That afternoon.
At the desk to my left, Young Lord Yeon Ju-hyeok was diligently going through a stack of documents.
He had all the makings of a brilliant administrator, so I still had no idea how he'd ended up so obsessed with martial arts that he decided to take me as his master.
Not that I was complaining. I'd gained an exceptionally capable deputy out of it.
I recalled the letter sent by Young Lord Yeon Ju-hyeok's father, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Hunan.
[I'm sorry my son has put you in such an awkward position. Unfortunately, his resolve is so firm that there is nothing more I can do to stop him. So I will trust you and place my son in your hands. Use him as your deputy or work him like a servant. Do whatever you please. He brought this upon himself, did he not?]
I chuckled inwardly.
Just what in the world had Young Lord Yeon done at home for the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Hunan to send me a letter like that…?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Young Lord Yeon Ju-hyeok must have noticed my stare, because he raised his head and asked.
“There's something I've been wondering about.”
“What is it?”
“I can understand how you convinced the Provincial Administration Commissioner, but how did you get your wife's permission?”
“…I cried.”
I blurted out before I could stop myself.
“What?”
“I mean… I cried and threw a bit of a tantrum, begging her to let me go.”
Young Lord Yeon Ju-hyeok answered with an embarrassed expression.
But his face soon turned serious.
“That's how precious the opportunity to become your disciple was to me, Master. I didn't want to let it slip away, so I cast aside my dignity and… yes. That's what I did.”
“And that was enough for your wife to let you come?”
“Yes. In exchange, she made me promise to send four letters a year and return home once to see my child.”
I could understand how his wife felt.
I called to him with a stern expression.
“Young Lord Yeon.”
“Yes.”
“If you break the promise you made to your wife, then on that very day, the bond between us as master and disciple ends.”
He was so startled by my words that he hiccupped before asking,
“W–Why are you saying something so terrifying?”
“Because it's that important.”
Those were things he absolutely had to do as a husband and as a father.
Come to think of it, that was what the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Hunan had said.
Use him as a deputy or work him like a servant. Do whatever I wanted.
In that case, I could afford to work him a little harder.
I remembered the final words he'd added to the letter.
[And congratulations on your marriage.]
I could feel the sentiment behind those words, and it left me with a strange feeling.
That night.
A eunuch visited the Beijing Branch, and I headed to the Imperial Palace after receiving the Emperor's summons.
I had a pretty good idea why he'd called me.
He certainly worked fast.
The moment the Emperor accepted my greeting, he got straight to the point.
“This is the decree you requested yesterday.”
I respectfully received the decree from the Grand Eunuch.
“Your Majesty's grace is boundless.”
“So, when do you intend to leave for the Hwangbo Clan?”
“I intended to depart as soon as Your Majesty issued the decree.”
“I thought as much, so I already have someone waiting for you.”
What?
“Bring him in.”
The Grand Eunuch went outside and returned with a man.
The man offered the Emperor the highest formal salute.
I couldn't help tilting my head as I looked at him.
Isn't that the uniform of the Embroidered Guard?
“Rise.”
“Your Majesty's grace is boundless.”
He raised his head and looked at me.
His eyes were piercing, and his build was compact and sturdy. One glance was enough to tell he'd seen more than his share of real combat.
I quickly cupped my hands.
“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Eun Seo-ho, a humble merchant.”
“I am Hwangbo Seon-yu of the Embroidered Guard.”
The Emperor nodded once before promptly dismissing us.
“You can hear the details on the road. Now get going.”
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu and I bowed before withdrawing.
Once we were outside the building, Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu spoke to me.
“How about a cup of tea?”
“Sounds good.”
“Follow me.”
I followed him until we soon arrived before another building.
[Hall of Loyal Robes (忠衣館)]
The name meant a place where those clad in garments of loyalty gathered.
But that meaning alone didn't truly explain what this place was.
Because this was, for all intents and purposes, the headquarters of the Embroidered Guard.
The Embroidered Guard earned their name from the gold-trimmed robes they wore, but they often said that the gold upon their clothing represented their loyalty to the Emperor.
That was why their headquarters was called the Hall of Loyal Robes.
“Am I actually allowed inside?”
“It's fine. I invited you. Who would dare complain?”
From the confidence in his voice, I could tell he held a fairly high position even within the Embroidered Guard.
“Then I'll trust you.”
He entered the Hall of Loyal Robes and led me to a room.
“This is my office.”
So I was right.
Even among the Embroidered Guard, only a handful of people would be important enough to have a private office like this.
“What kind of tea do you like?”
“I'll drink just about anything.”
“Hmm. Then this should do nicely today.”
He selected some tea leaves and began brewing the tea himself.
My eyes trembled as I watched him.
No, why would you treat such expensive Biluochun like that…?
“Have some.”
“Thank you. I'll enjoy it.”
I could already guess how it would taste, but refusing wasn't an option, so I took a sip.
“…”
I couldn't bring myself to drink another.
I carefully opened my mouth.
“My lord, would you mind if I… brewed us a fresh pot?”
“Hmm? You?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead, then.”
The moment he gave permission, I immediately emptied the tea left in the pot, took out more Biluochun, and brewed it again.
Pourrr.
Biluochun of a completely different color streamed into the cups.
“Please.”
I poured myself a cup as well and took a sip.
Whew. Now I can finally relax.
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu watched me before letting out a small laugh.
“You really are an interesting man.”
Where did that come from?
“Usually, when I make a dreadful pot of tea, people react in one of two ways. They either force a smile and drink it anyway, or they tell me it's delicious and then never touch their cup again. You're the first person who's ever dumped it out and brewed a new pot himself.”
What? So he'd deliberately ruined the tea?
“Now I understand why the old man called you such an amusing fellow.”
“You mean Elder Ghost-faced Constable?”
He nodded at my question.
“That's right. He is a legend in the Hwangbo Clan. His Majesty says it all the time himself – if not for that man, there is a very good chance the present Emperor would never have taken the throne.”
Those were words that could get a man into serious trouble if the wrong person overheard them, but the fact that he said them so casually probably meant the Emperor really had said exactly that.
“As you already know, my clan's main estate is in Jinan.”
Of course I knew.
The heart of Shandong, and the city where the Baekyeom Merchant Group was based.
And while I'm there, I absolutely have to stop by the Golden Rooster Pavilion and eat their spicy braised chicken.
“We'll leave tomorrow morning.”
“Understood. Is there anything I need to prepare separately?”
“Something for you to prepare…”
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu grinned.
“You can take care of one little matter while we're on the road.”
Which meant there was a reason the Emperor had assigned Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu to accompany me as a guide.
Come on, Your Majesty!
Isn't this going a little too far?
But it wasn't as though I could march back to the Emperor now and complain.
And the man standing in front of me was clearly a high-ranking figure among the Embroidered Guard.
I was hardly in a position to refuse.
Damn it.
I sighed inwardly and asked,
“What exactly do we have to do along the way?”
“I'll tell you once we're traveling. Go get some rest for now.”
.
.
.
The next morning.
My Escort Guards and I began preparing to leave at first light.
Lady Seohyang wouldn't be accompanying me this time either.
With summer fast approaching, she had more and more matters to handle.
“Then I'll be back.”
“All right. Be careful out there.”
I first said goodbye to Brother Jeong-ho, then turned to Lady Seohyang.
“I'll be back.”
“Travel safely.”
“Please take good care of Young Lord Yeon while I'm gone.”
“Of course. I'll make sure his education continues properly.”
The smile on her face as she said that somehow sent a chill down my spine, but whatever.
It wasn't as though Lady Seohyang was going to eat Young Lord Yeon alive.
She stepped closer to me.
As the distance between us narrowed, my face reddened before I even realized it. Palgap was staring at me with a peculiar look in his eyes.
Palgap, what's with that look?
But the moment she whispered into my ear, every stray thought vanished from my mind.
“…I'll remember that.”
And with that, we left the Beijing Branch and headed for the place where we'd agreed to meet.
Our meeting place was in front of a teahouse in Beijing.
We waited there for a short while until Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu arrived.
“You're here already. We're still fifteen minutes early.”
“For a merchant, keeping an appointment is a matter of life and death.”
“Hmm. True enough. Hahaha!”
He laughed heartily.
“But… are you alone?”
He nodded at my question.
“Traveling with a crowd is bothersome.”
“From what I understand, the Embroidered Guard rarely conducts missions alone.”
“That's true, but don't I have you?”
Meaning that because he had me and my Escort Guards with him, he'd deliberately left his own people behind.
Come to think of it, he wasn't wearing the uniform of the Embroidered Guard today either. He was dressed like an ordinary warrior.
There wasn't a single thing about his appearance that would make anyone suspect he belonged to the Embroidered Guard.
Could this have something to do with the task he mentioned yesterday?
“Well then, let's get moving.”
“Yes.”
We set out for Jinan in Shandong.
“By the way. What exactly is this task we're supposed to handle along the way?”
“Nothing particularly difficult.”
He continued.
“We received a report that someone in Shandong has been using His Majesty's name for his own purposes. We only need to verify the facts and, if warranted, drag the bastard in and deal with him.”
“…What? You mean there's a swindler?”
“Nothing has been confirmed yet.”
The fact that he refused to jump to conclusions told me that Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu was a cautious man.
When an incident occurred, deciding who the culprit was and what crime they'd committed before properly investigating could easily result in an innocent person being wronged.
But if you refused to assume anything and investigated each fact one step at a time, the chances of condemning an innocent person became much lower.
“Do you know what kind of person I hate most?”
“Someone who harbors treasonous intentions against His Majesty?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I dislike those people too, of course, but I hate swindlers most of all. A fraudster can ruin an entire family in the blink of an eye simply by deceiving them and bleeding them dry.”
I nodded at that.
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu was right. Anyone who thought fraud was a minor crime simply because a swindler only lied to steal money instead of directly killing someone had no understanding of what fraud could truly do.
They might not wield a weapon with their own hands, but what they did was little different from murder.
In fact, the consequences could be even more devastating than an ordinary murder or robbery.
“That's why, when I catch a swindler, I generally don't give them an easy death. So I'm warning you in advance. Things may become somewhat gruesome when we deal with this one.”
“I understand.”
I nodded.
“I don't think they deserve an easy death either.”
Hearing that, I finally understood why Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu was traveling in ordinary clothing.
Swindlers were usually clever and quick-witted, which also meant they were quick to cover their tracks the moment they sensed danger.
That was why he wasn't revealing that he belonged to the Embroidered Guard. He wanted to uncover the culprit's identity before the man realized he was being investigated.
Even so, aren't his clothes a little too plain?
Surely he could've dressed up just a little more.
Then Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu smiled and said,
“And once we're closer to Shandong, I'll be posing as one of your Escort Guards.”
“…Understood.”
So that was why he'd deliberately dressed so plainly.
I can't shake the feeling His Majesty tricked me into this somehow.
– Kui! Ku!
Geumryeong's Voice Transmission reached me.
It's fine? I'm going to squeeze compensation out of His Majesty for this anyway?
That's Geumryeong for you.
It knows me far too well.
– Still, extracting compensation from the Emperor himself is nerve-racking in its own way.
– Kui? Ku.
What's so difficult about it? I always squeeze things out of him so naturally that you thought it was easy?
“…”
I had nothing to say to that.
Our journey went smoothly.
We passed through Hebei and entered Shandong.
Didn't he say the person using the Emperor's name was operating near the Shandong border?
That bastard really has nerves of steel.
Shandong might be some distance from Beijing, but it wasn't exactly far away when all you had to do was cross Hebei to reach it.
“My lord.”
“Ah, yes.”
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu, who had now agreed to act as one of my Escort Guards, had called out to me.
“Warrior Seon-yu. Did you need something?”
And just in case, we'd decided not to use his surname.
“We should probably start looking for an inn.”
“You're right. Do you know anywhere good?”
“I grew up in this region, so I know it well. There's a fairly decent inn nearby.”
We headed in the direction Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu indicated.
The inn stood along a busy marketplace street and looked respectable enough.
We checked into a tastefully named establishment called the Moon Beneath the Pines Inn.
Then we went down to the first floor for dinner.
“What would you like to order?”
At the waiter's question, I turned to Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu.
“What do you recommend?”
“The specialty here would have to be Four-Happiness Meatballs.”
“Bring us that and whatever else you recommend.”
“Of course.”
As we waited for the food to arrive, the voices of several customers eating on the first floor drifted over to us.
“By the way, does that salve really work?”
“They say even His Majesty praised it to the heavens.”
“Then why would someone like that be selling salve all the way out here?”
“Apparently, he got caught up in a court power struggle and had no choice but to leave the Imperial Palace.”
At that, I raised my head and looked at Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu.
He had the look of a predator who'd just spotted its prey.
It seemed the hunt was finally about to begin.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won't get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt