Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 179

Nine Dragons Chronicle (179)

From the eve of Prince Heung’s birthday, guests flocked to Prince Heung’s residence, gathering in small groups for celebrations and friendly get-togethers.

Prince Heung, Ju Yeong-ho, was busy greeting the visiting guests, and the princes and princesses representing the Imperial Palace also met many people.

Hwa-rin, from the roof of the tallest building in Prince Heung’s residence, looked down, observing the princes and princesses and their interactions, and he noticed something interesting.

Though they shared the same father, the princes and princesses, due to having different mothers, didn’t mingle together but remained separate, each holding their own meetings.

“Second brother and first sister mainly meet with officials; third brother and second sister meet with military generals; and sixth brother and fourth sister meet with scholars of Seorim [a scholarly society]……”

The fifth prince, Ju Yeong-ho, and the seventh prince, Ju Yeong-su, didn’t actively seek out meetings, but they also didn’t refuse those who approached them.

“Uncle’s birthday celebration lasts for three days. But including today, the day before his birthday, it’s four days, so my brothers and sisters will have ample time to meet everyone.”

-Aren’t you being too speculative? Even if the Imperial Palace is rife with conspiracies and intrigues, who would suspect such things when His Majesty is healthy?

Hwa-rin recalled what Seo Dae-yeong had said.

“But I’ve already learned that the most dangerous time is when you think like that.”

It would be best if nothing happened, but there’s no harm in preparing for the future.

Having spent five years in the Fierce Tiger Assassination Blood Battle Squad, which aimed to eliminate threats in advance, not in the present but in the future, detecting danger had become an ingrained instinct.

Looking down from his vantage point, one person caught his eye: Hwa Jeong-su, the owner of the Hwa Myeong Merchant Group.

Hwa-rin smiled faintly as he watched him.

“Now is the time to have dreams and hopes, so work hard to seize even the slightest opportunity.”

Hwa-rin’s figure gradually faded and disappeared from the roof.

A moment later, Hwa-rin reappeared right next to the table where Seo Dae-yeong was sitting.

“Oh, my.”

Startled by Hwa-rin’s sudden appearance, Seo Dae-yeong looked at him, seemingly surprised, and spoke sharply.

“Give me some warning before you pop up like that. I almost dropped a non-existent baby.”

“Why would you drop it when there’s no baby? And don’t say things like that carelessly.”

Hwa-rin sat next to Seo Dae-yeong, glanced at the food on the table, and picked up a piece of fruit to eat.

“Isn’t this a rare opportunity to meet the princes and princesses? Wouldn’t it be better to go and say hello?”

“I’ve probably been forgotten by them a long time ago.”

There was a time when they bullied him when he was very young, but that was only for a short while. After a certain age, they stopped seeking him out, and he couldn’t approach them either, so they naturally drifted apart.

“The same goes for me. From my perspective, I can’t have a good relationship with them. So there’s no point in me going first and pretending to know them.”

Hwa-rin was concerned about the affairs of the Imperial Palace, but he didn’t want to get involved with the princes and princesses.

“You should meet the Golden Uniform Guard [imperial guard] escorts and Dongchang [Eastern Depot, a secret police organization] people who have been escorting the brothers and sisters.”

“I don’t know anyone in the Golden Uniform Guard.”

“Then get acquainted through someone and meet them for a chat. What have you been doing as the general manager of the manor?”

“Do you know how much work I have? Didn’t you entrust everything to me? I thought I was a manager, not someone from Dongchang.”

Seo Dae-yeong, seeing this as an opportunity, poured out all his grievances to Hwa-rin at once, and Hwa-rin, feeling that he had touched a nerve, covered his ears with his hands.

“I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you.”

“How childish……”

Hwa-rin gave Seo Dae-yeong an awkward smile.

“What do you want to know?”

“I want to know a lot of things, but I don’t have a clear idea of what exactly.”

“Then I’ll plant a few people in the Imperial Palace.”

“Spies?”

“Think of them more as informants rather than spies.”

Hwa-rin’s eyes sparkled.

“Good idea. As expected, General Manager Seo’s abilities are outstanding. That’s why I like General Manager Seo.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I like you.”

“Is your taste for men? Is that why you’re pushing away Miss Namgung?”

Slap!

A sharp sound echoed in the banquet hall, Seo Dae-yeong’s face was on the floor, and the back of his head was swollen as if he had a bump.

“If I give you a compliment, just take it as a compliment. Don’t cross the line.”

“Oh, who is this!”

At that moment, a man who spotted Hwa-rin from a short distance away walked over and addressed him.

“Greetings, Sixth Brother.”

The man who recognized Hwa-rin was Ju Yeo-ok, Hwa-rin’s sixth brother.

“You can see me?”

He was thinking of the old Hwa-rin, so he was surprised that Hwa-rin recognized him.

“I have been seeing, hearing, and speaking for a long time. However, I left the Imperial Palace early, so I didn’t have the opportunity to inform my brothers and sisters.”

“Is that so? I am so glad to hear you say that.”

Hwa-rin bowed slightly.

“If you left the Imperial Palace, what are you doing now?”

“His Majesty granted me a small manor in Seoseong, so I am living there.”

“Seoseong? That’s a place that’s been quite noisy lately. Are you alright?”

Still, as a brother, he was concerned about his well-being.

“I’m doing well without any problems.”

“That’s a relief.”

Ju Yeo-ok looked at Seo Dae-yeong, who was next to Hwa-rin.

“Is he your attendant?”

“He is the general manager of the manor. His Majesty appointed him as a guard, worried about my safety. He was a fairly skilled martial artist in Dongchang.”

“Really?”

Ju Yeo-ok turned his gaze back and gestured to someone, and a man hurried over.

“Did you call me?”

“Do you know who this person is?”

He also seemed to be a martial officer from Dongchang, and when he asked about Seo Dae-yeong, his eyes widened as he looked at Ju Yeo-ok.

-Answer carefully. If I don’t like it, I’ll pull out your tongue.

As Seo Dae-yeong sent a telepathic message to the man, he sweated coldly and answered cautiously.

“He is a former vice-captain of Dongchang. He said he quit Dongchang a year ago, but I didn’t expect to meet him here.”

“Really?”

“It’s been a while, Commander Lee Young.”

“It’s been a while, Vice-Captain Seo Dae-yeong.”

Ju Yeo-ok, seeing the two people greeting each other, asked Lee Young.

“Can I entrust my younger brother’s safety to this person?”

“O-Of course. He was one of the strongest martial artists in Dongchang. However……”

“However?”

“He has a difficult personality, so he is not easy to handle. He was one of the people under management in Dongchang. But he is a skilled vice-captain who takes responsibility for his work to the end, and he was trusted enough to handle difficult tasks in Dongchang.”

“Really? Then he will protect my brother well. What is your name?”

“It’s Seo Dae-yeong.”

“Okay. General Manager Seo, my brother has lived an unhappy life since he was young, so please take good care of him by his side.”

Seo Dae-yeong almost burst out laughing at the words of the sixth prince, Ju Yeo-ok.

“I will.”

He answered, holding back his laughter, and Hwa-rin bowed his head, suppressing his own laughter.

“Brother, come with me over there and mingle with the people. I will introduce you to some good people.”

Seo Dae-yeong saw this as an opportunity and quickly spoke to Hwa-rin.

“Go ahead.”

“Why would I?”

“Sixth Prince is introducing you to good people, so if you get to know them, it will be helpful to our manor.”

Hwa-rin reluctantly got up from his seat.

-You’re good at planting informants in the Imperial Palace. If possible, coax those who can find out details about the empresses and imperial concubines.

-Is there really a need to do that?

-Men rule the world, but women rule those men. The most dangerous time for a woman is the night when the sun goes down, and conspiracy begins that night.

Seo Dae-yeong listened for a moment and asked, feeling a little strange.

-Is there a connection between women being beautiful and conspiracy starting at night?

-Why not? What do you call the hair on women down there?

-Conspiracy……. [Hwa-rin is making a crude pun, as the word for pubic hair sounds similar to “conspiracy” in Korean.]

-That’s right. So there is a connection.

-Ah, you ignorant…….

Seo Dae-yeong, instinctively blurting out the words, panicked and quickly covered his mouth.

-What did you just say?

-No, it’s nothing. Isn’t that “conspiracy” different from this “conspiracy?”

-What’s different? What’s the difference between meeting at night to plot and meeting at night to suck face?

-Is that how it’s interpreted?

-That’s how incidents and accidents happen. If there were no women in the world, there would be no disputes.

When Seo Dae-yeong listened to Hwa-rin’s words, it was clear that he was being stubborn, but strangely, it seemed to make sense, which was sometimes amazing.

-Anyway, plant informants in that area as much as possible.

-Okay. I’ll plant them like that for now.

Hwa-rin finished his telepathic conversation with Seo Dae-yeong and followed the sixth prince, Ju Yeo-ok, to the place where people were gathered.

“Is there even a school that teaches such strange logic?”

He even wondered if there was such a school where people learned rhetoric and came up with such arguments.

Seo Dae-yeong watched Hwa-rin’s figure for a while and then got up from his seat.

“Why do you make yourself tired by worrying about such useless things?”

He didn’t like it, but he had to do what his master told him to do. No, he had to pretend to do it.

“Who should I meet to get someone close to those aunties?”

* * *

Hwa Jeong-su of Hwa Myeong Merchant Group narrowed his eyes as he watched Hwa-rin with the sixth prince and fourth princess.

“Brother, it seems the rumor that the Nine Dragons Chief is from the Seong clan is true.”

Hwa Saeng-bang, who was next to him, also spoke after seeing the sight.

“What if the rumor is true?”

According to rumors, the Nine Dragons Chief was the son of a meritorious subject who founded the Jungwon [Central Plains, often used to refer to China] and a high-ranking official with great power, and even the lord of Seoseong was said to be wary of him.

“No, according to what I’ve found out, there is no one like the Nine Dragons Chief among the children of powerful families.”

Hwa Jeong-su, seeing them laughing and talking freely, also felt uneasy in his heart, but he was trying to deny it.

“Could he be a hidden child [illegitimate son]?”

“If he were a hidden child, he wouldn’t have been called to a place like this. Since he’s not among the powerful families, he’s probably from the military. That’s why he’s mastered such martial arts.”

-How about I kill that bastard right now?

At that moment, a telepathic message was heard in his ear, and he knew immediately who had sent it to him.

Hwa Jeong-su also knew martial arts and sorcery, but he couldn’t show it off, so he shook his head.

He thought that if someone was killed at the banquet hall, Prince Heung’s residence would not stand still.

-Then I’ll kill him when he leaves Prince Heung’s residence.

Hwa Jeong-su nodded. After that, no more telepathic messages were heard, but he was satisfied with just this.

He thought that Hwa-rin would soon be dead because the Killing Sword Emperor Baek Jeong-in had stepped in.

“I will try to contact the generals.”

“You?”

“As a member of the Hwa Myeong Merchant Group, I will talk to them, express my intention to supply grain to the military, and then naturally lead the conversation.”

“Can you do it well?”

“I can do it well. So don’t worry.”

Hwa Jeong-su trusted his younger brother, Hwa Saeng-bang, and entrusted the work to him when he actively said that he would step up and do something.

“There’s no need to try too hard. Just getting acquainted and having a conversation is a great success, so don’t rush and meet them with composure.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Hwa Jeong-su encouraged Hwa Saeng-bang and then turned his gaze to Hwa-rin, who was talking to the sixth prince.

‘Your life has only three days left.’