I was climbing up the cliff.
I hadn't warned my Escort Guards beforehand, so I had no choice but to make the climb alone.
Thanks to Master's training, my stamina and physical strength were quite impressive even compared to other warriors at my level. That was why I could scale this dizzyingly high cliff without much trouble, even with a corpse strapped to my back.
Ah, my fingers hurt.
I was deliberately keeping myself from protecting them with Internal Power.
If I climbed all the way up a cliff like this and looked perfectly fine afterward, people might start questioning just how strong I really was.
Besides, earning a little sympathy from everyone would make it much easier to wrap this whole incident up neatly.
After struggling my way up the cliff for about two hours, I finally reached the spot I'd fallen from.
Tap.
Someone suddenly grabbed my hand.
“My Lord.”
“Ah, Escort Guard Jin Yu.”
I must have been concentrating so hard on climbing that I hadn't even noticed Escort Guard Jin Yu approaching.
Then again, we were at the same realm, so perhaps that wasn't too strange.
“Take my hand, My Lord.”
“Yes.”
I took his hand and pulled myself over the edge of the cliff.
“Huff, huff.”
Breathing heavily, I looked toward the Crown Prince, who was running over from a distance.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun! Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho!”
“Y-Your Highness, this humble merchant apologizes for causing you such concern.”
“What are you talking about? I'm simply relieved that you came back alive…”
I untied A-jeong's corpse from my back and carefully lowered it to the ground.
“This is Eunuch A-jeong's body. By a stroke of incredible fortune, I managed to catch hold of a tree root and survive, but Eunuch A-jeong fell onto the rocks below…”
“…”
“Please punish this humble subject for failing to save Eunuch A-jeong.”
I deliberately let my trembling legs buckle as I tried to kneel.
Thud.
Then I closed my eyes and pretended to pass out.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun!”
“My Lord!”
Escort Guard Seo Wu quickly checked my pulse before speaking.
“He seems to have pushed himself far too hard while remaining under extreme tension for too long. His pulse is unstable. He needs to rest somewhere quiet and comfortable!”
“Take him to his tent immediately!”
.
.
.
Once I sensed that everything around me had gone quiet, I cautiously opened my eyes.
Looks like I'm back in my tent.
“Young Master, you can open your eyes now. I know full well you were only pretending to faint.”
Well, Escort Guard Seo Wu had checked my pulse, so he must have realized immediately that I was perfectly healthy.
He had only played along and made it sound as though I was in bad shape.
At Palgap's words, I blinked a few times and started sitting up.
Thump!
Except I never made it.
Palgap promptly pushed me back down and whispered quietly.
“I said you could open your eyes. I never said you could sit up.”
“R-Right. I see.”
I obediently lay back down on the cot.
“So what exactly happened? Do you have any idea how worried all of us were?”
Palgap continued whispering one complaint after another directly into my ear, while I had no choice but to lie perfectly still and endure every last word.
And thanks to that, I discovered something new.
Even ordinary nagging became incredibly painful when you were forced to lie there while someone whispered it directly into your ear.
Of course, I knew he was only saying all this because he'd been worried about me.
“Sorry. I didn't really have a choice. I did come up with part of the plan on the spot, but if we'd coordinated everything in advance, someone might have noticed something was off.”
I sighed before continuing.
“You know how sharp the people accompanying the Crown Prince are.”
“That I do.”
Just then, Escort Guard Jin Yu, who had been standing nearby, asked through Voice Transmission.
– So what happened? Was he really a collaborator of the Asura Blood Cult?
– Yes. He was.
– As I thought…
– And that wasn't all. Apparently, he used the Soul-Bewitching Art on His Highness so that the Crown Prince would choose him as one of his personal eunuch attendants.
– What? Then is His Highness still…
– No. It seems my Qi broke the Soul-Bewitching Art somehow.
After hearing the whole story, Escort Guard Jin Yu nodded and left the tent to pass the information along to the other Escort Guards.
I quietly remained where I was and organized my thoughts.
But maybe I really was exhausted, because my eyelids kept drooping shut.
To be fair, I hadn't been getting enough sleep lately either.
Then I suddenly heard the Crown Prince's voice from outside.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho! I'm coming in for a moment.”
That woke me up instantly.
A moment later, the tent flap lifted and the Crown Prince stepped inside.
“Your Highness…”
I deliberately made myself look weak as I struggled to sit up.
“There's no need for formalities! Just stay seated.”
“N-No, Your Highness. How could I possibly…”
“I said you may remain seated.”
The Crown Prince firmly pressed down on my shoulder, forcing me back onto the cot.
“This humble merchant begs Your Highness's forgiveness. This happened because I failed to properly examine our surroundings. If only my martial arts had been a little stronger… If they had, perhaps I could have saved Eunuch A-jeong… Hngh…”
I put on a grief-stricken expression and let tears spill from my eyes.
“All I could do was recover his body and bring him back.”
“No. You've already done more than enough.”
Then he gently took my bloodied hand and examined it.
“Your hands ended up like this because you climbed all the way back up that cliff, didn't they? And if we're going to assign blame, this entire incident only happened because I said I wanted to enjoy the scenery in the first place.”
The Crown Prince continued.
“If anyone bears responsibility for what happened, I bear more of it than you.”
“No, Your Highness. It was this humble merchant who failed to properly attend to you.”
At that, the Royal Guards and the one remaining eunuch immediately knelt.
“The fault lies with your subjects.”
“Please punish us, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince shook his head.
“No. Enough. Stand up.”
Then he continued.
“At the very least, we should see that he is properly mourned. Prepare his remains and send them to Beijing. His severed manhood is being kept there, so it would be best to bury them together.”
“Your Highness's grace is truly as vast as the sea.”
For eunuchs, few things were more important than the jar containing their severed manhood.
Not possessing it could even interfere with their advancement at court.
More importantly, they believed that being buried with it after death would allow them to be reborn whole and without blemish in their next life.
“I'm simply grateful that you returned safely. Get some rest.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince left the tent, and I finally let out a long sigh.
Fortunately, everyone seemed to believe this had been nothing more than an ‘unfortunate accident.’
Exactly as I'd intended.
There was, however, one thing I hadn't considered.
The Crown Prince wasn't the only person who wanted to visit me after hearing I'd been injured.
“My Lord. Young Master Hong Seon-il and his wife have come to see you.”
“Ah…”
.
.
.
Even after evening arrived, I was still lying on the cot.
Not because I was actually hurt, of course, but after receiving visitor after visitor all day, I was exhausted enough that lying down felt necessary.
“Palgap. Why am I so popular?”
“Are you actually complaining about being popular? You should be grateful so many people care about you.”
“I know.”
I sighed.
I also knew perfectly well how fortunate that was for a merchant.
“I just wanted to complain a little, but you couldn't even play along. Now you've hurt my feelings.”
At my words, Palgap looked completely flustered, his eyes darting rapidly from side to side.
Hah. I'd better stop teasing him.
“Forget it. I was only joking.”
I grinned, sat up on the edge of the cot, and said,
“I'm hungry. Let's have dinner.”
That night.
A-jeong's corpse was cremated.
They could have simply sent his body back to Beijing, but I supposed they decided to cremate him here in case something caused problems later.
Decomposition would certainly have been an issue, although there were ways of preventing that.
Before long, all that remained of him were ash and bones. They were placed inside a box and sent to Beijing.
The next day, we resumed our journey toward Nanjing.
.
.
.
Several days later, we arrived in Nanjing.
“This humble subject greets Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Provincial Commander Ak of Nanjing came out personally to receive us.
“Thank you for coming out to welcome me.”
“There is no need to thank me, Your Highness. Allow me to escort you to the palace.”
There was a palace in Nanjing capable of accommodating the Emperor.
The Emperor occasionally traveled to Nanjing to inspect the southern regions of the Empire.
As such, while the palace was smaller than the Imperial Palace in Beijing, it was still far grander than the residences of most princes.
Its name was Chaotian Palace.
Since the Crown Prince had received the Emperor's command to remain in Nanjing for a considerable period, Chaotian Palace was naturally where he would be staying.
“Is this Chaotian Palace?”
“Yeah. Looks like it.”
It wasn't actually my first time here.
I'd visited it in my previous life.
But this was my first visit in this life, so obviously I couldn't act as though I knew the place.
Just then, the Crown Prince spoke.
“Everyone, come inside.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Since we had received a formal invitation from the person who would now be master of Chaotian Palace, all of us were permitted to enter.
Although that really only meant we could enter the buildings used to receive guests. We certainly weren't allowed to stay here.
Cousin Seon-il and Princess Shina were the exceptions.
Apparently, they had received an Imperial Order to reside in Chaotian Palace until their departure.
“We greet the new master of Chaotian Palace.”
Every eunuch and palace maid serving within Chaotian Palace bowed respectfully to the Crown Prince.
“It's good to meet all of you. I hope I can rely on you from now on.”
“We shall serve Your Highness with all our hearts.”
“These people accompanied and protected me throughout my journey here. I intend to hold a banquet for them this evening, so make the necessary preparations.”
“We obey.”
Then the Crown Prince looked at me.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Come with me for a moment.”
“…”
I followed the Crown Prince inside alone.
This wasn't somewhere even my Escort Guards could accompany me.
The interior was fairly complicated, yet the Crown Prince never once hesitated over which way to go.
Well, he'd probably been here several times before.
The Crown Prince entered a room resembling a private office, then gestured toward the tea table.
“Sit.”
“Your Highness's grace is immeasurab–”
“Just sit.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I sat down at the tea table, and the Crown Prince took the seat across from me.
A eunuch soon entered and placed tea before us.
“Clear the area.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The eunuch carried out the order faithfully, and before long, I couldn't sense anyone anywhere nearby.
Still, what exactly is the Murim Alliance planning?
They're moving not only members of the Unorthodox Factions, but even people connected to the Asura Blood Cult.
“I'm afraid I worried quite a bit this time.”
The Crown Prince's words immediately snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked back at him.
“I apologize for causing Your Highness such concern.”
“No. If anything, I feel as though I was the one who asked too much of you.”
“How could you say that? If Your Highness had truly asked something impossible of me, I would have told you so from the beginning.”
“True…”
The Crown Prince nodded.
“You are the sort of man who says something cannot be done when it truly cannot be done. Although, now that I think about it, I don't recall ever hearing you say that to me.”
“Ah… Well.”
I answered with a slightly awkward expression.
“That's because nothing you've asked of me so far has been impossible.”
My answer made him laugh.
“I think I understand why Elder Hwangbo asked you to become my advisor.”
The Crown Prince took a sip of the tea the eunuch had left behind. Watching him, I took a sip of my own.
As expected of tea served in an Imperial Palace. The fragrance was exquisite, and the flavor had remarkable depth.
After silently drinking for a while, I called out to him.
“Your Highness. There is something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Are you good at catching rats?”
The Crown Prince's expression immediately changed.
“…What is that supposed to mean?”
It was just the two of us now, so I supposed it was safe to speak openly.
“The truth is, before I dealt with that man, I questioned him a little. He was an important source of information, after all.”
I continued.
“And because of that, I learned something. There are others secretly operating not only inside the Imperial Palace, but within Chaotian Palace as well.”
“Is that… truly the case?”
“Yes. His Majesty will be more than capable of handling whatever is happening inside the Imperial Palace. But Chaotian Palace is something Your Highness will have to take care of yourself.”
The secret order the Emperor had given me only extended as far as dealing with A-jeong.
Anything that came after that wasn't my responsibility.
“You steeled yourself and dealt with him when the time came. I believe you can do the same here.”
“I'm afraid. Rats are omnivorous, aren't they? They'll even bite people.”
“That is true, but they don't usually bite someone who's moving around. Rats are timid creatures. Most of the time, they'll scurry away and hide.”
I continued.
“A tiger cub fears a rat because it has never encountered one before. In the same way, a rat doesn't fear a tiger cub because it has yet to learn just how terrifying a tiger can be.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Even so, I'd still like your help.”
I shook my head and spoke gently.
“Your Highness, you cannot be afraid of getting blood on your hands. Her Highness the Crown Princess and the Young Prince will soon be arriving at Chaotian Palace, will they not? Are you going to allow the same thing that happened to you to happen to them?”
“That… No. Of course not.”
“Your Highness. You are the only one who can protect them.”
So please handle the rest yourself.
And stop dumping all this work on me.
The reason I could say this was because the Crown Prince was more than capable of dealing with a situation like this himself.
Until now, he'd probably been deliberately acting mild and harmless because drawing too much attention to himself would only make his life more difficult.
But blood will tell.
The Emperor was certainly no pushover, and neither was the Empress.
The Crown Prince was the son of both of them.
There was no chance he was actually some harmless weakling.
The Emperor had worried that perhaps the traits had skipped a generation, but still.
If I let the Crown Prince drag me around by the nose from this point onward, my life was going to become very difficult.
On the other hand, simply refusing him outright would be a little too coldhearted…
“If you genuinely reach the point where you can't handle it, I'll offer you a little assistance. Or at the very least, I'll sit down and have some tea with you.”
Really, I'm far too softhearted for my own good.
– Kui?
– Hm? Geumryeong, you're full?
– Kui! Kui!
What?
You think I just said something ridiculous?
What, you're saying my heart is so soft it's practically made of silk?
So you do understand me.
–TL Notes–
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