Chapter 61
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 61
Chapter 61. Let's Catch the Mouse (6)
The captains of the trading companies who were now on Eun Myeong-sang's side looked at him with eyes full of kindness.
Captain Dan took a step back.
“I see. My ears were not good at that time, so I couldn't hear you well.”
Eun-myung comforted him.
“I heard that you suffered a great loss. I hope everything works out for you.”
In reality, it was just empty words.
“It's my fault, so what can I do? Hahaha.”
Captain Dan smiled bitterly and continued.
“But if the branch manager said that, it sounds like the branch executives already knew about it...”
“Of course they knew. There's no way they wouldn't know. I explained the situation to them when we were discussing whether we should get into the salt business.”
Hearing Eun Myeong-sang's reply, Captain Dan clenched his fist.
However, he kept a smile on his face.
“I see.”
Seeing this, Eun Myeong-sang chuckled to himself.
“I was wondering how to bring this up, but I'm glad you asked.”
The conversation they just had was the real reason Eun Myeong-sang came to the meeting today.
Meanwhile, Dan-ssi realized that he had been deceived by Yeong-po.
This was because Yeong-po had repeatedly urged him to continue purchasing salt, saying that it was definitely a business that would make him rich.
“How much have I invested in this!”
Originally, he had planned to use Yeong-po to take over Eunhae Trading Company.
However, his betrayal had ruined everything.
Not only that, but he had also suffered tremendous losses.
Even if he tightened his belt for ten years, he wasn't sure he could make up for the loss.
Today, a proclamation containing the emperor's sacred words was posted in each county office. If that was the case, Yeong-po would surely know that the Dan Trading Company had suffered a loss.
And no one would deliberately try to get themselves struck by lightning.
Then where was he now, and what was he doing?
The answer was obvious.
The captain of the Dan Trading Company thought of the wealth that Young-po had secretly accumulated in his secret warehouse.
“That should cover some of the losses.”
Seeing the captain of the Dan Trading Company leave the banquet hall after asking for everyone's understanding, Eun-myeong said to his bodyguard.
“Tell Seo-ho. It's time to finish this.”
* * *
I looked up at the night sky.
The moon was bright.
It was a good night for catching mice.
“So.”
I turned my head. Next to me, Hyang-ok was standing with her hand on her sword.
“When should I go?”
“Soon.”
We were hiding near the secret mansion of Yeongpo Hyeongsu.
I smiled bitterly as I looked at the secret mansion.
Who would have known there was a secret mansion in a place like this?
In my previous life, I didn't know that Yeongpo Hyeongsu was a rat.
If it weren't for the martial artist, I would never have known.
Of course, I had my suspicions.
It wasn't because the people of Eunhae Trading Company or I were incompetent. It was because Yeongpo Hyeongsu hadn't been a rat for very long.
As I recall, it was around the end of June, just a few days later.
The body of Yeongpo Hyeongsu was found in the woods.
He had been brutally murdered, and judging from the wounds, there were three perpetrators. It could be surmised that they were skilled swordsmen.
The motive was a grudge.
However, the perpetrators were never caught.
What on earth happened?
But now, it was before that incident.
I smiled wryly as I looked at Jangwon.
The emperor's sacred site was suddenly announced.
However, Yeongpo Hyeongsu was no ordinary man.
He had been preparing for this situation by giving false information to the Dan Trading Company.
He had already moved a large portion of his wealth to another place.
Yeongpo Hyeongsu is here now to take care of the rest of his wealth.
Does Yeongpo Hyeongsu know?
That all the property he has hidden away is now in my hands?
I can't just stand by and watch him make unjust profits by selling information from the Eunhae Trading Company.
At that moment, my uncle's bodyguard approached me and relayed my uncle's message.
It's time to finish this.
“Shall we go?”
As if in response to my words, Hyang-ok drew her sword. Then she said to Eunpungdae's Gu Jiseong.
“Please take care of them today.”
“Don't worry.”
Gu Jiseong blew his whistle.
Beep!
That was the signal.
We immediately rushed into Yeongpo's secret residence.
“Who are you?”
I could see the warriors blocking our way. But there were only three of them.
There were many more of us.
They seemed to be taken aback. Yeongpo Hyeongsu came out from behind, as if to see what was going on, and was shocked.
“What is this!”
Hyang-ok shouted at him.
“Yeongpo Hyeongsu! We will hold you accountable for your crimes as a spy!”
“What are you talking about? A spy? I have never done such a thing…”
I responded to his excuse.
“Didn't I already tell you?”
“…”
My words made him angry, and he shouted.
“Captain Dan! You dog!”
Who was the real dog here? Anyway, we quickly got our hands on Yeongpo's secret document.
Soon, the three warriors and Yeongpo were bound and forced to kneel.
At this point, I had a question.
It was about the three warriors who had been guarding Yeongpo. They had risked their lives to protect Yeongpo.
I wondered if they were related, but that didn't seem to be the case. They didn't look at Yeongpo Hangsu kindly.
“Why are you doing this? Can't you just run away?”
One of them gritted his teeth at my question.
“We wanted to do that too! But, but! He poisoned us.”
“Poisoned you?”
“If we don't take an antidote once a month, we will die in agony.”
I tilted my head.
It's not that there isn't such a poison.
However, it is extremely expensive and very difficult to obtain.
They are using such medicine just to protect this estate?
“Do you know where they keep the poison or the antidote?”
“I don't know where the antidote is, but I know where the poison is kept.”
I went to the place they told me and brought back an iron box.
“Is this it?”
“Yes.”
But it was locked tightly.
I asked Young-po.
“Where is the key?”
“I lost it.”
“....”
As I was wondering what to do, Chief Guji smiled.
“It's time for me to step in.”
He took a needle out of his pocket, inserted it into the lock, and turned it this way and that.
Click.
The box opened.
“You're very skilled.”
“It was a hobby of mine when I was young. Hahaha.”
“Any hobby is good if it can be put to good use.”
Inside the box was a bag of tea.
“Is this poison?”
The guards gritted their teeth and replied to my question.
“Yes, it is.”
“This tea causes tremendous pain and leads to death.”
“This?”
They nodded, and Yeongpo said triumphantly.
“You must release me now to save them. If I don't give them the antidote, they will die. If they die, it will be your fault.”
“....”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Then he laughed maliciously.
Hang-ok was furious at his words.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Are you saying it's not your fault for poisoning them?”
Hang-ok, who had been speaking politely, shortened her words, which meant she was very angry.
“You're worse than a dog. You bastard...”
But she had to stop there.
When my sister Hyang-ok gets angry, she has a foul mouth.
Not only does she have a foul mouth, but she also beats down her opponent until they are mentally broken.
She is merciless.
Fortunately, she has improved a lot since she became a disciple of the Emei Sect.
To be honest, I want to beat down Young-po's mind, but not now.
We have guests coming soon, and I have something to hear from them.
“Sister, leave it. There's no need to get involved.”
“But...”
“And there's no need to give the warriors the antidote.”
My sister looked up at me.
“What? What are you saying...”
“It's not poison, so why would they need an antidote?”
Before anyone could say anything, I quickly continued.
“After drinking this tea, they would have suffered from stomach pains so severe that it felt like their intestines were being torn apart.”
The warriors nodded at my words.
“In that situation, if you took the antidote they gave you, the stomachache would have disappeared in an instant.”
They nodded again.
“And they probably gave you the antidote on a specific day every month, but to be honest, it must have tasted so bad that it was difficult to swallow.”
“How did you know?”
How would I know? It's becoming popular now, so I know.
This tea has no name.
It is simply called “heokdokcha” (虚毒茶).
It means “not poison.”
It was mainly used to intimidate others, and those who drank this tea thought they had drunk real poison because of the pain, so they had no choice but to comply with the other person's demands.
I was afraid that I might make a wrong decision after drinking this tea, so I tried it...
I almost died.
Thanks to Heukjeok, I am healthy now, so I am glad that I drank this tea. If not, I would have died.
I replied with a look that suggested I knew how he felt.
“Of course I know. Our Eunhae Trading Company specializes in medicinal herbs.”
Of course, this was just an excuse.
“Actually, this isn't life-threatening. It's just a little bit of poisonous herb mixed in to cause stomach pain. And what I gave you as an antidote is exactly that, an antidote. It neutralizes the poisonous herb. The important thing here is…”
I looked at Young-po and continued.
“You don't need to keep taking the antidote. It was just a one-time trick.”
At my words, the three warriors shouted in anger.
“Ugh!”
“I'll kill you!”
“How dare you deceive us?”
But what was unexpected was that it wasn't just the three samurai who shouted in anger, but Yeongpo Hyeongsu as well.
“Damn it! I paid a lot for that! I paid ten nyang for the poison and the antidote!”
Hearing that, I poured salt on his wound.
“What! You paid ten taels for that? What is half a tael of silver? It's not even half of half a tael!”
“Ugh!”
I thought he was a talented man, but now I see he's just a fool.
Did he think he could easily get the poison he wanted in Sichuan, where the Sichuan Tang Clan holds sway?
If he was caught dealing such poison, he would be taken to the Sichuan Tang Clan and suffer an unspeakable fate.
Anyway, looking at the three samurai struggling to suppress their anger, I suddenly remembered the death of Young-po.
The body in the forest, brutally murdered.
The three perpetrators who were skilled with swords.
A relationship of hatred.
Now he thought he knew who the culprits were.
He would have thought something was strange if he hadn't been able to take the antidote and was still alive.
Then they would have realized that they had been tricked.
At that moment, Hyang-ok said, “Someone's coming.”
With that, the gate burst open and a man shouted, “Yeong-po! We know what you're doing here!”
“Yeongpo Hyeongsu! I know everything about you and came here to find you...”
When he saw us, he looked confused.
The three warriors and Yeongpo Hyeongsu were handcuffed and kneeling in the courtyard.
Jangwon was surrounded by us.
Hyang-ok looked at him and said, “You are the captain of the Dan Clan Trading Company.”
“You are the captain of the Dan Clan Trading Company.”
“Who are you...?”
“You seem to know our captain well.”
“That's because...”
“And why are you here? In the middle of the night? Someone might misunderstand.”
Hearing Hyang-ok's words, the captain of the Dan Trading Company cleared his throat awkwardly and said,
“We've come to retrieve our property.”
“Retrieve?”
“The property here was stolen from our trading company.”
Just as I expected, he's making excuses.
Yeong-po was furious at his words.
“What do you mean, stolen? You gave us all of this in exchange for information about the Eunhae Trading Company!”
With his statement secured,
“What's more, recently, only one of the gold bars was real, and the rest were fake!”
“I gave you the real ones.”
“They were fake!”
“No matter how much I use spies, I would never do something so shameless... Ugh!”
It seemed that he finally understood the situation.
I stole the gold bars to secure a statement by taking advantage of the dispute between the two, but he is more stupid than I thought.
How could he so easily admit that he paid the price for being a spy?
Hyang-ok said to Captain Dan.
“I'll go get my father. Let's talk about this slowly.”
“Why go to such lengths...”
“Or shall we ask the governor to come and talk?”