What Must Happen (3)
At that moment,
the news that several buildings in Beijing had collapsed reached even the imperial palace.
The most flustered were the officials from the Ministry of Works.
"What the hell? Why would perfectly fine buildings just collapse?"
"W-well, I don't really know either..."
"And two of them in a row? Damn it!"
The head clerk of the ministry clutched his head and groaned.
"Get the records right now! We have to figure this out before Master Wu-si and the senior official arrive, or we're done for!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, they brought the records for those buildings. But no matter how closely they examined them, they found nothing unusual.
"Who did the completion inspection on this?"
"The name's here. Um... but these seniors have all been promoted to provincial censors by now."
"Damn! Makes sense—it's a record from ten years ago, so the seniors must've handled the inspection."
He had no choice but to slam his fist on the table.
Anyone who'd done the inspection ten years ago would now hold a higher position than his.
"Hoo... So, who owns these buildings now?"
"That's... gasp!"
One official, checking the owner's name, jolted in shock.
"What?"
"It's... written as Eun Seo-ho."
"What? W-who?"
"Eun Seo-ho, the young division head of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
At that moment, a palace guard stationed at the outer chamber entered and addressed them.
"A request for an audience has come in."
"From whom?"
"Eun Seo-ho, young division head of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"......"
One official glanced cautiously at the head clerk before asking,
"What should we do?"
"Bring him in. We haven't spotted any issues ourselves—how's he supposed to know?"
* * *
I stepped into the Ministry of Works building.
Second time in this life already?
Last time, I'd come to hurry along the completion inspection for the Eunhae Merchant Group's Beijing branch.
While waiting in the reception room, an official entered.
"Young Merchant Eun Seo-ho, at your service."
"Yes, what brings you here today?"
"I figured you'd heard the news. Two buildings I own collapsed today."
"Is that so? How unfortunate."
"That's why I'd like to review the files on those buildings, just in case there were any defects."
"Hold on a moment."
He called over an official and ordered the files on the two buildings brought in. Moments later, the official returned with a thick stack of documents.
"Here they are."
"Thank you."
I examined the files.
As expected... on paper, they were perfectly normal buildings.
But I already knew they were flawless only on paper, hiding serious flaws.
"This seems off."
"W-what does?"
"Look here—it says the building has twenty-one pillars."
"Yes, what's the problem?"
"When I was clearing the debris from the collapsed building earlier, I counted only fifteen foundation stones."
"...!"
He broke into a cold sweat and denied it.
"Th-that can't be. All buildings in Beijing must be constructed exactly to the submitted blueprints filed with the ministry."
"Then come with me and check it yourself."
"I-I'm busy right now... And these files can't be checked out by anyone but ministry officials."
"I'll ask another ministry official, then."
"Everyone's swamped this season—no telling if anyone's free for a field trip."
Hoo, this bastard?
Seeing him try every excuse to stall, I could tell what was up.
The pillar count discrepancy could've been glossed over, but I mentioned it on purpose.
Just to make him sweat.
I grinned and pulled a scroll from my sleeve, holding it out.
"Forgot I have a decree from His Majesty the Emperor?"
"......"
"My business takes priority. So, let's go."
No new buildings under construction or planned lately, so he's got plenty of time—where's this excuse coming from?
In the end, he had no choice but to accompany me on the inspection.
His name was Son Myeong, a head clerk.
On the carriage ride, he kept wiping sweat nonstop.
And the junior official he'd brought, Pung Sa-mu, just watched Son's face for cues.
Soon, we arrived at the collapsed mansion.
"This way."
We dismounted and headed toward the ruins.
"Heavens! What a mess!"
Pung Sa-mu blurted it out himself.
"Luckily, I'd emptied it out for repairs after buying it, so no casualties."
"Th-that's a relief."
Yeah, we should count our blessings.
If there'd been deaths, the fallout would've been far worse.
"But how'd you clear the roof so fast?"
"My men are pretty capable."
"I see."
Then someone came looking for us.
"Ah! There you are!"
It was Jin Yeong Daehyeop.
That morning, I'd sent him a letter asking to meet about some questions on imperial palace martial arts.
We'd set it for that afternoon.
He'd gone to the Beijing branch after hearing I was here. Right on plan.
"Ah! Daehyeop!"
I quickly bowed my head.
"My apologies! I should've contacted you to cancel our meeting today... but things were so hectic, I forgot."
"No need."
Jin Yeong Daehyeop waved it off.
"I heard when I got there. Two of your buildings collapsed out of the blue."
"Yes. No casualties, thank goodness, but..."
"Unlucky break averted, but the losses must be huge. I don't even know what to say."
He looked sympathetic, then glanced at the officials beside me.
"These your escorts from the ministry?"
"Yes."
At my answer, the two officials hurriedly clasped hands in greeting to Jin Yeong Daehyeop.
"Son Myeong, head clerk of the Ministry of Works. At your service, Daehyeop."
"Pung Do, junior clerk of the Ministry of Works. At your service, Daehyeop."
"Jin Yeong of the Gold Guard."
Once introductions were done, I spoke up.
"While cleaning up the collapse, we found something suspicious. So I asked the ministry for help and brought these two officials along."
I continued.
"This mansion is near our merchant group's Beijing branch—I bought it to house my parents. Good thing it was empty for repairs; if someone had been inside..."
I went on.
"I don't trust my own judgment here. That said... are you busy?"
"Nothing pressing right now."
"Then, could you help me inspect the building's issues?"
Jin Yeong Daehyeop readily agreed.
"Of course I'd help."
Perfect!
Now the ministry officials couldn't ignore this.
If they found issues and tried to dodge or cover it up, it'd get messy.
But ignoring problems found in front of a Gold Guard daehyeop? They'd be hauled off for deceiving the Emperor on the spot.
Not that it mattered—more buildings would collapse soon enough, and His Majesty wouldn't let it slide anyway.
Still, bringing in Jin Yeong Daehyeop sped things up.
"Let's get started, then."
"Yes."
They began checking if the building matched the blueprints in the files.
"......"
Their already grim faces grew darker by the minute.
Ministry officials were experts in their field, after all.
The foundation stone count I'd mentioned was just the tip—the problems ran far deeper.
They tried to avoid mentioning it, but I wasn't about to let that slide.
I prodded from the side.
"Huh? These pillars made of paulownia wood?"
"......Ahem, looks like it."
"The files say oak was used. And I hear paulownia is soft-grained..."
"It's used for pillars sometimes."
"Don't they raise the foundation stones higher then? These seem low. What do the files say?"
"......"
Jin Yeong Daehyeop peeked at the files and spoke.
"Files say one cheok high. But this... doesn't look like it."
"Th-that's because it's buried in the ground."
"Then let's dig."
At my words, Palgap, who'd been waiting with a shovel, rushed over and dug at the foundation stones.
"......"
The exposed stones matched Jin Yeong Daehyeop's assessment.
"......"
"Record it."
At the curt command, they flinched and hurriedly noted it in the report.
"These look like the beams, purlins, and brackets that connected the pillars to the roof..."
Purlins and brackets were the critical links between pillars and roof.
"Why are they so warped?"
Why? Because they used poorly dried lumber.
You can't use fresh-cut wood for houses or furniture—it warps as it dries.
To prevent that, lumber must be thoroughly kiln-dried, which isn't easy.
They'd built with half-dried wood, which warped over time, causing defects.
By the end of the hour-long inspection, we'd found over twenty flaws.
"It's so outrageous, I'm not even angry anymore."
Jin Yeong Daehyeop clicked his tongue at my words.
"Ministry officials couldn't have missed this and still signed off on completion..."
He turned to the two officials.
"Hand over the investigation report."
"Pardon?"
"I'll deliver it to His Majesty myself."
They trembled but tried to make excuses.
"I-it's not fully compiled yet..."
"Do I need to draw my sword?"
"N-no, sir!"
He thrust the files forward.
"H-here you are."
Jin Yeong Daehyeop took them and said to me,
"My condolences again. Not sure if this helps..."
"No, thank you for coming in person and helping with the inspection."
I added,
"Just one more thing, out of concern: we should make sure the builders don't flee."
"Ah, right. I'll see to it."
In my previous life, the investigation dragged, letting the construction firm's leader and family flee overnight.
Took over a decade to catch them, and they'd lived lavishly on embezzled funds.
The guiltiest can't just live well—that won't do.
* * *
The Emperor examined the report in his hand.
"Hm..."
It was a direct report from Jin Yeong of the Gold Guard.
Eun Seo-ho's recently purchased houses had collapsed, and during inspection for defects, major issues were found.
"I'm no expert in architecture, but holding up for ten years with these flaws is almost impressive."
Before him, the Minister of Works prostrated deeply.
"Take a look."
The eunuch handed the report to the minister, who read it with trembling eyes and slammed his head to the floor.
"For failing to manage my subordinates! I deserve death. Please execute me."
The Emperor ignored him and ordered the eunuch,
"Summon the Right Inspectorate Censor."
"Yes!"
Soon, the Right Inspectorate Censor was called in, prostrating before him.
The censor oversaw one of the Censorate's branches, handling surveillance of central officials.
"I have a task for you, Censor."
"Command me."
"Are you aware of the two Beijing buildings that collapsed?"
"Yes, I am."
"Major defects were found. Ministry officials couldn't have overlooked them. Investigate thoroughly with the Gold Guard!"
"I shall obey."
The censor continued,
"If I may humbly ask... is this thorough investigation because the owner is Eun Seo-ho, young division head?"
The Emperor chuckled.
"Imagine the casualties if he hadn't bought and emptied those buildings beforehand."
Thinking of it dried the censor's mouth.
"So, I must show some sincerity, no?"
"I shall handle it with utmost diligence."
That night.
Another building collapsed.
The next day.
Three more buildings crumbled in succession.
* * *
Just like in my previous life, six buildings collapsed.
Buildings destined to fall would fall.
No way to stop houses built wrong from crumbling.
"Young master, you alright? Your left eyebrow's twitching up... you're pissed, huh?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty mad right now."
Palgap figured I was angry about losing six expensive houses.
But the real reason for my rage...
These thieving bastards! How could they skimp like this just 'cause it's not their home?
The defects were worse than I'd imagined.
These scum! I'll shake every last coin from their underwear!