Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Establishing a Foothold (8)
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Yeon Gyohwa had been the most promising successor of Tang Mountain's top trading company since her days as the Tang Mountain Beauty. Not because she was the company head's daughter, but because she was known as a genius who had effortlessly handled the company's operations from her early teens thanks to her innate divine calculations.
“Even the Heaven-Destroying Squad share report indicates as much. What does my son think about this matter?”
Yeon Gyohwa asked Danmun.
Her official position was deputy head of the Resource Pavilion.
This could be said to be no exaggeration as the Resource Pavilion inquiring of the Espionage Division.
The deputy head could function as the actual head in the head's absence, and she was equally capable as Paeng Geumseong in every respect. She was the epitome of an exemplary clan wife and the envy of all Handan City. Even nobles with both wealth and status would listen intently to her words, and haughty noblewomen couldn't tear their eyes from her attire as she passed. That wasn't all. The books she read ended up on scholars' shelves, and the items she carried became trends in Suncheon Prefecture. Truly, she was the most influential woman in Handan.
In contrast, her son was nowhere near that level.
Even in a conversation between the Resource Pavilion and Espionage Division, the disparity in standing was vast. She was someone who could knock on the Espionage Division's door and hold a private audience with its head. Danmun smiled self-mockingly and countered.
“Mother, no matter what I think or how, how important could it be?”
“Oh, my son! What kind of talk is that? To us, your opinion is the most important!!”
Yeon Gyohwa's voice rang clear as jade.
And all three in this reception room knew those words were lies.
“You two have already looked into everything worth looking into. I assume you've finished evaluating the trading partner. If there's anything left for you to ask me, it would be about that Yeom Seoksan fellow's martial arts or personality. His martial skill isn't high, so even someone at my level could suppress him. As for his character, he strikes me as the type who keeps his word. If there's anything noteworthy, it's his affection for his daughters. They're adopted, but he cherishes them no less than his own flesh and blood. For starters, the eldest daughter was taken by the Mask Faction you mentioned, Mother. If they use her as a hostage to pressure Yeom Seoksan, he could easily break our agreement. That said, we have the second daughter in our custody. That gives us a degree of leverage. Even if we demand his cooperation under the pretext of her safety, he won't mind too much. He's no small-minded man.”
“A shrewd assessment. Looks like he takes after his mother.”
“No, it's all thanks to your teachings, the master of all disguises.”
The couple laughed as they traded compliments.
Danmun did not laugh.
“To make them a safe trading partner, retrieving the eldest daughter is ultimately key.”
“Oh, you and your calculations—do you only see money? Must you exploit a father's grief over his lost daughter for business? We should bring her back even without compensation; that's the clan's duty!”
“Indeed, my thinking was shortsighted. Madam's words ring absolutely true.”
Paeng Geumseong took her hand.
Yeon Gyohwa grasped his in return with a smile.
“Should the family ledger change his tune so easily?”
“Only in front of Madam.”
How could their affection overflow with such warmth?
Yet Danmun's heart, watching the pair, felt cold rather than warm.
“Have we pinned down the eldest daughter's location?”
This question wasn't truly for her son either. It was effectively directed at the Espionage Division, not Danmun. He shook his head.
“We're short on manpower.”
“So you haven't even bothered yet. I'll drop a word at Wa Emperor Pavilion.”
“Understood.”
She was addressing Wa Emperor Pavilion directly—not the Espionage Division—the clan's core and ultimate decision-making body.
Such was Paeng Geumseong's position. When he put his mind to it, things resolved with seamless efficiency. Danmun acknowledged that ability without reservation.
“There'll be a transfer coming. You heard?”
“Oh, sending him off again?”
“I heard.”
“No, where to this time? Why didn't you tell me?”
“It's still under discussion, not finalized, Madam. But if it happens, the posting will be Songgang.”
“Ah! Songgang!”
Yeon Gyohwa's eyes widened prettily.
She brightened as she continued.
“So it's decided to go ahead?”
“For now, yes, Madam. You'll be busy too.”
“Busy earning money—sounds wonderful.”
“Not earning—spending heaps of it.”
“Why are you like this today? You plan to make ten times back what you spend.”
Mother laughed.
Father laughed in kind. How could they feign such effortless naturalness?
Danmun gave up trying to figure it out.
“When will the transfer be finalized?”
“As early as tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“If you go, we'll send Yeom Merchant to Songgang too.”
“Not keeping him here? There could be safety concerns.”
“That's precisely why. Departure's two months out anyway. Songgang's quite a ways off. It'll be spring by the time you arrive. The Resource Pavilion will handle Yeom Merchant's lodging, so oversee the details on-site.”
He didn't ask whose safety it was really for.
One thing was clear: it wasn't solely for Yeom Seoksan and Hyang.
The enemies had sent killers despite knowing who the Paeng Clan was. No guarantee they wouldn't target the main house too. If foes came at headquarters without restraint, the clan's prestige would suffer a massive blow regardless of casualties. Moving Yeom Seoksan outside was likely for that reason. Danmun knew the Paeng Clan's ways—the Resource Pavilion's, its head's methods—inside out. For a moment, an awkward air passed between the Resource Pavilion head and her son. Yeon Gyohwa laughed and shifted the topic.
“I hear that second daughter's quite the beauty. Seen her yourself?”
“With Madam here, what do other beauties matter?”
“Hohoho. No holding back even with son watching. Son, even if the girl's pretty, don't catch feelings, alright?”
“No such thing will happen.”
“Good boy.”
Yeon Gyohwa smiled.
He knew that smile carried weight.
His mother was beautiful in her earnestness.
She'd never accept anything less than a proper match. Hyang was, after all, the second daughter of a shady merchant tied to some shadowy group. Not fit as a bride, not even as a lover. If Danmun drew close to her as man and woman, Mother would intervene. Noble as she was, she was equally formidable. Hyang's safety would then truly be in jeopardy.
“Paengwol's sending your son too. The Espionage Division head's ambitions run far deeper than they show. Keep your distance from now on. Espionage Division's no place to linger. More Paeng Clan casualties have come from there historically than Heaven-Destroying Squad or Protection Squad combined. Once the Songgang branch stabilizes, I plan to pull you back up beside me in the Resource Pavilion.”
'Do whatever you want.'
Danmun swallowed the words unvoiced.
Yeon Gyohwa added her piece.
“And son—even if you need a ronin to blend into the streets, it doesn't have to be you, right? I heard you're sporting gaudy wigs. Can't even picture it; just hearing makes my heart ache. Show up like that in front of me, and this mother will scream on the spot. Down in Songgang this time, pass yourself off as a proper merchant instead. I'm begging you earnestly. Will you?”
“What say do I have? I'm just playing the part assigned.”
“Then you put in a word at Wa Emperor Pavilion too.”
“Madam, I get your feelings, but meddling in the boy's mission would stir talk of favoritism. Danmun, even street ronins these days include plenty of decent sorts. That red wig didn't come from Espionage Division stores, and your getup's yours to choose, no? I won't nitpick your actions when it comes to broad experience, but Espionage Division internal reviews treat assignments as career marks. Like you said, it's acting—so I'll take any roughness as fidelity to the role. Expecting you to show your better sides too.”
“I'll bear it in mind.”
Danmun replied devoid of feeling or emotion.
“No, what's so hard about a word to Wa Emperor Pavilion? You're fine with your son prancing about with that fiery red mop?”
“'My son'? Just refuse if it's no, Madam. Heh heh heh.”
“Oh, is that your line?”
Yeon Gyohwa's face flushed peach-blossom red.
Even their bickering stayed affectionate. Light barbs traded with gentle laughs.
Danmun grew uncomfortable in his seat. The conversation grated harder by the minute. It had for some time.
“I'll take my leave.”
“Oh, already?”
“I'll pay respects again soon.”
“Do—stop by before Songgang.”
Danmun offered a clasped-hand salute and bowed deeply.
A sigh escaped as he exited the Resource Pavilion.
“Huuuuuu.”
It echoed Oho from the Espionage Division.
Danmun felt suffocated too.
* * *
“Young master.”
Tuno spoke up first in ages.
Tuno looked as frail as ever, trudging on foot without a mount.
Cheonwi was holed up in Daemyeong County's unofficial safehouse, a full day's ride on horseback from the main house in Wu'an. Officially dead, but no secret from Tuno.
Oho spoke to Tuno first.
Oho knew them inside out. Tuno had been Cheonwi's grandfather since boyhood, at times a father figure. Their lord-servant bond lacked easy talk or fatherly warmth, but in closeness, they were family and no less.
“Go on out. Someone's waiting.”
Cheonwi realized in a flash.
‘Why hadn't I noticed?’
He caught the scent of subservience.
At first, he'd dismissed it as faint.
No.
Too long exposed, too prolonged—the nose had gone numb.
Scents worked that way.
Smell dulled faster than any sense. Cheonwi now recalled the oversight born of that truth.
“Who?”
“The one you're thinking of.”
Ah.
So that's how it was.
Cheonwi had long treated Tuno with undue familiarity.
Even for a clan servant, it came too naturally.
The Paeng Clan was a house of high standing, its lineage education rivaling Nanjing's scholar clans. Propriety was foundational; humility and respect stressed everywhere. Thus, Cheonwi's manner toward Tuno had irked many clan elders. True, servants or maids could be treated casually with fondness—even disdainfully in youth—but adults accorded respect.
Cheonwi never did.
Grown, he still slighted his elders. It showed in the smallest gestures. That was the verdict on Cheonwi, the fixed notion. A headache in every regard—and a critical one at that.