Chapter 383
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 383
Chapter 383. Ghost Market (2)
We soon arrived in Liaoning.
We always stop here before going to the North Sea, but we usually only stay for a day or two.
However, this time we have something to do here, so we plan to stay for a few days.
It was urgent to deliver food to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but we also needed to find evidence against a merchant who had cheated the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
If we didn't find the evidence now, we would never find it.
This time, we didn't stay overnight, but headed straight for the Guangjun Trading Company.
We wanted to get information about him, and it was the only place where our group could stay.
As soon as we arrived in Yingning, I sent our most skilled martial artist to request their cooperation.
I could have sent a letter through the royal messenger, but the existence of the royal messenger must be kept secret.
If someone saw the royal messenger, they would surely covet it.
The reply brought by the martial artist was a readily accepted agreement.
He even said that he would have been disappointed if we hadn't asked for his help.
Captain Bok is a really good friend.
When we arrived at the Guangjun Trading Company and revealed our identities to the gatekeeper, one of the guards hurried inside.
A moment later, a familiar face came running out.
“Captain Eun!”
“I'm glad to see you're well, Captain Bok.”
He bowed deeply to the young princess Binghaerin standing next to me and greeted her with a clasped hands greeting.
“I am Captain Bok Yoon of the Gwangjoon Trading Company, and I have brought the young princess of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Please make yourselves comfortable. Come in.”
Captain Bok Yoon instructed his attendants to show us to our quarters.
While Ha Head Escort and Jin-ho brought our luggage into the carriage as the persons in charge, Bing Hae-rin and I headed to the reception room with Captain Bok-yoon.
As we sat down and talked about what had happened, refreshments were served.
I was a little hungry, so I quickly picked up some snacks.
“It's delicious, as expected.”
“I'm glad you like it.”
Captain Bok-Yoon smiled and continued.
“By the way, is there something serious going on that you are accompanying the Northern Sea Ice Palace's Palace Head?”
I shook my head at his question.
“It's nothing serious.”
Anything that cannot be resolved is serious. If it can be resolved, it cannot be considered serious.
“As you can see from the food I brought with me, I was transporting food to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“I see.”
Captain Bok-Yoon nodded and tilted his head.
“But why are you asking for help from the Eunhae Trading Company? As far as I know, the Northern Sea Ice Palace uses the money from selling the Northern Sea's magical herbs to buy food. Even if it is a bad harvest, it shouldn't be difficult to get food considering the value of the magical herbs sold by the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
As expected, Captain Bok-Yoon immediately realized that something was amiss.
“That's right. But there are some circumstances that led to this.”
“Circumstances…”
Captain Bok-Yoon frowned and said.
“Actually, I've heard some strange rumors. Rumors that the Northern Sea Ice Palace was trying to sell fake elixirs.”
Upon hearing this, Palace Head Bing Hae-rin asked with a cold expression.
“Do you believe those rumors, Captain?”
The coldness made Captain Bok's face turn pale. In fact, Palace Head Bing Hae-rin was quite angry about that incident.
However, Captain Bok was an ordinary merchant who had not trained in martial arts.
“Please calm down, Palace Head. You will hurt someone innocent.”
“Ah! I apologize.”
Bing Hae-rin quickly regained his composure.
“I am truly sorry.”
“It's fine.”
Only then did Captain Bok's expression relax, and he wiped the sweat from his brow.
“There are two kinds of rumors. One is when people only talk about what is apparent on the surface, and the other is when they talk about hidden truths. In my opinion, this is a case of only talking about what is apparent on the surface.”
“I see.”
I looked at Palace Head Bing Haerin.
He seemed like a cold and calm person, but his instincts seemed different.
Come to think of it, didn't someone say that extreme coldness can actually feel hot?
“I need more details about this.”
I continued.
“I heard that there is a man named Lim Cheong-mil among those who buy and sell elixirs here.”
“Ah, I know him. He is the leader of the Cheongmil Trading Company, the largest elixir dealer in this area.”
“He is the one who started this whole thing.”
I explained the situation I had heard from Palace Head Bing Haerin. After hearing my explanation, Captain Bok Yoon said.
“If what you say is true, then he is quite suspicious.”
“That's right. That's why I came to see you, Captain Bok.”
“I feel the same way.”
“There are two possibilities. One is that a disciple of the Northern Sea Ice Palace who transported the medicine replaced it with a fake, and the other is that the merchant Im Cheong-mil replaced it with a fake while appraising the medicine.”
I nodded, but Palace Head Bing Hae-rin shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
“There's no way a disciple of this palace would do such a thing!”
“I know. Of course, there is no way they would have done such a thing. I know very well how much the Northern Sea Ice Palace cares for each other. But still.”
I continued.
“When greed enters a person's heart, they can no longer see anything.”
“...”
“And in all matters of this world, there is nothing more foolish than making absolute statements.”
I concluded gently.
“So, I'm just considering it as one possibility.”
“I understand.”
She nodded with a complicated look on her face.
“The Palace Head has ordered that we follow your opinion on this matter.”
The Palace Head gave such an order?
I'm not that important... This is a heavy burden...
I said to Captain Bok-Yoon.
“In any case, the elixir taken from the Northern Sea Ice Palace is undoubtedly genuine. Looking at the list of elixirs you gave me, they are elixirs that cannot be easily obtained in the Central Plains. Furthermore, just having them is meaningless, so they will try to sell them somewhere.”
“That's true.”
“However, with the Northern Sea Ice Palace watching closely, I don't think they would dare to sell those elixirs openly.”
My words made Captain Bok-Yoon's eyes widen.
“Are you talking about that place?”
“Yes, that's right.”
I nodded.
“I think we need to go to the Ghost Market.”
“Where is that?”
The Ghost Market is exactly what it sounds like, a market for ghosts and goblins.
It opens at night, closes before dawn, and disappears without a trace by daybreak.
It got its name because it seems as if it is haunted by ghosts and goblins.
In addition, night is the time of ghosts and goblins, but it has a different meaning for merchants like us.
It is a time when things that are not right are revealed.
In other words, it is a black market.
I gave a reasonable explanation to Bing Haerin's question.
“There is such a place!”
“You didn't know?”
I thought she would know because it was a fairly well-known place, but it seemed that she didn't.
“To be honest, we don't live here, so we can't know about such secret things.”
She continued.
“And we try not to do anything that could cause trouble.”
“I understand what you mean.”
I continued.
“If the elixirs of the Northern Sea Ice Palace are being traded, they will definitely be traded there.”
“But the trade may already be over.”
“That won't be the case. The elixirs of Yin that were put up for trade at the Ice Palace this time are not common.”
“That's right. With so many people wanting them, won't they sell quickly?”
“That's a mistake.”
“...?”
I picked up the teacup and placed it in front of me.
“Let's say this teacup is a tremendous treasure. And there are thousands of people who want it. In that situation, anyone who wants to sell this teacup would want to maximize their profit.”
“That's right.”
“In that situation, if the first person you meet offers ten gold coins, would you just sell it?”
“You would meet a few more people, right?”
“That's right. Don't you think so, Palace Head?”
“You're saying that even if you ask for a high price, you won't sell it right away because that process is necessary?”
“If you think about it simply, that's fine, but it's difficult to meet thousands of people. However, if you have a large enough space, you can raise the price through bargaining without such trouble.”
I smiled.
“That's right, an auction.”
“Ah!”
The Palace Head's eyes widened at my words. Then, the Captain of the Guard continued.
“And while the ear auction is held once every seven days, the auction is held once a month. That is when the most people gather.”
“It happens to be the day after tomorrow.”
That was why Bing Haerin, the Palace Head, had hurriedly left Beijing as soon as she heard about this and had been traveling busily.
It was clear that the magical herbs would be sold at the auction at the Gui Maeng Market.
.
.
.
I returned to my quarters.
Captain Bok-Yoon must have thought it would be better for our group to stay together, so he allowed us to use two entire annexes as our quarters.
I was very grateful.
I returned to my quarters, washed up, ate dinner, and went out for a walk.
The Gwangjun Trading Company mainly dealt in horses, so the grounds were very large.
Our Eunhae Trading Company was also large, but this was several times larger.
There was even a forest where I could take a walk.
Captain Bok-Yoon wanted to have dinner with me, but he had to leave due to a prior engagement.
By the way, she seems a little excited because she is getting married in the summer.
Is it that good?
I am curious because I don't know that feeling yet.
Come to think of it, in my previous life and in this life, I have only worked for the Trading Company, so I have never thought about marriage.
Of course, in my previous life, my marriage was being arranged.
However, due to various events, it fell through.
In this life...
I'm not sure.
The next morning.
When I got up from my bed, finished my breathing exercises, and was doing physical training in my room, Geum-ryeong came in through the slightly open window, carrying a large bundle.
I quickly took the bundle from Geum-ryeong.
“Are you back?”
“Kui!”
“What is this bundle?”
“Kui! Kui!”
Geum-ryung wagged his tail. There was a letter attached to it.
I opened it.
It was a reply from the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Yesterday, I sent a letter to the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and this was his reply.
I had two requests.
First, I wanted to see the real elixir that had been rejected as fake.
Second, I asked him to send me some disciples.
The reason for sending disciples was to facilitate the transport of grain to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and to punish whoever was responsible for this incident.
He said he would send the disciples separately and send the real elixir through Geumryung.
Ah, so that's the big bundle Geumryung is carrying.
“Kui!”
Geumryung stepped back slightly and tapped the floor with his front paws.
“Kui! Kui!”
So, because the bundle was heavy, you want an extra coin?
Sigh.
It is the Palace Head who is sending it, but I am the one giving the coin to Geumryong.
There is no choice.
I am the one who requested it.
I handed Geum-ryung two silver coins, and she lit up and quickly swallowed them.
Meanwhile, I opened the bundle.
Inside was a fairly large pouch, and inside the pouch were medicinal herbs.
I examined them.
Huh? These aren't real, are they?
But the people who appraised these said they were fake, right?
I examined them slowly, and it didn't take long to realize that they were fake.
By the way, how did they make these?
What a waste of talent!
I could understand why the disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace who received these back didn't realize that they had been switched.
And the disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace were convinced that the elixirs they had collected were real, so they were deceived.
At that moment, Pal-gap entered.
“Did you cough?”
“Yes. I woke up a moment ago.”
I handed Pal-gap the fake elixirs and asked him.
“Pal-gap. Do these look real or fake?”
Pal-gap answered my question.
“They're fake.”
“Huh? How did you know?”
He's more observant than I thought.
Pal-gap answered my question.
“Well, if they were real, there would be no reason for you to ask me if they're real or fake, right?”
“...”
Hmm, he's smarter than I thought. He's Pal-gap after all.
Come to think of it, someone said that bears are smart.
“And if it were real, wouldn't Geum-ryeong be drooling over it? He wouldn't just stand there like that, would he?”
That's true.
The fact that Geum-ryeong is standing there means that these elixirs are fake.
“But why are you asking me that?”
I explained the elixirs to Pal-gap.
“They are very well made. If someone gave these to me, I would believe they were magic potions.”
Pal-gap was also a member of Eunhaesang Trading Company and had been trained since childhood to become my attendant.
Part of that training included learning about elixirs and medicinal herbs. Medicinal herbs were one of the main products of the Eunhae Trading Company.
“Bingryeonsil, Seolmaesil, Seolsam... It looks like it took more than a day or two to make these.”
“I think so too.”
After seeing the fake elixirs sent by the Palace Head, I was certain that there was someone behind this.