The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 327

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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 327

Chapter 327. Settling Accounts Cleanly (5)

The materials Bang Nosa had given me were mostly letters.
They were directives that Se Gyeong Prince had sent to Yeokcheon-do, and their contents were exactly as they appeared at first glance.
Eradicate them root and branch, eliminate every last trace as previously discussed—that sort of thing.
Brutal stuff.
Had Se Gyeong Prince always been this ruthless?
I set those letters aside and examined the other materials.
They were documents summarizing the situation when we suppressed the Yeokcheon-do gang.
Hmm…
Apparently, Yeokcheon-do had been hiding in a cave deep within a forest located north of Shandong.
Their numbers were roughly five hundred.
With the financial support Se Gyeong Prince provided, they were rapidly expanding their ranks.
But the distance between Jiangxi Province and Shandong Province was considerable—how could he have issued instructions via letter so frequently?
Puzzled by this, I searched through the materials, but…
“There’s nothing here.”
“What’s the matter?”
Bang Nosa asked me, and I scratched the back of my neck as I spoke.
“These letters, sir. How were they even exchanged? Se Gyeong Prince was in Jiangxi, while the Yeokcheon-do gang was in Shandong.”
“Of course they wouldn’t have used messenger birds. There’s too much risk of interception with carrier pigeons.”
Carrier pigeons were fast, but their weakness was the high possibility of letters being lost in transit.
That’s why people sent multiple birds at once.
And if someone intercepted a carrier pigeon and read its contents, that would be a serious problem in itself.
“There’s something odd about this, though.”
At my words, Bang Nosa furrowed his brow and stepped closer.
“What do you mean?”
“Look at this letter and this one.”
“This one says to keep watching, and this one—you’ve received a reply, so it’s time to strike?”
“Not the content, sir. Look at the dates.”
“Huh?”
“Only four days apart. Does that make sense? Even riding hard, the distance between their hideout and where Se Gyeong Prince was would take more than ten days.”
“…!”
At my words, Bang Nosa’s eyes widened.
Of course, it would be possible for a master of the highest caliber, but that would be extraordinarily difficult.
And to use such a rare, elite master merely as a courier?
That made no sense whatsoever.
“Then, this letter is….”
“Yes, it’s a forged letter.”
“But this handwriting is unmistakably Se Gyeong Prince’s handwriting.”
“That’s why I gave it some thought. And then I discovered something odd about this letter.”
“Where?”
I pointed to the right edge of the letter.
“Isn’t the margin here a bit strange? There’s almost no margin at all.”
Then I continued speaking.
“Se Gyeong Prince wouldn’t write like this just to save paper. There must be a reason for it.”
“Go on with your explanation.”
“Yes. Look here. Do you see how the characters are cut off slightly on this right side?”
“…!”
Bang Nosa’s eyes widened.
“Then, could it be…?”
“Yes. This… the letter was cut.”
I’m almost certain of it.
Otherwise, there’s no way such traces would remain.
So the question is: what content was originally before this?
“What kind of person is Se Gyeong Prince?”
“Hmm….”
Bang Nosa, who had been thinking for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Honestly, I’d say he’s an eccentric. Though born as a member of the Imperial Family, he’s never expressed any political views… he simply enjoys tending to flowers in the garden all day long. He’s a kind and affectionate person, which is why he’s relied upon by the imperial clan.”
“That’s it.”
After hearing Bang Nosa’s words, everything clicked into place in my mind.
“Flowers. What if we interpret the purpose of these letters not as matters concerning Yeokcheon-do, but as advice about flowers? Wouldn’t the entire tone change completely?”
I continued.
“The part about pulling out roots probably means pulling out the roots of weeds, doesn’t it? And the content about removing everything without remainder, as mentioned before, would be related to that as well.”
“The part about watching over it—since the letter was sent in spring, it must mean to watch over the seedlings after sowing.”
Our eyes met.
A strange excitement was filling Bang Nosa’s eyes.
“Ahahahahaha!”
Bang Nosa patted my back repeatedly as he spoke.
“You clever thing! You wonderful thing!”
“Ugh! Ah, that hurts!”
“Where on earth have you been all this time? If only I’d met you earlier, I wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”
I would have suffered instead.
And back then, I was quite sickly.
Once Bang Nosa seemed to have calmed down somewhat, he sat in his chair and brought up a different topic.
“But tell me, who on earth would do such a thing?”
“Rather than that, shouldn’t we be thinking about why Se Gyeong Prince was specifically framed?”
“That’s true as well.”
“It might be simpler than we thought. If letters were exchanged within four days, it means there must be a real recipient somewhere within Jiangxi Province.”
“I’ll need to send someone to Jiangxi Province.”
.
.
.
After finishing my conversation with Bang Nosa, I left the Imperial Palace.
“Did you wait long?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“We didn’t wait that long.”
At Palgap and the guards’ response, I scratched the back of my neck. Despite what they said, they must have waited quite a while.
“Are we heading to the Quarters now, sir?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“But Palgap, why is the moon so bright today?”
“Young master, that’s not the moon—it’s the sun.”
….
Embarrassed, I quietly turned my head away.
So I’d spent the entire night at the Imperial Palace.
Still, it had been a meaningful night. I’d discovered the decisive evidence needed to clear the false accusations against Se Gyeong Prince.
The rest would be handled by Bang Nosa.
He had more than enough capability for that.
.
.
.
After that, I spent days in a frenzy of activity.
With summer approaching, I needed to release new fan designs.
And I launched a new chair with a curved backrest that wouldn’t cause back pain even after sitting for long periods.
Before the official launch, I tested it experimentally within the company, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
People said that because it maintained proper posture, sitting for long hours wasn’t tiring.
Hmm, at this rate, expanding into furniture doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
And in the evenings, I began learning the Imperial Palace martial arts from Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster.
Since he was so busy, he visited once every four days to teach me the Imperial Palace martial arts, and through that I was able to learn how the matter involving Se Gyeong Prince was progressing.
“The people who went to Jiangxi Province brought back new information. By the way, do you know of Myunggyul Trading Company?”
“I do.”
“I see. Apparently, there was some conflict with them.”
Myunggyul Trading Company.
How could I forget that name?
In my previous life, they were the ones who refused to provide the medicinal materials needed to cure the Chief Manager’s illness.
And now there was conflict with them?
“I hear the Myunggyul Trading Company has a rather rough and reckless side to it. Apparently, people get sacrificed while they’re building their power, and they’ve earned quite the notorious reputation. That’s why Se Gyeong Prince said something about it.”
In my previous life, how did Se Gyeong Prince know that I needed medicinal herbs?
It was because he had been keeping watch over the Myunggyul Trading Company.
And there was one crucial detail.
When I dealt with the Myunggyul Trading Company in my previous life, I discovered a fact: the Murim Alliance stood behind them.
That made me even more furious.
That despite being backed by the supposedly righteous Murim Alliance, they acted so despicably.
In any case, the fact that the Myunggyul Trading Company acted this way meant the false accusation against Se Gyeong Prince was the Murim Alliance’s intention.
Why is something happening now that never occurred in my previous life?
The answer is simple.
While building their power through the Myunggyul Trading Company, Se Gyeong Prince must have become an eyesore to them.
So they took this opportunity to entangle Se Gyeong Prince in charges of treason and dispose of him.
Tch….
Filthy and terrifying bastards.
Something different from my previous life must have caused this to happen….
Now that it’s fallen into my hands, I can’t just let them escape.
“Um, Great Hero. Are you saying the Myunggyul Trading Company framed Se Gyeong Prince?”
“It’s quite likely, but I’m not certain yet.”
“Then there’s probably someone else behind them.”
“Hmm?”
“How would a mere merchant company have the audacity to do such a thing?”
“That’s true.”
“And there must be evidence. For example… there might be a warrior of different affiliation among the Myunggyul Trading Company’s martial artists.”
The Murim Alliance always plants their own warriors in places connected to them.
With just this hint, we should be able to catch the thread.
.
.
.
Several days passed after that.
I was spending another ordinary day as usual.
June would arrive soon.
Fortunately, this year’s barley harvest hadn’t turned out too badly, so the barley shortage wasn’t severe.
But this year’s autumn harvest would surely be poor.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
Palgap came rushing over in a panic.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?”
“Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster has arrived.”
What? Today isn’t the day I’m supposed to learn martial arts at the Imperial Palace?
I headed toward the Guest Reception Room, puzzled.
As if waiting only for my arrival, Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster rose from his seat.
“Make your preparations at once.”
“Yes?”
“The Emperor has summoned you.”
.
.
.
A short while later,
I made my way to the Imperial Palace alongside Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster.
And along the way, I was able to learn the general circumstances of what had transpired.
“So you’re saying the mastermind behind it all was the Murim Alliance?”
Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster nodded at my question.
“Indeed.”
Just as I had suspected.
“According to the Murim Alliance’s investigation, it appears a certain family clan within the Murim Alliance was responsible for such actions.”
They were cutting off the tail to escape—exactly as I had anticipated.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
After all, with each severed tail, their power would only weaken further.
“In any case, the Minister of Personnel Official told the Emperor that you were of great assistance in this matter.”
“Ah….”
So that’s why I’m being summoned like this.
Soon after, I arrived at the Emperor’s Office and entered alone.
And I paid my respects to the Emperor.
“Raise your head.”
“Your grace overwhelms me.”
I lifted my head, and beside the Emperor stood not the Eunuch, but someone else entirely.
Hmm?
That face seemed somehow familiar….
“I am Se Gyeong Prince.”
“Ah!”
I quickly paid my respects to the imperial family.
“I was curious about you and asked the Emperor for an audience.”
He continued speaking.
“Thanks to you, I was able to clear my name. If it hadn’t been for you… Sigh, it’s dreadful even to contemplate.”
The Emperor nodded at those words.
“I share that sentiment.”
The Emperor looked at me and continued.
“Thanks to you this time, I was able to avoid losing someone precious. I am grateful.”
“I did nothing worthy of praise. I was merely fortunate.”
I did my utmost to minimize my own contributions.
Why, you ask?
If I’m not careful, the Emperor might say, “Come work in the Imperial Palace now.”
And the way Bang Nosa looks at me is far from ordinary.
“You needn’t be so humble. It’s a fact that you saved my life and the lives of my family.”
Se Gyeong Prince spoke in a resolute voice.
“I will not forget this debt of gratitude.”
….
I had merely repaid a debt from my previous life, yet Se Gyeong Prince was now saying he would repay me instead.
I lifted my head to look at him.
Compared to my previous life, Se Gyeong Prince’s eyes had grown firmer. It seemed he had experienced and learned much from this ordeal.
Yes, if such a person becomes my strength, that would be a good thing.
I decided to think of it favorably.
“It seems you have something to say, so I shall take my leave first.”
“Let us share a cup of tea later.”
“Understood.”
With that, Se Gyeong Prince left the Emperor’s Office first.
He had come to express his gratitude to me.
“I heard from the Minister of Personnel that you said you would involve yourself in the Ancestor matter first?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
I answered the Emperor’s question promptly.
“What is your reason?”
“It was… I wanted to be certain. If it is a treason case involving the imperial family, surely much blood will be spilled. If it were a mistake, I wanted to set it right.”
I could not say that I had met Se Gyeong Prince in my previous life and therefore believed he could not be guilty of such things.
“In any case, I am grateful.”
The Emperor’s eyes softened gently as he spoke.
What?
Did he just smile? He was smiling, wasn’t he?
I wondered if what I had just seen was real.
“Se Gyeong Prince, my cousin, was a person who gave me great strength when I was lonely.”
….
“Thanks to him, I was able to avoid a grave mistake. I am grateful.”
“Not at all. I merely…”
“I too shall not forget this matter. Therefore, I shall grant you one request.”
A chance to ask the Emperor for one favor!
It was an extraordinary opportunity.
“Then you may take your leave now.”
“Your Majesty, I shall withdraw.”
Thus I retreated from the Emperor’s presence and walked through the Imperial Palace with Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster, who had been waiting at the door.
“By the way, what became of the Myunggyul Trading Company?”
“They dared to slander the imperial family—do you think they would remain unscathed?”
And so I settled my debts and grievances from my previous life cleanly and thoroughly.
And I gained a few additional benefits as a bonus.

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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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