Chapter 124
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 124
Chapter 124. The Truth Revealed (5)
I headed to the martial arts training ground with Pal-gap, the bodyguards, and Miss Dang Su-bin.
It was because the punishment ceremony was about to begin.
However, Dang Jo-ung came to the annex and said he would go with me.
“I will protect your kindness!”
He shouted that with his fists clenched, and my conscience pricked me.
I'm sorry, Jo-ung.
On my way to the training ground, I ran into Commander Dang Jun-ryung. But his expression was the same as usual.
Seeing that, the warrior Lee Pil said to him.
“It seems you're not worried about your grandmother.”
“Worried? Why should I worry about my mother?”
“...!”
I thought I had heard him wrong.
“Did my mother do something wrong, or did I? Tsk, tsk, why did you act so recklessly...”
He said that with a click of his tongue, bowed to me, and headed toward the training ground where the punishment ceremony was to be held. I was speechless.
I hadn't heard wrong.
You really raised your children well.
Miss Dao, who was standing next to me, had the same expression on her face.
“I never saw her like that before...”
We arrived at the training ground and sat down on the chairs that had been prepared.
Next to me sat Lee Pil, the warrior, and the others who had been present when I was poisoned, or rather, when I staged the poisoning.
Young Mistress Tang Su-bin sat in front of me.
Soon, the members of the Dongbaek Association arrived, and the punishment ceremony began.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At the sound, everyone's attention turned to the Clan Head.
“The punishment ceremony will now begin. Bring the criminals.”
“Yes!”
Soon, the warriors of the punishment party brought Lady Ga-yeon and her maids and servants.
You look very haggard after just one night.
“Report the crimes of the criminals.”
At those words, the Clan Head's aide unfolded a scroll and began to read the charges.
This time, it was not based on someone's accusation, but on actual events, so the proceedings were different.
“Lady Ga-yeon... put poison in the cookies of the warrior Lee Pil... and that poison was given to Young Master Eunseo-ho...”
The aide finished reading and folded the scroll.
The Clan Head turned his head and said,
“The guilty parties, state your defense.”
Lady Go Yeon reacted violently.
“I am innocent. I did not... I did not put poison in Lee Pil's cookies.”
“Then you have never done such a thing before?
”Of course not. All I put in there was something like ground pepper... Ugh!"
She covered her mouth, but everyone had already heard her.
I smiled inwardly.
Confessing her own crime with her own mouth. This was exactly what I wanted.
“Gold dust?”
The clan head's retort left her flustered and at a loss for words.
She knew it too.
She had confessed her crime.
The clan head's relentless questioning continued.
“The guilty party must explain.”
“That... that...”
As she hesitated, the Clan Head said to the other maids and servants.
“You all know about this, right? The first one to confess will receive a reduced sentence.”
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the maids shouted.
“I know!”
“Speak.”
“Actually, when Lee Pil was at his parents' house, I put sand, bugs, and mice in his food on the orders of the lady.”
Hearing this, those who had been watching began to murmur.
It was the murmur of anger.
The Clan Head asked again.
“How many times did you do this?”
“...For seven years...”
Hearing this, the Clan Head closed his eyes. His expression was solemn.
The other members of the Camellia Society felt the same way.
Then,
“Even though it was not the lady's order, the maid often insulted Lee Pil-musa and stole his allowance and jewelry given to him by his father, Captain Dang-du-jeong.”
This was the revelation of the maid standing next to her.
She clearly couldn't let her get away with it.
Then the maid retorted.
“When your young masters beat Lee Pil, you all laughed while watching. And I remember how you mocked him in winter, telling him to make charcoal himself instead of giving him firewood for the brazier.”
The more I hear, the more ridiculous it gets.
One of the members of the Camellia Society, Captain Dao, clicked his tongue and said, "No wonder Lee Pil left the family.
“No wonder Lee Pil left the clan... He had good reason to leave.”
The others nodded in agreement.
When I came to the Sichuan Tang Clan, I sensed that the people there did not look kindly upon Lee Pil.
It was a look of contempt for someone who had abandoned the Sichuan Tang Clan despite being born with the Tang surname.
But now the atmosphere had changed.
Voices of sympathy and understanding for Lee Pil overflowed from the crowd.
The Clan Head said to them,
“Then you are saying that there was no poison in Lee Pil's snacks?”
“Yes.”
“That's right.”
“Then do you admit that you tormented Lee Pil when he had not yet abandoned the Tang surname?”
At those words, Lady Go Yeon bit her lip.
This must be very difficult for her.
But she had no choice but to admit her guilt.
She had already exposed the truth, so she could no longer deny her guilt.
“I admit it.”
“First, kneel before Lee Pil and apologize.”
At those words, Lady Go Yeon bit her lip.
But she soon let out a sigh and bowed her head to Lee Pil.
“I'm sorry. I was foolish and caused you trouble.”
“....”
But Lee Pil did not answer.
The Clan Head ordered the other maids and servants to apologize as well, and they also knelt down and begged for forgiveness.
“We are sorry.”
“We have committed a grave mistake.”
But Lee Pil-mu remained silent.
The Clan Head continued.
“There are others who must apologize. Tang Jun-ryung, Tang Hae-ryung, and Tang Chung-ryung. These three must also apologize to Lee Pil-musa.”
At those words, Tang Jun-ryung became enraged and shouted.
“Why should we apologize?”
“That's right. We didn't do anything wrong.”
“We just thought he looked bored, so we played with him for a while.”
At those words, the Clan Head's hands trembled.
He was furious.
He was about to yell, but someone else yelled first.
“Have you ever seen such good-for-nothing brats? They are so shameless!”
Huh?
That voice sounds familiar.
I was startled when he appeared, pushing his way through the crowd at the training ground.
It was Man-gyeol-ui-seon.
“Elder?”
But when the Clan Head saw Man-gyeol-ui-seon, he called out to him with a surprised look on his face.
“Father!”
Father? Father?
Come to think of it, that's what Young Mistress said.
The Grand Elder is currently away on a trip.
Then, was the Grand Master who was away on business actually Man-gyul?
Wow...
I had no idea about this in my previous life.
No wonder.
The prayer I felt when I first saw him was no joke.
So this was why he refused my request to go to the Sichuan Tang Clan with me.
Everyone bowed down before Man-gyeol-ui-seon.
“Greetings, Clan Head.”
Man-gyeol-ui-seon barely acknowledged their greeting and shouted, “You good-for-nothing brats! Can't you come out?”
At his shout, Lady Go Yeon's three sons hesitantly came out to the center of the training ground.
“All this time, I believed that you would eventually realize your mistake and repent when you saw how you were tormenting Lee Pil. But I was wrong. You are still the same.”
“We tormented Lee Pil because our mother told us to.”
“That's right!”
“Our mother told us to torment Lee Pil, so we did as she said. What crime have we committed?”
Their words were different from before.
Since saying they didn't bully him wouldn't work, they were now trying to sell out their mother.
Hearing this, Lady Go Yeon looked shocked.
“When did I ever tell you to bully Lee Pil?”
Seeing this, I clicked my tongue in my mouth.
What a loving mother and son.
“Shut up!”
When Man-gyeol shouted with all his might, the murmurs immediately subsided.
“How can the Sichuan Tang Clan have people with such character? I am ashamed. I don't think Lee Pil would want an apology from you.”
Lee Pil nodded at his words.
“Therefore, by the authority of the Clan Head, I order you to reflect on your actions in the punishment quarters for five years.”
At those words, the Dang Jun-ryeong brothers were shocked and fell to their knees.
“Clan Head, no, Grandfather! You can't do that!”
“We were wrong! Please, not the punishment quarters!”
“It was all my fault.”
What made them so brazen?
Seeing these brazen men begging for mercy, it seemed that the punishment quarters must be a scary place.
However, Man-gyeol-seon did not revoke his order.
“What are the warriors of the Punishment Division doing? Execute them!”
“Yes!”
The three brothers were dragged away to the Punishment Division.
The Clan Head, who had been watching, stepped forward.
“Lady Go-yeon and the other criminals, listen.”
At his words, everyone bowed their heads.
“What Lady Go Yeon and the other criminals did to the warrior Lee Pil was an act that destroyed the discipline of the Sichuan Tang Clan, and it was also an act that disregarded the will of our ancestors to cherish the children of the clan!”
“...”
"Furthermore, they tormented the child in a very cruel manner, eventually causing him to leave the Sichuan Tang Clan. I cannot stand by and watch this happen. Therefore, I order Lady Go Yeon and the other criminals to undergo five years of self-reflection in the punishment quarters.“
At his words, Lady Go Yeon, her maids, and the other maids begged for mercy, but the order was not revoked.
”Earlier, you said that if we confessed first, you would reduce our sentences."
The maids said, and the Clan Head smiled slightly and replied.
“Of course. Promises must be kept. I will reduce your sentence by one moment from five years.”
“What? One moment?”
“I only said I would reduce your sentence, I did not say by how much.”
“Ah...”
The maid looked devastated.
Man-gyeol approached Lee Pil and bowed his head.
“I'm sorry.”
“No, no! How can the Clan Head bow to me?”
Lee Pil waved his hands in surprise.
“It's my fault for not handling this properly that you had to go through such hardship.”
Hearing this, the Clan Head also said to Lee Pil, “I am also at fault. Now that we have finally set this matter straight.”
“I am also at fault. I have finally corrected this matter.”
Lee Pil shook his head at their words.
“No. I am truly grateful to both of you. I know that it is thanks to you that I am allowed to leave the family.”
“...”
“I am only grateful to you both.”
Lee Pil bowed deeply to them.
Then he stood up straight.
He turned his head and looked at Lady Go Yeon, her maids, and the servants.
“I have something I wanted to ask my aunt and the others.”
“What do you want to ask?”
Lee Pil replied to Lady Go Yeon's question.
“What did I do so wrong? I was just born, and I am the same as you... Why did you treat me so cruelly?”
“....”
“What does a child who was brought here by adults know... Did you hate me that much?”
“...I'm sorry.”
“I'm sorry.”
“I committed a capital offense.”
They apologized again, but Lee Pil-mu shook his head.
“I cannot accept your apology. I cannot forget what happened back then. Maybe someday, when I no longer have the habit of picking at my food, I will be able to forgive you.”
“...”
Although it was only an apology, it seemed that some of the resentment had been resolved.
But didn't Lee Pil-mu say he wanted them to apologize?
Well, he said he wanted them to apologize, but he didn't say he would accept their apology.
Even if I were him, I don't think I could forgive them.
Children have unlimited potential and are the future of this world.
But they trampled on that potential and future simply because they were annoying, because they were powerless, and because they couldn't fight back.
No one has the right to do that.
It was time to wrap things up.
I looked at Miss Dao and signaled to her. She stood up from her seat.
“Father. Actually, the detailed investigation results regarding Mister Eun Seo-ho's poisoning have come out.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The poison found in Lee Pil's cookies came from Mister Eun Seo-ho's sleeve.”
“Then?”
“Yes. He is not guilty.”
However, no one was interested in this anymore.
Lady Go Yeon and the others were dragged away by the warriors of the Punishment Division with expressions of disappointment on their faces.
Thus, the Punishment Assembly ended with the truth about Lee Pil being revealed.
Now, no one will dare to touch Lee Pil anymore, right?
Then, I should return to the Sichuan branch.