Chapter 607
Episode 607
Episode 607. An Unexpected Clue (3)
Geum Sagyeon kept cursing as he ran along the mountain path.
Damn it! This! This dogshit mess! This fucking shit! (Geum Sagyeon)
That was only natural, because his fate was now no different from a candle flame in the wind.
Everything had begun with a proposal from an unidentified man who came to him about fifteen days after he had been assigned to Hainan Island.
“Being assigned to an island like this, the farthest from Beijing, means you have no future. Surely you are not dreaming that if you work hard here, you can become an official of the imperial palace. Huhuhu.” (Unidentified Man)
“What is that supposed to mean?” (Geum Sagyeon)
“Please do not get so worked up. I am merely making a proposal.” (Unidentified Man)
“A proposal?” (Geum Sagyeon)
“Do you not wish to become rich?” (Unidentified Man)
“I am already sufficiently rich. I may be a local official, but are you looking down on the monthly stipend of a Jibu?” (Geum Sagyeon)
“Are you satisfied with only that much? Do you think you can live your whole life doing everything you want with that money?” (Unidentified Man)
“…….” (Geum Sagyeon)
“And what will you do if you end up retiring sooner than expected?” (Unidentified Man)
His persuasion was rather sweet.
“Listen to the proposal I am offering you. It is a proposal you will never regret.” (Unidentified Man)
He proposed a kind of embezzlement and tax evasion to him.
“If we say that the ship carrying the taxes sank at sea, how would the higher-ups know? This place is tremendously far from Beijing.” (Unidentified Man)
“That is not such an easy matter. Beside His Majesty are the Royal Guards and the Eastern Depot.” (Geum Sagyeon)
“I will remove them for you. So all you need to do, Lord Jibu, is close your eyes just a little. Then I will give you three tenths of the profit gained from this matter.” (Unidentified Man)
After much consideration, he accepted the proposal, and through them he was introduced to a man.
He was a man disguised as the head of a merchant guild selling pearls, and his name was said to be Cheon Cheonbok.
In exchange for merely backing him, Geum Sagyeon would take as much as three tenths of the profits.
Seeing the wealth gradually piling up, he became greedier and turned a blind eye even when they committed bolder acts.
Then he realized that the matter he was involved in was more serious than he had thought.
The people who had tempted him had not tempted only him.
In Seomunhyeon, the nearest port from Guangdong Province to Hainan Island, there was the Mu Trading Company, and that place was playing the same role as the Chaehong Trading Company.
And the officials there had also been bribed.
When he learned that fact, this thought occurred to him.
If this gets caught, I will not even be able to collect my bones. (Geum Sagyeon)
Even so, he could not report it to his superiors now.
They were an organization capable of eliminating even the Royal Guards and the Eastern Depot, so if they found out he had reported them, there was no way they would leave him alone.
Thus, he had made an escape route in preparation for the worst.
Since he expected Guangdong Province to be hit first if something happened, he had planted a contact on the Guangdong Province side.
He had prepared a small plot of land in Guangdong Province and threatened the tenant farmer there, saying he would take the land away if the tenant did not come find him once every three days.
But even though the time had come for him to come this time, he did not appear.
Not only that, every ship that should have come from Guangdong Province to Hainan Island had suddenly stopped.
This was unmistakably a sign that something had happened.
To make matters worse, the pirates who had invaded Hainan Island this time had been annihilated.
Those pirates, too, had been one part of the affair plotted by the man called Cheon Cheonbok.
Though he had been appointed as a local official of Hainan Island, the position of Lord Jibu was not one he had won through gambling.
Sensing that things had gone wrong, he quickly chose to flee.
Since he had already secretly hidden a considerable amount of property in a secret vault on the mainland, he took only a few of the most valuable items among the wealth he had on hand.
One of them was the golden toad Eun Seoho had given him as a token of sincerity.
A treasure worth as much as one hundred thousand nyang of silver.
After packing those valuables, he found the boat he had secretly hidden and crossed over to Guangdong alone.
Thanks to the practice he had done from time to time in preparation for an emergency, he was able to cross to Guangdong even by himself.
And when he arrived in Guangdong, he realized that the matter had grown even bigger than he had thought.
The Imperial Army was spread throughout Guangdong Province.
“…….” (Geum Sagyeon)
He had to be careful with his actions.
If he was caught by them by mistake, he would not be able to die peacefully.
First, he decided to exchange the golden toad for banknotes.
It was precious, but because it was so heavy, it could become an obstacle while fleeing.
With the hidden wealth, he could go into hiding somewhere they would never find him and live there for the rest of his life.
The golden toad was also his escape fund for getting there.
Thus, he carried it and headed to a money house.
Because there, they appraised valuables and exchanged them for banknotes.
Of course, to conceal his identity, he deliberately pulled his bamboo hat down as far as possible.
“Welcome. How may I help you?” (Employee)
“I have come to sell this golden toad.” (Geum Sagyeon)
“Please hand it this way.” (Employee)
The employee appraised the golden toad, then tilted his head and said.
“Customer, I am sorry, but even if we give you a generous price, it would be difficult to give you even half a nyang of silver.” (Employee)
“Half a nyang of silver? This is a rare treasure easily worth one hundred thousand nyang of silver!” (Geum Sagyeon)
“No. This is fake.” (Employee)
“What are you saying? Fake?” (Geum Sagyeon)
“Please look here.” (Employee)
He scratched the belly of the golden toad with a sharp dagger. Then the gold leaf peeled away, revealing black iron.
“They made the toad out of iron like this and covered it with gold leaf on top.” (Employee)
Geum Sagyeon could not believe his own eyes.
No, he could not accept it.
“Th-that is fake! No, this damned thing!” (Geum Sagyeon)
Without realizing it, he shouted and threw the bamboo hat he had been wearing onto the floor.
At that, people’s gazes focused on him.
“Huh?” (Someone)
At that moment, someone recognized him.
“That gentleman is the Lord Jibu of Hainan Island, is he not?” (Someone)
“Oh my! What brings you all the way here?” (Someone)
Flustered by the gazes of those who recognized him, he hurriedly left the place.
However…….
“I meet you in a place like this, Lord Jibu.” (Eun Seoho)
“……!” (Geum Sagyeon)
He heard a familiar voice.
It was Eun Seoho, the one who had given him the golden toad as a token of sincerity.
His anger turned toward Eun Seoho.
“You swindler! How dare you give me a fake golden toad!” (Geum Sagyeon)
“What do you mean? I merely handed over what I received from the Mu Trading Company as it was.” (Eun Seoho)
“That was fake!” (Geum Sagyeon)
“What? Those utter sons of bitches under heaven! Then they gave me a fake golden toad as collateral?” (Eun Seoho)
When Eun Seoho instead became angry, he hesitated.
“Th-that seems to have been the case. Then I shall be going now……” (Geum Sagyeon)
“Ah, but what brings the Lord Jibu of Hainan Island here?” (Eun Seoho)
“I have business to attend to……” (Geum Sagyeon)
“That business would not be for the sake of fleeing, would it?” (Eun Seoho)
“What?” (Geum Sagyeon)
Eun Seoho smiled softly as he looked at him flinch.
“Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Eun Seoho, an inspector sent under the command of His Majesty the Emperor to investigate the abuses occurring on Hainan Island.” (Eun Seoho)
I smiled broadly as I watched Lord Jibu being taken away by the Imperial Army.
Thanks to Miss Seohyang’s advice, I had asked Warrior Jinyu to tail him, and it had paid off.
He would be thoroughly wrung dry by the Royal Guards dispatched here, but I did not feel sorry or saddened.
Because he had brought it upon himself.
“Then let us go to the county office.” (MC)
“Yes.” (Warrior Jinyu)
I headed to the county office of Seomunhyeon and met the Chief Clerk of the Mu Trading Company, who was imprisoned in its prison.
“Good to see you.” (MC)
“Mm? Huh! You are?” (Chief Clerk)
When he saw me, he was startled and cried out with a desperate expression.
“P-please save me! Me, treason? That cannot be possible, can it?” (Chief Clerk)
“What on earth happened?” (MC)
“They say there was an item from the imperial palace in my vault.” (Chief Clerk)
He told me the whole story.
He said the Imperial Army had suddenly come to him, claiming there was suspicion of treason, and searched even his personal vault.
To make matters worse, they said an item from the imperial palace had been discovered inside.
If someone who was not a member of the imperial family possessed that item without the permission of the imperial family, they would be punished for treason.
“Oh dear! So that is what happened!” (MC)
“This is someone’s plot! I know nothing at all about that item!” (Chief Clerk)
Tsk, tsk, you stupid bastard.
I put that in the vault.
I borrowed one from His Majesty the Emperor, you see.
And yet here he is, pleading with me without knowing that……
I let out a sigh and said.
“I am sorry, but I cannot trust you, Chief Clerk.” (MC)
“Wh-what do you……” (Chief Clerk)
“The golden toad you gave me as collateral was fake.” (MC)
“……!” (Chief Clerk)
The Chief Clerk flinched in shock.
“How could I trust someone who gives me a fake as collateral even in a large transaction of one hundred thousand nyang?” (MC)
“Th-that was, I…… I did not know either!” (Chief Clerk)
“I have already received testimony. They said they made a fake golden toad plated with gold at your instruction some time ago.” (MC)
“…….” (Chief Clerk)
“Moreover, I heard that among the items found in your personal vault, there were also items belonging to the Royal Guards. What else could that be, if not proof that you dealt with the people who were dispatched here and then lost contact?” (MC)
At my words, his expression became stained with panic.
“I heard from a Master of the Royal Guards I know that His Majesty the Emperor was extremely angry because of that matter. Therefore, he intends to wring the involved parties dry, truly in the literal sense.” (MC)
“…….” (Chief Clerk)
“As you know, the torture techniques of the Royal Guards are said to be enough to make even the secrets of heaven be confessed.” (MC)
His eyes and lips trembled like an aspen tree.
“It is all right. If you truly know nothing, then you should at least be able to save your life.” (MC)
“E-excuse me……” (Chief Clerk)
“What is it?” (MC)
“There is something I heard……” (Chief Clerk)
He cautiously began to speak, and after listening to everything he had to say, I nodded.
“I see. So you are saying the County Magistrate here is at the center of the matter.” (MC)
“That is right.” (Chief Clerk)
“But, Chief Clerk.” (MC)
I smiled broadly.
“What are you doing, kicking away the chance I gave you like this?” (MC)
“Ch-chance?” (Chief Clerk)
I took out the inspector’s badge from my chest and showed it to him, and he stared at me in shock.
“Y-y-y-you!” (Chief Clerk)
“I have already received a confession of every fact from a man named Mogyeong.” (MC)
“…….” (Chief Clerk)
It seemed he soon realized he had fallen into a trap, because he grabbed the bars of the prison and shouted.
“Uwaaaaak! You bastard!” (Chief Clerk)
I gave a small laugh and left the prison with him behind me.
The dispatched Royal Guards and Eastern Depot thoroughly wrung dry those involved in this matter.
What was revealed in the process was astonishing.
A considerable number of local officials from Guangdong Province and Hainan Island combined were involved in this corruption.
That was why the Emperor sent even the Crown Prince as a special envoy.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.” (Jangwon)
“His Majesty the Emperor instructed me to commend your hard work. Continue to strive to uncover the truth.” (Crown Prince)
And after receiving a report on what had been uncovered so far, the Crown Prince asked Jangwon, who had submitted the report.
“I see. By the way, where is Junior Merchant Guild Head Eun Seoho?” (Crown Prince)
“He is currently on Hainan Island.” (Jangwon)
“On Hainan Island?” (Crown Prince)
“Yes. He said there was something he had to do.” (Jangwon)
There was something I wanted to confirm, so I returned to Hainan Island.
And I headed straight to the Chaehong Trading Company.
The Imperial Army had probably already taken everything worth taking, but it felt as if something was lacking.
“Geumryeong.” (MC)
“Kkui?” (Geumryeong)
“In places where important things are usually stored, valuables are also kept, right?” (MC)
“Kkui!” (Geumryeong)
“Can you try looking for whether there is anything expensive left?” (MC)
At my words, Geumryeong gently descended to the ground and toddled around.
Then it stopped at one place and tapped somewhere with its front paw.
“Is it here?” (MC)
“Kkui!” (Geumryeong)
The place Geumryeong touched was a huge tree.
It was located in the back mountain of the Chaehong Trading Company.
I examined the area around it carefully, then put my hand into a knot in the tree.
There was something I could grasp, and I tried pulling it.
Rrrrrrrk.
At the same time, the ground beneath the tree opened.
Wow! Jackpot.
I took only Warrior Seowoo and Warrior Yeo Eungam down below, and asked the remaining bodyguards to keep watch.
Because perhaps people who had fled or those who had not yet been arrested might come here.
That place had been made by digging an underground tunnel.
What was discovered inside was an enormous amount of wealth.
It was probably the wealth the Chaehong Trading Company had siphoned away all this time.
As expected of Geumryeong!
I patted Geumryeong on the back.
“Well done!” (MC)
“Kkui!” (Geumryeong)
Hm? If it did well, it wants money, not pats?
Yes, that is just like Geumryeong.
“All right. I will give you silver later.” (MC)
“Kkui? Kku?” (Geumryeong)
Hm? How many treasures did it pull out from the sunken ships yesterday, and I am only giving it silver?
And after swimming yesterday, it feels like it is coming down with a cold and body aches, so it needs to build up its strength with gold?
My, what a novel excuse.
But Geumryeong knows its limits. If it says that much, it means the treasures it gathered yesterday are substantial.
I have not checked yet, but I should check quickly.
“Fine, I understand. I will give you gold.” (MC)
“Kkui!” (Geumryeong)
Beside it, documents were piled up.
I read through those documents and smiled.
Now the pieces finally fit together.
The people I have seen never trust those above them.
That is why they gather information that can protect themselves. And these are precisely that “lifeline,” and what I had been looking for.
And they are also information showing that this matter is related to the Blood Cult.
With this, I can show the Emperor as evidence that “the Blood Cult is attempting to rebuild!”
I put it into the treasury.
The reason I did not inform the Royal Guards of this was because there was a possibility that these materials could be stolen somewhere in the middle.
Just in case, I should report directly to the Emperor.
Then now it is time to scrape up every bit of wealth in this place.
As the Emperor ordered, I had to take what they had devoured and use it to build a naval base here.
It was then.
“Uum……” (Unknown Person)
A sound reached my ears.
This…… is clearly a person’s groan, isn’t it?