Chapter 444
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 444
Chapter 444. That Hurts Quite a Bit (3)
I hid my embarrassment and said, “No, it's nothing!
How could a lowly servant like me apologize to His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“This is my apology, but it is also a message from His Majesty.”
“....”
This is even more embarrassing.
There are probably only a handful of people in the entire empire who have ever received an apology from the emperor.
How much longer are you going to make me work for you...
“I didn't mean to hurt you. I promise this will never happen again.”
“I am deeply grateful.”
“Therefore, His Majesty has said that he will give you whatever you desire as compensation. This includes the compensation he promised you earlier, as well as an apology for this incident.”
At that moment, I rejoiced inwardly.
Compensation!
How sweet those words sounded!
But getting the reward also requires a kind of negotiation. Through that negotiation, I can get a bigger reward than what I was originally supposed to receive.
“Can you tell me what the Emperor originally promised to give me?”
“Money, silk, and this pass.”
The prince took out a jade pass from his sleeve and placed it on my knees.
Normally, I had to receive a temporary pass made of wood to enter the palace.
However, this was a permanent pass made of jade, which, unlike the wooden pass, did not need to be returned.
This meant that I could enter and leave the palace whenever I wanted.
The value of this pass was higher than I had thought.
It may seem like a simple pass, but it was different because it was for the palace.
Seeing that my name was engraved on it, I knew it had been made in advance.
The fact that he had prepared something like this made me think that the emperor had some kind of grand plan.
He must have thought that I would accept it.
However, I put on a guilty expression and handed the jade pass back to him.
“I'm sorry, but I don't think I can choose this.”
“Why not?”
“It is because I cannot handle this. Even now, I am constantly being summoned to the palace, and if I accept this, I will be tested even more. I am a weak person, and I cannot handle it anymore.”
Seeing the crown prince's obvious embarrassment, I knew that my guess was correct.
“The reward I want is not something this big.”
“Then what do you want?”
I pretended to think for a moment, then opened my mouth.
“Actually, I came into possession of something unexpected, and I would like His Majesty the Emperor to guarantee my ownership of it.”
“Is that really all you want?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“It is a wrapping cloth.”
“A wrapping cloth?”
“Yes. It is top secret, but I must tell His Majesty the Emperor anyway. Actually, I found the will of the Great Monk Hyukgon there.”
“What? Is that true!”
I looked around and said quietly.
“Your Highness, please lower your voice.”
“I'm sorry.”
Of course, since I was talking to the crown prince, my guards and his guards were keeping a close watch on us.
But it wasn't good to talk so loudly.
“There is a red silk wrapping that held the will. I want it.”
“You want that?”
“It's not just that. It's the cloth that wrapped the remains of the respected ambassador. How valuable do you think it is?”
“Huh...”
The crown prince looked perplexed.
I understand his expression. However, once he learns the truth, he may be perplexed for a different reason.
The crown prince said,
“Even so, I don't understand. Why are you asking for it as compensation when you can just take it?”
“It's in case something unexpected happens. If the Shaolin Temple claims that the cloth is theirs, I will have no choice but to hand it over.”
“I see.”
“Therefore, please guarantee that I am the owner of the cloth in the name of His Majesty the Emperor.”
I continued.
“This is His Majesty, the Emperor of this empire. No matter how powerful Shaolin Temple is, how can they disobey the orders of His Majesty?”
The crown prince nodded readily.
"I understand. My father said to grant you whatever you want, as long as it is reasonable. You should have asked for a sufficient reward.“
”That is enough for me. And honestly, what I receive is not important. I am just grateful that His Majesty has not forgotten his promise to me.“
”If that is how you feel, then I have no choice."
Success!
I clenched my hands under the blanket and cheered inwardly.
With that, the ownership of the wrapping cloth was now mine.
“By the way, you are a very unpredictable person.”
“What?”
“You said you were a merchant, so I thought you would choose the permanent pass.”
I am sorry, Your Highness.
I am not allowed to go near the imperial palace.
The emperor is already looking for an opportunity to punish me, so how could I be so foolish as to go near the imperial palace?
I said with a smile.
“As I just said, I cannot accept this.”
“How can a merchant be so unambitious? I wish the ministers of the imperial court were even half as ambitious as you.”
Your Highness.
You are saying something very serious.
And how can you say I am unambitious?
If His Majesty the Emperor heard you say that, he would roll on the floor laughing.
The crown prince looked at the jade token and opened his mouth.
“Actually, my father gave me a letter to read to you if you refused to accept this token.”
He took a small envelope from his sleeve, opened it, and began to read the letter.
“...”
He looked a little embarrassed, then put the letter back and picked up the jade pendant.
I suddenly feel uneasy.
“Take it as a bonus.”
“What?”
“Are you a merchant and don't know what a bonus is?”
“I know what it is, but...”
“This is yours.”
In other words, it was a gift.
I couldn't refuse a gift, so I had no choice but to accept it.
“I am deeply honored.”
I don't know how many times I've said that today.
The crown prince rose from his seat.
“Now that I've seen you, I must go. Get well soon, and I'll see you at the imperial palace soon.”
“Um...”
“No need to thank me. And please get well soon. If you take too long to recover, my father may send a royal physician.”
“....”
With that, the crown prince left my quarters, and as I watched him go, I looked down at the jade pendant in my hand.
Your Majesty.
Why are you being so indecisive?
But it's already too late to back out, so I have no choice but to make the best of it.
But what was written in that letter that made the crown prince react like that?
* * *
The crown prince left the Beijing branch of the Eunhae Trading Company.
“Let's go back to the Imperial Palace.”
“Yes.”
He was only able to breathe a deep sigh after getting into the carriage.
“Really... He is a scary guy. But I think I understand why His Majesty favors him.”
[That guy got the better of you. Anyway, you already gave your permission, so there's nothing you can do now. Give him the jade token he refused and tell him it's a bonus. Then you'll be able to see the look of embarrassment on his face.
In any case, he did as the emperor said, and he could see Eun Seo-ho looking embarrassed as he received the jade pendant.
And he realized one more thing.
“My father clearly said he was faking it, but he looked so sick that I treated him like a sick person without even realizing it...”
Eun Seo-ho was as frightening as an enemy, but as an ally, he was even more reliable.
“Could he become my man?”
A short time later, the carriage arrived at the imperial palace, and the crown prince headed for the emperor's office.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes, Father.”
The crown prince reported to the emperor in detail about his meeting with Eun Seo-ho.
“...That is all.”
“I see. But did that Eun Seo-ho ask for a silk cloth as a reward?”
“Yes. He asked the royal family to guarantee his ownership of the red silk cloth that had wrapped the remains of the monk Hyukgon Seung.”
“And you agreed to grant his request?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I couldn't bring myself to refuse such a small request.”
Hearing this, the emperor unconsciously touched his forehead with his hand.
Seeing this, the crown prince tilted his head and asked, “What is it, Father?”
“Why are you doing that?”
“Huh... No. I think I did well to assign him to you.”
“Yes?”
“If you do even half of what he does, you will never lose what you have in your hands.”
The crown prince tilted his head.
He couldn't understand what the emperor was talking about.
“I don't understand what you mean.”
“You thought he wasn't greedy, didn't you?”
“Yes, that's right.”
The emperor explained with a bitter smile.
“In fact, there is no one as greedy as him. He gets everything he wants, but he doesn't let others see it.”
“...?”
“Prince. That red wrapping cloth you allowed him to take. That is the imperial treasure, Hyunro Do.”
“What?”
“It is an imperial treasure that was given to the Great Master Hyukgon Seongseung by the emperor of that time, who saved his life over 500 years ago.”
The prince was shocked.
When Eun Seo-ho mentioned the Hyunro-do, he thought it was just a cloth bag that held the remains of Hyang-gon Seong-saeng.
But it was a royal treasure!
The crown prince was very familiar with the Hyunro-do.
This was because part of the plan to test Eun Seo-ho included having the Royal Guards search for the artifact.
However, even though he had made the plan, he did not have high expectations for the artifact.
It was an artifact that had long since disappeared, and even though there were records of it, the authenticity of those records was uncertain.
That was why he did not realize that the red wrapping cloth Eun Seo-ho had mentioned was the Hyunro-do.
“I am sorry, Father. I should have been more observant...”
“It's okay. Think of it as your tuition fee.”
Only then did the crown prince begin to understand why the emperor wanted him to be assigned to Eun Seo-ho.
Meanwhile, the emperor sighed inwardly.
Hyunrodo was the most important of all the royal artifacts, and it was used to help the emperor escape to safety in times of emergency.
The emperor at that time had followed the path shown by Hyunrodo and met Hyeokgun Seongseung, who saved his life.
Hyunrodo also served as an excellent protective device.
Perhaps because of the legend that it was stained with dragon's blood, nothing could tear or cut it.
“It was a chance to find such an artifact, but I missed it... It's a pity.”
But what could he do?
I already gave it to him.
Still, I am glad that the artifact ended up in Eun Seo-ho's hands.
I believed that he would never use it for evil purposes.
'Still, I gave him a pass to enter the palace at any time... Should I be satisfied with that?
* *
Several days passed.
I stretched and got up from my seat.
“Is it okay to get up?”
At that moment, Pal-gap entered my room and asked, and I nodded.
“Yes, I'm done pretending.”
I had gotten a small victory over the emperor and got what I wanted, so there was no need to pretend anymore.
And if the emperor sends a physician, that would be really burdensome.
The emperor must have realized that the bag the crown prince promised me was a treasure.
He must have been quite upset.
But since he had already said it, he had no choice but to let it go.
It had been a long time since I had practiced seriously. I hadn't been able to practice because I was pretending to be sick, so my body felt heavy.
After working out hard, I took a shower, ate breakfast, and headed to my office.
It's hot, isn't it?
It's mid-August, so it's still the height of summer.
Next month, there will be a slight breeze.
This year's fan was also quite popular. This time, I changed the colors a little.
People definitely tended to prefer more colorful designs.
To be honest, the fan is an overwhelmingly popular product with no competitors.
However, that does not mean that I can slack off in my research.
The moment I slack off, I will start to fall behind.
The future is unpredictable, and in order to continue to be successful, we must continue to work hard on our research.
A few days passed.
Now that I've taken care of everything urgent, I can finally take a breather.
Just as I was thinking that, Pal-gap brought me a letter.
“Captain, this is a letter from the Trading Company.”
“Huh? My father?”
I took the letter and opened it.
I already sent a letter through Geum-ryeong saying that I had arrived safely in Lanzhou, and I even received a reply.
[Seo-ho, are you doing well? I brought a large sum of money from Shaolin Temple. They said it was money they borrowed from you and that they are grateful to you, but I don't understand what they mean. Shaolin Temple has officially invited you to visit them.
Shaolin Temple invited me?
It must be related to the sword of the monk Xue Gongcheng.
I have something to deliver to him anyway, so I'll go there and see him while I'm there.