The next day, I headed to the Imperial Palace.
The people who wanted to meet me worked there, and I had to submit the documents for the silk supply anyway.
I handed the documents to an Eunuch and made my way to the garden I’d once visited with Cousin Seon-il.
As I strolled and admired the scenery, I heard someone call out.
“Young Master Eun Seo-ho.”
I turned my head. An official in court robes was approaching.
A somewhat familiar face.
It was Ji Hyeon, the one who’d written the report on that case.
He was also the talent the Emperor had recognized the moment he saw my report.
Was his courtesy name Gunseong?
“It’s been a while.”
“It’s been a while.”
We exchanged brief greetings.
“I heard you wanted to see me?”
“Yes.”
A gentle smile touched his face.
“Thanks to you, I was promoted to the central government. I wanted to express my gratitude.”
As expected.
The Emperor’s reach is terrifying.
It hasn’t even been that long, yet he’s already summoned him to court.
“I heard working in the palace is grueling. Are you managing?”
Since he came to the palace because of the report I submitted, I asked casually.
He laughed heartily and replied.
“I was prepared for this much. Compared to the workload as a local official, the palace makes the past seem laughable, doesn’t it?”
“Hahaha, i-is that so?”
Well, if he’s enjoying it, that’s good.
I heard the post he received was Clerk at the Bureau of Transmission, handling memorials and edicts.
Since it’s a bureau that manages records, it suited him well.
It’s a Junior Sixth-Rank post, so technically higher than my Senior Seventh-Rank Censorate position, but perhaps because of the Inspector’s special standing, he still addressed me with courtesy.
“I heard you took part in the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition. Was that on the Inspector’s orders?”
He meant whether it was official Censorate business.
Of course not, but he wouldn’t believe me if I denied it outright.
So I just smiled.
“…I see.”
We chatted about this and that, then parted with a promise to meet again.
We’d both carved out time from busy schedules.
.
.
.
In the evening, I went to a teahouse near the palace.
The person who wanted to see me hadn’t arrived yet, so I went up to a quiet room on the third floor and savored a cup of tea.
Just as I was finishing a cup, there was a knock.
“Come in.”
“We meet again.”
The one who entered was Scholar Hwang Bon-ji.
“I heard you were selected as the merchant group to supply the Imperial silk. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. I also heard you’ve returned to office.”
“Yes, by His Majesty’s grace I’ve become the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.”
“Oh, my congratulations.”
Right Vice Minister—a high Rank-3 post, the deputy head of one of the Six Ministries.
If the Emperor remembered him, he must be capable, so it was fitting.
And the Ministry of Revenue…
In that case, I should pass along a word to His Majesty through Scholar Hwang—no, through Master Hwang.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Speak. You saved my son’s life, so I should oblige if I can.”
“Since I’m a merchant, I travel all over the Central Plains. In doing so, I’ve learned that this year is a great bumper harvest.”
“So I’ve heard. Everyone’s pleased, saying state revenues will be ample.”
Right, that’s what everyone thought.
And that’s exactly why the catastrophic famine that followed struck so hard.
Recalling that, I spoke carefully.
“It’s just that… starting next year, we’ll be facing a severe famine.”
“What? Are you saying a famine will suddenly strike?”
“Yes. Except… my basis is a prophetic dream. I hesitated to say anything, but I’ve decided to speak.”
“A prophetic dream, you say?”
“Yes.”
It’s certain. A catastrophic famine will continue for five years.
Even if some things have changed because of me, the climate won’t.
But the problem is, there’s no evidence.
Who would believe that after an unprecedented bumper harvest, such a great famine would suddenly arrive?
However, His Majesty would be able to find sufficient grounds.
So I could speak of it under the guise of a “prophetic dream.”
And I had an excuse to back it up.
“In truth, I was able to save your son thanks to a prophetic dream as well. I saw that scene in a dream, so I boarded a boat and saved everyone.”
At that, Master Hwang’s face darkened.
If famine comes, it’s natural for a Ministry of Revenue official, who funds the state with taxes, to be troubled.
“So what I want to say is, during this harvest, store as much grain as possible.”
“But we can’t collect more than the set tax.”
“True. But the state can purchase it, can it not? In a bumper year, grain prices are lower than usual. If you pay just slightly above the market price, people will be eager to sell.”
That’s the most realistic method.
You can’t forcibly order the people to stop wasting grain.
But if the state stockpiles grain like this, at least we won’t see masses starving or wandering as beggars like in my past life.
“Even if you must open the coffers, pile up as much as you can.”
I said this because what I tell Master Hwang will surely reach the Emperor.
Unlike Master Gunseong, he’s in a high post.
And given the timing, he wouldn’t have come to meet me unless it was at the Emperor’s order.
He came because His Majesty commanded it.
His congratulations carried his sincerity, but also the Emperor’s.
The reason I’m only speaking of the famine now, even though I knew of it before, is because back then wasn’t the right time.
Only recently have I begun earning the Emperor’s trust, and earlier, I wasn’t in a position to overstep.
And until last year, harvests were merely average. Even if I’d told him to stockpile grain, it wouldn’t have been feasible.
State finances are always tight.
But now, His Majesty will listen.
Because he knows I don’t speak lightly.
Also, with this year’s bumper harvest, stockpiling grain will place less burden on the state.
Even though I can speak up now, the reason I’m not telling the Emperor directly is…
Meeting him isn’t good for my heart.
At the slightest mistake, he’d say, “You seem the right person for the job, so do it,” and shackle me with responsibility.
And there was one more thing I needed to say.
“If things go poorly when the famine arrives, consider bringing in grain from abroad.”
“From abroad?”
“For example, places like Dai Viet or the plains beyond the Northern Sea.”
Master Hwang’s expression soured.
“Are you telling us to beg for food?”
“Are you joking? Beg? All of a sudden? There’s a much better way.”
“…?”
I grinned.
“There’s a way to import grain legitimately through merchants.”
If the first proposal is for the entire nation, the second is for the trade world—including our Eunhae Merchant Group.
Hwang Bon-ji watched Eun Seo-ho’s figure disappear into the distance.
‘There’s a reason His Majesty took an interest.’
He recalled yesterday, when the Emperor had summoned him.
“I hear Eunhae was chosen to supply the silk. And the representative is the Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho, the one who saved your son.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then go meet him and offer congratulations.”
His Majesty’s intent was clear.
He was to meet him and deliver the Emperor’s message.
So he arranged the meeting through Eun Seo-ho’s cousin.
At first, he was glad.
But when Eun Seo-ho made a request right after hearing he’d become Right Vice Minister of Revenue, he felt disappointed.
He thought, a merchant is a merchant after all.
But since he was his son’s benefactor, he planned to oblige if possible, or gently decline if it was too much.
That expectation was completely upended.
What Eun Seo-ho asked for wasn’t for himself.
It was to stockpile grain in preparation for famine.
‘A man of great character. As expected, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho is a man of great character.’
He felt ashamed for doubting him.
‘A prophetic dream, though…’
Others might scoff, but he had no choice but to believe.
Otherwise, how could he have appeared so timely then and saved everyone from Dongting Lake?
Hwang Bon-ji returned to the palace and requested an audience.
“So, you met Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He gave various reports, then hesitated before continuing.
“And at the end, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho made a strange request.”
“A strange request? What is it?”
“Well…”
Hwang Bon-ji recounted Eun Seo-ho’s words.
The Emperor nodded.
“From next year, a great famine will strike, and his basis is a prophetic dream. For him to say it, knowing it would reach my ears, means he’s confident.”
“He said he was able to save my son thanks to a prophetic dream.”
“Then why didn’t he tell me directly…”
Hwang Bon-ji carefully offered a reason.
“Since he just became the silk supplier, perhaps he was mindful of others’ eyes.”
“Is that so? Well, let’s think of it that way.”
The Emperor nodded, grumbling inwardly.
‘He’s a bit too clever. If he’d told me directly, I’d have given him the task.’
But since he spoke through someone else, he’d need to assign it as a separate matter.
He couldn’t act based on a prophetic dream alone.
‘If we comb the palace archives, we’ll find justification.’
The Emperor placed considerable trust in Eun Seo-ho’s words.
As for manpower, he could mobilize the princesses.
If he framed it as pity for Eun Seo-ho, for now that would still sway them.
The next day, we prepared to head for Hubei.
I exchanged farewells with Aunt and Cousin Seon-mi.
And as Aunt said her goodbyes to the other Supervisors, Uncle came over and whispered.
“I took care of that man.”
I had told him about the servant who was spying on me.
When I gave a slight nod, Uncle softened his expression and offered a farewell.
“Travel safely. We’ll meet again, so let’s not drag out goodbyes.”
“Yes. Goodbye.”
So we left Beijing and headed for Hubei.
Baekcheon Merchant Group.
Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang was receiving a report on the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition.
“So in the end, Eunhae won the competition… and our Baekcheon is under investigation for bribing palace servants? What a brainless fool!”
He denounced Namgoong Bo, who’d led Baekcheon.
“To handle things that way and end up under investigation. What a disgrace.”
“What shall we do? He’s still your nephew, so perhaps we should pull him out…”
Namgoong Gang thought for a moment, then asked,
“They said an arm was cut off, right?”
“Yes, the right arm… and from the shock, his condition isn’t good.”
Namgoong Gang quickly assessed the situation.
If he wasn’t careful, Baekcheon itself would come under investigation and draw the palace’s suspicion.
If that happened, the mood among the higher-ups wouldn’t be good.
He came to a decision.
Cut off the tail.
“This whole matter was entirely Bo’s doing. Our Baekcheon knew nothing.”
“U-understood.”
“That aside… Eunhae, huh…”
He remembered them as a group that had once been near the bottom of the hundred merchant groups, but in recent years had surged to the mid-tier.
Remarkable growth.
He recalled Eun Seo-ho from the last banquet.
He’d thought he was just a handsome young man.
‘I should watch him closely from now on.’
We finally arrived home.
“Welcome back!”
“We’ve returned.”
“You worked hard in this competition.”
Father greeted me with a smile. eldest brother Jeong-ho’s eyes reddened as if touched.
“Thank you, truly.”
“Come now, this much is expected.”
“Haha, true.”
“Geon-hyeok and Bo-yeon should see that expression of yours too.”
When Eunhae’s victory in the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition was confirmed, I immediately sent word to Father through Geumryeong.
I wanted to share the joy with my family quickly.
I had to give Geumryeong one silver tael, but it was worth it.
Even Grandfather came out to commend the members of the merchant group for their achievement.
While Grandfather, Father, and eldest brother Jeong-ho offered words of encouragement to the three Supervisors and our people, I went to Mother and my sister-in-law.
“Your son has returned.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you so much, Young Master. When my husband heard the news, he was overjoyed.”
“I was happy too.”
“You must be tired. Go in and rest.”
“Yes.”
I thanked Escort Chief Song, who had traveled with us, and headed to the annex.
This cozy scent. Home really is the best.
Then a thought struck me.
I haven’t seen brother Jin-ho. Is he very busy?
–TL Notes–
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