Surviving as a Maid of the Sichuan Tang Clan

It was a jade plaque carved with a tiger.

I accepted the plaque he held out with both hands. When I just stared blankly at the unfamiliar thing, Peng Rak chuckled.

“What’s written here is my name. Keep it on you, and if you ever need my help, bring that plaque and come find me at the Peng Clan. Well, even if you don’t make it all the way to Hebei, just show it to some fellow with the surname Peng and he’ll take care of you.”

I stroked the smooth surface of the plaque. The tiger, carved so vividly it looked ready to leap out at any moment, pressed against my fingertip.

Watching us, Tang Jung spoke in a sour tone.

“I said I wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to give her something, but was there any need to hand over a silver plaque?”

“What’s the problem? I almost made the granddaughter you cherish cry, didn’t I? The least I can do is give her that much.”

“I wouldn’t give one even if you made my grandson cry.”

“......Suit yourself.”

Peng Rak flared his nostrils, looking put out. Tang Jung didn’t care in the slightest and kept talking.

“Sohae. What you received is called a Gratitude Plaque. It’s also called a Silver Plaque.”

“A Gratitude Plaque?”

“That brat shoved it into your hands without thinking, but it’s a rare thing. It’s something you give out as a token that you’ll repay a great favor one day. Even if he dies, the pledge stands. Ten years from now, fifty years from now—if you show them that plaque, the Peng Clan brats will have to grant your request.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Show that and, no matter when, our clan’s youngsters will treat you as my benefactor. You can only use it once, so take it out at the right time. Hahahaha!”

So it’s basically like a wish coupon. Are you really allowed to just hand me something like this?

Still, there was no downside to taking it. I quickly tucked the jade plaque into my robe.

“Thank you, Elder.”

“No need to thank me. Anyway, don’t you have a few more bottles of Old Reed Old Liquor? That stuff really sticks to the tongue.”

Regret flickered across Peng Rak’s face as he asked, almost shyly. The mountain-sized man smacked his lips as he eyed the little bottle that was smaller than his palm.

“I’ll bring you some.”

I stood up, fighting a smile. Maybe because I’d just gotten such a nice gift, my steps as I went to run the errand felt unbelievably light.

But the moment I came back to the reception room with the bottle, something strange happened.

Some unknown force snatched the bottle right out of my hands.

The bottle flew up into the air as if drawn by something invisible and landed gently in Peng Rak’s hand, which was as big as a pot lid.

What the.

When my eyes went round, Peng Rak burst into roaring laughter.

“First time seeing Void-Grasp?”

I’ve heard of it. I’ve just never seen anyone use it to secure a liquor bottle.

Do old masters really have so much inner strength left over? Tang Jung uses his to boil and freeze water, and Peng Rak uses his when he drinks.

Peng Rak seemed to like my reaction; his broad face was all smiles.

“Hahahaha, what else should I show you? Ever seen this?”

When he snapped his fingers, the liquor inside the bottle rose out of the glass in little droplets.

After gulping down the glittering beads of liquor, Peng Rak puffed out his chest as if to show off.

“Well?”

“Wow. Can you put it back in too?”

“Of course I can.”

“Woooow.”

When I clapped in admiration, Peng Rak launched into another trick, drawing patterns in the air with the suspended drops of liquor.

Watching how delighted we were, Tang Jung let out a dry chuckle.

“Is it that entertaining?”

“To be surprised by a simple Void-Grasp—she’s adorable, isn’t she. The brats in my house don’t have an ounce of cute charm like Sohae. Every last one of them is the size of a door, reeking of sweat and an eyesore to boot. Ugh.”

Peng Rak grumbled.

Pretty sure that’s hereditary. The biggest person in the Peng Clan looks like you, Elder.

As he played around with me and downed a cup at a time, Peng Rak’s nose quickly flushed bright red. It was the kind of drunk face that made you feel oddly close to him.

Staring straight at his bandit-like face, I asked,

“Elder. Could I ask you something?”

“Sure, what are you curious about?”

“Why is there a tiger carved on the jade plaque?”

Between Tang Jung calling him a tiger and this plaque, I was curious what connection there was between the Peng Clan and tigers. Was it their clan emblem or something?

My question must have been unexpected, because Peng Rak blinked stupidly for a moment, then shot a glare at Tang Jung.

“Hm? Hahahaha! So you don’t know the Peng Clan very well, do you? Brother. You mean you haven’t told your granddaughter anything about our clan?”

“What is there to tell? The Pengs are just brutes who swing sabers.”

“Honestly. Who are you calling brutes? There’s no special reason. Our Peng Clan’s been called the Tiger of Hebei since the old days. Some fellow obsessed with appearances must’ve thought he’d look fancy carving that on there.”

......The Tiger of Hebei? So like, Azure Dragon Sect, Seal Clan, that kind of vibe?

“I—I see.”

I forced an awkward smile, pretending to understand. Judging by the way Tang Jung snorted, he could see right through what I was thinking.

“It’s because of the Peng Clan’s family arts. They’ve had a lot of techniques that imitate the movements of a fierce tiger since long ago, so people started calling them that. That brat’s epithet is Fierce Tiger Saber Emperor.”

Now that he said it, I felt like I’d heard something similar before.

I’d heard that fist arts imitating the movements of animals were called Form-Imitating Fist, and the Peng Clan’s martial arts seemed to be in the same vein.

“That’s a cool epithet.”

“Hrmm, hrm. I was quite something in my day, you know.”

At my praise, Peng Rak rubbed his nose awkwardly. So this elder is weak to compliments too.

“Well. Since we’re on the subject, shall I tell you about your Grandfather’s younger years? It was a hundred and twenty years ago, your great-grandfather back then...”

Stroking his beard, Peng Rak spoke with eyes gone distant with nostalgia.

It was the martial-artist version of “Back in my day”—no, “Back in our day”—kicking off.

In exchange for receiving the Silver Plaque, I had to spend the entire afternoon listening to stories of the two men’s wild, prodigy years.

*****

The banquet for the Five Great Clans continued the next day as well.

Madam Jin was desperate to somehow keep me attached to the banquet hall. Just like Songji had said, she seemed determined to find me a husband.

She only sent me to serve at tables where young gentlemen my age were sitting.

Madam Jin. Be serious—what kind of proper young master from a prestigious clan is going to take a maid from someone else’s house as his bride? And I’m only fifteen.

It was ridiculous, but Madam Jin seemed convinced that what she was doing was for my sake. She gave me a gentle smile, eyes shining as if to say, Do your best.

I slipped away from that burdensome gaze and stared flatly at Namgung Hwi, who was holding out a teacup. When our eyes met, he broke into a bright grin.

You enjoying yourself?

“Ahem. Hurry up and pour.”

Tugging at my sleeve to hurry me along, Namgung Hwi looked thoroughly delighted. Well, he would be—there was a rare spectacle playing out right in front of him.

“Grand Elder. Let’s get married.”

“......Child. I have no intention of getting married.”

“Why not? There are lots of advantages if you marry me. First, you can solidify your ties with the Moyong Clan. In times of crisis, you could also receive Moyong’s aid.”

“I told you, I have no intention of it.”

“And. I’m young. And pretty. Mm, and they said I’ll get even prettier later. Are you sure you won’t regret it after I become a great beauty?”

Moyong Soye’s eyes sparkled as she carefully listed off the reasons it would be good for him to marry her.

It seemed the child had decided to persuade Tang Jung first, before tackling the elders in her own clan who were against it.

Do you even understand what you’re saying.

They say you can’t even drink cold water in front of a child—this was exactly that. She wanted to marry the handsome uncle and was parroting the adults’ arguments word for word.

What on earth have the grown-ups been saying where she could hear? This was all on them.

At the bold little young lady’s insistence, Tang Jung pressed a hand to his forehead and asked,

“Child. How old are you this year?”

“Eight.”

“Then how old do you think I am?”

“Age doesn’t matter when it comes to love!”

Watching them, Moyong Gi looked like he was about to collapse to the floor and weep.

His precious only daughter, raised like a jewel, was declaring that she wanted to marry a man older than her own grandfather. Of course it would feel like the sky was falling. It was a pitiful sight.

With a long, heavy sigh, Tang Jung went over and patted Moyong Gi on the shoulder.

“Just leave her be. A few years from now, she’ll forget all about it.”

“Ugh, Elder. What if she’s still insisting on marrying you by then?”

“......Well. I suppose I’ll have to go into seclusion.”

“Grand Elder. I said, let’s get married.”

What a mess.

Pulling my gaze away from the three of them, I looked around.

Tang Un didn’t seem to have come today, and Tang Juhui sat propping her chin on her hand, sipping tea with a bored expression.

Next to her sat a boy who resembled Tang Juhui. That was probably Tang Seho, Tang Muheok’s youngest son.

He’s the one they said was the same age as me, right?

They were all children of the Tang Clan Head, but some were acknowledged as direct line and addressed as Young Masters, while others weren’t even allowed a surname and had to work as maids. The world really was unfair.

I shrugged and turned my head again.

Today’s banquet seemed to be more free-form; there were plenty of empty seats scattered here and there. Peng Rak was absent as well.

At this point, I just wanted them to wrap it up quickly. My legs hurt from standing this long.

I lightly tapped my tingling legs, and Namgung Hwi, who’d been watching me closely, asked,

“Do your legs hurt? Want to sit here?”

“Huh? No.”

That’s a disaster waiting to happen. Pretend you didn’t hear him. If I sit down next to the Namgung Clan’s Young Clan Head, there’ll be an uproar.

Namgung Hwi’s face fell. Maybe his feelings were hurt because I’d turned him down. I really couldn’t read this guy.

I pretended I hadn’t seen him and busied myself. I refilled empty teacups, swapped out empty snack plates for fresh ones, and checked over the low tables of the other guests.

Just as I was handing some empty dishes to a maid who’d come to help with clearing, I heard a table crash over in the distance.

Clang!

I jerked my head up in surprise and saw a man in green robes grabbing someone by the collar and shaking him.

“What did you just say, you bastard? Say it again.”

“I believe you’ve misunderstood me, Young Clan Head. I merely quoted a sage: ‘If you know contentment, you will not be disgraced; if you know when to stop, you will not be in danger.’ I don’t know why that would anger you.” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“What? Do I look so stupid I can’t even understand that much? What you’re really saying is that I’m unfit to be Young Clan Head and should step down on my own, aren’t you?!”

“I would never.”

“Don’t give me that! You think I don’t know you look down on me? You did it last time too! Always treating me like some half-wit...!”

“Tang Yeongho! Let go of him this instant!”

Tang Muheok barked, his face full of fury. But Tang Yeongho ignored him and slammed the man up against the wall.

People gasped at the rough grabbing and shoving that looked like it belonged in some third-rate gangster movie.

Wow. Don’t tell me that thuggish, brainless idiot is my eldest older brother.