I followed him into the imperial palace.
Looking at his official robes, he didn’t seem like a low-ranking clerk.
“From how familiar you are with the palace layout, you must have worked here quite a while.”
“Ah, I’m currently serving as Chief Clerk.”
Chief Clerk?
That’s a sixth-rank official position handling practical affairs within a department.
A bit high-ranking to be fetching merchants.
If my memories from my previous life were correct, it was usually low-level clerks who came to escort us.
What’s going on? Even his tone earlier was strange…
Hiding my confusion, I arrived at the Ministry of Revenue.
“Young Master Eun Seo-ho has arrived.”
“Ah! Yes! Please, this way!”
“There’s dust on the table! Good grief!”
The official who guided me to the reception room wiped the dust off the table with his sleeve and personally poured me tea.
“Please, make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
Grumble.
Just then my stomach growled, and I said with an awkward expression.
“Ah… my apologies. I haven’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday…”
At my words, the official’s face turned white in an instant.
“I’ll bring you something to eat right away.”
“It’s fine. I can eat when I return to my lodgings later. Please don’t trouble yourself.”
“I…”
The official cleared his throat and spoke.
“I’m truly sorry about this. We were so busy with work that I completely forgot about the message you sent.”
Forgot, my ass.
You ignored it to put a merchant in his place.
But since when were Ministry of Revenue officials the type to apologize like this?
They’d make you wait outside for two or three days, then finally call you in only to say ‘Why are you here? We’re busy, so just get to the point.’
“So please, don’t be angry.”
“Angry? What do you mean? I’m grateful you called me in earlier than I expected. I thought I’d have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Haha! Called in after two days! We’re not such heartless people.”
Then why were you like that in my previous life?
“Anyway, I’m truly sorry.”
As he kept apologizing repeatedly, I sensed someone approaching.
Soon, someone dressed in high-ranking official robes opened the door and greeted me with a smile.
“Welcome. I’m Ga Seon-jae, Minister of Revenue.”
“This humble merchant, Eun Seo-ho of Eunhae Merchant Group, pays respects to the Minister of Revenue.”
I bowed my head in surprise.
The Minister of Revenue was the head of the ministry and a second-rank high official.
And such a person came to meet me personally?
“Haha, please, sit comfortably.”
“Thank you.”
Even the Minister of Revenue was being kind to me.
What in the world?
Did they all eat something bad together?
As I sat at the table, the Minister of Revenue opened his mouth with an apologetic expression.
“So, I heard my ministry’s officials made a serious mistake.”
“If work is busy, these things can happen. I understand. When I work through the night for about ten days straight, I sometimes get confused too.”
“…”
At my words, his expression stiffened slightly.
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no. Anyway, what business did you have with the Ministry that made you request this meeting?”
“Yes, it’s nothing major, but our Eunhae Merchant Group would like to purchase some land owned by the imperial palace, so I came to discuss this.”
“You want to purchase imperial palace land?”
“Yes.”
I explained the full situation, and the Minister of Revenue listened attentively to my story.
Even when I reached the position of one of the Three Great Merchant Groups Under Heaven in my previous life, Ministry of Revenue officials never listened to me attentively…
“Hmm…”
He ordered an official to bring materials about the land I’d mentioned.
We made small talk in the meantime, and once the official brought the documents, the real discussion began.
“Let’s see… ah, this plot.”
Now the real pushing and pulling begins. I reviewed again the points I needed to focus on.
“There are no particular plans to use this land, so a sale is possible. So then, how much were you thinking of offering for this plot?”
“I’ll offer two thousand gold taels.”
It was an enormous sum, but this was Beijing, after all.
And for acquiring a plot of fifty thousand pyeong located not far from the imperial palace or the commercial districts, it couldn’t be called expensive.
Compared to the surrounding market prices, it was even slightly low.
Now we’d need to negotiate through discussion, pushing and pulling to settle on a price.
I’d offered two thousand taels, but I was prepared to go up to twenty-five hundred.
After all, it was imperial palace land, so I had to expect some premium.
If I used it well in the future, I could create several times its value anyway.
But an unexpected answer came.
“Good.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s proceed with the transaction at two thousand gold taels. This land’s been a headache for us too, so selling it at this opportunity will be a relief.”
“…”
This easily?
I felt almost deflated.
Should I have offered fifteen hundred taels instead?
But it was already done, and I’d still make plenty of profit.
“Then let’s draw up the sales contract immediately.”
And so, in an instant we completed the sales contract and I paid the deposit with a promissory note.
When I came out of the imperial palace, Palgap quickly ran over.
“Young Master, you’re out?”
“Yeah.”
“But what’s wrong? Earlier you were so full of motivation… did something bad happen?”
“No, I just feel so deflated… anyway, what about food?”
“We all ate already.”
“Good. I should go eat too.”
At that moment.
Having finished the contract with Eun Seo-ho, Minister of Revenue Ga Seon-jae stared at the contract with complicated eyes.
Last night, an Embroidered Guard warrior had visited his house and handed him a book.
“Our Commander sends this to you.”
When he opened the book, his eyes widened.
Everything he’d received while serving as an official, even the smallest things, was recorded there.
Honestly, these were things too minor to warrant severe punishment.
Paradoxically, receiving less was why he could become Minister of Revenue, but still, what he’d taken was what he’d taken.
So if they used this as material to pressure him, he’d have to be prepared to give up his position at minimum.
But the fact that they showed him this without actually doing so meant they wanted something.
“What… does this mean?”
“Actually, this is our Commander’s warning to manage your subordinates properly.”
“Did some Ministry officials cause trouble?”
“They caused trouble all right, and quite seriously at that.”
“What on earth…”
“You need to be selective about who you break in when dealing with merchants. Well, I’ll be going now.”
He left without explaining details.
The next morning.
As soon as he arrived at work, he summoned the officials and soon found out what trouble they’d caused.
“What? Young Master Eun Seo-ho? That Eun Seo-ho of Eunhae Merchant Group?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“The Eun Seo-ho who’s in charge of the Windcraft Fans by the Emperor’s command?”
“Gasp!”
Only then did they realize what trouble they’d caused. They’d thought the name sounded very familiar.
They’d left someone who had the Emperor’s favor and the Embroidered Guard’s trust waiting outside the palace.
“You rotten bastards! These fucking sons of bitches! Damn it! Shit!”
They realized once again that the longer you worked at the Ministry of Revenue, the better you got at cursing and harsh words.
“What are you doing? Go fetch him right now!”
“Y-yes, understood!”
“Hey! Not you, you go! Where do you think you’re sending a low-level clerk!”
And then a eunuch had whispered something to the Minister of Revenue.
Don’t even think about negotiating with Eun Seo-ho.
You could get fleeced completely, so just finish the contract quickly for the sake of your mental health.
That was the full story behind why Eun Seo-ho had wondered if ‘the Ministry of Revenue officials had all eaten something bad together.’
I bought simple porridge at a nearby inn and headed to Yeonjun Merchant Group.
I needed to tell my uncle-in-law that I’d purchased the land.
“Seo-ho, you’re here? I heard from Cousin Seon-il yesterday. You had a rough time in front of the palace, didn’t you?”
My aunt spoke with a worried expression.
“It’s fine. I was prepared for it.”
“Really, those Ministry of Revenue sons of… officials, I don’t know why they’re so desperate to harass merchants!”
Did she almost say ‘sons of bitches’ just now?
I could tell my aunt was quite displeased with the Ministry of Revenue officials from watching my uncle-in-law and the surrounding merchants.
“So, how did it go?”
“Ah, I purchased the land.”
“I see, it wasn’t an easy… what?”
My aunt’s eyes widened.
“You purchased that land?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“I just finished writing the contract and paying the deposit. That’s why I came to tell you and Uncle.”
“…”
My aunt stared at me intently.
“What is it?”
“No, I’m just thinking how capable you are.”
“I was lucky.”
“Well, what couldn’t you accomplish? Go on in. Your uncle will be very pleased.”
I greeted my aunt, who was grinning broadly, and headed to my uncle-in-law’s office.
“You’re here?”
“Yes.”
“From your bright expression, things went well?”
At my uncle-in-law’s words, I nodded.
“Yes. I purchased that plot.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes.”
“How did you manage to win over those stubborn, meticulous bastards?”
“Just…”
“…?”
“They just heard the amount I offered and proceeded immediately.”
“Those guys aren’t the type to do that…”
I think so too.
But that’s what happened.
When I returned to my temporary residence and was working, Jin Yeong suddenly visited.
“This humble merchant, Eun Seo-ho, pays respects.”
“I heard you had a rough time last night.”
Word travels fast.
Well, there’s nothing the Embroidered Guard wouldn’t know in Beijing.
“It’s fine. It’s something we merchants are used to, and they called me in earlier than I expected.”
“You’ll never face such treatment again. So don’t worry.”
“Pardon?”
“The Eastern Depot and we thoroughly cleaned out the Ministry of Revenue.”
“…”
I now understood the full picture.
The reason the Ministry of Revenue officials had all acted strangely was thanks to the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Guard stepping in.
Goodness!
I’m so grateful!
I stood up and cupped my fists.
“Thank you for going to such trouble for this humble merchant.”
“Not at all. I’m just repaying the favor you did for us.”
“Thanks to you, it was a great help.”
I carefully continued.
“So, I’d like to express my gratitude to the Eastern Depot as well…”
I could see that Jin Yeong disliked the Eastern Depot somewhat.
“No need for that. Those guys did it because they wanted to.”
“However…”
As I kept feeling awkward about it, Jin Yeong cleared his throat and nodded.
“Ahem, if you insist, I’ll pass it along.”
“Thank you.”
I cupped my fists again and bowed my head.
“And please also convey my thanks to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Hm?”
“The Embroidered Guard are His Majesty’s hands and feet, and the Eastern Depot are His Majesty’s eyes and ears. Without His Majesty’s will, how could you have moved?”
He smiled warmly and nodded.
“Understood. I’ll be sure to convey it.”
“Thank you.”
“Actually, there’s another reason I came to visit. I heard that your cousin is getting married this seventh month.”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“I need your cooperation regarding that matter, so I came here.”
“Please, tell me.”
I felt slightly worried inside.
What kind of matter would require the Embroidered Guard’s cooperation?
“Could you arrange for our Embroidered Guard members to naturally attend the banquet that day?”
“That’s not difficult, but is there some particular situation?”
“We’ve detected suspicious activity.”
“Pardon?”
“I heard this wedding banquet will be quite large. There’s a possibility that subversive forces might take this opportunity to meet.”
Subversive forces?
Who?
I quickly tried to recall incidents from my previous life.
Ah… there are many.
Anyway, since that wasn’t difficult, I readily nodded.
The fact that they were asking for permission in advance when they could have done it secretly showed they were being considerate of me.
“Understood. I’ll arrange it, but please make sure there’s no disruption to my cousin’s wedding ceremony.”
Some time later, I finished paying the remaining balance for the land I’d contracted with the Ministry of Revenue.
Now it completely belonged to Eunhae Merchant Group.
So now I needed to clean it up thoroughly.
I went with Palgap to find a carpenter and ordered several standing boards that could be erected by connecting two planks at the top.
Once the standing boards were completed, I attached papers I’d written in advance and erected them throughout the land I’d purchased.
[Warning: This is property owned by Eunhae Merchant Group. We will use force to protect property rights against illegal occupation and trespassing.]
The reason I announced such strong measures was that most of those entering this plot were ruffians and street thugs.
People who harmed others rather than benefiting them.
“But Young Master, what will you do if they still go inside despite this?”
“What else? Beat them thoroughly and chase them out. If it were residential housing or something, I’d naturally provide compensation, but these people are just looking for a place to play around.”
“True, that’s right. I heard they do all sorts of terrible things here.”
Just then, I heard a group chattering.
“Hey, this says it’s owned by Eunhae Merchant Group?”
“Bullshit, we played here fine when it belonged to the palace, you think we’re gonna be scared just because some merchant group owns it?”
“Kekeke!”
There’s no way Escort Guards Seo Wu and Jin Yu didn’t hear what I heard.
They looked at me, and I smiled bitterly and said.
“Looks like there are some who won’t listen to words.”
–TL Notes–
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