Monopolizing Fortunes (24)
Monopolizing Fortunes (24)
"I won't forget this kindness. I'm a man who never forgets a favor or a grudge."
"The Branch Chief's well-being is the Seo-ung Branch's well-being. As Deputy Branch Chief, I merely did what I ought to do."
Jang Jeong-baek clapped Do Tong-dal on the shoulder.
"Why so stiff with 'Branch Chief'? Just call me Brother."
"May I?"
"I don't take just anyone as a younger brother, but once I do, I'm not the sort to let him down."
"That puts my mind at ease. Brother!"
* * *
Among the many taverns of Hangzhou, Cheonsangru had once belonged to the outskirts, but its standing had risen considerably of late.
It had begun when they started selling Sagiju, which was said to be available only at first-rate taverns. Once Hangzhou's big spenders began coming as guests, figures of considerable standing gathered there as well.
It had become so popular that drinking there without a reservation was difficult.
"Hahaha! How could Cheonsangru have only Sagiju? Not only is the music of the entertainers here superb, but I hear the courtesans are second to none as well."
Bae Dong-cheol, the Second Hall Master of the Gangseon Merchant Company, praised Cheonsangru enthusiastically. The better the venue, the more impressive the hospitality.
Seo Bae-gwang, the Chief Clerk who oversaw the overall administration of the government office, smiled with satisfaction.
"Thanks to Hall Master Bae, I shall taste that famous Sagiju today."
"It is my honor to host Chief Clerk Seo, whom I have long respected."
In truth, most magistrates were inevitably unfamiliar with practical administration, so the Six Bureaus handled the day-to-day work. The Chief Clerk in particular represented the petty officials and wielded the greatest practical authority.
'That bastard Do Tong-dal is overreaching.'
Refusing the hundred nyang of silver had been Do Tong-dal's mistake. He had tried to secure a line to the magistrate to make things more certain, but in truth, the Six Bureaus, which handled the practical work, would have been enough.
In any case, a considerable portion of the bribes that entered the Six Bureaus was bound to flow to the magistrate.
The magistrate would only take the bribes and would know nothing of things like mine development.
When they arrived at Cheonsangru after treading the night streets, a brightly lit building was waiting for them.
Before the main gate were several people waiting to enter. Those who had come without reservations grumbled but did not leave.
Bae Dong-cheol pushed through the crowd and entered through the main gate. A young woman stationed at the gate asked whether they had a reservation.
"It should be reserved under Bae Dong-cheol of the Gangseon Merchant Company."
The young woman checked the reservation book and said.
"You've arrived a little early. The room is being prepared, so please wait one ke."
Since they had come early, the wait could not be helped.
"Cheonsangru is thronged with visitors."
Bae Dong-cheol chimed in at Seo Bae-gwang's words.
"Indeed. Sagiju must truly taste good."
"Have you not yet tried it either, Hall Master Bae?"
"Hehehe! I have been saving it to enjoy with a distinguished guest like you, Chief Clerk Seo."
As they made idle small talk, a familiar-looking woman appeared. She looked older than the ordinary courtesans, but her beauty was beyond comparison with theirs.
Bae Dong-cheol whispered to Seo Bae-gwang.
"That is the mistress of Cheonsangru, whose face is hard to see even when one comes as a guest."
"Oh ho! I had only heard rumors, but her beauty is truly outstanding."
Yeon Ja-yeon approached and greeted the guests. Though the proprietor of Cheonsangru was still a courtesan, she carried an inexplicable air of dignity.
"Hall Master Bae, it has been a while."
Even though he had come only twice, and his last visit had been two months ago, Yeon Ja-yeon remembered Bae Dong-cheol.
"If only Mistress Yeon would sit beside this Bae for even one ke, I would come every day."
There was no drinker in Hangzhou who did not know that Yeon Ja-yeon did not personally attend to guests.
"I apologize. I have a prior engagement today."
"A prior engagement... you mean there is a guest you must attend to?"
Among the guests who came to Cheonsangru, there was not one who had not tried some ploy to keep her at their side, if only once.
But not a single one had succeeded, and it had come to be regarded as an unwritten rule that Yeon Ja-yeon did not attend to guests.
"It is about time for him to arrive...."
Everyone's gaze turned toward the door. They were all curious who the person was for whom Yeon Ja-yeon would break the unwritten rule and attend.
'Did some high official come down from Beijing?'
'Is the richest man in the Central Plains coming?'
Everyone wondered what sort of remarkable person would receive Yeon Ja-yeon's personal service.
Everyone thought, 'Whoever it is, I envy him.' A smile suddenly rose to Yeon Ja-yeon's face. The people knew that the person she had been waiting for had arrived.
Some knew the man just entering through the main gate, and some did not.
Whether they knew his identity or not, it was certain that their expectations had been off the mark.
'That young?'
'D-Do Tong-dal?'
The most surprised person was Bae Dong-cheol. He thought it could not be. He could not believe that Yeon Ja-yeon, whose pride was as high as Mount Tai, would personally attend to a mere Deputy Branch Chief of the Underworld.
"You've come. I thought my neck would snap from waiting."
The person Yeon Ja-yeon greeted with a face full of smiles was unmistakably Do Tong-dal.
'H-how can this be!'
"The mistress herself came out to greet me."
"Did you forget the promise I made before? I told you that if you came to Cheonsangru as a guest, I would be the first to attend you."
Yeon Ja-yeon naturally linked her arm through Do Tong-dal's. As Do Tong-dal was about to move inside, his eyes met Bae Dong-cheol's.
"Isn't that Hall Master Bae?"
"Ah... hello. I didn't expect to meet you here."
"The person with you is Chief Clerk Seo."
Seo Bae-gwang gave an awkward bow. Do Tong-dal belonged to the Underworld, yet seemed close to the magistrate, so he did not know how to treat him.
"What brings the two of you together?"
Do Tong-dal's eyes as he asked seemed to say, 'I know exactly why you two are meeting.'
Just then, a commotion arose at the entrance, and a new figure appeared.
"I greet the Magistrate."
"Good evening."
Whether they were acquainted or not, people vied to greet him, and the person receiving those greetings was Yang Su-pan.
"Oh? You're already here."
The person Yang Su-pan greeted warmly was Do Tong-dal.
"You came earlier than I expected."
"How could I get any work done? But who is the beauty beside you...?"
Yeon Ja-yeon bowed demurely.
"Yeon Ja-yeon, mistress of Cheonsangru, greets the noble guest."
"Goodness! So you're the one everyone talks about! They say your reputation is well deserved, and your beauty is indeed outstanding. Surely you'll be joining my drinking party today?"
"I am joining, but not at Your Honor's side. Wouldn't you prefer a young and lovely girl to a retired courtesan like me?"
"Oh ho! I heard it was an unwritten rule that you don't serve guests' drinks, but Deputy Branch Chief Do seems to be an exception."
"I made quite a fuss about it."
"As expected, Deputy Branch Chief Do is different, truly different. With even the mistress joining us, I'm looking forward to tonight's drinking."
Yang Su-pan, who had been about to step forward, stopped abruptly.
"Oh? Aren't you Chief Clerk Seo?"
He had tried to hide behind Bae Dong-cheol, but he had been spotted.
"I-I greet the Magistrate."
"It's a new sight to see you at a tavern. But isn't it a bit early? Even I came only after half-finishing my work...."
"W-well, I happened to be out on official business nearby and left work right after...."
"Is that so? I hear the drinks here are quite expensive, so the Chief Clerk's monthly salary must be decent. Surely you're not being entertained by someone, are you?"
"H-how could that be? I merely came to... to have a look."
Yang Su-pan's gaze swept briefly over Bae Dong-cheol. The quick-witted Yang Su-pan could not fail to understand what was going on.
"Then enjoy your look. Deputy Branch Chief Do, let's go."
As Do Tong-dal followed Yang Su-pan, he looked at Bae Dong-cheol and grinned. A chill ran down Bae Dong-cheol's spine.
'I'm fucked.'
He had known that Do Tong-dal was the only channel to Yang Su-pan. But he had not known they were close enough to openly frequent pleasure houses together.
Why in the world was the magistrate so friendly with an underworld thug?!
He had been caught in a trap from which he could not move. If he ignored Do Tong-dal here, the magistrate would in all likelihood step in.
No matter how much the Six Bureaus managed practical affairs, that only applied when the magistrate was ignorant of the matter.
If the magistrate decided to personally look after the mine development, then not even sixty bureaus, let alone six, would matter.
He could not give up the mine development now, so he would have to meet Do Tong-dal again.
'Looks like I'm going to get fleeced good and proper.'
While Bae Dong-cheol racked his brains until his head cramped, at Do Tong-dal's drinking table, not even the word "mine" came up.
After listening to one zither performance, Do Tong-dal and Yang Su-pan applauded in admiration.
"Remarkable, truly remarkable. I am no great connoisseur of music, but it is certainly a rare performance."
The sixteen-year-old entertainer was worthy of such praise from Yang Su-pan.
Do Tong-dal merely applauded in admiration because he knew the fate of that sixteen-year-old entertainer, Hwang Jin-a.
'Such a talented child. What a pity. A pity.'
An entertainer and a prostitute were separated by no more than a sheet of paper. No matter how outstanding a person's skill and talent in the arts, one misstep could force them down a path they did not want.
That was what happened to Hwang Jin-a.
'Her too-pretty face became her undoing.'
Hwang Jin-a performed five more pieces and then withdrew.
"Tong-dal."
Yang Su-pan, who had drunk a fair amount, had a slightly slurred tongue.
"Yes, Your Honor."
"According to the rumors going around, you have divine foresight?"
Yeon Ja-yeon was startled.
"Oh my! Deputy Branch Chief Do has such a talent too?"
"Don't even get me started. That brat has a hundred snakes coiled in his belly. What kind of eighteen-year-old can do everything he does? If someone said another person had divine foresight, I'd laugh it off, but with that brat Tong-dal, I can't. It really does seem like he has it."
Yeon Ja-yeon asked Do Tong-dal.
"Do you really have divine foresight?"
"Isn't it just the experience one naturally gains from living long?"
"Bah! A brat whose family register ink hasn't even dried! Fine, let's hear some of that long-lived experience. What will become of me?"
Do Tong-dal looked steadily at Yang Su-pan with half-lidded eyes.
"One misfortune will turn into a blessing, and you will rise steadily."
Yang Su-pan also looked at Do Tong-dal with half-lidded eyes.
"Is that one misfortune you mentioned that thing?"
"The one where you met me."
"And that turned into a blessing?"
"Isn't it only natural, since you met me?"
"So in the end, thanks to you, I'll rise steadily?"
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Hehehe... where does a young thug get such nerve? Fine, if I do well, it'll all be thanks to you! In that spirit, let's have a toast!"
The drinking party was harmonious from start to finish. The conversation never ceased, as if two bosom friends were spending the night together.
Do Tong-dal also got drunk for the first time in a long while. It was the first time he had drunk like this since reincarnating.
He didn't think he had drunk enough to lose his memory, but when he opened his eyes to the morning sunlight, Do Tong-dal was startled.
He was in one bed, under one blanket, with Yeon Ja-yeon. What was more, neither of them was wearing a single thread.
From the feel of bare skin against his shoulder, fragments of last night's memories came back to him piecemeal.
'So it ended up like this.'
"So it ended up like this."
Do Tong-dal's thought came out through the lips of Yeon Ja-yeon, who had opened her eyes.
"Indeed."
"You'll take responsibility, won't you?"
"Huh?"
"Heh! Why so surprised? You'll hurt my feelings."
She sat up and stretched long.
"Would you like a hair-of-the-dog drink, or a repeat of last night?"
* * *
"That man works fast."
Do Tong-dal had spent the night at the tavern with him, yet Yang Su-pan had gone to the office early in the morning.
He was an official who, whether already corrupt or in the process of becoming so, at least worked hard at his job.
After spending a leisurely morning (?) at the tavern, Do Tong-dal came out and summoned Jang Baek-dong.
He gave him the task of watching in front of the government office and reporting when Jang Jeong-baek's younger brother, Jang So-baek, was released. As always, Jang Baek-dong did not quibble with Do Tong-dal's orders.
Before even one shichen had passed, Jang Baek-dong delivered the news of Jang So-baek's release.
It was a sign of how seriously Yang Su-pan regarded his promise to Do Tong-dal.
"I saw him heading toward Hwangil-ro and came straight here."
Hwangil-ro was an area densely packed with drinking establishments. It seemed he had gone drinking the moment he was released.
"Good work. You know this stays secret, right?"
Jang Baek-dong mimed sewing his lips shut. After parting from Jang Baek-dong, Do Tong-dal made his way to Hwangil-ro.
Punishing Jang So-baek was simple. He had no intention of actually cutting off his manhood and hanging it in the marketplace.
He would just kill him and dump him in a back alley. Hangzhou was a place where dozens of people died every day at its worst.
A drunkard found dead in a back alley was, perhaps, an everyday occurrence.
Jang Jeong-baek would rage for a few days, but in the end, it would be buried like all the other cases where the culprit was never caught.
Do Tong-dal poked around the taverns of Hwangil-ro. There were so many drinking establishments packed together that it was not easy to find Jang So-baek.
"Did this bastard go and die somewhere already?"
* * *