The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 613

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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 613

Chapter 613. While Heading to Beijing (5)

I found myself questioning my father’s words without thinking.
“Pardon? What do you mean by that, Father?”
“Would I, your father, allow my own son to suffer such a fate? You unfilial wretch….”
But I possess martial prowess of the highest caliber.
So it’s not exactly as if….
Now that I think about it, how many elder brothers does Seo Hyang have?
The weight of reality suddenly crashed down upon me.
Moreover, the repercussions this would have on the Eun Hae Trading Company were far from negligible.
Yet all of this had come about because of me.
“I’ll simply accept it. What else can I do?”
“You’ll accept it?”
“Yes.”
“Tsk tsk, if it were me, I’d seize the opportunity the moment someone gave me a push. What on earth are you worried about?”
“It’s just… I still don’t fully understand Gwak Vice-Manager’s feelings….”
“Why do you suppose Gwak Vice-Manager continues to wear that hair ornament?”
….
“Tsk tsk, how is it that someone so sharp in business matters can be so dull about this?”
.
.
.
After my father left my separate pavilion, I wandered about in contemplation.
Before I knew it, I had found myself at Seo Hyang’s residence.
“Oh?”
At that moment, Seo Hyang emerged from her pavilion and tilted her head curiously.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“Ah, I couldn’t sleep, so I was taking a walk.”
“Dawn will break soon, won’t it?”
I lifted my gaze to the sky.
Then came the sound of the morning drum.
It was already the hour of the Rabbit—I’d spent the entire night awake.
“That expression….”
“Yes?”
“I saw it yesterday evening. So that was what happened today.”
….
“You have something you wish to discuss with me.”
Yes, I could no longer avoid this conversation.
Though giving the pearl hairpin to Seo Hyang was not a formal proposal, it had become one in all but name.
Separate from that, this matter demanded a clear resolution.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I swallowed dryly and asked carefully.
“What do you think of me, Gwak Vice-Manager?”
“Pardon?”
She tilted her head in confusion.
“Well, you’re a good person, of course.”
“I apologize—my question was poorly phrased. Please set aside your current circumstances, the fact that you must remain with me to survive, and all other considerations. Think only of the two of us, Gwak Vice-Manager and myself.”
I continued.
“What do you think of marrying me?”
Her face flushed at my words.
She touched the pearl hairpin for a moment before speaking.
“Do you remember when I met my parents recently? I wore this in my hair when I saw them, and they said nothing about it. That means they approved of us. If they hadn’t, they would have thrown this ornament to the ground.”
Father was right, then.
“I love you.”
Seo Hyang spoke to me with absolute clarity.
That she loved me.
The weight of those words pressed heavily upon my chest.
“Perhaps I’ve loved you since the moment I first met you, Small Guild Master. Since you wrote my name in your eyes, brought from that distant north.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Father told me that in your homeland, a man who rejects a proposal faces considerable suffering.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“To be honest, I’m prepared to endure that.”
“What?”
Tears began to form in her eyes.
“So you have no feelings for me, Small Guild Master.”
“That’s not true!”
“Then I don’t understand! Why?”
“It’s because… however this may sound, I lack the confidence to ask someone I love to walk the path I walk, to suffer alongside me.”
To say such things to Seo Hyang! Damn it all!
My chest ached as though my heart were being torn asunder.
But I had to answer.
If I didn’t, she would never understand.
“This is no shallow excuse. It is my honest truth.”
I would rather hang upside down from a beam and be beaten for three days straight.
After saying that much, I drew a deep breath.
My lips had gone dry.
Yes, now I finally understood this feeling.
This was what they called yearning—romantic love.
I was in love with Seo Hyang.
I should have recognized it long ago.
But I had unconsciously tried to deny this emotion.
Because acknowledging it felt impossible.
“My goal is to transform the Eun Hae Trading Company into the Greatest Under Heaven Trading Company, but there is an even more dangerous and difficult objective: taking revenge on the Murim Alliance. This is a path that demands I stake my very life.”
I lifted my head to look at Seo Hyang.
“How could I possibly drag someone I love into such a perilous endeavor? That path… I must walk it alone. I am truly sorry.”
I clenched my fists and bowed my head.
“Small Guild Master. Are you a fool?”
“…What?”
Her voice struck my ears like thunder.
“Why do you think so narrowly? I don’t know why you harbor such vengeance against the Murim Alliance, but have you forgotten? I despise them too.”
It felt as though lightning flashed before my eyes.
I had failed to consider something so obvious.
Seo Hyang had also been forced to hide her identity because of the Murim Alliance.
She had even been separated from her family forever.
So her thirst for vengeance against the Murim Alliance could be no weaker than mine.
How had I not thought of this?
I truly am a fool. A complete fool.
“Walking this thorny path with burning vengeance in my heart, whether I walk it alone or with another makes little difference, does it?”
She spoke to me.
“So I will walk that path with you.”
In that moment, did Seo Hyang appear like a celestial maiden extending her hand from within a radiant light? Or was it merely my illusion?
I had never revealed my goal of avenging myself against the Murim Alliance to anyone.
This was the first time I was confessing it to Seo Hyang.
Though my hands trembled as I spoke of it, I had laid bare my true heart.
And to me, Seo Hyang said she would walk this path together.
Perhaps she seemed to shine because of the psychological relief that I would not have to walk this thorny road alone.
I let out a soft laugh.
“At least it won’t be tedious.”
“But… isn’t this a proposal?”
At her question, I hesitated before finally answering.
“W-well, yes, I suppose it is a proposal.”
“What is this! Don’t you realize how unromantic that sounds?”
“My apologies. In exchange, I will hold a grand wedding ceremony.”
– Thump!
Did it seem like things were moving forward too hastily?
Sigh, I hadn’t wanted it to go this way either.
But what could I do about a situation that had already come to this?
In the meantime, the surroundings began to brighten.
“The day is breaking.”
At her words, I turned my head toward the east, and the sun was rising.
Watching the dawn break together like this….
“Hmm….”
Suddenly, I felt rather embarrassed.
“Would you… like to practice together?”
“Yes.”
.
.
.
That morning.
After finishing my training with Seo Hyang, I washed and headed to the Dining Hall to eat breakfast.
All the family members, excluding the children who were not yet of age, had gathered.
“So, you’re leaving for Beijing again today?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
I answered respectfully to my Grandfather’s question.
Now that I thought about it, my Grandfather was already approaching his eighties.
If my previous life had continued, the days I could see my Grandfather would not be many.
Because of that, I felt a certain poignancy whenever I saw him.
“The weather is cold. Travel carefully.”
“Yes.”
Then the handmaidens brought in porridge.
Today it was chicken porridge.
After eating the chicken porridge deliciously, tea was served.
These moments when the family gathered to drink tea in the morning had become an evaluation session for newly acquired tea.
“This is Midam Chui tea that we brought from Guizhou Province this time.”
“Oh! Indeed, the way the sweetness and subtle flavor blend together is truly a mark of superior quality!”
“Yes. Thanks to the Provincial Inspector, we were able to obtain this superior grade tea.”
Well, I should broach the main topic now.
“I… have decided to marry.”
“I see.”
My Mother spoke with composure.
And the expressions of the other family members suggested they had expected this.
“I… why are you not surprised?”
At my question, Eun Jung-ho spoke.
“It was something we anticipated, so why would there be reason to be surprised?”
“You anticipated this?”
“Yes.”
Elder Brother’s Wife added an explanation.
“He usually looks at women as if they were stones, but whenever he looks at Gwak Vice-Manager, his gaze becomes distinctly different. How could you not notice that?”
At her words, I found myself scratching the back of my neck without thinking.
So I was the only one who didn’t know.
“Ah, then I should contact Gwak Pyo-du about this.”
Second Sister-in-law spoke.
“Since Gwak Vice-Manager has no parents, the closest relative living nearby must serve as the groom’s representative.”
Currently, Seo Hyang is known to be a distant relative of my Master who came from Guizhou Province.
And it was said that her parents passed away from an epidemic.
All family members except Father and Mother know it this way.
I wanted to hide even my hometown, but there was no helping it because of my natural accent.
“Second Sister-in-law is right. That’s what we should do.”
.
.
.
After breakfast, I followed Father to his office.
Once we were seated across from each other, Father spoke directly.
“I’m thinking of going to Guizhou Province myself this time.”
“Pardon?”
“Regardless of the circumstances, how could the parents of both families proceed without even seeing each other?”
“That’s true, but as you know, the situation is a bit….”
“Don’t worry. Thanks to you, there will be no problems.”
“Pardon?”
“The Guizhou Branch expansion project.”
“Ah!”
“If I go as the Merchant Guild Leader bearing gifts as a token of gratitude, wouldn’t that work?”
Father wore an amused expression.
“You worry so much in your thoughts, yet you move so steadily in your actions.”
“Indeed.”
After concluding this confidential discussion with Father, I stopped by the Separate Pavilion before heading to Cha-jang.
Seeing Seo Hyang standing beside Ju Gang Ma, I felt somewhat embarrassed… but there was no helping it.
I mounted my horse, and the others followed suit.
“Then, we shall depart now.”
“Travel safely.”
After bidding farewell to Father and the rest of the family, we set out toward Beijing.
.
.
.
Only a few days after departing from Hubei Province, we arrived in Beijing.
That’s how fast Ju Gang Ma galloped.
At first, the pace was grueling, but now that we’d grown accustomed to it, everyone was holding up well.
Even Seo Hyang, whose martial prowess was relatively modest, was managing fine.
As for Palgap—well, he’s a bear, so that’s hardly surprising.
“Welcome!”
The staff of the Beijing Branch greeted us warmly upon our arrival.
“Lee Pil Warrior. I apologize for making such a request the moment you arrive.”
“You’re asking me to visit Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster’s residence, then.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Here is the report. We’d be most grateful.”
The rest of our party and I each retired to our quarters, where we bathed thoroughly and changed into fresh clothes.
Riding the Ju Gang Ma was swift, certainly, but there was no avoiding the dust and grime that accumulated along the way.
“Young Master, are you truly so pleased?”
“Hmm?”
“Ever since we departed from Hubei Province, you’ve been grinning without pause.”
“Is it that obvious?”
At my question, Palgap nodded emphatically.
“I confess, I’m curious what emotion drives such a display.”
“Well, how do I explain it?”
After a moment’s reflection, I continued.
“One thing’s certain—I need to live with even greater purpose moving forward.”
“Good heavens! If you live any harder than this, what happens then? You’ll make Gwak Vice-Manager a widow!”
“Ah….”
I turned to Palgap and said,
“Starting today, I should probably begin taking some tonics for my health.”

That evening.
Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster came to the Beijing Branch.
I could have gone directly to the Imperial Palace myself, but entering through Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster was far more advantageous.
That way, I could see the Emperor immediately.
If I went alone, I’d have to wait until the Emperor summoned me.
That was not only inefficient but a waste of time.
“I greet you, Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster.”
“Yes, I’ve heard the general outline. You’ve accomplished quite a feat.”
“You are too kind. It was only possible thanks to the assistance of Jang Won Grand Master and many of the Geumui Guard.”
Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster smiled, apparently not displeased by my polite deflection.
“Let us go see the Emperor.”
“Yes.”
We headed straight to the Imperial Palace, and soon I was in the Emperor’s presence.
The Emperor held the report I had submitted through Lee Pil Warrior.
“I’ve read the report you submitted. This is why I favor you.”
That’s a compliment, isn’t it?
“You leveraged your status as a merchant to disarm their vigilance and gain their trust… Fascinating. That was only possible because you were a genuine merchant.”
“Indeed.”
Even if the Geumui Guard or Dongchang disguised themselves as merchants, one could always discern the difference.
Even when observing the same thing, one’s perspective determines what one truly sees.
“That’s precisely why I have no choice but to keep you as a merchant.”
From the Emperor’s perspective, it must have been regrettable, but I could breathe a sigh of relief.
“I see here that this operation required considerable expenditure.”
“Yes.”
I had submitted the expenses from Beijing to Haenam Island as well.
Still, I had not been stingy with the funds spent on my birthday celebration.
“I will not accept reimbursement for those expenses. And I will not reclaim the hundred thousand taels from the assets confiscated from the Mu Clan Trading Company listed there.”
“You wouldn’t do this without reason. What are your conditions?”
“Please record that the Eun Hae Trading Company also assisted with the Haenam Island project. And when procuring supplies for the construction of the Haenam Island Naval Base, please use goods from the Eun Hae Trading Company for at least fifty percent of the purchases.”
“So you’re securing tangible benefits for yourself.”
Ah, you already knew, yet you ask?
“Understood. You’ve worked hard on this matter. Since you undertook this task in pursuit of what you desired, no additional compensation is necessary, correct?”
“That is correct.”
But once you see this, your words will change.
I carefully made another request of the Emperor.
“And Your Majesty, there is one more matter I wish to discuss. Please clear the room.”

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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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