Chapter 153
153
Indeed, the innkeeper had a face worthy of boasting about her beauty.
She gave Yeon-ryang and me a light bow before opening her mouth.
“It seems the conversation will be lengthy… It would be best to move to a different location first.”
“No. I don’t intend to have a long conversation. You know better than anyone that this guy shouldn’t go up on the Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage stage anymore. I’ll be taking this idiot with me.”
“That would be difficult. Yang Clan Leader has already signed the contract.”
Jang Mi-ryeo smiled as if to say it was impossible. Flustered, I grabbed Yang Gyo-jin’s shoulders and shook him violently.
“Contract? You signed a contract? When?”
“Huh? Yeah. I signed it after eating all the meat earlier. I didn’t read it because it was a hassle.”
“Y-You signed it without reading it? You idiot!”
“Whoa, whoa. So-hye, calm down.”
“What? A hassle? Reading a contract is a hassle, but smearing ink on your palm isn’t? If it’s such a hassle, why do you eat? Why do you breathe? Just stick your face in a bowl of water and die, why don’t you?”
“So-hye, So-hye? Loosen your grip. Yang Clan Leader’s bones are going to break.”
Yeon-ryang chuckled and lifted me away from Yang Gyo-jin. I pointed at him, seething.
“Yang Gyo-jin, don’t you ever sign a contract on your own again. If someone shoves a contract in your face, discuss it with someone else before deciding. Don’t make decisions on your own. Got it?”
“Ugh.”
“Ugh, my foot! I’m going to write a letter to the Yang Clan right now, telling them to take you back! Don’t do anything until a reply comes! Got it?”
“Got it.”
Yang Gyo-jin nodded, looking dejected.
Seeing me trying to calm my anger, Jang Mi-ryeo, her eyes curved into crescents, asked again.
“Do you feel like talking to me now?”
“…Yes. It seems a conversation is necessary after all.”
I glared at Jang Mi-ryeo, my eyes narrowed fiercely.
\ \ *
Contrary to my expectation that she would take advantage of a fool and suck him dry, the contract was clean.
The conditions Jang Mi-ryeo set in exchange for Yang Gyo-jin winning the Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage and marrying her were as follows:
The Golden Dragon Merchant Guild’s Jang Mi-ryeo would bear all marriage maintenance costs, and the marriage would last until Jang Mi-ryeo ascended to the position of Guild Leader.
During the marriage, 10% of the guild’s profits would be paid to the Yang Clan annually.
Even after the marriage ended, 3% of the guild’s profits would be paid to the Yang Clan for 10 years.
In addition, there were minor clauses that catered to Yang Gyo-jin’s convenience, the process of terminating the contract if he failed to win, and compensation plans based on the severity of injuries Yang Gyo-jin might sustain during the Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage, all meticulously written.
I stared at the paper, reading it over and over, but there were no ambiguous phrases. That made it even more suspicious.
It’s strangely reasonable?
I put down the contract with a disgruntled expression. I wanted to find fault with something, but there wasn’t a single clause to latch onto.
“You’re… very good at writing contracts.”
Jang Mi-ryeo placed both hands on the table and smiled as I reluctantly uttered those words.
“It’s not just Martial Artists who value trust. Credit is also important to merchants. Who would want to trade with me if the terms of the deal weren’t clear?”
“If you value credit so much, why did you get the party to sign the contract without even reading it?”
Jang Mi-ryeo made an embarrassed excuse in response to my protest.
“I did advise Yang Clan Leader to read it carefully several times, but he said the letters were too small and he didn’t want to read it, so…”
Ugh, Yang Gyo-jin! You’ve made it impossible to hold the other party responsible!
I turned my head sharply, and Yang Gyo-jin, who had subtly avoided my gaze, slowly moved away from me. Jang Mi-ryeo added soothingly, as if to appease me.
“Instead, I explained each condition in detail. As you can see from the contract, I’m not in a position to play tricks either. I need to avoid this impending marriage.”
In the end, she was saying that she had staged a scam to avoid marriage. I sighed.
I’ve been through it too. It must be hard to accept the reality that your future is being decided against your will. You’ll want to escape it somehow.
“…I understand Jang Clan Leader’s position well enough. There’s no daughter in this Jianghu who welcomes a political marriage.”
I rubbed my eyes and continued.
“But you’ve gone too far. Have you considered the damage this guy will suffer if the whole story comes to light? Clan Leader Jang will only have her marriage canceled, but Gyo-jin is different. He’ll become a swindler. The Yang Clan’s reputation will be dragged through the mud.”
Then Yang Gyo-jin waved his hand cheerfully.
“Eh, it’s okay. The Yang Clan doesn’t have any reputation like that.”
“Hey! That’s your family!”
“It’s really okay. From the start, our family doesn’t place much importance on marriage. My mother didn’t get married and had me. I’ve never even seen my father’s face.”
“…Uh?”
“I heard she seduced a Martial Artist with good bones and a handsome face to have me. That’s why I’m so stupid, and she told me to meet someone educated.”
“……”
What am I supposed to say to that?
Jang Mi-ryeo and I exchanged glances, rolling our eyes at the family affairs that were difficult to comment on.
Unlike us, who were watching the situation, the person involved was eating sweets with a blank expression.
“…Your mother must be quite something.”
“It’s not just my mother. All my aunts haven’t gotten married either. The family’s secret arts are passed down through the maternal line. They say it’s okay to cause trouble as long as you come home and give birth to a child. That’s our family motto.”
“Family tradition.”
“That’s right. Family tradition. Anyway, it’ll be okay. If my mother hears about it, she’ll probably beat me with a bamboo stick for a few days and then let it go.”
The guy shrugged and asked again, his eyes sparkling.
“So, you really can’t give up? I want to help Mi-ryeo.”
“Let’s say you win and get married. What are you going to do after that?”
“Wouldn’t it be okay to just have the ceremony and then disappear on a Jianghu tour? I see a lot of guys leaving home and never coming back. They’ll probably just assume I died on the road.”
“……”
“Pfft, that’s not wrong.”
Yeon-ryang shook and wiped away tears at Yang Gyo-jin’s blunt words. I glared at Yang Gyo-jin and let out a hollow laugh.
“Yang Gyo-jin. You’re not stupid. You’re just not using your brain.”
“What’s the difference?”
“You’re stretching your legs out, knowing exactly where to lie down.”
So that’s why this guy kept asking me for food. It was because I looked like I would feed him.
I felt a little relieved when I realized that Yang Gyo-jin wasn’t planning on settling down at the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild.
I don’t know if it’s a situation where I should be relieved, but at least it didn’t seem like he would be exposed for pretending to be a man in Ak-yang and have bad rumors spread.
“Still, I have to write a letter to the Yang Clan. Since you revealed that you’re a member of the Yang Clan on the Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage stage, the marriage isn’t just your business, Yang Gyo-jin. It’s a family matter.”
“Okay.”
“I trust that Clan Leader Jang will agree as well.”
“I will provide the fastest messenger hawk from the guild.”
Jang Mi-ryeo smiled as if to say not to worry.
It was a smile as bright as a flower, but that made it even more suspicious. I suspected that she might be trying to intercept the letter in the middle.
“No. I’ll send the letter myself. Haa… At least you could have had him use a pseudonym. I’m sure a Clan Leader involved in the merchant world wouldn’t have failed to consider that.”
Jang Mi-ryeo smiled at my criticism and gazed at Yang Gyo-jin.
“I also advised him to use a pseudonym, worrying about the future. However, Yang Clan Leader said it was okay and registered with his real name…”
“Why would I use a pseudonym when I have my own name?”
“I’m going crazy. Yang Gyo-jin, just shut your mouth.”
“Brother, So-hye has become like our mother in the past few days.”
“I told you to shut up.”
“Yes.”
Yang Gyo-jin, startled, put his hands together over his belly and closed his mouth. Jang Mi-ryeo chuckled and turned her gaze to me.
“Yang Clan Leader has a good friend who truly cares for him. I envy you.”
As I wet my lips with tea out of frustration, Jang Mi-ryeo, with an elegant gesture, refilled my empty cup and lowered her voice.
“It may seem like the recklessness of an immature person, but it’s a desperate matter for me. My life is on the line in this Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage.”
“Your life?”
As I frowned and asked back, Yang Gyo-jin, who had been watching, whispered to me.
“While Mi-ryeo’s father is sick, her uncle has seized power in the guild. So Mi-ryeo’s father is forcibly pushing for a marriage, saying he needs someone to entrust Mi-ryeo to. I think he wants to bring in a son-in-law before he dies.”
“Hey. How can you say that in front of Clan Leader Jang?”
Startled, I poked Yang Gyo-jin in the side, and Jang Mi-ryeo waved her hand calmly.
“It’s okay. It’s true that my father is seriously ill.”
“Ahaha, yes.”
I laughed awkwardly and mumbled an answer. Yang Gyo-jin continued his explanation calmly.
“But all the men they’re pushing on her are on her uncle’s side, so she proposed the Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage as a last resort. It’s hard for her uncle to manipulate the outcome of the Martial Arts Tournament for Marriage. If Mi-ryeo marries someone on her uncle’s side…”
“I’ll become a bride who dies at the hands of her new husband on the first night. My uncle will be able to completely take over the guild if I’m gone.”
Jang Mi-ryeo calmly finished the sentence. My brow furrowed at the serious story.
That kind of story was going around too? This guy is secretly deep…
“So I said I’d go out. If I win, Mi-ryeo said she’d feed me for life? I can come and eat whenever I want. The snacks here are delicious too.”
“I guess… If you win, you’re Clan Leader Jang’s husband, so she wouldn’t let you starve…”
…Of course. I’m an idiot for expecting anything.
Apart from the fact that I resented Jang Mi-ryeo for dragging a person she had just met into a serious matter, I felt sorry for her when I heard that her uncle was after her life.
I had personally experienced how cruel those bound by the fence called family could be for their own gain.
I can’t just oppose it like this.
As I rubbed my throbbing head and chose my words, I felt a presence above the ceiling. Someone was trying to eavesdrop on our conversation, approaching stealthily.
Yeon-ryang, who had noticed the presence, called me softly.
“So-hye.”
“Yeah. A rat has come in.”
“What do you mean?”
While Jang Mi-ryeo was asking back, Yang Gyo-jin, without hesitation, jumped up and stabbed his sword into the ceiling.
“Oh my!”
Jang Mi-ryeo, startled, covered her mouth.
Yang Gyo-jin, who had cut through the ceiling in an instant, grabbed the black-clad man’s pressure points and pulled him down. Yang Gyo-jin, grabbing the black-clad man who was rolling on the floor with a loud noise by the collar, growled fiercely.
“Who are you?”
