There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 113

As the Yesangjeong [a reservation-only establishment] began to flourish—though it wasn’t exactly bustling—I was filled with joy.

‘Who else could set up a place like this in Bukchon [a traditional Korean village in Seoul]?’

The unique location of Bukchon perfectly prevented any latecomers from entering the game.

I initiated a strict moral education for the gisaengs [female entertainers, similar to geishas].

“You must never show that you are eavesdropping.”

While ordinary laborers were one thing, the gisaengs were the core of the core.

They needed to adopt the mindset of informants for our side.

Surprisingly, they didn’t show any resistance.

“Sharing guests’ conversations goes against professional ethics.”

It took some effort to persuade these gisaengs, who had an unusually strong sense of professional ethics, but after bestowing upon them the mantle of a noble cause:

“Is there any morality that precedes loyalty to the country? This is all for the country. Spare no devotion.”

And then, brandishing the whip, metaphorically speaking:

“Leave if you don’t like it.”

They soon acquiesced.

“Oh, Your Highness. What on earth did you say to them? They were so full of complaints… I had a hard time appeasing them.”

There were some slightly creaky parts, but Cho Gung-jang stepped in to tie things up more securely.

Anyway, I gathered the gisaengs and said:

“Next is how to use this wire telephone (線話機).”

I tapped Nobun and said:

“Go over there and say anything.”

“Yes? The wall is thick, so it won’t be easy to hear.”

“Just do it.”

When I raised my fist, Nobun hurriedly ran to the next room.

Indeed, even when Nobun was talking, the sound wasn’t clear as it passed through the wall.

“At this rate, it will be difficult to eavesdrop.”

“Right? But put this to your ear.”

I handed the gisaengs cups made of iron with strings attached.

The gisaengs who received the cups and carefully put them to their ears widened their eyes.

– What is there to hear? Ugh. What a waste of time.

The conversation, which had been difficult to hear just a moment ago, was now clearly audible.

‘Ah, this is a string telephone.’

The next room had a device to collect the sound effectively, and the string connected to it was led out to the other room through a tiny hole in the wall.

So, just by putting this cup to your ear, you could hear the other person’s words much more easily than just eavesdropping.

‘This is a work that uses the vibration of air.’

I crossed my arms triumphantly.

By the way, that Nobun, the fool, is saying a lot of useless things, thinking no one can hear him.

I decided to give Nobun a good smack later.

===

It had been a few days since he returned the house, but Hwang-hee’s face was still grim.

“Why, is your son-in-law causing a ruckus because you donated the house?”

I grabbed Hwang-hee’s hand with a worried heart and asked.

“They say suffering in youth is something you should seek out. I was going to give him some moral education…”

“Ah, no. There’s no way my son-in-law would do that. He’s still a good person.”

‘He doesn’t exactly seem like it.’

But since Hwang-hee was so desperately defending him, I decided to let it slide.

Thanks to my merciful heart, it ended with donating the house, but aren’t people originally cunning animals?

You have to tighten the reins like this once in a while so they know they’ve received a favor.

“Then is it because your provision land has been frozen?”

“……”

Hwang-hee couldn’t bring himself to speak and hung his head.

Since he can’t even bring the tax revenue home, his dignity as a head of household must be in tatters.

‘A husband with his head bowed.’

I felt a little sorry for teasing him so much, but I had to think of it as punishment for betraying my trust.

That’s what I was thinking when.

“Hyung-nim [older brother]!”

“No, what brings you to Hanseongbu [the capital’s administrative office]?”

The person who called me was Grand Prince Chungnyeong.

He had been carried here directly by a eunuch.

I hadn’t visited the Crown Prince’s residence for a few days and had been holed up in Hanseongbu, so did he miss his older brother and come directly?

When I asked that, he shook his head with an innocent face.

“No? Why would I?”

“……”

You couldn’t even say that as a formality, you brat.

I scowled and asked.

“Then why did you come? If you came to tell me to stop dieting… I mean, exercising, no way.”

“Heehee.”

This is definitely not because I’m sulking.

It was the heart of an older brother worrying about his younger brother’s health.

Then Do cried out, “Heehee.”

“I wanted to tell you that too… but Abamama [father, used to address the King] is looking for you.”

Last time, Queen Wongyeong used her younger brother as a messenger, and this time it’s Yi Bang-won [the King’s personal name]?

Why on earth?

I tilted my head.

===

As soon as our eyes met, Yi Bang-won opened his mouth.

“I heard you bought Seo-dal’s house?”

I was shocked by Yi Bang-won’s question.

How did my father know about my secret base?

“H, how did you know that?”

“How many traces do you think you left while wandering around that I wouldn’t notice?”

Yi Bang-won smiled.

‘I guess.’

I called in workers to do construction, and money was pouring out of my pockets.

If you compare it to Seo-dal’s house that was sold in Hanseongbu, the conclusion comes out quickly.

‘Damn it.’

If Yi Bang-won caught my tail, I wondered if my plan was doomed from the start, but Yi Bang-won said as if to reassure me.

“This father has taken care of everything. You must have had some thoughts in mind when you started this.”

‘Phew.’

I could trust Yi Bang-won’s guarantee.

But Yi Bang-won’s words were not the end.

He said with an openly disappointed look.

“That’s not all, why didn’t you give your father a hint while doing this?”

“I, I didn’t mean to deceive you. Security was important, so I was going to report it as soon as the work was completed.”

“Still, the fact that you didn’t trust your father doesn’t change, does it? I am your father and the king of this country.”

Yi Bang-won hardened his expression.

Is this the anger of a father?

“Uh, uh…”

Cold sweat poured down my back.

If Yi Bang-won believed that the trust between father and son was broken, there was no way out.

My head was stuck on how to make excuses, but then Yi Bang-won burst into laughter and patted my back.

“Haha, just kidding, just kidding. I’ve already told you to handle things in Hanyang [old name for Seoul] at your discretion, so you don’t need to report everything.”

“You scared me to death!”

I shouted like that.

I thought Kill Bang-won would shout, “You are not my son!” and fire a purge beam.

“So, what exactly are you plotting?”

When Yi Bang-won asked, I told him everything in detail so that there was not a shred of doubt.

“Hoo. A place where you can eavesdrop on the words of high-ranking officials. You’ve used your head quite a bit.”

Yi Bang-won admired.

“The Yesangjeong of Cho Gung-jang is rumored to be all the rage in Jangan [old name for the capital] these days, so I never thought it would be a place like this.”

“If you need it, Abamama, take it and use it.”

I said, lying flat on the ground.

Yi Bang-won didn’t seem particularly disappointed in me, but it was a measure to get rid of even the slightest bit of lingering resentment.

Yi Bang-won was a little surprised to see me say that without hesitation, but soon asked suspiciously.

“Hmm. If there is important information, wouldn’t you tell me anyway? Do you really have to do that?”

Yi Bang-won asked.

“I think Abamama can use it better than I can.”

Only then did Yi Bang-won say as if he had no choice but to accept after being asked several times.

“Since you say so, I can’t help it. Haha, I received a great gift from you.”

‘Ugh.’

It’s a bit of a waste to give it away.

In fact, the information I’ve gathered so far hasn’t been much.

– Hogun Kwak Seung-woo had an affair with his younger brother’s concubine. And he drank alcohol at will during his father’s mourning.

That was all the trivial news.

Kwak Seung-woo himself would be wailing if this fact was known, but it can’t be seen as a major intelligence.

But if it’s not just Hogun, but a Jeongseung [Prime Minister] or Panseo [Minister], or if the crime committed is more serious, the story will be completely different.

Yi Bang-won seemed to have noticed that.

“Hmm, it seems more useful than I thought.”

Yi Bang-won said, stroking his beard.

“Good. I’ll take charge of managing it.”

“Yes, use it as you wish. But…”

“But?”

“Still, I’ll take the profits.”

I have to make up for the money I spent buying it in Hanseongbu.

===

I called Baek Dal-won and had him find a chief manager to manage Yesangjeong.

The chief manager oversees the overall administration and finance, so if you grasp this, you can grasp all the money that comes in and out of Yesangjeong.

Yi Bang-won didn’t ask me to hand over the chief manager position either.

Since the Yesangjeong issue was roughly settled, I returned to the original duties of Hanseongbu.

“The private slaves Sil-gu-ji and Park-jil raped their master, but the woman ran away and reported it to Hanseongbu… They’re complete bastards. Immediately interrogate them to find out the truth, cough, cough.”

My throat was parched as I was dealing with official duties.

“Um, a cup of tea.”

When I asked without taking my eyes off the documents, someone soon came with tea.

It was our Hanseongbu intern, Jang Yeong-sil.

I widened my eyes when I saw Jang Yeong-sil.

It wasn’t because I was happy to see him again.

“No, Yeong-sil. What happened to your face?”

The face of the kid I hadn’t seen in a while was bruised and battered.

‘Could it be workplace bullying?’

The silhouette of a perpetrator taking out his fist and a victim crouching and trembling that I saw on the news was drawn in my head.

‘Who bullied him?’

Even though he’s a young guy, he’s being taken advantage of, but he’s smart and kind, so there’s no reason to be hated.

‘No, workplace bullying doesn’t necessarily mean that the victim is the cause.’

I jumped up and grabbed Yeong-sil’s shoulders and shook him.

“Who made you like this, huh? Tell me!”

“Cough, cough!”

Seeing him making strange noises and unable to speak, my anger soared even more.

How much did he get beaten to only make these screams?

‘Who dares to make my precious slave… no, subordinate like this?’

When I glared at the Hanseongbu officials, they quickly cowered.

“Your Highness, we, we didn’t do it.”

“We didn’t do it either.”

“If it’s not all of you, then who is the culprit?”

‘I didn’t want to do this far.’

I decided to use the method that experts used to find criminals in modern times.

“Everyone kneel down and get on the desk and close your eyes…”

“It’s the Gi-in [local students]!”

Jang Yeong-sil suddenly shouted.

Because of that, my words were cut off, but I was more interested in Jang Yeong-sil’s words.

“What, who?”

I grabbed Jang Yeong-sil and asked.

Jang Yeong-sil was embarrassed by my questioning and barely opened his mouth.

“Sniff, the, the eccentrics in the workshop…”

“Eccentrics?”

I was reminded of a show like Eccentric People that was on cable TV.

Is it the one that jumps between buildings and swallows fire?

Well, hitting a normal person is an eccentricity, so the person who does that can be called an eccentric.

“Eccentric, eccentric…”

As I kept muttering like that, Lee Cheon quickly approached and whispered.

“Gi-in (其人) refers to the sons of Hyangri [local officials] who are in Seoul.”

“The sons of Hyangri who came up from the provinces?”

Saying that, there was something that came to mind.

‘Sasimgwan [private administration] and Gi-in system?’

It was a set of words in my head that had been trained with the Korean History Proficiency Test memorization method.

Gi-in was a policy of taking the sons of influential people as hostages and having them stay in the capital.

I know it well because I worked hard to memorize it so as not to confuse it with the Silla Sangsuri system [hostage system of Silla dynasty].

It’s definitely a Goryeo’s [previous dynasty] policy to control the local magnates… but this is the Joseon Dynasty [current dynasty]?

Are they still around?

End

ⓒ Pitkong