At those words, Hwang Gon blinked.
“Huh?!”
He recoiled in shock. And no wonder. The man he had been certain was Artisan Son Mun until just a moment ago now had a completely different face.
“Y-you’re not Artisan Son Mun!”
“That’s correct. This is my Escort Guard, Yeo Eung-am. But Escort Guard Yeo, what are you doing here?”
At Eun Seo-ho’s question, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am replied.
“He gave me this money and asked me to assassinate my lord. Hah! Of all the people he could’ve tried to bribe, he actually came to me and asked me to kill my own lord!”
“What? Is that really true?”
Eun Seo-ho asked in apparent shock. At the same time, Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu, who had descended from the tree with him, drew their swords and confronted Hwang Gon.
Hwang Gon’s Escort Guard, who had been standing some distance away, rushed over, but he was no match for them in the first place.
Escort Guard Seo Wu alone was a Peak expert, while Escort Guard Jin Yu was Profound.
Overwhelmed by their presence, Hwang Gon’s Escort Guard went pale and asked,
“Young Master Gon, were you really planning to assassinate Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho?”
“W-what are you talking about?! When did I ever say that?!”
“Didn’t you clearly say you were going to bribe Artisan Son Mun? Weren’t you supposed to be meeting Artisan Son Mun right now?”
There was a reason Hwang Gon’s Escort Guard was asking. Hwang Gon had deliberately left him far behind, so from where he stood, he hadn’t been able to make out the other man’s face.
“Believe me! I was absolutely trying to meet Artisan Son Mun. I wanted to get information from him about the Eunhae Merchant Group’s jewelry business.”
“Then why is this man here instead of Artisan Son Mun?”
“That’s…”
Hwang Gon was beside himself.
And for good reason. Bribing someone from another merchant group to steal information and trying to assassinate another merchant group’s Deputy Merchant Lord were crimes of entirely different severity.
“Can you prove that?”
Eun Seo-ho’s question left him flustered. He had no evidence.
This was the sort of business where leaving evidence behind in the first place would have been foolish.
Which meant he was now in danger of being saddled with an attempted murder charge against Eun Seo-ho.
If Eun Seo-ho formally reported him to the Magistrate’s Office, he might avoid execution, but he would still be severely caned and forced to pay Eun Seo-ho an enormous sum in compensation.
And then he would be expelled from the Hwang Merchant Group.
If fortune favored him, it would end with a massive compensation payment and being cast out of his family.
All the caution he had exercised until now had turned into poison.
And considering how Eun Seo-ho had appeared at exactly the right moment after hiding in the tree, there could be no doubt.
He had walked straight into a trap.
‘Damn it! Damn it! Aaaaargh!’
He screamed silently inside his head.
* * *
I inwardly snickered as I stared at Hwang Gon.
So he really was the bastard who bribed Artisan Son Mun back then and silenced him afterward.
In my previous life, I’d confirmed that Artisan Son Mun had been bribed, but I’d never managed to identify the culprit with certainty.
There had been several prime suspects, though, and this bastard had been one of them.
Right now, Hwang Gon was a dragonfly caught in the web I’d spun.
He could beat his wings all he wanted, but there was no getting out.
I’d used the Novel Disguise Art on Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am, changing his face to look like Artisan Son Mun, then asked him to play the part.
I needed bait, but there was no way I could use the real Artisan Son Mun, who knew no martial arts, as bait.
And that was how Hwang Gon had fallen straight into my trap.
Just as Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and I had planned, we steered the conversation into making it look as though he had tried to assassinate me. And exactly as I’d expected, desperate to escape an attempted murder charge, he confessed to his actual crime.
“You’re saying you weren’t trying to assassinate me, but were instead trying to bribe Artisan Son Mun and steal information?”
“That’s right!”
“Then you admit that you were trying to bribe Artisan Son Mun?”
“I admit it!”
“I see. Thank you for confessing so readily.”
“…What?”
He blinked, then suddenly shouted as realization dawned on him.
“D-don’t tell me! From the very beginning, you were trying to make me confess that I’d attempted to bribe Artisan Son Mun!”
“Yes. That’s exactly right.”
Truthfully, even with his confession, there wasn’t much I could do to him through the law.
Bribing someone to obtain confidential information was treated as a form of theft, and depending on the severity, the punishment usually amounted to little more than compensation.
And since his attempt had failed, even the compensation would probably be relatively small.
Things like this happened often enough that the County Magistrate would probably just find it bothersome and tell us to settle the matter among ourselves.
That was also why Hwang Gon had so desperately insisted that he’d only been trying to bribe Artisan Son Mun rather than assassinate me.
I could’ve pushed the matter further and accused him of attempted murder, but I chose not to.
If I truly wanted to frame him, I was confident I could pull it off without anyone discovering the truth, but that would make me the one doing something wrong.
Sure, that bastard deserved far worse, but I still had no intention of punishing him through cowardly means.
That didn’t mean I planned to let Hwang Gon walk away after paying some pathetic little sum in compensation, either.
This was the man who, fearing his crime might be exposed, had gone so far as to kill Artisan Son Mun and his son.
I grinned at Hwang Gon and said,
“Go back and tell your Merchant Lord this: you were the ones who struck at us first, so don’t blame us for what happens next.”
There were two reasons I’d gone to the trouble of forcing a confession out of Hwang Gon. First, I wanted to identify the culprit beyond any doubt. Second, I wanted justification for what I was about to do.
I didn’t need cowardly tricks to crush them.
Now that he had admitted they were the ones who attacked us first, surely they couldn’t complain about what happened afterward.
But what were the chances Hwang Gon would actually return and obediently pass my message along to his Merchant Lord?
As far as I was concerned, none whatsoever.
If it became known that this entire mess had started because of him, his position would become unstable, if not outright weakened. He would do everything he could to hide it.
If anything, that Escort Guard of his was more likely to report what happened.
I wonder what decision the Merchant Lord will make?
Well, that was a problem for later. For now, I needed to go see Brother Jeong-ho.
Brother Jeong-ho was the one launching and overseeing the jewelry business, so I needed to discuss this with him.
The next day, in the afternoon.
I headed to Brother Jeong-ho’s office.
“Where’s Brother?”
“He’s inside.”
Brother Jeong-ho’s Escort Guard answered before announcing my arrival, and Brother Jeong-ho’s voice soon came from within.
“Come in.”
I stepped inside.
Brother Jeong-ho was buried in work. He already had his usual responsibilities, and now the newly launched jewelry business had been piled on top of them.
“What brings you here?”
“Brother, have some tea before you keep going.”
At my suggestion, Brother Jeong-ho stretched, rose from his seat, and came over to sit across from me at the tea table.
“Whew. I suppose I should.”
Just then, an attendant brought in a teapot. I picked it up, poured tea into Brother Jeong-ho’s cup, then filled my own.
After taking a sip, Brother Jeong-ho asked,
“So, what is it? You’re busy enough yourself. I doubt you came all the way here for no reason.”
“You’re right.”
I raised my head and looked at Brother Jeong-ho.
“I heard a jewelry artisan named Son Mun was approached with a bribe.”
“…News travels fast. Yes, he was.”
I had instructed Artisan Son Mun to go to Brother Jeong-ho and tell him that someone had tried to bribe him.
Brother Jeong-ho was in charge of the jewelry business, and he was also the one who had personally overseen the contract with Artisan Son Mun.
Even if Artisan Son Mun had confessed everything to me first, Brother Jeong-ho would only sigh if he had to hear something this important secondhand from me.
“To think someone’s already started working against us when we’ve barely gotten started! We really can’t afford to let our guard down.”
“Tell me about it…”
I took a sip of tea before continuing.
“But it also means they’re nervous. If they didn’t see us as a threat, they wouldn’t even bother paying attention to us.”
“So this is a good thing?”
“Yeah. It’s a good thing.”
I chuckled.
“After hearing about what happened to Artisan Son Mun, I did some digging of my own. And I found out who approached him.”
“You already found them? Who the hell was it?”
“The Hwang Merchant Group.”
“The people in Beijing who deal in jewelry?”
“That’s right. Apparently Artisan Son Mun’s son is sick, and it looks like they used that to get to him.”
“Yes, that’s true. Artisan Son Mun told me his son needs to keep taking Poison-Suppressing Herb regularly.”
I nodded.
“That’s why I was thinking. Why don’t we provide the Poison-Suppressing Herb ourselves?”
“I was already planning to. That’ll solve Artisan Son Mun’s problem, and it should help us earn the trust of the other artisans as well.”
That was Brother Jeong-ho for you.
“But how did you find out the Hwang Merchant Group was behind it?”
“I told you. I did some digging.”
I smiled and asked,
“Want me to tell you exactly how I found out?”
“N-no. Ahem. There’s no need to go into that much detail.”
Brother Jeong-ho cleared his throat as he answered, and I chuckled.
“Anyway, they were the ones who struck at us first. Is there any reason for us to go easy on them?”
“None. So what are you planning?”
I grinned as I answered.
“Brother, why don’t we hold an exhibition?”
“An exhibition?”
“Yeah. We’ll display the jewelry our merchant group has made and use the exhibition to promote it to the public.”
“Instead of promoting it directly to noblewomen?”
“Of course we’ll show it to the noblewomen too. And while we’re there, we can tell them about the exhibition and hand out invitations.”
“Invitations?”
“Yeah. What if anyone who brings an invitation to the exhibition gets a discount?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“We’ll spread the word that way and draw in a huge crowd right from the start.”
I ground my teeth and muttered,
“To think they’d dare come after the Eunhae Merchant Group! I’m not letting that slide.”
.
.
.
Several days passed.
There still hadn’t been any word from the Hwang Merchant Group, so it seemed Hwang Gon hadn’t told them what happened.
Or perhaps he had told them, and they intended to play dumb until the bitter end.
If they’d come to us and sincerely apologized, I might’ve gone a little easier on them.
At this point, whatever happened to them was entirely their own doing.
“Seo-ho. Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
I followed Brother Jeong-ho out of the office.
Our destination was a manor in Beijing.
More precisely, it was the residence the Emperor had bestowed upon Imperial Son-in-Law Yeon Yu-mun and his wife, the Princess, and it was where the married couple lived.
The Imperial Family had contacted every merchant group in Beijing that dealt in jewelry regarding the Princess’s wedding gifts.
Naturally, the Eunhae Merchant Group had replied that we would attend.
And while we were there, we planned to introduce the Eunhae Merchant Group’s jewelry to the noblewomen in attendance.
We’d already planned on attending gatherings of noblewomen to showcase our jewelry, so there was no reason not to take full advantage of this opportunity.
A short while later.
We arrived at a manor.
“May I ask who you are and what brings you…”
One of the soldiers I’d seen in Springview Fortress was guarding the gate. The moment he recognized me, he hurried over.
“Well, if it isn’t the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
“Haha. It’s been a while.”
“What brings you here?”
“The Imperial Palace summoned Beijing’s merchant groups that deal in jewelry today, so we’ve come in response.”
“I see. Once you go inside, there’s a waiting area on the left. You can head there.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
We went where he directed us. The man stationed there asked for our names and affiliation before recording them.
When we entered the building, the Merchant Lord of the Hwang Merchant Group and Hwang Gon were already inside.
“…Hmm.”
“Ahem.”
The moment they saw us, both of them cleared their throats and turned their heads away.
Judging by the Merchant Lord’s reaction, it seemed he knew about what Hwang Gon had done after all.
I stopped paying them any attention, and representatives from the various merchant groups were called in one after another.
“Next, the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
“Yes!”
“Follow me.”
We followed the man who had come to call us and went inside.
Clatter.
The door opened, and we respectfully bowed before those seated within.
“We humble merchants of the Eunhae Merchant Group greet Your Highness and the esteemed ladies present.”
“Please, raise your heads.”
The one who received our greeting was Princess Yeoryang.
She had another birth name, while Yeoryang (餘良) was the name bestowed upon her by the Emperor.
We had traveled together during the Sword Tomb incident at Springview Fortress, so this was hardly our first meeting.
“It’s good to see you, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Yes. Have you been well, Your Highness?”
“I’ve been quite well, as always.”
Given her status, she could have spoken casually to me without issue, yet she continued to address me respectfully.
When she treated me so warmly, the noblewomen gathered around her immediately took an interest in me.
“I wouldn’t dare waste Your Highness’s or the esteemed ladies’ valuable time, so allow us to first show you the pieces our merchant group has prepared.”
When I looked at Brother Jeong-ho, he gestured to the workers who had accompanied us, and they placed several boxes on the prepared table.
The Princess and the noblewomen rose from their seats and gathered around the table to examine the jewelry.
“Oh my! Look at that brilliance!”
“My goodness!”
“How beautiful.”
“Ah…”
They couldn’t hide their admiration. And honestly, I couldn’t blame them. Even to my eyes, the pieces crafted by the artisans Brother Jeong-ho had assembled were exceptionally fine.
There were even several pieces among them that deserved to be called works of art.
The noblewomen’s eyes practically glowed with desire as they stared at them.
But they couldn’t simply purchase those pieces on the spot.
This gathering was being held to choose the Princess’s wedding gifts.
Buying jewelry for themselves here could be seen as disrespecting the Imperial Family.
Still, that was precisely what made this such a valuable opportunity for us. If we displayed jewelry that caught the noblewomen’s eyes here, we could sell it to them later.
And we had one more thing prepared.
Brother Jeong-ho took out the invitations we had prepared in advance and handed one to the Princess.
“Your Highness, our merchant group has prepared a small gift for you and the esteemed ladies gathered here.”
“What is this?”
“An invitation. Three days from now, the Eunhae Merchant Group will be holding a modest exhibition to showcase the jewelry we’ve created. Anyone who brings this invitation will receive twenty percent off every item.”
“Really?”
“How could I possibly speak falsely before Your Highness?”
“Then I simply must… attend.”
– Kui!
Geumryeong had smelled money. Which meant one thing – a lot of it was about to come pouring in.
–TL Notes–
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