There Was a Reason (2)
I tilted my head at the sight.
Unlike other accessories, people usually wore just one necklace around their necks, not more.
And even as a gift, didn't they normally buy just one?
Was it perhaps not just for my aunt, but also for Seon-mi?
Well, that could be.
She was out in some distant place with her husband right now, but she would come to Beijing eventually.
Not knowing when Seon-mi might arrive, he might be buying one now to have it ready.
With that thought, I turned to the Seo-hyang clerk.
"Is there anything that catches your eye, miss?"
"Pardon?"
"You don't have a single decent accessory. If the director finds out later, he'll chew you out for being neglected."
"No way. He's not like that."
No, he absolutely was.
The director was exactly the type to do that.
And he'd given us plenty of money under the guise of protection fees.
I looked around at the accessories and picked up a coral hairpin, holding it up to her hair.
"Hmm, it suits you well."
I grinned and said,
"If nothing else appeals, how about this one?"
"...I like it."
The Seo-hyang clerk nodded, her face flushing red.
Hmm, seeing how her cheeks turned that pink with delight, it looked like I'd made the right call buying it.
Two days later.
I visited my aunt's house with the Seo-hyang clerk.
"Oh my! Come on in!"
My aunt welcomed us warmly on her own.
"Uncle must be quite busy."
"Some guests arrived just a little while ago, and Seon-il is still on duty."
"I see. We seem to have come at a busy time."
"Don't worry about that. Come inside."
We headed to the reception room.
Come to think of it, the necklace around my aunt's neck was definitely one of the ones Seon-il hyung had bought before.
Pretending not to notice, I asked her,
"That's a necklace I haven't seen before. Did you get it as a gift?"
"Oh? You noticed?"
My aunt smiled as she replied.
"Seon-il gave it to me this morning. Isn't it pretty?"
"Yes, it suits you perfectly."
Bringing the Seo-hyang clerk along for my aunt had been a good decision.
They seemed to hit it off right away, chatting happily.
Thanks to that, I didn't have to rack my brain for conversation topics, which suited me just fine.
Strangely, words flowed easily with guests, male or female, but with family, I always struggled over what to say.
That was probably because I couldn't bear to show anything less than my true self to family.
"Aunt, sorry, but we should get going."
"Of course. I've kept you too long. Thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday amid your busy schedule."
"It's only natural."
As we left my aunt's house and headed back, the Seo-hyang clerk spoke up.
"She seems like such a wonderful person."
"Pardon?"
"I could tell she was being considerate of me during our talk."
I nodded.
"Yes, my aunt is a truly kind soul."
Her one worry was this:
Seon-il hyung refused to get married.
Come to think of it, even in my previous life, he hadn't married by the time I died.
I wondered what the reason could be.
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A few days passed.
While handling work in my office, Palgap entered.
"Young master."
"What is it?"
"Someone from the palace just arrived."
If it had been someone I knew, Palgap would have named them, so it must be a stranger.
I could guess the reason.
They'd sent someone to select the merchant group for overseas trade.
I said to the Seo-hyang clerk,
"Let's go."
"Yes."
As my aide, she needed to accompany me for business matters like this.
In case someone might recognize her face, she always wore a veil whenever she had to meet outsiders.
She put on the veil hanging on the wall and followed me.
We went to the reception room and exchanged greetings with the official who was being served tea.
"Sorry for the delay. I'm Eun Seo-ho, branch manager of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"I am Jo Ma from the Ministry of Rites."
So, a low-ranking eighth-grade official?
I couldn't help but chuckle at how openly he addressed me casually, despite being a fresh-faced junior official.
He even looked younger than me.
Yes, this was the harsh reality merchants faced.
That's why my uncle had pushed Seon-il hyung to study for the civil exams.
Running a merchant group right here in Beijing, he must have endured no end of infuriating treatment.
But after Seon-il hyung passed the highest exam and entered service, few officials dared to condescend to my uncle.
Who would casually belittle the father-in-law of a minister's son?
That's probably where the old saying came from: if you're wronged, rise through the ranks.
I asked the official,
"What brings you here?"
"On the full moon this month, gather at the palace. That's where we'll select the group for this trade mission."
"Understood."
That seemed to be all, but he showed no sign of leaving.
"You should count yourself lucky that I was the one sent to deliver this news."
Hey, I'm not in a position to be called 'you' by the likes of you.
"I've heard quite a bit about this trade selection process."
Huh? What was this now?
"Aren't you curious? Your success or failure could hinge on what I know."
Don't tell me...
"Are you asking for grease money right now?"
Grease money.
In other words, a bribe.
"Grease money? What a crude way to put it. Tsk tsk, no class, as expected from a lowly merchant."
Unable to stomach the rudeness, the Seo-u warrior stepped in calmly.
"Mind your words."
"And who the hell are you to butt in?"
He scowled in irritation.
Hoo, this punk thinks he can get cocky.
Keeping my expression neutral, I told the Seo-u warrior,
"Apologize."
"...My apologies."
Then I politely asked the official,
"By the way, I haven't caught your honorable name. Would you grace me with it?"
"Hmph, very well. I am Son Se-gil."
"Director Son, I see. But Director, do you buy goods without inspecting them first?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"As a gentleman, you might not haggle, but I'm a merchant. I examine goods and set their price before buying or selling. By demanding grease money, aren't you offering to sell information?"
"Typical lowly merchant thinking. Fine, think of it that way if you like."
"Then I need to know what that information is to pay the right price, don't I?"
"You could hear it and then lowball me. That's why you get called lowly merchants."
"How could I do that to you, Director? Let's do this: starting bid..."
I placed ten taels of silver on the desk.
"We'll start here."
Ten taels wasn't a small sum even for a low-ranking official.
Enough to buy a modest house.
Son Se-gil's eyes gleamed with greed at the silver.
"Ahem, alright then. What they care most about in selecting the trade group is how well you can conduct it without tarnishing the empire's prestige."
"I see. And?"
I added five more taels.
"His Majesty the Emperor and the ministers of each ministry will oversee the review."
At that, I removed three taels.
"What the hell?"
"Obvious facts aren't information."
"Damn it!"
By now, I had seized control of the conversation.
In deals like this, grasping the opponent's desires precisely was key to taking the lead.
When money was the target, luring them in bit by bit was child's play.
Son Se-gil squeezed out everything he knew for more silver but only netted two extra taels.
The only real info was that initial point about imperial prestige—which wasn't even that valuable. Wasn't that a given?
That's why the empire hired merchants instead of handling trade itself.
Of course, I hadn't expected anything useful from a ninth-grade peon anyway.
He'd just come fishing for a quick buck on a rumor he'd overheard.
With that, Son Se-gil pocketed fourteen taels and left the Beijing branch grinning ear to ear.
"Palgap."
"Yes, you called, young master?"
"Sprinkle some salt... no, salt water out front. Salt's too good for it."
"Right away!"
As I watched Palgap sprinkle salt water at the gate, I said to the Seo-u warrior,
"Don't take it to heart."
"I'm fine. But it's hard to bear seeing my lord insulted like that."
"Eh, this is nothing... kinda cute, even."
Yeah, cute level.
"That guy's in for it, poor thing."
The Seo-hyang clerk standing beside me said.
"Pardon?"
She smiled at my question.
"You don't seem like the type to let it slide."
She'd already figured me out completely.
I just smirked in response instead of answering.
I'd been wondering whether to report this to His Majesty anyway. Perfect timing.
Time to shake him down good.
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The full moon arrived before long.
As instructed, I headed to the palace.
In the meantime, I'd received full authority from Father for this matter.
No time to report and get approval for every detail.
The short application period was because few groups fit this announcement.
For something like silk suppliers before, they'd have given at least a month.
At the palace gates, I stated my purpose to the guards and waited. Soon, an eunuch approached us.
"Follow me."
I and my entourage entered the palace after him. My group was just two: the silver medal Beijing branch chief and the Yeo-chang deputy leader.
The building we headed to looked like the Ministry of Rites.
Makes sense—foreign trade fell under their purview. That's why they'd sent a rites official to summon me today.
"Wait here."
"Yes."
Entering the room the eunuch indicated, I saw reps from about two other merchant groups already waiting.
One side looked a bit older than me.
The other was someone I knew.
I approached him warmly.
"Great to see you here."
"Oh! Eun Seo-ho, branch chief of Eunhae!"
He was Ji Seok-mun, branch chief of Baekbuik Merchant Group.
Baekbuik mainly traded with other countries using several large ships, so while not huge, they ranked among the top hundred merchant groups in the realm.
"This is Song Un, branch chief of Changhae Merchant Group."
"Ah! Nice to meet you. I'm Eun Seo-ho, branch chief of Eunhae."
"Song Un of Changhae."
After greetings, Ji Seok-mun said in surprise,
"Eunhae doing foreign trade? Do you even have ships?"
I nodded at the question.
"I've been eyeing overseas lately, so I prepared some vessels."
"Impressive. Already growing fast, and you don't rest on it—bold move."
"Standing still means falling behind. By the way, I don't think I saw you at the Shandong gathering last time..."
"Ah, right."
Ji Seok-mun nodded.
"I was out on a distant trade run then, unfortunately. To Malay Xi-guo."
Malay Xi-guo?
A country quite far from the empire.
Even farther than Dai Viet of Yong Eung-wan.
"Quite the heavy responsibility."
"Brought back their princess and envoys."
Ah...
That had stirred up quite the buzz in Beijing.
Malay Xi-guo had sent a princess to marry into the imperial family.
But she was deemed too plain, so she went back without a match.
As I pondered that, the door opened and more merchant reps entered.
Six groups in total gathered, and the last official to arrive looked at us.
"All six applicants are here. Now, state what you've prepared."
Someone asked then,
"Uh, no examination?"
"No need. All groups here will handle vital palace duties."
Just as I thought.
With ships in short supply, no way they'd do picky reviews.
If I'd taken Son Se-gil's word as gospel, I'd have ground my teeth in regret.
His info was bunk, but that didn't excuse him.
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After the interview with the official, as I walked the palace grounds mulling how to deal with Son Se-gil Jo Ma, I passed a group.
A woman in obvious foreign attire and...
Huh?
I couldn't help stopping in my tracks.
That necklace around her neck just now...
One of the ones Seon-il hyung bought?