Chapter 325
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 325
Chapter 325. A Neat Settlement (3)
I explained to the emperor the validity of my expenses.
“To be honest, I didn't intend to spend such a large sum of money. However, when I found out that there were people after me, it became quite difficult to fulfill His Majesty's request without spending that money.”
So, the reason I spent so much money was purely because the emperor did not inform me in detail about the dangers and circumstances of this mission.
Then where is my fault?
“I stayed at a luxury inn to throw off those who were pursuing me. And I spent that large sum of money in Kaifeng to lure those who were pursuing me elsewhere...”
While listening to my explanation, the emperor raised his hand.
“Enough.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Tsk, tsk. It was my mistake to ask you to explain.”
The emperor clicked his tongue and grumbled.
“I was unable to explain this matter to you in detail, so I will let you off with this.”
“Your Majesty is too kind.”
He bowed his head politely, hiding his disappointment.
It was a pity that he couldn't inflate the cost a little more to include a danger allowance.
But since his opponent was His Majesty the Emperor, he had to stop there.
“Oh, and I brought a small gift for Your Majesty. There was a slight problem on the way.”
“A gift? You mean the black-clad men who attacked you?”
“Yes, sir.”
He already knew. That meant he also knew what had happened while delivering the gift.
Thanks to the imperial guards I had subdued, the gift had doubled in size.
“It was a very nice gift.”
A smile appeared on the emperor's lips.
“I apologize for the unfortunate incident that occurred on the way.”
He was smiling, but it wasn't just my imagination that I could feel a chill in the emperor's voice.
“They will pay for what they have done.”
“...”
“You ruined your clothes because of that.”
My clothes were a little torn from fighting.
“I will pay you generously for the clothes.”
“I am deeply grateful.”
“And I am personally grateful to you for fulfilling my request so well. I asked you to do this because I believed that you would be able to handle it well.”
I could feel the emperor's deep trust in me.
“I will ask for your help again next time.”
“...”
What?
My heart, which had been filled with emotion, was suddenly shattered.
Ah... Your Majesty. That's not what I meant.
Please don't call me again.
The words rose to my throat, but I couldn't bring myself to say them.
“Oh, and this is for your trouble.”
“...?”
I humbly accepted the scroll through the eunuch and unfolded it, almost failing to control my expression.
Huh?
“Why? Don't you like it? If you don't, you can return it....”
“No! I like it so much that I forgot to say anything. I will accept it with gratitude.”
Are you crazy?
Why would you return this?
“Then you must be tired. Go and rest.”
“Yes, I will take my leave.”
I quickly bowed in response to the emperor's dismissal and left the room.
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.
.
“Are you out?”
“Yes.”
When I left the imperial palace, Seo Woo and Myeongjong were waiting for me.
“But...”
Seo Woo's gaze grew sharp.
“What's wrong with your clothes?”
“Oh, this?”
As expected of Seo Woo. He noticed it right away.
I can't hide it.
“Actually, something happened inside. It's hard to talk about it here, so let's go to your quarters.”
“...I understand.”
With that, we returned to our temporary quarters.
“Captain, you're here?”
“Thank you for your hard work, Captain.”
The people of Hyungpung-guk staying at the temporary quarters greeted me.
“How have you all been?”
“We've been fine.”
Their faces glowed as they replied.
I envy them. I've been struggling because of the emperor's request.
But what can I do? I have to accept my fate.
“Then go back to work.”
“Yes.”
I entered my room, and Pal-gap came out and said, “Young master, I've prepared warm water in the bathroom.”
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Pal-gap looked at me and was startled.
“What happened to your clothes? Did you fall in the imperial palace courtyard?”
“Oh, there's a story behind that.”
Seo Woo-musa was also there, so it would be easier to tell him here.
“Actually, I was handing over those Black Swordsmen, but I had a bad feeling about them. So...”
I explained the whole story.
“Anyway, I subdued them and handed them over to the Royal Guards.”
Seo Woo Musha replied to my words.
“The saying that we must not let our guard down until the very end was not wrong.”
“You are right.”
I washed myself with the warm water Pal-gap had prepared and sat in front of Seo Tak.
When I headed for Gansu, I didn't know how things would turn out, so I couldn't contact my father.
It was also an urgent situation.
But now that I'm back, I must explain everything to my father and tell him that I had a safe trip.
I must also report what the emperor gave me.
I took out my writing brush and ink and wrote a long letter about what had happened.
“Geum-ryung, come here.”
At my words, Geum-ryung came out from inside his sleeve. But he had something in his mouth.
Huh? Is that silver?
“Where did you get that silver?”
At my question, Geum-ryung jumped onto the writing desk and explained while moving back and forth.
“Well, it's... From the imperial palace earlier? Ah...”
Earlier, at the imperial palace, I threw the silver coin to subdue the imperial guards who were trying to attack the people I had handed over to them.
I had forgotten to retrieve it, but Geum-ryung had picked it up and brought it back to me.
Ha! What a good boy.
“You can eat that, Geum-ryung.”
At my words, Geum-ryung's eyes lit up.
However, I saw something dark and reached out my hand.
“Let me see that for a moment.”
Geum-ryung obediently placed the silver coin in my hand, and I wiped it with a handkerchief.
“There's dirt on it. Here, here!”
“Kui!”
“Here, eat this.”
Geum-ryung quickly swallowed the silver coin.
“And can you do me a favor? I need to deliver this letter to my father.”
“Kui! Kui!”
Geum-ryung seemed to be in a good mood after eating the silver coin and nodded happily.
I tied the letter to Geum-ryung's tail, and she disappeared through the window like a flash.
Then I started to catch up on my work.
As I expected, I had a lot of work to do, and if I wanted to finish it all...
Would it be possible if I cut back on sleep for ten days?
.
.
.
The next morning.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying face down in front of my desk.
“Ugh.”
My whole body feels stiff.
When did I fall asleep?
It seems like it was around 3 to 5 a.m.
Then I must have slept for about an hour.
I got up, changed my clothes, and went out to the courtyard. No matter how tired I am, I cannot skip my daily training.
“Young master, why don't you sleep a little longer?”
I yawned and replied to Pal-gap.
“Master will scold me if I skip my training.”
As I said that and went down to the courtyard, the other bodyguards greeted me.
“Please protect the master.”
“Yes, sir.”
I sat on a rock in the courtyard and practiced breathing exercises.
Perhaps it was because the energy gathered through breathing exercises was cold yin energy, or perhaps it was the unique energy of the Taiyin Binghai Shinkong, but my body was filled with vitality and my mind was sharp.
When I finished breathing exercises and opened my eyes, Geumryung was sitting in front of me.
“You're here early.”
I handed Geumryung the silver coin and unfolded the letter attached to the tail.
“...”
It was a much longer letter than I had sent.
My father already knew the general situation. It seemed that the branch director in Beijing had sent a message.
[What an eventful spring it has been. Still, I am glad to hear that you are in good health.
Yes, Father.
It has been an eventful spring.
As I read the letter, which began with his concern for me, I smiled without realizing it.
[I am truly happy that His Majesty the Emperor values you. Yes, it must be a happy thing. It must be a happy thing. Yes.]
I could feel his heart, which couldn't bring himself to write, “I hate the emperor for making you suffer.” I could feel his concern for me.
Then there was news about my family staying at the Eunhae Trading Company headquarters and news about the Trading Company.
Finally, he talked about the “reward” I received from the emperor.
[It is obvious that what you received will be very useful in running the Beijing branch. Thank you for your hard work.
I folded the letter carefully.
Reading my father's letter, I felt as if I were wrapped in a warm blanket.
I must start today with energy.
After breakfast, I called Branch Manager Eun.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How was the scenery in Guangdong?”
Even now, Branch Manager Eun knew that I had been to Guangdong.
“It was very nice. By the way, how many people knew that I was going to Guangdong?”
“Quite a few. I had to explain the reason for my trip.”
“I see.”
I was glad that I told him I was going to Guangdong. If I hadn't, I would have had a hard time from the very beginning.
“Is there any problem with the establishment of the Beijing branch? I called you because I was away on a long business trip and wanted to know how things were going.”
“We have sufficient funds and many skilled workers, so there are no particular problems, but...”
“There is a problem.”
He sighed and replied.
“Yes. It seems that the higher-ups want this.”
Seeing the branch manager rubbing his thumb and index finger together, I smiled wryly.
“You know what I mean, right? You have to feed them a little so they don't cause trouble.”
I had expected this.
In the empire, when a building was constructed, it had to be reported to the government.
This did not apply to all buildings, only those of a certain size or larger with tile roofs.
This was because the government collected a quarterly “house tax” on buildings above a certain size.
In any case, officials from the government had to come and inspect the building to confirm that it was sound and had no defects before it could be occupied or used for other purposes.
However, the tricky thing was that even if there were no defects, the officials could refuse to conduct the “completion inspection” if they didn't like the building.
They would just keep putting it off.
On the other hand, if they were bribed enough, they would pass the inspection without even conducting a proper inspection.
In severe cases, half of the construction costs would be paid to the officials, and the building would be constructed with the remaining half.
As a result, the officials in each province and in the capital were wealthier than expected.
However, I knew their future.
About six months from now, houses in Beijing will suddenly collapse.
Not just one or two, but quite a few.
The emperor orders an investigation into why the houses, which were in good condition, collapsed, and concludes that the foundations were not solid.
This raises the question of why the foundations were not solidified and how the completion inspection certificate was issued.
Our emperor is not the type to just stand by and watch.
The price for ignoring the warning about bribery was high.
In the end, not only did they have to return everything they had received, but they were also dragged away and punished.
The same was true for those who had paid the bribes.
However, that was about half a year later.
The construction of the Beijing branch must be completed before then, and it must pass the final inspection before then.
But we can't just wait until then, because we won't be able to use the building we've worked so hard to build.
We don't want to get involved in corruption, but we don't want to lose the building either.
But I have a scroll given to me by the emperor.
“Director Eun.”
“Yes.”
“Ignore those demands. If any problems arise, I will take care of them.”
No, His Majesty the Emperor will take care of them.
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.
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That afternoon.
An official sent by the emperor visited my residence.
“Please come in.”
I led him into the reception room, and Pal-gap brought in refreshments.
“Please have some.”
“Yes.”
After we had some refreshments and small talk for a while, the court official got to the point.
“First of all, this is from His Majesty the Emperor.”
He handed me an envelope.
“May I open it?”
“Of course.”
I opened the envelope. I couldn't help but smile, but I quickly controlled my expression.
Inside the envelope was a large sum of money.
“Please check it. Make sure it is the amount Mister requested.”
I looked at the money.
The amount I had requested, including the cost of the clothes I had torn yesterday, was settled neatly and precisely.
“Oh, and this is a personal gift from His Majesty.”
“What?”
He handed me a box, and I opened it.
Inside was a box of Dan-hwan.
“This is a precious Dan-hwan that is very good for healing internal injuries.”
“Why is this?”
“I heard that Mister Silver used precious medicine for the Royal Guards. The emperor gave this to you because he heard that it allowed the guards to continue fighting.”
I understood the situation.
So, the emperor thought that I had used my medicine for the Royal Guards and lied to them by saying it was Jeongansu so as not to burden them.
Actually, it was... a royal decree.