Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 203

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Chapter 203

He could have dressed it up as something else—a merchant’s trade, say. He was selling strength, after all, which wasn’t entirely a lie.
“The Heuksahoe? What is that?”
“Commonly called thugs or gangsters, Your Majesty. They maintain order in places where the government’s reach does not extend.”
Unlike his initial nervousness, the words came smoothly now.
“There are places the government cannot reach? In this realm?”
“Of course there are, Your Majesty. It seems you wouldn’t know, living in the Forbidden City as you do…….”
“Ahem! Hem!”
The dry cough that cut off Kang Chan-sik’s words came from Yeom Je-yang, a eunuch standing beside the emperor.
Yeom Je-yang served as the Chief Eunuch of the Saraegam, the greatest power institution among eunuchs—a man who currently wielded authority second only to the emperor himself.
“Mind your words. Is there anywhere under heaven where the emperor’s benevolence does not reach?”
Kang Chan-sik, perceptive enough to take the hint, quickly closed his mouth with, “Of course not, Your Majesty.”
Dan Jeong-cheol was wiping his brow when the emperor spoke again.
“From what I hear, this Heuksahoe seems to be quite a unique organization. How do they regard me, their emperor?”
Dan Jeong-cheol felt his blood pressure spike to the crown of his head.
‘Please. Please!’
Kang Chan-sik opened his mouth.
“Well…….”
“However lowly they may be, they all receive the emperor’s grace, so naturally they would regard you as a father figure.”
Yeom Je-yang answered swiftly in his place, and Kang Chan-sik merely added, “Indeed, Your Majesty.”
What Kang Chan-sik had actually meant to say was, “I’ve never given it a moment’s thought in my life.”
Finally came the emperor’s words: “If there is something you wish for, speak it now.”
“I am currently living quite contentedly, Your Majesty, so there is little I desire.”
Though he’d left out a few words expressing gratitude for the emperor’s favor, it was a safe answer, delivered as he’d been taught.
But then Kang Chan-sik continued.
“I only wish that the government would stop bothering our Heuksahoe so much.”
“Bothering you? But you said you do the government’s work for them?”
“That’s just it, Your Majesty. We’re worthy of reward, yet they keep coming around demanding bribes…….”
Fortunately, Yeom Je-yang cut off Kang Chan-sik’s words again.
“Since your organization operates without government sanction, surely some official oversight is warranted, is it not? Perhaps it would be wise for Your Majesty to view it in that light.”
The emperor nodded and spoke.
“Then the solution is simple—you should become the official in charge of that very government.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“If you become the Provincial Governor of Hangju, you would have no reason to trouble the Heuksahoe, would you?”
“Your Majesty? You’re saying I should become Provincial Governor?”
Yeom Je-yang sensed it was time to end this audience.
“A decision of unparalleled wisdom, Your Majesty. I am humbled by your sagacity. How could a lowborn man like Kang Chan-sik do anything but offer his eternal gratitude for your favor?”
“I am profoundly grateful, Your Majesty! May your reign endure!”
Though he shouted the words with conviction, Kang Chan-sik found it difficult to fully comprehend what had just happened.
Provincial Governor of Hangju? Himself, the leader of the Heuksahoe?
Go Shin-ji’s audience that followed concluded without incident.
She politely declined the emperor’s suggestion that she come live in the Forbidden City.
And so Kang Chan-sik’s visit to the Forbidden City came to an end.
As he exited the Forbidden City, Kang Chan-sik looked back at the towering walls and turned to Dan Jeong-cheol.
“I did well, didn’t I?”
“You were excellent, absolutely excellent.”
At the very least, he’d left with his head still on his shoulders. That was good enough.
“But am I really going to become Provincial Governor of Hangju?”
“Since the emperor has decided it, it will come to pass. For now, you’ll need to remain in Beijing. The current Provincial Governor will need to be reassigned, and you’ll require training in your duties as governor.”
“Me? A Provincial Governor?”
Kang Chan-sik stared blankly up at the sky.

***

From the moment they’d arrived in Liaoning Province, they’d expected the Carrier Pigeon to head for the Moyong Clan, and their expectations proved correct.
That was how he managed to blend naturally with Seo Seok-san, who had been keeping watch over the Moyong Clan.
Seo Seok-san relayed what he had discovered about the Moyong Clan during that time.
“There is one suspicious fellow. Not one of the Moyong Clan’s own people, but he’s lodging in a detached building deep in their back garden. Every so often he goes out, wanders around the city, takes a meal, and returns.”
“Did he meet with the Moyong Clan’s patriarch or sub-patriarch, or exchange any notable words?”
“No one encountered him during the time I was observing.”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke.
“Why didn’t you just seize him and interrogate him?”
“If he looked like the Sam Gongja you’re searching for, perhaps I would have. But he can’t be more than thirty. There’s no way such a person could be the Sam Gongja you’re looking for.”
“True enough. He should at least look middle-aged, even if he were it.”
“But our teachers don’t look a hundred years old either, do they? Let’s not exclude possibilities based on appearance alone.”
Seo Seok-san spoke with an exasperated tone.
“We can’t keep watch here forever, can we?”
“I’ll find a way.”
Instead of the impatient Seo Seok-san, Yeon Geum-hong volunteered to continue surveillance of the Moyong Clan, and they headed into the city.
Just as they reached the edge of the city, all of them gasped so sharply they could hardly help it.
“Master!”
Do Pyeong-su, who came into their view, wore the same astonished expression as he cried out and rushed toward them.
“Do, what brings you here?”
“I received a carrier pigeon sent by our master.”
“So you came to meet us?”
“It’s not as if there’s no urgent business. I didn’t come here just for amusement, I assure you.”
From his expression, it seemed he would have come anyway, urgent business or not.
“Has something happened at the Northern Ice Palace?”
“The poison afflicting the Young Palace Master won’t lift, no matter what we do. So Jang Man-dok came to fetch me.”
Jang Man-dok wore an expression that said, ‘Me? I didn’t want to go.’
But when Geom U-bin said, ‘Go on, then,’ he sighed reluctantly, as if he had no choice.
“Then I suppose I should stay behind in Jang’s place?”
Do Pyeong-su dodged an attack from Jang Man-dok aimed at the back of his head, launched a counterattack, and after exchanging a few moves, Geom U-bin intervened.
“You must go together. If Jang goes alone, there will be difficulties in communication, and you won’t be able to enter the Northern Ice Palace at all without proper credentials.”
Do Pyeong-su’s face fell.
“You want me to go back to that tedious place again?”
“Spend some pleasant time with your senior there.”
Pushed by Geom U-bin, Do Pyeong-su cast a pleading glance before departing with Jang Man-dok.
Only after sending Do Pyeong-su off did Geom U-bin realize she hadn’t asked him about the great fire that had occurred here in Shenyang.
“No doubt about it—Pyeong-su and Bi-yeon caused that mess.”
Because the fire had been so massive, the city of Shenyang was still in the midst of reconstruction.
As they were about to enter a restaurant that had escaped the flames, raised voices erupted from the street.
“Where are you off to while we’re fixing the house?”
A woman carrying a child cried out shrilly, and the shaggy-haired man before her raised his voice in turn.
“I’ll fix the burnt houses! But I need to earn money to put food on the table! Money!”
“Good heavens! The Moyong Clan gives us barely a pittance, and we haven’t heard a peep from them!”
“How is it the Moyong Clan’s fault? We should blame Oseong Jang-won! They promised a hundred thousand taels in relief funds and handed out only ten thousand! The Moyong Clan added another twenty thousand, so we at least have something to survive on!”
“Why blame Oseong Jang-won? Those people far away in Hangju gave ten thousand taels—that’s incredibly generous! It’s the Moyong Clan that mobilizes people for every little thing, squeezes them dry with cut wages, and extorts protection fees that should be blamed for putting out merely twenty thousand!”
“Has this woman lost her mind? Shut that mouth this instant!”
The man glanced around with fearful eyes, tried to calm the woman, then hurried away with quick, uneasy steps.
Seo Seok-san asked Geom U-bin.
“Wasn’t the amount we provided two hundred thousand taels?”
“It was. Gal Sa-jil said he entrusted it to the Moyong Clan’s sub-patriarch. At the time, the sub-patriarch claimed the Moyong Clan would also contribute four hundred thousand taels. I thought six hundred thousand total would be more than enough for reconstruction, but……”
“Ma Pyeong wouldn’t have lied, so it seems the Moyong Clan handed over only thirty thousand and pocketed the rest.”
“The Moyong Clan is becoming less and less favorable in my eyes.”
Entering the restaurant, they spotted four Moyong Clan martial artists gathered around a single table.
“Guildmaster—or should I say, former guildmaster. Still spouting useless nonsense, I hear?”
The martial artists were perhaps thirty at most, while the man sitting fearfully among them was well past sixty.
Yet there was no sign of respect shown to the elderly man by the warriors.
“I—it’s not useless talk, it’s the truth that——”
Bang!
The man with a large mole on his chin struck the table, silencing the guildmaster.
“The truth? The truth is that Oseong Jang-won committed fraud! Who has two hundred thousand taels lying around? Why would that place hand out such money!”
“But why would those people, who saved hundreds of lives in that fire, lie to me? I saw that money with my own eyes. They clearly promised two hundred thousand taels.”
“This old fool’s mind is going—he’s seeing things that aren’t there. Are you saying the Moyong Clan embezzled the money? How would you expect to survive saying such things here in Shenyang?”
A middle-aged man who appeared to be the restaurant owner hurried in and interjected.
“Oh my, it seems the Guild Master is talking nonsense under the influence of drink. There’s a reason the old saying goes that one should know when to retire—so please, gentlemen, calm yourselves. Chairman! Or rather, former Chairman! If you’ve already been driven from the Merchant Guild Master’s seat because of that mouth of yours, shouldn’t you have learned to be more careful? In any case, blame the cursed liquor! I shall see to it that he watches his tongue from now on, so please, sirs, let go of your anger.”
“If I hear any more of this nonsense, there will be consequences. Remember that.”
Once the warriors disappeared, having left their threat hanging over the old man, the owner took the seat across from him.
“Chairman. I told you to stop saying such things. Why do you keep provoking the Moyong Clan?”
The old man drained his cup in one long gulp before speaking.
“In all my years, I have never held back words I believed to be true. And those people from Oseong Jang-won—they are the benefactors of our Shenyang! How can I stay silent while they are slandered as liars?”
“Even if the Moyong Clan did embezzle that money, what could you possibly do about it, Chairman? All you’ll accomplish is getting yourself hurt. Just forget it.”
The owner stood and went to Geom U-bin and Seo Seok-san to take their order.
“Now it’s clear.”
“We’ll need to break the Moyong Clan’s grip entirely.”
“But first, we must capture the Sam Gongja.”
“Do you have a method?”
“We’ve found a pretext to shake the Moyong Clan—so let’s shake them. If we’re fortunate, the Moyong patriarch and this mysterious guest might meet, and if we listen to their conversation, we can tell whether he is the Sam Gongja, can’t we?”

***

Mo Yong Seol-yeong could hold back no longer and sought out Mo Yong Kang-seok, the sub-patriarch.
The rumors circulating through Shenyang lately had made Mo Yong Seol-yeong deeply uneasy.
If the rumor was true—that Oseong Jang-won had entrusted two hundred thousand taels for fire recovery repairs, but the Moyong Clan released only thirty thousand taels and embezzled the rest—this was no ordinary mistake.
It was the kind of thing that could shake the very foundations of the Moyong Clan.
Mo Yong Kang-seok did not know Oseong Jang-won well, but Mo Yong Seol-yeong had experienced Geom U-bin, the sub-patriarch there.
Oseong Jang-won was not the small estate in Hangju that Mo Yong Kang-seok knew it to be. It was a place whose true power even she could not fully gauge—and that was what made it so terrifying.
As it happened, Mo Yong Kang-seok was attending to his duties in his study.
“What brings you to my chambers? I think this is the first time since you were twelve.”
She had always been closer to Mo Yong Seong-baek, the second son, who was ten years her senior, than she was to Mo Yong Kang-seok.
Though even that closeness was limited.
It would be more accurate to say whom she disliked least rather than whom she liked more.
“Is the rumor circulating through Shenyang these days true?”
“You mean the rumor that you’re being married off?”
“You know what I’m asking about.”
Mo Yong Kang-seok’s eyes shifted from the documents to Mo Yong Seol-yeong.
“It’s merely idle gossip from those who like to fabricate tales.”
“Is it truly just gossip?”
A frown creased Mo Yong Kang-seok’s brow.
“Are you saying you don’t trust your elder brother’s word?”
Using authority to silence dissent seemed to be an inherited trait of the Moyong Clan.
“Of course I’m not doubting you. But if there’s even the slightest chance the rumor is true, the Moyong Clan will face a rather serious problem.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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