The Main Wife War.
Of all the won, who would end up as the true heroine linked to the protagonist?
Countless fans hoped their favorite heroine would beco his partner. They speculated about how it might happen, debating theories and scenarios.
The Main Wife War was, in a way, content that deepened reader imrsion and enjoynt of the story.
‘I, too, once burned the midnight oil taking part in the Great Main Wife War.’
There’s nothing more pointless than fighting with people online. And yet, denying the heroine I support? That’s a different story.
That’s a battle worth fighting.
‘Still, you shouldn’t be brawling inside a business.’
Main Wife Wars should be waged in designated forums, not at the expense of others.
Hwa-rin and I divided the mbers of the Daseo Society who were about to co to blows and tried to listen to both sides.
“How could a re courtesan beco the qilin child of the great Sichuan Tang Clan’s main wife?!”
One mber of the Daseo Society, looking like he was actually from the Tang Clan himself, shouted indignantly at the opposing side.
“Why not? The Top Courtesan of Hubei even gave him her first! anwhile, that woman who couldn’t do anything besides get high on an aphrodisiac—what kind of main wife is that? Du Eung-hyang supported Tang Jeong throughout Volu 2 and built up genuine affection. She’s the one who deserves to be his main wife!”
A supporter of Du Eung-hyang presented his argunt with unshakable confidence.
Since Volu 1 had been about setting up the protagonist’s arc, and Volu 2 introduced the heroine from the start, Du Eung-hyang had certainly ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) had a chance to shine. But I didn’t expect people to switch their votes for the main wife so quickly.
As a writer, I was thrilled. As the shopkeeper, I was horrified.
“A-a courtesan, a virgin? That’s a lie! Du Eung-hyang must be lying!”
The man who had shouted earlier stamred in panic at the logic he couldn’t refute.
“All courtesans are virgins—by default.”
“How could the Top Courtesan of Hubei possibly be a virgin?!”
“Hah! Author Ho-pil clearly and definitively stated it in the novel. Are you now doubting not just the main wife choice but Author Ho-pil himself?”
“Where does it say that?!”
“Volu 2 of Storm of the Tang Clan, twentieth page from the back, eighteenth line—Ho-pil explicitly certifies her virginity from his narrative voice.”
The man supporting Du Eung-hyang didn’t hesitate even a second to cite the exact passage.
“He’s right! It really says that!”
“H-how many tis has this guy read Volu 2 already?”
So mbers of the Daseo Society pulled out their books to check and then gasped in shock. I wrote that passage myself, and even I don’t rember the line number. That’s... a little terrifying.
“Ugh...”
The original shouter grimaced in defeat, caught off guard by the truth.
“See? This is why we shouldn’t accept anyone into the Daseo Society who hasn’t read Storm of the Tang Clan at least ten tis. How could soone who can’t even recognize the main wife be in our group?”
The victorious man smirked as he looked down at his defeated opponent.
“I was wrong—completely, utterly wrong to doubt Author Ho-pil. But Du Eung-hyang is still a courtesan. We’re talking about Gu Suk-jeong here—a highborn daughter from a prestigious Sichuan clan and the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan. How can soone with no family and no looks claim the title of main wife?”
The man launched his counterattack with a grounded argunt. It’s true—claiming soone other than the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan is the main wife would be hard to defend on logic alone.
“Your entire premise is flawed. Are you suggesting that being Sichuan’s most beautiful woman automatically makes her more attractive than the Top Courtesan of Hubei?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course she’s prettier. She’s the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan—obviously better-looking than so Hubei courtesan.”
“To say that so random beauty from Sichuan is prettier than the Top Courtesan of Hubei?! That’s your obvious truth? Wait—don’t tell . I thought you were from Hubei, but you’re actually from Sichuan, aren’t you?!”
Unbelievable. Using regional rivalry to take down the “Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan” argunt.
“What? He’s from Sichuan?”
“Are you saying the Daseo Society branch in Hubei has been tricked by a Sichuan scoundrel all along?!”
A few mbers stared in disbelief at the man now labeled a Sichuan native.
“No, no! My father and grandfather are both from Hubei! This is slander!”
“Woooo! Honorary Sichuanite! He’s an honorary mber of the Gu Suk-jeong cult! Naturally, the Top Courtesan of Hubei is more beautiful than so Sichuan debutante!”
The man looked devastated, but the Du Eung-hyang supporters weren’t going to waste the opportunity.
“The pro-Gu faction is on the verge of collapse—let’s go help!”
“How dare you deny the true main wife!”
Just when it looked like the Gu Suk-jeong camp was cornered, their reinforcents stepped up.
“Tang Jeong’s heart has always belonged to Gu Suk-jeong—not just in Volu 1, but throughout Volu 2. How can you say Du Eung-hyang is the main wife when he never let go of Gu Suk-jeong?”
“Silence, you honorary Sichuanite!”
Naturally, the opposing camp rallied in turn.
“W-what did you say?!”
“Love moves! Du Eung-hyang spent a whole volu building a bond with Tang Jeong—she’s the one who deserves to be the main wife!”
“Is it all just about looks to you?!”
“Of course it is! If a woman’s pretty, that’s everything! You can live off her face alone for a lifeti!”
“Brother... such words strike straight to the heart. As a man, you know who the main wife is, don’t you?”
“He’s only saying that because he doesn’t have a younger sister.”
“Shut it!”
“Enough!”
“If this ruckus continues, we’ll be forced to evict you. Keep this up, and you’ll be banned from Daseogak altogether.”
Hwa-rin and I raised our voices to restore order. Dear Daseo Society mbers—fangirling is great, but please rember you’re not alone in the world.
“Ugh... We can’t lose the birthplace of Storm of the Tang Clan...”
The mbers of the Daseo Society returned to their seats—but now firmly divided into two camps.
“From this day on, I won’t drink tea with those people!”
“They can’t even recognize the main wife! Eyes that see not, ears that hear not—there’s no point talking to them!”
The Daseo Society had officially split into two factions who refused to sit at the sa table.
--------
“Are you going to just leave them like that?”
After a few days of watching this play out, Hwa-rin finally asked .
“Well, what do you want to do? Here’s your coffee.”
I handed off an order to another custor while answering.
“You’re the author. Shouldn’t you say sothing like ‘stop fighting over who the main wife is’?”
“And what, tell people not to like who they like? I’d be crucified for even hinting at a personal favorite in a heroine poll. Just because I’m the author doesn’t an I get to dictate personal preferences.”
“Still... you are the author...”
Hwa-rin trailed off, glancing sadly at the two rival camps of the Daseo Society, now glaring at each other in silence.
“Hwa-rin.”
“Yeah?”
“If you liked soone, but soone else showed up who looked like they’d suit him better... would you just give up?”
I had a feeling she didn’t fully understand, so I gave her a taphor she couldn’t ignore.
“Uh... um...”
Hwa-rin’s eyes widened as the aning hit her, and she looked stunned.
Well? Makes perfect sense now, right?
But to my surprise, Hwa-rin didn’t answer right away. She lowered her head slightly, casting shy glances at , clearly torn about whether to speak.
“Hwa-rin?”
Was that really such a tough question?
“If... if soone better suited ca along... shouldn’t I give up?”
“...What?”
“I an... soone like , I’m not in a position to fight for soone. There’s no reason for him to choose soone like ...”
Hwa-rin hung her head, her voice small and unsure.
Damn. That was my mistake. I’d gotten too used to seeing Hwa-rin as just “normal.” I forgot all about her insecurities.
“Hwa-rin.”
I reached out and gently took her wrist, pulling her toward . With one hand, I lifted her chin so our eyes t.
“Hmm?”
“Don’t get discouraged over sothing like that. You’re plenty attractive. And your skin—it will heal.”
Even now, the storyteller’s fa stat had already dulled her pain. And with the ongoing success of Storm of the Tang Clan, that fa would only grow.
Without a doubt, she would be healed soon.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“?”
Was she asking if she was attractive? Or if she would really be healed soday? There was no need to ask which one she ant. I could just affirm both without having to choose.
“Yes. Absolutely. So if sothing like that ever happens, don’t give up—have confidence. I’ll be cheering for you from your side, always.”
Hwa-rin’s self-esteem wasn’t sothing that could be healed overnight. There would probably be days when she wanted to collapse and give up.
If that happened, I’d just have to counter it with relentless encouragent.
Sotis, just having soone nearby who believes in you is enough to keep going.
I looked at her with unwavering certainty.
“Hmph. You. You really said that, didn’t you? You ant it, right?”
Her expression changed instantly. She let out a mischievous little snort and slightly curled her lips into a smile.
“Huh? Y-yeah.”
“Good. Then I won’t give up.”
She replied with a determined look, as if she had made so sort of decision. That shift in mood was fast. Maybe she hadn’t been that discouraged after all.
It was a bit strange—but if she was feeling better, that’s all that mattered.
“I’m going to head over to the Daseo Society folks for a bit.”
I picked up a large tray carrying two different items and stepped away from the counter.
“Why? They should co pick it up themselves.”
“Miss Hwa-rin instructed to resolve the Daseo Society’s conflict, so I shall now deploy my specially devised solution.”
I deliberately responded in an exaggerated historical drama tone.
“Oh, what nonsense are you planning now... Pfft. Fine, go ahead.”
---------
“Your tea and snacks have arrived.”
I set down two different items in front of the two factions—one known as the Gu Suk-jeong Camp (a.k.a. the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan faction) and the other as the Du Eung-hyang Camp (a.k.a. the Top Courtesan of Hubei faction).
“Shopkeeper. We didn’t order any of this.”
“I thought it might be a good chance to introduce so new nu items to our dear Daseo Society mbers.”
“New nu? Isn’t this just tea and snacks?”
“Looks like coffee on this side... but we got tea.”
Before speaking, I looked back and forth between the Suk-jeong Camp and the Hyang-ah Camp.
As Author Ho-pil, I couldn’t interfere in the Main Wife War.
Declaring who the true main wife is in a harem story—that’s not the role of an author. How can one person dictate everyone’s likes and dislikes? From the author’s position, I could only observe the chaos.
But as the shopkeeper... things were different.
As Kang Yun-ho, shopkeeper of Daseogak, I could make use of this situation.
“This isn’t just any tea or coffee. These are the Suk-jeong Tea Set and the Hyang-ah Coffee Set.”
“Suk-jeong Tea?”
“Hyang-ah Coffee?”
The mbers of the Daseo Society all focused their attention on the items in front of them.
“When I inford Author Ho-pil about the division among the Daseo Society mbers, he expressed curiosity about which of the two ladies was truly more popular. After much consideration, Daseogak decided to introduce these special items.”
“What do popularity and nu items have to do with each other?”
“Please take a look at the prices.”
“Gasp! The Suk-jeong Tea and Hyang-ah Coffee are twice as expensive as our usual nu items!”
“Exactly. Only people who truly love Gu Suk-jeong or Du Eung-hyang would pay that price. Each ti one of these sets is ordered, I will mark a stroke of the character for ‘true’ and send the results to Author Ho-pil.”
A Main Wife War, you say?
Then of course, we must have a popularity vote. A good, old-fashioned pay-to-win one.
A war of factions is just a spiral of emotion. But what if I offered a solution?
If one more set sold ant an advantage in the war, then the endless bickering might just cool down a bit.
“Why use the character ‘true’ for tallying?”
“Because we are determining who the true main wife is.”
Dear readers, the more special sets you buy, the stronger your faction becos.
“You an Author Ho-pil will get the sales numbers?”
“Then he’ll know exactly which lady is more popular!”
“Yes, that’s correct. Rather than listening to the loudest few, he’ll have concrete numbers on how many people like which lady. And... though it’s just a rumor... it may even influence the ending.”
Truthfully, I have no intention of altering the ending. A writer shouldn’t betray the resolution they’ve chosen just for money. But I might consider giving the winning heroine more screen ti.
“Wait, are you saying Gu Suk-jeong might not be the main wife?”
“You an I could make Du Eung-hyang the main wife with my own hands?”
“Truly... we could make her the main wife?”
“But Shopkeeper... isn’t this kind of a ruthless marketing tactic?”
“Oh no, that’s a misunderstanding. I would never exploit Author Ho-pil for such a thing. This is simply a fun way to gauge popularity. And of course, all profits go to the author—not Daseogak.”
Well... it’s just a matter of whether it ends up in the left pocket or the right.
“Very well! I won’t let the Top Courtesan of Hubei steal the main wife title. Three Suk-jeong Tea Sets, please!”
“I won’t lose! Five Hyang-ah Coffee Sets for !”
“Two Suk-jeong Tea Sets here!”
“We’re falling behind! I’ll buy two Hyang-ah Coffees per person!”
From that mont, the noise on the second floor of Daseogak gradually began to die down.
And, naturally, sales on the second floor hit an all-ti record.
******
Shaanxi Province.
At a grand estate, a man arrived. A middle-aged woman t him with a startled expression.
“D-Daehyup Tang? What brings you here?”
Tang Geo-ho—that was the na of the man who had arrived.
Tang Geo-ho radiated a quiet, simring fury. No one—neither the guards nor the servants standing near Tang Hwa-rin’s mother—dared to speak.
“I heard you fled from Yichang over debts.”
“Oh, well... that’s...”
“That has nothing to do with . I did not travel all this way from Yichang to lecture you.”
“Then why...?”
“Hwa-rin. Where is she?”
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