I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 175

“Did you enjoy your hot spring bath?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We, your humble servants, have been greatly favored by your boundless grace. We are deeply grateful.”

The Empress Dowager scanned the rows of court ladies and eunuchs, then spoke to the two women standing closest to her.

“Have you escorted the scholars waiting outside far enough?”

“Pardon? Do you mean… far?”

The Empress Dowager’s voice rose.

“Considering the thought they put into bringing such precious tea, I should reward them, but I have nothing to give. You must convey my feelings by escorting them far away. Isn’t that right?”

“Ah… Yes, Your Majesty. We will escort them far away.”

“Go now. They have been waiting for a long time.”

As the two women bowed and left, the Empress Dowager said,

“You may all leave as well. I need to rest.”

Once everyone had left and she was alone again, the Empress Dowager was filled with rage, grinding her teeth. These were maids she had trusted and relied on for a long time. Perhaps they were the only ones in the lonely palace with whom she could confide and lament her troubles.

The thought that those wenches had taken money from the Empress and reported everything made her fingertips tremble.

How much had the Empress laughed at her, knowing her innermost thoughts?

If Jo Gwang-yun hadn’t stopped her, she would have boiled those wenches alive in the hot spring water right then and there.

The Empress Dowager desperately wished for them to die screaming in agony.

Unaware of the Empress Dowager’s feelings, the two women followed Gu Seung out of the hot spring. When the walls of the Seungdeok Palace were no longer in sight, Gu Seung spoke to the two women.

“Unfortunately, the path we are taking is a bit rough. So, we occasionally commit misdeeds. Please forgive us.”

The two women blinked at Gu Seung’s sudden, strange words, but they soon fainted at his gesture.

A man who had come with Gu Seung whistled softly, and Jo Gwang-yun and several warriors appeared from the forest.

They carried the women away quickly, and Gu Seung and Jo Gwang-yun began to walk slowly.

“Wouldn’t it be better to silence them, as they could become a source of trouble?”

Gu Seung asked cautiously, but Jo Gwang-yun shook his head.

“Does killing innocent people bother you?”

Gu Seung asked again, and Jo Gwang-yun smiled bitterly.

“How many people die for their sins? In this world, people kill and are killed out of necessity. If you are useful, even the worst scoundrel can live, and if you are useless, even the noblest person cannot survive. It’s just that it’s difficult to judge those women yet, so I’m postponing it. I’m sure they’ll be useful somehow… I just can’t think of how. Let’s think about it a bit more and then decide.”

“Yes, Master.”

The two men closed their mouths and walked in silence for a while before Gu Seung couldn’t help but speak.

“But Master, how could the Empress Dowager so easily believe the betrayal of those women she had kept by her side for so long? There’s been so much time…”

“She’s lost her mind.”

“Her mind…?”

“When people are cornered and fall to the bottom, they don’t see the world with cold reason, but resent the world and face it with only anger. There’s no room for normal thoughts, and they lose their minds.”

“Anger…”

Jo Gwang-yun looked at Gu Seung and chuckled.

“Try to remember when you were young. As I recall, you were eager to beat up anyone you could get your hands on back then, hehe.”

“Oh, do you still remember that time?”

Gu Seung’s face turned red.

“How did you feel when I reached out to you back then?”

“Why even ask? It was truly salvation… Ah…! I see.”

“Right now, I am the Empress Dowager’s savior. Since I gave her a chance to vent her anger, she has no choice but to believe me. Those two women were merely targets for the Empress Dowager to vent her anger on. They’re just slaves anyway.”

The victims of mass fraud are mostly those who are struggling. When life is difficult and there’s no sign of improvement, they lose their minds.

They are barely holding on to the last thread of reason, and those who say they can escape their impoverished lives appear to them not as swindlers, but as saviors.

And the words of a savior are always true.

“So now the Empress Dowager will trust you implicitly, Master.”

“That will only be temporary. Once she rises from the bottom, she will open her eyes. From then on, she will think and judge my words coldly. From that moment on, the Empress Dowager and I will be on equal footing, and our relationship will turn into a proper business deal.”

“Business… Well, since you are the best in the Central Plains, the Empress Dowager will only look to you forever, Master.”

“That will be the case, as long as the Empress Dowager’s greed doesn’t become excessive.”

However, it is also human nature that when people stay in oppression and poverty for a long time and then rise up, their greed becomes excessive.

No relationship lasts forever.

Only those who prepare for the end of a relationship that they thought would last forever become the victors. That, too, is a predetermined outcome.

* * *

“They say it will be no more than ten days. They guaranteed that she will give birth within that time.”

Hongyeon couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Both royal physicians agreed?”

“Even the head physician examined her. Ten days.”

Jo Gwang-yun was also nervous. The day of the uprising was approaching.

“Don’t let your guard down until the end, and be careful. And don’t take anything lightly, no matter how trivial. The collapse of a mountain always begins with a crack the size of a fingernail.”

“Yes, Master.”

Hongyeon bowed and returned to the palace.

Jo Gwang-yun stopped trying to calculate the odds. The odds are just the odds anyway. Only one of the twenty-odd pregnant women needs to time it right. Besides, we’re already starting with a 50 percent chance, aren’t we? Yang Ryeo-cheong could give birth to a son.

Considering all of this, the odds aren’t that slim. Compared to the lottery.

And three of the pregnant women have already given birth. Two girls, one boy.

If Yang Ryeo-cheong gives birth tomorrow, we could use the boy, but if it’s a full ten days later, it will be difficult to use him. There’s bound to be a difference between a baby who has just been born and one who is ten days old.

Ten days!

We need to start making preparations before it’s too late.

Jo Gwang-yun hurried to the palace.

The person he met was none other than Jang Cheong-un.

Jo Gwang-yun looked at the helmet in his hand and recalled what he had done for him. He had invested quite a bit, and the result was the yellow knot tied to the helmet, the symbol of the Imperial Guard.

“Officer Jo. What brings you here?”

Jang Cheong-un greeted Jo Gwang-yun with a bright smile.

“How have you been? I heard your reputation is so good that you’re about to take over the position of commander of the Imperial Guard. Haha.”

“You flatter me too much. If the commander heard that, he would send me back to the South Sea.”

Jang Cheong-un glanced at Jo Gwang-yun and said,

“You’re not one to joke, so if you’re saying this, it seems you have something to say to me.”

“As expected, living in the Imperial Palace only sharpens your senses. You’re no ordinary man.”

Jang Cheong-un wore a calm expression.

“Officer Jo, if you keep changing the subject, it must be a difficult matter.”

“Yes. I have a difficult favor to ask of you. Would that be alright?”

“You are my benefactor, so how could it not be alright? Please, speak freely.”

Jo Gwang-yun took a breath and said,

“Starting today, I want you to guard the west side of the Imperial Palace for fifteen days. Day and night, without relief.”

Jang Cheong-un closed his mouth tightly.

West, fifteen days, day and night.

Jang Cheong-un racked his brain, trying to guess what Jo Gwang-yun wanted by combining these three words.

“Haven’t you always said that you would never do anything to harm the Emperor? I’m not foolish enough to ask you to do something that goes against your beliefs.”

Somewhat relieved, Jang Cheong-un’s expression turned troubled.

“The entire guard unit doesn’t stand guard for more than three hours. Even if I’m only in charge of the west side, I can’t stay there for fifteen days straight. Every other day… that much might be possible.”

*Not there yet.* Before thinking about what he can do, the word ‘difficult’ comes out first.

Jo Gwang-yun spoke again, as if to persuade him. *The difference between a favor and help.*

“Granting a favor means overcoming difficulties, solving problems… That’s what it means to grant a favor. What you can easily do with spare strength is helping, not granting a favor. I’m not asking for help right now. I’m asking for a favor.”

*Granting a difficult favor, that is a partner.*

If Jang Cheong-un backs out here, I’m sorry to my teacher, but I’m cutting ties. There are plenty of warriors to nurture.

Jang Cheong-un’s face turned red, whether from shock or embarrassment.

Soon, he opened his mouth.

“I apologize. I have committed a great discourtesy to my benefactor. I will correct this great discourtesy right away.”

*I wonder if he’s finally come to his senses…*

“Thank you. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Jang Cheong-un was flustered.

“Officer Jo, please wait a moment. If it’s impossible…”

“You said you would correct it, right? Then you must correct it. I understand that you will be in charge of the west side of the Imperial Palace starting today.”

Jo Gwang-yun patted him on the shoulder once and turned away.

*Still a little lacking.*

* * *

“Officer. This is Jang Cheong-un.”

“Huh? Wasn’t your shift over today?”

“It ended a little while ago.”

“Then go and rest quickly. Why haven’t you left the palace yet?”

The commander of the Imperial Guard was always annoyed by the reality of being buried in paperwork when he was a warrior.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Alright, what is it? Tell me.”

“It seems that the members of my unit have become a bit lazy lately.”

“Your men? The ones who endure your harsh training?”

“I’ve been a bit lax lately. I need to tighten things up again.”

“Stop tightening up and take it easy.”

The training of Jang Cheong-un’s guard unit made even the onlookers shudder. So much so that they called it the hell squad of the Imperial Guard.

“Training like it’s the real thing. That’s what I’m thinking.”

“So? What more are you going to do?”

“Starting today, I will be in charge of the west side guard duty for fifteen days. I plan to divide them into two groups and rotate day and night.”

“What? Fifteen days?”

“I’m thinking of doing some special training. The members will stand guard, and I will play the role of an intruder into the Imperial Palace. Training like it’s the real thing.”

“Are you planning to catch all the members? If you’re determined to infiltrate, none of the kids will notice.”

“So I’m going to tell them the route I’ll be taking and train them. They have to do that much to make it worthwhile for the members.”

The guard commander shook his head.

“That’s too much. The kids will die in fifteen days. Can they endure that?”

“I don’t know about other guard units, but the unit I command must endure it. In the worst emergency, someone has to protect it, right? And in a real situation, who would you trust the most? Isn’t it me?”

Indeed, if the most dangerous thing happened in the Imperial Palace, he would be the first to look for Jang Cheong-un. Moreover, he is the owner of the strongest martial arts, and he is not lazy and is always humble, so he has no choice but to trust him.

It would be ridiculous to stop such a guy from stepping up and suffering.

“Alright, give it a try. But if it looks like there’s going to be a problem, you have to stop at that point. If you cause a problem by stubbornly insisting, you’re finished. Keep that in mind.”

“Don’t worry. There won’t be any problems. And I will record this training in detail and report it to you.”

*That training record is a great way to show off.*

The guard commander could not help but trust such a meticulous Jang Cheong-un.

“If you finish well and there are results, I will give you a reward. If you’re going to do it, do it right.”

“Yes. I will do my best not to disappoint your expectations.”

Before he knew it, it had turned from an unreasonable proposal into a mission that had to be completed.

End