The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 409

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Youngest Son of the Eun Hae Trading Company Chapter 409

Chapter 409. The Harvest I Had Awaited (4)

I asked Palgap what was wrong.
“What’s the matter?”
“A letter tied to an arrow was embedded in the main gate of the Yangyang Martial Hall!”
“A letter?”
I quickly took the letter and unfolded it.

[We cannot hand over the Cheongpa Tavern and Qingpa to you. Therefore, withdraw gracefully. If you do not heed our words, you will come to regret it.]

A threatening letter directed at me.
Who on earth had sent this?
As I pondered for a moment, I noticed that the list of those unwilling to surrender also included the Cheongpa Tavern’s Pavilion Master.
Why? Because the Pavilion Master was the most beautiful woman in Hangzhou?
But the threat seemed far too concise for that reason alone.
Then perhaps… those who sent this threat were acquainted with the Cheongpa Tavern’s Pavilion Master.
They had known her from before, and since they were targeting the Cheongpa Tavern and its Pavilion Master, they were threatening me.
But here arose a question.
Then why hadn’t they obtained her yet?
Ah… it must be because of the Cheongpa Tavern’s circumstances.
I had heard that the Cheongpa Tavern was in the best condition among all the taverns in Hangzhou.
Being such an establishment, they had been able to refuse those demands until now.
But the poor harvest and the alcohol prohibition had strained the Cheongpa Tavern’s finances.
So much so that a courtesan had hastily snatched cakes from a guest’s table.
Then… in my previous life, this must have been why the Cheongpa Tavern had continued to survive.
The alcohol prohibition would end soon enough, but the poor harvest would continue for three years.
It had not survived merely on the Pavilion Master’s reputation, the high caliber of the courtesans, and delicious food.
It had been thanks to the support of another faction.
Somehow, the circumstances seemed more difficult than I had anticipated, which had struck me as odd.
“What will you do, my lord?”
At Palgap’s question, I tucked the letter into my sleeve and spoke.
“What do you mean, hand it over? I purchased that tavern with a considerable sum. Why would I surrender it?”
I continued.
“Let us go.”
“Where are we headed, my lord?”
“To the Cheongpa Tavern.”
If it’s the Qingpa Pavilion Courtesan, wouldn’t they know who sent this letter?
Thinking thus, I left my room, and Lee Pil Warrior approached me with a word.
“A visitor has arrived.”
A visitor at this hour?
“It’s the Madam of Cheongpa Pavilion.”
I glanced down at my sleeve.
More precisely, at the letter contained within it.
The fact that this Madam had come to see me seemed undoubtedly connected to this letter.
“Show them in.”

Shortly after, I found myself facing the Madam in the Yangyang Martial Hall’s Reception Room.
“I greet the Small Guild Master. Or should I address you as the proprietor?”
“Simply call me Small Guild Master. The only Pavilion Master of Cheongpa Pavilion is Qingpa.”
“Understood.”
Throughout our exchange of greetings, her expression remained consistently dark.
She was clearly connected to this blackmail letter.
“So then, what brings you here?”
“Please help our Pavilion Master!”
“I require a detailed explanation.”
“Yes.”
The Madam explained the entire situation to me.
“Our Pavilion Master held considerable renown within the Hao Organization. She was famous under the alias ‘Azure Feather.'”
A name meaning blue wings.
And I had heard that name before, quite often actually.
When receiving information from the Hao Organization, they would sometimes say, “This information comes from Azure Feather, so its reliability is exceptionally high.”
It was primarily used to emphasize the credibility of the intelligence.
And since the information provided by Azure Feather possessed considerable reliability, we had to price such intelligence more expensively.
But the Qingpa Pavilion Courtesan was Azure Feather?
“However, the Pavilion Master left the Hao Organization ten years ago and established this tavern.”
“That means she built this tavern without the Hao Organization’s support?”
“That is correct.”
“Curious. It would have been far easier with the Hao Organization’s backing. Why did she choose otherwise?”
“The Pavilion Master did not wish for any faction to interfere with the tavern. In her previous establishment, many of her staff were killed in violent conflicts between factions, and that trauma remains deep.”
“I see.”
“And the Hao Organization has continued to contact her, urging her to return.”
In my memory, the name Azure Feather was one I had heard even before my death in my previous life.
If that were the case, then during this famine, Cheongpa Pavilion and its Pavilion Master must have fallen under the Hao Organization’s control.
Just as I had suspected.
So in my previous life, it was the Hao Organization that allowed Cheongpa Pavilion to survive.
But this time, things were different.
I’ve taken over, after all.
“In fact, I received a letter just moments ago.”
I withdrew the letter that Palgap had brought me from my robes and showed it to the Shop Attendant. Upon seeing the letter, his lips trembled.
“This letter—was it sent by the Hao Organization?”
“Yes, it was.”
The Shop Attendant nodded and asked me with an anxious expression.
“Then, if I may ask—what do you intend to do?”
It was Palgap who answered that question.
“Our young master, once he takes something into his hands, he gives it away if he chooses to give it away, but he absolutely refuses to have it taken from him.”
That’s right.
Once I give something away, I give it away, but I absolutely refuse to have it taken from me.
“In any case, since they dared to threaten our young master and made him their enemy, they will suffer enormous losses. Our young master is terribly fearsome, you see. Ah! Though that doesn’t mean he’s a man of broken character.”
Hey, Palgap?
That last remark of yours always sounds strange, doesn’t it?
Well, this isn’t the time to quibble over such things….
“So then, where is the Pavilion Master now?”
“The Hao Organization forcibly took her away.”
My brow furrowed without my realizing it.
“Is the Hao Organization truly the sort to act so aggressively?”
“It is precisely because the Hao Organization values our Pavilion Master so highly.”
Indeed, the Qingpa Pavilion Master is renowned as Hangzhou’s finest beauty, and her abilities are exceptional as well.
Moreover, the Cheongpa Tavern ranks among the top five establishments in Hangzhou.
Learning that the tavern had passed into my hands must have made them desperate.
Desperate enough to send me this threatening letter and forcibly take away the Pavilion Master.
“Was there no guard to protect her?”
“In attempting to stop them… the guard currently lies gravely wounded, hovering between life and death.”
“I see. Then, which branch of the Hao Organization was the Pavilion Master taken to?”
“I apologize. I know of several Hao Organization branches, but I cannot say with certainty which one she was taken to.”
If the Shop Attendant, who is deeply concerned for the Pavilion Master, does not know, then truly no one knows.
But that’s fine.
I have Geumryeong, after all.
“May I ask a favor of you?”
“Please, speak.”
“If you have anything belonging to the Pavilion Master, bring it to me. Anything will do. The situation is urgent, so please hurry. Actually, come with me.”
I immediately set out for the Cheongpa Tavern, accompanied by the Guard Warriors.
Upon arriving at the Cheongpa Tavern, I found myself at a loss for words.
The destruction was so thorough that furnishings lay scattered in all directions.
The Shop Attendants were busily tidying up the mess.
When I entered, they quickly bowed their heads. At that moment, Baek Wol rushed toward me.
“Small Guild Master, you’ve arrived?”
“How is your body feeling?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m fine now. But our Pavilion Master….”
“I’m aware. That’s why I came here personally.”
At that moment, a familiar woman descended from upstairs.
It was the Jami Physician who had treated Baek Wol last time.
“Ah, Physician. How is the Warrior?”
“Fortunately, he’s passed the critical point.”
Everyone let out a breath of relief at those words.
“I’ll cover the medical expenses, so please focus on the treatment.”
“Of course.”
“And you attendants—assess the prices of the damaged furnishings. And calculate them at double the actual cost.”
“Pardon?”
I declared confidently to those who questioned me.
“That’s what we need to recover.”
At my words, the attendants quickly nodded their heads.
“Understood.”
They soon began moving busily about. I climbed to the third floor with the attendant who had come to find me.
“Ah, but what is your name?”
“My name is Dong-a.”
Dong-a?
“I was born in winter, so I received this name. My mother was a courtesan—quite a famous one named Baek Jang.”
“I see. Then I’ll call you Dong-a So-i.”
“Yes.”
Outwardly, I maintained composure, but my heart raced within.
I was that startled.
Dong-a, the son of the courtesan Baek Jang.
I knew who his father was. And Dong-a So-i himself still didn’t know this.
But that wasn’t important right now.
“Bring me the Pavilion Master’s belongings.”
“Understood.”
Dong-a So-i soon brought me the Pavilion Master’s clothes. I quietly called for Geum-ryeong.
“Geum-ryeong. I’ll give you silver. Find the owner of these clothes for me.”
“Squeak!”
Geum-ryeong sniffed at the clothes and then vanished like an arrow.

* * *

In the Underground Dungeon of the Haowen Hangzhou Branch.
Qingpa was imprisoned there.
She had never imagined the Hao Organization would act so rashly.
The Hao Organization’s admission and withdrawal processes were not particularly strict.
This made sense, as it was primarily an intelligence network composed of lower-ranking members—Courtesans and Shop Attendants among them.
Most could leave whenever they wished, relocate elsewhere, or pursue different livelihoods, so the restrictions were minimal.
Thus, the Hao Organization’s unwritten rule was to neither prevent admissions nor detain those who wished to leave.
That was why their use of force to drag her here made no sense.
‘I haven’t heard any rumors that the Hao Organization’s unwritten rules had changed….’
Qingpa exhaled deeply.
While her own future concerned her, she worried far more about the Guard Warrior who had suffered serious wounds defending her, and the Tavern Keepers’ family who must have been greatly frightened.
‘And I’ve caused trouble for Eun Seo-ho as well. Had I known it would come to this, I never would have set foot in the Hao Organization from the start.’
With that thought, she let out a self-deprecating laugh.
She had learned the truth later.
Her entry into the Hao Organization had been through another Courtesan’s introduction, but that Courtesan had actually been acting on the Hao Organization’s orders to recruit her.
In other words, they had targeted her from the beginning. And truthfully, she was worth targeting.
‘That’s why they were so shocked when I said I was leaving.’
In any case, many desired her, yet she found none of them appealing.
They only wanted her to satisfy their own desires.
But Eun Seo-ho, to whom she had transferred the Tavern, was different.
His eyes held no lust for her.
They were endlessly clear and serene.
He saw her not as a means to fulfill desire, but solely as a business partner.
That was precisely why her current predicament filled her with such regret.
‘By now, Dong-a must have informed Eun Seo-ho of my situation.’
She could not know how Eun Seo-ho would respond upon hearing the news.
Then it happened.
Thud.
The sound of someone collapsing echoed, and startled, Qingpa lifted her head.
“Ugh!”
“Who… Gasp!”
The groans and sounds of bodies falling continued in succession.
And moments later, brilliant light flooded into that dark place.
“Here you are.”
“…!”
Qingpa was startled. The face that appeared with that light was Eun Seo-ho.
“How did you find this place?”
“I failed to mention something. I am quite greedy, you see. Once something falls into my hands, I never allow it to be taken from me. That applies to you as well, Qingpa Pavilion Master.”
Before his words had even finished, the iron bars were severed as easily as cloth.
Slice!
Screech!
Crash!
With merely two sword strokes, all the bars had been severed.
Eun Seo-ho extended his hand toward Qingpa and spoke.
“That is why I have come to reclaim what is mine. Let us depart.”
A truly reassuring smile.
Qingpa reached out and grasped his hand.

* * *

I returned to Cheongpa Tavern with the Qingpa Pavilion Courtesan.
The tavern staff welcomed her with tears streaming down their faces.
“Are you unharmed?”
“We were so worried.”
“I am fine. But what of Dae-chul?”
“The Jami Physician treated him. Fortunately, he has passed the critical point, and with proper recuperation, he will be able to wield his sword again.”
“Ah, what a relief.”
As I observed their warm reunion, Dong-a So-i approached me.
“Thank you so much for helping our Pavilion Master.”
“Please spare such words. It is only natural that I should do this much for my own tavern.”
“In truth, many speak such words, but few act upon them.”
I responded with nothing but a smile.
“In fact, we were greatly concerned when the Pavilion Master said she would transfer this tavern to the Small Guild Master. But now it seems it was an excellent decision.”
“I am grateful to hear you say so.”
I spoke to him.
“I ask that you continue to care for the Pavilion Master.”
“That is what I should be saying.”
“For your information, I have no intention of involving myself in the tavern’s operations. However, if anything like this occurs again, inform me without fail.”
“Where should I contact you?”
“I shall provide you with the details soon. But there is something I wish to ask.”
At my words, he bowed his head and spoke.
“Please, ask away.”
“Tell me something about the Haowen Hangzhou Branch and its Branch Manager.”
“Pardon? Why would you ask that…?”
“Not content with attempting to coerce me, they dared lay hands upon what is mine. Naturally, I must demand compensation.”
I spoke with a cold laugh.
“I intend to strip them bare completely.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————