Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Part 15: Blind Money
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In the innermost office of the Inner Residence's main hall.
No lowly brazier could be found here.
Yet the office was as warm as a spring day, thanks to the massive desk at its center.
The desk's surface, large enough for two grown men to lie upon comfortably, was inlaid with thermal yang stones, radiating a gentle heat.
When summer came, they would no doubt be replaced with frost ice stones.
Sunlight filtered through the windows overlooking a private garden, carrying a faint fragrance.
It came from the potted aromatic trees lined along the windowsills.
The pots were exquisite celadon ware, rare even in Haedong.
A pair of obsidian shears inlaid with mother-of-pearl meticulously trimmed the branches.
The hand wielding them was wrinkled and gnarled, yet the skin was soft and smooth, without a single callus.
“…The Eldest Young Master, in person?”
"Yes, the Eldest Young Master is currently meeting with the Fourth-Rank housekeeper in charge of the Won-gak Pavilion."
The obsidian shears snapped.
Her composure had faltered.
They weren't suited for pruning the hardy aromatic wood to begin with.
The old man clicked his tongue at the broken shears.
"Such a pity..."
It wasn't the loss of shears worth the price of fine art that irked him.
What troubled him was his shaken equanimity.
The middle-aged man's gaze shifted to the shears as he reported.
"A master craftsman's work. Truly a shame."
"Is it...?"
The old man discarded the shattered shears.
There was no trace of regret in the gesture.
"But there are plenty more shears."
He opened a drawer in the desk.
It was neatly filled with obsidian shears of various designs.
Each one an artwork from renowned artisans.
"If we need more, we just acquire them. These are nothing irreplaceable, no matter the cost."
The middle-aged man listened quietly to the old man's words.
"So..."
The old man closed the drawer.
"As long as my hands stay unharmed and the plants undamaged, that's enough."
It was a pointed remark.
"I will keep that in mind."
The old man extended his hand, and the middle-aged man respectfully handed him his cane.
He then assisted with his overcoat.
"I must step out for a bit. Handle things properly in my absence."
The middle-aged man bowed deeply.
"Yes, Chief Steward."
Only the middle-aged man remained after the old man departed.
His gaze drifted to the wooden box where the old man had tossed the shears.
It was filled to the brim with broken ones.
"Plenty of shears, is it..."
Seven golden tassels gleamed at his waist, catching the sunlight.
* * *
"A fine aroma. Excellent."
Yeon So-hyeon savored the scent from his teacup.
"...I am honored."
The Third-Rank housekeeper from the Inner Residence's Ceremonial Office bowed hastily upon arriving.
Yeon So-hyeon scoffed.
"The leaves are fine quality—why are you the honored one?"
"...."
The Ceremonial housekeeper fell silent and stepped back.
"Hmm. Fujian Wuyi Mountains tea leaves. Not many families there produce teas of such renown."
With the Third-Rank housekeeper silent, one of the Triplet Maids nodded instead.
"As expected, no one matches the Young Master's discernment for tea."
"I have heard of Wuyi Mountains as well."
Yeon So-hyeon spoke as if it had just occurred to him.
"Now that I think of it, among those renowned Wuyi tea families, there was a West Gate family, wasn't there...?"
His gaze turned to the Seomun Housekeeper seated across from him.
"Is that so?"
"And I believe even Heaven's Maiden has heard the name."
"Wuyi Mountains—isn't that the domain of the infamous Four Heavenly Tyrants?"
Yeon So-hyeon nodded amid the maids' innocent replies.
"Indeed."
The Four Heavenly Tyrants were none other than the maternal kin of the Second Young Master.
He eyed the uncomfortable Seomun Housekeeper.
"Any relation to that West Gate family, perhaps?"
"...The hour may be leisurely for you, Eldest Young Master, but the Inner Residence is exceedingly busy."
"Is that so?"
Yeon So-hyeon shrugged at her words.
"Then to the point."
He pushed the barely sipped tea toward the housekeeper seated beside him.
"You drink this."
"I-I apologize, but..."
Yeon So-hyeon stroked her trembling head until she quieted.
"Why haven't you paid the book expenses?"
The Bang Housekeeper spoke up in haste.
"It was all my fault:"
Yeon So-hyeon tapped the teacup before her.
"I said drink this."
His gaze shifted back to the Seomun Housekeeper.
She met his eyes squarely for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"...A mere matter of book costs? I will handle it personally."
"I asked why you didn't pay them."
The Triplet Maids murmured among themselves.
"Quite right. That housekeeper is evading the question."
"And not even apologizing to the Young Master—shameless."
"What nerve for a mere Fourth-Rank housekeeper?"
Their whispers carried clearly in the quiet waiting room.
The color drained and flushed on the faces of the Seomun Housekeeper's attendants.
They longed to storm out but knew they had to endure.
Never had they imagined the Swordless One would challenge the Inner Residence Chief Steward's name.
The Seomun Housekeeper gritted her teeth and replied.
"...If needed, I shall apologize right now."
Yeon So-hyeon propped his chin, staring at her.
"When did I ask for an apology?"
The Triplet Maids whispered again.
"Why dodge the question about the book costs with strange replies?"
"Keep changing the subject—unbelievable."
Samryeong flashed a mocking smile at the Seomun Housekeeper.
"Repeated evasions—perhaps because she's from the West Gate family? West Gate... wrong answer?"
Yeon So-hyeon chuckled at the childish pun.
But for the Seomun Housekeeper, enduring mockery from mere maids was intolerable.
"How dare a lowly maid...!"
As she rose from her seat, Jeong-a spoke calmly.
"Dare you raise your voice before the Eldest Young Master of the main house?"
The Seomun Housekeeper froze halfway up, neither seated nor standing.
Her face flushed with rage and humiliation.
Then Yeon So-hyeon slammed the table.
"Ah! You're truly exasperating. Why won't you just answer why the book costs weren't paid?!"
The Seomun Housekeeper exploded.
"Because you took every last bit of the budget allocated to the Won-gak Pavilion from the Inner Residence, of course!"
"Surely I didn't take it all?"
"What are you saying?! That was everything!"
Yeon So-hyeon laughed.
"You handed over every scrap of budget presented to me, without leaving a single coin?"
"Are you insulting the Inner Residence?!"
Jeong-a stared at her flatly.
"Young Master. She lies."
At her words, the housekeepers could no longer hold back and shot to their feet.
"Lies?!"
"Got proof?!"
"A baseless wench of low birth dares?!"
Jeong-a didn't blink.
"Proof?"
One housekeeper pulled a ledger from his robes.
"This is the Won-gak Pavilion's account book!"
"That's...!"
The Seomun Housekeeper raised her hand urgently, but Ilryeong snatched the ledger first.
"Young Master, the ledger."
She presented it politely to Yeon So-hyeon.
"Alright, let's take a look."
Yeon So-hyeon grinned as he opened it.
He turned to the Bang Housekeeper beside him.
"Bang Housekeeper, is this the real ledger?"
She nodded frantically.
"Y-Yes. It is the true ledger."
"Good. Let's see."
As Yeon So-hyeon flipped through it rapidly, the others smirked inwardly.
*What kind of way is that to check a ledger?*
*You have to verify the tallies, not just skim the pages.*
*Ha! Posing for the maids, that's all.*
Yeon So-hyeon closed the ledger.
"Hmm. No issues on this ledger."
The Seomun Housekeeper and her attendants concealed their smiles.
"Does that settle it?"
"No."
Yeon So-hyeon shook his head at her words.
"This is just the ledger for expenditures to the Won-gak Pavilion. It hardly qualifies as a proper account."
Her eyebrow twitched.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So I must inspect the Inner Residence's ledger archives myself."
She scoffed at his declaration.
"The ledger archives? Aren't you overestimating yourself, Eldest Young Master?"
Ilryeong interjected.
"Daring to question the main house Eldest Young Master's authority?!"
Another housekeeper clicked his tongue.
"Wench, don't delude yourself. 'Eldest Young Master' is merely a title. The secluded Young Master holds no position in the main house."
"Thus, he has no right to demand confidential Inner Residence matters."
Yeon So-hyeon tapped the ledger.
"Then I'll ask the Chief Steward directly."
The Seomun Housekeeper smiled.
"Please do. He won't permit access to the ledger archives either."
She was right.
Regardless of whether the Chief Steward might dismiss her for stirring trouble, he wouldn't open the archives holding the Inner Residence's full accounts.
"No helping it, then."
Yeon So-hyeon raised his hands.
"That old man probably isn't in his office, knowing I've come this far."
Jeong-a asked him.
"Shall we stop here, then?"
"Yes. Seems that's all we can do."
*It's over.*
The Seomun Housekeeper and her attendants smiled.
"Eldest Young Master."
The Seomun Housekeeper rose and bowed to him.
"Allow me to apologize here for all past matters."
Her attendants stood and bowed formally as well.
The Bang Housekeeper scrambled up and knelt.
"I apologize to the Young Master."
The Seomun Housekeeper spoke softly to Yeon So-hyeon.
"Henceforth, I shall personally ensure no further incidents arise from the Inner Residence."
She smiled gently.
"So let us end this here..."
Yeon So-hyeon cut her off.
"No. You're so frustrating. It's not about apologies—why weren't the book costs paid?"
"...."
The childlike persistence left the Seomun Housekeeper and her attendants speechless.
Yeon So-hyeon sighed at them.
"You won't answer properly, and I can't dig deeper myself—what now?"
He turned to Jeong-a.
"Head Maid, summon the Inspection Department."
The Inspection Department.
Everyone froze.