I let out a quiet sigh and recalled the memories from my previous life.
The third theme—infamously difficult, even devilishly so—had tormented every participant back then.
It was to look at a bolt of silk and identify its place of production.
Silk is a handcrafted good, made from cocoons produced in a particular region and woven by the people there.
Naturally, it bears the characteristics of its origin. Like Sichuan’s Shu brocade, for example.
But the differences between silks were often subtle. That’s what made this stage so hellish.
Still, I understood what the palace was demanding with this theme.
If you wanted to supply silk to the Imperial Household, you needed to be capable of at least this much.
“From now on, write down the place of production for each bolt of silk, as labeled by number.”
At the Eunuch’s words, I smiled to myself.
Why?
Because I was the one who made Eunhae Textiles a great success in my last life.
This was something I could do with my eyes closed.
Back then, on this very day…
I correctly identified all thirty bolts.
There were a few disagreements with the Supervisors, but each time my answers proved correct. After that, the way they looked at me changed.
Until then, they’d seen me as a Deputy Merchant Lord useful to the group, but from that day forward, they regarded me as a real merchant.
Although…
I’d be in trouble if they start backing me to become the next Merchant Lord.
That seat belongs to Jeong-ho.
.
.
.
The Emperor had not only the Empress but several consorts as well.
That meant there were many princes and princesses.
No matter how fair the Emperor tried to be, some children would receive more affection than others.
Princess Jinhwa, who was sixteen this year, was one of those especially favored.
She happened to attend the competition for the Imperial Silk Supplier.
The Empress had ordered all the princesses to observe.
“What a hassle. Mother really…”
Grumbling to herself, Princess Jinhwa made her way to the competition site.
And there, she saw him.
A young man with strikingly handsome features.
From that moment on, she couldn’t get his face out of her mind.
Even at night, his image hovered before her eyes, making it hard to sleep.
Naturally, she started to lose weight.
The Empress noticed and came to check on her.
“Princess, are you troubled? Your face looks so gaunt it pains this mother’s heart.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry, Mother.”
“What is it?”
“It’s…”
“Speak.”
After hesitating, she finally blurted it out.
“There is a man I wish to marry.”
“What? All of a sudden?”
The Empress was startled, but then nodded slowly.
It wasn’t unusual for princesses to marry before twenty, so it wasn’t too early.
“Y-yes. Ever since I saw him, my heart has been racing. And I can’t sleep because I keep thinking of him.”
The Empress looked troubled for a moment, then composed herself and asked calmly.
“So, who is this man?”
“It’s…”
She shut her eyes tightly and said it.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“…”
She cracked her eyes open, watching her mother’s expression carefully.
She was expecting a scolding—how could a princess of the empire fall for a man of the merchant class?
But it didn’t come.
Instead, the Empress gave a wry smile.
“Why that face?”
“Must it be him?”
“Yes.”
Sensing there might still be hope, Princess Jinhwa hurried to explain.
“As a princess, I understand that my marriage should benefit the nation. But if I marry someone I don’t want, I’ll be unhappy. That would trouble Father, and in the end, I think that would hurt the country more.”
“Why do you like him so much?”
That question took her off guard.
It wasn’t the reaction she was expecting.
“M-Mother, is there something wrong with him?”
“There is. A very big problem.”
It was natural for the Empress to keep a close eye on the Emperor’s interests.
And she knew.
The Emperor had taken an interest in Eun Seo-ho.
He had begun summoning him frequently—clearly intending to work him hard.
A prince consort becoming an official wasn’t impossible. But holding an actual post, especially one with real duties, was extremely rare.
Unfortunately, the Empress knew the Emperor all too well.
He absolutely wouldn’t care about such precedents.
What he WOULD care about was getting more work done.
If Princess Jinhwa begged him to lighten her husband’s workload, he’d probably say, “Then you help him.”
“Princess. Listen carefully.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho is an extremely capable man. And that is exactly the problem.”
“What? Isn’t that a good thing? Then why…”
“Because your father has his eye on him. That’s the issue.”
The Empress didn’t say much more. But Princess Jinhwa understood—the root of the problem was her father.
She was a determined woman.
So the very next day, she requested an audience with the Emperor.
“So, Princess. What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Father, I came to beg a favor.”
“Go ahead.”
“There is a man I wish to marry.”
“What? A man you wish to marry?”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes.
“Who is it?”
“It’s… Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“…”
The Emperor let out a silent sigh.
It wasn’t unexpected.
Princess Jinhwa, misreading his reaction, hurried on.
“Though his status is low, if I marry such a capable man, I can bind him to the Imperial Household. That would surely serve…”
“Princess.”
“Yes, Father?”
“Let’s be honest. What do you like about him so much?”
“Well…”
“It’s his face, isn’t it?”
“Ugh.”
Princess Jinhwa flinched.
He hit the mark exactly.
“Your father doesn’t care about a man’s status. I only care that you’re happy.”
“Father…”
Her eyes sparkled with emotion.
But that didn’t last long.
“But if you marry Eun Seo-ho, you won’t be happy.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I’m going to keep working that man to death. His ability is too valuable. It amuses me. Someone like that must be wrung dry for the good of the country.”
The Emperor smiled mischievously.
“He’ll work overtime like he’s eating rice. You’ll hardly see his face, even if you live under the same roof. So what use is his handsomeness then?”
“Father, that’s too harsh. At this rate, our family line might end.”
The Emperor laughed inwardly. It was just as he expected.
“But if you help, he might have a little more time for you.”
“What? I can help?”
“Yes.”
The Emperor nodded.
“You’ll work with him. I heard you’ve been studying the Book of Documents from the Four Books and Five Classics. That’s more than enough to be useful around the palace.”
“What exactly would I do?”
“I’ll show you.”
He flicked his hand, and the Eunuch Jeong brought over a bundle.
Thud—!
The sound alone revealed how heavy it was.
“Sort all this by tomorrow morning.”
“What? By tomorrow morning? There’s too much!”
“If it were that man, he’d finish five times this amount overnight.”
“…”
“But if you say even this is too much, you’re not ready. Do you really think you’ll be happy with him like this?”
“…No. I’ll do it.”
Princess Jinhwa answered with determination.
If she could just marry that beautiful man, she’d endure anything.
But then—
The next morning, she came back to the Emperor and bowed her head.
“Father. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Hmm.”
“There are many men in the world. I’ll give up on marrying Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
“Really? Good thinking. It’s a pity, though. If you’d insisted on marrying him, I could’ve added even more workload to his share…”
“I’m sorry to take your time, Father. I’ll be going now.”
At her hurried words, the Emperor grinned.
“Still, finish the work you started yesterday and give it to the Eunuch Jeong.”
“Yes, Father.”
Princess Jinhwa left with a sigh.
She hadn’t even finished half the task after working all night.
And she realized something.
The work wasn’t especially difficult.
There was just too much of it.
And it was clear—it wouldn’t stop after a day or two.
If she ever complained, “My husband is doing too much overtime, and I worry about our family line,” the Emperor would definitely say:
“Then you can work with him.”
For life.
That’s right.
Eun Seo-ho was being used as bait to make the princesses work.
Princess Jinhwa, clever enough to see through things quickly, gave up in just one day.
Her feelings cooled instantly.
Instead, she began to pity Eun Seo-ho.
‘At the very least, I should treat him well during the competition.’
.
.
.
After Princess Jinhwa left, the Emperor asked the Eunuch Jeong:
“So which number was she?”
“Seventh, Your Majesty.”
“I thought she’d be the first to fall for him, but seventh… Still, catching on in a day—she’s smart.”
“By the way, Her Highness has quite a bit of talent. She completed half of yesterday’s assignment.”
“Really?”
In fact, the work she received was double what a typical minister handles in a day.
“Even so, she completed more than anyone else. Thanks to her, things are finally lightening up.”
“Yes. It seems the backlog is finally easing.”
“Hahaha. That boy is such a useful lure.”
As soon as he heard that the princesses would be attending the competition, the Emperor had taken one look at Eun Seo-ho’s face and come up with a plan.
He was sure a princess would fall for him.
So he laid the trap immediately.
Use Eun Seo-ho as bait to make the princesses volunteer for palace work.
The reality was that even after finishing their studies, the princesses stayed in the palace with nothing to do—because of rigid court decorum.
The Emperor disliked that.
His belief was: If they learned something, they should put it to use for the nation.
But if he tried to assign work officially, the old ministers would cause a stir.
So he had found the perfect loophole.
Get the princesses to volunteer.
Using one man’s face.
And it worked beautifully.
Though… it could only be used once.
The Emperor was very satisfied.
Eunuch Jeong, meanwhile, looked toward the sky in sympathy.
‘Will Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho ever be able to marry at this rate?’
If he does… it’ll be impressive in its own right.
.
.
.
I rubbed my ear.
“What’s wrong?”
At Palgap’s question, I kept rubbing and muttered,
“I don’t know. It’s itchy. Feels like someone’s talking about me.”
“There are plenty who’d talk about you, Young Master.”
“Is that so?”
After completing the third stage of the competition, we returned to the Yeonjun Merchant Group.
They said we’d be contacted in a few days about the next stage.
Two days passed.
Right now, I was eating lunch with the Supervisors.
“Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Yes, Supervisor Yeong?”
“Do you have any guesses about the next theme?”
Of course I do.
But I couldn’t say that.
“I’m not sure. But it’s the Imperial Household. It’ll be something that proves a merchant group’s true capability.”
“That makes sense.”
Just then, a servant approached.
“Um… there’s a guest outside.”
“A guest?”
“Yes. From the palace.”
At those words, we all rose and moved to the reception room.
“Welcome. I’m Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Her Majesty the Empress has sent me.”
We moved to bow, but the Eunuch held up a hand.
“There’s no need for that. I’m only here to deliver the schedule for the next stage of the competition.”
He handed me a scroll.
I took it and unrolled it on the spot.
“…!”
I barely held back my surprise.
Because this wasn’t the fourth stage I knew.
–TL Notes–
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