Chapter 42
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 42
Chapter 42. The Jegal Family (4)
Soon, someone's voice was heard at the door.
“Father, it's Yul.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a middle-aged man from Hunan bowed his head.
“You have guests.”
The Grand Master introduced us to him.
“Say hello. I called you here to exchange poetry. This is Yoo So-ak and Eun Seo-ho.”
“I am Jaegal Yul. I am the head of this clan, though I am not worthy of the title.”
Upon hearing his self-introduction, Chief Administrator Yoo quickly stood up.
He clasped his hands together in a bow.
“I am Yoo So-ak, Chief Administrator of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
There was a reason why we were not introduced to the Clan Head on the first day. It was because we were guests of the Grand Clan Head.
Usually, guests are introduced when there are people of higher rank present.
This is done out of respect for the guests.
It means that the guests are to be treated as equals to the person who invited them.
We were guests of the Taesangga Clan, and there was no one above the Taesangga Clan.
“Welcome to the Jegal Clan. I hope you have everything you need during your stay.”
As guests of the Taesangga Clan Head, he was much older and higher in rank, but he was very polite to us.
“Thank you for your kindness, Clan Head.”
“Thank you.”
The head of the Jaegal Clan seemed quite dignified and polite.
He was not frivolous, but had a gentle expression.
Seeing him, I felt I understood where Miss Jegal Yu's true nature came from.
They say children are the mirror of their parents...
Although he was an uninvited guest, the Taesangga Clan Head's eyes were filled with pride as he looked at him.
I couldn't believe that in a few years, this man would undergo isolated training, fall into qi deviation, and cause a bloodbath against the members of the Jegal Clan.
Normally, when someone falls into qi deviation, their qi becomes twisted and they die on the spot.
However, in the case of the Jaegal Clan, perhaps because their martial arts were mostly related to the head, when they fell into qi deviation, they either became stupid or insane.
It would have been better if they just became stupid or went mad in a gentle way.
The problem was when they went mad in a bad way.
They would become murderers who committed indiscriminate killings.
The Jaegal Clan Head in front of me was such a case.
As the clan head, his martial arts skills must have been tremendous, but with the Grand Master dead, there was no one to stop him.
Huh?
Come to think of it, something is strange.
If the Grand Master was still alive and the Clan Head had caused such a problem, would the damage to the Jaegal Clan have been so great?
No.
Even if it was his own son, he would have made a decision for the sake of the clan.
If that were the case, the damage would not have been so fatal. That must be why he killed the Grand Master first.
That means the Clan Head's qi deviation was also a ploy?
At that moment, I suddenly realized something.
The man in front of me was the father of Jaegal Yu-ah, who was supposed to have broken his arm in a duel last night.
Ah...
Even though the Grand Master had given me permission, it was still best to bow deeply.
I bowed my head deeply and apologized.
“I am truly sorry. Last night, Miss Miss Zhuge...”
“That's all right. It was her own doing, so who can blame her?”
“I am truly sorry.”
I apologized again and sighed inwardly.
Why did things get so complicated?
Meanwhile, the Grand Minister asked the Clan Head.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Father, a letter has arrived.”
“A letter?”
“I had to send a reply to the messenger urgently, so I took the liberty of coming to see you even though I knew you had a guest.”
He took the letter out of his pocket and handed it to the Clan Head, who opened it and read it.
Where on earth did this letter come from?
Then I saw the mark engraved on the envelope and froze.
It was a symbol that looked like a cloud.
It was the symbol of the Martial Alliance. In other words, the letter was from the Martial Alliance.
However,
the Clan Head's reaction to the letter was strange.
An intense killing intent emanated from his body.
It was a killing intent that felt like it was cutting through flesh.
He glared at the Clan Head and moved his lips, and the Clan Head nodded.
He must have used telepathy to tell us.
“Father, our guests are having a hard time.”
Hearing the Clan Head's words, the Grand Master looked at us with a look of regret.
“Oh no! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...”
“It's okay.”
Unlike me, Chief Administrator Yu looked quite pale.
Is killing intent that hard to bear?
I'm fine.
“I think we should leave now. Let's talk again tonight. This place has a wonderful atmosphere in the evening.”
“Yes, we will.”
At that moment, Taesangga looked at me strangely.
“Mister... Did you say you wanted to watch us make tea earlier?”
“Yes, I did.”
Upon hearing my words, Taesangga handed me something from his sleeve. It was a white jade token.
“You can go anywhere with this, so go and take a look.”
“Thank you.”
.
.
.
I told Chief Administrator Yoo to rest in the room for a while, and left the inn with Pal-gap.
We were going to see how tea was made.
As soon as he heard about the Martial Alliance, Taesangga's reaction was unexpected.
It was clearly a negative reaction.
The Clan Head nodded in agreement.
If that was the case, it made sense that the Jaegal Clan had fallen so easily and that the Martial Alliance didn't think much of it.
They must have been betrayed by the Martial Alliance.
As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
If that was the case, the disappearance of the Jaegal Clan would be the same as the disappearance of my allies.
In that case, I had to protect them.
“I think this is where we're supposed to get the car.”
Pal-gap's words snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked ahead. That's when I came face to face with a man.
At that moment, I felt a sense of disgust.
It was a strange feeling of disgust that I had never felt before.
The man in front of me asked,
“Judging by your clothes, you seem to be foreigners. Who are you?”
“...”
He was asking me who I was, but I was too shocked to answer.
“Why don't you answer?”
“...”
Seeing me like that, Pal-gap hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his head.
“I apologize for the delay in answering. This is Eun Seo-ho, the third son of the head of the Eunhae Trading Company, and I am his attendant. We have come at the invitation of the Grand Clan Head.”
“Ah, I heard that my uncle invited guests to exchange poetry. Are you one of those guests?”
“Yes.”
“I see. However, this is not a place where outsiders are allowed to enter.”
“We understand that. That is why we came with the permission of the Clan Head.”
Pal-gap continued.
“However, our young master suddenly seems to be unwell. We must return now.”
I raised my hand to stop Pal-gap.
“I'm fine.”
I finally calmed down.
We could come back again, but that wouldn't do.
Whoever planned to poison the Clan Head must be a meticulous person who waited several years to succeed.
The Black Rat would hide its tail if we didn't come here now, when no outsiders would think to come to a place where tea was served.
I clasped my hands together and bowed in respect.
“I apologize. I am not feeling well, so I was late in introducing myself. As my servant said, I am Eun Seo-ho, the third son of the head of the Eunhae Trading Company, who was invited by the Grand Clan Head.”
He also bowed with clasped hands in response to my introduction.
“I see. I am Jaegal Kyung, son of Jaegal Myeong, the head of the Jaegal Clan and younger brother of the Clan Head. You said you have permission from the Grand Clan Head. May I see your proof?”
In response to his question, I handed him the jade token given to me by the Grand Clan Head.
After checking the jade token, Jaegal Kyung nodded.
“That is indeed the jade token of the Grand Clan Head. You may enter.”
With that, he returned the jade token and fluttered away.
At that moment, the nausea that had been troubling me disappeared.
What was that?
I wondered if I had been feeling nauseous at all.
This makes it seem like I was faking it.
Pal-gap looked at me and asked.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Your complexion suddenly changed.”
“Hmm... It's nothing. Let's go inside.”
I replied vaguely to Pal-gap and glanced back at the back of the man named Je-gal Kyung.
Could he be the reason for my nausea?
But I can't be disgusted just because I saw someone!
Thinking that it didn't make sense, I entered the building labeled “Jaeanwon.”
A place that creates peace...
Seeing that name, I thought I understood the meaning of tea in the Jegal Clan.
“Nice to meet you. I am Zhuge Xiang, the head of the Jeonwon.
The man who greeted me was quite neat and tidy. When he saw my jade badge, he said that as a guest of the Taesangga, he would show me around himself.
”This is where we sort the tea that has been delivered. Even the same tea has different grades, you know?"
“Of course.”
“And the tea is carefully separated and stored. That is where the tea is stored.”
I nodded.
The explanation continued, and we finally arrived at the place where the tea was brewed.
“We brew the tea needed here and deliver it.”
“But aren't there many people who enjoy the process of brewing tea?”
“As Mister said, the process of brewing tea is also part of self-cultivation. However, the people of the main family love tea very much. That's why they drink at least five pots a day.”
“At that rate, brewing tea must take up a significant amount of time.”
“That's right. That's why they ask us to brew it for them when they want to drink it, and when they don't, we usually brew it here and bring it to them.”
It seems that people are the same everywhere.
At our Trading Company, we don't brew tea ourselves, but have it brought from the tea room.
I asked a question that had been on my mind.
“Actually, the reason I was curious about this place is because the tea served by the Clan Head was so delicious.”
“I see.”
“So, who brews the tea for the Grand Clan Head?”
In response to my question, Jaegal Hyang pointed to a small space set aside in one corner.
“Over there... The person in charge is away.”
There, along with tea utensils, were various types of tea sealed in containers.
At that moment, someone came looking for Jaegal Hyang.
“Mr. Wonju. Please take a look at this.”
“I see.”
He asked for my permission.
“Excuse me for a moment. Please feel free to look around.”
“Yes. Don't worry about me. Go ahead.”
This was my chance.
I headed toward the place where the Grand Clan Head's tea was prepared. There was a separate space, but it was not a closed room.
It was open on all sides.
How could I take something suspicious out of a place like this and put it in my car?
It was impossible.
Not only did I have to poison my car once or twice, but I had to do it for over a year, and I couldn't be caught even once.
Furthermore, the poison had to be put only in the Chapter of the Flower and the Moon, the Book of the Moon, and the jujube.
If the poison was put in another car, it would cause an adverse reaction.
It was a very tricky poison to use.
In that case, there was only one easy and safe way.
Use something that was already there.
For example, a container for tea.
When I reached for the container labeled Hwajo Cheong-eum, Pal-gap quickly covered me with his arm.
How thoughtful.
I quickly opened the tea container. But I didn't see anything suspicious.
But I couldn't just turn it upside down.
However, I was sure there was poison inside.
I quickly took out some tea leaves and put them in my sleeve.
If there was something wrong with the box, the tea inside would also be poisoned.
Then I put the box back in its place.
“Pal-gap, let's go back now.”
“Have you seen everything?”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
* * *
Back at the inn, I asked Pal-gap to bring me some vinegar.
I squeezed the tea leaves I had secretly brought back and added the vinegar.
Frowning slightly at the sour smell, I pricked my finger with the needle I had prepared.
Oh, come on...
What kind of torture is this?
I really hate pain.
I squeezed a drop of blood from my finger and dropped it into the teacup containing the tea leaves, water, and vinegar.
Pong.
At that moment, I let out a sigh.
My prediction was correct.
The color of the tea was purple. That meant there was poison in it.
The method I just used was widely known at the time due to the empress's poisoning.
However, no one knows how to detect this poison now.
Probably only the culprit knows about the poison.
In this situation, if I rashly bring up the poison, I may be suspected.
Especially now that the culprit is likely to be inside, they may frame me for the crime.
That must not happen.
Is there anyone else who knows about this poison other than the culprit?
At that moment, a name came to mind.
Ah!
I have it!
There is someone who is perfect for this job.
And that person happens to be in Hubei, not far from here.
But first, I must secure the evidence.