Monopolizing Fortunes (44)
Monopolizing Fortunes (44)
In the current situation, there was no way that could happen.
"Then we have to choose one of two options. Are you saying the Black Dragon Society has to disappear over five thousand nyang?"
Money could be earned again, but no underworld society that had once fallen had ever risen again.
"I can't say the exact amount right now, but by tomorrow I should be able to raise about three thousand nyang."
"Hah—! It would be nice if we could compromise with that."
* * *
"Tell them we'll make up the remaining two thousand nyang with the Yeongyeong-ro gambling house. The one on the border between us and the Black Dragon Society."
"Will they give it up?"
"I told you. The ones shitting themselves are the Black Dragon Society."
Just as Do Tong-dal had confidently predicted, the Black Dragon Society accepted the demand. The Black Dragon Society could open a new gambling house on Yeongyeong-ro, but gamblers hate changing gambling houses more than they hate changing wives.
With a large sum of money coming in and a new territory added on top of it, Wang Chil's mouth stretched from ear to ear.
All Wang Chil had done was write a single letter (and even that was ghostwritten), but he was pleased, as though he had produced results as Society Leader.
Of course, the money received from the Black Dragon Society did not pile up in the Red Tiger Society's coffers.
"A thousand nyang goes back to Seohyeon Gambling House for their losses, and two thousand nyang is mine."
"What? You're saying there's no money stacked up for the Red Tiger Society?"
"You got new territory, didn't you?"
"Well, that's true, but......."
"If you want to live like an emperor of the night, you need money."
"You're already trying to live like an emperor of the night?"
"You never know how life will turn out, so you have to enjoy it while you can."
It was a costly lesson Do Tong-dal had learned after something went wrong with his arm.
"Since I'm out anyway, I'll take care of anything that needs handling before I go back. I have to earn my monthly pay."
Do Tong-dal handled several matters that fell to him as a Coordinator. Mediating friction between branches, or between a branch and a Fixer Office, and resolving matters that branches found difficult to handle were a Coordinator's main duties.
After finishing his work, Do Tong-dal headed to the government office. The Black Dragon Society had avoided war with the Red Tiger Society partly because of the difference in strength, but a large part of it was that they were watching Yang Su-pan's reaction.
So it was necessary to grease Yang Su-pan's palms from time to time. Of course, he did have business there.
"You're going to see Seungseon Chamseon in three days?"
"Yeah. It's that old fellow's birthday soon. Since I've already invested in him, I should make sure to leave a strong impression."
In truth, he was grudgingly maintaining the connection because the money he had given so far felt like a waste.
He had lost count of how many times he had regretted, thinking, 'I never should have gotten tangled up with him in the first place.' This was all Do Tong-dal's fault.
"You've finally come to your senses."
"My senses were always perfectly fine! You're the one out of your mind, pouring money into a kite whose string has snapped!"
Do Tong-dal handed Yang Su-pan two hundred nyang of silver.
"Take this with you when you go this time."
"Hah—! There goes my money again."
"That's from me."
"Huh? Your money? Not my bribe?"
"I read the heavenly signs, and there isn't much time left. Make sure Seungseon Chamseon firmly registers your existence, Magistrate."
"That old fellow already has his nose stuck up at me. Who's going to care about an official who got pushed out of the capital and shoved into a sinecure? If it weren't for me, he'd have had a hard time even putting meat on the table. But do heavenly signs really show things like that?"
"Just believe that they do. And......."
Do Tong-dal handed over another ten nyang.
"Give this to the house mistress when you come to Cheonsangru this evening."
"Huh? I'm going to Cheonsangru today? Who decided that?"
"It's for a good cause, so just come."
"Does this brat think the magistrate is his family's yard dog?"
Still, he didn't say he wouldn't go. He left the government office, saying they would meet at Cheonsangru in the evening.
"Right, I should do the things I want to do."
"What sort of thing?"
It had been a mutter to himself, but Namgung Seol-rin asked. Lately she had been tossing out remarks as casually as anything.
"There's something like that. I need to take a look at the Mind-Reading Art today."
The one-night contest with Gwak Gae-dong had dramatically advanced Do Tong-dal's Mind-Reading Art. In martial terms, it was akin to gaining enlightenment after a duel with a master.
Even so, he had only reached about the third level. He had thought reading and memorizing it would be the end of it, but the Mind-Reading Art was a profound secret art that demanded enlightenment.
In his past life, Jang Jeong-baek's level had not even reached Do Tong-dal's current stage, so Jang Jeong-baek's boast that he had mastered five-tenths of it was complete bullshit.
He was so absorbed in the Mind-Reading Art that he didn't even notice the window growing dark. Do Tong-dal, who happened to glance at the window while rolling his neck, shot to his feet.
"You should have told me it was time for my appointment!"
Namgung Seol-rin's reply to Do Tong-dal's words was cold.
"Why would I tell you, as if going to a pleasure house were some wonderful thing?"
"You've been a little strange lately."
"What's strange?"
"Anyway, you're strange. Oh, I need to hurry."
Yang Su-pan had already arrived and was having a merry time.
"Hey! What if you're late!"
"You're enjoying yourself just fine without me."
As Do Tong-dal took his seat, Yeon Ja-yeon came in and sat beside him.
"House Mistress, call Ja Su-yeong for me."
"Why? The performance right now isn't bad."
Yang Su-pan said.
"Ja Su-yeong's face is better. Heh heh heh......."
He did add, 'Of course, the music is better too,' but his ulterior motive had already been exposed.
Yeon Ja-yeon had never refused Do Tong-dal's request. Ja Su-yeong, who came in one ke later, had changed yet again from the last time he had seen her.
Time was beginning to turn her from a girl into a woman, and it was like watching a flower come into full bloom.
"I will perform the Drinking Song for you."
The Drinking Song, set to a poem by Li Bai, was the piece Ja Su-yeong was most confident in.
But that day, for some reason, her pitch wavered. Yang Su-pan didn't notice, but Do Tong-dal and Yeon Ja-yeon, both well-versed in music, could tell.
Do Tong-dal quietly asked Yeon Ja-yeon.
"Her first-night ceremony must be coming up soon?"
Ja Su-yeong was an entertainer directly employed by Cheonsangru. Whether entertainer or prostitute, a woman had to put her hair up when she turned eighteen.
That was a tradition not just of Cheonsangru but of every pleasure house. Putting one's hair up also meant spending a night with a man.
And the first-night ceremony was also a chance to clear all the debts she had accumulated at the pleasure house. Anyone who wanted to take a courtesan's first night had to pay the house a set sum.
Anyone who paid at least the amount set by the house qualified. Ja Su-yeong's beauty was so outstanding that her price had been set at three nyang of silver, far above the other courtesans, yet men still lined up to buy her first night.
Paying three nyang of silver for one night with a courtesan would normally get a man called a lunatic, but because it was Ja Su-yeong, everyone nodded.
The one who had bid the highest amount was Merchant Gong, Gong So-yang. Gong So-yang, one of Hangzhou's three great merchants, had bid eight nyang.
Of course, there were idle rich men willing to pay more than eight nyang. Hangzhou was famous for its many wealthy men, after all.
Nevertheless, no one bid higher than Gong So-yang because no one in Hangzhou wanted to make an enemy of him.
Most wealthy men were involved in commerce, and making an enemy of Gong So-yang just to spend one night with a courtesan was foolish.
That was the fate of every courtesan, so Ja Su-yeong had no choice but to accept it.
The problem was that one night Ja Su-yeong would spend with Gong So-yang. Whatever Gong So-yang did that night, two of Ja Su-yeong's fingers were broken, and she never recovered from the injury.
Ja Su-yeong, famed as a prodigy of the arts, struggled to play again and ultimately gave up.
Her life without her art was empty. The time she spent soaked in drink grew longer, and in the end she took her own life.
A genius who could have illuminated an age ended her life that way, all because of one wrong night.
Do Tong-dal had tried to pretend not to notice Ja Su-yeong, whose past life had been like that. He couldn't solve every misfortune, after all.
But like a stye inside his eye, she nagged at him every time he came to Cheonsangru. The refrain that he was no god and therefore couldn't be responsible for everyone's misfortune had, before he knew it, stopped helping at all.
He had resolved to throw himself into Ja Su-yeong's life because he had confirmed his own desire to do so.
If he was to live doing the things he wanted to do, then her matter was one of them.
Yeon Ja-yeon let out a belated sigh.
"Of all people, it had to be Merchant Gong. An old man notorious for his nasty hands with women."
"How much did Merchant Gong agree to pay for her first night?"
"Eight nyang. Why? Is Coordinator Do thinking of stepping in?"
"Good grief, if a thug makes an enemy of a great merchant, it gets tiring in all sorts of ways."
"You don't seem like the sort to be afraid of that."
"There's one more person here who wouldn't be afraid of that."
Do Tong-dal's and Yeon Ja-yeon's gazes turned to Yang Su-pan. Yang Su-pan, who had been toying with a courtesan's chest without a clue, belatedly felt the two gazes on him.
"What, can't I touch a courtesan's chest?"
Do Tong-dal said.
"Give the house mistress the money."
Yang Su-pan thought for a moment, then said, "Ah!" and pulled out an envelope.
"Here it is."
Yeon Ja-yeon, after checking the envelope's contents, was startled.
"The Magistrate is paying the price?"
"Well...... it seems that way."
Yeon Ja-yeon's eyes curved into crescent moons.
"If it's the Magistrate, there's nothing to worry about. Ho ho ho!"
"I am a fairly carefree person, it's true. But......."
Suddenly Yeon Ja-yeon struck a cup with a spoon. The clear sound brought Ja Su-yeong's wavering performance to a stop.
"Tomorrow is your first-night ceremony, isn't it?"
Ja Su-yeong's face darkened sharply, and she answered in a small voice, "Yes."
"Greet the gentleman you will be attending tomorrow."
Ja Su-yeong's face became bewildered. Gong So-yang, who could not spend a night without seeing a courtesan's blood, was not present.
"The Magistrate here has paid ten nyang for your first night."
Ja Su-yeong's face brightened, and Yang Su-pan's hand, which had been fondling a courtesan's chest, stopped.
"Huh? What did I do?"
Ja Su-yeong sprang to her feet and bowed deeply toward Yang Su-pan.
"My lord, thank you!"
"Wh...... what, it's nothing like that. But what did I do?"
Do Tong-dal said.
"With that ten nyang just now, you bought that entertainer's first night."
"I did? When?"
"You gave the house mistress ten nyang."
"That was because you told me to give it!"
Yeon Ja-yeon nodded with an "I knew it" expression.
"In any case, the price has been paid, so Su-yeong's first night belongs to the Magistrate. It's tomorrow."
"No!"
Ja Su-yeong's face fell.
"The Magistrate...... dislikes me."
Flustered, Yang Su-pan hastily waved his hands.
"N...... no, that's not it......."
Thick tears immediately began dropping from Ja Su-yeong's eyes.
"Tsk tsk tsk...... Making a woman cry like that. Useless."
At Do Tong-dal's scolding, Yang Su-pan shouted angrily.
"I don't like virgins! I like women with good skills! Why are you trying to ruin my precious night! How many more times do you think I'll get to sleep with a woman from now on!"
"What an unusual fellow. Other men are dying to sleep with virgins."
"Anyway, I don't want to. The money's paid, so you go in, Tong-dal. You like Tong-dal better than me too, don't you?"
At Yang Su-pan's question, Ja Su-yeong turned her head away.
"If it's Coordinator Do......."
She even blushed.
"She likes you better than me! Fine!"
"Magistrate, would you like me to stop serving you the Sagiju?"
At Yeon Ja-yeon's chilly voice, Yang Su-pan let out an awkward laugh.
"Heh heh heh, I just mean there are plenty of men in the world. That's all I'm saying. Heh heh heh......."
"If the Magistrate doesn't want to, then Coordinator Do will have to take responsibility. What else can be done?"
The person startled by Yeon Ja-yeon's words was Do Tong-dal.
"Me?"
"You started this, so you should clean it up yourself."
"You're saying it's fine for me to take Su-yeong's first night?"
"Just as one can't expect chastity from a courtesan, it's unreasonable to expect single-hearted devotion from a courtesan's man. They also say three wives and four concubines are no flaw in a hero."
"I'm not even a hero......."
Yang Su-pan threw his arms around the waist of the courtesan beside him and said.
"If I exert myself with this girl tonight, there's no way I can do it tomorrow. So you handle it. Heh heh heh......."
"Ah! I can just ask Wang Chil!"
"No!"
The one who shouted was Ja Su-yeong. When everyone sent bewildered looks her way, the flustered Ja Su-yeong mumbled.
"It's not that I dislike Society Leader Wang...... but still, Coordinator Do......."
Yeon Ja-yeon let out a long sigh.
"So it turns out she's been quietly scheming behind our backs. Well, if a courtesan has to spend her whole life only ever being chosen, that would be too pitiful. Su-yeong has chosen you, so you take responsibility for tomorrow night."
"I don't want to make an enemy of Merchant Gong."
Yang Su-pan said promptly.
"I paid the first-night fee. How would Gong So-yang find out?"
Somehow, he felt he had been backed into a corner.
"Then I will perform now."
The unease that had lain beneath Ja Su-yeong's zither playing had vanished before anyone knew it.
* * *