The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 190

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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 Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 190

Chapter 190. The Imperial Silk Procurement Competition (3)

Footsteps approached, accompanied by a faint glow of lamplight.
“W-who is it?”
“I-I’ll go report this inside first!”
In place of Man Dong, who had frozen in place, a Colleague Escort rushed inside.
Soon after, the Small Guild Master of the Jinga Merchant Caravan and Pyo Du of the Daewoong Escort Agency, among others, emerged outside.
“Could it be a person? Or a ghost?”
“Either way, everyone stay alert.”
The lamplight drew steadily closer, until the figure came near enough for them to discern his features.
The face illuminated by the lamp was strikingly handsome—the kind that made one pause involuntarily.
Perhaps that was why.
Despite their fear from being tormented by the ghost, they stared at him in a daze.
“Is everyone unharmed?”
At his gentle voice, they stammered their replies.
“Gasp! W-what is the matter?”
“A-are you human?”
“I am human. I was camping over there when I heard screams, so I came to check. It seems you’re all well, which is fortunate.”
He surveyed the surroundings with an unhurried expression before speaking.
“Ah, you must be from the Jinga Merchant Caravan and the Daewoong Escort Agency. My name is Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Ah….”
At those words, the Small Guild Master of the Jinga Merchant Caravan stepped forward hastily and greeted him.
“My name is Jin Woo-jin, Small Guild Master of the Jinga Merchant Caravan. But if you’re camped ahead of us…?”
“Just ahead, that way.”
The place Eun Seo-ho indicated was where they would pass tomorrow.
In other words, he was traveling ahead of them.
That meant the obstacles they had placed on the road to hinder the Changin Escort Agency and the Eunhae Trading Company had become utterly useless.
Jin Woo-jin carefully composed his expression as he spoke.
“So you’re ahead of us. I apologize for disturbing your rest.”
“Not at all. We’re fine, but… you all look quite unwell.”
“That is….”
“Did you perhaps see a ghost?”
“…!”
At those words, they froze momentarily, and Pyo Du, who led the Daewoong Escort Agency, cleared his throat awkwardly.
“A g-ghost, you say? Ahem.”
“The truth is, we’re camping over there instead of here because this place is a Haunted Ground where ghosts appear.”
“….”
“I once passed through this place before and was planning to spend the night here.”
At those words, the bear-like attendant standing beside him nodded in agreement.
“At that time, an old man who appeared to be a local asked me something. ‘You didn’t happen to place any obstacles on the road, did you?'”
“….”
Everyone couldn’t help but flinch at those words.
However, the handsome man continued speaking as if he hadn’t noticed their reaction.
“So I asked, ‘Why do you ask that?’ and he said that if someone had placed obstacles on the road or failed to clear them properly, anyone spending the night here would see a ghost that taps on their shoulder.”
“Eek!”
“Eeeek!”
“He said there’s a sorrowful and tragic tale connected to this place.”
“A, a tale, you say?”
To the frightened question from Jin Woo-jin, the Small Guild Master, Eun Seo-ho answered.
“A woman heard that her husband, who had gone to a foreign land, had fallen ill. So she set out on the road carrying medicine to save his life. But someone had placed obstacles on the road, which delayed her journey, and by the time she arrived, her husband had passed away—just a couple of hours too late.”
“….”
“Heartbroken, the woman fell ill from grief and died. Her resentment transformed her into a ghost, and now she wanders this place, having set obstacles on the road to catch whoever delayed her. That’s what I was told.”
“….”
“And she marks the person she intends to take by tapping their shoulder.”
At Eun Seo-ho’s calm tone, they felt even more chilled.
“H-how can we prevent the ghost from appearing again?”
The fearful question from the manager.
“It’s simpler than you might think.”
“…?”
“Over there, there’s a small rock—that’s where she’s enshrined. If you apologize for your sins before it and do ten forward rolls, that should do it.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, forward rolls?”
“Yes. Then the traces she’s caught will be erased, and she won’t be able to find you anymore.”
Eun Seo-ho continued.
“So, one of my companions at the time had carelessly dropped a piece of wood on the road, which was considered as placing an obstacle, and we suffered greatly for it. Fortunately, we survived thanks to doing forward rolls before that rock.”
“That’s right.”
“The old man’s words were correct. In any case, we’ve avoided this place ever since.”
“….”
Eun Seo-ho spoke with a faint smile.
“Well, if you haven’t placed any obstacles or done anything like that, you can disregard what I’ve said.”
“Ha ha ha. Y-yes, I see.”
One of the Escort Masters from the Daewoong Escort Agency tilted his head and spoke.
“But we’ve never heard such a story. And it’s not as if we pass through here only once or twice.”
“We ourselves wouldn’t have known about such a tale if one of our companions at the time hadn’t done something like that.”
“….”
At Eun Seo-ho’s serious expression and tone, they could no longer offer any rebuttal.
I had not only already experienced the “ghost tapping on shoulders,” but I had also actually committed crimes, which made it all the more convincing.
“The night has grown quite deep. It’s fortunate that nothing seems amiss. It appears you’re leaving because of the Imperial silk delivery competition—let us all do our best together.”

* * *

I watched them with an inward smirk.
Had my story been that convincing?
They were completely frozen with fear.
In my assessment, this wasn’t so much because I had told the story convincingly, but rather because Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior had instilled such terror in them.
Of course, Geumryeong’s performance had contributed as well.
“Then we shall take our leave.”
“Ah, yes….”
We returned to the campsite.
“But I must say.”
“Hmm?”
“For a hastily improvised story, it was genuinely terrifying.”
At Palgap’s words, I chuckled softly.
“Even I have to admit I seem to have some talent as a storyteller.”
That’s right.
The entire “ghost tapping on shoulders” tale I had just told was completely fabricated.
Now it was time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
We made our way to a cliff near the campsite and gazed down below.
The location I had indicated was situated directly beneath the cliff, naturally visible from where we stood.
I had arranged some small rocks there and decorated the spot convincingly.
Shortly after, a group of people came rushing toward that location. They lined up in pairs of ten and stepped forward.
“We apologize for our transgressions.”
And everyone from Jinga Merchant Caravan and Daewoong Escort Agency performed ten forward rolls.
That was the real reason I had staged the ghost performance.
Watching them tumble and roll, my heart felt completely satisfied.
So who dares touch us now?

The next day,
we set out for Beijing once more.
Thanks to what had transpired the previous night, the managers’ gazes toward me brimmed with trust.
Well, I had struggled to suppress my laughter watching the people from Jinga Merchant Caravan and Daewoong Escort Agency tumbling about last night.
I thought the managers would split their sides laughing.
“We’re truly fortunate that the Third Small Guild Master belongs to our Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Indeed, that is so.”
Gold Manager nodded in agreement with Seok Chief Merchant and Young Manager’s words.
Thus our journey continued.
.
.
.
Several days later, we arrived in Beijing.
And we made our way to Yeonjun Trading Company, where my Aunt resided.
Yeonjun Trading Company had grown increasingly prosperous—so much so that we no longer felt burdened by their kindness.
“Welcome, nephew.”
Perhaps because I had sent word ahead, my Aunt and Seon-mi came to greet me.
“Aunt, it is an honor to see you. Seon-mi, it has been quite some time.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
“But didn’t you say Eun Jung-ho was coming this time?”
“That is true. However, Elder Brother Eun Jung-ho collapsed from overwork, so I came in his stead.”
“Oh my… is he well now?”
“Yes, fortunately his condition is not severe. But I was concerned that the strain of traveling to Beijing might worsen his health, so I came instead.”
“You did well. Though the road from Hubei to Beijing is easier thanks to it being an official route, it is still no trivial journey.”
My Aunt turned her gaze to the managers behind me, and I introduced the three of them to her.
“These are the managers who will be participating in this competition with me.”
As if they had known each other before, my Aunt and the managers exchanged greetings with warm smiles.
“It has been a long time. Chief Merchant Seok, and you two as well.”
“Yes, have you been well all this time?”
Now that I thought about it, all three of them had been with the Eunhae Trading Company since before my Aunt married and came to Beijing.
“The journey must have been arduous. Please rest at your leisure.”
“Thank you, Miss.”

I made my way to the Inner Compound quarters.
Only after washing away the dust and changing into fresh clothes could I finally collapse onto the bed.
“Ugh, spending so long in a carriage really is unbearable.”
“Still, I believe it’s more comfortable than riding a horse.”
“That’s true enough.”
I muttered thus while turning my thoughts to this Imperial Palace silk procurement competition.
In my previous life, I hadn’t directly participated in the competition, but I had steadily gathered information just in case.
There were several things I needed to be cautious about, and I had intended to give Eun Jung-ho a hint about them, but that became unnecessary.
First, the circumstances had shifted somewhat from before.
Among the officials judging the competition back then, one name was Go Seong-il.
He was one of the two men who had committed fraud when Seon-il Elder Brother took the civil service examination and rose to high office.
Since he had the Murim Alliance backing him, he naturally gave generous scores to Baekcheon Trading Company.
But this time, with him gone, the situation would differ somewhat from before.
Yet it mattered not.
I possessed other information besides that, and if I couldn’t manage even this much, I had no right to aspire toward the Greatest Merchant Guild Under Heaven.

* * *

The Imperial Palace.
In his office, the Emperor listened to the Eunuch’s report.
“Is that so? The representative of Eunhae Trading Company is that fellow?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor let out a soft chuckle, and the Eunuch asked cautiously.
“Shall I summon him, Your Majesty?”
“No.”
At the Eunuch’s suggestion, the Emperor raised his hand to stop him.
“Your Majesty? Why is that?”
“Think about it. If I summon that fellow, won’t both sides already be watching each other closely? How could this silk procurement competition proceed fairly?”
“I beg your pardon. My thinking was shallow.”
“This time, I’m curious what kind of trouble that fellow will cause. Hahahaha.”
The Emperor’s laughter suddenly stopped short.
“But then again…”
“Your Majesty? What troubles you?”
“The problem is that fellow is far too handsome.”

* * *

At last, the competition for supplying silk to the Imperial Court had begun.
We headed toward the Imperial Palace at the appointed time, as written in the imperial decree.
We had to gather before the Imperial Palace by the early hours of the Snake period (9-11 AM) and notify the Eunuch Official of our arrival.
Then we all had to move together to the venue for the competition.
We departed with my Aunt’s encouragement and soon arrived at the Imperial Palace.
An Eunuch Official stood ahead, holding a roster in his hands.
I approached him and spoke.
“Eunhae Trading Company.”
The Eunuch Official checked the roster and made a mark.
“We’ll be departing shortly, so please wait here and don’t wander off.”
“Yes.”
After about a quarter hour had passed, a bell rang out announcing the early hours of the Snake period.
“Everyone, form a line. Once you receive your entry pass, you must wear it and follow that Eunuch Official.”
I entered the Imperial Palace accompanied by Palgap and my guards.
The Imperial Palace had never stirred my emotions before, but today my heart raced with anticipation.

The competition venue was located in the Outer Palace section of the Imperial Palace.
We stood there and waited for a moment.
“Are you nervous?”
At my question, Seok Chief Merchant nodded.
“Yes, I’m quite nervous. To think I’ve entered the Imperial Palace in my lifetime—I’ll have something to boast about to my grandchildren.”
“Your grandchildren will be proud of you.”
Just then, the Eunuch Official’s voice rang out.
“The Empress, the Concubines, and the Princesses are arriving.”
The imperial family entered, and we all immediately prostrated ourselves and cried out.
“We greet the Empress! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!”
“Raise your heads.”
A dignified voice.
We rose from our positions and lifted our heads.
The elegantly adorned Empress, along with the Concubines and Princesses, came into view.
The silk, which was the theme of this competition, was material for imperial garments.
Therefore, the officials and palace maids responsible for the imperial wardrobe, the Empress and Concubines who used the most silk, and two officials sent by the Emperor served as the judges for this competition.
The Princesses appeared to have come merely as observers.
The Empress, in a calm yet commanding voice, ordered us to compete fairly and squarely.
Looking at her, I recalled my previous life.
Ten years from now, she would be poisoned to death.
By that very poison I had learned about when I visited the Jegal Family Estate before.
From the circumstances, it was certainly the work of the Murim Alliance.
If the Eunhae Trading Company wins this competition, that time might come even sooner.
They will grow impatient when they fail to obtain what they desire.
At that moment, a sudden curiosity struck me.
The Martial Arts World and the Government Authority were supposed to maintain non-interference in each other’s domains… so why would they go so far as to poison the Empress and install another in her place?

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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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