Chapter 351: The Feast Is Over (2)
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Right now, the Central Plains was wealthier than ever. That was only natural. Beijing might not have known, but materials coming from the Great Desert in the north and Luzon in the south were currently flowing in.
The abundant livestock products from the northern great grasslands and the gold and silver of Luzon became the key to breaking through the strained economic state of the Central Plains.
Naturally, tax revenues were bound to increase, resulting in both the imperial palace and the common people growing prosperous.
“If things continue like this, isn’t it a reign of peace and prosperity?”
Yeo Bul-jin asked. I gave him a subtle glance. Yeo Bul-jin awkwardly averted his eyes from me.
“It was a joke. For such a young friend to have such a fierce aura in his gaze.”
“I merely looked at you.”
I shrugged my shoulders. But this was a false prosperity. The reason for making them prosperous was so that when they fell, they would feel an even greater shock.
“How could a reign of peace and prosperity that excludes the people who do not suit their tastes truly be one?”
“I know, I know.”
Yeo Bul-jin was also a wise man, so he had to be aware of this imbalance of wealth. The imperial palace, which currently lacked great interest in the economy, likely thought things turned out this way because they performed well, but the hearts of the people were gathering toward the New Justice Association and the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company. The imperial palace was not aware yet, but once they realized it soon, a wind of blood would blow once more.
In that sense, the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company had been steadily purchasing ships. Even more than I had anticipated, in fact. Could it be that, at least regarding commerce, he had come to trust me completely?
After all, I was the one who had put an end to the decades-long rivalry between the Shanxi merchants and the Huizhou merchants. With the victory of the Huizhou merchants, led by the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company.
Aside from the rapid advance of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company, the withdrawal of the Guan Family’s Yunchang Merchant Company and the reduction of the Shanxi Four Families to three families, which shrank their very weight class, also played a part.
“They say the imperial palace, having suddenly seen an increase in tax revenues lately, throws feasts day after day. Since the treacherous officials beside him flatter the Emperor, claiming it is all thanks to his greatness, that is only natural. It seems there is no longer anyone left in the imperial palace who speaks the truth.”
Yeo Bul-jin tipped me off. As the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company expanded in size like this, quick-witted officials were already desperate to lend even a single hand to the company.
Usually, they were people who had fallen out of the mainstream promotion tracks in the imperial palace and were resigning to look for other paths in life.
Although they had belonged to the imperial palace, they were not on the Emperor’s side, so they naturally came to associate with the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company, and the information they brought in was quite valuable as well.
Among them, I was able to see a welcome face after a long time.
“I heard that the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company has been unusual lately, and it turns out you were behind it all along.”
He was Wang Song, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate who had helped me in the past.
Thanks to Wang Song, I had received salt certificates and even worked as a censor. Only a few years had passed, but so much had happened in the meantime that it had now become a distant story.
And people reunited through such distant memories were bound to feel glad to see each other.
“Have you been well?”
“I have been well. In the past, you seemed like a frail scholar, but now you have completely become a martial artist. Even when staying still, the aura emanating from you is sharp.”
Knowing that Wang Song and I shared a connection, Yeo Bul-jin arranged a private seat just for the two of us.
Our wine cups clinked against each other. Although I was not someone who enjoyed drinking to excess, there was nothing quite like alcohol to heighten the joy of a reunion.
“By the way, you must know that meeting with me privately like this is dangerous in itself. Am I not practically a public enemy of the martial world?”
“Calling you a public enemy of the martial world is just lip service; isn’t the imperial palace simply trying to strike you down? And as for being struck down by the imperial palace, I am in the same boat.”
“Is that so?”
I had expected it to some extent, but Wang Song had already been pushed aside from the mainstream of the imperial palace.
“Do you know what the imperial palace considers most important when promoting officials?”
“Would it not be achievements?”
“Haha. Indeed. If one is not an official, one would naturally think so.”
Wang Song smiled bitterly.
“It is that person’s past.”
Wang Song lowered his voice completely, as if sharing a secret.
“Their past?”
“Which family they come from, whom they associated with, whether they caused trouble, whether anyone who joined a rebellion is listed on their household register—things like that. Usually, the Eastern Depot conducts such investigations.”
“Ah. So that is how it is.”
Wang Song nodded and continued speaking.
“In my case, granting you the post of censor in the Censorate became an issue. Would it not be so? Since I recommended someone who is now called the greatest enemy of the imperial palace to court, it meant I lacked the discerning eye.”
“Then it seems I must apologize.”
“There is no need for that. Neither you nor I knew that the situation would turn out like this back then. In the end, that became a connection, allowing us to meet again like this, did it not?”
“If you see it that way, I am grateful.”
Wang Song was a man who possessed quite the demeanor of a great hero. Even if their intentions were not so, many people harbor hatred toward the person responsible when their fate becomes twisted because of someone, but Wang Song was not like that.
Indeed, it would be stranger if someone who had risen to the rank of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief in the Censorate lacked extraordinary aspects.
“Actually, that was not all. When that friend Hyeong Tae-seong was about to be executed, I tried to stop it by any means. I suppose I earned some disfavor there as well. When something gets in the way of one’s actions, it is human nature to want to remove it, is it not?”
“For ordinary people, that is true. Though if it is the Emperor who rules all the people of the Central Plains, he ought not to be that way.”
“Haha. Your words have a sharp edge. You are right.”
Even if I had not turned against the Emperor, I would have said the same. How could the one who rules be the same as an ordinary person?
We shared quite a lot of conversation besides that. From it, I could tell that Wang Song had completely abandoned his loyalty to the imperial palace.
Even if his influence had waned, having a high-ranking official of the Censorate alongside us would be a considerable strength.
“Although the Emperor’s eyes and ears are covered right now, others already harbor suspicions toward the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company. In particular, the feudal lords will be sensitive. As a central official, I have not heard anything directly, of course.”
Leaving that final piece of advice for me, Wang Song departed for Beijing once more.
If one asked whether Wang Song was a good person, that was not necessarily the case. We had merely united out of mutual interests once again.
Was that not the case for most people in this world? Did they not move by interests rather than conviction?
For now, I relayed the results of my meeting with Wang Song to the people of the New Justice Association.
“That was a part I was concerned about as well. We must certainly prepare for that aspect.”
Zhuge Yan said calmly.
“……I agree with Young Lady Zhuge’s words as well. Even though I hate to agree.”
“There is no need to add such words, Young Lady Peng. We are working right now, are we not?”
I was flustered by an unexpected turn of events. For some reason, ever since I returned from Gansu, a chilly atmosphere had been flowing between Zhuge Yan and Peng Chae-hyang. It was clearly a climate indicating they had argued.
“Did you two fight?”
At my words, Zhuge Yan and Peng Chae-hyang shook their heads simultaneously.
“Fight? As if I would do something so undignified.”
“No, Gege. We have never fought.”
Judging by the chill in their voices, it seemed certain that they had fought. However, since they did not wish to speak of it, I had no intention of prying.
“……I see.”
“In particular, the feudal lords on the frontiers will pay a great deal of attention. The further away from Beijing, the greater our influence becomes. Unlike the Emperor, they will be able to feel it firsthand.”
For some reason, Zhuge Yan approached without hesitation and pressed her body close to mine. I blinked and looked down at Zhuge Yan. She was so close that the crown of her head was in plain view.
Just then, Zhuge Yan snapped her head up and looked at me. Fortunately, thanks to the height difference, the tragedy of her head slamming into my chin did not occur.
“Association Master. Were you perhaps flustered?”
“……Mm.”
How should I answer? Rather than being flustered, it was closer to dumbfounded.
At that moment, Peng Chae-hyang caught my eye. For some reason, the one reacting more oversensitively than me was Peng Chae-hyang. Peng Chae-hyang clenched her fists, trembled, and then approached me with a fiercely determined expression.
“……Why are you doing that too?”
I asked in a tense state. Although I did not know what was what, I strongly felt that I should not be between these two people right now.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Because it is something I must tell you privately.”
Peng Chae-hyang gently loosened her ribbon tie. Her garment slid smoothly downward, subtly revealing her shoulder.
I doubted my own eyes. For a girl who had previously avoided even speaking properly with men to show such behavior, I could not help but be flustered.
I immediately stepped closer to Peng Chae-hyang and fastened her clothing tightly.
“What is wrong with you?”
“……Indeed.”
Peng Chae-hyang did not seem to know what she was doing either. Since this was not something the originally modest and gentle Peng Chae-hyang would do, there had to be some circumstance behind it.
“Both of you are being a bit strange right now.”
At my words, Peng Chae-hyang flinched.
“What is going on? Tell me. There must be a reason why you are acting like this.”
I asked, but Peng Chae-hyang shook her head from side to side.
“I cannot tell you this.”
“Shall I tell him?”
Zhuge Yan smiled. Peng Chae-hyang’s eyes instantly turned sharp like daggers.
“Do not say strange things, Young Lady Zhuge.”
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
Somehow, it felt as though Zhuge Yan was toying with Peng Chae-hyang. After all, even though both were young ladies of prestigious clans, Zhuge Yan had walked through the mud while Peng Chae-hyang had walked a relatively well-paved path, so a difference in their conversational skills was inevitable.
“Then speak, Young Lady Peng. Before I do.”
“From my own mouth?”
“Otherwise, I will do it.”
At Zhuge Yan’s decisive words, Peng Chae-hyang curled her lips inward.
Then, as if making up her mind, Peng Chae-hyang grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the meeting room.
“Good grief, having to go this far……”
Just before the door closed, Zhuge Yan’s mutter could be heard very faintly.
Peng Chae-hyang dragged me into another room where no presence of people could be felt. Upon entering the room, there was naturally nothing inside. It was a shabby storage-like place containing materials and blank paper.
Several months had passed since the fire on Mount Wudang, and the people of the Wudang Sect and the headquarters of the New Justice Association had now relocated to Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei Province.
It was because Song Hwan-yeong, the master of the East Lake Merchant Association, which had now become the foremost merchant association in Wuhan, had prepared a place for us.
Come to think of it, I had truly forged many new connections.
“You are thinking of something else, aren’t you?”
Peng Chae-hyang lifted her head in front of me and asked. Feeling a prick of conscience, I immediately lied.
“No?”
“I roughly know when Gege is lying. Even if it does not show, I can feel it.”
“That is just your assumption.”
“Since it is me, it is my assumption, of course.”
“True.”
Rarely did I find myself at a loss for words before Peng Chae-hyang. To think she was this logical. She had grown considerably.
“Do you remember back then? On Hachido.”
Hachido. Hachido referred to the time when we confronted the Great Toad of the Eastern Sea, that is, Uncle Zhu Mun-hwan who had lost his sanity. I remembered collapsing the island back then to save the others.
Come to think of it, Peng Chae-hyang had said back then that she had something she wanted to tell me. Did she say that since she might die anyway, she had something to say? At that time, she called me Young Master Muk instead of Gege.
“Yes. You said you had something to tell me.”
“You remember.”
Peng Chae-hyang smiled softly. She seemed pleased just from that alone.
“But when we returned and I asked you, didn’t you say you didn’t want to talk about it?”
“Back then, I couldn’t say it.”
“Does that mean you can tell me now?”
“……Somehow, I must try.”
What was she going to try by any means? Peng Chae-hyang’s eyes sparkled as if she had made a firm resolution on her own.
“First, I must tell you about the bet Young Lady Zhuge and I made. Otherwise, Young Lady Zhuge said she would tell you. Threatening me like that.”
Peng Chae-hyang grumbled.
“Still, I think I understand now. Why Young Lady Zhuge provoked me. Since she is quick-witted, I must have seemed frustrating to her.”
“What was?”
“First, listen. In any case, the bet I made with Young Lady Zhuge was nothing grand. It was a bet where whoever flustered Gege first while all three of us were present would win.”
Why do such a thing? But since she told me to just listen for now, I stayed still.
“As for why we made the bet, Young Lady Zhuge said first that she knew Gege better. But I took offense at that and said I knew you better. That is how the bet came to be.”
“Wouldn’t you actually know me better?”
After all, the years we spent together were twice as many as those with Zhuge Yan. Peng Chae-hyang shook her head.
“One can never know such things. Just because you look at the moon for a long time does not mean you can see its hidden far side, right?”
“Is that so?”
“That is what I think. Unless the moon turns its back to show us, we will never be able to see it. Human relationships are the same. There are aspects I absolutely do not want to show to this person, and if I wish to hide them, I can hide them. Especially since Gege is quite adept at such things.”
From Peng Chae-hyang’s words, I realized how deeply she had pierced through me. She truly seemed to understand me more deeply than Zhuge Yan.
“But you see, I have dared to become curious about the far side of the moon.”
Peng Chae-hyang let out a sigh. A sweet fragrance spread throughout the small room.
“So, please tell me.”
“……What?”
“Everything about Gege.”
“Why do you want to know that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Unlike usual, Peng Chae-hyang did not avoid my eyes. However, her face was redder than ever before.
“Because I like Gege—because I like you.”
As she spoke those words and looked up at me, Peng Chae-hyang’s gaze was beyond confident; it was outright challenging.