Chapter 222
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 222
Chapter 222. Would you like to do some work? (1)
To be honest, the road from Henan to Beijing is not very good.
Although there is a public road, you have to cross rivers and mountains.
The cold is also a problem.
However, the cold didn't bother me much. The same was true for the other warriors.
Pal-gap... was wearing the Hwaseo-bi I gave him around his neck.
I sent a letter to my father through Geum-ryeong, explaining that I had to go to Beijing due to unavoidable circumstances.
In response, my father sent a letter to my aunt, saying that he would send a messenger to inform her of my visit and to be careful on my way there.
He also asked me to take Jo, a member of the Eunpungdae, with me and return together.
He seemed to be concerned about my safety.
“I'm glad it's not snowing. The roads would be slippery if it snowed.”
I nodded in agreement with the words of the head of the Myungbu.
“That's true. But even though it hasn't snowed, it seems like it hasn't snowed at all.”
“Now that you mention it... You're right. We should have had at least a couple of heavy snowfalls...”
To me, the lack of snow seemed like a sign of a coming famine.
On top of that, due to what happened this spring, the farmland had been completely destroyed.
We arrived in Beijing safely.
“Come in. Is everything all right?”
“Yes. How are you, Aunt?”
“I'm fine.”
My aunt glanced at us and said,
“I've prepared a place for you to stay. You must be cold from your journey. Go and rest.”
“Yes.”
I could definitely feel it getting colder as we traveled north.
My bodyguards were fine, but Eunpungdae Sa Jo had a bit of a hard time.
“Thank you for coming all this way.”
My words made the chief administrator smile.
“It's nothing. If we were to shiver in this cold, we would be severely punished by the Chief Administrator. Hahaha.”
Well, if it's the Chief Administrator...
“Go inside and rest.”
“Yes.”
Pal-gap, the bodyguards, and I entered the inner chambers.
Among those who were not family members, only the servants, maids, and bodyguards were allowed to enter the inner chambers.
“I'm tired.”
“I'll prepare for you to wash up.”
“Yes, please.”
With Pal-gap's help, I washed myself and lay down on the bed.
.
.
.
When I opened my eyes, it was already evening.
I must have fallen asleep because I was so tired.
“Did you cough?”
“Yes. Is it night already?”
“Yes, it's dinner time. I was just about to wake you up to eat.”
“As always, I'm very good at timing.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap responded casually to my words and urged me to hurry.
“You must go now. Everyone is waiting for you in the dining room.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I scratched my cheek and headed to the dining room. Everyone was sitting at the table waiting for me.
My uncle seemed to be busy with work and was nowhere to be seen.
“I'm sorry I'm late.”
“No, you must have been tired. I shouldn't have woken you up.”
“No, I just woke up.”
I quickly sat down at the table and started eating dinner.
Actually, I wasn't really hungry, but I guess I was just hungry.
As soon as I took a bite, my appetite suddenly increased.
“Ah, Seo-ho.”
“Yes, Auntie.”
“I have some good news. Seonmi's marriage has been arranged.”
Seonmi had just turned 18 a few days ago.
When I looked at her, she was bowing her head with a red face.
“That's wonderful news. Who is he?”
“He is the third son of Won Ibushirang.”
Fortunately, it was no different from her previous life.
At that time, Sun-mi had also married the third son of Won Ibushirang.
I'm sure his name was...
“He is a member of the Hanlin Academy and a senior of mine.”
Hyung-nim explained in detail.
Ah, I remember.
At that time, Hyung-nim Seon-il came to my aunt's house with me, saw Seon-mi, fell in love at first sight, and sent a matchmaker.
We will be leaving Beijing soon.
He will be appointed as a provincial governor in a year.
A provincial governor is a fifth-rank government official.
As a local official, even if he was promoted, it could be seen as a demotion, but it was a test from the emperor and at the same time a way to give officials on-the-job experience.
It was a process to determine whether they could do their jobs well and be trusted with more important tasks.
The problem was that a famine was coming soon.
Still, Seon-mi's husband had managed the household well and was promoted, but he did not rise above the rank of third rank.
I offered Seon-mi some words of encouragement.
“Congratulations. You will live a happy life.”
“Thank you, Orabeoni.”
After finishing my meal and taking care of some personal business, I headed to Hyung-nim's quarters.
I had asked to talk to him for a moment.
“Hyung-nim, I'm here.”
“Come in.”
I entered my brother's room.
The fact that he called me into his room alone meant that he had something secret to tell me.
“Sit down.”
“Yes.”
When I sat down, my brother poured tea for us.
“Thank you.”
We drank tea and talked about this and that. We talked about how my father and brothers were doing, how beautiful Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon were, and so on.
There was a moment of silence, and Hyung-nim closed his eyes.
He was about to get to the point.
“Um, the reason I called you here is... As you may have guessed, it's about Sun-mi's marriage.”
I listened quietly to what Hyung-nim had to say.
“Actually, Seon-mi's in-laws have been saying all sorts of things about our family.”
“I see.”
His family had been civil servants for generations. Families like that often looked down on merchants.
But without merchants, they would be in trouble themselves.
Anyway, Seonmi was able to marry into that family because her fiancé was the third son.
I see. There were rumors like this even before the marriage.
“I decided to marry Seonmi because I love her, but as her older brother, I can't help but worry.”
“There will definitely be all sorts of gossip.”
The in-laws will probably ignore or ostracize Sun-mi, either consciously or unconsciously.
They will say that she is not of their class.
Why do you think so?
Because that's what happened to me in my past life.
Sun-mi didn't seem to care, but she must have been hurt.
“That's why I'm asking you if there's any way to save Seon-mi's face.”
Hyung-nim continued.
“I know my limits. I'm not well-versed in the ways of the world because I only read books, so I can't come up with clever ideas like you. That's why I'm asking for your help.”
Hyung-nim clasped his hands together.
“Please lend me your wisdom.”
I looked at Hyung-nim Sun-il.
It was quite strange to see him like that.
In my previous life, at this point, I was already in despair and had become cynical.
That was why I reacted coldly to Sun-mi's marriage and her situation.
But... I don't think I was really cold-hearted.
I was just tired of my situation and the world that didn't help me, so I reacted that way.
But not now.
Now, he's bowing his head to me and asking for help for Sun-mi.
How can I say no?
“I understand. I'll think of a good way.”
“Thank you.”
Only then did Hyung-nim smile, looking relieved.
That smile looked really warm.
By the way, Hyung-nim, you're at the age where you should get married. Have you thought about it?
.
.
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The next morning.
I met someone who came out of the Imperial Palace.
It was Master Jin of the Royal Guards again.
I've been seeing him a lot lately.
“It's been a long time.”
“Yes. Come to think of it, you asked me for advice the other day. I guess it was about this matter.”
“Yes. Your advice was very helpful.”
“I'm glad I could be of help.”
I entered the imperial palace with Master Jin-yeong and was soon able to see the emperor.
“So-sang Eunseoho is here to see His Majesty the Emperor. Long live the emperor!”
“You may rise.”
“I am deeply honored.”
“Yes, you have done well again.”
“I am only trying to repay His Majesty's kindness...”
I tried to answer formally, but the emperor smiled and interrupted me.
“Tell me honestly. Did you get angry when you saw him?”
“...I can't say I didn't.”
“Yes, yes, even I thought, 'What kind of good-for-nothing is this guy?
The emperor's harsh words prompted the prime minister to step forward and dissuade him.
”Your Majesty, please maintain your dignity.“
”There are no other ministers here, so why should I?"
The emperor grumbled and asked me.
“By the way, you're the one who made him penniless, aren't you?”
As expected, the emperor couldn't be fooled.
But it would be foolish to simply say, “Yes, I did!”
“It wasn't me, it was the will of heaven.”
"Heaven...
The emperor stared at me and burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha, fine. Let's leave it at that. You did well to trick the Martial Alliance.”
As expected, he had seen it coming.
“I've been feeling uneasy lately because the Martial Alliance keeps trying to infiltrate the imperial palace.”
I could sense his displeasure from his expression.
His reaction seems a bit excessive for simply planting spies in the imperial palace, doesn't it?
Should I probe him a little?
“It seems they have been upsetting Your Majesty.”
“Yes, that's right.”
The emperor nodded with a displeased look on his face.
“It seems like they're after something.”
“If it bothers you so much, why don't you just get rid of them?”
“I wish I could, but...”
The emperor sighed.
“As you know, there are many martial artists who are called chivalrous warriors. They often help the people.”
The emperor was right.
Those who stood on the side of the weak and fought against evil were necessary even from the empire's perspective.
“As long as they still consider the Martial Alliance to be good, messing with them will only complicate the situation.”
That meant that if they stopped considering the Martial Alliance to be good, the situation would change.
“Furthermore, the Martial Alliance is not weak. If we fight them, I must be prepared to lose many of my loved ones. I don't want to do that right now.”
It was an honest answer, uncharacteristic of an emperor.
“In any case, I have decided to execute Ma Jeong in public. His crime is that serious. His servants will be sentenced to hard labor. Actually, I was going to sentence Ma Jeong to hard labor as well, but his body is in such bad shape that he would be useless.”
He had suffered greatly.
“This will serve as a warning to other evil people.”
“Yes, that's right. I sent your suggestion to the local officials. It seems to be working quite well.”
Ah, he was referring to my suggestion that those who took bribes should return them in the form of grain.
I knew the emperor would like that.
I bowed my head in gratitude, and the emperor continued with the next story.
“By the way, there has been very little snow this year.”
“That's right.”
“I wonder if this is a sign of the famine you mentioned.”
“....”
“Anyway, good work. You may leave.”
When I left the emperor's office, I saw Master Jin-yeong waiting for me.
“Did your audience go well?”
“Yes.”
He was waiting in front of me, perhaps to see me off.
I could feel the emperor's consideration.
I needed the help of Master Jin, a member of the Royal Guards, so this was perfect timing.
After walking for a while, we reached a deserted place, and I spoke.
“Master, I heard that the Royal Guards played a big role in that incident.”
I was referring to the gathering of information on those who had accepted bribes. Master Jin-yeong understood what I meant and nodded.
“Many people worked hard.”
However, he did not look very happy.
“But... why don't you look happy?”
“Oh, did I look like that?”
Master Jin-yeong smiled bitterly.
“Actually, I'm worried that our Royal Guards haven't been very helpful to the emperor lately.”
“Why do you think so?”
Master Jin-yeong sighed at my question.
“Isn't the emperor watching us?”
He was referring to his classmates.
There was an information organization made up of eunuchs, and they were active throughout the country.
In other words, it meant that Dongchang played a more active role than the Royal Guards in this matter.
This was good news for me.
My proposal would be more likely to be accepted.
“It can't be helped, can it? They are the eyes and ears of His Majesty, and the Royal Guards are His Majesty's hands and feet.”
“That's true, but...”
Master Jin-yeong trailed off.
As a member of the Royal Guards, he probably wants to prove to the emperor that he is better than his classmates.
“So, would you like to work with me?”
“Work?”
“Yes, there is something we can do to show the entire army that the Royal Guards are truly the hands and feet of His Majesty the Emperor.”
At my words, Master Jin looked at me suspiciously. He must have thought it was something unsavory.
Tsk, tsk, what do you take me for...
It's not that kind of thing.
I looked at Master Jin and asked seriously.
“Are you good at breaking ice?”