The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 325

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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 325

Chapter 325. Settling Accounts Cleanly (3)

I earnestly explained to the Emperor the justification for my expenditures.
“To be honest, I never intended to spend such a vast sum. However, once I discovered that there were people pursuing me, it became quite difficult to complete Your Majesty’s request without deploying those funds.”
In other words, my excessive spending was entirely because the Emperor had failed to inform me in detail about the dangers and circumstances of this matter.
So where did the fault truly lie?
“Staying at upscale inns was to catch those pursuing me off guard. And spending that enormous sum as bribes in Kaifeng was to lure those pursuing me elsewhere….”
As I offered my explanation, the Emperor raised his hand.
“Enough.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Tsk, tsk. It’s my fault for asking for reasons.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue and grumbled.
“Since there were details about this matter I failed to explain to you, I shall let this pass as is.”
“Your grace is as boundless as the sea.”
I bowed respectfully while concealing my disappointment.
I could have inflated the expenses further by including hazard pay, but it’s a shame.
But since my counterpart is His Majesty, I should restrain myself to this extent.
“Ah, and I’ve brought a small gift for Your Majesty. Though there was a slight complication along the way.”
“A gift? Ah… you mean those Black Path members who attacked you?”
“Indeed.”
He already knew. That meant he was also aware of what transpired during the transfer of that gift.
Thanks to the Imperial Guards I subdued as well, the gift had doubled in quantity.
“It was a very fine gift.”
A smile played at the Emperor’s lips.
“I apologize for the unseemly incident that occurred along the way.”
Though he was smiling, I could sense a chill in the Emperor’s voice—it wasn’t my imagination.
“They will pay the appropriate price.”
“….”
“You even had to discard a fine garment because of it.”
Since I had engaged in direct combat, my clothing bore several tears.
“I shall compensate you generously for the garment.”
“Your grace overwhelms me.”
“And I am personally grateful to you for completing my request so excellently. I entrusted this task to you because I believed you would handle it well.”
Deep trust in me resonated through the Emperor’s words.
“I shall ask for your assistance again next time.”
“….”
What?
In that instant, my heart, which had been swelling with emotion, shattered like glass.
Ah… Your Majesty. That’s not what I meant.
Please, I beg you—don’t summon me again next time.
The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak them aloud.
“Ah, and this is the reward I promised you for your work.”
“…?”
I accepted the scroll respectfully through the Eunuch and unrolled it, nearly losing control of my expression in that moment.
What?
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? If you don’t want it, I can take it back….”
“No, not at all! I’m simply so delighted that I’ve lost my words for a moment. I accept this gift with the deepest gratitude.”
Have I lost my mind?
Why would I ever return this?
“You must be exhausted. Go and rest.”
“Yes, I shall take my leave now, Your Majesty.”
I bowed respectfully to the Emperor’s dismissal and departed.
.
.
.
“You’ve emerged?”
“Yes.”
As I stepped out of the Imperial Palace, Seo-woo Warrior and Myeong-jong Warrior were waiting for me.
“However….”
Seo-woo Warrior’s gaze sharpened.
“What’s happened to your clothes?”
“Ah, this?”
Seo-woo Warrior never misses a thing. He caught it immediately.
There’s no hiding it.
“In truth, something occurred inside. It’s not appropriate to discuss it here—let’s speak of it once we return to the residence.”
“…I understand.”
And so we returned to the temporary residence.
“Small Guild Master, you’ve returned?”
“You’ve worked so hard, Small Guild Master.”
The people from Hyunpung staying at the temporary residence greeted me.
“Has everyone been well in my absence?”
“Of course.”
A radiant glow emanated from their faces as they answered.
I envied them. I’d come back exhausted from dealing with the Emperor’s request.
But what could I do? Such is my fate, I suppose.
“Then return to your duties.”
“Yes.”
I entered my room, and Palgap came out and spoke.
“Young Master, I’ve prepared warm water in the bathhouse for you.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Huh?”
Palgap looked at me in surprise at that moment.
“Why are your clothes in such a state? Did you fall in the Imperial Palace courtyard?”
“Sigh, there’s quite a story behind this.”
Since Seo-woo Warrior was here anyway, it would be convenient to explain it now.
“Actually, when I was handing over those Black Blade Warriors, something felt off. So….”
I explained the entire sequence of events.
“In any case, I subdued them safely and handed them over to the Geumui Guard.”
Seo-woo Warrior spoke in response to my words.
“The old saying that one must never let their guard down until the very end was not wrong.”
“That’s true.”

After washing with the warm water Palgap had prepared, I sat down before the wooden table.
When heading to Gansu, I hadn’t been able to contact Father because I didn’t know how things would unfold.
The situation had been urgent as well.
But now that I’d returned safely, I needed to explain everything to Father and let him know I’d come back well.
Also, I had to report on what the Emperor had given me.
I took out brush, ink, and paper and wrote a lengthy letter about this entire affair.
“Geumryeong, come here.”
At my words, Geumryeong emerged from inside my sleeve. But the creature was holding something in its mouth.
Hmm? This is a silver coin?
“Where did you get that silver coin?”
At my question, Geumryeong hopped onto the wooden table and scurried back and forth, explaining.
“Hmm, so… at the Imperial Palace just now? Ah….”
Just now at the Imperial Palace, I had thrown a silver coin to subdue an Imperial Guard who was about to swing his sword at those I was handing over.
And I had forgotten to retrieve it, but Geumryeong had gone back and retrieved it for me.
Ha! What a clever creature.
“You can eat that, Geumryeong.”
At my words, Geumryeong’s eyes gleamed brightly.
But I noticed something dark on it, so I held out my hand.
“Wait, let me see it for a moment?”
Geumryeong obediently placed the silver coin in my hand, and I wiped it clean with a handkerchief.
“It’s got dirt on it. Here, here!”
“Squeak!”
“Go on, eat it.”
Geumryeong swallowed the silver coin whole.
“And would you do me a favor? I need to deliver this letter to Father.”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Pleased by the silver coin, Geumryeong nodded eagerly.
I tied the letter to Geumryeong’s tail, and the bird shot through the window like an arrow.
Then I began tackling the backlog of work.
As I’d anticipated, tasks had piled up considerably, and to finish them all…
Would I manage it by cutting back on sleep for ten days?
.
.
.
The next morning.
When I opened my eyes, I was slumped over the wooden table.
“Ugh…”
My entire body felt stiff and sore.
When did I even fall asleep?
It must have been around the hour of the Tiger, around three to five in the morning.
So I’d managed perhaps two hours of rest.
I rose from my seat, changed clothes, and headed to the courtyard. No matter how exhausted, I couldn’t skip a day of cultivation.
“Young Master, wouldn’t you like to sleep a bit longer?”
At Palgap’s words, I yawned and replied.
“If I skip cultivation, Master will scold me.”
Saying so, I descended to the courtyard, where the other Guard Warriors greeted me with morning salutations.
“We request your protection.”
“Understood.”
I sat atop a rock in the courtyard and began my breathing meditation.
Whether because the vital energy gathered through breathing meditation was cold yin essence, or because of the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art’s unique nature, vitality surged through my body and my mind sharpened instantly.
As I opened my eyes after completing the meditation, Geumryeong was sitting before me.
“That was quick.”
I fed Geumryeong another silver coin, then untied and unfolded the letter hanging from its tail.
“…”
It was a far longer letter than the one I’d sent.
Father already knew the general circumstances. It seemed the Eun Branch Manager from the Beijing Branch had sent word.

[What an eventful spring this has been. Still, I’m relieved you returned safely and in good health.]

Yes, Father.
It truly has been an eventful spring.
As I read the letter, which began with his concern for me, I found myself smiling without realizing it.

[How delightful that His Majesty the Emperor holds you in such high regard. Yes, it must be delightful. It surely is. Yes.]

I could sense the heart he couldn’t bring himself to express directly—that he despised seeing the Emperor burden me so—and beneath it all, his deep concern for my wellbeing.
The letter also contained news of my family staying at the Eunhae Trading Company Headquarters and updates about the company itself.
Finally, he spoke of the “compensation” I had received from the Emperor.

[What you’ve brought back will undoubtedly prove invaluable in operating the Beijing Branch. You’ve worked hard.]

I carefully folded the letter.
Reading Father’s words felt like sinking into a warm, comforting embrace.
I would greet today with renewed vigor.

After breakfast, I summoned the Eun Branch Manager.
“Did you have a good journey?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How was the scenery in Guangdong?”
The Eun Branch Manager still believed I had traveled to Guangdong.
“Quite beautiful. But I’m curious—how many people knew I was going to Guangdong?”
“Quite a few. I had to explain the reason for my absence.”
“I see.”
It was fortunate I’d mentioned Guangdong. Otherwise, I would have faced complications from the start.
“The reason I called you is that I’ve been away on business for some time. I wanted to ask—are there any issues with the construction of the Beijing Branch?”
“Finances are sufficient, and we have plenty of skilled workers, so there are no major problems, but….”
“But there is a problem.”
He sighed before answering.
“Yes. It seems those above keep eyeing us expectantly.”
Watching the Eun Branch Manager rub his thumb and forefinger together, I let out a quiet laugh.
“You know what they say—you have to grease the wheels, or you’ll have a headache on your hands.”
I had anticipated this.
In the Empire, when you constructed a building, you had to report it to the government authorities.
Not all buildings required this, only those of a certain size with tiled roofs.
The reason was that buildings of a certain size were subject to a quarterly “property tax” levied by the state.
In any case, government officials would inspect the building to ensure it had no defects and was soundly constructed before you could occupy it or use it for other purposes.
The infuriating part was that even if there were no defects, if the officials weren’t satisfied, they sometimes wouldn’t conduct the “completion inspection” at all.
They would simply delay it indefinitely.
Conversely, if you fed them generously, they would pass the completion inspection without even properly inspecting the building.
In severe cases, builders would hand over half the construction costs to the officials and build the structure with the remaining half.
Thus, the Public Works officials in various provinces and Beijing were considerably wealthier than one might expect.
But I knew their future.
About six months from now, houses in Beijing would suddenly begin to collapse.
Not just one or two buildings, but quite a few of them.
The Emperor ordered an investigation into why the perfectly sound structures had collapsed, and concluded that the foundations had not been properly reinforced.
This naturally raised questions: why hadn’t the foundations been properly reinforced, and how had they obtained the completion inspection certificate despite this negligence?
And our Emperor was hardly the type to simply overlook such matters.
The price for ignoring warnings about bribery proved steep.
In the end, they were forced to disgorge everything they had received and were dragged away to face severe punishment.
Those who had offered the bribes suffered the same fate.
But that was all half a year away.
The Beijing Branch construction would be completed before then, and we needed to pass the completion inspection before that time.
Yet waiting until then meant the newly constructed building would sit unused, which was infuriating.
As for offering bribes—I had no desire to become entangled in such matters.
But I possessed a scroll given to me by the Emperor.
“Eun Branch Manager.”
“Yes?”
“Ignore all such requests. If any problems arise, I will resolve them.”
Or rather, the Emperor himself would resolve them.
.
.
.
That afternoon.
An Eunuch Official sent by the Emperor visited my residence.
“Welcome.”
I guided him to the guest reception room, and Palgap brought out refreshments.
“Please, help yourself.”
“Thank you.”
After exchanging pleasantries over refreshments for a short while, the Eunuch Official broached the main subject.
“First, the Emperor sends this to you.”
He handed me an envelope.
“May I open it?”
“Of course.”
I opened the envelope and nearly laughed aloud, but quickly composed myself.
Inside was a substantial promissory note.
“Please verify it. Check whether the amount matches what the young master requested.”
I examined the promissory note.
It contained not only the amount I had requested, but also a chillingly meticulous settlement that included even the cost of the clothes I had torn yesterday.
“And this is a personal gift from His Majesty.”
“Yes?”
He presented a box, which I opened.
Inside lay a medicinal pill.
“A rare and precious pill, most excellent for recovering from internal injuries.”
“Why would you give me this?”
“We heard that Young Master Eun used precious elixirs for the Golden Robed Guards and Great Heroes. Because of your generosity, they were able to keep their swords drawn. His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed this upon you as a token of his gratitude.”
I understood the situation immediately.
So the Emperor believed I had used my precious elixirs on the Golden Robed Guards and Great Heroes, and that I had lied about it being purified water to spare them any burden.
In reality, it was Geumryeong’s saliva.

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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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