Almighty God of War - Chapter 88

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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088

Guyang Cheongang spoke in a calm tone.

“My true identity… You seem to have many curiosities. I also have something I’m curious about regarding Young Master Yeon.”

“What is it?”

“What Geumsan-ru hopes to gain from this situation. It’s certainly not mere curiosity.”

Yeon Sahyeok’s gaze sharpened.

“Geumsan-ru… desires change. We hope for cracks to appear in the profit structure of the salt sales business that Golden Tower Manor has monopolized for so long.”

“Do you see me as a tool that can create those cracks?”

“A tool? Wouldn’t it be better to call it an alliance instead?”

Yeon Sahyeok leaned forward as he spoke.

“Young Master, Miss Shangguan is a person of outstanding ability, but she lacks support from Ten Thousand Gold Mountain Villa. So she struggles both to back up your talents and to face Golden Tower Manor. But if you were to join hands with us, the story would be different.”

“Are you telling me to switch horses?”

“That’s right.”

“An interesting proposal. But there must be conditions.”

“Of course. We’re interested in your innovative techniques.”

“Don’t you think they’re absurd?”

“Miss Shangguan isn’t foolish enough to be deceived by a swindler’s sweet words.”

Guyang Cheongang smiled slightly.

Not looking down on competitors and viewing them objectively was certainly a praiseworthy attitude.

He said.

“The techniques I’ve created are expensive.”

“Naturally, we’re prepared to pay an appropriate price. If you accept my proposal, we’re ready to provide you with Geumsan-ru’s information network, financial power, and even political influence.”

A moment of silence passed.

Guyang Cheongang opened his mouth.

“It’s an attractive proposal. But it doesn’t seem like something to decide hastily.”

“Of course. However…”

Yeon Sahyeok stood up as he spoke.

“Please keep in mind that if you hesitate too long, the opportunity might disappear. Golden Tower Manor won’t just sit still either.”

Guyang Cheongang also rose from his seat.

“Thank you for the advice. I’ll consider it thoroughly.”

“Then I’ll see you again next time. Oh, and…”

Yeon Sahyeok turned around and threw out one last remark.

“Whoever you really are, our proposal remains valid. Whether you’re Hahou Gang… or someone else entirely.”

Leaving those words behind, Yeon Sahyeok’s group gathered up everything they had set up on the official road and disappeared in an instant.

As if they had never been there in the first place.

Guyang Cheongang stood alone on the official road, watching their retreating figures and muttering.

“An interesting person indeed.”

* * *

The manor of Hanlin Academy Scholar Moon Hongseo.

He was a figure who had held the highest position in imperial scholarship for thirty years and earned the deep trust of Emperor Changseong.

Among civil officials, he belonged to the highest ranks and was a power holder who wielded tremendous influence over policy decisions within the Imperial Palace.

Especially after his only daughter, Imperial Consort Moon, received the Emperor’s favor and gave birth to Princess Myeonghwa, his political status became even more solid.

The study located in the deepest part of the manor was filled with books on all sides.

Smoke rising from the incense burner created a faint mist in the air with white sandalwood fragrance.

Shangguan Wana sat properly in the chair in front of the desk.

Moon Hongseo, sitting across from her, was an old man in his late sixties.

Though the traces of time were deeply carved into his face with its grizzled beard, his still sharp gaze and upright posture conveyed the dignity of one who had stood at the center of power for many years.

This meeting had been arranged through his secret invitation.

Moon Hongseo opened his mouth.

“I hear the efficacy of those spirit pills distributed by Mangeum Trading Company is miraculous.”

He ground ink on the inkstone, continuing to speak without even glancing at Shangguan Wana.

“Like… the medical arts of that Divine Physician of Life and Death who prevented the epidemic in Jiangxi Province not long ago. Trading House Master, surely the rumors aren’t exaggerated?”

His voice was quiet, but strangely sharp.

Shangguan Wana was a bold woman. However, right now she felt a suffocating tension.

“You say exaggerated… Are you perhaps doubting the efficacy of the spirit pills, Scholar?”

“Doubt…”

Moon Hongseo put down his brush and looked at Shangguan Wana for the first time.

“It’s not doubt but certainty I want. Whether the person who made those spirit pills… can cure that person’s strange illness.”

A look of tension flashed through Shangguan Wana’s eyes.

Though it was an unexpected statement, Moon Hongseo’s words contained several important terms.

‘The person who made the spirit pills,’ ‘that person,’ and ‘strange illness’ were those terms.

Shangguan Wana carefully swallowed.

Mentioning ‘the person who made the spirit pills’ right now wouldn’t be a wise move.

And if Moon Hongseo was speaking of it, ‘that person’s’ status was certainly extraordinary, but no one came to her mind.

‘This is going to be a more serious conversation than I thought. I’ll have to improvise based on the situation…’

She asked.

“When you say strange illness, what exactly are you referring to?”

“An illness where the entire body becomes pale, suffers from extreme fatigue, and gradually loses strength due to unexplained high fever and sudden weakness. Skilled physicians said it seemed to be caused by lack of blood, but they couldn’t determine the exact name of the disease. No tonics had any effect. So some even whisper that it’s a curse from evil spirits.”

“Is there perhaps someone in the Imperial Palace suffering from such an illness?”

“That’s right.”

At Moon Hongseo’s answer, Shangguan Wana felt a chill down her spine.

What he was talking about now belonged to the highest level of confidentiality.

So if she said even one wrong word, the problem certainly wouldn’t end lightly.

For the first time, emotion entered Moon Hongseo’s voice.

It was pain and despair.

“At first, it started with simple fatigue and dizziness. But gradually the face became pale as paper, and every ten days brought unexplained high fever. The court physicians said it was lack of blood and used various blood-nourishing medicines, but there was no effect.”

His hands trembled slightly as he continued speaking.

“Eventually, some people even started saying that evil spirits were targeting that person, or that ghosts were sucking the blood away. But I’m certain. It’s not the work of ghosts but an illness.”

Silence fell over the study.

Shangguan Wana’s mind raced quickly.

‘Who could make the Scholar this emotionally agitated? His daughter Imperial Consort Moon already died several years ago, and I haven’t heard of any problems with his three sons…’

Then one person’s existence came to her mind.

Shangguan Wana carefully relaxed her hands, stiff with tension, and asked.

“Could it be… the Princess…”

Moon Hongseo nodded and answered.

“That’s right. His Majesty’s youngest daughter, Princess Myeonghwa, is suffering from that strange illness.”

“Hmm…”

Moon Hongseo looked at Shangguan Wana with deeply sunken eyes and continued.

“Princess Myeonghwa is… as you probably know, the child of my only daughter, Imperial Consort Moon. After Imperial Consort Moon passed away three years ago, Princess Myeonghwa is the only blood relative I have left.”

Shangguan Wana could now understand why the Hanlin Academy Scholar had sought her out and why he had asked about the spirit pills.

But at the same time, an even greater question arose.

“Scholar, while the Dragon Nourishing Pills and Yin Dragon pills are certainly spirit pills, they’re not medicines that cure diseases. And we don’t know if they’d be effective for the Princess’s illness. So why are you telling me this story…?”

“Hehe… you underestimate this old man too much.”

Moon Hongseo gave a bitter smile as he continued.

“When my granddaughter’s life is at stake, how could I have summoned the Trading House Master without knowing even that much?”

He opened the jade box on the table.

Inside were three or four Yin Dragon pills.

“I already obtained the Yin Dragon pills being sold to women and had the court physicians analyze them.”

“Ah!”

“The conclusion was that the Yin Dragon pills cannot cure Princess Myeonghwa. However…”

The Hanlin Academy scholar’s gaze became piercingly intense.

“They also concluded that whoever created this would have the ability to treat the Princess’s illness.”

Shangguan Wana’s face hardened as she intuited what Moon Hongseo wanted.

‘There were rumors recently that His Majesty the Emperor was sending an imperial envoy to the Guyang Family Estate to commend the Divine Physician of Life and Death for his merit in eradicating the plague… but that wasn’t the only task for the envoy…’

The Emperor must have been planning to bring the Divine Physician of Life and Death to the Imperial Palace to treat the Princess’s illness.

Moon Hongseo spoke in a gentle tone.

“Trading House Master, don’t frown like that. I’m not trying to oppress you, but to ask a favor.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I heard you’re struggling because you couldn’t obtain a license for the salt business. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Obtaining a salt merchant license isn’t easy. Golden Tower Manor has a monopoly on existing salt production and distribution networks. If the new salt production method you proposed is feasible, it’s only a matter of time before their interests crumble. And Geumsan-ru…”

Moon Hongseo paused briefly.

“They don’t welcome Ten Thousand Gold Mountain Villa expanding its influence in the Imperial Capital.”

“I’m aware of that.”

The Hanlin Academy scholar’s gaze intensified.

“I can open the path to a salt license for you.”

“There must be conditions in return.”

“Of course. Where in the world is there a free lunch?”

Moon Hongseo leaned forward.

“First, let me ask you, Trading House Master. Is the person who made those spirit pills really the Divine Physician of Life and Death?”

Shangguan Wana’s mind became complicated.

If she revealed the identity of the Divine Physician of Life and Death, Guyang Cheongang would inevitably be exposed more strongly to the blades of blood and the gaze of Gangho.

However, this was also an opportunity to accelerate not only her own prospects but also the reconstruction of the Guyang Family.

After briefly recalling Guyang Cheongang’s face, she exhaled deeply and said.

“That’s correct, Scholar.”

Moon Hongseo’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Can you contact him?”

“It’s possible.”

“Ah…!”

A light of joy appeared in Moon Hongseo’s eyes.

“How long would it take to bring him to the Imperial Palace?”

From Moon Hongseo’s words, Shangguan Wana realized that he knew nothing about Hahou Gang.

“Time will be needed.”

“Of course it would. But I hope it won’t take too long.”

“It’s also difficult for me to promise that he will treat the Princess. I don’t have the authority to force him.”

“Please do your best.”

Moon Hongseo’s eyebrows trembled slightly as he continued speaking.

“The Princess’s illness… is getting worse. Recently, she can’t even get up from her bed all day, and she becomes so breathless from the slightest movement that she nearly collapses. The court physicians say it will be difficult for her to survive past spring.”

After finishing their conversation, Shangguan Wana turned back to look before leaving the study.

Moon Hongseo was leaning back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

His appearance looked less like a person of power and more like a desperate grandfather trying to save his granddaughter’s life by any means.

As Shangguan Wana walked down the corridor after leaving the study, her heart was complicated.

A deal with the Imperial Palace was a double-edged sword.

She could gain a powerful shield, but at the same time, she could be exposed to even greater danger.

‘I need to consult with Young Master Guyang. I can’t make such an important decision alone.’

Clatter-clatter- Clatter-clatter-

She headed toward the Yeom Estate, watching the scenery of Hwangdong pass by through the carriage window.

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