Ch 335: Tucking Tail And Becoming Human
As the words ended, Baek Heung-eon’s voice was heard.
“How arrogant! This hateful thing, has no respect for superiors. How could our Baek Family have produced a daughter like you? A misfortune for the family! A misfortune for the family!”
Baek Hak-yeom nodded and glared at Baek Hwa-an.
“Did you hear? Father is admonishing you!”
“It is you I am admonishing!”
Baek Heung-eon was about to explode with anger again.
“Baek Hak-yeom, you are the hateful one! I am admonishing you!”
“Did you hear? Your father is admonishing you! As an inferior, you dared to make the Mistress kneel and bow your head, and you insulted and humiliated us. If this isn’t hateful, what is? This is truly a misfortune for our Baek Family!”
Baek Hwa-an pulled away from Muk-eo’s hand and supported Little Yeop.
“Mother, get up quickly. We are no longer concubines and illegitimate daughters who suffer the bullying of others. They can’t treat us like this.”
Baek Hak-yeom burst into laughter.
“Oh, you have become quite impressive. As a granddaughter, you dared to insult your grandmother to her face. Baek Hwa-an, tell me, how impressive has your ability become!”
She glared at Baek Heung-eon.
“Since you’ve arrived, don’t just watch. Step forward quickly. The master of this house should speak. Your daughter humiliated your biological mother, what do you think of this? How do you intend to punish this crime?”
Baek Heung-eon was stunned. He clearly hadn’t expected such a thing. He unconsciously looked at Baek Hwa-an. At first, he didn’t believe it. But seeing Baek Hwa-an’s guilty look, he understood. She really had insulted her. But so what if she had? If he turned to admonish Baek Hwa-an now, wouldn’t he be caught in Baek Hak-yeom’s trap?
So, he cleared his throat and said,
“I will naturally take care of that. Now, we are talking about your matter. Baek Hak-yeom, don’t try to change the subject. Today, National Duke Mun will only discuss your crime of harassing the Mistress.”
“Harassing the Mistress?”
She blinked.
“I am not that idle as to harass the Mistress. This Real Princess merely admonished a subject’s wife and daughter. Mun Gukgong, do you have a complaint? Does it feel wrong that your daughter knelt before this Princess? And your daughter insulted this Princess’s grandmother, and this Princess struck her in anger. But how did that child react? Instead of bowing and apologizing, she hit me back. Mun Gukgong, tell me, if two legitimate Princesses are injured here in the Mun Gukgongbu, do you think you can remain Mun Gukgong? Last time, you failed to inherit a title. How about this time? How will you maintain peace in this family?”
Baek Heung-eon swayed. He acted impulsively again, forgetting once more that his daughter now had a powerful backer. Before, she could argue that she hadn’t married because she wasn’t yet the legitimate Queen Consort. But that’s changed. She is now a legitimate Princess, awarded the jade seal, officially announced by the Emperor to the world. What are Baek Hwa-an and Little Yeop to her?
Even that was insignificant. The problem was that Gunryeongseo had already been stabbed in the Government Office. If Baek Hak-yeom were to somehow get into trouble here again, how could he atone for that crime? The chances of keeping his title were slim.
Seeing the sweat beading on Baek Heung-eon’s forehead and his inability to speak, Little Yeop realized that today’s play had been a bit overdone. However, at the same time, she perfectly understood the current situation. The elder could not protect them. To survive peacefully in this household, one person absolutely could not be touched. That was Baek Hak-yeom, who had already become a Princess.
Even she couldn’t accept it. As Baek Hwa-an had said, they had barely managed to survive until now. But she never expected their enemy to advance so completely. She had only risen to the position of Mistress of the Government Office, while the enemy was already a legitimate Princess of Dongjin. This difference was greater than ever before.
Little Yeop crawled to her feet. After wiping her forehead with her handkerchief, she bowed without a word to Baek Heung-eon.
“It is the concubine’s fault for causing you trouble. It is also the concubine’s fault for not properly teaching the Fifth Miss. It was impious of us towards Grandmother and the Second Young Lady. I, the concubine, will take the Fifth Miss with me to the Grandmother and prostrate ourselves and beg forgiveness. Please forgive us, Elder and Second Young Lady. I guarantee this will never happen again.”
Baek Hwa-an, still angry, shouted again.
“On what basis?”
As a result, Little Yeop glared fiercely at her. Even Ssang-hwan twisted her forearm with all her might. She was in such pain that cold sweat broke out.
“Fifth Miss, say nothing. Come with me quickly to beg forgiveness from Grandmother! Whether we can overcome this obstacle depends on whether Grandmother forgives you.”
Little Yeop looked at Baek Hwa-an. The meaning conveyed in her eyes was to endure.
Baek Ho-sin, who had come with Baek Heung-eon, also spoke.
“Today’s incident is clearly the Fifth Miss’s fault. If she has done wrong, she must correct it. We are all one family; if she says she will correct herself, Grandmother will surely be pleased.”
Baek Hwa-an finally regained her composure and looked at Baek Heung-eon. Seeing that Baek Heung-eon said nothing, she knew she absolutely had to yield. She wanted to glare at Baek Hak-yeom with angry eyes, but she lacked the courage. She simply bowed her head, followed Little Yeop inside, and humbly confessed her guilt to the Grandmother.
Only after barely leaving the Main Hall did Little Yeop lower her voice and warn her daughter.
“This is no longer the era of the Second Wife. Your older brother has also become sensible. If you continue to act so impulsively, no one will be able to protect you.”
Having finished speaking, seeing Baek Hwa-an about to explode again, she quickly added,
“Endure. The only thing we can do is endure. Endure for a few years until you come of age, and the Yeop and Gwak Clans will surely offer suitable marriages for you. They will support you then. By then, whoever’s life you take will be in your grasp. A moment of satisfaction is meaningless. We must lie low.”
The uproar was finally settled. Baek Heung-eon, having no face to stay, left with Baek Ho-sin.
Hong came forward and sighed,
“I thought that once the Second Wife fell, things would be quiet for a while, but I never expected Little Yeop to be so difficult to deal with. It’s fortunate that the Second Young Lady has the status of a Princess. Otherwise, we would be endlessly harassed by these Yeop Clan people.”
Baek Hak-yeom was in a very bad mood. Baek Hwa-an’s attitude was within her expectations. But she hadn’t expected Little Yeop to act like this today. She realized that the illegitimate daughter of the Yeop Clan, who always seemed to bow her head and obey, was making her formal debut.
✦✦✦
Today was the day they were scheduled to go to the Prime Minister’s villa in the suburbs with Donggungwon. Therefore, Baek Hak-yeom didn’t stay long at the household. But she left Muk-eo behind. Not to let her sleep longer, but to stay in the Grandmother’s Geumyeongwon and watch Little Yeop and Baek Hwa-an prostrate themselves and confess their guilt.
The Grandmother saw Muk-eo was there and knew her granddaughter was helping her. However, she no longer had the same fighting spirit. The fact that Baek Hwa-an had pointed at her and called her an “old woman who wouldn’t die” made her begin to suspect that she had truly lived too long, that she was blocking the way forward of the Mun Gukgongbu, and was becoming an eyesore to the younger generation.
Old Lady Yi saw the Grandmother lying on the bed. Her eyes lacked spirit, and her pupils were vacant. There was no vitality or hope. The sight saddened her deeply. She would rather have seen the Grandmother stand firm and fight against the villains, rather than see her lose her will and grow old day by day.
Outside, Little Yeop and Baek Hwa-an were still kneeling. Little Yeop didn’t mind kneeling. Today, she had been completely defeated. She hadn’t expected her first battle after becoming Mistress to end in such a crushing defeat. She had no choice but to become more cautious. She also reminded herself of her goal.
Little Yeop was kneeling, but inwardly she was constantly thinking about how to turn the tide. She wondered how to maintain peace, at least superficially, as one family, like her older sister had done before. The current precarious situation was unsustainable.
But Baek Hwa-an was extremely dissatisfied with kneeling. She felt she hadn’t done anything wrong. She thought that the Grandmother had started the trouble, that the Grandmother had bullied her and Little Yeop. However, even though she didn’t quite understand the situation, she knew, what if the Grandmother had bullied them?
The other party was an elder. An elder had the right to blame their juniors, to snub them. They could even despise them. If it was unendurable, even an elder could be reasoned with, but for a junior to point fingers at an elder and use such harsh insults was wrong. She had tried to reason, but ultimately it was unreasonable, so she had to kneel and apologize.
Little Yeop lowered her voice and said to her,
“I told you to learn from Baek Gyeong-hong, but you wouldn’t listen. What would you have done if this had happened to Baek Gyeong-hong?”
Baek Hwa-an didn’t hold Baek Gyeong-hong in high regard. They had even fought before, and she knew that Baek Gyeong-hong’s gentle and virtuous appearance was all an act. But one thing she couldn’t help but admire was that she had managed to act that way. She had acted that way for more than ten years, and had cultivated the image of Dongjin’s most beautiful woman.
She wanted to act that way too, and she had for a while. But the feeling was really unpleasant. She felt suffocated.
Now that she was in such a difficult situation, she had no ability to escape for the time being. Hearing Little Yeop’s question, she thought back to Baek Gyeong-hong. She recalled that person’s every move, every word and action, her voice and expression, attitude and posture, inside and out, and came to this conclusion.
“Baek Gyeong-hong would have cried. If the Grandmother had made excuses and reprimanded Hong, and the target was Baek Gyeong-hong, she would have certainly started crying on the spot. A beauty in tears would arouse pity, and Father would have no choice but to ignore it.”
Only after saying this did she realize where she had gone wrong. It turned out that the most powerful weapon for solving the problem was not insults or fighting. The most powerful weapon was tears. A woman’s tears are always the most effective.
Little Yeop said nothing, because she understood that Baek Hwa-an had realized where she had gone wrong.
The two remained kneeling. Lost in their own thoughts, each making plans in their hearts for their own future.
✦✦✦
