Translator: Sin | Editor: Nebosuke
‘What is this?’
Hundreds of messengers and porters gathered at the stable yard. Most seemed to be there except for those who had left for delivery.
All of a sudden, the chief official led 20 armed soldiers, including an edict bearer, into the villa, so everyone had to come out. How dare he rIde a horse.
However, instead of threatening the soldiers, the messengers and the porters were surrounded and watched to see what they could do.
It is partly due to the fact that the opponents are chief official and government troops, but they know it. Unless the Cheonryong Pyoguk seeks rebellion, the chief official of the Hangzhou office can never dare to do anything against the family.
When Lee Jong-san appeared with four sons, Wang In-tak, a 70-year-old official, finally got off his horse with pride.
Covered his fat body in colorful silk clothes, Wang In-tak laid his heart in walking a dozen steps toward Lee Jong-san.
Then he stood stiff and waited for Lee Jong-san to bow down first.
No matter how great the power of the Cheonryong Pyoguk is, the chief official who governs Hangzhou cannot greet civilians first.
“It’s been a long time. Chief.”
“How have you been doing, Boss?”
“By the way, what are you doing here at this hour?”
Lee Jong-san plunged at once into business. It was a remark that revealed his discomfort over Wang’s sudden visit without an appointment. Nevertheless, the chief official kept smiling.
“I can’t come here?”
“Of course, you can. You are always welcome. However, I was a little embarrassed because someone who would be busy on official business came without contacting me. I was told that you called me.”
“Oh, I think you have been misinformed. I did, but I was just asking if you were in Pyowang-bu now because I was thinking of meeting you and getting a drink. But I didn’t expect this to happen. Hahaha.”
“You mean you didn’t come to see me?”
“The office has come to deliver the edict to your family in accordance with the state law. Even though I thought it was rude, I was forced to ride a horse with soldiers and cross the border. The power of the Cheonryong Pyoguk is shaking the world, but it can’t be above the law, right?”
I clenched my fist at the word “edict.” As Lee Byung-ryong said, I sensed that it was related to the local government exam.
It was the same for Lee Jong-san, Lee Gap-ryong, and Eul-ryong, who were surprised. However, they stared at Lee Byung-ryong, not me, and opened their eyes wide.
They were all thinking, ‘You’ve passed the exam? Even with the top three scores?’
As the eyes of three people turned to Lee Byung-ryong, hundreds of people around also looked at him.
They didn’t know what happened, but they realized that it was not a bad thing and that Lee Byung-ryong was responsible for it.
Lee Byung-ryong, who received the attention of people including his older brothers and father, looked as if his heart was about to burst.
He repeated opening and closing his mouth, and clenching and opening his fist. He resembled a dog that wanted to go to the toilet.
There was no dog that had to go to the bathroom to keep his mouth shut, open, and roll his fist.
“To whom are you giving what edict?”
“That’s, of course, your son.”
“Hiik!”
The last short scream came from Lee Byung-ryong’s mouth. Realizing the situation belatedly, he covered his mouth with his hands like a woman.
Lee Jong-san glared at Lee Byung-ryong. However, it was not a rebuke, but rather a look of teaching that he should behave carefully in such a time.
Rather, Lee Jong-san’s eyes were burning with joy and delight.
It was the first time in the history of the Cheonryong Pyoguk that had a third-place winner or higher in the government exam.
How happy would he be to have his son pass the exam in his own time? Lee Jong-san looked at Wang In-tak again and asked calmly, “What do you mean……?”
“You know, three days ago, there was a government exam in the Hangzhou office. One of your sons excelled with his outstanding sentences, and I am here to deliver him the results according to the procedure. Although the edict bearer is supposed to lead the government troops, I came directly to honor your family, because we know each other well. Hahaha.”
Government exam, outstanding ability, excellent grades, edict……when the chief official uttered these words, the audience understood what was going on and began to rattle loudly.
Lee Byung-ryong shook his lips tightly with his eyes closed. I felt as if I could hear his brain spinning.
Lee Byung-ryong would think that passing the exam would put weight on his words, and that would lead to a renewed marriage.
But that won’t happen. If there is nothing different from his previous life, Lee Byung-ryong will pass the exam this time.
But it will be the last tenth of the 200 applicants. Even that was considered a miracle.
‘Then that edict is mine!’
Wang In-tak looked back and nodded. Then the edict bearer turned back and nodded again, and from long ago, soldiers got off the horse and waited, and they suddenly rushed out and began laying a large mat on the floor.
They put a small and high table and laid a bottle of liquor and glass made of jade that looked precious.
When all the preparations were complete, the edict bearer stepped onto the mat, opened the rolled-up edict with dignity, and began to read aloud.
“Lee Jung-ryong, born on the Buddha’s birthday in July in the Year of the Monkey as a son of Lee Jong-san, Dongsan-pyeong, Hangzhou-bu, come forward and receive the royal edict of the emperor!”
“……!”
“……!”
At this moment, I could not explain the expressions of Lee Jong-san, Lee Gap-ryong, and Lee Eul-ryong in words.
If I were to describe it, they looked as if their heads had been shot off by a canon.
Lee Byung-ryong…..?
Surprisingly, he was on the mat and stood facing the edict bearer with a table in between. Then, he tried his best to hold back his laughter and his lips closed like a chicken gizzard.
The people talked loudly. As soon as the edict bearer who did not know Lee Byung-ryong and me was about to read the edict, a surprised chief official quickly approached and whispered to him.
The edict bearer was also surprised, and he looked at Lee Byung-ryong’s feet and pointed with his chin as if he was telling him to leave the mat.
Only then did Lee Byung-ryong realize that something had gone wrong. He shouted ‘Ah!’ and left the mat, and, absurdly, took off his shoes and came back up again.
“Ah…….”
There was a sigh of grief among the spectators. Nevertheless, Lee Byung-ryong still seemed to have no idea what went wrong.
The embarrassed edict bearer again took up the edict and shouted loudly.
“Lee Jung-ryong was born as a son-in-law of Dongsanpyeong Lee Jong-san, a portman of Chopail, in July of the Year of the Apocalypse. Lee Jung-ryong, come forward and receive the edict!”
“Lee Jung-ryong, born on Buddha’s birthday of July in the Year of Monkey as a son of Lee Jong-san, Dongsan-pyeong, Hangzhou-bu…… Lee Jung-ryung, come forward and receive the royal edict of the emperor!”
“……!”
The color of Lee Byung-ryong’s face, which belatedly realized the whole situation, was gone.
He looked through me, my father, my brothers, and the crowd as if he could not believe the current situation, stayed there for a while, and then stepped back, shaking his legs.
It was pathetic and pitiful, but on the other hand, everyone shook their heads at the disgusting guy.
“Lee Jung-ryong, come forward and receive the edict!”
The edict bearer pulled his neck out and shouted again. Instead of Lee Byung-ryong, I slowly went up to the mat. Then I politely put my hands together.
“Confucian scholar Lee Jeong-ryong, ready to receive the edict.”
“Lee Jeong-ryong won the first place of the state examination held by the Hangzhou-bu office this month and was handed down this edict with three glasses of liquor…….”
“Wow!”
A sudden roar of shouting swallowed the next word of the notice.
Messengers and porters became crazy at the sudden news and shouted.
They must be surprised. They must wonder what’s going on. How surprised they must be that the youngest son, who lived the stupidest and most prodigal life in the Cheonryong Pyoguk, which is not a historic academy, but a martial art family, lived on a delivery commission.
But it was hard for me to control my overwhelming emotions. In my previous life, I was nothing more than a normal porter.
I had studied since I was young, but I dropped out in the middle, so I couldn’t go on to become a government official. I wanted to become a messenger when I became an adult, but I only dreamed about it because of my physical limitations of limping.
I was nothing in my previous life. But now I could do anything. I can be a messenger if I want, or I can be a government official. I wanted to climb up somewhere high and shout to my heart’s content.
“So, Lee Jung-ryong should visit the Hangzhou government office in person until the twentieth day of this month to receive a horn card of exam applicant, fifty rolls of silk, and a road pass to prove your identification as an exam applicant.”
Horn card is made of horn that only high-ranking government officials, noblemen, or exam passers could wear. Road pass was a travel certificate that allowed him to pass castle gates and gateways of each province easily.
Lee Gap-ryong and Lee Eul-ryong looked dumbfounded. They seemed to doubt that all of this is a lie.
Lee Byung-ryong, who was humiliated after fluttering his heart because the edict bearer came to him, was out of focus in his eyes. He was out of his mind now.
However, Lee Jong-san did not seem to be happy at all, unlike when he misunderstood as Lee Byung-san won first place.
On the contrary, he was full of anger that he had never had before. He waited for all the proceedings to be completed and then spoke quietly, but in a powerful voice, to the chief official.
“Shall we talk?”