199

Chapter 199 - Changbongjeon - 3

"I've failed."

Mo Yong Se Ga was in So Ga Ju's study. 

Lately, at a place called Changryongjeon, Mo Yong Se Ga's chief aide reported to So Ga Ju with a grim expression.

"What do you mean? Weren't you confident?" So Ga Ju furrowed his brows in response to the report.

The plan was to manipulate the desires of the Joseon merchants using witchcraft, all authorized by So Ga Ju. But it seems things didn't go as planned.

"We managed to incite the desires of the Joseon merchants, but things didn't go according to plan."

"Was it really that difficult to infuriate a crazy woman who goes berserk when she hears insults against her deceased husband?" So Ga Ju had often heard stories of how his wife, Mo Yong Sang Ah, would fly into a rage upon hearing insults about her late husband.

Throwing scorn at her younger brother and getting her husband to insult her, easily leading any transaction to ruin. So Ga Ju nodded vigorously at the chief aide's words.

So Ga Ju had managed to oust the previous chief aide and place someone from the witchcraft sect in his position, and also convinced the council elders to restore decision-making power to himself. But that was as far as it went. No matter how much wealth Mo Yong Sang Ah had acquired, the real power lay with So Ga Ju. Even with all her wealth, the rights of the firstborn, the rights of the caliphate, weren't something she could make vanish.

"Spreading rumors of a witch's wickedness throughout the martial arts world was a calculated move worthy of admiration."

"Haha! The more wicked she becomes, the fewer people will flock around her. Foolish woman! To become a leader, you should use schemes like mine, not squander money. Isn't that right?"

The one who had spread the rumors about Mo Yong Sang Ah in the martial world was none other than her brother, So Ga Ju. Thanks to him, the world's view of Mo Yong Sang Ah, who had agreed to be under the control of the witchcraft sect, was different from how it saw his sister opposing the sect's domination.

The scandal involving the Kang family's coup never implicated Mo Yong Sang Ah, who had seized the Kang family's wealth. Even if she had been staying as a virtuous woman of a certain family and happened to overhear plans for a coup, in the world that considered it a virtue to leave a troubled household, she would be seen as tompoiling. What's more, Mo Yong Sang Ah had insulted her husband's family and even killed her husband.

A wicked woman, a witch, a vile woman. That's Mo Yong Sang Ah. Even if she were to be given an official title in the Joseon dynasty for speaking up, it was clear that she had behaved as a woman and a wife in the worst possible manner.

So Ga Ju, who had a legitimate right as the head of the family, and Mo Yong Sang Ah, who had amassed a substantial fortune beyond that right, were the subjects of the current public appraisal.

"As expected, you are the rightful master of Mo Yong Se Ga."

"Yes, this time, let's stop at that with the ginseng. We've already predicted that the trade will not go awry."

So Ga Ju forgot his arrogant tone of voice and spoke as if he were dispensing favors, to the satisfaction of the chief aide.

"Yes. Thank you. And it has been mentioned that we will bring an imperial physician to the Changbongjeon to treat the master."

"An imperial physician?"

"He is said to have a previous record of serving as a royal physician in the palace."

"Is there a possibility that my father will wake up?"

So Ga Ju asked the chief aide with an anxious expression.

He had personally poisoned his father, leaving him in a vegetative state. What if his father wakes up? It's a thought too dreadful to entertain.

"The poison used by So Ga Ju is one that has been crafted by a poison expert for over a decade. Even if Lord Dailang comes, it will be absolutely impossible."

Understanding So Ga Ju's concern, the chief aide declared confidently.

"Right, that's true."

"If you wish, however, we could make arrangements to bring the master back from the brink, even if it's by force."

"Are you suggesting that I become a filial son and mend my father?" So Ga Ju furrowed his brow at the chief aide's suggestion.

"Absolutely not, that's not what I meant."

"If my father were to wake up in the current situation, who would bear the brunt of his wrath? If a power struggle were to ensue within the family, I wouldn't inherit a stable family! Is this really what the guild wants? Do they want to relegate me to the same level as that accursed woman!"

So Ga Ju yelled at the chief aide, not bothering to conceal his frustration.

At all times, the warriors of Changbongjeon were guarding his father double and triple. If he were to engage in any trickery and leave even a small clue, the position he had worked hard to acquire could be endangered.

So Ga Ju was not willing to give up what he had.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"At any rate, all this is not my fault; it's all my father's fault," So Ga Ju lamented, as if to express that the current situation wasn't his fault. "Do we then allow the physician to enter?"

"How can a son deny a physician entry to his father's sickbed? However…"

"However?"

"While the physician was on his way to Changbongjeon as a guest, he might coincidentally fall victim to a bandit attack."

"I will make the necessary arrangements."

"Good. I've said it before, the legitimacy is on my side. We will slowly create a position that Mo Yong Sang Ah cannot hold even within our family."

So Ga Ju cast a reproachful look at the imprudent chief aide.

"I will do my best."

The chief aide bowed to soothe So Ga Ju's anger.

"I don't want to be a fiend. When So Ga Ju recalled how Mo Yong Bi had proficiently executed the curse, and poisoned the lord, he thought it would be easy to control Mo Yong Se Ga. However, people show their true colors in moments of crisis. Mo Yong Bi, to prevent Mo Yong Sang Ah from losing her position as the dowager, had become extremely reluctant to suffer any losses.

"Have I made the wrong choice?"

Would it have been better to bring the witchcraft sect's experts he had brought in and used them to gain control over Mo Yong Se Ga? So Ga Ju regretted it, but it was already in the past. Harvested by Mo Yong Sang Ah's scheme, the personnel from the witchcraft sect within Mo Yong Se Ga had withered away. Hoping for further support from the witchcraft sect was impractical as the Shiman Mountains, where the sect was based, were too distant. Recruiting personnel was draining, and doing nothing was out of the question, considering Changbongjeon's immense financial power.

"A leader's position is not for creating strategies, it's for making decisions."

One must be prepared to take risks, be prepared to incur losses, and sometimes, even when expecting criticism, must act.

His younger sibling made the decisions without hesitation, changing her notoriety, but when would he gain the position of the leader with such an attitude?

"I will go in."

The chief aide left with a sense of foreboding, anticipating that it would be a difficult battle.

-----

What the Changbongdae reconnaissance unit discovered was the sight of the physician's carriage being attacked by bandits as they went to meet him.

"Miss! The carriage carrying the physician is under attack by an unknown group!"

The Changbongdae commander urgently relayed this information to Mo Yong Sang Ah.

Bandits that didn't retreat even when faced with the flag of Mo Yong Se Ga? It was suspicious. Before going to meet the physician, she recalled what her lord had said.

He had allowed the entrance of the physician to the Changbongjeon, but perhaps it was an attempt to lull her. They had put an obstruction in the ginseng trade; they could also put an obstruction in receiving the physician. It was exasperating, but she led the Changbongdae to meet the physician.

Mo Yong Sang Ah inwardly admired the accuracy of her prediction.

"Follow me."

Mo Yong Sang Ah, holding the reins, drew her sword and shouted at the Changbongdae.

"Stay here! We'll handle it."

"It's my guest."

"Miss! If anything happens to our lord, we'll lose everything."

"If I don't take the threat head-on, who else will step up when I'm in danger? Follow me!"

The Changbongdae followed without hesitation, racing ahead, leading those who followed towards their lord.

-----

The enemies persistently targeted the doctor's carriage, but the situation reversed in an instant as Mo Yong Sang Ah led the charge and broke through the enemy formation. Although there were men skilled in fighting among the group, they seemed disoriented upon encountering green-haired bandits fighting fiercely, but that was the end of it.

The Changbongdae pressed the bandits from inside and outside, and there was no force to match the Changbongdae in combat.

"Is it over? Huh? Woman?"

After the battle, Mo Yong Sang Ah faced a middle-aged man who had emerged from the carriage with a relaxed demeanor.

"It's Mo Yong Sang Ah. I am sorry for causing concern for the physician's life."

Mo Yong Sang Ah politely bowed to the physician who had been in danger because of her.

"Oh, I see. It was you. I thought it was an exaggeration, but you seem more formidable than the rumors."

"..."

What rumor could he be talking about? The witch who swallowed everything about her husband, the villainous woman who changed her husband's family, Mo Yong Sang Ah couldn't bring herself to ask as her increasing notoriety was swallowed.

The physician, seeing Mo Yong Sang Ah's expression hardened, laughed and opened his mouth.

"I misunderstood. I was talking about your outer appearance. I had heard that you were so beautiful that people cheered you wherever you went. But I was careless in describing the most beautiful woman under the heavens with just that much. The rumors seem to have been underestimated."

The man, intending to praise the young woman for saving him, seemed to have inadvertently misunderstood her, which led him to praise her even more.

"That's too much praise."

"Is it? I was just expressing my thoughts. I've worked in the palace, where exquisite beauties abound, but I've thought of only one as the most beautiful woman for my entire life. No. Now that we have met, two of them."

"Thank you."

"Oh, you should have the courage to accept compliments. I've received many compliments on my appearance, so I've become a bit numb. Meeting bandits is rare, and I don't care much, so let's quickly go and check on the patient."

"Escort the physician!"

After arranging the surroundings, Mo Yong Sang Ah and the Changbongdae successfully brought the physician to Mo Yong Se Ga.

---------

"How is my father's condition?"

Mo Yong Sang Ah anxiously asked the physician who had examined her father.

If her father were to be cured and rise from his sickbed, everything would be over. If she just confessed the truth about the witchcraft sect to her father, legitimacy would return to her. Of course, there would be small disturbances. So Ga Ju would bluster. The witchcraft sect would show its true colors. But it didn't matter.

She would take the lead, no matter what.

"Unfortunately, the treatment of the patient is beyond my capabilities."

The physician's words, unlike Mo Yong Sang Ah's wish, echoed similar sentiments to those of the other physicians.

"...I see."

Mo Yong Sang Ah spoke, trying to conceal her disappointment. Was it truly impossible to treat her father? Would he remain forever unable to regain consciousness?

Just as a tinge of despair threatened to overwhelm Mo Yong Sang Ah, she heard an unexpected statement from the physician.

"However, I've determined what the illness is."

"What illness is it?"

"Madam, your father isn't suffering from an ordinary illness. It's a highly sophisticated poison that any physician would mistake for an illness."

"A poison, you say?"

"Yes. And I know of people who can cure this poison."

"If they are skilled in dealing with poison, then perhaps..."

"Would it be feasible to invite people from the Sacheondang to Mo Yong Se Ga?"

Mo Yong Sang Ah's eyes lit up. She saw a glimmer of hope in the possibility of finding a cure for her father's condition.