The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 289

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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 289

Chapter 289. Poetry Thief (2)

At my shout, a man at that location startled violently, his foot slipping from the scaffolding he’d been standing on.
“Gack—!”
His neck caught on a ring that had been hung from the wooden framework of the building.
Seeing this, Seo-woo Warrior immediately unleashed a blade of sword energy.
Shwack—!
The blade severed the rope suspending the man’s neck, and he plummeted downward.
Thud—!
“Gasp! Gasp!”
I rushed toward him.
“Are you alright?”
“…Yes. I’m fine.”
Thanks to Seo-woo Warrior’s swift action, his neck hadn’t been constricted for long.
If anything, his tailbone from the fall would hurt more.
I looked at him and asked.
“Were you attempting to take your own life?”
“…”
His silence confirmed my suspicion.
But more importantly, where had the warrior who should have been guarding this place gone?
I’d investigate that later, but first I needed to understand why this man had tried to end his life here.
“This is the construction site of our Eunhae Trading Company’s Beijing Branch. I don’t know what circumstances led you here, but to attempt suicide at our site! Don’t you think that would cause considerable trouble?”
At my reproach, he prostrated himself in apology.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry!”
His eyes were hollow and lifeless, revealing a profound despair.
“Sigh, what on earth is the matter with you?”
“…That is something I’d rather not discuss.”
“Then there’s nothing to be done. Palgap, report this to the County Office. Tell them there’s been an unauthorized intrusion on our private property.”
“Understood, sir.”
“And since he infiltrated so deliberately and attempted to end his life here, this could be intended to cause significant damage to our Eunhae Trading Company. Request a thorough investigation into this matter.”
I continued.
“Do you have any idea how much money we’ve already invested in this Beijing Branch? If rumors spread that someone died here, all that investment goes up in smoke!”
My words were no exaggeration.
If this man had actually died here… I didn’t even want to imagine it.
“As you say, my lord, this is indeed a grave matter.”
“We nearly faced a catastrophe, sir!”
“So we need to get to the bottom of this thoroughly! Once he’s interrogated at the County Office, he’ll talk whether he wants to or not.”
I spoke while looking at Palgap.
“What are you waiting for? Report this to the County Office immediately.”
Just as Palgap was about to leave, the man cried out urgently.
“No, that won’t do!”
And he pleaded with me, grabbing at my trouser leg.
“I, I was wrong.”
Now we were getting somewhere with a real conversation.
Looking at his clothing, though worn and shabby, he wore a scholar’s hat and bore the appearance of someone who made his living through reading and writing.
“So what is it? Tell me why you were trying to confess.”
“That is….”
He let out a deep sigh, then withdrew a book from his bosom.
“It’s because of this book.”
The moment I took the book and saw its cover, I couldn’t help but be taken aback.
What? Why is this book…?
“Ah, this is a newly published poetry collection, isn’t it?”
Lee Pil Warrior said, looking at it.
“There’s been much praise for this poetry collection lately. They say it expresses the ultimate beauty that can be conveyed through poetry.”
Though Lee Pil Warrior was a warrior, he came from the prestigious Sichuan Tang Family, so he often sought out and read poetry collections.
That’s why he recognized this collection.
But the reason I was flustered upon seeing this poetry collection wasn’t because of the recent praise.
It was because the title of this collection was the [Ilgong Poetry Collection].
The author was Chu Il-gong.
Yes, Chu Il-gong was the man who, in my previous life, stole the poems written by Yu Inner Chief Manager and published them under his own name.
But in this life, I struck first.
I published the [Soak Poetry Collection] jointly with Yu Inner Chief Manager. Thanks to that, I formed a connection with the Jegal Family’s Grand Elder, and even now Yu Chief Manager stays in contact with the Grand Elder.
At Lee Pil Warrior’s words, the man began to cry miserably.
“No! Sob! Those poems aren’t his! More than half of the poems in that collection are mine!”
“What?”
Lee Pil Warrior asked in return.
“So you’re saying this man Chu Il-gong stole your poems?”
At that question, the man nodded while sobbing.
Ah, the saying about old habits dying hard comes to mind.
I thought that since I had published Yu Inner Chief Manager’s poems first, Chu Il-gong wouldn’t commit such an unscrupulous act.
But to think he’d find someone else and commit such an unscrupulous deed.
Of course, the man before me could be lying…but the chances of someone crying so miserably while trying to confess being dishonest are low.
It seems right to conclude that this bastard Chu Il-gong, with his track record, committed this deed.
Sigh, he really is garbage. That bastard.
“So I went and protested! Sob! But he instead treated me….”
“Like you were crazy.”
At my words, he nodded repeatedly.
“It’s so unfair, and that’s why….”
“So, you committed this act to prove your innocence through your own death.”
As I said this, what I picked up was a suicide note. It had fallen to the ground when I retrieved the Chu Il-gong Poetry Collection earlier.
I unfolded the suicide note.
The note contained exactly what the man had said—that he found it unbearably unjust that Chu Il-gong had stolen his poetry, and he wished to prove his innocence through death.
“Hmph, how foolish.”
At my words, he bristled.
“Even if I appear to you as nothing more than a writhing earthworm, this is the best I can do! So please, do not mock me!”
“Why would I mock you? I’m simply stating facts.”
I continued.
“Do you truly believe that writing this suicide note and hanging yourself will make him blink even once?”
“….”
“If anything, you’ll only be ridiculed as a fool who couldn’t withstand the pressure and died.”
At my words, he scratched the floor with his fingernails.
I could see blood flowing from his nails, but I did not stop speaking.
“If he were the type to reflect upon your death, he would never have stolen your poetry in the first place.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? There’s no way to resolve this injustice!”
A desperate cry.
In truth, there are methods available.
But such methods take considerable time and require substantial funds.
The bitter reality that ordinary people find it difficult to clear their names left a foul taste in my mouth.
“Before that, let me ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you choose to die here specifically? Honestly, if you wanted to die, there are plenty of other places.”
“That’s because this is the Eunhae Trading Company construction site.”
What did he mean by that?
“The Eunhae Trading Company is currently a place of great repute. And the Third Sub-unit Leader of the Eunhae Trading Company is famous as a hero of the Murim. For that reason, I believed my will would not be ignored.”
“….”
“And I thought my funeral would be conducted properly. In truth, my family is impoverished, and we lack the funds to hold a funeral….”
Well, well.
What is he saying now?
I was pleased by his praise of the Eunhae Trading Company, but his mention of conducting a proper funeral suddenly soured my mood.
Listen here.
Is the Eunhae Trading Company the kind of place that conducts free funerals?
And… family, you say?
“Do you perhaps have family members?”
“My parents have passed away, and I have a wife and a four-year-old son….”
I could not restrain myself and kicked his shoulder.
Thwack—!
“Ouch!”
The impact sent him tumbling across the floor.
“W-what is the meaning of this?”
“Ah, my apologies. When I heard that the head of a household was willing to abandon his wife and child, I couldn’t help but lose my temper.”
“….”
“How did you expect your wife and child to survive after making such a decision?”
“That is….”
My words caused his face to flush crimson, and he soon hung his head in shame.
Truthfully, I could understand why he had made such a choice. He must have been devastated beyond measure.
There are times when a person sees nothing around them—only one thing.
When that one thing disappears, they believe all meaning in life vanishes with it.
For the man before me, that one thing must have been poetry.
Still….
I cannot overlook the pain that those left behind must bear.
I spoke to him.
“Well, since this is fate, why not compose a poem for me?”
“Pardon?”
“That way, I can determine whether you truly possess the skill you claim.”
“Why should I prove my abilities to you?”
“Because if you’re lying, I intend to drag you to the County Office this instant.”
“…!”
He flinched, then carefully cleared his throat.
“Ahem, you should at least provide a theme.”
“A theme….”
I lifted my gaze. As the bitter winter drew near, the stars shone brilliantly in the night sky.
“Let us use the stars and the night sky.”
At my words, he closed his eyes and began to recite a poem.
Each verse was truly beautiful.
Yu So-ak Chief Manager’s poetry is beautiful, but what I was hearing now was equally exquisite.
It was as though he were painting the night sky itself into verse.
Yet this poem…somehow feels familiar. It reminds me of something I saw in my previous life?
A person’s writing style always carries their unique essence.
Therefore, even if one borrows another’s name, those with discerning eyes will recognize the truth.
Lee Pil Warrior, who had been listening to his recitation, furrowed his brow and cried out the moment he finished.
“This poem resembles the verses from Chu Il-gong’s collection!”
“Of course it does! Because I wrote it!”
I nodded calmly and asked him.
“Your poem is truly beautiful. You certainly possess genuine skill. May I ask your name?”
“My name is….”
He hesitated before speaking.
“Song Nok,” he said.
“…!”
I was struck by shock at those words.
What? Song Nok? That ill-fated poet Song Nok?
In my previous life, there had been an incident that set the world ablaze with gossip.
It was because of a poetry collection.
The poems in that collection were extraordinarily elegant and beautiful.
So people searched far and wide until they found the author of the collection.
But he shook his head.
“Those are not my poems. I merely compiled and published my father’s works.”
When asked about his father’s whereabouts, the son supposedly led them to where the ancestral tablet was kept.
Along with the words, “It was my father’s dying wish.”
An ancestral tablet inscribed with the name Song Nok.
In other words, that poetry collection was the posthumous work of the poet Song Nok.
That’s right.
This man before me could only have his name revealed after death.
I couldn’t fathom how that bastard Chu Il-gong managed to find such people so effortlessly.
In my previous life, Yu Chief Manager; in this life, the poet Song Nok.
Hmph, I can’t just leave this alone.
Then Song Nok asked me a question.
“By the way, who might you be?”
“You’re asking about me?”
I told him my name.
“My name is Eun Seo-ho. I am the Third Sub-unit Leader of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“…!”
At my words, he was startled, then hurriedly bowed his head in apology.
“I, I have spoken recklessly. Please forgive me.”
Even he himself seemed to recognize that his words had been reckless.
Regardless, trash needed to be disposed of.
“Allow me to help you.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean to help you clear your name of this injustice.”
“I am truly grateful. You are indeed Seon Hyeop Mi-rang.”
No.
The reason I help him is not some sense of heroism.
It is revenge against Yu So-ak Chief Manager for criticizing him as mediocre and wounding him, and for even appropriating his poetry in my previous life.
“There is no need for such words. After all, it is work you would have to undertake anyway.”
And once this matter is resolved satisfactorily, I intend to receive some compensation from this man.
In the form of employment.
I recall what his son said about his father in my previous life.

“My father devoted his entire life to poetry and literature. He was simply a man who consumed rice without contributing anything. That’s why my mother suffered greatly, and I myself began earning money as soon as I came of age. So please, do not ask me to compose poetry. The mere sight of it makes me nauseous.”

Admittedly, there was nothing particularly appealing about it, but I felt sorry for that family. And it seemed a waste of their talent.
Well, the harder I work them, the less their family will go hungry.

* * *

The winter cold in Beijing this year was more biting than last year’s.
But an event occurred that made one forget that very cold.
It all began with a single notice.

[Imperial Poetry Competition]
[Poets! Raise your honor throughout the entire Empire!]

It was an announcement regarding the Imperial Poetry Competition.
Poets who wished to make their names known throughout the Empire began to stir with anticipation.
And what moved them was none other than the prize money.
“Have you heard? The prize money for this Imperial Poetry Competition is supposed to be enormous?”
Chu Il-gong and his Old Friends discussed the Imperial Poetry Competition, which had become the talk of Beijing.
To this, Chu Il-gong spoke with deliberate composure.
“Ahem! Ahem! I have no interest in prize money.”
Because the poetry collection he had submitted was not truly his own work.
“As expected of you, Chu Il-gong. You are a true poet. That’s why I’ve prepared a gift for you.”
“A gift?”
His Old Friend handed him a piece of paper.
“It’s your entry certificate for this poetry competition. I submitted your registration under your name. Hahaha.”
“….”

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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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