Chapter 615
Chapter 615
Chapter 615. The Missing Letter (2)
This time, I decided to formally propose to Lady Seohyang.
Father’s advice had something to do with it, but more than anything, it was because I felt sorry.
She was a woman who said she would walk a thorny path with me, for my sake.
And yet I could not even propose properly.
It was not as if I lacked the ability.
It felt a little late, but it was far better than not doing it at all.
"Palgap."
"Yes! Young Master." (Palgap)
"Is everything I mentioned ready?"
"Of course, sir! It has been prepared perfectly." (Palgap)
People ate delicious food, laughed noisily, and enjoyed the banquet.
Eun Seoho was strict when it came to work, but when he let people loosen up, he did so boldly.
Of course, there were still lines that had to be kept.
"So I..."
"At the time..."
"As I said..."
It was when the cheerful performance of the courtesans from the drinking house continued and the banquet gradually began to ripen.
Thud.
Suddenly, the music stopped, and someone’s voice was heard.
"I dedicate this song to my beloved." (Eun Seoho)
The owner of that voice was Eun Seoho.
He had gone up onto the platform, and thanks to that, the gazes of everyone enjoying the banquet all focused on him.
Eun Seoho personally played the zither and sang.
Forgive this cowardly man
Who could not first say that he cherished you
From the moment we first met, my heart
Was already no longer mine
I, who did not realize it, was the greatest fool in the world
Now I shall find the courage to say it.
My beloved, the most beautiful in the world.
My beloved, more precious than pearls.
I cherish you. I cherish you. I cherish you.
I cherish you more redly than my own life.
Eun Seoho set down the zither.
"Lieutenant Gwak... no, Lady Seohyang." (Eun Seoho)
At his call, Seohyang blinked.
Because this was a future she had not seen in advance.
She had seen herself in this drinking house, but she had not seen him singing so sweetly like this.
And she was slightly flustered, too.
She had complained that the proposal lacked style, but she had never thought he would call everyone together and propose so splendidly.
But that did not mean she disliked it.
She liked it.
What woman would dislike such a wonderful sight?
Moreover, the other person was Eun Seoho, whom she cherished.
Eun Seoho knelt on one knee there, held up a bouquet made of silk, and said,
"I cannot promise that I will make sure you never cry, or that I will never let water touch your hands. But I will promise this one thing. My wife will be you, and only you." (Eun Seoho)
Eun Seoho continued speaking seriously.
"Please marry me." (Eun Seoho)
Seohyang’s answer was already decided.
She went over to Eun Seoho and accepted the bouquet made of silk that he offered.
The purple daphne flowers, the same as her name.
"Yes. I will." (Seohyang)
At that moment, people all at once threw the flowers made of silk toward Eun Seoho and Seohyang.
It was something Palgap had swiftly handed out to people while Eun Seoho was singing, and the sight of them being scattered all at once toward the two of them was truly magnificent.
I felt relieved inside.
Thankfully, Lady Seohyang had answered, “I will.”
Because it was a situation where she could have changed her mind and said, “I am sorry, but I must refuse.”
"Thank you."
"For what? Such an incredibly wonderful proposal! I should be the one thanking you." (Seohyang)
Quite a lot of people had worked hard to make the red silk petals scattered on the floor and the flowers Lady Seohyang was holding.
Because right now, it was not the season for flowers to bloom in Beijing.
But Lady Seohyang liked flowers, so I absolutely wanted to use flowers.
"A flower path has appeared." (Seohyang)
"Yes. It is a flower path for you."
At my words, Lady Seohyang smiled brightly.
The proposal was a great success.
.
.
.
Day broke.
Perhaps last night’s proposal had become quite the topic, because everyone who saw me congratulated me.
"Congratulations." (Jinho)
Brother Jinho was no exception.
"Thank you."
"But how did you come up with the idea of proposing so publicly?" (Jinho)
"Ah..."
I scratched my cheek.
"Well, because I wanted to do that for her."
"How bland." (Jinho)
We ate only a simple breakfast and immediately set off for Nanjing.
Because by now the merchant ships should have arrived in Nanjing.
Since we were moving with Brother Jinho’s group, we could not ride the Zhu Gang horses and gallop.
Instead, we used a carriage pulled by Zhu Gang horses, and after being told off by Geumryeong last time, they now pulled the carriage obediently.
By the way, what work is the Emperor planning to make me do?
The fact that I had not yet received any hint about it made me a little uneasy.
We traveled smoothly to Nanjing and headed straight for the harbor.
The merchant ships had already arrived at the harbor.
However, they had not yet been able to enter port, because out of concern for a possible epidemic, a fifteen-day postponement period had to be observed before entry.
We took rooms at an inn, and I went separately to the Regional Military Commission.
"Sosang greets the Commander."
"It has been a while." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak Yeonggyeong, who was still serving as Nanjing’s Commander, welcomed me.
He is from the Shandong Ak Clan and is loyal to the imperial family.
And he is also someone who thinks well of me.
"You have come at just the right time." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Pardon?"
"Let us have a cup of tea, just the two of us." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
The words “just the two of us” are important. In other words, it means he has something to say in secret.
"Of course."
"Follow me." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
I followed Lord Ak into the reception room.
When a maid brought in tea, Lord Ak said,
"I will brew it myself, so you may leave." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Yes." (Maid)
The maid left, and Lord Ak brewed the tea himself and handed it to me.
"Try it." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Thank you."
I bowed my head in gratitude and drank the tea he had brewed for me.
Mm, it is delicious.
It seems he usually enjoys tea.
"Thank you for serving me such good tea."
"You seem to have some knowledge of tea as well. Do you know what tea this is?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Is it not Jingshan tea from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province?"
"Oh! How did you know?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"This soft aroma and flavor are among the characteristics of Jingshan tea, and if it is this fresh, I thought it must have been produced nearby."
"Hahaha! As expected, an insight worthy of the young leader of the Eunhae Merchant Guild." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"You flatter me."
Lord Ak took a sip of tea with a satisfied expression and opened his mouth.
"How is the establishment of the martial arts academy you mentioned before progressing?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"In truth, that is also one of the reasons I came to see you like this."
I continued speaking.
"This time, I obtained His Majesty the Emperor’s approval for it."
"Oh, is that so?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Yes. I should have informed you of this earlier, but I was delayed because I was busy with work. I apologize."
"Not at all. I, too, heard of your achievements at this Great Murim Banquet. With such events having taken place, how could you have had the presence of mind?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Thank you for understanding."
Lord Ak said,
"Then I, too, must keep my promise. The next time you come, I shall, as promised, introduce you to a capable instructor who can teach spear arts." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Thank you."
Besides the martial arts academy, we talked about various things, but they did not seem to be what Lord Ak truly wanted to talk about.
Because everything we had discussed until now was something that would not matter much even if others heard it.
It was then.
Rustle.
Lord Ak took a letter from his sleeve, held it out to me, and shook his head.
It meant not to say anything.
So this is the reason he asked to drink tea with me, just the two of us.
I naturally slipped it into my sleeve and continued speaking.
"The tea was excellent. In return, I will gift you some very good tea next time."
"Hahaha. I shall look forward to it. Ah! Come to think of it, I forgot to tell you this." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"What is it?"
"When the sailors disembark this time, I will provide wine at a drinking house I designate." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Pardon? Wine, you say?"
The prohibition has not yet been lifted, so if he says this...
"Is this a matter His Majesty the Emperor has permitted?"
"It is. I heard that sailors soothe their hardships with wine, you see." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"They will be extremely pleased."
With that, we parted.
I returned to the inn and immediately unfolded the letter Lord Ak had secretly handed me.
"..."
It was an imperial decree from the Emperor.
[By now, you must have received this letter and be making a face as though you have a mouthful of rotten tea water.] (Emperor)
Yes. That is correct.
[But you are suitable for this matter, so it cannot be helped. So work. I have done that much for you, so do not even think about taking only your own profit and slipping away.] (Emperor)
Tch! I wanted to slip away.
In any case, I came to know the reason for my unease. Because the Emperor’s imperial decree had been waiting for me.
And, just as I expected, the Emperor is absolutely not someone who bestows favor without any price.
[It seems those people called the Baekpa Merchant Guild are playing games. According to a recent report I received, they are said to be using the tax exemption system to pocket profits. This is deception against me.
Therefore, I formally command you. Warn the merchants of the Baekpa Merchant Guild, who are deceiving me, so that they will never deceive me again.] (Emperor)
Mm, a warning.
Does that mean he will observe them for now?
Unless it is a grave felony, the Emperor tends to let things pass with a warning about once.
Of course, if they still fail to come to their senses, then a punishment so dreadful they would fear even seeing it in a dream will be waiting for them.
I burned the letter.
Because at the end, it had been written that I was to burn it after reading it all.
By the way, the Baekpa Merchant Guild... They have guts.
To think they believed they could illegally fatten themselves while escaping the Emperor’s eyes.
Surely our Eunhae Merchant Guild is not doing that, right?
If that were the case, I would show them just how frightening I can become.
.
.
.
Several days passed, and at last, permission to enter port was granted.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"We can only be grateful that the two young leaders have personally come to greet us." (Captain Yong)
"Considering how you suffered for the merchant guild in a distant foreign land, it is only natural that we welcome you like this."
"Your words alone are enough to make us grateful." (Captain Yong)
"How was this trade journey?"
At my question, Captain Yong answered with a satisfied face.
"It was truly incredible. Especially over the liquor, their eyes flipped, and gold and silver flew through the air." (Captain Yong)
"It seems it was truly popular."
"It goes without saying." (Captain Yong)
It was as I knew.
"And so, we were able to earn nearly five times the expected profit, and we loaded the ship full of grain." (Captain Yong)
"You did well. Hearing that makes my heart feel reassured."
I continued speaking.
"We have prepared an inn for all of you. You may relieve the fatigue from your journey there."
Palgap guided the members of the Eunhae Merchant Guild to the inn.
And I approached the people in charge of the other merchant guilds.
"Did you hear from the Commander?"
"Pardon?" (Person in charge)
"I am referring to the matter of providing wine at the drinking house today."
"Ah! Yes. We heard." (Person in charge)
"In that case, I have reserved an inn nearby. I think it would be better to go there rather than the Regional Military Commission."
"Pardon? For our sake, you mean?" (Person in charge)
"That is correct."
At my words, they wore troubled expressions.
"What is it you want?" (Person in charge)
Their question was natural.
Because there are almost no cases where a merchant provides lodging without any price.
"There is nothing like that. It is simply that His Majesty the Emperor gave me a secret command."
"Ah!" (Person in charge)
"So you may go to the inn without concern."
The reason I am using the Emperor’s name to make them stay at the inn is to investigate them.
A free and relaxed place like an inn gives them more freedom of action than a stiff place like the Regional Military Commission, so the chances of making mistakes are higher.
And this time, wine has been prepared.
If they take lodging at the Regional Military Commission, once the banquet ends, they will have to go there, so they cannot drink to their hearts’ content.
But if their lodging is an inn right nearby, they will drink as much as they want without burden.
As far as I know, sailors go mad for wine.
That is because work aboard ships is that difficult, and because of the prohibition, they have been unable to put wine to their lips all this time.
And wine is also a marvelous medicine that can draw out a person’s honest inner thoughts.
I will focus on investigating the Baekpa Merchant Guild, but there is also a possibility that other merchant guilds have played such games.
And so, the people from the other merchant guilds also headed to the inn.
Well, the Emperor will pay for their inn fees, I suppose.
That night.
The drinking house designated by Lord Ak was filled with the scent of wine for the first time in a long while.
Those passing nearby smacked their lips as they walked by.
They could not enter the drinking house and drink wine, but they looked on with sparkling eyes at the sailors drinking.
Seeing this, they will probably hold onto hope that the prohibition will soon be lifted.
I have felt this before, but Lord Ak is subtly shrewd and quite good at politics.
"Ah, Captain Yong, do you know this?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?" (Captain Yong)
"It is about the pirates you encountered when you passed Hainan Island this time."
"Yes. When we were passing Hainan Island, we happened to run into pirates, so we struck first and sank them... But how do you know that?" (Captain Yong)
"In truth, I was there. Thanks to the fleet’s assistance, I was able to resolve the matter easily."
"Is that so?" (Captain Yong)
After talking harmoniously with them like that, I made my expression serious and asked,
"Ah, by the way... surely there is no one in the Eunhae Merchant Guild who has lined their own pockets?"
"Pardon?" (Captain Yong)
"What do you mean by that?" (Person in charge)
"If by any chance there is anyone who has used illegal methods to line their pockets, I would be very, very sad."
At my warning, they sprang up and denied it.
"No!" (Captain Yong)
"We would never do such a thing." (Person in charge)
"Then that is fortunate."
The sailors from the other merchant guilds gradually began to slur their words.
Since they had not been drinking wine all this time, even a little alcohol would make the world spin before their eyes.
Then shall I start moving now?