The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 336

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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 336

Chapter 336. This Is Most Inconvenient (5)

The one who came rushing in was a woman, and the Provincial Inspector’s eyes widened at the sight of her.
“Wait, aren’t you Lady Ja-ryeong’s maidservant?”
“Sir! Lady Ja-ryeong has fainted and won’t wake up!”
What did she just say?
The Provincial Inspector’s daughter had fainted?
“What?”
The alarmed Provincial Inspector hurried toward the inner quarters, and before we knew it, we found ourselves following him there as well.
The magistrate’s residence was quite spacious and arranged with considerable care, as if great pains had been taken for his daughter.
But was it really proper for me to enter the inner quarters like this?
“Ja-ryeong! Ja-ryeong!”
The Provincial Inspector called out his daughter’s name as he entered her chamber. I could see a young woman lying on the bed.
Though her complexion was pallid, her distinct features suggested she must have been quite beautiful when in good health.
Despite the Provincial Inspector calling out to her repeatedly, she remained completely motionless.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The maidservant answered his question.
“Since this morning, the young lady’s condition has been poor. Then she began coughing incessantly before suddenly losing consciousness.”
Watching the Provincial Inspector and the household members fidget anxiously, it seemed this was the first time she had fainted.
“Physician!”
“Yes, sir!”
“What is the condition of my daughter?”
The Physician answered, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“That is… I cannot determine the cause at all.”
“You cannot determine the cause?”
“Her pulse is certainly beating normally, yet…”
At that moment, I felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Her pulse beats normally, yet the illness is gradually deepening in an inexplicable way?
I subtly extended my senses to examine the teapot beside the young woman.
“…!”
A familiar energy.
The same energy I had sensed before.
“Forgive me, but what is the name of the young lady’s illness?”
The Physician answered my question.
“It is a type of illness I have never encountered before.”
“Is it possible that while the young lady normally complains of thirst, she refuses plain water and drinks only tea?”
“Oh? That’s correct.”
The Maidservant was the one who answered my question.
I continued questioning her.
“And she perspires quite heavily, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Even in the depths of winter… ah, but this place is warm, so perhaps that’s not something you’d notice. Doesn’t she complain each morning of feeling stuffy, as though something is pressing down on her chest?”
“Oh? Yes, exactly.”
“And drinking tea alleviates it?”
“Yes! That’s why she’s quite fond of drinking tea.”
Everything I had asked about were the symptoms that manifested when the poison I’d learned of from Baek Bal Hwa-ui had reached its critical stage.
That’s right. Lady Ja-ryeong isn’t afflicted with an illness—she’s been poisoned.
“Um, but… who are you?”
I didn’t answer the Maidservant’s question and posed another instead.
“Does Lady Ja-ryeong happen to drink Huazhao Qingyin, Meizhong Mingyue, and Lümi Ren among her teas?”
At my question, she started in surprise and asked in return.
“How on earth do you know that? She’s quite fond of those teas. In fact, she drinks all three of them every day.”
“She also consumes jujubes, doesn’t she?”
At my inquiry, she nodded and opened a box placed beside her.
It was filled with dried jujubes.
Damn it.
To encounter this poison again in such a place.
Huazhao Qingyin, Meizhong Mingyue, Lümi Ren.
A quadruple-layered poison where the toxins mixed into these three teas maintain equilibrium and produce no symptoms, but the poison within the jujubes disrupts that balance, causing the symptoms to manifest.
In my past life, it was the poison that killed the Empress, and in this life, it poisoned Jegal Family’s Grand Elder—Mukagsoo.
As I posed question after question, each one striking true, the Provincial Inspector seemed perplexed and asked me.
“What in blazes are you talking about? How could you possibly know of Ja-ryeong’s condition?”
“Truth be told, I was once invited to the Jegal Family Estate. I cannot divulge the details, but there was someone there who nearly suffered a grave misfortune due to the very same symptoms as Lady Ja-ryeong. So I asked these questions on the chance it might be relevant.”
“Then, do you know why Ja-ryeong is ill?”
“Yes. I do. Lady Ja-ryeong is currently poisoned.”
At my words, the Provincial Inspector staggered from the shock, but soon steadied himself and looked at me.
“Poisoned? Who in the world would poison Ja-ryeong?”
“I don’t know that either. This is the first time I’ve seen Lady Ja-ryeong.”
“True enough. You only arrived today…”
He blinked at me for a moment, as if realizing how I had come to be here so suddenly.
I quickly bowed my head apologetically.
“I’m deeply sorry for having entered the Inner Quarters as an outsider. Circumstances unfolded as they did, so I beg your forgiveness.”
“No, no. The situation was quite urgent, so you had no choice. It’s also my fault for not first showing you to your quarters.”
He continued speaking.
“More importantly, can you treat Ja-ryeong?”
“I am a merchant, not a physician. However, I do know someone who can provide treatment.”
“Who is this person?”
“Do you happen to know of Baek Bal Hwa-ui?”
The Physician standing beside me answered my question.
“Baek Bal Hwa-ui? Isn’t he the one residing in Hubei Province?”
“That’s correct.”
The Physician quickly spoke to the Provincial Inspector.
“Sir, if the young lady has been poisoned, we must summon him at once. He is unparalleled when it comes to antidotes. I am a healer, but I lack expertise in such poisons.”
“Bring him here immediately! Spare no expense!”
“Yes, sir!”
He gazed at his daughter with sorrowful eyes.
“Ja-ryeong, I brought snow to show you, but….”
“Sir, judging from the symptoms, she should regain consciousness in a few hours. There is no need to worry excessively.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Then it would be good to show her the snow at that time.”
“Yes, thank you. I must hold onto hope.”
He spoke to me.
“I will provide you with quarters. Go there and wait.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
I was guided by an attendant out of the inner quarters and shown to the Guest Hall in the outer quarters.
I sat at a table and reflected on what had transpired.
To think I would encounter the Murim Alliance’s poison here.
That poison is made by the Murim Alliance. I know it is difficult and expensive to use, so it is not something anyone can employ.
Did the Murim Alliance make a move?
What is their purpose?
To eliminate the Provincial Inspector and install one of their own in his place?
But why the Prefect’s Daughter instead of the Provincial Inspector himself?
And in my previous life, the Provincial Inspector remained the Provincial Inspector of Guizhou even at the time of my death.
Then was the Prefect’s Daughter the target from the beginning?
Let me reconsider this carefully.
The Prefect’s Daughter certainly died due to mischief from the Oseong Trading Company.
Could it be that it was not mere mischief, but something they brought exacerbated her poisoning symptoms?
If this was an unforeseen event even for the Murim Alliance, they may have failed to achieve their objective.
In any case, since this poison was discovered here, there is a high likelihood that someone from the Murim Alliance is near Lady Ja-ryeong.
The maidservant and the Physician answered my questions readily, so they don’t seem to be Murim Alliance members….
I hope Baek Bal Hwa-ui arrives soon.
Since I mentioned the poisoning myself, I cannot leave until Baek Bal Hwa-ui arrives.
Of course, I could have left after receiving compensation from the Provincial Inspector without saying anything.
But I cannot do that when a life hangs in the balance.
Then Palgap spoke to me.
“Young Master, it would be best if you washed and changed into fresh clothes.”
“Ah, yes, that would be best.”
I washed myself with the prepared water and changed into clean clothes. After a late lunch, while I was reading some books, the attendant who had guided me to this place came looking for me.
“Small Guild Master Eun Seo-ho. The Provincial Inspector requests your presence.”
“Yes. Has the young lady awakened?”
“Ah, yes! She just woke up. I, well….”
He hesitated before asking me.
“Will the young lady be alright? She will recover, won’t she?”
“I apologize. I am not a physician, so I cannot give you a definitive answer.”
“….”
He apologized to me with a look of realization.
“I asked you an awkward question. My apologies.”
“Not at all.”
I realized once more what Lady Ja-ryeong meant to the people here.
I spoke as I followed him.
“You seem to care for the young lady very much.”
“Of course. The young lady is our joy. We were so pleased when a good match was arranged for her….”
Now that I thought about it, he had said Lady Ja-ryeong began falling ill at sixteen years old.
Sixteen was indeed the age when a betrothal would be arranged.

We arrived at the entrance leading to the Inner Quarters.
The Provincial Inspector stood before it.
“Inspector, have you been waiting long? I came upon your summons.”
“My daughter has awakened. She heard that I brought ice and wishes to see it now. I should have it brought here.”
“Understood. I shall do so at once.”
I immediately returned with the cart to the entrance of the Inner Quarters.
However, the cart was larger than expected and could not pass through the entrance, so I had to carry only the box inside.
When Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior carried the box in, the Provincial Inspector marveled.
“It looks heavy, but they’re quite impressive.”
“My guards are quite skilled.”
“You have good fortune. Carry that box to the front of my daughter’s chamber.”
“I… but is it proper for us to enter the Inner Quarters?”
“Haven’t you already entered once before?”
“That is true.”
Thus we proceeded inside.
As we headed toward Lady Ja-ryeong’s chamber, a window opened.
Han Sojeo stood watching us, her face veiled.
It was because of that veil that the Provincial Inspector permitted us to enter.
“It is an honor to meet you, young lady. I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eunhae Trading Company. Beside me are my attendant and guards.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ja-ryeong.”
Her voice was remarkably beautiful.
Even in this weakened state, I felt such warmth from her voice—how much more delightful would it have been had I been in perfect health?
“I heard you brought snow for me.”
“Yes. Your father prepared it for you, Lady Ja-ryeong.”
“Still, you must have gone through considerable hardship.”
“Of course it was difficult. But a merchant does not shy away from hardship if it means satisfying a customer.”
I gestured to the guards, and they opened the box.
Then they opened the inner container and withdrew the plates holding the snow, presenting them to her.
“Lady Ja-ryeong, this is snow.”
As I spoke, I subtly released a wave of cold energy.
The snow inside the box was preserved well enough since I had infused it with chill through the ornament, but the snow removed from the container could melt quickly given the ambient temperature.
“This is… snow.”
She extended her hand with a trembling voice, then hesitated.
“M-may I touch it?”
“Of course.”
She slowly, very slowly reached out her hand toward the snow she had never seen before.
Tap.
Her hand made contact with the snow.
“Ah… it’s cold.”
“Yes, because it is snow.”
I continued.
“When the weather turns cold, rain falls and freezes in the sky, transforming into this shape. Snow is essentially a form of ice.”
“I see. But I’ve never seen ice like this before.”
Then she removed her veil.
“J-Ja-ryeong…!”
“Forgive me. But I cannot properly see this snow while wearing the veil.”
She smiled.
“It’s white, and it sparkles… it’s beautiful.”
Seeing her expression of such pure joy filled me with a profound sense of purpose.
“I heard you can play many games with this snow.”
“That’s right. When I was young, I would pack it together and throw it, and I also made snowmen from it.”
I continued.
“I would also write my name in the snow. There was a saying that if the name written in snow didn’t disappear by the new year, one could live to be over a hundred years old.”
“Is that… really true?”
“I’m not entirely certain myself.”
Then she began writing characters on the snow.
“Hmm?”
But the characters she wrote were not her own name.
“Are those your father’s and mother’s names?”
“Yes.”
She smiled brightly as she spoke.
“I heard from Father that this trinket prevents snow from melting.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Would you sell me that trinket if it’s not essential to you? Or I’d be grateful even if you just lent it to me. I want to keep this snow from melting until the new year.”
“So your parents’ names won’t disappear until the new year?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“I wish my parents would live to be over a hundred years old.”
“….”
I found myself momentarily speechless.
How could someone possess such a pure heart?
Now I understood why everyone in this place cherished and adored Lady Ja-ryeong.
With a heart so beautiful, how could anyone not love her?
At her words, the Provincial Inspector and the middle-aged lady behind him wiped their tears with their sleeves. From her clothing and appearance, she seemed to be the young lady’s mother.
Then a sudden question occurred to me.
“But why didn’t you write your own name on the snow?”

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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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