Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 267

267. A Young Talent

The Imperial Guards, having received Park Gong-gong’s order and carrying the silk scroll, left the audience chamber without delay.

Outside the chamber, despite the dark night, a thousand Imperial Guards stood in orderly ranks, swords and spears drawn.

Thud, thud.

The heavily armed Imperial Guards moved with perfect discipline, all to carry out the command of Dongchang’s [Eastern Depot, a Ming Dynasty secret police agency] Vice Minister Park Gong-gong.

“Heh heh heh.”

Park Gong-gong emerged from the audience chamber with a leisurely gait.

Watching the Imperial Guards disappear, he wore a satisfied smile.

The power struggle within the imperial court, which had been intensely brewing beneath the surface for the past few months, was coming to an end today.

The fate of tomorrow’s sky was being decided by his hand at this very moment.

Slinking, slinking.

As he left the audience chamber, Imperial Guard warriors escorted him.

With his light steps, the red hem of the eunuch’s robes rippled like waves under the lights of the Forbidden City.

Slink.

Soon, arriving before a pavilion, he dismissed the escorting Imperial Guards.

And alone, he cautiously entered the pavilion.

“Your Majesty.”

In Park Gong-gong’s voice, deeply bowing his head, was the caution that endlessly humbled himself.

“This humble servant, following Your Majesty’s command, has just apprehended the ringleader of the rebels.”

“Oh, is that so?”

From the unlit audience chamber, a soft voice replied to Park Gong-gong from the darkness.

Although it was quite a bright voice, the tremor in it revealed how anxiously he had been awaiting this news.

“His accomplices will also be captured without exception before this night is over.”

Park Gong-gong said, bowing even deeper, his head almost touching the ground.

“Now that all the rebels who disturbed the imperial court have been swept away, it is all thanks to Your Majesty’s boundless grace.”

“……You have done well, Park Gong-gong.”

It was a short remark, but the voice was filled with indescribable emotion.

The tightly clenched fist, unable to overcome the turmoil, spoke of the hardships he had endured.

After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Look at this.”

He, wearing the dragon robe, held out another red silk scroll.

Park Gong-gong extended both hands in a respectful posture to receive the scroll. And slowly, he unfolded it.

“The League of Heroes……”

Park Gong-gong muttered quietly, examining the red scroll.

“Tomorrow, an imperial edict will be issued to you.”

Flap, flap.

Park Gong-gong immediately dusted off his sleeves and knelt on the floor.

Thud.

“I grant you all the authority of the Censorate [an agency that supervised the efficiency of all the other agencies], so command the Censorate to search out the rebels without leaving any behind and thoroughly investigate their crimes. The crime of daring to insult the imperial family must be punished.”

Thud.

Park Gong-gong’s forehead echoed on the floor.

“This humble servant will dedicate his life to upholding Your Majesty’s decree.”

Thud, thud.

The heavy sound continued twice more.

Under the golden roof surrounded by red walls, another storm in the martial arts world was beginning.

***

Three months had already passed since Woon-hyun had stayed at the Woon-ga Merchant Group.

Woon-hyun, dressed in a smart new outfit and holding a book in one hand, looked every bit the refined scholar.

Although the book he was holding was not an ancient classic but a record of the merchant group’s practical affairs and ledgers, his appearance alone made it seem as if he were studying profound knowledge.

Thanks to this, unlike his previous image as a good-for-nothing, Woon-hyun’s reputation within the Woon-ga Merchant Group was rising.

The fact that Woon-hyun still started his day with early morning sweeping was now a natural fact that no one paid attention to.

“Did you call for me, Uncle?”

Woon-hyun bowed politely.

It was completely different from the humble greeting of two months ago.

Uncle Woon-il-pyung’s expression was also not bad.

As Woon-hyun sat down in a polite manner, Woon-il-pyung said.

“I heard you’re studying the merchant group these days?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Woon-hyun replied.

“I am learning about the merchant group’s business with the help of Chief Manager Kang.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Woon-il-pyung said.

“It was a very good thing to ask Chief Manager Kang for help.”

Receiving help from Chief Manager Kang was like gaining the most reliable helper in the Woon-ga Merchant Group.

Woon-il-pyung was pleased that his nephew had made a wise choice.

“I will tell Chief Manager Kang to let you look after the merchant group’s affairs from time to time. It will help you with your studies.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

Woon-il-pyung, watching Woon-hyun bowing his head in greeting, wore a bitter expression.

If the merchant group wasn’t in such a state, it would have been easy for Woon-hyun to find a place to work.

But now, the Woon-ga Merchant Group was on the brink of collapse.

“I’m sorry.”

It was a bottomless remark, but Woon-hyun could understand the sincerity within it.

“No, Uncle. I am grateful just for being allowed to stay here.”

“I’m grateful that you think so.”

Woon-il-pyung could not hide his complicated feelings.

“I will look into your matter separately, so don’t worry too much. If you work hard, good results will come.”

Woon-hyun nodded.

“Oh, by the way, do you see Hee-yeon often?”

Hee-yeon was his uncle’s daughter and his cousin, Woon Hee-yeon.

“I see her occasionally, but……”

That occasionally was mostly when he was sweeping early in the morning.

Woon Hee-yeon would stare at Woon-hyun blankly, and then cross the yard as if to show off when the sweeping was over.

“Yes. She seems to follow you well, so please give her some good advice. Having a daughter is like having no one to talk to for a father……. Tsk. I wonder what she’s thinking.”

‘Follows me well?’

Woon-il-pyung’s words were unexpected.

Far from following him well, hadn’t Woon Hee-yeon been snapping at Woon-hyun every time she saw him?

However, he couldn’t ask more about the affairs between father and daughter.

“You must be busy, so you can go now.”

Woon-hyun bowed to his uncle, Woon-il-pyung.

From that day on, Woon-hyun traveled around Gwangju merchant groups with Chief Manager Kang.

Woon-hyun’s quiet and gentle demeanor soon caught the attention of other merchant group officials.

Moreover, his background of passing the imperial examination [a rigorous civil service exam] and serving as a scholar in Beijing was enough to attract the attention of merchant group officials, as Chief Manager Kang had said.

The rumor of a young talent with the demeanor of a scholar spreading in the Gwangju merchant world was swift.

But it brought about an unexpected result that neither Woon-hyun nor even Chief Manager Kang had anticipated.

***

The Hacheong Merchant Group was a fairly large mid-sized merchant group.

It maintained solid transactions with Gwangju’s large merchant groups, and it also made large profits through its own trade several times a year.

The Hacheong Merchant Group supported more than one or two small and medium-sized merchant groups, so its influence in the Gwangju merchant world was considerable.

“Hoo.”

Ha Yong-han, the head of the Hacheong Merchant Group, sighed deeply as if the ground was sinking.

It was due to a very chronic problem that had been eating away at his insides for the past few years.

“I have firmly silenced the people around me.”

Chief Manager Joo said in a low voice.

“The young master from Minister Jung’s residence will no longer meet the young lady.”

However, Ha Yong-han sighed deeply once again.

“Hoo-oo-oo.”

It felt like his insides were rotting.

He never imagined that his only daughter would cause such trouble.

“Was it the third son from Minister Jung’s residence this time?”

Ha Yong-han asked, frowning, and Chief Manager Joo nodded.

“Yes, it is.”

The third son from Minister Jung’s residence was known in Gwangju for his bad behavior.

It was said that he not only flirted with this woman and that woman but also reached out to married women, so what more could be said?

Of course, Ha Yong-han didn’t care what the third son from Minister Jung’s residence did.

The problem was that his daughter was associating with him.

“Minister Jung’s side also seemed to be trying to keep this quiet. So……”

Bang.

“I told her so many times to behave herself!”

Ha Yong-han shouted, slamming the table.

But his daughter, who should have heard those words, was not there.

Only Chief Manager Joo was bowing his head deeply.

“Isn’t this more than once or twice? More than once or twice! What on earth is that child thinking……!”

Since she wasn’t there, he couldn’t hear her thoughts.

Ha Yong-han couldn’t calm his anger for a while.

This wasn’t the first time his daughter, Ha Young-ryung, had caused problems.

Born as the youngest in a wealthy family and raised with love, she liked new things and easily got bored with everything.

Originally, she had a strong sense of pride and stubbornness, but these days, she didn’t listen to anyone.

At first, he thought it was because she was young.

He sometimes overlooked it, thinking that anyone would do that once in their youthful days.

But as she got older, instead of becoming more mature, it got worse.

Now, if his daughter was said to be hanging out with the young master from Minister Jung’s residence, Minister Jung’s side would be more worried.

“Um……”

Chief Manager Joo carefully spoke. He knew that his master was very uncomfortable.

“Young Lady Young-ryung is now at the age of marriage……”

“So isn’t that more of a problem! She’s at the age of marriage, so what is she going to do!”

Ha Yong-han’s anger flared up again.

Chief Manager Joo quickly continued.

“How about choosing a suitable marriage partner and marrying her off?”

Ha Yong-han’s face was distorted as much as possible.

“Who doesn’t know that? There must be a marriage partner! A marriage partner!”

That was the problem.

How could he marry off a woman who was at the age of marriage and had a bad reputation all over the neighborhood?

No matter how pretty his daughter looked to Ha Yong-han, there was hardly anyone in Gwangju who didn’t know about her behavior.

He had tried to put in a word for a decent marriage partner, but he had been politely rejected for a long time.

“There is one person.”

“I can’t send the daughter of the Hacheong Merchant Group to just any place.”

Ha Yong-han said as if threatening.

He could never send his beloved daughter to just any place.

“He is said to be a passer of the Imperial Examination.”

“……A passer of the Imperial Examination?”

Ha Yong-han’s eyes began to show interest.

The Imperial Examination was the flower of the civil service examination. Even families with powerful influence could not easily produce a passer of the Imperial Examination.

“He also has a history of serving as a scholar in the imperial palace.”

“A scholar? In the imperial palace?”

Ha Yong-han’s eyes lit up.

At this point, it wasn’t just decent.

“But? There must be some flaw, right? Is he too old? That won’t do……”

Ha Yong-han, who was a natural-born merchant, intuitively knew that a marriage partner with such good conditions wouldn’t just roll in.

“He is a young man at the age of marriage. He was recently dismissed from the court and is staying at the Woon-ga Merchant Group as a guest.”

“Dismissed?”

That meant he was fired. Ha Yong-han frowned.

“Is there a problem?”

The problem he was talking about was a case of being involved in a serious matter.

In the affairs of the court, it was common for not only the family but also the three generations to suffer disadvantages.

“No, there isn’t.”

Chief Manager Joo said in a firm tone.

“I’ve already looked into it, but there wasn’t a single element that would be a problem, at least.”

The affairs of the court were never revealed to the outside.

However, it was easy to find out whether he had been labeled as a dangerous person.

That was because official documents were sent to local government offices for such serious matters.

The Hacheong Merchant Group maintained special friendships with more than one or two officials.

“There seems to have been a big event in the court recently, but since his name is not there, I think he resigned on his own.”

The investigation into Woon-hyun was mostly based on circumstantial speculation.

But it was also true that there were no serious problems.

“Hmm, then the only flaw is that he has nothing?”

“He doesn’t have a penny to his name.”

Chief Manager Joo emphasized the word “penny” in particular.

“What about his looks? Is he decent?”

“He’s not handsome, but he has a very noble scholar-like air. It’s as if the word ‘scholar’ is written on his face.”

Ha Yong-han paused for a moment at Chief Manager Joo’s immediate answer.

“Hmm.”

Ha Yong-han stroked his beard and thought.

‘Not bad?’