Chapter 195
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 195
Chapter 195. Competition to Deliver Silk to the Imperial Court (8)
We kept quiet and approached as closely as possible.
This operation can be summed up in one sentence: “There was no kidnapping.”
At first, I thought about asking the emperor for help, but I quickly gave up.
Without clear evidence, it would only cause unnecessary commotion and we could lose the emperor's trust.
The competition to deliver silk to the royal family could be suspended or canceled.
We are ahead, so that cannot happen.
I came to Beijing to lead this competition to success on behalf of Jung-ho.
For the sake of our future, Eunhae Trading Company must win the competition.
Therefore, the competition must continue.
Of course, that doesn't mean we're just going to let this slide.
How can we let this slide? They did this on my birthday, of all days.
After Namgung Bo fails the competition, we will make him pay dearly.
We got as close as we could without being noticed and watched their movements.
At that moment, one of the kidnappers opened the door, as if to check on Kim-suk.
This was our chance, as everyone's attention was momentarily distracted.
Now!
Seo-woo and Jin-yu rushed out at the same time, and I followed behind them.
“No, no...”
“Guh!”
We didn't hold back.
They were kidnappers, and even if they weren't, they were still black martial artists.
Just because they didn't practice the martial arts of the orthodox sects, it didn't mean they were black martial artists.
They were black martial artists because they committed all kinds of evil deeds.
That's why I had no qualms about killing them.
Furthermore, my plan would not be complete unless I silenced these kidnappers.
I didn't want to dirty our hands, but there was no other choice in this situation.
Whether it was because the kidnappers were weak or we were strong, it was over in an instant.
I tried to wipe the blood off my sword, but there was no need. Not a single drop of blood remained on the Eunmu Sword.
What a great sword.
When I opened the door and entered the room, I saw Kim Sook and Eunpoongdae's warriors tied to the pillars.
“Are you all right?”
“...!”
When they saw me, they were startled and their eyes widened.
Soo-woo approached them and untied the gags in their mouths.
“Young Master?”
“Young Master!”
“We came to rescue you.”
My words brought tears to their eyes. Is this something to be so moved by?
Hmm...
It is something to be moved by.
When Seo Woo cut the ropes binding their limbs, they were free.
“You've been through a lot.”
“We're sorry, Captain.”
“We apologize for failing to protect you.”
I shook my head at their words.
“You couldn't have done anything against an enemy like that. I'm the one who should be sorry. The bandits were after me. I'm sorry you had to go through all this because of me.”
“Don't say that. Just as you are a member of the Eunhae Trading Company, I am also a member of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
I chuckled to myself at the words of Captain Geumsuk.
Hearing such words from someone who had tried to kill me made me think that the world was an interesting place.
“I will hear the details later.”
The two warriors helped the two men out of the room.
Fortunately, my limbs were unharmed, and I was soon able to walk on my own.
We hurriedly cleaned up the place.
We threw the bodies into the house and wiped away the bloodstains and our footprints.
Then I sprinkled the oil I had prepared in advance and lit it with a fire starter.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the house was engulfed in flames.
“Let's go back now.”
We had rescued the two men, but we couldn't go straight to the Yeonjoon Trading Company.
I had to stay inside the house.
“Listen to me carefully.”
I told Geum-haengsu and the warriors what to do and asked Jin-yu to keep a close eye on them.
“See you later.”
“Yes.”
I quickly jumped over the fence and entered Yeonjoon Trading Company. Thanks to my stealth, I was able to enter my room without anyone noticing.
“Phew…”
I changed my clothes and opened the door with a worried look on my face.
“Is Geum-haengsu back yet?”
“Ah! Young master!”
Pal-gap asked me with his eyes.
Did everything go well?
I smiled faintly and nodded, pretending to be very worried.
“Was Captain Kim really kidnapped? What should we do?”
Palkap, who was quick-witted, was relieved but pretended to calm me down.
Then, it happened.
“Huh? Captain. Why are you here?”
Captain Kim approached my room.
“Huh? Captain Kim? Weren't you kidnapped?”
“Kidnapped? What do you mean?”
“Someone gave me this letter earlier.”
I showed him the letter, and Kim Hyeong-soo trembled as he read it.
This was not acting.
“Damn it! Those bastards!”
“It seems like someone played a prank on us.”
“Still, I'm glad Kim Hyeong-soo is back safe and sound.”
That evening.
As my aunt had said, a banquet was held to celebrate my 20th birthday.
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations.”
My aunt and uncle congratulated me and gave me gifts.
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations, Orabeoni.”
Then, Hyung-nim and Sun-mi also congratulated me.
Was it because I had not been fooled by the tricks of the Baekcheon Trading Company and had safely rescued the gold collector?
This birthday banquet was happier and more enjoyable than my 20th birthday in my previous life.
* *
The next morning.
As I left my room after finishing my breathing exercises as usual, Pal-gap greeted me.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Today was the final stage of the imperial silk delivery competition.
Following the instructions in the documents handed to me by the court official, I headed to the imperial palace with the other merchants, accompanied by everyone's cheers.
When we arrived at the imperial palace, several other trading companies had already arrived.
“We are Eunhae Trading Company.”
The court official marked the paper he was holding with a dot.
My party and I waited in front of the imperial palace for a moment. Then, from afar, some familiar faces approached.
It was the Baekcheon Trading Company.
Why was I happy to see them? Of course I was happy.
I could see Namgung Bo's triumphant expression turn to panic.
“...!”
Namgung Bo of the Baekcheon Trading Company approached the palace gate, but stopped in his tracks.
When he saw us, he looked perplexed. His hands were shaking, as if he couldn't accept the reality of the situation.
When the appointed time came, the court official said,
“We will now enter the palace.”
The place we arrived at was familiar.
It was the place where the third and fourth competitions had been held.
While we waited for a moment, the court official announced that the empress, the concubines, the princesses, and the ministers were coming.
We bowed in respect.
“You may all rise.”
The empress looked at us and said gently.
“Today is the final competition. I hope you will all do your best and not disappoint me and the other judges.”
As the empress looked away, the eunuchs brought five tables and placed five boxes on them.
Huh?
These boxes... They look familiar.
I quickly glanced at the boxes and immediately realized what they were for.
These are boxes for storing silk.
Silk is sensitive to moisture, so special boxes that allow air to circulate but prevent moisture from entering are used.
So that means there is silk inside?
I looked around and saw that the other Trading Company members also seemed to have noticed and were looking nervous.
“The fifth competition is to select the appropriate price.”
“...”
"As you may have guessed, each box contains one piece of silk. There are five pieces in total. I will give you half an hour. Your task is to examine the silk in the boxes, decide how much you can sell each piece for, and submit your prices.
There was a reason why the competition theme was not announced in advance.
If it had been announced in advance, the trading companies would have prepared in advance, and then we would not have been able to see their true abilities.
By the way, this is different from my previous life.
In my previous life, the final competition was to describe the characteristics of each piece of silk.
I remember that Min Hyung-soo of the Baekcheon Trading Company did very well in that competition.
With that in mind, I looked at the managers standing next to Namgung Bo.
The middle-aged man with a mole on his chin was Min Hyung-soo.
He was too talented to be working for the Baekcheon Trading Company.
At that moment, the empress said,
“The criterion for this competition is the appropriate price. Now, open the boxes.”
At the empress's words, the eunuchs opened the boxes and placed wooden boards with numbers on them in front of them.
“Let the competition begin.”
At the empress's words, another eunuch lit incense to time the competition.
The members of the trading companies crowded around the tables, and we also approached the tables.
Then, they slowly began to examine the silk.
At that moment, a representative of one of the trading companies raised his hand and said,
“I have an objection.”
“What is it?”
“Three of these five pieces of silk are made of silk thread. In that case, wouldn't the trading company from Sichuan, which specializes in silk thread, have an advantage?”
The empress looked at the other trading companies and asked,
“Do you agree?”
“That...”
I stopped our representative from speaking.
He looked puzzled but stepped back obediently.
“You all look like you have a lot to say. But do you think I didn't consider that when I brought up this issue?”
“...I apologize.”
The representative of the other trading company backed down, overwhelmed by the empress's natural aura of authority.
I knew it.
I looked at the silk again.
Then we went to our assigned tables and began to discuss.
We were far enough away that others couldn't hear us if we spoke in low voices.
“The Captain stopped me earlier, but this is unfair. How can three out of five rolls be rejected?”
Only then did the Chief Clerk open his mouth to complain.
He still didn't understand.
I smiled calmly and explained to him.
“Chief Clerk, you shouldn't look at it that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are an expert in silk, so you must have traveled to Sichuan many times to trade silk.”
“Of course. At least ten times.”
“How much did it cost you to bring silk from Sichuan?”
“It was quite expensive because the roads to Sichuan are dangerous.”
“That's right. But silk itself brings great profits to the Trading Company. That's why people from other regions brave the rough roads to Sichuan to obtain silk.”
I smiled.
“So the silk merchants of Sichuan don't need to leave Sichuan to sell their silk.”
“Ah!”
“Do those who focus on brokering silk in Sichuan know much about the transportation process and costs?”
I replied with a smile.
“The Empress said to write down a reasonable price. What does that mean?”
Seok Dae-shu smiled.
“The insight of the third captain is amazing.”
As expected of Seok Dae-shu.
“There must be a reason why he gave us half an hour.”
“That's right. He wants us to consider the cost of transporting the silk safely and offer an appropriate price.”
I glanced at the empress and said, “The royal family probably knows the approximate cost. Of course, it would be best to bring it at the lowest possible price, but if the price is too low, it will backfire.”
“The royal family probably knows the approximate cost. Of course, it would be best to get it as cheaply as possible, but if the price is too unreasonable, it will backfire.”
Geum-hyeong and Yeong-hyeong were impressed by my words.
“I see! As expected of the Captain.”
“If it weren't for you, I would have made a big mistake.”
I smiled slightly and said.
“Then let's calculate it.”
* * *
Meanwhile, Namgung Bo was in a very bad mood.
This was because Eun Seo-ho, who he thought would not be able to come to this place, was sitting there.
Moreover, Geum-sook, who should have been kidnapped, was also standing next to Eun Seo-ho.
“How could this happen? This shouldn't be possible.”
It was Namgung Bo who had personally devised the plan to kidnap Geum-sook and bring Eun Seo-ho here to eliminate him.
However, he couldn't do it himself.
How could someone from a noble family like him do such a thing?
So, he hired people who would do such a thing.
He gave them ten silver coins as an advance payment and told them to bring back the thousand silver coins that Eun Seo-ho would bring with him as payment for completing the job.
Since they were Trading Company employees, their martial arts skills would be poor.
He expected that they would take care of Eun Seo-ho and pocket the money.
But...
“How did he manage to trick them?”
Namgung Bo never imagined that Eun Seo-ho would take care of all the kidnappers and rescue Kim Sook.
He thought that Eun Seo-ho had simply tricked them and escaped safely.
“Damn it! This will ruin my plan.”