As a Househusband, Fiscal Responsibility Is Imperative (2.3)

As a Househusband, Fiscal Responsibility Is Imperative (2.3)

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Commissioned by Ichypa

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I’m sure Jun of the Tang Clan had many thoughts and beliefs regarding how things were going to turn out.

Maybe, he thought he’d intimidate me into just leaving and dying to Demonic Beasts. If he managed that, Father wouldn’t lift a finger for revenge.

Or, perhaps, he wished to seduce Seol. If he managed that, Seol would only have her family’s future to consider her actions against. Love makes fools of people, so I could not put that possibility aside. Father wouldn’t call me back to the Demonic Sect, and I’d be expected to act as a tripwire for him to properly invade. I would need to survive any pursuit force sent after me, as well as all the Demonic Beasts, but if I survived, Father would probably settle me somewhere ignoble and safe.

I mean, I’d probably get crippled if I managed to survive.

More likely I’d just be dead, but I could dream.

Anyway, the more I thought about the situation, the more I had to resist shaking my head.

Jun was operating on horrifically outdated information. He might be operating completely on bias, in fact. The Heavenly Demon forced his son upon the heiress of the Namgoong. Jun needed to save her and secure himself a great ally and bride. Combined with the Tang, the Namgoong can inspire the rest of the Orthodox Sects with a valiant defense and overturn the Heavenly Demon’s current dominion over the realm.

Yeah, it sounded nice, and it would probably work if I were one of my siblings.

Instead of his dreamed-up scenario, he just dishonored the Namgoong clan, overstepped the authority of the Tang clan, and declared her formally accepted fiancé unfit for her hand in marriage. It was a layered shit sandwich of horrific proportions that really had only one reasonable response that didn’t end in warfare.

So, now, Lord Jun was trembling in fear, knees literally knocking together as he struggled to stand, as Seol bore down upon him with barely any restraint.

This was just the start.

Even if this ended up bloodless, soon, relations with the Tang clan were going to be a massive headache!

…

Interlude: Seol, the 7th Sword Saint of the Namgoong Clan

…

Jun stank of naked ambition and desire from the moment that he came to greet us. He was dressed in black silk robes and had a coat of shimmering green atop it. Embroidered flowers of silver threads ran across the green coat, and he wore fine leather xue with green trimming.

During the war, the Tang clan may have fought on the front, but they also sold weapons and medicine. Their wealth increased in the war, even with the need to replace all the warriors that they lost. The whole of the Alliance depended on them, and they reaped a hefty profit because of that dependency.

Time and time again, the Tang Clan offered us fortunes for our techniques, our people, and finally even my hand. Like merchants, they sought to buy the Namgoong name, despite the fact that they were so dependent on poison and secret weapons to match true martial artists.

I thought that this would be another display of wealth and authority.

Then, Jun opened his mouth.

Before I knew it, I stood before him, desperately restraining my anger from drawing my sword.

“Lord Jun, I suggest that you restate your greeting.” The first words out of his mouth were addressed to me. It was proper. I was the future head of the Namgoong. The next set of words was unforgivable. “You will address my fiancé properly. If you do not, I must do as honor demands.”

I already wished to act.

He deserved a beating for calling Rui a ‘mongrel of the Heavenly Demon.’

But Jun remained the heir of the Tang Clan, despite his lack of intellect and overinflated ego.

“Ah-ha! M-my apologies for the slip of the tongue, Seol. Lord Rui, it is.” Seol. He dares to call me by my name!? I used my senses to see without turning my head. Rui’s brow had furrowed slightly at my name being used so casually by this impertinent lout. Did he think that this idiot had my favor!? “ I—

I needed to make matters clear.

As swiftly as possible.

“It is Lady Namgoong, heir of the Tang Clan. My grandmother only holds the position until I am wed.” I made my point as clear as possible with a burst of intent. Jun’s brow broke immediately into a sweat as I bore down upon him. I kept my senses on Rui. He remained stoic and composed by my side. The slight furrow to his brow abated. Was that enough to convince him? No, he was much too smart for that. He must think that I did not wish to be addressed as Seol by the Tang clan’s heir in the presence of others. That was even worse! “I do not recall ever giving you permission to refer to me by my given name, Lord Tang. Would you care for a firm reminder of that fact?”

“No! I mean, no. I misspoke, Lady Namgoong. Please, I beg for your forgiveness.” He bowed his head. Almost too low. I watched him for any mistake and made my gaze clear to him. Every drop of sweat from his brow denoted anxiety. Every twitch of his features. Every lingering moment of fearfulness. All of it. I did not wish for him to misinterpret this in any way. “I did not mean to offend.”

“If such is truly the case, then you will apologize to my fiancé.”

I demanded it of him.

I did not ask.

Still, his teeth gritted at the thought, and so I acted.

I extended my hand his way, and with control and finesse I called upon strands of grass nearby and assembled them through aura to rise, take flight, and make a few strands of his eyelashes fall in front of him.

To his credit, he suffocated his foolish pride and got onto his knees and pressed his forehead against the ground.

“Jun of House Tang humbly apologizes for his impertinent words! He pleads for mercy upon himself, and he speaks not for his clan!” Mercy. His words evoked the word itself. I almost allowed a scowl to form on my face. Grandmother may have noticed, but no one present did, except perhaps Rui. I was forced to sheathe my blade. They were just words. I did not feel their earnestness, but they were said in the presence of others. I could not hold my blade out any longer. I sheathed it, and he raised his head too swiftly for my liking. “Lady Namgoong, if I may, would you permit me to fulfill my duty and provide escort to you and your people?”

I froze at his words, but I couldn’t hold back.

“How dare you!? Asking for mercy with one breath, then playing with words in the next!? Do you think yourself the only one blessed with cunning!?” I raised my voice. It was improper, but I hardly cared. I demanded of him to apologize to Rui, and not even a dozen heartbeats later, he addressed him as one of ‘mine.’ A mere servant under my control and not my fiancé!? “Do you think me incapable of hearing your words or recalling events mere moments ago!?”

The guards reached for their swords and moved to lower their spears at my words, but they found themselves unable. Complete foolishness. They were in my presence for so long while my blade was out of its sheath and thought themselves untouched by my Qi? They were enraptured by it. Their bodies were chained to stillness; lightning coursing across their forms prevented them from moving further than I permitted.

Jun, meanwhile, let loose a scream and ran back as an aura sword cleaved into the ground before his head. He scrambled back on the road like a bug, legs kicking out, and threads of silk and silver dragged across the dirty floor. He didn’t have the strength to take punishment for his own words, yet he dared imply that he was better than Rui!?

Such absolute impertinence!

I was ready to act without thought, but Rui’s voice rang clear.

“There is a nearby independent sect that can provide us passage upriver to the lands we seek.” Rui gave the finest solution to the problem at hand. Jun’s eyes widened as he realized what was just said, and what little color that remained on his face faded. The Tang Clan would not see us as guests, nor would they benefit from relations with the Namgoong. I wished to lash out at Jun, but that would harm us. Instead, we would meet dishonor with dishonor. “I propose this other path to you, my fiancé.”

“We will take it.” I decided to smother my hostility and distaste. For a moment, it took a surprising amount of struggle. However, Rui stepped forward and gazed upon my face. I schooled my features with ease after that. It would not do for me to have such hostility bared whilst he could see. “We leave now. Farewell, Heir of the Tang Clan.”

“W-wait! You can’t! This is—this is all wrong. What’s happened to you, Se—” My anger almost reignited completely, but I was able to just make my intent clear as he dared try and use my name again. This time Rui was so close and offering me his hand to guide me back to the wagon! I never thought ill of Jun when we were children, but this was beyond ludicrous. He must have been struck in the head too many times. “Lady Namgoong, please, I would see you as the Tang Clan’s honored guest, ally, and friend!”

Still, with his final plea, he said nothing that had any hope of alleviating my anger or convincing me otherwise.

I could not believe I considered him a potential suitor!

Up until the very end, he did not apologize once to Rui or acknowledge him at all!

We mounted the wagon together, and I noticed the stares of the warriors guarding the caravan. Each one’s face was stoic and stared into the distance, but as we passed them by, they stood straight and carried themselves with more pride. The Namgoong clan was held at the gate after sending invitations, the future partner of their household’s leader was shamed, and the only apology given denigrated them all as servants.

Rui’s genius was apparent.

While I had looked only at the threat before me, he considered the entirety of the matter and moved to assuage it to our greatest benefit.

Now, as we left the Tang behind, the wrongs against us were all accounted for, while we still retained the ability to pursue our goals.

Not only that, but none of our allies or companions would see us in the wrong.

No blood was spilled.

No oaths were broken.

We were met with flagrant disrespect, and we raised our heads high and left with our pride intact, while the Tang clan’s heir begged to be forgiven and for us to return.

Truly, Rui had guided us all to the perfect result.

…

Thank goodness, I managed to scrape by and stop these manufactured psychopaths from murdering each other over snide commentary.

Sometimes, with how pretty and calm Seol was all the time, it was easy to forget that if you tried something stupid with her, you’re liable to lose your head.

And, the worst part?

If the Tang Clan’s current leadership believed in their future heir?

This was just the start of a shitshow that might lead to the two clans coming to blows.

Something that I wanted to prevent, so I decided to rip the proverbial band-aid off before the wound started to fester.

“The Tang Clan may choose to believe their future heir over us with the message that we have sent. It will be prudent to keep an eye on them and perhaps arrange a friendly tournament to assuage bad blood.” We were on a boat traveling north. The chuan was a cargo vessel that ran a trade circuit between four towns. Fish to iron to blacksmiths to merchants and back to fish. We were on the last leg of the trip. It was a large enough vessel that it had plenty of room for all the horses, warriors, and carriages in the hold. “I recommend a meeting with the Lord of the Tang Clan, Seol.”

“I will have a message relayed to Grandmother as soon as we reach land.” Seol, thankfully, was wise and composed when approached properly. I had no clue why Jun thought it’d be smart to come out guns blazing like he did. He should’ve been passive, sent out feelers, lured us into his territory, and plied her and us with gifts. It was almost like he did everything wrong on purpose. “You have further concerns? Share them with me.”

Cultivator instincts were something else.

“I suspect that we may have fallen into a trap, or perhaps the Tang Clan rebuffed us by sacrificing their heir’s reputation a minute amount. They may believe that the Namgoong cannot be trusted.” I explained, and Seol’s eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. I was quick to explain. “We have gained immense wealth rapidly, our marriage has been blessed by both clans, and now we move to secure something in their sphere of influence? If they accepted us as honored guests, then they would be unable to do anything to us as we searched for anything in their lands.”

“So, they rebuff us at their gates in order to have precedent to watch us and perhaps interfere with what we do… as though we are already foes instead of allies.” Seol took a measured breath, and her furrowed brow lightened. But the danger didn’t pass. “If such is the case, what path would you advise the Namgoong to take?”

A test was placed on my lap without a hint of hesitation.

Thankfully, I already made up my mind on this matter.

“We act beyond reproach and eliminate any reason for them to strike at us.” I was with the Namgoong now. I’ll stick with them no matter what. Seol seemed surprised by my statement but soon gave a nod of acknowledgement at my words. “I do not wish for conflict between the Namgoong and the Tang.”

Seol looked at me for a long time at those words but eventually nodded.

It took a lot of willpower to not sigh in relief.