Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

After breakfast, I was rolling around in the cabin with the kids when the ship’s helmsman came to report.

”We should be arriving near the Tang Clan estate in Sichuan soon.”

It had been just over ten days since we parted ways with Geum Gi-ryung.

And finally, the Sacheon Tang Clan was in sight.

After more than ten days of being cooped up in the cabin, this was a huge relief.

I got up from my bedding and stretched.

Time to prepare for disembarkation.

”Ahh, finally.”

Lying around in the cabin for so long had left my whole body stiff and sore.

We were making a stop in Sichuan first because, while the original destination was the Beast Palace, something had come up in Sichuan, so we decided to visit the Tang Clan first.

Something had happened at one of their silk farms, so we were heading there to deal with it.

If my father-in-law was worried, of course the son-in-law couldn’t just sit around doing nothing, right?

”Understood. Thank you for the report.”

”N-no, not at all, Princess.”

The helmsman bowed and left, while the Princess and Gun Hye-rin, who had been drinking tea at the table, began preparing to disembark.

Not that there was much to prepare—just a bundle or two of clothes.

”I should go get the master’s clothes that were drying on the deck.”

As she gathered her things, Gun Hye-rin stepped out to fetch the clothes I’d hung out to dry, while the Princess, packing up her own belongings, asked:

”By the way, what do you think the issue is?”

”Who knows? Since it’s related to the silk business, I doubt it’s anything serious.”

I answered offhandedly—but then heard the Princess mutter to herself.

”It’s going to be something serious...”

”Sorry?”

”Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself. Hehe.”

”...?”

She glanced at me briefly, then turned away and began fiddling with something.

Still, she kept sneaking side glances at me the entire time.

It made me a little suspicious.

’What’s going on here?’

Something felt odd—but then the cabin door opened again, and Gun Hye-rin came back inside.

She was carrying a bundle of freshly dried clothes in her arms, and as she sat down and began folding them, she exchanged meaningful smiles with the Princess.

Both of them seemed... cheerful.

I thought about asking what was up, but decided not to get involved.

If I showed even a sliver of interest, it could be taken as some kind of signal.

Right now, both of them were still under the delusion that they liked me because of the Beast-Heart Technique.

Even the slightest nudge could cause that snowball to start rolling.

They were already on edge lately—ever since I bought them those souvenir daggers.

Sometimes, when they sat together sharpening those daggers with whetstones, it sent shivers down my spine even though it wasn’t a horror movie scene.

So I ignored them and focused on what I’d need to do once we arrived in Sichuan.

’If it’s a silk farm, maybe it’s a silkworm disease?’

Hwa-eun had mentioned that Sichuan had been a famous silk-producing region since the Han Dynasty.

Which meant there were many places that produced silk, some even managed directly by the state.

Our Sacheon Tang Clan also counted silk as one of its main businesses, and apparently one of our farms had run into a problem.

If that was the case, it was likely a silkworm disease or something similar.

People often think insects don’t get sick—but that’s not true.

Silkworms, in particular, are prone to quite a few diseases.

Just thinking off the top of my head, there was grasserie, flacherie, cytoplasmic polyhedrosis, muscardine, and others.

Grasserie is a protozoan infection that can affect eggs, larvae, and pupae.

Flacherie is a bacterial infection that causes the body to become soft and kills the larvae and pupae.

Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis is viral, mostly affecting larvae, and muscardine is a fungal disease, also common in the larval stage.

There are also diseases caused by parasitic flies or environmental stress, but considering it’s early spring...

Only one illness stood out as the most likely.

’The most probable one would be grasserie, I guess?’

Silkworm farming is called jamsa, and it usually happens in spring.

That’s when mulberry trees—their main food source—begin to leaf out between spring and summer, so silkworms are raised to match that timing.

But even though Sichuan is warmer than most regions, the mulberry trees probably hadn’t fully leafed out yet.

That meant they wouldn’t have hatched larvae just yet—most likely they were still in the egg stage.

After silkworms lay eggs in the fall, the eggs are kept through the winter—so it was highly probable that they were still just eggs right now.

And if so, the likeliest disease was grasserie.

’But I really talked big earlier... and there’s no cure for grasserie...’

Suddenly, I felt like maybe I’d gone too far with my confident promises.

Grasserie is caused by a protozoan called Nosema bombycis, and it’s extremely contagious—and completely incurable.

It’s usually transmitted vertically when the mother lays her eggs. Infected eggs either die before hatching or hatch and then the larvae quickly die.

Even in my previous life—in the modern era—there was no treatment. Prevention and containment were the only options.

Once infected, the entire stock had to be destroyed and burned, and the entire breeding facility had to be thoroughly sterilized.

“...But hey, maybe it’s not grasserie?”

It might not be grasserie, so I decided to worry about it later.

After all, I’m a lucky guy, aren’t I?

’Whatever happens—I’ll figure it out.’

***

-Buuuuung.

The warriors of the Sacheon Tang Clan, standing guard in front of the Clan Head’s hall, heard the buzzing sound of a bee in their ears.

At the sound, one of the guards looked up at the sky and said,

“I kinda missed that noise in the winter, you know?”

“Seriously. It feels weird now if we don’t hear it.”

When Lord So-ryong first started keeping the Golden Fur Bee Kings at the Tang Clan estate, the warriors had been extremely flustered.

That was because the constant buzzing of bee wings—except at night when the bee kings were asleep—made it really difficult to stand guard.

But once it became clear the Golden Fur Bee Kings protected the Tang Clan’s perimeter on their own and even produced honey that boosted internal ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) energy—honey which was shared even with low-ranking warriors—their reputation skyrocketed.

They protected the clan and shared delicious, internal-energy-boosting honey.

That’s the kind of friend the Golden Fur Bee Kings had become at the Sacheon Tang Clan.

“When’s the next batch of honey coming?”

“Dunno? I guess the mountain needs more flowers first?”

-Buuuung.

The two warriors smiled as they chatted about the bee kings’ honey.

But something was strange—the buzzing was getting louder.

-Buuuung wooooong.

“Huh? That’s really loud today, isn’t it?”

“Right? Maybe it’s a whole swarm?”

The buzzing grew so loud it hurt their ears, and the warriors looked up at the sky in alarm.

And then—the sudden casting of a shadow.

The two of them screamed.

“Gahhh!”

“A-Hornet!?”

A gigantic hornet was swooping down over their heads.

“Wh-Wh-Whaaat!?”

With its appearance, the sky above the Clan Head’s hall was suddenly swarming with Golden Fur Bee Kings.

It seemed the large hornet’s arrival had triggered a mass emergence, and the sounds of both types of bees filled the sky with chaos.

Then came a familiar voice from atop the hornet.

“Guys, it’s okay. This is So-ryong’s mother, our new family member.”

It was Miss Hwa-eun’s voice.

And at once, the Golden Fur Bee Kings in the sky tilted their heads in unison.

The giant hornet landed in front of the Clan Head’s hall, and Hwa-eun leapt down and announced,

“Everyone, calm down. This is So-ryong’s mother.”

“Mother?”

“So-ryong-nim’s mother?”

Just seeing Hwa-eun arrive riding a giant hornet was shocking enough—but So-ryong-nim’s mother riding one!?

The two warriors blinked in disbelief.

At that moment, the Clan Head himself walked out from inside, clasped his hands toward the hornet, and spoke.

“It is an honor to meet you. We’ve heard the stories.”

He was extremely courteous.

Without even realizing it, the two warriors also bowed respectfully toward the hornet.

“It’s... it’s an honor to meet you!”

“An honor to meet you.”

’So-ryong’s mother is a hornet...?’

They weren’t sure if they’d heard right—but since it was So-ryong-nim, even weirder things could be true.

Honestly, if he’d taken the Golden Crowned Lion King or Yowha as concubines, they’d probably just nod and go, “Yeah, that tracks.”

***

-Trickle.

Fragrant tea was poured into a teacup.

“Father, please have some tea.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Tea shared with his daughter, home after a long time.

Tang Cheolsan sipped the tea his daughter had prepared and asked with a smiling face,

“So, still no news?”

“News?”

“About a grandchild.”

At that, Hwa-eun flushed and shook her head.

“Not yet.”

“Is it because he’s always running around chasing spiritual beasts? Should this old father give him a scolding and tie him down to the Tang Clan?”

He made a mock-scary face as he said it, and Hwa-eun gave an awkward smile in reply.

“We promised he’ll settle down after this current business is over.”

“Really? Hahaha. Well, I mean, to have a beauty like my daughter at home and still be running around outside—that guy’s either an idiot or...”

“An idiot?”

“More like... someone who’s not a real man?”

“H-hmph.”

Hwa-eun flushed again and cleared her throat at Tang Cheolsan’s words.

As he watched her reaction, he asked,

“So then—what was it you wanted to speak to me about alone, dear?”

This meeting had been arranged because Hwa-eun had written him a letter asking for a private conversation.

He was asking what it was about.

Hwa-eun hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully.

“It’s about So-ryong. I wanted to consult you on something.”

“?”

She’d just been saying everything was fine—now she wanted to talk about her husband?

Tang Cheolsan looked puzzled.

But what he heard next was more than enough to shock him.

“...So I was thinking maybe So-ryong should take Lady Gun as a second wife.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Yes. We get along well and she’s a good person. Honestly, I think I like her even more than So-ryong does. He’s not that into women, you know?

I just couldn’t stand to see her so pitiful waiting around—so I encouraged it.”

People often think a son-in-law can’t take concubines—but that’s not strictly true.

If the main wife couldn’t bear children, they could bring in a woman from the same clan as a concubine to continue the family line.

That wasn’t the case here, but according to Hwa-eun, during the demonic rebellion, So-ryong had put himself on the line to save Lady Gun—and so he should take responsibility.

Tang Cheolsan thought, You could’ve been a little more careful, but from the way Hwa-eun spoke, it sounded like they were already close—so he agreed.

He even gave his blessing with some words of wisdom.

“Then live as lifelong companions, and don’t treat her too harshly even if she’s a concubine.”

But what came next—he couldn’t possibly approve.

“...So for that reason, I think he should take the Princess as well.”

“Th-the Princess too!?”

-Clink.

Tang Cheolsan was so shocked he dropped his teacup.

And for good reason—the Princess wanted to become his son-in-law’s woman!?

Everyone already knew So-ryong had saved the Princess’s sect, her senior brothers, and even her master.

And it made sense she would feel deeply indebted.

But to want to become his woman?

Tang Cheolsan had heard the royal wedding was fake—but still, this was preposterous.

He stared in disbelief and shouted,

“What nonsense is this!? The Princess must be thinking far too conservatively! Just because someone saved your sect and teacher, you pledge your entire life to them? That might have flown three hundred years ago, but now—!”

His reaction was, in truth, because of Hwa-eun.

If the Princess was going to become So-ryong’s woman, then there was no way she could be a mere concubine.

Even if the Princess and Emperor didn’t mind—a princess, of imperial blood, as a concubine?

There would be endless memorials submitted to the throne. The names of So-ryong and the Tang Clan would be dragged through the court for weeks.

And in that storm, it might end with Hwa-eun being reduced to concubine status and the Princess taking the main wife’s seat.

So he had to say no.

At that moment, urgent voices of warriors came from outside.

“Clan Head! Please come quickly! A decree has arrived from the Imperial Court!”

“A decree!?”

Tang Cheolsan hurried out in a panic—only to find an official in ceremonial robes already standing outside with an entourage.

“Is So-ryong present?”

“He’s traveling far away, so I don’t know when he’ll return...”

“Then the Clan Head of the Tang Clan shall receive the Emperor’s decree.”

“We are unworthy of such grace.”

Tang Cheolsan immediately knelt in front of the Clan Head’s hall, and the voice of the imperial official rang out.

’Could it be... the Emperor plans to make the Princess his official wife?’

Tang Cheolsan was filled with worry as he listened to the content of the decree.

“To So-ryong of the Beast Palace, son-in-law of the Sacheon Tang Clan—having discovered the cause of the earthquake, bringing peace to the Emperor and salvation to the people, he has shown the bearing of a true hero.

Therefore, the Emperor grants So-ryong permission to take three wives. Henceforth...”

’Three official wives!?’

They said the Emperor was benevolent—and surely only a truly benevolent Emperor could come up with a solution like this.