Truly Just a Misunderstanding (1)
After reclaiming the Man Clan Lord's house and revealing the secret in the courtyard, he called back the servants who had been working there.
The Man Clan Lord had let them go one by one as his health declined and his circumstances worsened.
Half of them had already found other work, but the other half were still jobless.
They responded to the clan lord's summons without hesitation.
"These are all people who served our family faithfully for many years."
"I see."
I nodded at Young Master Man's words.
There were five of them in total, all of a certain age yet showing deep loyalty to the Man Clan Lord.
"Clan Lord! To see you fully recovered like this—it's truly a blessing!"
"To behold our healthy clan lord once more... oh...!"
The one who had been the clan lord's attendant burst into tears. It seemed he had been tormented by guilt, feeling responsible for the lord's bedridden state.
Now, seeing him so hale and hearty, relief brought forth those tears.
"Hoho, this is all thanks to our liege."
They approached me then, offering their thanks, and I accepted awkwardly.
What I'd done was for my own gain, so receiving such gratitude felt embarrassing.
"You're too kind."
At that moment, the Man Clan Lord spoke up.
"Our clan has sworn fealty to you as our liege. Thus, I must make a brief trip to Hubei Province with you. I entrust this house to you in my absence."
"Of course."
"Then we'll prepare to depart at once."
Preparations proceeded smoothly, and by the end of the eleventh month, we set off once more for Hubei Province.
The Man Clan Lord wasn't yet fit to ride a horse, so he traveled by carriage.
But there were no scheduling issues.
We had planned ample time, anticipating the possibility of the clan lord joining us at the main headquarters.
Now, then—it was time to enlist Hyun-ro-do's guidance.
We needed the safest route possible.
That said... even after handling matters at Shaolin Temple regarding Great Master Hyeol-gon-seung's remains and heading home with Hyun-ro-do's aid, we'd run into Gold Guard daehyeops along the way and been all but kidnapped to Yunnan Province.
This time, it wouldn't turn out to be a fake lead, would it?
As I eyed Hyun-ro-do suspiciously, the tip of its ear twitched.
No wind was blowing, either...
As if protesting, "Why the doubt?"
Well...
Hyun-ro-do guided its owner along the safest path, not necessarily the quickest or most comfortable.
In other words, that ordeal had been the optimal choice for my safety.
Damn.
Fine, at least I'd secured one safeguard for the future. That would have to suffice.
Here's hoping no more such ordeals lay ahead.
As I thought that and glanced at Hyun-ro-do, its ear drooped limply this time.
"..."
What? Did that mean no guarantees?
Damn.
The journey to the main headquarters in Hubei Province didn't take long this time.
We headed straight south to Nanjing, boarded a ship, and sailed up the Yangtze River.
Thus, we arrived right on schedule without incident.
"That's the Eunhae Merchant Group's main headquarters."
At my explanation, the Man father and son stared at me in astonishment.
"It's quite impressive."
"Yes. Our headquarters is fairly large."
But upon closer inspection, it seemed even bigger than before.
Had they expanded the warehouse?
The houses next door seemed gone.
Had they widened the warehouse in the meantime?
As I puzzled over it, realization dawned.
This was the look of our Eunhae Merchant Group during its rapid growth in my previous life.
We were years ahead of that timeline now.
A fresh wave of emotion hit me—I'm doing well, aren't I?
"Young master, why that expression with your home right there?"
"Hm?"
"You look like you've reunited with a long-lost lover."
I gave Palgap an awkward smile.
"What kind of nonsense is that...?"
He'd read my mind like a ghost.
"But how would you know what a man looks like reuniting with a lost love?"
"Uh..."
Palgap blinked at my question.
"Well, you see..."
"I get it. You've got some painful history there yourself."
"N-no, sir!"
The Seo-u Warrior chimed in with a grin.
"I see. Sorry I didn't know sooner. Palgap, my boy."
"No, really, it's not like that!"
We laughed amiably as we entered the Eunhae Merchant Group's warehouse grounds.
"Welcome back!"
Father had come out personally to greet our group, likely tipped off by prior word.
"Father! Aren't you busy?"
"Very."
"You didn't have to come out..."
"No matter how busy, a father always has time to welcome a son home after so long."
I smiled and replied.
"I hope you've been well."
"Of course. Everyone's fine."
"That's a relief."
It truly was.
Part of why I threw myself into this frantic work across the realm was to ensure my family's peaceful days.
"And who's this behind you? New faces."
Father eyed the Man Clan Lord and Young Master Man, so I introduced them.
"These are the lord of the Yun-gang Man Clan from Shandong Province and his son."
Father flinched for a split second.
No change in his expression, but his eyes betrayed genuine surprise.
Why the reaction?
I set my curiosity aside for now.
This was no time for it, introducing them to Father.
"I am Eun Gil-sang, leader of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Welcome to our halls."
"I am Man Deuk, lord of the Yun-gang Man Clan. Beside me is my son, Man Jeong. It's an honor to meet our liege's chief steward."
"Liege...?"
Father glanced at me puzzled, and I quickly continued.
"I'll explain the details inside."
"Very well."
"For now, please stay in the building next to my pavilion."
"See to it."
"Yes, Father."
I entrusted their guidance to Palgap.
The escort warriors, save for Seo-u Warrior, were told to rest, and I followed Father to his study.
Here, minimal guards sufficed.
"Ah, is Mother busy?"
"Your mother's at a gathering. The local merchant wives' meeting."
"I see. And my brothers?"
"Jeong-ho's in Beijing for the Hundred Great Merchant Groups conference, then detoured to Myeong-myeong Merchant Group to handle escort matters before heading back."
"Hyung's swamped too."
Come to think of it, Seo-hyang Sojeo had mentioned Jeong-ho hyung stopping by the Beijing branch.
Myeong-myeong Merchant Group?
They were based in Sichuan Province.
Already one of the Three Great Merchant Groups—why...?
Ah, escorts... pepper, then.
They dealt mainly in porcelain and spices, rising to the top through exclusive pepper trade.
The Dai Viet Kingdom, which our ships had just visited, was a prime pepper source.
As far as I knew, Myeong-myeong imported pepper by having people porter loads over treacherous mountains.
But maritime trade by ship meant more volume, more easily—hence their approach to us.
"Isn't Myeong-myeong in Sichuan? With our Sichuan branch, couldn't they contact headquarters directly through Uncle?"
"They did request a meeting via your uncle. Jeong-ho planned to meet them with you, but your falcon brought word you'd gone to Yunnan..."
Ah...
That was when I'd sent word via Geum-ryeong of my Yunnan trip.
"Didn't want to burden you while you were busy."
"Thank you."
He'd probably foreseen I'd feel pressured had he mentioned it earlier.
Myeong-myeong had aided Grandfather at his first Hundred Greats conference, as Father once told me.
"They're later than expected, though. The conference was early tenth month—Jeong-ho hyung should be arriving soon, right?"
"Indeed. He'll be back any day."
Fair enough—long-distance caravans rarely stuck to schedule.
"And Jin-ho hyung?"
"Escorting a caravan to Hunan Province."
"The sisters-in-law?"
"Busy with their own duties."
"Grandfather?"
"The envy of us all."
I chuckled at that.
Then Father shared some welcome news.
"Oh, and your second sister-in-law is with child again."
"Oh? That's wonderful!"
"Yes. Due early next year, it seems."
"I'll congratulate her properly later."
Truly cause for celebration. In my previous life, Jin-ho hyung had lost his second wife and drowned his grief in drink, aging alone.
I'd suffered listening to his drunken rants.
Come to think of it, Jeong-ho hyung had vented to me over drinks before his own marriage too.
I didn't enjoy liquor—not just my constitution or Master's advice, but mostly from fatigue with my brothers' boozy complaints.
"Geon-hyeok and Bo-yeon?"
"Wild as can be."
"Meaning they're healthy."
They must be around five or six now.
Time flies.
After confirming the family's well-being, we delved into merchant group business.
First, our two ships had safely reached the port we'd built, now undergoing maintenance. Father had arranged housing for Captain Yong's family too.
"But what on earth happened? Why did most of the crew bolt for home or brothels the moment they disembarked?"
"Ah..."
Guess their frustrations ran deeper than expected.
I gave a wry smile and explained.
"I had them rest right after arriving in Nanjing."
"Rest?"
"By His Majesty's order..."
"Hm... for security?"
Father got it immediately.
I nodded, and he smirked.
"Makes sense. We have Eunhae locked down tight here."
Thanks to the intelligence unit I'd proposed, we effectively controlled most of Hubei Province.
"Speaking of, those men you brought—are they truly from Yun-gang Man Clan?"
"Yes. But why the surprise earlier?"
Father cleared his throat at my question.
"Ahem..."
"I'm your son."
"Remember the records passed down only to merchant group leaders?"
"Yes."
Father had mentioned before.
The reason the founding leader named us Eunhae was documented there.
[One cannot become a true great merchant by staying within this empire. To be truly great, one must seek wealth beyond the seas.]
"Actually, there's this in it: If pirates cause trouble, seek aid from Shandong Province's Yun-gang Man Clan."
"Pardon?"
"The record didn't explain what that meant. But seeing the bows the Man lord and his son carry, I get it now. Planning to fend off pirates with their archery?"
"Exactly. Likely the next voyage or the one after will face pirate raids. We'll use their trained archer unit then."
I continued.
"Cannons would be ideal, but gunpowder is strictly imperial-controlled. Acquiring it risks complications, so archers are the best option."
"But can archers alone repel pirates?"
Father hadn't witnessed Cheonpa Palace's might yet.
"Father, the founder recorded it for good reason, no?"
"True, but..."
His face still showed doubt.
Once he sees it, his mind will change.
I returned to my pavilion.
After washing up and changing, I headed to Grandfather's quarters.
"Grandfather, it's Seo-ho."
"Come in."
I opened the door carefully and found him painting.
"Painting, I see. Oh? Plum blossoms?"
"Lately, I've taken a fancy to plum paintings. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes. Sorry I haven't visited more often."
"No need."
Grandfather set down his brush and said,
"Does anyone not know how busy you are?"
"Hahaha."
"Heard you brought guests this time?"
As expected of Grandfather.
Retired, yet still with eyes and ears on the group's affairs.
"Yes, the Yun-gang Man Clan's lord and his son have agreed to aid me."
"Yun-gang Man Clan?"
"That's right."
"Did you read that record passed only to clan lords?"
His eyes narrowed. I shook my head quickly.
"I know of its existence, but I've never read it. That's Jeong-ho hyung's right, and I won't infringe."
"Then how did you know to bring them?"
"I learned of their arrows' power while helping them recently. Thought their archer unit would be useful, so I brought them."
Grandfather regarded me quietly before speaking.
"You truly have no desire to be merchant group leader?"
"No, none."
"Really?"
"None at all."
Am I mad? To lead the group?
Not my style.
At my unwavering reply, Grandfather nodded with a hint of regret.
"Besides, I'm dashing across the empire daily—no time to stay at headquarters."
Half due to the Emperor, but still.
"Could someone like me keep the group running smoothly?"
"Fair point."
He nodded firmly.
"Alright, I understand. Off you go—you must be busy."
"Yes."
I left Grandfather's quarters. But why did it feel like I'd forgotten something?
Pondering, I realized what.
This time, he hadn't asked when I'd marry.
Why not?