Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: The Eternal King (1)
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These days, if you were to ask for the most famous pleasure house in Dongting Lake, everyone would name the Myeonghwa Pavilion first.
No matter how much money one had, it was not easy to meet Myeonghwa Yuran, the top courtesan of the Myeonghwa Pavilion.
But rumors said that anyone who had heard her performance would be willing to offer a fortune just to hear it one more time.
There were many who had never seen Myeonghwa, but it was said that no one had seen her only once.
That was why, among the patrons of the Myeonghwa Pavilion, there were some whose lifelong wish was simply to catch a glimpse of the passing Myeonghwa.
“Oho. This is quite impressive.”
A lavish carriage appeared at that pleasure house, the Myeonghwa Pavilion.
A smile spread across the lips of the middle-aged man who was observing the Myeonghwa Pavilion through the carriage window.
“Do you dislike it that much?”
“We’ve come to Dongting Lake after so long, and I don’t like coming to a place like this that was only recently established.”
“Besides, it’s a pleasure house. Isn’t it a place where women are bought and sold?”
The young boy and girl sitting across from the middle-aged man spoke with deep frowns.
The two of them didn’t even glance at the Myeonghwa Pavilion’s splendid appearance.
The place where they lived was incomparably more magnificent, so the splendor of the Myeonghwa Pavilion was not enough to please their eyes.
“I see. But everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, so it wouldn't be bad to check it out. We can't always do the same things, can we?”
Ignoring the boy and girl's complaints, the middle-aged man stepped out of the carriage.
At that, the soldiers guarding the carriage approached him.
At the same time, Im Sagyeong, the master of the Myeonghwa Pavilion, who had been watching the carriage with a tense expression, hurried toward the middle-aged man.
“W-Welcome. I greet Your Highness, the Eternal King. I am Im Sagyeong, the master of the Myeonghwa Pavilion.”
“There is no need for excessive formalities.”
The Eternal King, Ju Yumun.
He was the current emperor's uncle, a man even the emperor could not treat lightly.
“But more than that, I wish to see the true master of the Myeonghwa Pavilion.”
“Ah, I understand. Please wait just a moment.”
At the Eternal King's words, Im Sagyeong immediately ran inside the Myeonghwa Pavilion.
“To send someone else when royalty has arrived. How disrespectful.”
The boy who had disembarked with the Eternal King was still glaring at the Myeonghwa Pavilion with eyes full of dissatisfaction.
How many people would dare not even show their face when the Eternal King himself had come?
“It is an honor to meet Your Highness, the Eternal King. I am Jinmyeong.”
A short while later, because of the hastily returning Im Sagyeong, Jinmyeong had no choice but to immediately move to greet the Eternal King.
*I don't really know these kinds of etiquette.*
It seemed he didn't know the proper imperial etiquette.
Perhaps displeased by his etiquette, the guards watching Jinmyeong frowned and began to step forward.
“That is enough.”
But the Eternal King waved back the guards who were about to step forward.
They retreated, but still glared at Jinmyeong.
*Just as I thought, a ruffian. Of course he wouldn't know proper etiquette.*
Of course, they also looked down on Jinmyeong.
They even thought it was their mistake to expect perfect etiquette from an uneducated ruffian.
“I apologize for summoning you so suddenly.”
“Not at all. It was my fault for not coming forward when Your Highness arrived.”
“I see. Did you think that I was unaware of you?”
Jinmyeong could not answer the Eternal King's sharp question.
Because that was, in fact, what he had thought.
The true master of the Myeonghwa Pavilion was Jinmyeong, but the one publicly known as its master was Im Sagyeong.
*Things have gotten troublesome.*
He had hidden himself and sent only Im Sagyeong, thinking that meeting royalty would only lead to trouble.
But the Eternal King knew of Jinmyeong's existence and had summoned him personally.
Jinmyeong, who had never imagined the Eternal King would know of him, couldn't help but be surprised.
“I heard this place has become quite remarkable lately.”
“You have come to the right place. The Myeonghwa Pavilion is the most magnificent pleasure house in Dongting Lake, a delight for the eyes and ears.”
“Hmm. I see. I hear that one cannot embrace the courtesans in this pleasure house?”
No one could embrace a courtesan.
Without the courtesan's permission, even touching was forbidden.
There were more than a few patrons whose wrists had been severed for trying to touch a courtesan without cause.
“If I were to try and touch a courtesan, would you cut off my hand as well?”
“…How could that be? It is the hand of the most precious person in the world.”
“The most precious person is in the Imperial Palace.”
But the Eternal King, seemingly not offended, smiled.
“Do not worry. Since I have come here, I will follow the rules of this place. But more importantly, I hear it is quite difficult to see the girl called Myeonghwa.”
“There is no other girl who could possibly attend to Your Highness.”
“That is delightful to hear.”
While the Eternal King was conversing with Jinmyeong with a pleased expression, his son, Ju Baekjin, glanced at the guard standing beside him with a tense look.
“Guard Dun.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you so tense?”
Their guard, Dun Mogyeong.
He was a supreme master who had trained in the martial arts of the Imperial Palace.
Guard Dun, who had never shown such a tense expression no matter where they went or what enemy they faced, was now looking at Jinmyeong with apprehension.
“…”
Guard Dun could not easily answer Ju Baekjin's question.
It felt as if his concentration would shatter the moment he opened his mouth.
“Hk!”
Jinmyeong, who was speaking with the Eternal King, glanced over.
As their eyes met, Guard Dun sharply drew in a breath.
The simple act of meeting his gaze felt like it could stop his breath.
*Why in the world is a man like that here?*
It wasn't that Guard Dun had grasped the extent of Jinmyeong's martial prowess.
Rather, it was because he couldn't grasp it at all that he felt fear.
He knew Jinmyeong was extraordinary, but the inability to identify the nature of that extraordinariness filled him with dread.
*If that man were to attack His Highness…*
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed it would be difficult for them to protect the Eternal King.
“Who is that woman?”
As Ju Baekjin followed Jinmyeong and the Eternal King into the Myeonghwa Pavilion, he spotted Shin Yehyang standing in a corner.
Seeing the beautiful woman with a cold expression, Ju Baekjin grinned.
He hadn't yet seen Myeonghwa, the most famous courtesan of the pavilion, but he doubted she could be more beautiful than that woman.
“You're so young and already so lecherous.”
As Ju Baekjin stared at Shin Yehyang, unable to tear his eyes away, the Eternal King's daughter, Ju Hyein, clicked her tongue.
But Ju Baekjin, as if he hadn't heard her, kept his gaze fixed on Shin Yehyang.
“Hm!”
Following Ju Baekjin's gaze, Guard Dun turned his head and once again felt his body freeze.
*An incredible master.*
She was different from Jinmyeong.
Unlike Jinmyeong, who was frightening because he was an unknown, Shin Yehyang was frightening because he realized she was far beyond his level.
“Guard Dun?”
“Yes.”
Seeing the extremely tense Guard Dun, Ju Baekjin and Ju Hyein wore puzzled expressions.
Guard Dun had no choice but to maintain a calm demeanor as best he could, so as not to alarm them.
But he was so tense that he didn't even notice his sweaty hand repeatedly moving toward the sword at his waist.
“It is certainly magnificent.”
“Yes. We put some effort into it.”
Completely unaware of Guard Dun's state, the Eternal King was smiling and praising the Myeonghwa Pavilion.
“I don't think I've seen a finer place in all of Dongting Lake.”
“Hearing Your Highness say so makes all the effort worthwhile.”
The Eternal King continued to praise the splendor of the Myeonghwa Pavilion as he ascended to the fifth floor.
“This seems rather special.”
Unlike the other floors, the fifth floor had only a single room.
It felt like a place meant for one very special person.
“Your Highness is a special person, after all.”
“Haha. You're quite good with flattering words.”
Ju Baekjin and Ju Hyein looked at the smiling Eternal King with surprised expressions.
It was because the Eternal King, who despised empty flattery, was continuously smiling at Jinmyeong's words.
It seemed less that Jinmyeong was special and more that he was simply captivated by the splendor of this pleasure house, the Myeonghwa Pavilion.
“My children may enter as well, I presume?”
“Of course.”
“I hear Myeonghwa's performance is so exceptional. I am already looking forward to it.”
“No matter how exceptional, I worry it might only trouble Your Highness's ears.”
“Haha. Well then, shall we go in?”
It was just as the Eternal King was about to enter the room where Myeonghwa was waiting.
“I heard you're an incredible master.”
“I'm honored.”
Instead of following the Eternal King into the room, Ju Baekjin approached Jinmyeong.
“Would it be possible for you to have a match with Guard Dun?”
“A match, you say…”
“I mean exactly what I said. Fight.”
The one flustered by Ju Baekjin's unreasonable demand was Guard Dun, who stood behind him.
He never imagined he would say such a thing to Jinmyeong.
Even if Ju Baekjin was royalty, he wondered if martial artists, who could be called ruffians, would even care about status.
Therefore, Guard Dun placed his hand on his sword, ready to draw it and step forward at any moment.
“It seems Your Highness is interested in such things.”
“That's right.”
Ju Baekjin nodded in response to Jinmyeong's question.
He might still be young, but he was a boy, and he held a certain romanticism about the strong.
The strongest person he knew was Guard Dun, so seeing him tense up before Jinmyeong made him curious about just how strong Jinmyeong was.
“If Your Highness desires it, a match wouldn't be difficult.”
“Really?”
Unlike Ju Baekjin, whose face brightened, Guard Dun's expression grew darker.
He was a guard who protected the Eternal King's family, not someone who swung his sword for their amusement.
“Hmph! Men are all so childish.”
Ju Hyein said, clicking her tongue.
She still seemed displeased about staying at a pleasure house like the Myeonghwa Pavilion, and had been pouting ever since they arrived.
Thus, she was displeased with her father, the Eternal King, for smiling at Jinmyeong, and with her younger brother, Ju Baekjin, as well.
“You'll probably never understand, Sister.”
Ju Baekjin retorted, whipping his head around at Ju Hyein's words, which seemed to treat him like a child.
Ju Baekjin stealthily glanced at Guard Dun.
“Can you do it?”
“If Your Highness desires it.”
Guard Dun glanced at Jinmyeong.
Seeing him looking back with a relaxed smile made him feel a surge of anger for some reason.
It was as if he was being looked down upon.
“Stop it.”
But at the sudden sound of the Eternal King's voice, Guard Dun and Ju Baekjin had no choice but to back down.
“We did not come here to fight, but simply to rest. I do not wish for a disturbance.”
Ju Baekjin hung his head low, but the Eternal King had already entered the room. Ju Hyein glanced at her brother, then burst into laughter before following the Eternal King inside.
“…”
Looking at Ju Baekjin's resentful expression, Jinmyeong let out a sigh.
“I will show you when the opportunity arises later, so please don't be so discouraged.”
“Really?”
At Jinmyeong's words, Ju Baekjin's face lit up as he raised his head.
“You promised!”
“Yes. Of course.”
Ju Baekjin entered the room, looking pleased, and the door soon closed.
And soon, the sound of music began to drift from behind the closed door.