The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 17

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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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The Fall of the Seo Clan: A Daughter’s Survival — Episode 17
“In gratitude for your recent aid, Muk Wang Fu has sent salt.”
Chong Gwan gestured toward the carts lined up outside.
“Salt?”
“A salt mine was discovered not long ago in Byeok Roe Valley of Muk Wang Fu. However, the matter is…”
As Chong Gwan hesitated, Seo Gon’s normally gentle face turned glacial.
“Speak plainly.”
“The salt is of such excellent quality that His Majesty has ordered all salt used in Eoseon Bang to be replaced with Byeok Roe Salt.”
“What? We’ve always supplied the salt for Eoseon Bang!”
The imperial court had relied on Wei Wang Fu’s Self-Salt for decades.
‘What kind of salt is this, that it enters Eoseon Bang?’
Seo Gon strode toward the carts stacked with sacks.
He drew his sword and slashed open a salt sack, and hard clods of earth spilled out in a tumbling cascade.
“What in the heavens is this?”
Chong Gwan, equally shocked, examined the debris that had poured from the sack.
“It appears… earth and salt are mixed together, Your Highness.”
Salt crystallized hard with earth.
The Salt Concentration was too high — fit neither for soil nor for salt.
The tendons stood out on the back of Seo Gon’s sword hand.
“Your Highness, there is a letter here from Muk Wang Fu.”
Seo Gon took the letter Chong Gwan offered.
[In return for your generous kindness before, I offer this humbly. I trust it will meet with your satisfaction.]
“My fourth brother has indeed concocted something amusing.”
In Seo Gon’s grip, the letter crumpled roughly.
* * *
After the salt mine was discovered.
The shadow of the Spring Famine Period faded, and vitality bloomed like new shoots.
In this year of salt’s scarcity.
Money began to flow for the precious rock salt.
Workers were recruited for the salt mine, and facilities for those workers began to take shape.
[That woman found work serving meals to the laborers, I hear.]
Un Jo inquired about news of the woman he had seen in the marketplace.
“A relief.”
[The Spring Famine Period will be resolved, so we can finally rest easy.]
As Un Jo spoke cheerfully, So A shook her head.
“This won’t end here.”
[What do you mean?]
“Seo Gon is not a man to suffer insults in silence.”
The salt trade is a cornerstone of Wei Wang Fu’s revenue.
Now that it has been touched, by his nature, he will not let this rest.
At that, Un Jo blinked.
He still seemed unable to adjust to So A’s sudden transformation.
[But you used to like him.]
“I did, once.”
Long ago.
So A let her gaze drift toward the window.
A beautiful face. A gentle tone.
He could never have lacked for admirers among the girls.
But that was not why So A had come to care for him.
“He was my savior in that life.”
That year when Yokok Valley’s defenses collapsed and demons ran wild.
Everyone fled.
The Jin Family and their servants alike.
Leaving her behind.
It was Seo Gon who had saved So A, abandoned there alone.
After that, he never let her forget it.
No.
He ensured she could not.
“To one’s lifesaver, one can grant at least that much, can one not?”
Gentle words wrapped around a cruel request.
Still, So A followed him.
Without him, she wouldn’t have survived.
She believed she owed him a debt of gratitude.
It was the only moment when her useless self found a reason to exist.
She never knew she would die by those very hands.
“Not anymore.”
Their long relationship ended simply—or perhaps, in its own complicated way.
Un Jo glanced at So A for a moment, then spoke bluntly.
“Well, I never liked that bastard anyway.”
She let out a short laugh.
So A burst into genuine laughter.
Quick to take her side, at least.
“Thank you.”
“But if that fool doesn’t stay put, what can we even do?”
Un Jo tilted her head thoughtfully.
“He won’t come in person, but he’ll reach out to the company.”
So A gathered her thoughts briefly.
A salt mine had been discovered, but the salt business was a separate matter entirely.
“They’re already moving.”
* * *
In his private chamber, Seo Heon examined the proposal from the Cheonseong Trading Company.
Eighty percent of all profits.
Distribution Rights Monopoly.
Complete exemption from toll taxes.
The terms were absurd.
A brush scraped harshly across slate.
[They expect me to accept this?]
“The Cheonseong Trading Company is the only merchant house with a distribution network spanning the entire empire. Muk Wang Fu lacks the resources for such an operation, so……”
No Chong Gwan exhaled heavily.
Muk Wang Fu had never developed a robust commerce.
The hazards of bordering Yokok Valley.
Treacherous terrain and scarce resources.
A land where mere survival was the only priority.
Because of this, large-scale enterprises had to be entrusted to major merchant houses from outside.
‘No matter the circumstances, such unreasonable terms……’
Since no one else could manage an operation of this scale, they had come forward with brazen confidence.
‘But this exceeds all bounds.’
The Cheonseong Trading Company was rooted in Wei Wang Fu.
Seo Heon quietly closed the proposal.
[I need to meet with the Cheonseong Trading Company myself.]
* * *
At last, spring blossoms adorned the Central Court of Muk Wang Fu.
A gathering of officials from the Cheonseong Trading Company.
So Haeng Su, their representative, proved to be a skilled man.
“Your Highness, this salt mine discovery is a blessing for the entire empire.”
So Haeng Su smiled toward Seo Heon.
Yet his eyes held not a trace of deference.
‘A mute king who cannot speak—is that not what he is.’
In negotiation, speech is power itself.
Seizing the initiative, checking one’s opponent, exchanging moves.
But Seo Heon had only silence to offer in any negotiation.
Was there an easier adversary to be found?
So Haeng Su continued with practiced ease.
“However, we fear these precious gems might dissolve and vanish on the road. As you know, salt is a difficult commodity to distribute.”
Seo Heon remained silent still.
Instead, the officials of Muk Wang Fu stepped forward and spoke.
“Eighty percent of all profits, no matter how difficult the distribution?”
At that rate, they would be surrendering the entire salt mine’s sovereignty to the Cheonseong Trading Company.
Yet So Haeng Su answered with unshaken confidence.
“Do you not require our Leather Tanning Technique?”
To distribute salt throughout the empire without it dissolving required technique.
“If it weren’t for us, you might lose eighty percent of your salt crossing rivers.”
Heavy downpours, humid regions, trade routes laced with rivers and streams.
To trade at all, one needed a method to preserve salt, which was vulnerable to moisture.
But Muk Wang Fu had never properly sold salt before, and possessed no such technique to prepare for these challenges.
Seo Heon, who had been listening quietly, picked up his brush.
[Excessive greed.]
So Haeng Su laughed at the elegant brushwork.
“It’s not greed—it’s simply receiving fair value for our work.”
[Fair value?]
“Let me ask you this: does anyone in Muk Wang Fu have the skill to submerge salt in water and retrieve it intact?”
So Haeng Su posed the question, glancing around the chamber.
The administrators of Muk Wang Fu exchanged uncertain looks.
Cheonseong Trading Company possessed the Leather Tanning Technique that could protect salt from water.
The people of Muk Wang Fu, who barely managed to sell coal, could hardly possess such expertise.
“If you bring such a person before me now, I’ll admit our demands are excessive and refuse any commission!”
So Haeng Su proclaimed this with bold confidence.
At that moment.
“Might I attempt it?”
A voice came from beyond the Weol Ryang Gate at the Central Court.
A small woman with long black hair stood before the gate.
So Haeng Su’s eyes narrowed at the sight of her.
‘So A?’
He recalled words that Seo Gon had spoken at a drinking gathering.
“Don’t underestimate the servant girl—her face is quite beautiful, actually.”
Her face was indeed beautiful.
But she was foolish.
Without proper education, stepping forward beyond her station?
So Haeng Su lifted his teacup with ease.
“So A, is it?”
“Yes.”
The saying fit perfectly: ignorance breeds courage.
So Haeng Su glanced casually around the room.
The administrators of Muk Wang Fu appeared visibly flustered.
And yet.
‘They’re not stopping her?’
Seo Heon said nothing, his brush still.
It was tacit permission.
‘Fine. If she humiliates herself, the negotiation will go even smoother.’
So Haeng Su slipped his hand into his sleeve and smiled.
“I’m quite eager to witness the skill you’ll display.”
* * *
A small pond adjoining the Central Court.
Seo Heon, So Haeng Su of Cheonseong Trading Company, and the administrators had gathered.
“Thank you for waiting.”
What So A had brought was a sack woven from straw.
‘Her great idea is just a straw sack?’
So Haeng Su watched the servants fill the sack with salt, his lips curling into a sneer.
“I’ve heard Cheonseong’s leather technique is quite superior.”
While the servants filled the sack with salt, So A spoke with a smile.
“But leather is terribly expensive, isn’t it?”
“So you mean to say that because leather is costly, you’ll solve the problem with straw?”
So Haeng Su chuckled derisively with perfect courtesy.
The design seemed inspired by straw hats and rain capes worn on wet days, but if straw could truly provide complete waterproofing, Cheonseong would have used it long ago.
‘Cheonseong isn’t run by fools.’
Watching So A, who understood nothing of the world’s ways, he felt his time was being wasted.
Once the servants had filled and sealed the sack, So A carefully applied something to the opening.
“If we found a method cheaper than leather, we could keep greater profits, couldn’t we?”
So A smiled brightly at So Haeng Su, and then—
Splash!
He shoved the sack into the pond.

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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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