Chapter 101
Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Eun Garyeon's Calculations
Lately, Eun Garyeon often found herself wishing she had two bodies.
The Eun Merchant Group was already swamped just trying to get established, and now she had to keep an eye on Shandong Ak Clan business too. One body simply wasn't enough.
'No, if I'm going to wish for it, why not three? That would be even better.'
Then she could spend one body hanging out with Mok Jimyeong.
He had come to Beijing after so long, yet she hadn't even seen his face a few times, and it was nagging at her.
But there was nothing she could do about it.
She was already skimping on sleep to get her work done, so playing around with Mok Jimyeong was nothing but a pipe dream.
'I'm really glad I learned martial arts.'
If she hadn't, she'd probably be bedridden with exhaustion by now.
Of course, being human, she sometimes wanted nothing more than to just rest...
'I'll take a break after this. Oh, but that needs handling right away?'
She had no time to get distracted with the work piling up endlessly.
Her only moments to catch even a brief rest were mealtimes.
To be precise, she wasn't really resting then either.
"Jang Musa's letter says he's entered Hebei. He should arrive within five days. No incidents on the way from Taiyuan. The Un Clan demands a hundred swords in exchange for lending their warriors. Details are on the desk. The Beggar Clan disciple Mok Sohyeop mentioned wants to meet Sword Phoenix. I turned him down as instructed, but he'll be back tomorrow."
It was the time of day for a one-sided report on the morning's business.
Most were just updates she needed to note, no reply required, so Eun Garyeon simply kept her ears open.
But this time, something piqued her curiosity.
She swallowed her food and asked the reporter,
"Is Sword Phoenix still holed up indoors?"
"Yes."
"And Mok Sohyeop?"
"He returned briefly this morning, then headed back to Silver Flower Pavilion."
Eun Garyeon paused her meal, tapping the table lightly with her index finger.
It was a habit Mok Jimyeong had when deep in thought, and before she knew it, she had picked it up whenever something weighed on her mind.
'Mok Sohyeop visiting a brothel is par for the course...'
A man who loved women that much—if he suddenly stopped going to brothels, that would be strange.
But what was Sword Phoenix thinking?
'I hear prestigious families have sky-high pride.'
And not just any prestigious house, but one of the Five Great Families at that.
Yet she kept letting her man visit brothels?
In truth, Moyong Hui was at the cusp of breaking through to the Flower Realm—a pivotal moment in her life where she had no spare attention. But Eun Garyeon, unaware of this, couldn't help but find it odd.
'Did she yield to Mok Sohyeop's stubbornness? Or does she have confidence he'll come back to her in the end?'
If it was the latter, it felt downright infuriating.
Here she was, fretting over him amid her packed schedule, while that woman hunkered down in her room.
And she hadn't even bothered with a proper greeting to her hosts as a guest.
Of course, the woman was someone worth that attitude.
Sword Phoenix, Moyong Hui.
Even in Beijing, where the Eun Merchant Group operated, anyone might not know the Eun name, but virtually everyone had heard of Sword Phoenix.
And it wasn't just her fame.
'Her looks were incredible too.'
She'd only glimpsed her that first day, but the image was still vivid.
A dignified beauty befitting her "Phoenix" moniker, and...
'Those massive breasts.'
Eun Garyeon couldn't even dream of competing there.
As a woman, that was the first time she'd ever felt so defeated.
Still, that smug attitude rubbed her the wrong way.
'Hmph. In the end, I'll be the one sitting in the principal wife's seat beside Mok Sohyeop.'
All this hardship now was for that very goal.
The Eun Merchant Group might pale next to the Moyong Family for the moment, but who knew what a little more time might bring?
According to the intel Mok Jimyeong had passed along, the Shandong Ak Clan—one of the Five Great Families like the Moyongs—was on the verge of collapse.
That meant even the Moyong Family's dominance might not last forever.
'Even if it does, if the Eun Merchant Group absorbs all of Shandong Ak Clan's businesses, we could rise to their level.'
She was making all those preparations for that day.
The most crucial was building up martial strength first.
Mok Jimyeong hadn't spelled it out, but Eun Garyeon had grasped the need for force on her own.
The Shandong Ak Clan wasn't some ordinary merchant house; it was one of the top five martial families.
To fill their void, money alone wouldn't cut it—she needed warriors.
What she'd prepared for that was alliances with other clans.
"The Uns are one thing, but what about the Pengs?"
"The Pengs say it's possible too. But they want three taels of silver per second-rate warrior and ten for first-rate."
"That's steep... Alright, noted."
Considering ordinary escorts earned one or two taels a month, it was outrageous.
But borrowing the name of the Hebei Peng Family—one of the Five Great Families—made it seem reasonable.
'The Pengs aren't urgent, so I'll mull it over.'
In fact, she wasn't limiting herself to the Hebei Pengs; she planned to leverage other renowned martial clans too.
A divine stroke unique to a merchant group, impossible for other houses.
And among the clans she sought aid from was the Sichuan Tang Family.
The Sichuan Tangs already had a cordial tie with the Eun Merchant Group.
Two deals done, more to come—if the price was right, they had a good shot.
'And the Uns wanted a hundred swords, right?'
That was no trouble at all.
Ever since Mok Jimyeong warned of the Righteous-Demonic Great War two months back, she'd had the Tangs ship iron ore ahead of time. They'd forged weapons aplenty, stockpiled in the warehouse.
As frantically busy as she was, the Eun Merchant Group was progressing steadily.
At this rate, they'd be ready to replace the Shandong Ak Clan by next year.
Only one potential hitch...
'Mok Sohyeop could be wrong.'
The anticipated Great War might fizzle out, and the doomed Shandong Ak Clan could chug along unscathed.
As the one steering the merchant group, she always had to plan for such "what ifs."
She trusted Mok Jimyeong, but she couldn't bet the entire Eun Merchant Group on his word alone.
'Well, that wouldn't be so bad either.'
A slight financial hit, but massive gains in influence.
She could view it as the cost of restoring the trust lost due to Eun Taehyeok and Lim Jungdo.
'Just building ties with famous clans is valuable in itself.'
Nine martial houses already contacted.
And among them, the one she valued most was separate.
'Taiyuan's Mok Family Clan.'
Mok Jimyeong's own family.
In her mind, "marriage" meant uniting families.
Thus, impressing his kin was paramount.
While Moyong Hui shut herself away, Eun Garyeon targeted Mok Jimyeong's family first.
'Especially since Mok Sohyeop dotes on his family terribly.'
This was a misconception on her part, but she had clear reasons for believing it.
Once, asking about the black sword tassel he always carried, he'd spoken fondly of his second sister.
And that wasn't all.
'He even asked me to snag any spirit medicines I could.'
Mok Jimyeong didn't need them himself due to his Harmonization Arts, and when pressed, he'd said it was to care for his family.
Plus, back at the brothel, boasting to the courtesans about his youngest sibling joining the Mount Hua Sect.
Having seen all that, it was natural for Eun Garyeon to think he fussed over his family.
'Jang Sohyeop must have handled it well?'
She'd already instructed Jang Yunho, returning from Sichuan, to stop by the Mok Family Clan.
Details pending his arrival, but his letter said the mood had been favorable.
'I should visit in person soon.'
Goal: before year's end.
If the Great War hit as Mok Jimyeong predicted, things would get insanely hectic after.
'...But is it even feasible?'
Just eyeing her stacked workload made her head spin.
No time to meet Mok Jimyeong alone now—hard to imagine a Taiyuan trip later.
Lost in such thoughts, her stomach felt full enough.
Plenty of food left, but she set down her utensils, done eating.
"That's enough for the report. How's Madam Yang faring?"
"She's quite content. Managing the building isn't taxing, and with Mok Sohyeop and Sword Phoenix barely around, little attending needed."
"And her son—still immersed in martial arts?"
"Yes. The warrior Mok Sohyeop brought teaches him daily."
"Have the chief steward keep an eye. They're outsiders still adjusting."
Yang Hwajeong was surely one of the women on Mok Jimyeong's mind.
She hadn't heard it firsthand, but the woman's looks made it obvious.
'I need to turn her into an ally.'
No matter how much Mok Jimyeong favored Moyong Hui, he couldn't ignore input from those around him.
Not just his family, but winning over his women too—then the seat beside him would be hers.
And that evening.
Moyong Hui ascended to the Flower Realm.