Chapter 3
- Hosting Guests (1)
Two men on horseback were heading towards Donuimun (the West Gate of Hanyang Fortress).
Their attire was excessively luxurious, boasting silk Korean Traditional Coats of vibrant colors and jade beads adorning their gat strings, as if deliberately flaunting their high status.
The soldiers guarding Donuimun seemed to recognize them from their attire alone, bowing deeply enough to break their backs.
"His Majesty's worries seem to be growing day by day."
The middle-aged man leading the way muttered to himself, and the younger man following behind responded.
"Isn't it because disloyal subjects are hiding their true intentions and harboring two minds?"
"Rotten fruit must be removed as soon as possible to prevent the others from spoiling."
As if waiting for those roundabout words, the corners of the young man's lips subtly lifted.
"I have heard that hosting guests is fundamental to the literati. Isn't receiving envoys from foreign countries ultimately the same as hosting guests? If we think that way, there might be a way to discern those among the literati who lack the proper qualifications."
"Hahaha, hearing that makes me even more curious about how Grandee Hong, our esteemed Governor of Gyeonggi, will host his guests."
Stroking his beard and laughing heartily, Im Sa-hong, the Vice Minister of Public Works, had eyes that gleamed sharply like a bird of prey eyeing its prey.
"...I, too, have high expectations."
Royal Secretary Im Soong-jae, following behind, also had a strange glint in his eyes.
"Something terrible has happened!"
A female servant from the Gyeonggi Provincial Office rushed across the yard towards the main house from the morning.
"Master, something terrible has happened!"
Hong Eon-guk, who had opened the paper door halfway and was leaning out, asked,
He seemed to be tidying his attire in preparation for the upcoming visit of important guests.
"What is it?"
The female servant hesitated for a moment, as if reluctant to speak, before opening her mouth.
"...It seems something has happened in the kitchen..."
"What happened?"
Hong Eon-guk threw open the paper door and rushed out barefoot before she could finish speaking.
He hadn't even put on his hat properly, but that wasn't important.
"What do you mean the cooks and kitchen staff are gone?"
"J-Just as I said..."
"Speak clearly! Did they suddenly disappear into the ground?"
The female servant continued, looking as if she was about to cry.
"I went to check the embers in the stove this morning, but there was no sign of anyone in the kitchen. When I went to the servants' quarters, the cooks and kitchen staff had already packed their belongings and disappeared. It seems they ran away at dawn..."
"Ahem..."
Hong Eon-guk frowned.
The guests who were visiting today were none other than the powerful Im family, who could make even a flying bird fall from the sky.
Im Sa-hong, the father, was a seasoned power broker who had held various key positions since the previous King's reign.
Moreover, his son, Im Soong-jae, was married to King's half-sister, Princess Hwi-suk,
In other words, he was the 'King's brother-in-law,' so it was no wonder he wielded power comparable to royalty.
Furthermore, Im Soong-jae was a childhood friend of the King, who was known for his ferocity.
It was said that more than one or two families had been ruined by them finding fault.
They were especially picky about hosting guests, particularly when it came to meals.
No matter how much effort was put into preparing the table, they would always point out some deficiency.
Once the Im family found fault, one had to appease them with massive bribes, and if one couldn't afford it, one would be stripped of their official position or even subjected to interrogation.
'The cooks and kitchen staff who were supposed to prepare the food for those atrocious Im family members must have been terrified and ran away...'
The female servant cautiously asked Hong Eon-guk, who was frowning deeply.
"Master, what should we do...?"
After pondering for a while, Hong Eon-guk seemed to remember something and called for a male servant of the Provincial Office.
"Deok-chul, is Deok-chul there?"
"Yes, Master."
Deok-chul, the head of the male servants, rushed over, and Hong Eon-guk pointed to one end of the Provincial Office.
"What were the charges against those men the police brought in the other day?"
"The other day, you say...?"
"You know, those men they caught near Baegun Valley in Pocheon."
Deok-chul replied as if he finally understood.
"Ah, you mean those guys who were illegally setting up platforms and doing business in the valley?"
"If they were doing business in the valley, they must have been selling food."
"That's right. What else would they sell there? They sold illegal liquor and meat. And even the food they sold was a scam. They pretended it was black goat meat for health, but they were actually selling boiled dog meat..."
The so-called sheep's head, dog meat. A time-honored scam that has been around since the Spring and Autumn period.
When dog meat is boiled, its texture is not easily distinguished from expensive black goat meat, so it can be sold for several times its value.
But what Hong Eon-guk read from those words seemed to be something different.
"Go and secretly tell the officer to bring those men out of prison."
"Yes? What did you say?"
"...And release their shackles and send them to the kitchen. I'll take care of the rest."
"But... What exactly are you planning to do?"
"Hurry! There's no time!"
"But Master, privately releasing prisoners is against the law. If it gets to the Governor's ears, it won't end with just a scolding."
Hong Eon-guk's eyes narrowed sharply.
"You fool! Are you saying we should just stand idly by while the Im family arrives? Do you really want to see the entire Provincial Office in chaos? Move quickly!"
"A... Alright, Master."
Deok-chul, intimidated by Eon-guk's fierce attitude, hurriedly ran towards the Provincial Office's prison.
It felt like something was noisy from the morning.
Ji-young, who had spent the night with her eyes open because she was not used to sleeping on a pile of straw, slowly raised her upper body.
'Ugh!'
As she raised her body, she heard a cracking sound from her waist and felt a surge of pain.
She couldn't even stretch out properly because of the large thief-like man next to her, who was spreading his legs wide.
"Excuse me... Mister. Could you move over a little? It's already cramped, and if you're taking up all the space by yourself like that..."
When Ji-young cautiously spoke to the large man, she was immediately met with a curse.
"What the hell is this? Some strange bitch is being unlucky from the morning."
"...What, what did you say?"
Ji-young felt a surge of anger.
She was already confused with all sorts of things on her mind, and now someone was suddenly picking a fight with her.
"This guy is really... Just because I'm being quiet doesn't mean you can take me lightly... Do you think I don't have a temper? I feel like I'm going crazy right now too?"
"This one's courting death."
The large man raised his shackled hands threateningly, but Ji-young wasn't one to bat an eye.
"Oh my, are you going to hit me? You're already a criminal, are you going to commit more crimes? Should I call the guards?"
The large man's face turned red and blue, contorting in anger,
At this moment, another voice was heard from the corner.
"Aigoo~ I'm sorry. Our brother has a lot of pent-up anger. Let's understand each other nicely, shall we?"
A man with a small build and rat-like whiskers, who had been obscured by the large man, intervened with a grinning smile.
"I'm late to introduce myself, I'm Bong Seondal, who travels all over the country. But you just said something a little hurtful. You said we were caught after committing a crime... We didn't commit any crimes. It's just that there was a small misunderstanding while doing business."
"Ah, yes, yes... I'm sure that's the case."
It seemed that con artists, whether hundreds of years ago or now, always had the same repertoire.
Thinking that, she tried to brush it off nonchalantly.
"But..."
The man who introduced himself as Bong Seondal stared at Ji-young's face with curious eyes.
"I heard that you suddenly appeared in the river near Mapo Dock, is that true? People are calling you a ghost woman..."
It seemed that the rumors had already reached the ears of this quick-witted man.
"So?"
"If that's true, you must have some special talent. I've heard a strange rumor before..."
At this moment, before Bong Seondal could finish speaking, the sound of guards rushing in was heard from outside the prison gate.
"Alright, move quickly! Get out here!"
In an instant, the sound of a lock being opened was heard, and the prison gate opened.
At the same time, guards in black coats began dragging the prisoners out.
"W-What is this?"
"Where are you taking us? You should at least explain."
Judging by the way they were suddenly being dragged out, it didn't seem like anything good was going to happen.
The prisoners, terrified, stubbornly refused to leave, so the guards beat them with wooden clubs and dragged them out forcibly.
Soon, Ji-young, who was left alone in the prison, caught the eye of the prison guard.
"Hey, is that one of them too?"
"N-No, I have nothing to do with this-..."
"Aigoo, that's right!"
Just as Ji-young was about to explain, a sly voice suddenly intervened. It was Bong Seondal.
"......?"
"That woman is... well, she's our boss. Practically speaking."
"......Yes?"
"You have to... come with us, sister."
Ji-young's eyes widened in disbelief at Bong Seondal's words.
At the same time, before she could even determine the truth, the prison guard's rough hand grabbed Ji-young's arm and dragged her away.
The prisoners who had been dragged out of prison were now tied together like a string of dried fish and began to be dragged somewhere.
Ji-young, with a dumbfounded expression, cried out softly to Bong Seondal, who was tied up with her.
"W-What is this all about?"
"Well, how should I put it, it feels like it would be safer to stick with you, that kind of feeling..."
Bong Seondal replied with a annoyingly relaxed face.
It seemed that his ability, if it could be called that, was to always maintain composure even in a crisis.
'Ha... So frighteningly brazen...!'
Ji-young couldn't help but stick out her tongue.
Eventually, the dragged prisoners were thrown into another place.
This space that she had entered by accident.
Before Ji-young's eyes, a scene unfolded that was both unfamiliar and familiar.
A stove with flames occasionally overflowing from the firebox, several cauldrons hanging above it, and white porcelain and bronze bowls lined up in the cupboard.
'It's really... a Joseon Dynasty kitchen.'
How much she had wanted to see this scene with her own eyes while studying ancient cookbooks.
And now that scene was unfolding in front of her in real life.
Ji-young was briefly immersed in her emotions when she heard a realistic clearing of throat from behind.
"Ahem."
Turning around, she saw Hong Eon-guk, the very person who had brought Ji-young to this Gyeonggi Provincial Office yesterday, standing there.
"Please forgive me for bringing you here so suddenly. But if you just finish this task, I promise to specially pardon you in consideration of your hard work."
At those words, a sudden commotion began among the prisoners.
Pardon.
It was definitely a word that made the prisoners' ears perk up.
But, pardon was just a word, and it wasn't that simple.
What kind of work were they going to be assigned that would warrant a pardon?
Bong Seondal was the first to narrow his eyes and ask.
"...What exactly are you trying to make us do?"
The prisoners' suspicious gazes began to focus on Hong Eon-guk alone.
Then, an unexpected word popped out of his mouth.
"From now on, you will have to... prepare food."
※Author's Note
The small Im is Soong-jae,
The big Im is Sa-hong.
Xiao Ren Chong carries a great responsibility, Hong
The greatest traitor in history.
The eternal villain is the most powerful.
This is a passage describing Im Sa-hong and Im Soong-jae, father and son, recorded in the records of the time.
