The Poisoned Feast
Shin Woo, the head of the investigation team, stepped forward and replied.
“That’s right. I am Shin Woo, the leader of the investigation team. On the way here, I met with the constables from the Monghwa Department and heard a rough account of the situation. Before heading to Naphaemun, I came to confirm a few things.”
“Yes, please ask.”
“Was it Eunwolbang that arranged this deal?”
“Yes. Our Cheongsu Wine House has always worked with Eunwolbang.”
“Then why is the Naphaemun Lord interfering and causing such chaos?”
“I don’t know. We have no idea either. It could be a simple whim, or perhaps he really intends to take over the Monghwa Department’s business……”
“So you’re saying Naphaemun had nothing to do with this until the contract with the Upper House Lord was signed?”
“That is correct.”
“Hah!”
A sigh of frustration escaped Shin Woo’s lips. It was now clear that Naphaemun had unilaterally disrupted the deal and abducted the Upper House Lord.
Na Geum-ryeong spoke with a face full of indignation.
“Even turning the tables has its limits! How can something like this happen?”
Myo Ran-ta, who had been watching the situation carefully, spoke cautiously.
“But since Monghwa Department falls under Naphaemun’s jurisdiction, it isn’t entirely unreasonable. They may have been turning a blind eye to Eunwolbang’s activities until now and decided to step in directly.”
“Then they should have just said so! Why abduct the Upper House Lord? He signed the contract trusting only your word and Eunwolbang’s!”
“I don’t know why this happened either. Nothing like this has ever occurred since the Cheongsu Wine House was established……”
Na Geum-ryeong was frustrated but said no more. It seemed the owner of the Cheongsu Wine House truly didn’t know the full story.
Shin Woo led the investigation team toward Namun Castle.
Following the Geum River, the group stopped after noon. They intended to eat lunch and rest.
The four cooks drew water from the river and began preparing the meal. Meanwhile, the fifty rogues sought shade beneath the trees.
Unlike their usual boisterous selves, the fifty rogues were quiet. The influence of Naphaemun was far greater than they had imagined back in Chang’an Castle.
Yang Hak, gazing at the flowing river, asked Paek Kang.
“Brother, with this many of us, Naphaemun won’t act recklessly, right?”
Even the Five Peaks Sword Sect wouldn’t dare ignore fifty elite rogues gathered together—that was the thought behind his words.
“Do you really think so? These are the same people who abducted the Upper House Lord of Jinbo Merchant Guild over some trivial excuse. Who knows what’s going through their heads?”
“Waaah! Everything was going so smoothly until now. Are we really going to step in shit at the very end?”
“Tsk tsk. We should have realized the danger when they hired fifty rogues.”
“I just thought having fifty of us would make us feel secure. Who could have predicted this?”
“Enough. If you’ve found out anything about Dan Yeop, say it.”
“That’s the strange part, Brother. None of the rogues know who Dan Yeop is.”
“Not a single one?”
“No. They all stayed at the Jinbo Merchant Guild’s guest house the night before departure, and he wasn’t there either. No one has even seen him at the rogue market in Chang’an Castle. He just appeared out of nowhere.”
“There are plenty of people like that. So in the end, you found nothing?”
“Yes. Ah, right—Captain So Gang-mu has been visiting Dan Yeop quite often, apparently.”
“So Gang-mu?”
“Yes. There must be something between that weasel and Dan Yeop.”
“Is that so? Keep a close eye on both of them from now on. Only five Upper House guards are escorting us to rescue their own lord, and the atmosphere feels off.”
“Understood.”
As the two finished their conversation, the cooks rang a bell in front of the carriages.
The resting rogues began gathering toward the carriages one by one.
Dan Yeop’s group also approached the carriages to receive their food.
Today’s meal was again well-baked flatbread and horaltang.
Dan Yeop lifted a piece of flatbread, sniffed its savory aroma, and muttered.
“Ah! I’m sick of it, yet I don’t know why it goes down so easily once it’s in my mouth.”
Won Beom chuckled and replied.
“It tastes good, doesn’t it? That’s all that matters.”
Because Dan Yeop had mentioned the flatbread, everyone picked up a piece first.
Just as Chae Un was about to swallow a mouthful of horaltang, she suddenly spat it out with a “Ptoo!”
When the four of them looked at her in surprise, she spoke.
“There’s poison in it. Don’t eat.”
She then took out a small ceramic bottle from her robes, tilted it, and poured a single pill into her mouth.
At that moment, Ja Yun sprang to her feet and shouted to the surrounding rogues.
“There’s poison in the horaltang! Don’t eat it!”
Startled by the cry, the rogues threw down their bowls of horaltang.
Those who had already eaten rushed toward the carriages, assuming the cooks must have antidotes since they had used poison.
The rogues who reached the carriages shouted.
“The cooks are dead!”
“Who killed the cooks!”
The agitated rogues swarmed toward Shin Woo and Captain So Gang-mu.
The five Upper House guards blocked their path.
From behind them, Shin Woo shouted.
“Calm down! I don’t know what happened either! If I were responsible, would I still be standing here with you? There is someone who can investigate this matter fairly, so everyone step back.”
The frightened rogues shouted in confusion.
“Who is it!”
“There’s no such person here!”
“If you’re planning to use Captain So Gang-mu, give it up! Do you think we’ll believe the words of someone from Jinbo Merchant Guild?”
Shin Woo pointed to one side and said.
“No! I will entrust the investigation to Constable Dan Yeop of the Jangan County Office!”
All eyes turned to Dan Yeop.
Won Beom, who had been standing there blankly, exploded in anger as if betrayed.
“What! He’s not a rogue but a constable?”
“Yes. I never said I was a rogue.”
Dan Yeop then turned to Chae Un as if it were nothing and said.
“Sister Chae, you seem to know a lot about poisons. Help me out, won’t you?”
Chae Un looked Dan Yeop up and down with a suspicious expression.
“What exactly are you?”
“Hmm, the greatest constable under heaven?”
Hearing the exchange between Dan Yeop and Chae Un, Ja Yun couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked.
“Were you traveling with us to investigate the abduction of the Najin Merchant Guild’s Upper House Lord?”
“That’s correct.”
“Are you alone? Or is there someone else among us?”
“Only I came.”
“The Jangan County Magistrate took quite a risk. Sending only one constable to Baekwol Kingdom……”
“I’m worth a hundred men. Now then, shall we get to work? Sister Chae, let’s go together.”
“What if I refuse?”
Chae Un tried to brush him off, slightly put off by Dan Yeop’s shamelessness.
“You’re going to pass up the chance to make the Blood Butterfly’s name known? You should raise your value, Sister. Jinbo Merchant Guild will even pay you a separate reward out of gratitude.”
“Aigoo, can’t you just shut up? I don’t care about fame—will Jinbo Merchant Guild really pay extra?”
“I’ll make sure they do.”
“Fine. I’ll trust only you and go.”
With those words, Chae Un took a step closer to Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop then took out his constable badge, showed it to the rogues, and raised his voice.
“As you’ve heard, I am Constable Dan Yeop of the Jangan County Office! I will find out who poisoned the food and murdered the cooks! So don’t panic—return to your original positions!”
Impressed by his commanding tone, the rogues raised no objections.
As the rogues began to disperse, Dan Yeop walked toward the carriages.
Chae Un followed and spoke teasingly.
“Oh! Junior, you’re pretty cool, aren’t you?”
The twenty-four-year-old Chae Un looked at Dan Yeop with fresh eyes. The Jangan County Magistrate was known as a capable administrator. A constable chosen by such a man naturally raised expectations.
‘It’s not just his face that’s handsome.’
Feeling burdened by Chae Un’s gaze, Dan Yeop spoke.
“Stop staring. You’ll wear me out.”
“I like smart people.”
“Do what you want. Just investigate the poison in the food first.”
After speaking, Dan Yeop quickened his pace and moved ahead.
Two cooks had died in each of the two carriages.
Dan Yeop climbed into the first carriage and examined the bodies.
Both had a very small hole in their chests.
“Did they die from hidden weapons?”
Just in case, he took out a silver needle he carried and inserted it into one of the wounds before pulling it out.
The needle’s color remained unchanged.
“Not poisoned……”
He checked the cooks’ robes but found nothing unusual.
On a whim, he searched the inside of the carriage thoroughly, but again found nothing.
He moved to the next carriage and repeated the process.
Just as he finished the investigation and stepped down from the carriage, Chae Un approached.
“Find anything?”
“Nothing. Could you check if the cooks were poisoned?”
“Got it.”
Like a true rogue, Chae Un climbed into the carriage without another word and examined the bodies.
A moment later, she returned and said.
“They weren’t poisoned. They died from holes in their hearts.”
“What about the poison in the food?”
“They put aconite and wolfsbane in the horaltang. If anyone ate it, their heart would tighten after about one shichen, followed by dizziness and vomiting.”
“So they don’t die immediately?”
“Right. That’s one small mercy.”
“This is going to be trouble.”
“Why?”
Chae Un looked at Dan Yeop with a puzzled expression. She couldn’t understand why he called it trouble when no one would die from it.
“You said the symptoms appear after one shichen, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why feed it to the investigation team? They even killed the cooks to do it.”
“Ah!”
A belated sigh escaped Chae Un’s lips.
Dan Yeop nodded and continued.
“Naphaemun will come for us then.”
“Do you really think they’ll do that?”
“That’s why they fed it to us. You don’t think they did it just to mess with us, do you?”
“Y-you’re right. So what do we do now?”
“First, we need to count how many people ate the horaltang. We can’t fight while poisoned. Checking our own forces comes first. Sister, please handle it with Brother Ja Yun, Brother Won Beom, and Sister Seo Hwa.”
“Got it.”
Chae Un hurried off toward the rogues.
Just then, Shin Woo and Captain So Gang-mu approached Dan Yeop.
So Gang-mu looked at Dan Yeop with a displeased expression and asked.
“How’s the investigation going? Found anything?”
He mixed formal and informal speech when addressing Dan Yeop, subtly looking down on the young constable.
“They put aconite and wolfsbane in the horaltang.”
“Aconite and wolfsbane?”
“After about one shichen, their hearts will tighten, and they’ll experience dizziness and vomiting.”
Shin Woo, who had been listening nearby, muttered to himself.
“Who would do such a thing…… Could it be Naphaemun’s doing?”
Dan Yeop didn’t answer and instead asked casually.
“Are the two of you all right? I suppose you didn’t eat the horaltang.”
Shin Woo answered before So Gang-mu could.
“Fortunately, we didn’t eat it.”
“What about the Upper House guards?”
“They were also late for their meal, so they avoided disaster.”
“Then we only need to check the rogues’ casualties. It’s a blessing in disguise.”
“Were the cooks poisoned as well?”
“No. Someone stabbed them in the chest with something sharp.”
“Who would do that? Surely it wasn’t the rogues?”
Captain So Gang-mu spoke in an angry voice.
“It must have been the rogues. Someone must have betrayed us. After all, they’re the type to do anything for money.”
Dan Yeop said nothing.
He simply stared silently at Shin Woo and Captain So Gang-mu.
After calming his excitement, Captain So Gang-mu turned his head toward Dan Yeop.