Chapter 292
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 292
Chapter 292 Poetry Thief (5)
Regardless of Choo Il-gong's feelings, the poetry contest began.
“The theme for this round is...”
The host announced the theme chosen by the emperor.
“Wind and snow.”
Dang!
The bell rang.
Chu Il-gong looked at the paper and racked his brains.
“Let me see... What poem of his had wind and snow as the theme?”
.
.
.
Chu Il-gong worked as a teaching assistant after graduating from the National Academy and passing the civil service examination, and was then appointed as a local official.
He rose to become a landowner in a province, but his greed for bribes ultimately caught up with him.
The emperor issued an imperial order to return all bribes.
However, he only returned two-thirds of the bribes he had received and resigned.
But even that was enough for him to live a luxurious life.
“No matter how I think about it, I'm just too smart.”
He was able to pass the civil service exam by glancing at other people's answers.
And when it came time for personnel assignments, he gave his superiors expensive gifts of alcohol and was able to get promoted easily.
When that became a problem, he quickly left for a position as a local official, and this time, he also left behind enough money to live on.
He had no regrets about retiring.
After all, he had only entered public service to make money.
“The world should live like me, Chul-gong.”
However, once he retired from his position, he felt a little regretful. He felt that no one recognized him.
Normally, after retiring, one should be surrounded by people who praise them and live a leisurely life.
Of course, he had a plan for this as well.
He would become famous for his poetry.
“My former junior, Yoo So-ak, wrote some pretty good poetry.”
It wasn't because I was jealous of his talent that I belittled his work.
From the beginning, I had intended to steal his poetry...
From that moment, I already had a plan for when I retired.
Someone recognized the value of Yoo So-ak's poetry, and his collection was published.
As I had expected, it was met with tremendous response.
Even now, I think it was such a waste.
“I should have gained that fame! Even now, I think it's such a waste.”
However, he couldn't just dwell on his regret, so he searched hard for someone else.
He wasn't stupid, but the problem was that his intelligence was specialized in other areas.
So he lived his life like an eel, taking whatever advantage he could find.
Therefore, those who knew him well called him “Chueo,” which means “eel.”
Of course, Chueil-gong didn't care what others called him.
In any case, perhaps because he only used his brain for such things, Chueil-gong's literary talent was poor.
Nevertheless, he was able to work at the National Academy of Arts and Letters solely because of his ability to impress his superiors and skillfully exploit his juniors.
Even so, there was a reason why he wanted to become a famous poet.
It was because poets were treated with great respect.
After all, those who were skilled at writing poetry were given the title of “Poet Laureate.”
As he wandered around looking for prey, he finally found a treasure.
“I met someone who writes poetry very well. Would you like to meet him?”
When he heard the poetry of a man named Song Rok, whom he met through someone's recommendation, he got goose bumps all over his body.
He felt ecstatic.
“This is the one!”
So he flattered him and had him write numerous poems, then collected only the best ones and published them under his own name.
Of course, Song Rok protested, but he didn't even bat an eyelid.
Who would listen to him?
The world tends to believe those who appear to be credible.
“The truth is always hidden behind appearances. Hehehe.”
If he kept bothering him, he would just get rid of him.
One day, while enjoying the growing praise, a bolt from the blue struck him.
It was... this damn poetry contest.
Anyway, since it had already happened, he would just have to deal with it.
He would think hard, as he had always done, and somehow get through it.
Realizing that he couldn't avoid the poetry contest, he came up with a plan.
He memorized all the poems written by Song Rok and wrote them down.
Chu Il-gong quickly wrote one of the poems and submitted it.
Then the reader began to read the poem.
“The song of the wind penetrates my heart...”
Chu Il-gong tilted his head at the poem.
“Huh? This sounds familiar...”
The audience listened to the poem and were impressed.
“What a beautiful poem!”
“As expected of the poet Chu Il-gong!”
“Such a beautiful poem...”
No.
That was not a poem written by Chul-gong.
After the second poem was read, the third poem submitted by Chul-gong was read aloud.
“Hm?”
As everyone in the audience was interested in poetry, they immediately noticed that something was wrong.
“It sounds familiar.”
“Yeah...”
“Could it be that someone is imitating the poet's work?”
“Yes, the previous poem definitely felt more complete.”
“Is this poem an imitation?”
“Really?”
“Wow! How dare they imitate the poet's work here?”
Those who mistook the first poem for Misa-gaek's poem.
“The poem I just read was my own...”
Chu Il-gong had a feeling that something was not going to go his way.
***
I smiled as I looked at the murmuring audience.
Good, everything is going according to plan.
I had expected this reaction from the audience. It was obvious what method Chul-gong would use.
He had built his reputation by using the poems of Song Rok. So, he must have memorized Song Rok's poems.
Song Rok himself said that he wrote many poems while staying at Chul-gong's house.
However, there was something that Chul-gong had not thought of.
Song Rok himself was participating in the poetry contest.
The entry fee for this poetry contest was quite expensive.
It would not be difficult for those who were wealthy or had a steward, but it was an exorbitant amount for someone as poor as Song Rok.
There was some discussion about the amount of the participation fee, but in the end, it was decided to proceed as planned.
There had to be some criteria to weed out the amateurs.
If you are truly talented, it would not be difficult to find a patron.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
The second thing that Chu Il-gong did not think of was Song Rok's passion.
“I wrote a lot of poems while staying at Choo Il-gong's house. I wrote more than a hundred poems a day.”
“How many days did you stay there?”
“I stayed there for about half a month.”
“....”
“That was when I was able to lay the foundation for my poetry.”
In other words, most of the poems by Song Rok in Chul-gong's hands were his early, unfinished works.
And in order to get revenge, Song Rok spent all day honing his poetry, and his passion added perfection to his poems.
The judges continued their deliberations.
“Hmm, this poem...”
“Ha! Where did this talent come from...”
“But this poem feels like a copycat...”
“Even if it is a copycat, it is still a talent to be able to imitate it this well...”
They also had uneasy expressions on their faces.
Nevertheless, the rule was to evaluate the poems themselves and eliminate two of the four contestants.
Thus, Songrok and Chuil-gong passed the first round of the contest.
The next round began.
***
Before he knew it, the sun had set, and Chu Il-gong sighed with relief.
That was because he had survived today's three rounds of competition.
“Wow! You really live up to your reputation!”
“That's right!”
Chu Il-gong smiled awkwardly at his friends' praise.
“Hahaha, you guys! What did you think of my skills? This competition is child's play!”
“That's right!”
Chu Il-gong's friend, who had entered the poetry competition on his behalf, said.
“Now everyone will know how talented you are! I'm glad I entered for you!”
Chu Il-gong looked at his friend and swallowed his anger.
“If only that friend weren't here...”
But he couldn't reveal his true feelings, so he just kept smiling awkwardly.
“How about today? It's my treat!”
“Sure!”
“How about Geumwolru? I heard the new courtesan there is very pretty.”
Chu Il-gong shook his head at his friends' words.
“I'm sorry, but I'm going to head home. I wrote too many poems today, so I need some time to collect my thoughts.”
“Well, poets are sensitive by nature.”
“You must be tired from the competition today.”
“Go home and rest.”
With that, Chul-gong headed for his home, but his feet did not take him there.
“It's been a long time since I've been here.”
This was a place where a kind of “problem solver” could be found.
He had learned about this place by chance when he was a government official, and since then, he had received help from them several times.
They would do anything for money, even murder.
He needed their help again.
He headed for the back door of the inn and knocked.
Knock, knock.
A small door above the door opened, and a voice came from inside.
“What are you here for?”
“Three cups of sake and four pheasants.”
“One cup of sake is missing.”
“Didn't you already drink it?”
After the exchange, another voice was heard.
“What is the request?”
“I need you to take a life.”
“Whose life should I take?”
“A man named Song Rok. He is an ordinary man who studies literature.”
Chu Il-gong's eyes flashed with malice. At the end of the contest that day, Chu Il-gong finally found out.
A man named Song Rok had participated in the contest.
“In that case, the reward is twenty silver coins.”
“There's one more to kill tonight.”
“There's an additional fee. Five silver coins.”
“...I understand. I'll take the job.”
Thinking about the money made his stomach churn. Twenty-five silver coins was enough to buy two decent thatched houses.
“How hard I worked to earn that money!”
But he had no choice.
If he made a mistake, he could lose everything.
If it became known that he had stolen Song Rok's poem...
“It's terrifying to even think about it.”
That was why he had to get rid of any potential trouble.
He suddenly regretted not killing him earlier to silence him.
Once again, a voice came from inside the room.
“When you complete the request, bring me twenty-five silver coins within half a month. As you know, if you fail to pay, I will take your life.”
“...You don't have to worry about that.”
Chu Il-gong glanced around and left the place.
***
Finally, the first day of the contest was over.
Despite the high entry fee and short application period, there were more applicants than expected, so the contest would last for three days.
This meant that a considerable amount of money had been collected in participation fees.
The emperor was very pleased.
The imperial palace's property was roughly divided into three categories.
The largest portion was money used for the country's finances.
The rest was the property of the imperial family and the royal relatives.
The property of the imperial family was set aside so that they could live without having to work.
And according to national law, the property of the imperial family must be returned after 100 years. After 100 years, they are no longer considered members of the imperial family.
In fact, the purpose of giving property to the imperial family was to discourage them from harboring ulterior motives.
It was to ensure that they could live comfortably and not cause rebellion or chaos in the country.
However, even I can see that this measure would not satisfy the greedy.
It's not enough to give them a little land and tell them to “live quietly.” If things go well, all the land in the empire will become theirs.
However, the emperor was much more formidable than I had thought.
He confiscated all the property of the royal family and agreed to give them a fixed amount of money once a month instead.
He said, “I don't care what you do with the money I give you, whether you buy land or whatever.”
However, these people had never earned money before and had only spent it freely, so there was no way they could save it.
In the end, they had no choice but to rely on the money given by the emperor, and naturally, they became fearful of him.
He was truly a frightening man.
Of course, the emperor was able to take such strong measures because he had ample wealth.
That is, the imperial family's wealth.
Without the imperial family's wealth, additional budgets had to be allocated from the national treasury.
This naturally led to the ministers watching each other's every move.
However, the emperor's wealth is truly vast.
Therefore, he does not need to worry about his ministers, and if his relatives obey him, he can give them large sums of money. From the perspective of his relatives, it is in their best interest to obey the emperor.
I am currently staying at my temporary residence.
No matter how busy I am with the literary contest, I cannot neglect my martial arts training at the imperial palace.
“Thank you for your guidance.”
“You are progressing much faster than I expected. This is why teaching talented children is such a joy for a teacher.”
I responded humbly to Master Jin's words.
“You are too kind.”
At that moment, Jin Yu approached me.
Hm?
Just in case, I asked Jin Yu to keep an eye on Chu Il-gong.
But if he came to me, something must have happened.
“I apologize. It's very urgent...”
Master Jin-yeong smiled and turned away.
“You seem to be busy. I'll leave you to it.”
“Take care.”
After watching Master Jin-yeong disappear into the distance, I asked Jin-yu.
“What's going on?”
“Choo Il-gong has hired someone to kill Song Rok.”
“Huh...”
This is getting complicated.