"There must be a reason they didn't reveal it."
It seemed the other side didn't want to make this public either.
The branch head swallowed a sigh.
If it were up to her, she would have told him to get the hell out.
However, the boy's guards were all extraordinary.
These weren't the kind of martial artists money could buy—not even for the lord of Sichuan.
The leaked poison seems to be entangled with a bigger problem than I thought.
The branch head had little interest in anything other than raising her children well.
Yet ever since the young lady arrived from the main family, there hadn't been a single peaceful day.
"Is this the evidence?"
She pulled on a pair of black gloves.
A faint green hue radiated from the empty container, making it look like quite a rare treasure.
The branch head carefully lifted the miniature gourd Geum-a had surrendered as evidence.
"Please step back."
The boy silently complied, but his gaze never left the miniature gourd.
The branch head paused at the sound of something rattling inside.
Only for a second, though.
Then, she opened the lid.
Inside lay a single rolled-up piece of paper.
"This is…!"
Her eyes widened.
Taking a step closer, the boy checked the contents and frowned.
〈Black gold at the designated spot.〉
That wasn't all.
〈Destroy the Tang Clan.〉
"If it's black gold…"
"It is a currency used in the underworld," the branch head muttered. "It's used for assassination, human trafficking, gambling… things like that."
The boy stared at her in silence.
"More importantly, destroy the Tang Clan?"
The branch head shook her head.
Though problems could arise depending on where the poison flowed and how it was used.
Even so, the Tang Clan had endured throughout the history of the Murim.
Could they have preserved the family without ever facing a single conspiracy?
Nor was their current predicament any different.
Although they were stumbling due to a string of recent misfortunes, they would survive.
Her faith was unwavering.
After all, she had lived her entire life serving the Sichuan Tang Clan.
"Amusing," the boy muttered slowly.
Rummaging through his shirt, he pulled out a metal token and placed it on the desk.
Clang.
The branch head's eyes widened when she saw the token engraved with a dragon.
"I am from the Imperial Family."
* * *
"When is my nanny coming back?"
Soye asked, staring blankly at the maid assigned to her by the branch head.
She was currently staying in the branch head's residence.
Her original pavilion was undergoing an extensive search.
"I don't know. I am sorry, young lady."
"I miss nanny."
Soye sniffled.
Of course, it wasn't because she actually missed Sa Gong-hui.
It was to get a grasp on how the situation was unfolding.
"Um… would you like some sweets?"
The maid quickly changed the subject.
She clearly had no desire to explain adult matters to a young child.
No luck today either.
Just as Soye clicked her tongue inwardly, Soso—the branch head's daughter—stepped inside, right on cue.
"What's wrong?"
Soso asked bluntly.
"Upset because no one's here to pamper you?"
Catching sight of Soye's slumped shoulders, Soso flinched slightly.
"…They said the culprit turned out to be the maid."
Her voice was still cold, but the sharp edge had softened.
"Something about her having a bunch of money. So your nanny will probably be back soon too."
"Really? She is coming back soon?"
Soye grabbed Soso's hands and swung them up and down excitedly.
She could feel Soso tensing up in horror, but she didn't let go easily.
While her face beamed with joy, her mind remained chillingly calm.
As expected.
Everything traced back to the night she discovered her nanny's secret.
* * *
"Ah, I can't sleep."
Soye tossed aside the zither she'd been cradling and sprang up.
Discovering Gong-hui's true, two-faced nature had come as quite a shock.
Since I can't fall asleep, should I do some snooping? Gong-hui spent far too much time in that pavilion to leave zero trace. A clue or two has to be waiting for me.
At first, she planned to search the room.
But no matter how hard Soye wracked her brain, she couldn't recall her nanny ever acting suspiciously in the room.
If she hid something, it's definitely not in here.
Soye slipped out of bed.
Carefully opening the door without making a sound, she looked out at the moonlit garden.
Then it must be the garden.
Her nanny had strictly forbidden Soye from leaving the room.
If she were a real nanny, she would've said that out of genuine concern.
With the truth exposed, Gong-hui was undeniably a villain.
A villain who tried to poison a young girl who had no one else to rely on.
Soye deduced there had to be a reason why the nanny kept her from playing in the garden.
Luckily, finding hidden things happens to be my specialty.
Only those who've eaten the dish know how it tastes—and only those with secrets know where to hide them.
Above the rafters, under the garden rocks, beneath the pillars.
Places marked in plain sight, yet completely ignored.
Her midnight digging under the bright moon bore fruit long before the rooster crowed at dawn.
"Black gold?"
Soye rolled the object around in her palm.
True to its name, the black gold was shaped exactly like a traditional ingot, only pitch black.
More importantly, it was a currency used exclusively in the underworld.
After all, it was created specifically to track crime by following the money.
There was no way a nanny in possession of such an item was just a simple fraudster.
Is there someone behind her?
Soye clenched her fist.
Her fingers clawed at the earth, wedging dirt deep beneath her nails.
"This is too much."
Flopping flat onto the ground, Soye stared up at the sky and grumbled.
"Sure, I did a bit of stealing… And I made a few enemies… and my past is a little… complicated! But… do I really have to worry about my life at this age?"
After flailing her arms and legs, Soye wiped her eyes and stood up.
"First, let's find out who's backing the nanny."
Having thrown her tantrum, she wiped her nose.
Then, she prepared two notes.
〈Black gold at the designated spot.〉
If Geum-a denounced the nanny as planned, both of them would be detained.
The branch head will look for the stash.
The best outcome would be for the black gold in the nanny's possession to be discovered.
That way, she could cut ties with Gong-hui.
The problem would arise if the nanny's black gold vanished and was found with Geum-a instead.
That would mean she has a backer.
It would also mean the nanny was far more dangerous than she had anticipated.
They'd have to know what was on that note only the branch head saw—and move the black gold. If someone that resourceful is protecting a nanny, it means they have a much bigger goal.
More likely than not, Soye would be used and discarded along the way.
Mistreated or not, she was still a valuable direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Then, for the other one…
〈Destroy the Tang Clan.〉
This was for Soye's own safety.
She absolutely had to enter the main family.
There's no way they would leave a direct descendant stranded here in this remote village when a plot to destroy the Tang Clan is brewing right inside it.
She believed they would naturally take her back.
After all, they were a clan obsessed with their bloodline.
Even if they were on the decline, the main family of the Sichuan Tang Clan was still the main family.
Within it, the nanny's movements would be heavily restricted.
Furthermore, getting mixed up in such a messy affair meant she'd be put under even tighter surveillance.
Firing her altogether would be the best case, though. But her backer will surely pull some strings.
So, assuming Gong-hui would end up staying by her side, Soye slipped in the second note.
All to survive.
This scheme had only one flaw.
It reveals to the enemy that someone is aware of the black gold.
Soye scoffed.
"Let them look all they want."
Who would ever suspect a child not even ten years old of pulling off something like this?
* * *
"To think black gold would be in the hands of a mere maid."
The branch head wiped her face.
The results of the investigation made her head spin.
How on earth was she supposed to report this to the matriarch?
"Hmm."
The boy, who hadn't budged an inch from the Tang Clan village while the investigation was underway, read through the report.
"So, the main family regularly sends poison for the direct descendant's martial arts training, and a maid named Geum-a embezzled that poison."
"Yes."
The branch head replied in a much more polite tone than before.
Now that the boy had revealed his true identity, she realized the Tang Clan had narrowly dodged complete annihilation.
"And the embezzled poison was sold on the black market and used to assassinate the Imperial Noble Consort, was it?"
Summarizing the report in an incredibly dry tone, the boy set the paper down.
"How convenient."
Convenient for the Tang Clan, that is.
By cutting loose a single maid, the village emerged completely unscathed.
Of course, they couldn't avoid criticism for poor supervision, but that was as far as it went.
"…Lady Soye's body was originally so weak that she couldn't learn martial arts in time. As the poison sent from the main family piled up, it seems greed got the better of her."
"What about the nanny?"
"She seems to have been kept in the dark. Though looking at how she received a cut of the money, she must have suspected something was amiss."
The branch head swallowed a sigh.
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