Chapter 442
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 442
Chapter 442. Quite Painful (1)
We arrived safely at my maternal grandparents' house.
My maternal grandparents and uncle welcomed us warmly.
“I have news. All twenty members of the Gwangpungdan are safe.”
I smiled and continued.
“We made it back safely.”
“I'm so glad you're all safe! It's such a relief!”
My maternal grandfather hugged me, his eyes brimming with tears.
He was definitely someone who wore his emotions on his sleeve.
I didn't realize he was so worried about me.
Meanwhile, my uncle, who had come to praise the members of the Gwangpungdan for their hard work, patted me on the shoulder and said,
“You worked hard.”
“Don't mention it. This is my maternal grandfather's house. I was just doing what I had to do.”
“I appreciate you saying that.”
At that moment, my maternal grandmother patted me on the back and said,
“Come on, let's go inside. I made some hoeddeok for you.”
Just as I was about to go inside,
“Young Master Eunseoho.”
“...?”
I turned around at the sound of someone calling my name and saw the members of the Gwangpungdan calling me.
What's going on?
Just as I was thinking that, they all bowed their heads toward me with clasped hands.
Chuck!
Then, the leader of the Gwangpungdan spoke on behalf of the group.
“It is all thanks to you, Young Master, that we have all returned safely. We will never forget your kindness for the rest of our lives.”
I felt a little embarrassed.
.
.
.
That evening.
I bathed in a medicine that Lee Pil made to remove the tracking incense.
“Hmm, I don't smell the tracking incense anymore.”
Pal-gap nodded in agreement with Lee Pil.
“The scent is definitely gone.”
Then Lee Pil asked Pal-gap.
“By the way, how did you notice the tracking incense?”
“Huh?”
Pal-gap tilted his head and replied.
“It just... smelled.”
“As I said before, it takes special training to smell tracking incense. But you can smell it...”
Seo-woo answered that question.
“I've heard that some people with extremely sensitive senses can detect special scents without any training. I think that may be the case with Pal-gap.”
Come to think of it, Pal-gap really hated fermented foods. Fermentation and decay are actually very similar.
As he thought about it, he chuckled to himself.
He thought he knew why Pal-gap was able to do that.
It's just because he's a bear.
Is it because his wild instincts are still alive?
To be honest, Salwang's talent is just a nice way of saying that, but in a broader sense, it's also a wild instinct.
An instinct for hunting, perhaps?
Palgak's instinct is misdirected toward protecting me.
“Well, it's time to go to bed.”
At my words, everyone headed to their respective quarters.
Pal-gap also checked on my bed before heading to the next room.
As I lay down, I could feel the presence of Seo Woo and Myeongjong standing at a distance outside the door.
They wouldn't come in unless I called them.
Then it was time.
I took out the items left behind by the monk Hyukgon Seungseung from the box.
First, I had to check whether the cloth was a ritual item or not.
I was the only one who knew about this, so I had to check it secretly in my room.
It would be too much trouble to explain.
I put the books and letters in a box and took out the cloth, spreading it on the table.
It was a vivid red color... Huh?
Only then did I realize something strange.
This was a wrapping cloth that had wrapped books and letters for over 500 years.
How could the wrapping cloth be so clean and bright while the books and letters were so old?
I know that silk is one of our Trading Company's main products, but there is no silk that can remain in such good condition for 500 years.
Then is this really a sacred object?
They said that if I wrote my destination on the wrapping cloth, it would take me to safety, right?
My destination?
To test it, I should write a place I know well.
I picked up the brush and wrote “Eunhae Trading Company Beijing Branch” on the wrapping cloth.
“...!”
I couldn't help but be surprised.
The words I wrote with the brush disappeared, and a black image began to appear on the cloth.
It was a map.
It was a map of the entire empire.
And there was a golden line connecting my maternal grandfather's house to the Beijing branch of the Eunhae Trading Company.
Gasp!
I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.
If I didn't, I was afraid I would let out a cry of surprise.
It was real. It was a real magical item.
I carefully examined the route.
If I was going to the Beijing branch, it seemed to be telling me to take a boat, as there was a golden line drawn along the river in the middle.
“Hmm, I just want to go by land. I have my horse, after all.”
As I muttered regretfully, the golden line disappeared and began to reappear.
A route that could only be taken by land, without a boat.
This is incredible!
To be honest, if this artifact had forced me to take a specific route to my destination, I would have been suspicious.
Some artifacts are said to brainwash their users or corrupt them with evil.
However, seeing that the path changed according to my intentions, it didn't seem to be the case.
I memorized the route well and tidied up the cloth bag.
Okay, let's test if this route is safe.
What if this artifact really shows me the safe route?
There's nothing to think about.
Of course, I have to eat it.
Yum yum.
.
.
.
It was morning.
And today was the day I was supposed to return to Beijing.
“Aren't you going to stay a little longer?”
I smiled at my great-grandmother's words and replied.
“Of course, I want to stay longer. But I have a lot to do.”
I hugged my great-grandmother and said so. My great-grandmother patted me on the back and said,
“It's a pity, but there's nothing we can do. Let's meet again next time.”
“Yes.”
“Take care of yourself.”
Following my great-grandfather, my great-uncle also said to me,
“We'll have a chance to meet again. Stay healthy until then.”
“Yes.”
“And please take good care of Sun-i.”
My uncle's words were filled with love for my mother.
By the way, I didn't get to see my second uncle.
I think I should visit him again in about five years before he returns to Zhuhuaipuma.
If I can prevent my second uncle's death, I must do so.
We left Yeongseonmin House, seeing everyone off.
“Where should we go?”
In response to Seo Woo's question, I raised my hand and pointed in a direction.
“Let's go this way.”
“Understood.”
And so we began riding toward Beijing.
The road I was riding on was the one Bojagi had told me.
The horses ran without hesitation.
“Hmm, turn left here.”
“Hee-ing!”
I gave directions to my companions from time to time and pulled on the reins to change the direction of the horses.
To be honest, we had crossed mountain ranges on our way from Beijing to Lanzhou.
However, there were only fields to be seen on the road we were traveling on, and no rugged mountain ranges.
Therefore, although it seemed like we were taking a detour, we were actually traveling faster.
It was much faster to ride across the obstacle-free fields than to navigate around the obstacles in the mountains.
Thanks to that, we were able to arrive in the suburbs of Beijing a day earlier than planned.
Before we knew it, it was getting dark.
“Let's rest here tonight.”
Pal-gap tilted his head at my words.
“What do you mean? We're only an hour or two away from Beijing.”
“I know.”
“Is it something so important that you are willing to give up a comfortable night's sleep?”
“Yes. So, please prepare for the night.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pal-gap and the bodyguards prepared for the night.
Soon, we sat around the bonfire, ate dinner, and drank tea.
Now everyone is ready to listen.
“I told you before we left, didn't I? About the order I received from His Majesty the Emperor.”
Everyone nodded in response to my question.
“To be blunt, this order was a test for me.”
“A test? What do you mean?”
I sighed and continued in response to Seo Woo's question.
“It is exactly what it sounds like. His Majesty gave me this order to see if he can entrust me with an important task in the future.”
Only then did Lee Pil realize something and asked, “Does that include Tracking incense?”
“Perhaps.”
“Damn it! I should have told you earlier.”
“Don't blame yourself. Just let me know if you have any doubts in the future.”
“I understand.”
At that moment, Pal-gap spoke up.
“But if you're going to be given more important duties, you'll be even busier than you are now... Is that even possible?”
Pal-gap's question was understandable.
I was already as busy as I could be here.
It was only thanks to Miss Seo Hyang's help...
Everyone looked at me as if they agreed with him.
“Of course, it would be difficult to make you any busier here.”
“That's right. Your Liege is already sleep deprived.”
“Furthermore, lack of sleep hinders growth and development.”
Who said that last part?
Ah, Yeo-eung-am, soldier.
But I think I'm already fully grown, right?
I continued.
“I think so too. That's why...”
I explained my plan to them step by step, and they nodded in agreement.
To be honest, once I realized that this test was part of the emperor's plan to make me important, I lost all desire to play a trick on him.
But I guess I can't hide my true nature.
After all, the thought of playing a trick on the emperor still lingers in my mind.
* * *
The emperor was reading a letter.
It was a report from those who had been ordered to test Eun Seo-ho.
Thanks to the express delivery, he received it much faster than Eun Seo-ho.
“Hmm... He is indeed the talent I chose.”
The emperor read the report and smiled with satisfaction.
Not only did he handle the matter concerning Hyeokgun Seung's sword very neatly, but he also did a good job of carrying out the orders he was given.
“So now there is only one test left?”
At that question, the emperor turned his head and looked to his side. Sitting next to him was the emperor's eldest son and the current crown prince.
People said that his eyes, which closely resembled his father's, reminded them of the emperor when he was young.
“Yes. If you reveal the whole truth about this matter in front of me, you will pass the test. Then I will be able to assign someone trustworthy to you.”
“I am looking forward to it.”
The crown prince did not express any dissatisfaction at the emperor's decision to assign a merchant to him.
He knew.
He knew how rotten those who pretended to be noble and pure really were.
“By the way, a trustworthy person... I'm really looking forward to it.”
There was a slight hint of sarcasm in his words.
Just yesterday, the person in charge of his security had been killed. It was already the fifth time.
What's more, the culprit was someone he considered a close friend, which made the shock even greater.
He realized how fleeting trust can be.
Perhaps because of this, his eyes grew even deeper. However, he was still young, so he didn't realize that his words sounded sarcastic.
“Tsk, tsk, I understand how you feel.”
“I apologize. I behaved disgracefully.”
“Be careful next time.”
“Yes.”
“I'm not asking you to believe me. But if you can't trust me, just think of it as something you're doing for the empire.”
“...”
The crown prince was a little surprised by those words.
He had heard so much about Eun Seo-ho from the emperor that his ears were sore, and he had also investigated him personally and knew quite a bit about him.
He knew that he was the captain of the Purple Mist Pills Trading Company and that he was continuing to make remarkable progress.
However, he couldn't understand why his father, the emperor, trusted him so much.
Wasn't he the one who realized that trust was much more fragile than anything else?
“What on earth made my father trust him so much?”
Just as he was pondering this question, the emperor called him.
“Crown Prince.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You don't trust people, do you?”
“....”
“But you cannot rule this empire if you cannot trust people. It is people who betray me, but it is also people who protect me.”
“But I am afraid because I do not know who will betray me or who will protect me. I do not have that kind of discernment.”
“You don't even know yourself, so how can I know that?”
“What?”
The crown prince blinked at the unexpected answer.
“That is why I want you to take him under your wing. If you spend time with him, you will find the answer.”
At that moment.
“Your Majesty. Master Jin-yeong is here.”
The emperor replied to the court official.
“Let him enter.”
Soon, the door opened, and Jin-yeong entered, bowed before the emperor, and paid his utmost respect.
“Why are you alone? Didn't you say that he arrived at the Beijing branch today?”
“Yes, that is correct. However, there was a problem...”
“What kind of problem?”
At his question, Jin-yeong continued with a troubled look on his face.
“It seems that it was a bit too much for him to visit Lanzhou on such a busy schedule. He is very weak and is now lying in bed. Even so, he forced himself to get up to follow me to the palace, but he fainted.”
"....