While Namgoong Bo swallowed his rage, the Supervisors huddled together and discussed the proper pricing.
“If we factor in transport costs like this, this Shu brocade should fetch fifteen silver taels.”
“I think about that much as well.”
They wrote down the agreed-upon prices and moved on to the next bolt of silk.
Swish.
Just then, Namgoong Bo picked up the brush and began writing different numbers under each bolt.
But the prices he wrote were absurdly low.
Fifteen became seven. Twenty became ten.
The other Supervisors went pale as they saw him slashing the prices nearly in half.
“Representative Namgoong, what are you doing?”
“These prices are far too ridiculous!”
At their protests, Namgoong Bo spoke seriously.
“I have to win this round no matter what. Please help me.”
“When have we ever not helped you?”
“Of course I’m grateful. But just this once, trust me.”
“But it feels like we’re writing things way too low…”
“It’s fine. The Imperial Household won’t turn away a cheap quote.”
He lowered his voice further and continued.
“And some of the other groups are quoting even lower than what you just wrote.”
Because he trained in martial arts, Namgoong Bo could hear some of the other groups’ quiet conversations.
He wanted to listen in on the Eunhae Merchant Group as well, but for some reason, their voices didn’t carry.
Namgoong Bo said to the Supervisors,
“So I think we need to undercut them.”
“…”
“Isn’t a supply competition decided by who offers the lowest price anyway?”
“That’s true, but…”
“I’ll take full responsibility.”
Since he went that far, the Supervisors couldn’t refuse.
He was the Merchant Lord’s nephew and the official representative in this competition.
Even if things went wrong, he’d claimed the blame.
“Understood.”
.
.
.
Time was up.
“Now, hand in your papers.”
At the Eunuch’s words, we turned in our pricing sheets.
The Empress had them posted on the wall.
That allowed everyone to see each group’s quoted prices.
Hmm. The lowest bids… were from the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
I glanced over at them.
Namgoong Bo wore a triumphant smile, as if he had already tasted victory.
Will he, though?
The Empress isn’t that simple.
Does he really not understand what appropriate price means?
The next lowest quotes came from the Sichuan merchant group.
Eunhae had submitted the fourth-lowest quotes.
But I had no intention of supplying silk for less than that.
Because I’m a merchant.
“Mm…”
The Empress reviewed the submissions, then called an Eunuch.
“Eunuch Yu.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What were the reference figures we calculated earlier?”
When the Eunuch listed the amounts, the Empress nodded and declared,
“Any total quote below that receives the lowest mark.”
“Yes.”
The Eunuch promptly drew thick red lines through three of the price lists.
Ours was not among them, so we avoided the penalty.
Namgoong Bo raised his hand and spoke.
“Objection.”
“Speak.”
“Isn’t a low price a benefit to the palace? Then why penalize cheap quotes?”
The Empress gave him a faint smile.
“Aren’t you a merchant?”
“I… am.”
“Merchants pursue profit. Yet people like that quote prices this low? That makes no sense. The more you supply, the more you lose.”
Exactly.
No matter how large the Imperial contract, there’s no point if fulfilling it brings nothing but losses.
“…”
“Then a merchant group will consider two options. One, lower the quality of the silk. Two, make up the losses elsewhere.”
Her voice cooled.
“For example, selling palace information. Do you think they wouldn’t? The one thing a merchant cannot stand is a loss.”
“…”
“Either way, it is deceiving the Imperial Household.”
I was impressed.
Incredible. Her Majesty is sharp.
Now I saw why, in my previous life, the Empress was poisoned.
Someone like her would’ve been a serious obstacle to the Murim Alliance.
Then she pointed at Eunhae’s submission.
“Eunhae is taking only the bare minimum of profit. That makes this ambiguous.”
A warning bell rang in my head.
One misstep, and we’d be eliminated too.
I quickly stepped forward.
“May this humble merchant speak?”
“You may.”
“As Your Majesty said, I too am a merchant who seeks profit. But I must confess, the prices we quoted are not the bare minimum profit Your Majesty worries about.”
“Not the bare minimum?”
“No. Your Majesty calculated both procurement and delivery transport. But we at Eunhae did not include procurement transport.”
“Explain in detail.”
I began explaining what I had done in my past life to rapidly grow Eunhae Textiles.
“…By purchasing high-quality silk at fair prices, suppliers naturally flock to us. There’s no need for us to spend on procurement transport. We only need large warehouses.”
“I see.”
“Then we only need to move the silk to the palace along well-maintained roads. So our actual profit remains above the numbers submitted.”
Thanks to my past life’s experience, I could speak with certainty.
The Empress gave a small nod.
“Then you’ll earn a reasonable profit. But is it wise to say that out loud? Others may hear and copy you.”
“They might, but I’m not very concerned.”
“You’re not concerned?”
“Because the profit right in front of them is such sweet candy.”
The Empress fell silent for a moment, then laughed aloud.
“Oh hohoho! That’s absolutely true.”
It was the first time I’d seen her laugh like that.
She understood exactly what I meant.
Why wasn’t I worried?
Because my past life had shown me how few merchants could actually do it.
Buying quality goods at fair prices is harder than it sounds.
A merchant’s idea of a good price is not the same as the supplier’s.
And the customer’s isn’t either.
Here, the good price I refer to is one that’s fair for the supplier.
If a merchant doesn’t squeeze the supplier and doesn’t inflate prices to the consumer, then naturally, the margin shrinks.
When merchants see that coming, how many will still follow through?
Even if they try, most don’t have the patience to wait for the results.
In my case, I made it a principle of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
And I was certain it would bring long-term profit.
I’d seen countless groups try to imitate me after Eunhae Textiles succeeded—only to give up halfway. So I could speak without hesitation.
“But Eunhae can?”
“Because we follow a rather unusual teaching.”
“I see. We can speak more of that another time.”
She gave a nod and addressed the merchant groups.
“These are the current standings.”
At her signal, an Eunuch unfurled a long scroll on the wall.
Seven hanging scrolls, one for each merchant group, listed their round-by-round scores. The totals were written at the bottom.
As expected, ours was the highest.
“And in this final round, the top score goes to Eunhae. Therefore, the final winner of the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition is the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
We did it.
We really did it.
We made it, Jeong-ho.
In that moment, I felt a deep joy I hadn’t felt in a long time.
After the Empress, the consorts, the princesses, and the ministers withdrew, only the Eunuchs and merchant groups remained.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“It was quite an impressive competition.”
“I agree.”
We exchanged formalities.
In the world of trade, there are no eternal friends or enemies.
Even if it burns inside, you maintain polite relations on the surface.
Except with Baekcheon.
“Ahem!”
Namgoong Bo stormed out, his expression sour.
Some of Baekcheon’s Supervisors approached awkwardly to apologize.
When the representative is rotten, the people under him suffer.
I glanced at the door he exited through.
Now that the competition is over, it’s time for him to pay the price.
And in the end, I didn’t need to lift a finger.
.
.
.
Namgoong Bo returned to the inn.
“What the hell happened! Bring me the man who was watching Eun Seo-ho! Now!”
Soon a man was brought in.
Gong Sip.
A servant in the Yeonjun Merchant Group, and one of the eyes he had planted to watch me.
Namgoong questioned him about yesterday, only to learn that I had not stepped out of Yeonjun even once.
“What? Supervisor Geum-suk was never kidnapped?”
“No, he returned perfectly fine.”
“…”
Namgoong Bo ground his teeth.
It was clear that the hired thugs had taken the deposit and run.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that kind of scum.’
Forcing down his rage, he waved a hand.
“Go.”
“Yes.”
Then he gave a signal to Chui.
A silent order to have the man killed.
Then he slammed his palm on the tea table.
Thump.
A brand-new table shattered once again.
This competition had been a complete and utter defeat.
“Damn it!”
And now, all the blame would fall on him.
It would seriously hinder his chances of becoming the next Merchant Lord.
As he stewed over what to do next, a shout echoed from outside.
“Criminal, come out and receive the writ!”
“…?”
Criminal? Writ?
Startled, he stepped outside.
In the courtyard stood an officer of the Embroidered Guard, flanked by Imperial Guards.
“Are you Namgoong Bo?”
“Y-yes, but…”
“You are a criminal. Seize him!”
“Yes, sir!”
“M-me? A criminal? What the hell are you talking about?!”
“Do you deny bribing palace servants during the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition?”
Shit.
Namgoong cursed inwardly.
Losing the competition was one thing, but being dragged into an imperial investigation was the end of his future.
Unable to contain his rage, he drew his sword and lashed out at the Imperial Guards.
That was the worst move he could have made.
Drawing a weapon against the Embroidered Guard, the Emperor’s personal soldiers, was tantamount to treason.
“You show your true colors at last!”
The Embroidered Guard were palace-trained martial artists.
Their techniques were refined. Their discipline, ironclad.
The Namgoong Clan’s martial arts might be famous, but the pampered and lazy Namgoong Bo was no match.
Clang.
Clang-clang.
Dozens of strikes later, the fight was over.
Slice.
Thud.
“Aaaaargh!”
Namgoong Bo screamed, clutching his severed right arm.
“Take him away.”
“Yes!”
.
.
.
I blinked, caught off guard.
“Huh? Namgoong Bo from the Baekcheon Merchant Group… him?”
That evening, Cousin Seon-il brought unexpected news.
Namgoong Bo had been arrested by the Embroidered Guard on charges of bribing palace officials.
And when he resisted with a weapon, they cut off his arm.
Well, neither the Emperor nor the Empress are the type to overlook something like that.
I hadn’t laid a hand on him myself, but I didn’t feel any regret.
This punishment would be even harder for him to endure.
Reaping what he sowed.
Then I thought of the other Supervisors.
“What about the others?”
“They’re being questioned as related parties. But it seems they’re not guilty, so they’ll likely be released soon.”
“I see.”
As expected of a Hanlin Academy official.
He knew things others wouldn’t.
…Wait.
Officials aren’t supposed to talk about palace matters, even if the rule’s mostly ignored these days.
But Cousin Seon-il strictly follows that code.
No way?
I gave a wry smile.
There could only be one reason he was telling me this.
Cousin Seon-il cleared his throat, looking slightly awkward.
“His Majesty takes a keen interest in you.”
Yeah… a bit too keen.
But I couldn’t say that aloud, so I simply smiled.
“Ah, and there are people who want to meet you. Do you have time before you return to Hubei?”
“Huh? Someone wants to meet me?”
He said people, so it wasn’t just one.
“Yes. Two, in fact.”
Two? But who could that be…
–TL Notes–
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