The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 607

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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 Eun Hae Trading Company Chapter 607

Chapter 607. An Unexpected Clue (3)

Geum Sa-gyeon continued cursing as he ran down the mountain path.
‘Damn it all! This! What a mess! This ×× nonsense!’
And well it might, for his fate now hung by a thread.
Everything began about two weeks after I was assigned to Haenam Island, when a mysterious stranger approached me with a proposal.

“Being assigned to an island this far from Beijing means your future is finished. Surely you’re not foolish enough to dream that working hard here will make you an official at the Imperial Palace, are you? Hehehehe.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t be so touchy. I’m merely making a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“Don’t you wish to become wealthy?”
“I’m already wealthy enough. As a regional administrator, do you think I ignore the branch’s monthly salary?”
“Are you satisfied with merely that? Do you think that money is enough to do everything you’ve ever wanted for the rest of your life?”
“….”
“And what if you’re forced to retire sooner than expected?”
His persuasion was quite sweet indeed.
“Please hear the proposal I’m offering. You will not regret it, I assure you.”

He proposed a kind of embezzlement and tax evasion to me.

“If a ship carrying tax revenue sinks at sea, how would those above ever know? This place is incredibly far from Beijing.”
“It’s not that simple. The Emperor has the Geumui Guard and the Dongchang.”
“I will take care of them. So all you need do is turn a blind eye. In return, I will share thirty percent of the profits from this venture with you.”

After much deliberation, I accepted the proposal and was introduced to a man by them.
A man disguised as the leader of a merchant guild selling pearls, whose name was Cheon Cheon-bok.
Geum Sa-gyeon merely backed him in exchange, receiving thirty percent of the profits.
As wealth accumulated before my eyes, I grew more greedy and turned a blind eye even as they grew bolder in their schemes.
Then I realized that what I was involved in was far more serious than I’d thought.
Those who had seduced me had not seduced me alone.
In Seomun County, the nearest port from Guangdong Province to Haenam Island, there was the Mu Clan Trading Company, which served the same role as the Chae Hong Trading Company.
And the officials there had been bought as well.
When I learned this fact, a certain thought occurred to me.

‘If this gets discovered, I won’t even have bones left to bury.’

But I couldn’t report this to my superiors now either.
They were an organization capable of eliminating even the Geumui Guard and the Dongchang—if they learned I’d informed on them, they would never let me live.
So I had prepared an escape route in case of emergency.
Anticipating that Guangdong Province would be exposed first if things went wrong, I had planted a contact there.
I’d acquired a small plot of land in Guangdong Province and threatened a tenant farmer there, saying I’d seize the land if he didn’t come find me once every three days.
But when he should have come this time, he never showed up.
Moreover, all the boats that should have traveled from Guangdong Province to Haenam Island had suddenly stopped coming.
This was unmistakably a sign that everything had fallen apart.
To make matters worse, the pirates who had invaded Haenam Island had been completely annihilated.
Those pirates were also part of a scheme orchestrated by someone named Cheon Cheon-bok.
Though I had been appointed as a local official on Haenam Island, my position as Regional Branch Leader wasn’t won through gambling.
Sensing that things had gone wrong, I quickly chose to flee.
Since I had already secretly hidden a substantial amount of wealth in a secret vault on the mainland, I only packed a few of the most valuable items from my liquid assets.
One of them was the golden toad that Eun Seo-ho had given me as a token of sincerity.
A treasure worth a full hundred thousand silver taels.
After gathering these valuables, I found the boat I had hidden away and crossed to Guangdong alone.
Thanks to practicing boat handling in my spare time as a precaution, I was able to make the crossing to Guangdong by myself.
And upon arriving in Guangdong, I realized the situation was far worse than I had anticipated.
The Golden Army was stationed throughout Guangdong Province.
“….”
I had to be careful with my movements.
If I was caught by them, I wouldn’t die a peaceful death.
First, I decided to exchange the golden toad for a promissory note.
Though it was precious, it was so heavy that it could become an obstacle during my escape.
With the wealth I had hidden away, I could disappear somewhere they would never find me and live out my days in peace.
The golden toad was also my escape funds to get there.
So I took it and headed to the Money Exchange House.
That was where they appraised precious metals and exchanged them for promissory notes.
Of course, to conceal my identity, I deliberately pulled my hat down as far as it would go.
“Welcome. How may I assist you?”
“I’ve come to sell this golden toad.”
“Please hand it over.”
The clerk examined the golden toad and tilted his head in confusion.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but at most I can only offer you half a silver tael.”
“Half a silver tael? This is a precious object worth a full hundred thousand silver taels!”
“No, sir. This is a forgery.”
“What do you mean, a forgery?”
“Look here.”
He scraped the belly of the golden toad with a sharp dagger, and the gold leaf peeled away to reveal dark iron beneath.
“They crafted the toad from an iron ingot and covered it with gold leaf.”
Geum Sa-gyeon couldn’t believe his own eyes.
No—he refused to accept it.
“A forgery? This is outrageous! How dare they!”
Without thinking, he let out a sharp cry and hurled the bamboo hat he’d been wearing to the ground.
Everyone’s attention turned toward him.
“Huh?”
Someone recognized him in that moment.
“Isn’t that the Regional Branch Leader from Haenam Island?”
“My goodness! What brings you to this place?”
Flustered by their recognition, he quickly slipped away from the crowd.
But then…
“What a coincidence, Regional Branch Leader.”
“…!”
A familiar voice reached his ears.
It was Eun Seo-ho, the one who had given him the golden toad as a token of sincerity.
His anger turned toward Eun Seo-ho.
“You fraud! How dare you give me a counterfeit golden toad!”
“What do you mean? I simply handed over what I received from the Mu Clan Trading Company.”
“It was fake!”
“What? Those worthless dogs! So they gave me a counterfeit as collateral?”
As Eun Seo-ho grew indignant, the Regional Branch Leader hesitated.
“I… I suppose that’s what happened. Then I’ll be on my way…”
“But Regional Branch Leader of Haenam Island, what brings you to this place?”
“I have business to attend to…”
“This business wouldn’t happen to be fleeing, would it?”
“What?”
Eun Seo-ho smiled faintly as he watched the man flinch in surprise.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Inspector Censor Eun Seo-ho, sent by Imperial decree to investigate the abuses occurring on Haenam Island.”

* * *

I couldn’t help but smirk as I watched the Regional Branch Leader being escorted away by the Golden Army.
Thanks to Seo Hyang’s advice, I’d asked Jin Yu Warrior to tail him, and it had paid off handsomely.
He’d be thoroughly interrogated by the Geumui Guards stationed here, but I felt no pity for him.
He brought it upon himself.
“Then, let’s head to the County Office.”
“Yes.”
I made my way to the Seomun County Office and met with the Manager of the Mu Clan Trading Company, who was locked in the prison there.
“It’s good to see you.”
“What? Gasp! Who are you?”
He started in surprise upon seeing me, then cried out with desperate urgency.
“Please, please save me! They’re calling me a traitor! That can’t be right, can it?”
“What exactly happened?”
“They say Imperial Palace items were found in my personal vault.”
He recounted the entire affair from beginning to end.
The Golden Army had suddenly arrived, accused him of treason, and even searched his personal vault.
To make matters worse, Imperial Palace items were discovered inside.
If a non-royal possessed such items without imperial permission, it was punishable as treason.
“My goodness, so that’s what happened!”
“This is someone’s conspiracy! I know nothing about those items!”
Tsk, tsk. What a fool.
I put that in his vault myself.
I borrowed it from the Emperor.
And here he was, pleading with me without knowing any of this.
I sighed and spoke.
“I’m afraid I cannot trust you, Manager.”
“What do you mean…?”
“The golden toad you gave me as collateral was a forgery.”
“…!”
The Manager flinched in shock.
“How could I trust someone who offers a fake as collateral in such a significant transaction worth one hundred thousand taels?”
“That… I didn’t know about that either!”
“I’ve already received testimony. According to witnesses, you ordered the creation of that gilded fake golden toad.”
“…”
“Furthermore, I hear that among the items found in your personal vault were belongings of the Geumui Guards. Isn’t that evidence that you disposed of those who were dispatched here and lost contact?”
His expression crumbled into panic at my words.
“The Embroidered Uniform Guard Master I know told me the Emperor was quite furious about this matter, and that he intends to thoroughly interrogate everyone involved.”
“…”
“As you know, the Geumui Guards’ interrogation methods are said to be so effective that even heaven’s secrets would be revealed.”
His eyes and lips trembled like aspen leaves.
“It’s alright. If you truly know nothing, you might still save your life.”
“I, I saw something….”
“What is it?”
“I heard something about it….”
He broached the subject cautiously, and I listened to everything he had to say before nodding.
“I see. So you’re saying the County Government here is at the center of this affair.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But Chief Manager.”
I smiled wickedly.
“How can you trample on the opportunity I’ve given you like this?”
“An, an opportunity?”
I pulled out the Imperial Inspector’s badge from my robes and showed it to him, and he startled, glaring at me.
“You, you, you, you!”
“I’ve already extracted a full confession from someone named Mo Gyeong.”
“….”
He soon realized he’d fallen into a trap, gripping the bars of the Prison cell and screaming.
“Aaaahhhhh! You bastard!”
I chuckled softly and left the Prison, turning my back on him.

* * *

The dispatched Geumui Guard and Dongchang thoroughly interrogated everyone involved in this affair.
What came to light was astounding.
A considerable number of provincial officials from both Guangdong Province and Haenam Island were implicated in this corruption.
This was why the Emperor had sent the Crown Prince as a special envoy.
“We pay our respects to the Crown Prince.”
“The Emperor commends your diligent efforts. Continue to work hard in uncovering the truth.”
After receiving reports on what had been discovered thus far, the Crown Prince asked the one who had submitted the report.
“I see. By the way, where is Eun Seo-ho, the Small Merchant Guild Leader?”
“He is currently on Haenam Island.”
“On Haenam Island?”
“Yes. He said he had something he needed to do.”

* * *

I returned to Haenam Island because there was something I wanted to verify.
And I headed straight for the Chaehong Trading Company.
The Golden Army had likely already seized everything worth taking, but something still felt incomplete.
“Geum-ryeong.”
“Chirp?”
“Usually, if someone stores something important in a place, they’d keep valuables there too, right?”
“Chirp!”
“Would you mind searching to see if there’s anything expensive left?”
At my words, Geum-ryeong descended to the ground and waddled about, poking here and there.
Then, stopping at one spot, it tapped something with its front paw.
“Here?”
“Chirp!”
The place Geum-ryeong had touched was a massive tree.
It was located on the rear mountain of the Chaehong Trading Company.
I examined the surroundings carefully, then inserted my hand into a hollow in the tree trunk.
Something caught my fingers, and I pulled it out.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
At that moment, the ground beneath the tree opened up.
Excellent! Jackpot.
I descended with only Seo-woo Warrior and Yeo Eung-am Warrior, while I asked the remaining Guard Warriors to keep watch.
Fugitives or those not yet apprehended might come here.
It was an underground tunnel that had been excavated.
What we discovered inside was an enormous quantity of treasures.
These were likely the assets the Chaehong Trading Company had been embezzling all this time.
Geum-ryeong truly is remarkable!
I patted Geum-ryeong’s back.
“Well done!”
“Chirp!”
Hmm? If it did well, it wants gold coins instead of just a pat?
Yes, that’s exactly like Geum-ryeong.
“Fine, I’ll give you silver coins later.”
“Chirp? Chirp?”
What? The treasure we retrieved from the sunken ship yesterday was so abundant, and you’re asking for merely silver coins?
And because you swam yesterday and caught a cold, you need gold coins to recover your health?
Truly, that’s a creative excuse.
However, Geum-ryeong knows its limits. Speaking this way means the treasure we secured yesterday was substantial.
I haven’t verified it yet—I should check soon.
“Fine, I understand. I’ll give you gold coins.”
“Chirp!”
Beside it were stacks of documents.
I read through those documents and smiled.
Now the pieces were falling into place.
These people I’d observed would never trust their superiors.
That’s why they’d gathered information to protect themselves—and these documents were exactly that ‘lifeline’ I’d been searching for.
And they also contained information linking this matter to the Blood Sect.
With this, I could show the Emperor proof that ‘the Blood Sect is attempting to rebuild!’
I placed it in the Secret Vault.
I wasn’t informing the Geumui Guard because there was a risk these materials could be stolen along the way.
To be safe, I needed to report directly to the Emperor.
Now it was time to sweep up all the wealth in this place.
As the Emperor had commanded, I needed to seize what they’d accumulated and use it to construct a Naval Base here.
That’s when it happened.
“Mmm….”
A sound reached my ears.
This… was definitely a human groan, wasn’t it?

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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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