Chapter 29
Wang Ju-geon was the second son of Wang Gwan-cheon, the ‘Three Thunderbolts’ Wang Gwan-cheon.
Wang Gwan-cheon had three sons, but because he was an extremely strict and demanding man, he had never decided on a Young Master of the Sect in advance.
Wang Ju-geon had the least talent among the brothers.
The eldest was clever and had passed the local civil service examination at a young age, while the third possessed exceptional talent in martial arts and was considered a promising talent of the Thunderblade Sect. Wang Ju-geon, however, excelled at nothing.
The only thing that could be said to be outstanding about Wang Ju-geon was his appearance. Even then, he was merely handsome because he took after his mother, rather than being exceptionally good-looking.
But because Wang Ju-geon had been blessed with a pretty face as a child and had consequently received plenty of affection from his mother, he grew increasingly arrogant as he got older. Before long, he had come to believe that he was the greatest person in the world.
‘Hmph. No matter how talented my older brother and younger brother are, that will only last for a while. If Father properly supports me and I seriously put in the effort, I’ll catch up to the two of them in no time!’
Yet no matter how much support his father gave him, and no matter how seriously he tried, Wang Ju-geon could barely reach the bottom of the third-rate level, let alone become second-rate.
‘It’s because I haven’t really tried. If I truly buckle down and seriously work at it…!’
Still, it didn’t work.
‘Why?’
Wang Ju-geon couldn’t believe it.
How could ‘he’, who should have been the most exceptional, who should have been the most talented, actually be the most incompetent of them all?
But Wang Ju-geon, who had lived his entire life basking in his own supposed greatness, refused to accept reality. Instead, he comforted himself by telling himself that at least his potential was the greatest under heaven, and he would forget reality by surrounding himself with women.
Then, one day, while he was drinking and carousing with women at a tavern as usual…
“Wang Ju-geon, you damn fool!”
Wang Gwan-cheon finally exploded.
“Are you as clever as your elder brother? Are you as talented in martial arts as your younger brother? If you’re not outstanding at anything, you should at least work hard consistently! Yet you don’t even do that and spend all your time playing around! Do you have a brain or not?!”
“Father, if I just put my mind to it…”
“When are you going to put your mind to it? When?! Enough! I’m done with you. From now on, I’m cutting off all support for you. Go live well on your own!”
“Father! Father!”
Wang Ju-geon pleaded before his father, but Wang Gwan-cheon didn’t budge. He even ran to his mother and begged her for help, but there was nothing she could do for him either.
Wang Ju-geon became desperate.
‘Father is being too harsh. Just because I spent a little money, he’s driving his precious son off a cliff! Fine. I have to show him something. If I bring back some truly amazing achievement, Father will regret this and apologize to me!’
But when it came to showing him “something,” he didn’t know what to do, and if it wasn’t something impressive, he didn’t even want to bother.
To make matters worse, rumors were spreading that Wang Gwan-cheon was finally going to choose a Young Master of the Sect.
Apparently, he was torn between his clever eldest son and his prodigiously talented third son. Naturally, Wang Ju-geon wasn’t even among the candidates.
Wang Ju-geon’s pride was deeply wounded.
‘That old bastard must have gone senile with age. He can’t even recognize a talent like me! But if I stay like this, I’ll lose the position of Young Master. What should I do? I need to accomplish something quickly…’
As it happened, Wang Gwan-cheon had heard that the daughter of the Xiao Family had recovered somewhat from her illness and was about to send a gift to congratulate them.
When Wang Ju-geon learned of this, he put his petty scheming to work.
‘The Xiao Family isn’t quite as powerful as our Thunderblade Sect, but they’re still a respectable family. The merchant guild operated by the Xiao Family is quite large, so they must make a good amount of money, and the Xiao Family Head has a good reputation and plenty of renown. If I became the son-in-law of such a family…?’
Moreover, the Xiao Family Head had no sons, only a sickly daughter. In the end, all of the Xiao Family Head’s wealth would go to that daughter.
And if that daughter were to die…
‘All that wealth would be mine!’
Wang Ju-geon immediately went to his father and said that he would go to the Xiao Family.
But Wang Gwan-cheon, who knew his son’s character all too well, refused to allow it. Wang Ju-geon, who had been waiting for an opportunity, threatened the person Wang Gwan-cheon had originally intended to send and took his place.
His father would be furious if he found out later, but if Wang Ju-geon returned as the Xiao Family’s son-in-law, it would only amount to a minor disturbance.
Wang Ju-geon was confident.
‘Courting one woman is nothing. There hasn’t been a woman I couldn’t win over so far. Even women who said they didn’t like me would quickly fall for me and throw themselves into my arms once I touched them forcefully. How could the Xiao Family Head’s daughter be any different?’
Although the Xiao Family Head’s daughter was still too young for marriage, Wang Ju-geon thought that showing her the composure of an older man would make her fall for him quickly.
Wang Ju-geon genuinely believed this.
Upon arriving, he found that the Xiao Family Head’s daughter wasn’t welcoming him at all, wouldn’t even show him her face, and was even preventing him from entering.
But that was merely her playing hard to get. She would give in soon enough.
He believed that.
Yet no matter how many gifts he sent or how much he shouted for her outside, there was no response. She didn’t even treat him like a person.
Wang Ju-geon began growing desperate.
He just had to get inside. Whether he lied or threatened someone, once he got inside and showed her his handsome face and eloquent speech, it would only be a matter of time before she fell for him.
He believed that.
And all he had done was grab one servant…
“How dare that lowly bastard humiliate me!”
Bang!
Wang Ju-geon slammed his fist down on the table.
He had even tried to treat her with the utmost courtesy because she was the daughter of a prestigious family, only to be treated like this.
As he wondered how he could teach that woman a lesson…
“Wouldn’t it be better to give up? It seems you’ve already thoroughly gotten on her bad side…”
“Hah, so what if that bitch dislikes me? What’s she going to do? At worst, she’ll run crying to her father and tattle on me.”
“Wouldn’t that be a serious problem? Everyone knows how much the Xiao Family Head dotes on his daughter…”
“What great mistake did I make? Can’t a man make a few mistakes when he’s trying to impress the woman he loves? The Xiao Family Head isn’t such a petty man!”
“Oh, Young Master, please…”
As Wang Ju-geon’s voice grew louder and louder, the servant didn’t know what to do.
Wang Ju-geon, however, paid him no attention and simply continued downing his wine.
Eventually, Wang Ju-geon, his face flushed with drink, muttered,
“It can’t be helped. I didn’t want to use this method…”
“Yes? Do you have some good idea?”
“Come here.”
The servant leaned his face closer to Wang Ju-geon.
Not long afterward, he shouted,
“What? Young Master, are you serious?!”
***
‘What? What does he mean, serious?!’
And I had been listening to all of it from behind.
It had been several days since the Young Master of the Sect had disappeared after being thoroughly humiliated by the young lady.
Things had been quiet all this time, so who would have thought he had merely given up and gone off to drink his sorrows away at some tavern while gossiping behind their backs?
‘He’s even plotting something?’
I was outside because I had been sent on an errand.
In truth, even though I was supposed to serve the young lady, she preferred to be alone except for certain hours, so with plenty of free time on my hands, I often helped with various odd jobs around the manor.
This time, I had finished my errand and was on my way back when I happened to spot the Young Master through the window of a tavern.
Just in case, I carefully entered the tavern and sat down in a secluded corner. Sure enough, I heard our young lady being discussed.
And they were insulting both our young lady and the Family Head…
‘I’m telling them everything.’
More importantly, that last conversation bothered me.
I didn’t know what dirty method they were planning to use, but there was nothing to lose by finding out.
I pretended to eat my noodles while straining my ears as much as possible. But perhaps they had something to hide as well, because they only whispered into each other’s ears, and in the end, there was nothing I could hear.
‘Damn it.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly in disappointment.
The two had already moved on to another topic. Even then, the Young Master kept glancing toward somewhere else.
I followed his gaze and turned my head, then stopped.
There was a female server carrying food.
‘No way…?’
Just as an ominous feeling began creeping up my spine…
“Hmm, drinking without a woman beside me is rather lonely. It would be nice to have a woman to keep me company…”
“Young Master, shall I take you to a pleasure house?”
“Now, now, have you forgotten that I’m still in the middle of proposing? It would be awkward to frequent a pleasure house. I’d rather have a little fun for one night… Ah, that’s it!”
Wang Ju-geon suddenly shouted,
“You there!”
The woman turned toward him at his call.
“Yes, did you call for me?”
“You have a lovely face for someone working in such a shabby tavern. What’s your name?”
“You flatter me. This young lady is called Gyo-gyo.”
“Moonlight, huh? Just like your name, you have a pale, round face. Tonight, I wish to get drunk with moonlight in my arms. Will you serve me drinks tonight?”
“What?”
The woman replied in confusion.
“I-I’m not a woman who does such things. You have mistaken me for someone else.”
“What do you mean, mistaken? With your slim waist and broad hips, you clearly have a body made to please a man. Come now, don’t refuse and get over here.”
“I don’t want to… Aah!”
A sudden loud cry made everyone in the tavern turn their eyes toward one place.
More precisely, toward the Young Master of the Sect, who was forcibly embracing the woman.
I was horrified.
‘Has that bastard gone insane?!’
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