The next day.
With the departure of the massive trading fleet fast approaching, all of Nanjing was bustling with activity.
“Did you load the porcelain?”
“Yes!”
“You packed it properly, right? Do you have any idea how much we lost last time because the porcelain broke? If that happens again, it’ll be your skull getting cracked!”
“Y–Yes! I’ll check it again!”
I walked along the docks, inspecting the ships that were due to set sail and exchanging cheerful greetings with the supervisors overseeing the loading.
After all, every one of them was a familiar face.
Before long, I reached the Eunhae Merchant Group’s ship.
“You’ve all been working hard.”
“Deputy Merchant Lord, you’re here?”
“I hope you had a good time last night.”
At my words, they all chimed in.
“We had a great time.”
“Thanks to you, Deputy Merchant Lord, we ate our fill and enjoyed ourselves.”
“Would’ve been even better with some liquor, but I suppose that couldn’t be helped.”
“You fool! If we’d been drinking, do you think we’d be moving around this well right now?”
“Ah…”
The biggest reason I’d been able to send them off to enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content the night before departure was that the Prohibition Decree was still in effect.
That meant I didn’t have to worry about anyone getting drunk and causing trouble, nor would anyone be suffering from a hangover today.
“How much of the loading is finished?”
“About 30 percent. We should have everything done sometime this afternoon.”
“I see.”
We tried to load cargo as late as possible.
Ships sat on water, after all, so there was naturally a great deal of dampness.
That was why we minimized the amount of time the goods were exposed to moisture, reducing the chance that anything would spoil.
“Come to think of it, I don’t see the supervisors from the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group.”
“Ah, they said they needed a few things, so they went to the market.”
“I see.”
At that moment, Navigator Song Juk approached me.
“Um, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“I kept wondering whether I should bring this up, but I think it would be better if I told you.”
“What happened?”
He lowered his voice before speaking.
“There’s something strange about the supervisors the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group sent this time.”
“Strange?”
“Yes. They converted some of the funds meant for buying pepper into bank drafts. I happened to stop by the Geumsan Money House because I had some business there, and I saw them exchanging the money.”
That was definitely strange.
The Geumsan Money House’s bank drafts were extremely trustworthy, but they weren’t accepted all the way in a foreign country like the Great Yue Kingdom.
They would need to bring gold or silver if they wanted to trade there, so why would they turn that money into bank drafts instead?
I’d heard that the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group’s senior supervisor who had traveled here with us had cashed bank drafts and handed the money to the supervisors…
There was only one reason they would turn that money right back into bank drafts.
They had no intention of spending it in the Great Yue Kingdom. They planned to pocket it.
Gold and silver were heavy, and if they lost either in some unexpected situation, there would be no way to recover it.
Bank drafts were different.
Whenever a bank draft was issued, another copy containing the exact same information was prepared and kept at the money house.
That meant even if someone lost the original bank draft, they didn’t have to worry.
“But couldn’t they have simply exchanged their own personal money? What makes you think it came from the funds meant for buying pepper?”
“Because the purse they took the money from was the one used to hold the pepper-purchase funds. I’d seen it before, so I remembered it. More importantly…”
He continued.
“One of them asked the others nervously, ‘Aren’t we exchanging too much? What are we going to do if this causes trouble when we try to buy the pepper?’”
“…”
Well, that settled it.
I nodded and cupped my fist toward Navigator Song Juk.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Unexpectedly, I’d just gotten my hands on a major piece of evidence.
After inspecting the rest of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s ship, I returned to the inn and went looking for Deputy Merchant Lord Seong.
“Is everything ready?”
“Yes.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong, the two supervisors, and his escort guards were fully prepared and waiting for me.
Now they would leave through the window, then make it look as though they had only just arrived.
I’d had other reasons for inspecting the fleet, but the main one had been to determine when they should make their move.
“Now’s the time. You can move.”
“Understood.”
My escort guards and I opened the window, each picked up one person, and leaped outside.
I carried Deputy Merchant Lord Seong, while Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu each carried one of the supervisors.
Even though we’d jumped out the window while carrying people, we barely made a sound.
Tap.
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong’s escort guards, who jumped down after us, looked at us in admiration.
“You’re all quite skilled.”
“We still need to train harder.”
The reason my escort guards and I had handled it despite his own guards being there was simple – we were more skilled.
Honestly, jumping down while carrying someone was harder than it looked.
Meanwhile, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and Escort Guard Lee Pil, who had been keeping watch outside, gave us a hand signal.
It meant the coast was clear.
“Then follow me.”
We sprang up onto the rooftops and made our way toward a secluded area with very few people around.
A carriage was waiting there.
“You made it, sir?”
“Good work. Escort Guard Myeong Jong, Escort Guard Chang Un, thank you both as well.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong cupped his fist toward me.
“Thank you sincerely for going this far to help us.”
“We’re catching corrupt men. If we don’t root them out, how can our fleet make the trip with peace of mind? Besides, there’s something in it for us too.”
“Hearing you put it that way certainly puts my mind at ease.”
“First, I think you should go to the Geumsan Money House.”
“Why?”
I explained everything that had happened to the puzzled Deputy Merchant Lord Seong.
“So that happened. Just as I thought… I knew something was wrong.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong was a seasoned merchant himself.
He would know exactly how to proceed from here, so I didn’t bother saying anything more.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yes. I’ll see you later.”
I watched the carriage disappear into the distance with a broad grin.
Today should be interesting.
.
.
.
That afternoon.
After finishing their work, the sailors returned to the inn.
They washed away the sweat they’d worked up over the course of the day, then took their seats at the tables and waited for the food to arrive.
Among them were the sailors from the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group.
I was also waiting on the first floor for dinner.
They should be here any minute now.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, the door opened and Deputy Merchant Lord Seong walked into the inn.
“Is this where the Eunhae Merchant Group’s sailors are staying?”
He acted as though it was his first time setting foot here, so I rose from my seat and walked over to him.
“Oh? Aren’t you Deputy Merchant Lord Seong of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group? What brings you all the way here?”
Meanwhile, the three supervisors from the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group recognized him and hurried over to greet him.
“Greetings, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong didn’t acknowledge their greeting and instead spoke to me.
“I apologize for arriving without warning. The reason I’ve come is that we’ve decided to replace the supervisors the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group assigned to this trading expedition to the Great Yue Kingdom.”
At those words, the supervisors immediately erupted in protest.
“What do you mean, replace us with only one day left before departure?”
“Why are you suddenly changing people now?”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong answered firmly.
“We discovered a serious error in documents that you handled. Since you’re the only ones familiar with the details, circumstances require that you return to Sichuan.”
“What kind of error?”
I immediately cut in.
“You’re asking about your merchant group’s internal business in a place like this? And you call yourself a supervisor? What is this? Are you deliberately trying to make us overhear confidential information so you can accuse us of leaking it afterward?”
The supervisor who had spoken immediately became flustered by my reaction.
“Th–That’s not it.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong cupped his fist toward me.
“I apologize as well. Supervisor Dong’s words were inappropriate.”
“If that wasn’t his intention, I’ll let the matter go.”
“Thank you.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong turned back toward the three supervisors and continued.
“Therefore, Supervisor Im and Supervisor Dong will hand over their duties to the two supervisors I brought with me.”
At that, they hesitated so openly that they even forgot to control their expressions.
“Is there some problem? Why do you look like that?”
“W–Well…”
“We’re more familiar with the local conditions, so…”
“That’s precisely why I’m only replacing two of you. If the new supervisors find themselves lacking in anything, the Eunhae Merchant Group can help them. Isn’t that right?”
At his question, I readily nodded.
“Of course. We’ll help however we can.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong turned back toward them.
“Besides, these two have just as much experience with the pepper trade as either of you.”
“…”
“Is there another problem?”
“The pepper trader there promised to deal only with us!”
“If he’s the kind of trader who sells pepper of such poor quality, we’d be better off ending our dealings with him.”
“Th–That was because the harvest was bad…”
“Even during a bad harvest, a merchant has a duty to provide goods worth the price he’s charging. If he lacks even that basic decency, then we should cut ties with him.”
“…”
With Deputy Merchant Lord Seong saying that much, they had no excuses left and could only fall silent.
“Then Supervisor Im and Supervisor Dong, hand everything over to the two new supervisors.”
* * *
The three Myeongmyeong Merchant Group supervisors who had been scheduled to join this trading expedition, just as they had the previous one, were completely thrown by the sudden turn of events.
They were being replaced!
It was something they had never even imagined could happen.
At that moment, one of the supervisors who would be boarding the ship in their place asked Supervisor Im a question.
“Do you have the funds for purchasing the pepper?”
“What? Ah, yes, I, I do…”
“Then hand them over to me.”
“Understood.”
He took out the purse and started to hand it over, only to suddenly remember something critically important.
He had converted part of that money into bank drafts.
Any competent supervisor would naturally count the money the moment he received the purse…
Cold sweat streamed down his back.
He was in trouble.
“What’s wrong?”
“W–Well, that is…”
“Hand over the purse containing the company funds.”
“…”
The other supervisor practically snatched the purse from him, placed it on the table, and began taking out the money to count it.
A short while later, he tilted his head before turning to Deputy Merchant Lord Seong.
“Money’s missing.”
“What do you mean, missing?”
“Exactly what I said. There’s far less here than the original amount set aside for purchasing the pepper.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong frowned and turned toward Supervisor Im.
“Supervisor Im, explain this.”
“Th–That is, I mean…”
Supervisor Im suddenly pointed at Supervisor Dong.
“He stole the money!”
Supervisor Dong was startled, but he quickly understood exactly what was happening.
Supervisor Im had sold him out.
If he simply stood there and said nothing, he would be the one branded as the man who had embezzled the company funds.
He hurriedly protested.
“That’s not true! Supervisor Im suggested that we skim the money and convert it into bank drafts so we could keep it!”
“W–What are you talking about? When did I ever say anything like that?!”
Supervisor Dong shouted again.
“And you still have those bank drafts on you!”
At that, Deputy Merchant Lord Seong turned to the escort guards.
“Search him.”
“Yes.”
Supervisor Im resisted when the escort guards rushed toward him, but there was no way an ordinary man could overpower martial artists by force.
Before long, they found bank drafts issued by the Geumsan Money House hidden inside his clothes.
After checking the amount written on the drafts, the supervisor spoke.
“If we include these bank drafts, the total matches exactly.”
“I see.”
Supervisor Im immediately insisted on his innocence.
“This is a misunderstanding. That money is mine!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Who goes to a foreign country after converting such a large fortune into bank drafts? Only someone planning to run away halfway through the journey would do something like that.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind them.
“You’d be wise to tell the truth. His Highness the Crown Prince has said that he will personally oversee this trading expedition. What you’ve done also constitutes interference with that expedition. If His Highness hears about this, he won’t let it pass quietly.”
“…”
“If His Highness takes charge of this matter, the Embroidered Guard will be the ones investigating and interrogating you.”
At Eun Seo-ho’s warning, all three supervisors turned deathly pale.
They knew the Embroidered Guard’s reputation all too well.
Thud.
In the end, all three supervisors dropped heavily to the floor where they stood.
* * *
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong looked at the supervisors sitting on the floor, then turned to me with a request.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun, I’m sorry to ask, but could you lend me a few of your escort guards?”
“Of course.”
The three men were bound hand and foot before being confined inside a room.
He was probably planning to let the merchant group handle the matter internally.
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong cupped his fist toward me.
“I’m sorry for causing such a commotion.”
“It’s all right. I understand, so please don’t worry about it.”
Then I winked at him, and he winked right back.
.
.
.
The next day.
I headed to the Imperial Palace early in the morning.
I needed to escort His Highness the Crown Prince, Cousin Seon-il, and his wife to the docks.
Deputy Merchant Lord Seong had told me that he’d had a long discussion with the one supervisor who hadn’t been replaced last night.
My guess was that the discussion had involved a healthy mixture of threats and persuasion.
Before long, I arrived at the Imperial Palace.
“Ugh. I don’t know why, but every time I look at this palace, it gives me a strange feeling, sir.”
I burst out laughing at Palgap’s words.
He really did have remarkably sharp instincts.
I’d better keep what Daoist Cheong-su told me a secret from Palgap.
“I’ll be back.”
I entered Chaotian Palace alone and made my way to the Crown Prince’s quarters.
But as I approached, I sensed a familiar Qi outside.
It belonged to the Profound Realm expert who had delivered the Emperor’s Imperial Decree to me before.
Then why was he dressed like a eunuch?
–TL Notes–
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