Surviving as a Maid of the Sichuan Tang Clan

My face stung under the pouring stares. Everyone in the Elder Council was looking at Tang Jung and me.

Most of them were old men with thick white hair, but their presence was no weaker than young martial artists.

[Stand straight. You must look proud.]

At Tang Jung’s sound transmission, I lengthened my neck and straightened my upper body.

An old man with a long beard greeted Tang Jung with a formal fist salute.

“You’ve come, Elder.”

“Council Master.”

Tang Jung dipped his chin.

It was a strange sight—an old man serving a child with rigid respect—but no one found it odd.

It was simply the proper courtesy owed to the eldest and greatest master of the Tang Clan.

“This way, please.”

“Come here.”

Tang Jung beckoned to me, then wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. The instant his hand touched me, breathing became easier. It felt like he was blocking the pressure pouring onto me.

[Take a deep breath, and don’t avoid the Council Master’s eyes.]

After warning me, Tang Jung lifted his chin with an arrogant expression. He slowly swept his gaze over the chamber, then spoke.

“It seems everyone is present.”

“Yes. As you commanded, everyone has taken their seats. If you called us personally, it must be important.”

“It is. This concerns the future of a talent that will raise the Tang Sect’s name.”

The old man called the Council Master looked at me. He narrowed his eyes and raked over me from head to toe as if weighing my price.

“You called her a talent? She looks ordinary.”

“This child has a Myriad-Poison-Immune Body, Council Master. I found her in the servants’ wing.”

At Tang Jung’s words, murmurs burst from every side.

“A Myriad-Poison-Immune Body?”

“I thought that was only legend. Is that even a realm that can exist?”

“If the Poison King says it, there’s no need to doubt what’s true and what isn’t.”

“Ho. I’d like to confirm it with my own eyes. May I feed that child the Eight Great Extreme Poisons? I happen to have an improved Seven-Treasure Soul-Severing Powder.”

“Ahem. Third Elder. Say things like that where there aren’t people around.”

......I swear I just heard something insane. Who is the bastard trying to run experiments on me?

When Tang Jung’s eyebrow twitched, the Elder Council Master hurriedly smoothed things over.

“I see. We understand your intention, Elder. However, to register a maid of unknown birth into the Tang Clan—”

“It seems you didn’t hear properly. This child is the Clan Head’s daughter.”

“What?”

“Then she’s that child from Moon-Fragrance Pavilion.”

“Ah, that courtesan...... No wonder she’s easy on the eyes. She looks exactly like her mother.”

A few people frowned, as if remembering the incident from the past.

“I heard she died. She was alive?”

“It’s a miracle she survived. I heard they locked the courtesan in an annex and fed her Crimson Crane Powder.”

“If she truly is that child, she may have gained resistance under the influence of the poison her mother ingested. She’s worth studying.”

It was nearly a whisper, but it wasn’t a story I could pretend not to hear. I clenched my teeth.

What is this sick nonsense?

That lunatic Tang Muheok tried to kill the woman carrying his child—and the baby in her belly—with poison?

Nausea rolled up my throat.

If what they were saying was true, then my Myriad-Poison-Immune Body hadn’t been a lucky gift I was born with.

It was the mark of something a woman—my mother—endured to protect her child.

My fingertips began to tremble in tiny shivers. Tang Jung’s face tightened.

“Quiet.” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

His voice carried internal energy, and everyone shut their mouths at once. Tang Jung looked at the Elder Council Master and spoke slowly.

“I intend to accept this child as my disciple. That is why I made this gathering—to request that the Clan Head formally register her into the clan. She bears the direct bloodline and possesses innate talent, so her qualifications are more than sufficient.”

“Mm....... Of course. We can’t afford to lose a Myriad-Poison-Immune Body you personally guarantee, Elder.”

The Elder Council Master seemed ready to agree—then his expression turned troubled as he changed course.

“However, if the Elder Council steps in and demands registration, we may be misunderstood as trying to meddle in the matter of succession. You must move with care.”

“Even if we dragged in a mangy mutt that pisses on walls and sat it down in that seat, it would still be better than the current Young Clan Head. What misunderstanding is there to worry about?”

“Pfft.”

“Kkhp!”

At Tang Jung’s icy assessment, a few elders’ faces twitched as they fought back laughter.

It seemed Tang Yeongho’s reputation was garbage even among the Grand Elders.

The Elder Council Master nodded, too.

“Of course, but...... the Clan Head will resist.”

He stroked his beard, repeating little filler sounds—heoh, hmm—like he was choosing words that wouldn’t offend Tang Jung.

When the Elder Council Master’s silence dragged on, another elder cut in.

“I understand you have no impure intent, Elder. But we cannot be sure others will accept it that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you have the Clan Head register your most recent disciple into the clan, everyone will believe you are trying to set the successor yourself. So if you will promise that you won’t interfere in the matter of the next Clan Head—”

“Impudent.”

Tang Jung’s voice turned cold.

“Elder Dang-gak. Your words sound as if you believe this old man is using a child as an excuse to grasp and shake the clan at will. Do I look like a senile fool who can’t tell right from wrong?”

“N-no, Elder. How could I dare think such a thing?”

The elder called Dang-gak broke into a heavy sweat and avoided Tang Jung’s gaze.

Even at that excuse, Tang Jung didn’t hide his anger—he raised his voice.

“There’s no need to hear more. A promise? How dare you demand anything? Do you think I came here to ask your permission? Move before I kick your asses! Whether you roast the Clan Head or boil him alive, get it done and bring me her registration! You useless idiots!”

Spitting curses through clenched teeth, Tang Jung dragged me out of the council chamber.

BANG!

The door slammed shut with a deafening crash, like it might shatter.

I knew Tang Jung had a nasty personality, but I hadn’t realized it was this nasty. I was aghast.

......Weren’t you the one who called the meeting? It feels like you just came to throw a tantrum. This is basically “Do it because I said so.”

Unlike my idle thoughts, my body wouldn’t cooperate. The moment I stepped out of the chamber, my legs went weak.

My knees buckled and I started to collapse, but Tang Jung caught me at once and scooped me up.

Leaning against him, I let out a long breath.

“Good.”

“Wow, I thought I was going to die. My whole body feels tingly.”

“You won’t die from that.”

Despite the gruff reply, he adjusted his hold on me carefully. The hand that sent his energy into me was delicate.

Warmth spread into every corner of my body, and I finally felt like I could live again.

“Haaah...”

“......You sound like an old man soaking in a bath.”

With an unhappy expression, Tang Jung tossed me over his shoulder and vaulted over a wall.

But even after we’d put distance between us and the Elder Council, my trembling wouldn’t stop easily. Tang Jung patted my back, then asked, worried,

“Are your arms and legs numb? If anything feels off, you must tell me immediately.”

“I think I’ll be okay if I rest a little. But, Grandfather.”

“What is it?”

“How do you walk around wearing a long robe? It’s so wide in the sleeves I can’t control my arms.”

“.......”

Tang Jung frowned like I’d said complete nonsense.

Now he’s cursing me with his face.

I mumbled my defense.

“......I’m serious. It’s really heavy.”

“Adapt.”

“When we get back, can I change clothes first?”

“Yes.”

With a drained voice, Tang Jung rubbed his forehead like he couldn’t believe me.

*****

Tang Jung’s threat—Move before I kick your asses—worked exactly as intended.

Not long after, the Head Steward came rushing over.

“Have you been in good health, Elder?”

“It’s Sukgyeong. How have you been?”

“I’m the same as always. I heard your words through my younger brother, but I was unworthy and couldn’t come to greet you for a long time. Please forgive me generously.”

“It’s fine. You wouldn’t have the presence of mind to care for an old man too. The Head Steward work—does it suit you?”

“It has only been twenty years, so there is still much I don’t know. Please teach me a great deal, Elder.”

“It’s already been that long? Children grow so fast. It feels like only yesterday you were crying with snot running down your nose.”

Grandfather. That man has gray hair all over his head.

Tang Jung treated a middle-aged man like a runny-nosed brat without batting an eye, then propped his chin at a crooked angle and asked,

“There’s only one reason you came to see this old man. What did that bastard Muheok say?”

“He says to do as you wish.”

The Head Steward answered respectfully. Tang Jung nodded like he’d known it already.

“I’d do it even if he didn’t say so. The annex?”

“It’s being cleaned. You’ll be able to use it tomorrow.”

“And did you choose the maids?”

“The Third Madam said she would send her own maids, but—”

“No. Not maids who belonged to a master before. Who knows what tricks they’ll pull. It’s better to take plain maids and train them.”

“Yes. I will do so.”

After giving the order decisively, Tang Jung turned his gaze to me.

“My child. Who was the friend you shared a room with?”

“Huh? Songji, Unni.”

“You heard her. Bring her.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Anyone else you want to bring?”

“I don’t really have friends... Um. Maybe Gyeonga?”

“You heard her. Bring her.”

“Yes.”

The Head Steward wrote down Songji and Gyeonga’s names with an entirely businesslike expression.

“Is there anything else you wish to command?”

“Let’s see. If I think of something, I’ll send Geunmyeong.”

“Yes. Then I will take my leave. Miss, please rest comfortably as well.”

“Huh? Yes.”

After giving Tang Jung a formal fist salute, he bowed to me, too.

Seeing the Head Steward treat me with courtesy made me feel strangely dazed.

When I first went to the servants’ compound, people like the Head Steward and Madam Jin had been superiors I couldn’t casually speak to.

But now both of them were treating me like the Tang Clan’s young lady.

When I stood there blankly, Tang Jung asked,

“Why that face?”

“It just feels weird. My position changed so suddenly.”

“This is only the beginning. Everything around you will change, so adapt.”

He answered like it was nothing.

Tang Jung was right.

After that, everything began to change.