Chapter 192
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 192
Chapter 192. Competition to Deliver Silk to the Imperial Court (5)
I sighed inwardly and recalled memories from my previous life.
The third theme, which was extremely difficult and tormented all the participants at the time.
It was to identify the place of production by looking at silk.
Silk is a handicraft made by local people from silkworm cocoons found in their region.
Therefore, it was natural that the characteristics of each region would be reflected in the silk.
However, there were subtle differences, which made the task extremely difficult.
I thought I knew what the imperial court wanted in this theme.
I figured that only those who could do this would be qualified to deliver silk to the imperial court.
“Write down the production areas of the silk with the same numbers as the numbers on the answer sheets I am about to distribute.”
Listening to the court official's words, I smiled to myself.
Why?
In my previous life, I had achieved complete mastery of the silk trade.
I could do this with my eyes closed.
That day
I achieved the feat of getting all thirty pieces of silk right.
There were a few questions where opinions differed, but each time, my answer was correct, and the officials looked at me differently.
Until then, they had viewed me as a junior captain who was helpful to the Trading Company, but from that day on, they saw me as a “real merchant.”
Well, it would be difficult for them to support me as the next captain.
The position of the next captain belongs to Hyung.
* *
The emperor had not only an empress but also several concubines.
This meant that there were many princes and princesses.
No matter how fair the emperor was, there were bound to be differences in his affection.
Princess Jin-hwa, who was sixteen years old, was one of the emperor's favorites.
She was invited to observe the competition for the royal silk supplier.
All the princesses were ordered by the empress to attend.
“How annoying. Mother, you too...”
Complaining, Princess Jin-hwa headed to the competition venue.
Then she saw a man and couldn't take her eyes off him.
He was a young man of extraordinary beauty.
From that day on, she could not sleep, his image constantly flashing before her eyes.
Naturally, she became emaciated, and the empress became so concerned that she came to see her.
“Princess, are you troubled by something? You look so pale, it pains me to see you like this.”
“I am sorry to cause you such worry, Mother.”
“What is the matter?”
“It's...”
“Tell me.”
After hesitating, she finally confessed her secret.
“There is a man I want to marry!”
“What? All of a sudden?”
The empress was taken aback, but she quickly nodded.
Considering that princesses usually got married before the age of 20, it wasn't that early.
“Yes, that's right. Ever since I first saw him, my heart has been pounding, and when I close my eyes to sleep, I see him, and I can't sleep.”
The empress looked perplexed for a moment, but quickly regained her composure and asked calmly.
“So who is this man?”
“It's...
She closed her eyes tightly and continued.
”He is Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.“
”....
She cautiously opened her eyes slightly and glanced at her mother.
She had expected to be scolded for how a princess of a country could have feelings for a man of such low status as a merchant, but that did not happen.
The empress just smiled bitterly.
“Why is that?”
“Must it be that man?”
“Yes.”
With a sense of anticipation that something was about to happen, Princess Jin-hwa hurriedly continued.
“As a princess of this country, I understand that my marriage must also benefit the country. However, if I am unhappy in a marriage I do not want, my father will not be at ease, and I believe that will ultimately not benefit the country.”
“Why do you have feelings for him?”
The princess was taken aback.
It was a question that was completely different from what she had been thinking.
“Mother. Is there something wrong with that man?”
“Yes, there is. A very big problem.”
It was only natural for the empress to pay close attention to her husband, the emperor's, every move.
That was how she found out.
The emperor often called Eun Seo-ho, and it was to use him for his own purposes.
In other words, he was a talented person whom the emperor had his eye on.
It was not impossible for a prince to become an official, but due to various issues, it was very rare for them to take on practical duties.
However, the empress knew the emperor's personality very well.
She knew that he was not the type of person to care about such things.
Rather, he would be more troubled by the princess running to him and begging to be excused from working late.
“Princess, listen carefully to your mother.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Captain Eun Seo-ho is a man of outstanding ability. That is the problem.”
“What? Isn't it good to be capable? Then why...?”
“He is in the emperor's good graces. That is the problem.”
The empress did not explain further, and Princess Jin-hwa realized that the answer to this matter lay with the emperor.
Princess Jin-hwa was a woman of action, so she went to see the emperor the very next day.
“What brings you here so early in the morning, princess?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have come to ask for your favor.”
“Go ahead.”
“There is a man I have fallen in love with. Please let me marry him.”
“What? You have fallen in love with a man?”
The emperor looked at Princess Jin-hwa and asked again.
“Who is he? Who is that man?”
“Well... He is Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company, which participated in the silk delivery competition.”
“...”
The emperor sighed without saying a word. It was not beyond his expectations.
Misunderstanding this, Princess Jin-hwa quickly continued.
“Father. Although he is of low birth, he is a talented man, and marrying him into the imperial family will be beneficial to you.”
“Princess.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Tell me honestly. What do you like about him?”
“It's just that...”
“It's his face, isn't it?”
“Ugh!”
Princess Jin-hwa flinched. That was actually the biggest reason.
“Your father doesn't care what status the man you love has. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters.”
“Father...”
Princess Jin-hwa looked at the emperor with teary eyes. However, her emotion didn't last long.
“But if you marry that Eun Seo-ho, you will not be happy.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I plan to use him for my own purposes. He is very talented and entertains me. A man like him must be used for a long time to keep this country peaceful.”
The emperor continued with a playful expression.
“He will work late into the night every day. Then, even though you live in the same house, you will hardly ever see him. What good is his good looks to you?”
“Father, that is too harsh. You may lose him.”
The emperor chuckled to himself at Princess Jin-hwa's response, which was not much different from what he had expected.
“But if you help him, he will be able to spend more time with you.”
“What? You mean I can help?”
“Yes.”
The emperor nodded.
"You will work with him. I hear that he is studying the Seokgyeong, one of the Three Confucian Classics. With that level of education, there is plenty of work for him to do in the imperial palace. What do you say?“
”I will do it, Your Majesty.“
”First, we must test whether you are truly capable of doing the work.“
The emperor waved his hand, and the eunuch placed a bundle on the floor.
Thud!
From the sound, it was clear that it was extremely heavy.
”Bring this all back tomorrow morning."
“What? By tomorrow morning? That's too much. Your Majesty.”
“With that girl, she'll finish five times this much by tomorrow morning.”
“...”
“But you say this is too much. You're not prepared. Do you think you can be happy with that girl with that kind of attitude?”
“No, I will do it.”
Princess Jin-hwa answered confidently.
She was willing to endure any hardship if it meant she could marry the handsome Eun Seo-ho.
But then...
The next morning.
Princess Jin-hwa visited the emperor and bowed her head.
“Father, I was too hasty.”
“What?”
“I realize that the world is vast and there are many men. I will give up my marriage to Captain Eun Seo-ho.”
“Is that so? You have made a wise decision. It is unfortunate. If you had married him, we could have accomplished more together…”
“I apologize for taking your time, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now.”
The emperor smiled at her hasty words and said, “All right, but finish the work you took yesterday and hand it over to Taegam.”
“Yes, Father.”
Princess Jin-hwa stepped back and sighed.
Even though she had worked all day on the work the emperor had given her, she hadn't even finished half of it.
And she began to realize the reality of the situation.
To be honest, the work itself was not difficult.
The problem was that there was not only too much work, but it was also obvious that it would not be finished in a day or two.
The emperor was the kind of person who would say, “Your husband works so many late nights, I'm afraid he'll die,” and then say, “Then you can work with him.”
For the rest of her life!
That's right.
Eun Seo-ho was a kind of bait to keep one of the princesses busy with work.
The fairly intelligent Princess Jin-hwa realized this in just one day, and her desire for Eun Seo-ho quickly faded.
Suddenly, Princess Jin-hwa felt sorry for Eun Seo-ho, who had caught the eye of her father.
“I'd better do well during the competition.”
.
.
.
After Princess Jin-hwa left, the emperor asked the eunuch.
“So, what number was Princess Jin-hwa?”
“She was seventh.”
“I thought she would be the first, but she was seventh... However, she gave up in just one day. She is quite perceptive.”
“By the way, Princess Jin-hwa is very capable. She has completed half of the work I gave her yesterday.”
“Really?”
In fact, the work the emperor gave Princess Jin-hwa yesterday was twice the amount that a minister usually completes in a day.
“Even though she realized it and gave up in just one day, Princess Jin-hwa still did the most. Thanks to her, I will have some time to relax.”
“That's right. It seems that most of the work that had been piling up has been taken care of.”
“Hahaha. That girl is a good bait.”
As soon as he heard that the princesses would be attending the competition, the emperor noticed how handsome Eun Seo-ho was.
He was certain that some of the princesses would want to marry him.
So he immediately came up with a plan.
He would use Eun Seo-ho as bait to get the princesses to do work voluntarily.
In fact, even though the princesses had learned everything there was to learn, they had to stay quietly in the imperial palace because they had to behave properly.
The emperor didn't like that.
His belief was that if they had learned something, they should use it for the good of the country.
However, if he officially assigned work to the princesses, the old-fashioned ministers would rise up in protest.
Therefore, by using Eun Seo-ho as bait to get the princesses to voluntarily do the work, he was able to neatly finish a task that had been put off for a long time.
The emperor was very satisfied with the situation.
At the same time, he regretted that he could only use this tactic once.
Meanwhile, Taegam felt sorry for Eun Seo-ho.
“I wonder if Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the royal guards, will ever be able to get married.”
If he did, it would be a remarkable achievement.
* *
I rubbed my ears.
“Why are you doing that?”
In response to Pal-gap's question, I rubbed my ears repeatedly and said.
“No, my ears are itchy. Who's talking about me?”
“No one is talking about you, young master.”
“Is that so?”
After completing the third stage of the competition, we returned to the Yeonjoon Trading Company.
They said they would contact us in a few days for the next stage.
Two days have passed since then.
I am now having lunch with the head servants.
“Captain.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Do you have any idea what the next competition will be about?”
Of course, I have an idea, but...
I can't say that.
“I'm not sure either. But it's a matter concerning the royal family. I'm sure it will be a topic that will test and confirm the capabilities of the Trading Company.”
“That's probably true.”
At that moment, a servant from the Yeonjun Trading Company approached us and said, “There is a guest outside.”
“A guest?”
“Yes. They say they are from the royal palace.”
Hearing that, we immediately got up and headed for the reception room.
“Please come in. I am Eun Seo-ho, Captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“The Empress sent you.”
As we tried to bow in respect, the court official stopped us.
“There is no need for that. I am only here to inform you of the next schedule for the silk delivery competition.”
The court official handed me a scroll, and I took it and unfolded it on the spot.
“...!”
I almost showed my confusion.
It wasn't the fourth topic I knew.