Silver Light Merchant Group (7)
“Ugh... heuk... please forgive me!”
Yi Jeong-gap knelt, tears streaming down his face.
At this point, the penalty fee was the least of his concerns.
If the governor of Hebei Province felt his honor had been tarnished and flew into a rage, the consequences would be dire.
And that was just the beginning.
'The Seok Family, who go to extreme lengths to avoid any ties to the government, might cut me loose entirely.'
That thought alone made Yi Jeong-gap plead desperately with Lady Heeryeong.
“I'll speak to the governor on your behalf. But! If you fail to prepare the penalty fee properly... then there's nothing I can do.”
The beautiful Lady Heeryeong delivered words as cold as her stunning looks warranted, then turned and left without another glance.
“Ah... aaah!”
As soon as she departed, Yi Jeong-gap collapsed again, sobbing uncontrollably.
His subordinates rushed to console him, but he saw nothing before him anymore.
“Aigoo, aigoo! I'm ruined!”
Only after Lady Heeryeong was gone did the harsh reality sink in.
He might have saved his life, but paying the penalty fee would bankrupt him. The grandest merchant group in Hebei would crumble overnight, leaving him a beggar.
“Kuh... heuk!”
Yi Jeong-gap wailed for what felt like an eternity, telling everyone to leave him be.
Then, a sudden thought struck him.
'Wait! Why did defective goods even appear?'
The question popped into his head out of nowhere.
When they had purchased the silk and cotton from the North Sea Merchant Group, inspections had confirmed everything was perfect.
And it wasn't just that.
The goods destined for tribute had been guarded like ironclad fortresses—no rat could slip through. There simply hadn't been time or opportunity for sabotage.
So who could have orchestrated all this?
Yi Jeong-gap soon recalled one person.
“Steward Kang!”
Before his tears had even dried, he bellowed the man's name at the top of his lungs.
Steward Kang, who usually came running at his call...
“Pardon? Steward Kang?”
“Huh? Where did the steward go?”
“Didn't he say he had business, told us to console the young master, packed a bunch of luggage, and left?”
Yi Jeong-gap was seized by a foreboding premonition upon hearing his subordinates' words.
Steward Kang was the only one who had personally inspected the goods from the North Sea Merchant Group and had unrestricted access to the warehouse where they were stored.
'How could that bastard betray me...'
Already seething with rage and humiliation, Yi Jeong-gap...
“Grrr!”
...finally collapsed in a faint right there on the spot.
“You've worked hard.”
The very man Yi Jeong-gap had desperately sought—Steward Kang—was now meeting with Hyeon Yucheon.
Hyeon Yucheon offered a courteous clasped-hands salute.
“No, no. Thanks to you, Demon Sword Sect Leader, I could finally exact my long-overdue revenge.”
Steward Kang returned the salute while dropping a bombshell of a story.
The truth was this:
As mentioned earlier when describing the Silver Light Merchant Group, they had once ruined a traditional martial clan of Hebei Province.
Steward Kang was a retainer from that very clan, who had grown up sharing its joys and sorrows.
He had infiltrated the Silver Light Merchant Group for revenge, biding his time for the perfect opportunity.
'Black Island's Gu Seung-hwan informed me, allowing me to set this plan in motion.'
Hyeon Yucheon had learned of Steward Kang's backstory from Gu Seung-hwan and won him over.
Kang had infiltrated for vengeance but was on the verge of giving up, realizing he couldn't topple the group alone.
Then Hyeon Yucheon made his offer, and Kang provided material and moral support in return.
It was he who had mixed defective goods into the perfect tribute shipment and subtly steered events toward Hyeon Yucheon's will.
“Now my revenge is complete. I can finally retire to my late master's hometown in peace.”
Steward Kang spoke with a genuine smile for the first time.
He had been Hyeon Yucheon's ally all along.
So what about Lady Heeryeong?
She had approached the Silver Light Merchant Group at a exquisitely timed moment, casting the bait.
Of course, Lady Heeryeong was also in cahoots with Hyeon Yucheon's group.
“You've done well, sister.”
Around the time Hyeon Yucheon met with Steward Kang, exchanged farewells, and parted ways, Jeong Se-in was meeting Lady Heeryeong in the underground secret room of the Haeha Guest House.
“No, I never imagined the faceless innkeeper was you, Se-in.”
Astonishingly, Jeong Se-in and Lady Heeryeong knew each other well.
Unlike Hyeon Yucheon and Steward Kang's indirect alliance, they had been close since childhood.
“I was shocked too. To think the girl I knew from our maid days would become the governor's wife...”
Indeed.
This was the connection between Jeong Se-in and Lady Heeryeong:
Lady Heeryeong, like Jeong Se-in—a former maid of the Mangeum Clan—had started as a servant in Hebei Province, caught the governor's eye, and risen through the ranks.
Though they worked in different places, sharing the same hometown, duties, and status, they had often spent time together.
“Anyway, thank you for your help.”
“Nonsense. I got some fresh air, and... I got to toy with that detestable Yi Jeong-gap young master. Win-win.”
It was mutual aid.
Jeong Se-in helped Hyeon Yucheon's revenge by toppling the Silver Light Merchant Group, while Lady Heeryeong pocketed a massive penalty fee from Yi Jeong-gap. No losses on either side.
“Se-in, among all us former maids, you're the only one living freely on both legs—besides me.”
Lady Heeryeong gazed at Jeong Se-in with eyes brimming with sisterly warmth, unlike her icy demeanor toward Yi Jeong-gap.
She had thought Jeong Se-in had met a tragic end, so seeing her grown and thriving filled her with gratitude.
After years navigating the cutthroat upper echelons—full of suspicion and backbiting—reuniting with her hometown little sister was pure joy.
“I feel the same. Come visit the Haeha Guest House basement anytime. I'll always welcome you warmly.”
“Good. If you ever face hardship, come to me.”
Brought together by Hyeon Yucheon's scheme, the two women's friendship remained unchanged. They would be steadfast allies for each other.
“Heeheeheet! Bankruptcy! Total ruin!”
Yi Jeong-gap cried out with a half-mad expression.
The chain of events had driven him insane.
Today, he had formally paid Lady Heeryeong the penalty fee, leaving him with next to nothing.
'I've lost everything.'
Not just his palace-like home, but his cloud-like horde of subordinates and mountains of wealth.
All gone to pay the fee.
All that remained were the defective silk bolts and cotton bales he couldn't deliver to Lady Heeryeong.
“How... how am I supposed to sell this junk?”
That was the problem.
Rumors had already spread through Hebei's markets: the Silver Light Merchant Group had peddled low-quality silk and cotton, got caught by Lady Heeryeong, and been utterly disgraced.
Not only was the merchandise shoddy, but it had fallen out of the governor's good graces. Few dared touch it.
“Kuh... heuk!”
Teetering on the edge of madness, Yi Jeong-gap laughed—then burst into tears.
Piles of silk and cotton towered like mountains, yet he fretted over today's food and necessities.
“Cheap sale! Someone buy this crap!”
He even resorted to hawking—something he'd never done in his life, not since opening his first fabric shop—and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“...”
But the crowd's response was ice-cold.
“Half price—or half of half! I'll dump it all!”
Goods once bought at ten times market value now plummeted into the abyss.
Yet no merchants showed even curiosity.
There were several reasons Yi Jeong-gap's wares had become poison. First, the sheer volume—too much for any single group to absorb.
Second, tainted by a high official's ire, buyers feared government backlash.
Merchants never took losses or touched risky goods.
'Damn it! Even the Seok Family scorns me!'
To add insult, the Seok Family had refused the goods outright—and showed no sign of helping him.
Right then.
“How much for the lot?”
Suddenly, someone stepped forward, eyeing Yi Jeong-gap's silk and cotton.
“Oh! How much will you...?”
Ignored by every merchant, Yi Jeong-gap whipped around in delight at the interest—only to plunge into despair.
“Y-you... you...!”
The speaker was none other than the Demon Sword Sect Leader, the Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon.
Smirk!
Wearing that signature leisurely grin, which only fueled Yi Jeong-gap's fury.
“Not selling! Get lost!”
His pride still intact so soon after ruin, Yi Jeong-gap roared.
“Really not selling? You might scrape by today... but two days? Doubtful.”
Hyeon Yucheon, fully aware of his plight, narrowed his eyes in amusement.
“Grind!”
Yi Jeong-gap felt his blood boil over at the sight.
“Ten gold taels for the lot.”
The absurd offer made Yi Jeong-gap's fists tremble.
Unfortunately, Hyeon Yucheon held all the power; Yi Jeong-gap was at his mercy.
“No deal on ten? Then I'm out. Think you can drag all that to another province alone and sell it?”
Hyeon Yucheon was a master at toying with minds, shaking spirits.
“Sun sets soon. Night brings thieves and bandits. Can a fat old man without martial arts survive?”
He pointed to the alley's shadows.
Sure enough?
Third-rate thugs from the underworld and back alleys eyed Yi Jeong-gap hungrily.
No buyers? The underworld would still want that volume.
Why pay gold? Wait for dark, slit his throat, seize the goods.
The answer was inevitable.
“Kuh... heuk!”
After another bout of wailing, Yi Jeong-gap finally spoke.
“Ten gold taels. Sold.”
Thus, Hyeon Yucheon kept every promise.
He toppled the Silver Light Merchant Group without violence, ruining a Seok Family ally for revenge.
And one more.
He had told Black Island's Gu Seung-hwan about their main goods—silk and cotton—and predicted they'd flood the market at rock-bottom prices.
Hyeon Yucheon had plotted this from then.
“I'll put it to good use. Hahaha!”
Snagging vast quantities of silk and cotton for ten gold taels, Hyeon Yucheon ordered his men to transport it to the Demon Sword Sect.
Now, beyond military might, the sect gained immense wealth, poised to rise as a major power.