Chapter 19. The Investigation

She sure ran fast!

Everyone laughed so hard their stomachs hurt.

Just moments ago, the grandmother had unleashed every ounce of fury she had, so people thought she would stay combative until the end.
But even in anger, she did not lose her judgment.

She understood perfectly well that she could not win against three people.

So, she immobilized Old Madam Oh first, then seized the chance to shut the woman outside!

Old Madam Oh had never experienced such humiliation.
She grabbed a stone from the ground, intending to throw it at the door.

But before the stone even flew forward—

SHNK!

A gleaming sickle cut through the air and embedded itself into the wooden door.

Old Madam Oh froze instantly.
If the sickle had shifted just half an inch, it would have sliced off her hand.

The large rock she held dropped and smashed directly onto her foot.

“Argh!”

She screamed in pain.

She had purposely chosen the largest rock to throw.
So when that heavy stone landed on her foot, the pain brought tears to her eyes.

Between the sickle flying past and the rock smashing her foot, the villagers couldn’t look away.
Scenes like this were rare in their little village.

Everyone turned toward Go-gyo. She walked calmly toward the door, a small basket on her back.

Her small body looked harmless,
but her eyes were cold and sharp—radiating killing intent.

People involuntarily stepped out of her way.

No one saw how she threw the sickle.

But judging by its precision, if she hadn’t aimed for the door, someone’s skull might have split open.

A chill ran down everyone’s necks.

Ryu, the second daughter-in-law, reacted first.

“Go-gyo! Good thing you’re back! Hurry and open this door and drag that crazy woman out! Look what she did to your grandmother!”

Go-gyo let out a quiet, cold laugh.

“You didn’t see who picked up the rock? Or who dropped it on her own foot? I understand if the old lady’s eyesight is bad, but I didn’t know your eyes were just as poor.”

Ryu’s eyes widened.

What is wrong with this girl?

Go-gyo accidentally dragging Gosoon earlier and kicking Goe-sun was one thing—people assumed she was just stupid.

But publicly saying Old Madam Oh was blind?

That was a direct declaration of war against the entire Go family.

“You wretched brat! Did you just insult your grandmother?”
Old Madam Oh shouted, raising her sleeves.
But when she tried stepping forward, her bruised foot gave way and she nearly collapsed.

Madam Ju hurriedly helped her.

“Mother, careful!”

Old Madam Oh, furious and in pain, pointed at Go-gyo and started yelling again.

“You useless beast! You should’ve drowned instead of living!”

Right then, So Yuk-rang approached.

Lately, he and Go-gyo had been seen together often.
Rumors had quickly spread that the two had gotten close,
but he never responded to those rumors.

So many villagers assumed Go-gyo was just following him around shamelessly.

“Yuk-rang! Look at what your aunt and this girl did—your grandmother is old, yet they treat her like this!”

Madam Ju scolded him, but—

Before she even finished her sentence, So Yuk-rang replied:

“She is elderly, so she should behave properly.”

Madam Ju thought she heard wrong.

Yuk-rang turned to Go-gyo instead.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

Go-gyo nodded and pulled the sickle out of the door.

So Yuk-rang called toward the room.

“Auntie, we’re home.”

The door creaked open.

He and Go-gyo went inside together.

The villagers buzzed in shock.

Did we see that correctly?

So Yuk-rang talked to that foolish girl.
He even asked if she was okay.

Are the two really close now?

Through the slightly open door, they heard Yuk-rang’s voice:

“If something like this happens again, report it to the authorities. I will go to the county office myself to file a petition.”

Old Madam Oh and her daughters-in-law stiffened.

This kind of matter can be reported?

If Yuk-rang spoke so confidently, then—

Surely it was something the authorities could investigate.

That crippled boy—who knew he had such a dark heart?

Madam Ju whispered urgently,

“Mother… what about the third son’s property…?”

In truth, Go-gyo’s separation from the family had a hidden reason:

The Go family had secretly stolen the land and dowry belonging to So Yuk-rang’s late older brother and his wife.

If this became an official case, everything would be exposed.

Grinding her teeth, Old Madam Oh gathered her daughters-in-law and left in humiliation.

Once the troublemakers left, the spectators also dispersed.

Go Yi-sun returned home.

Go-soon wandered around the village once and then headed back to Go-gyo’s house.

***

Inside the house

Go-gyo and So Yuk-rang sat in the main room.
Grandma perched on a low wooden stool, legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds—completely unbothered.

Her behavior today made the two reevaluate her.

They used to think Grandma couldn’t do anything.
She never replied clearly, always seemed slow, and Go-gyo genuinely assumed she had dementia.

But the way she handled Old Madam Oh…

That was expert-level.

“You’ve been pretending all this time?” Go-gyo asked.

Grandma snapped back,

“Is that how you talk to your great-aunt?”

And she even kept acting confused?

No—she didn’t seem to be acting at all.

Go-gyo frowned and called Go-soon outside.

“Come here.”

She shut the door.

“Tell me everything. What exactly happened today?”

Go-soon explained in detail how he cared for Grandma.

She truly didn’t remember anything.

When she first woke up, she assumed she was part of the household and asked:

“So which of those unfilial brats is my grandson?”

Go-soon remembered Go-gyo’s warning well.
He couldn’t reveal that Grandma had leprosy.
But he also couldn’t say she was Yuk-rang and Go-gyo’s real grandmother.

So he said she was a distant aunt who came from far away.

Since Go-gyo didn’t know Grandma wasn’t actually demented, she never gave Go-soon a cover story—
and he ended up explaining everything backwards.

“When she asked why brother-in-law looked like he was doing all the housework, I said he was a live-in son-in-law! Then she asked why she didn’t see the rest of the family, so I said you two had separated households!”

Go-gyo rubbed her temples.

Who said So Yuk-rang handled housework?

They simply ate together sometimes—everything else was separate.

But Go-soon fell neatly into Grandma’s questions and spilled everything.

No wonder Grandma talked about the Go family without restraint—she’d learned it all from this fool’s mouth.

“And why doesn’t she answer me?” Go-gyo asked.

“She said you’re unfilial and she doesn’t want to deal with you!”

“…”

All because I didn’t give her enough candied fruit?

Go-gyo returned to the main room.
So Yuk-rang was finishing up a talk with Grandma.

Whatever he said, it made Grandma slightly subdued.

“Fighting made me tired. Wake me when dinner’s ready.”

Grandma grunted and waddled into her room.

Go-gyo looked at So Yuk-rang.

He paused, then explained:

“The doctor said she needs medicine for a year. But if she recovers quickly, the disease won’t be contagious after one month.”

He did not argue about letting Grandma stay.
But in his words was a quiet request—
he wanted Go-gyo’s permission.

She hadn’t expected him to feel sympathy for someone else.
Seeing Grandma probably reminded him of his older brother who died early.

“Then let her stay for now,” Go-gyo said.

She never intended to kick Grandma out anyway.

Both agreed that calling her “aunt” was safest.

***

Late that night

Their decision turned out to be the right one.

That night, a group of soldiers entered Qingcheon village, inspecting every home in search of a leprosy patient who had escaped from Leper Mountain.

Since Grandma was the only outsider in the village, the soldiers quickly headed straight for So Yuk-rang and Go-gyo’s house.

When they arrived, the “husband and wife” were calmly eating dinner at the table,
and Grandma, fully fed, was warming herself in her room.

The dinner was abundant:
stir-fried dried meat and cabbage, green-onion egg pancakes, mushroom soup, wood-ear salad, and even peanuts as snacks.

No one was drinking, though.

The aroma of fried meat and egg filled the room—
the soldiers’ noses twitched.

“What business brings you here?” So Yuk-rang asked.

The soldiers snapped back to attention.

“We heard an elderly woman recently arrived at this house. Where is she?”

So Yuk-rang led them to Grandma’s room.

“She’s my aunt. She came from Sohyeon County a few days ago.”

He walked ahead and swiftly picked up the candied fruit bowl Grandma failed to hide.

“You stole treats again? I told you eating too much sugar at your age is bad!”

“Hmph.”
Grandma turned away like she was wronged.

The soldiers observed her carefully.

Based on the upper-level description, the escaped leprosy patient should have:
— clear lesions on face and hands
— yellowish complexion
— confused or dull mental state

Grandma matched the age,
but everything else was wrong.

Her complexion was rosy, her mind sharp, her speech clear.
She looked far too healthy to be a leprosy patient.

Leprosy was incurable. Symptoms could be slowed but not healed in ten days.

Half of the soldiers’ suspicion faded.
Seeing how casually So Yuk-rang interacted with her, they felt it unlikely she was the person they sought.

But the captain wasn’t careless.

He went to the kitchen and pointed at the herbal packet simmering on the stove.

“Whose medicine is this?”

So Yuk-rang answered immediately.

“Mine. I injured my leg and fetched these herbs from the clinic.”

“Show me the herb packets.”

Go-gyo brought them.

The captain opened one and saw sanqi inside—a common herb for blood circulation and bruises, often used by martial artists.
There was also safflower, another herb for external injuries.

Clearly not ingredients used to treat leprosy.

“What’s your name?” the captain asked.

“So Yuk-rang.”

With a firm tone, he added:

“If you doubt my identity, you may confirm my registration with the headmaster of Cheonhyang Academy.”

The captain frowned slightly.

“The headmaster… the one with the surname Ye?”

“Yes.”

The soldiers exchanged looks. Their attitude softened noticeably.

Normally, they wouldn’t need a headmaster to confirm someone’s identity.
But mentioning the headmaster’s name showed—
So Yuk-rang wanted them to know he was under that man’s protection.

He didn’t want to become the headmaster’s disciple,
but he had no problem borrowing the headmaster’s influence when needed.

With a bit of shamelessness, everything became easier.

The soldiers asked a few more formal questions, then withdrew.

***