Chapter 660
Episode 660
Episode 660. The Emperor’s Secret Order (1)
Soon, we arrived at the Yeonjun Trading Company.
“Welcome.” (Aunt)
My aunt came out to greet me, and I bowed politely.
“Have you been well all this time?” (Eun Seoho)
“I heard. They say you went to Sichuan this time for relief work?” (Aunt)
“Yes. I returned not long ago.” (Eun Seoho)
My aunt smiled as she spoke.
“You worked hard. It must have been difficult.” (Aunt)
“Hahaha. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t difficult.” (Eun Seoho)
“It truly reassures me to have you. Let us go inside at once. Your uncle will return soon as well, and Seonil and the new bride will soon leave the office too.” (Aunt)
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
I was about to simply go inside, but stopped and asked.
“Aunt, when you say Princess Sinaa will also leave the office, does that mean she is at the imperial palace right now?” (Eun Seoho)
“That’s right.” (Aunt)
My aunt nodded.
“His Majesty the Emperor summoned her.” (Aunt)
As I was enjoying tea and refreshments in the reception room while talking with my aunt about how things had been, my uncle returned first.
“Welcome, Uncle. Is business going well?” (Eun Seoho)
“There were people introduced again by those you introduced to me, so I have expanded the business recently.” (Uncle)
“I see. I am glad the Yeonjun Trading Company is growing day by day.” (Eun Seoho)
“Hahaha. I am grateful you say that.” (Uncle)
And so I spoke with my uncle about business.
In the midst of that, Seonil Hyung-nim and Princess Sinaa returned.
“Father, Mother. Your son has left the office.” (Seonil)
“Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, this girl has returned home as well.” (Princess Sinaa)
“Yes, you both worked hard.” (Uncle)
My uncle and aunt exchanged greetings and rose from their seats.
“I have something I must take care of, so I shall go first.” (Uncle)
“I have something urgent as well.” (Aunt)
“Please go in.” (Eun Seoho)
Soon, only I and Seonil Hyung-nim’s couple remained in the reception room.
Seonil Hyung-nim spoke first.
“Today, I met His Majesty the Emperor.” (Seonil)
“I see.” (Eun Seoho)
“I told him we would use the ships of the Eunhae Trading Company this time. By the way, are you truly not coming along this time?” (Seonil)
At Seonil Hyung-nim’s question, I nodded.
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
“Why?” (Seonil)
“That is because it is the first occasion after Her Highness the Princess’s marriage that she will meet her parents.” (Eun Seoho)
I continued speaking.
“If business talk gets mixed into such an occasion, it will not be very good. I believe Her Highness the Princess will probably only mention it in passing. Is that not so?” (Eun Seoho)
At my question, Princess Sinaa nodded.
“Yes. That is right.” (Princess Sinaa)
“If I, the Young Company Head, go to such a place, it would look far too obvious. From the standpoint of His Majesty the King of Maeraeseo, it would likely not feel very pleasant.” (Eun Seoho)
“Certainly. That is true.” (Seonil)
“If the King of Maeraeseo summons me, I can go then.” (Eun Seoho)
Seonil Hyung-nim nodded, and Princess Sinaa smiled gently.
“As expected, you truly are the Third Young Master.” (Princess Sinaa)
“To receive praise from Her Highness the Princess leaves me at a loss for where to put myself.” (Eun Seoho)
“I told you, you may call me Sister-in-law.” (Princess Sinaa)
“Hahaha. Once I get used to it later.” (Eun Seoho)
Perhaps because of her status as a princess, somehow it feels a little burdensome to call her sister-in-law.
“I asked to see you because I wanted to talk about the road to Nanjing tomorrow and ask you to take good care of us.” (Seonil)
This time, Seonil Hyung-nim is going to Maeraeseo together with Princess Sinaa too.
And since the Crown Prince suggested that I accompany him, I ended up going with them to Nanjing.
Most likely, it carries the meaning of marking me as, “You are my person.”
Does this mean it is confirmed that I will be worked under the next emperor as well?
Well, even if that had not been the case, I would have requested to accompany them on my side.
There is also something my aunt personally asked of me regarding Seonil Hyung-nim and Princess Sinaa’s journey to Nanjing.
I recalled what Princess Sinaa had said last time.
“Are you perhaps interested in trade with Maeraeseo?” (Princess Sinaa)
“……!” (Eun Seoho)
“If you wish, I can speak to my father and set up a bridge for you.” (Princess Sinaa)
And she made a request of me regarding this.
“Then prepare for this by the next trade. And at that time, you need only go to Maeraeseo with me.” (Princess Sinaa)
“Pardon? Do you mean you will go in person?” (Eun Seoho)
“To be precise, I intend to go with my husband. My parents say they wish to see my husband.” (Princess Sinaa)
Thus I was also planning to go along, but no matter how I thought about it, this time did not seem to be the right time.
I told Father about this, and Father immediately made the preparations.
In truth, there was one more ship being built by our Eunhae Trading Company.
The captain is one introduced by the Changhai Trading Company.
Since the Changhai Trading Company has now come under our Eunhae Trading Company, he should be trustworthy.
And the clerks also went to the Baekbuik Trading Company and received training.
I smiled and said.
“Please do not worry.” (Eun Seoho)
“Ah, and…….” (Seonil)
Seonil Hyung-nim took an envelope from his breast and held it out to me.
“His Majesty the Emperor told me to deliver this to you.” (Seonil)
I received it.
The words written on the front read, [Do not open except by the person concerned / Open it when you are alone.]
“Thank you for delivering it to me.” (Eun Seoho)
I parted from Seonil Hyung-nim and his wife and returned to the Beijing branch.
Then I washed up and headed to my sleeping quarters.
Phew, today was quite tiring too.
I want to just fall asleep like this, but…….
With a bitter smile, I sat on the bed and took out the envelope I had received from Seonil Hyung-nim.
Riiip.
And then I unfolded the letter inside it.
“…….” (Eun Seoho)
Rustle.
Before I knew it, strength had gone into the hand holding the letter, and the secret order crumpled.
It is a relief that he sent this to me through Seonil Hyung-nim.
It seems he told me to read it alone because he had anticipated even something like this.
Otherwise, I would have been rebuked for lèse-majesté.
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The next morning.
We finished our preparations.
“Go carefully and return safely.” (Seohyang)
“Yeah.” (Eun Seoho)
“Please take good care of Seonil and his wife too. And of Young Company Head Seong as well.” (Seohyang)
“I know.” (Eun Seoho)
“Please have a safe trip.” (Seohyang)
Miss Seohyang decided to remain in Beijing and handle the work in my place.
We exchanged farewells and headed to the imperial palace.
In front of it, preparations for departure were already busily underway.
As I approached, those acquainted with me acknowledged me.
The Silver Wind Unit members and clerks of our Eunhae Trading Company began discussing this and that with them.
At that moment, a group of people came out from inside the imperial palace.
It was the Crown Prince, along with Seonil Hyung-nim, Princess Sinaa, and their party.
We paid our respects politely.
“Then, you know the road to Nanjing. I entrust it to you.” (Crown Prince)
“With all my loyalty, with all my life, I shall serve you.” (Eun Seoho)
And so the preparations were completed, and we departed for Nanjing.
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The journey from Beijing to Nanjing is extremely comfortable.
That is because the official roads are so well maintained, and there are almost no bandits.
From the empire’s perspective, it is an extremely important route, so it is a place managed with great care.
But contrary to that atmosphere, I was rather serious in my own way.
That was because of the secret order His Majesty the Emperor had secretly passed to me yesterday.
And the contents of that secret order were…….
“Why are you making that kind of face, sir?” (Palgap)
“Hm?” (Eun Seoho)
Palgap came over to me and sat down in front of the campfire as he spoke.
“Shall I bring you a cup of tea?” (Palgap)
“Yeah.” (Eun Seoho)
I had just wanted to drink some tea, so as expected of Palgap.
“Here it is, sir.” (Palgap)
“Thanks.” (Eun Seoho)
I drank the tea and slowly looked around.
And I found one eunuch attached to the Crown Prince’s side and fixed my gaze on him.
He was the target of the secret order the Emperor had passed to me.
It said that if that eunuch named Ajeong showed any movement to parasitize the Crown Prince, I was to disguise it as an accident and kill him.
No, Your Majesty the Emperor.
What am I, some kind of fixer?
I am not an assassin.
Even as I grumbled inwardly like that, I recalled what the Emperor had written at the end.
That if I investigated him, I would understand why he had given such an order.
In that case, there is someone specialized in this.
“Warrior Jinyu, I have a request.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes. Please speak.” (Jinyu)
“Do you see that eunuch over there? The eunuch with a mole on his chin and a mustache at his nose twisted round and round to both sides.” (Eun Seoho)
“Ah, yes. I see him.” (Jinyu)
“Please keep watch over that man. His skill does not seem all that low, so be careful.” (Eun Seoho)
“Understood.” (Jinyu)
That eunuch named Ajeong was someone I had never once seen while going in and out of the imperial palace.
And since His Majesty the Emperor had not separately told me anything, I had no information about him at all.
He probably meant for me to observe him with my own eyes, without any preconceptions.
“Palgap.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes.” (Palgap)
“Find out a bit about that eunuch named Ajeong.” (Eun Seoho)
“Understood, sir.” (Palgap)
And so about two days passed.
“Young Master. I found out, sir.” (Palgap)
“You did?” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes.” (Palgap)
Palgap explained to me about the man named Ajeong.
Ajeong’s age was forty-five this year.
They said he entered the imperial palace when he was very young.
His father had cut off the thing of his when he was only seven years old and handed him over to the imperial palace.
“They say he is quite an ambitious man. So they say he was also fairly active in the Eastern Depot, sir.” (Palgap)
In only two days, Palgap had found out quite detailed information.
“……And they say he is fairly shrewd as well, so he survived even during the last purge of the eunuchs, sir.” (Palgap)
“I see.” (Eun Seoho)
As expected, Palgap’s information-gathering ability is outstanding.
“By the way, how did you find all that out?” (Eun Seoho)
“There are things I asked about, and there are things I just hid and overheard, sir.” (Palgap)
Certainly…….
Even masters of the Transcendent Realm cannot notice him, so there is no way others would.
When noon came, this time Warrior Jinyu approached me and reported.
“I have not found anything particularly strange yet.” (Jinyu)
“Is that so?” (Eun Seoho)
After thinking for a moment, I said.
“I will pass along what Palgap found out, so please tell me if anything comes to mind.” (Eun Seoho)
“Understood.” (Jinyu)
I relayed to Warrior Jinyu the information Palgap had investigated.
“Just a moment.” (Jinyu)
Warrior Jinyu raised his hand and stopped my words.
“Did you just say he survived alone in Dunxiang County, Jiangsu?” (Jinyu)
“Yes. That is right.” (Eun Seoho)
I nodded.
“According to what Palgap found out, after hearing information that there were rebel groups in Jiangsu, five members of the Eastern Depot were dispatched to investigate. But midway, their identities were discovered…… In any case, they say he survived alone then.” (Eun Seoho)
“Mm…… That cannot be. I also know about what happened at the time. That is because the place that supported them then was the Martial Alliance.” (Jinyu)
Warrior Jinyu continued speaking with a serious face.
“They say among those of the Eastern Depot, there was someone loyal to the Martial Alliance, and because of his secret report, they were able to prevent that matter from being exposed.” (Jinyu)
“Pardon?” (Eun Seoho)
“And I heard that he survived and continued working as a eunuch.” (Jinyu)
Wait.
So according to Warrior Jinyu, the only one who survived then was someone loyal to the Alliance, right?
Then that means this man named Ajeong is someone loyal not to the Emperor, but to the Martial Alliance.
If such a man is attached to the Crown Prince’s side, the meaning is obvious.
They intend to move the Crown Prince according to their tastes in the future.
Phew, damn it…… I understand why the Emperor said that to me.
There was no material evidence to remove him openly.
On the surface, he was someone who had accomplished merits and was loyal to the imperial family.
If such a man were dealt with without a suitable charge, the eunuchs or the Eastern Depot would waver.
In other words, by disguising it as an accidental death and removing him, he intends to minimize that confusion and issue a warning to the Martial Alliance.
And at the same time, this is also another test from the Emperor for me.
He must want to see just how far my abilities go.
Phew, I do not like dancing to the Emperor’s tune, but there is no helping it.
From my standpoint as well, this man named Ajeong must disappear.
Otherwise, my plan to make the Eunhae Trading Company the world’s best Trading Company and take revenge on the Martial Alliance will be thrown off.
Especially if the Crown Prince is played by those people, it will become a fairly irritating situation for me.
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A few days passed.
During that time, I asked Warrior Jinyu to continue watching Ajeong.
Meanwhile, I pondered how I could remove Ajeong while disguising it as an accident.
In the midst of that, Ajeong came to find me.
“Are you Young Company Head Eun Seoho?” (Ajeong)
“Yes. I am.” (Eun Seoho)
“His Highness the Crown Prince is calling for you.” (Ajeong)
What could it be?
I headed to the Crown Prince’s tent and paid my respects to the Crown Prince.
“This humble merchant, Eun Seoho, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince.” (Eun Seoho)
“I hear there is a place near here with breathtaking scenery. Do you perhaps know about it?” (Crown Prince)
Ah, come to think of it, the mountains around here are quite beautiful.
“Yes, I know it.” (Eun Seoho)
“Good. Since we are resting here, I would like to see that place. Could I ask you to guide me?” (Crown Prince)
“Of course. I will guide you.” (Eun Seoho)
At my words, the Crown Prince rose from his seat and spoke.
“Come to think of it, it reminds me of when you saved me last time in Sichuan, when a landslide occurred because of the earthquake.” (Crown Prince)
“That was truly heavenly luck.” (Eun Seoho)
At that moment, the Crown Prince spoke with a meaningful expression.
“I hope such heavenly luck follows us this time as well.” (Crown Prince)
At those words, I looked at the Crown Prince and blinked for a moment.
Huh?
What he just said was…….
I felt as though I understood the meaning of the Crown Prince’s words.
And why he wanted to see a place with beautiful scenery in a place like this.
The fact that the scenery is beautiful also means the terrain is extremely rugged.
So rugged that with one wrong move, a person could fall down a cliff a thousand gil high and die.
No, Your Majesty the Emperor.
Did you say you were worried because His Highness the Crown Prince is too innocent?
What part of him is innocent, exactly?
As expected, there is no puppy under a tiger father.