldn’t be shown, or that her birth mother was a maidservant, so she wasn’t treated as a direct descendant—all unpleasant talk. Still, the Clan Head let the rumors be. Better to be burdened with strange gossip than to have it known that she was born with a unique constitution.
However, this… brought about an unexpected result.
By the time So-hwa turned twenty, no betrothal letters had come for her. Meanwhile, her twin sisters, only fifteen years old, were already receiving them in droves.
Tang Ji-ha felt that this couldn’t go on and made a bold decision.
He told Lady Jang to prepare So-hwa to attend the Alliance of Noble Clans, and to do her utmost in adorning her. He also ordered her to buy the most expensive ornaments and garments without budget constraints.
The steward even grumbled at the absurd expenses, asking if Lady So-hwa was being married off somewhere.
But it had to be done.
Tang Ji-ha wanted to display her, not for her looks, but adorned with precious ornaments—to show everyone how dearly she was raised, and thus, what she could receive from the Clan Head in return.
Tang So-hwa was not a maidservant’s illegitimate child—she was the eldest daughter of Tang Ji-ha. To disregard her was to disregard him.
He intended to make that point perfectly clear to everyone.
Tang Ji-ha, suddenly feeling a surge of frustration, emptied the cup of liquor before him in one gulp.
‘No matter what the rumors say, how could not a single betrothal letter arrive? Do they take me, Tang Ji-ha, for a petty man who discriminates among his children?’
His gaze subtly shifted to the side. There sat his longtime friend, Namgung An.
‘…To be grouped with him—what a disgrace.’
By coincidence, Namgung An’s illegitimate child was also attending the Alliance of Noble Clans for the first time this year. But that man had drawn a clear line with the child, refusing even to acknowledge him in front of others.
‘Tsk tsk. What a pitiful man. He doesn’t even realize he’s disgracing himself.’
Tang Ji-ha had never spoken up, since it wasn’t polite to meddle in another household’s affairs, but he always thought his friend was pathetic.
Even if it were an illegitimate child, Tang Ji-ha believed one should uphold the child’s dignity so that others could not look down on them.
A child of the Tang Clan being treated with disdain wasn’t much different from the Tang Clan itself being disrespected.
‘The Tang Clan is leagues above Namgung. Of course—we have different caliber of Clan Heads.’
At that moment, a member of the White Tiger unit quietly approached the Clan Head and signaled with his eyes.
So-hwa had arrived.
Fortunately, it was still shortly after the luncheon had begun.
Tang Ji-ha’s face broke into a smile full of anticipation.
‘Watch carefully, Namgung An. See the difference between you and me.’
Relieved, Tang Ji-ha sat up straight and cheerfully emptied another cup of liquor. But then, someone’s sigh brushed against his ear.
“Oh dear, just when I thought this year might pass peacefully, it seems another fight’s broken out.”
“Isn’t that over at the Namgung side?”
At the words of the Peng Clan elders, Namgung An subtly turned his gaze. His face had gone rigid.
Tang Ji-ha looked at him with eyes full of sympathy and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘A fight, at an event like this? He should manage his clan better.’
With a pitiful heart toward his friend, the Tang Clan Head picked up a piece of meat.
“It seems a Young warrior of Namgung got into a dispute with a young lady from another clan. Hmm… the seat next to Namgung—is that the Peng Clan?”
“No, it’s not the Peng Clan. If a girl that pretty had been there, I definitely would have remembered her.”
Everyone immediately checked to make sure it wasn’t a child from their own clan, as if it didn’t concern them otherwise. But each clan denied it was one of theirs.
The Tang Clan Head, chewing on his meat, glanced that way, thinking it couldn’t possibly be.
‘I told the kids they’d be in trouble if they left their seats… there’s no way she’d be over there…’
There’s no disgrace worse than having guests over and letting a fight break out, so the Clan Head had firmly warned his retainers not to wander around. But ominously, the woman exchanging sharp words with the Namgung’s young warrior was wearing green robes—a pale, sprout-like green.
The moment the girl’s face in green robes came into view, Tang Ji-ha shot up from his seat.
“What?! Why is So-hwa over there?!”
And what is that outfit?! I gave them so much money! Madam Jang, seriously—!
So-hwa, dressed plainly, was wearing a soft smile even her own father had never seen before.
At that moment, Namgung An spoke with a smile.
“Ah, that young lady must be your eldest daughter, Clan Head.”
He was smiling, but his tone was ice cold.
It was understandable. For Namgung An, she must have been a sworn enemy who emptied half his storeroom and confined his beloved eldest son to an abandoned cave.
'No, but still. How dare he cast such a gaze on another's child, right in front of her father?'
The Tang Clan Head glared at Namgung An with fierce eyes.
But it wasn’t the time to be focused on Namgung An’s gaze—another Clan Head spoke with a tone laced in subtle reproach.
“Oh, considering how stunning Ye-hwa and Yu-hwa are, it’s not too surprising, but Lady Tang So-hwa is also an exceptional beauty. Haha, Clan Head, you must be delighted to have such lovely daughters.”
“Indeed.”
Surprisingly, the cunning Zhuge Clan Head added on, unusually talkative as he tried to save Tang Ji-ha’s face.
‘…That man usually isn’t like this.’
As expected, the Zhuge Clan Head curved his eyes into crescent moons and continued.
"But she's truly modest. I always thought the Tang Clan favored extravagance, but thanks to Lady Tang, I see now it was merely my prejudice.”
He sighed as he set down his cup.
“I, too, always tell Cheon-yu to cherish and economize on wealth, but do children ever follow their father's wishes? If they pout and beg, you inevitably end up spending money. Haha, during this gathering, I’ll have to learn from the Tang Clan Head how to stay firm with one’s daughter.”
A heavy silence fell.
Tang Ji-ha had suddenly become a father who stingily withheld money from his daughter.
Everyone present had already seen Tang Ye-hwa and Tang Yu-hwa, and they knew well that Tang Ji-ha spared no expense on his children. So this was clearly pointing out his favoritism.
‘Tsk, the man’s rich and yet stingy only to his eldest daughter, huh.’
‘There were rumors she was being treated unfairly… Looks like they were true. Maybe he keeps his distance because she’s born of a maidservant?’
The meaning behind the glances being cast was painfully clear, and Tang Ji-ha felt his insides flip.
‘No! You bastards! Do you know how much effort I put into this day?!’
But the atmosphere had already settled on the conclusion: “The Tang Clan Head discriminates against his eldest daughter.”
At that moment, Namgung An cut in with a smile.
“It’s difficult for everyone to be a good father like the esteemed Zhuge Clan Head here. We all know how much our Clan Head cherishes his children.”
Namgung An smiled as he looked at the Zhuge Clan Head.
“To the point there’s a rumor that if an illegitimate child is born, he quietly kills them off, so they don’t threaten the standing of his other children.”
After subtly mocking the Zhuge Clan Head, Namgung An turned to Tang Ji-ha, giving him a warm smile as if to say, “I understand you.”
‘Damn you! Don’t try to build camaraderie! You and I are nothing alike!’
Tang Ji-ha finally understood the meaning of “a fire rising in the chest.”
He turned to look at So-hwa again.
He couldn’t understand why the girl—who usually listened so well—was suddenly putting her father in such a difficult spot. There’s no way that clever child wouldn’t understand his intentions.
Then, Tang Ji-ha frowned.
So-hwa, who had been about to leave the area, suddenly stopped in her tracks.