Chapter 397
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 397
Chapter 397. There was a reason (4)
Hong Seon-il thought that the guest the palace maid was serving might be a spy.
He couldn't help but think so.
Unless someone had been watching and investigating him, how could they know that it was his?
If that was the case, it was his duty as a servant of the empire to expose her crime.
“May I come see you sometime? I would like to thank you in person.”
“I will ask her.”
That afternoon, the palace maid returned with her mistress's permission.
Hong Sun-il was puzzled.
“I thought she would ask for some time or refuse... She seems quite confident.”
With that in mind, he immediately followed the palace maid to the Hwanhwagak, where foreign envoys were staying.
And he was surprised.
The person the palace maid served was not an ordinary envoy, but the princess of the Marese Kingdom.
"...
There was an awkward moment, but he calmed himself and greeted her.
“First of all, thank you very much for returning the paper.”
“It was no trouble at all.”
Her imperial language was quite fluent.
“But... how did you know it was mine?”
“First of all, matters concerning publication are the responsibility of the Hanlin Academy. And the fact that you went to such lengths as to copy His Majesty's sacred words means that you are the one in charge of that task.”
“But I am not the only one in my position.”
There are many others in the Hanlin Academy who hold the same position as Hong Seon-il.
“That paper was very worn. That means you pondered it over and over again. But the part where those words were written was not worn. It must be because you cherish His Majesty's sacred words.”
“...!”
Hong Seon-il was surprised.
It was just as she said. Even though she had copied the emperor's sacred words, she still thought of them as the emperor's sacred words.
That was why he couldn't bring himself to touch those words.
“This also means that your loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor has not yet faded.”
She continued.
“No matter how loyal you are when you start a job, the reality is that your loyalty will inevitably fade over time. This is because it is the emperor who gives you the job, and no one likes to work.”
“However, it is only natural to accept the emperor's orders with sincerity.”
“Think about it. Are your seniors really giving their all?”
“...”
Hong Sun-il was speechless.
“Come to think of it...”
He thought of his seniors.
“There's no need to work so hard. The emperor won't notice anyway, and you'll just have to do it again.”
“Ugh, more work. I was hoping to leave early today, but I guess not.”
“Why are there only five days left until the holiday?”
Looking at Hong Seon-il, who was growing increasingly gloomy, she said.
“If you still have such passionate loyalty, I thought that someone who recently passed the civil service examination and became a scholar at the Hanlin Academy would have been awarded the highest rank.”
Those who were awarded the highest rank were usually assigned to the Hanlin Academy and given the position of scholar.
“There's only me.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, I'm not saying that they don't have loyalty. Their loyalty is more warm than passionate.”
“....”
He looked up at her. For some reason, his heart began to tremble.
He felt that such a wise woman would be able to give him the answer he was looking for.
“May I ask your advice on this matter?”
He explained the whole situation.
“...So what should I do?”
“In my opinion, if His Majesty wanted you to record the achievements of the imperial family, he would have clearly told you to record the imperial family's response to the famine, not to leave a record of the famine itself.”
“Then... what about this?”
“Didn't you ask for more people to help with this?”
“Yes, that's right. I was given twice as many people as usual.”
“In my opinion, it means that you should record everything.”
“What?”
“Everything, whether it be matters of the imperial family or the common people. And since the famine is not over yet, you have plenty of time.”
“...”
Even he could see that he was right.
The only problem was that there was an enormous amount of work to be done.
“Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor has high expectations of your abilities?”
He scratched the back of his neck.
“If that is the case, then I am grateful. Anyway, thank you for taking such a precious time today. I am sorry for taking so much of your time on our first meeting.”
“This isn't our first meeting, is it?”
“What?”
“We met yesterday in the rear garden of the palace. When I approached you, you hurriedly left.”
“Ah!”
He smiled awkwardly.
“So it was you yesterday. I thought you were a court lady. I was afraid that if someone saw me alone with a court lady in the garden, it would cause gossip. As you know, if court ladies are involved in gossip, they disappear without a trace...”
“You were being considerate of me.”
After that, Hong Sun-il often met her and learned her name.
“My name is Shina. It means ‘light’ in my native language.”
When did it start?
It must have been when he first met her.
Just like her name, which means “light,” she became the light of his life.
When he thought about his life without her, all he could see was darkness.
“But she's leaving?”
Come to think of it, there was nothing she could gain by staying here.
So when the wind changed, she would return to her home country.
In fact, he knew it in his head.
That he would part with her in some form or another.
He just couldn't feel it yet.
* * *
Several days passed.
I received a message that Hyung-nim Seon-il wanted to see me, so I immediately headed to the nearby dalu.
But as soon as I saw Hyung-nim Seon-il's face, I couldn't help but be startled.
“Gasp! Hyung-nim! What's wrong?”
That was because his face had changed a lot over the past few days.
He was thin, pale, and had dark circles under his eyes...
That meant Hyung-nim had made up his mind.
“I'm fine, so don't make a fuss.”
“I'm sure your aunt and uncle are very worried.”
“I tried to eat something, but I can't swallow anything.”
“Hyung-nim...”
Hyung-nim looked at me with determination in his eyes.
“Help me. I don't think I can live without her now.”
“I understand.”
.
.
.
In order to bring together the princess of Mares and Hyung-nim, the most important thing is the emperor's approval.
She came to the empire to marry into the imperial family.
However, if she marries Hyung-nim, she will likely be punished for deceiving the imperial family.
At the very least, the princess will be banished, and Hyung-nim will be dismissed from his position.
To prevent that from happening...
I had to meet the emperor.
“Ugh...”
The thought of meeting the emperor made me feel cold all over.
He is truly an amazing person.
He makes even me, who never feels cold, feel chilled!
But if you want to get a tiger mustache, you have to meet a tiger.
As it happens, I have a reason to meet the emperor.
I have to deal with a man named Son Se-gil, who stole my silver.
Since the recruitment of a trading company for foreign trade has ended, there is no reason for me to get involved in any gossip.
Upon returning to the Beijing branch, I immediately sent a letter to Master Jin-yeong.
That evening.
Master Jin-yeong visited the Beijing branch.
“Did you have a good trip, Master?”
“Yes, I did. By the way, I am sorry that I was unable to teach you the imperial martial arts in time. It was His Majesty's direct order...”
“It was your duty as a Master, wasn't it? It's fine. Besides, is it enough for me to just learn it? I have to accept your teachings and make them my own before I can move on to the next lesson, right?”
I said with a clasped hands greeting.
“Don't worry too much about it.”
“Thank you for saying so. I have to go now. His Majesty is calling me.”
I headed to the imperial palace with Master Jin, and we met the emperor in his office.
“Sect Leader Eunseoho is here to see His Majesty, the Emperor of the Empire.”
“Yes, I thought it was about time you came. You have to report on your duties as Sect Leader of Emei.”
“...”
Those words made me break out in a cold sweat.
If I had gone to Hubei without seeing His Majesty the Emperor, I would have been punished for neglecting my duties and become a stake in the imperial palace.
I calmed myself down and continued.
“How could I neglect the duties entrusted to me by His Majesty the Emperor? If I did such a thing, I would rather carry a rock and jump into the water.”
Of course, even if I jumped into the water with a rock on my back, I wouldn't die.
“You're a smooth talker.”
It was a phrase that sounded like something you would hear in a saga.
The eunuch hurriedly offered his advice.
“Your Majesty, you must refrain from such words.”
“What do you mean? There's no one else here.”
“But...”
“And aren't you and that guy both my people?”
“Your Majesty...”
The eunuch replied in a quivering voice.
I could sense the emperor's trust in the eunuch and me. I don't know about the eunuch, but I don't think I'm someone who deserves such trust...
“I am overwhelmed by the emperor's kindness.”
“Look at him, he's good with words.”
The emperor chuckled and changed his tone to a serious one.
“Raise your head.”
“Your Majesty, I am deeply honored.”
Finally, the emperor ordered me to raise my head. It was difficult to stay bowed down for so long.
“Yes, I heard the gist of it from Jin-yeong. Do you have something to report?”
“Yes, I do. I would like to report someone who accepted a bribe during the selection process for the Trading Company that will be in charge of trade with foreign countries.”
The emperor tilted his head at my words.
“As you know, there weren't many applicants, so if there were no problems with the documents, we would have just selected one, right?”
“Of course. However, there was someone who asked me for a bribe in exchange for information.”
“That's an interesting fellow.”
He didn't mean it because he thought it was really interesting.
“Tell me in detail.”
“Yes.”
I reported in detail what had happened with Son Se-gil.
“Of course, I did give him fourteen silver coins, but it was for the investigation.”
I said confidently.
“It was to find out if he had someone behind him and where the information was leaked from.”
According to the sacred text given to me by the emperor, I was given investigative powers.
In other words, giving him money was a legitimate investigative act.
I gave him money because he would not be punished.
“By the way, fourteen silver coins? If you were going to give them, you could have given more. That's pretty stingy.”
“I was simply aiming for the maximum effect with the minimum cost.”
“I see. I will order the Dao Investigator to look into that man.”
That is the most straightforward way to handle it.
Since the emperor himself gave the order, the investigation will not be easy.
We sent that man away, so now all that remains is Hyung-nim's marriage.
I took a deep breath to calm myself and spoke.
“Your Majesty, I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“The other day, while walking in the imperial palace, I saw the princess of the Kingdom of Mare. I think she will be returning to her country soon.”
“You are right.”
The emperor nodded.
“To be honest, I did mention the marriage between our royal families to the king of Maraseok. But I thought he would send a prince, not a princess.”
That makes sense.
Maraseok didn't send the princess without a reason.
There must be a reason why they sent her.
That makes it even more difficult for you, Your Majesty.
“My brother happened to meet her.”
“Yes, I know. The princess found what Hong Su-chan lost.”
“....”
I was speechless.
What on earth is it that you don't know about this formidable woman?
“And thanks to her advice, Hong Su-chan is now following my orders correctly.”
“That's right. My brother said that he had never met anyone so wise before.”
I continued.
“And I believe that His Majesty the Emperor must recognize her value.”
“Well, that's true.”
“However, there is still no news of the princess's wedding. It seems to me that His Majesty the Emperor has given His Royal Highness the choice.”
At my words, the emperor frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Just as I thought. You fools! You can't even recognize the princess's value just by looking at her appearance. Tsk, tsk.”
“The wind will change soon, and the princess will return. But there is no way to keep her in the empire.”
“Get to the point. Do you have a way to keep her here?”
“Yes, I do.”
I continued with a confident expression.
“The emperor must play the role of the old man under the moon.”