Translator: Sin | Editor: Nebosuke
“Chief Wang, do you play jokes?”
The tone suddenly changed to normal. However, what was scarier than the way he spoke was the overwhelming force emanating from the whole body of the super-high master, Lee Jong-san. Wang In-tak was intensely anxious.
“What……does it mean?”
“Did you think I’d give you a thousand dollars if you came to me after you made my son the first winner in the exam?”
“Boss, there’s something you misunderstood…….”
Bang!
“Shame on you!”
Wang In-tak’s heart sank to the vibration of the table that Lee Jong-san hit, and his ears seemed to be deafened by the subsequent rumblings.
“I am well aware that Chief Wang has been engaged in selling jobs and positions to the children of rich men. But I didn’t know you’d even play tricks on me. Do I really need to make sure that I can divest you of your official rank?”
The position of chief official of Hangzhou-bu was almost comparable to the emperor.
However, even the old officials who went through all the hardships of their lives would suffer if they had a private meeting with the top master of martial arts.
In particular, Lee Jong-san’s family, which had deep connections with the royal family since its ancestors, had enough power to divest and confer the position of Chief official of Hangzhou-bu.
The royal family, which had been planted and managed by Yi Jong-san’s family since King Seonjo’s reign, could have blown away the neck of the Hangjubu branch in a day or reattached it.
But Wang In-tak knew that he deserved to be loud no matter what today.
He managed to pull up the remaining courage from the depths of his stomach and said, “To be honest, I came here because I thought I could get some benefit. But I swear I didn’t make your son the first winner to get a bribe.”
“You’ll go to the end?”
“That’s true. Even if there was a way, I would have put your third son up, not your fourth one. Because it will be much less suspicious to people. Isn’t that right?”
“Did you know my third son took the exam?”
“Of course, he was eliminated in the first round where half were kicked out.”
“How many students were there in all?”
“It’ll be about twenty thousand.”
“How did you know he was among the 20,000 Confucian scholars? Even he was eliminated in the first round. Were you such a diligent official who looked at the list of dropouts?”
At this point, Wang In-tak became slightly angry. He shouted loudly, “Someone came to see me!”
“Who?”
“The chief agent of Mangum Loan Shark visit me. The night before the government exam, with a moneybag full of silver, I’ll only have to check what grades your son made to pay for it!”
Mangum Loan Shark was a usury business with branches in 29 cities throughout the continent. The master of the business was Lee Byung-ryong’s maternal grandfather.
Although the owner of Mangum Loan Shark spent money so easily, he was not a man who would touch such a cowardly job.
Of course, Lee Byung-ryong asked his mother for a favor, and she would have visited his father and stubbornly persisted to help her son.
The tragedy was created by the desire to cheer on their child, who was relatively lacking compared to the two older brothers with marriage with a daughter of Suhyangmun.
‘It’s karma!’
In the past, Lee Jong-san also had to wage a bloody war against his five brothers to take Cheonryong Pyoguk in his hand.
So, he married three women of prominent families. He was now paying the price.
“It would have been a lot easier if he had passed the first round. I spent a lot of money trying to persuade and move the judges.”
“What else does that mean?”
“I also made your third son finally pass the exam. He ranked 193rd out of 200 successful applicants. That was the best I could do. He seemed quite disappointed when I saw him earlier, but don’t let him be too disappointed because the post will be spread all over Hangzhou by tomorrow.”
“Hey, Chief Wang!”
“I couldn’t help it either. You might know that Mangum Load Shark was secretly feeding the royal officials money through the usury trade. I have no qualms in denying their request.”
“Are you confident that you can handle me?”
“It has been a long-standing custom for me to always leave about 30 people for the children of the high and distinguished officials. You don’t have to be so serious because I took one of their tickets. It’s already spilled water.”
Among the ten thieves, nine of them were officials. Lee Jong-san was angry, but on the other hand, he was despondent.
“Would you like to see this?”
“What is this?”
“The answer is from your fourth son. The original is being kept at the government office, and this is a copy that was made in a hurry. I brought it because I thought you would be curious.”
Lee Jong-san, who unfolded the paper, slowly read it.
Deep learning, rich insight, insight into the status quo, and the ability to put these things into sentences logically.….
Even before he read half of it, Lee Jong-san clicked his tongue.
“You really think he wrote this?”
“Isn’t that surprising?”
“That’s ridiculous…….”
“Hahaha. It is said that we give birth to the outside, not inside. No matter if we are fathers, we don’t know all our children. Hahaha.”
Wang In-tak was worried that Lee Jong-san might be upset again, so he worked hard to brighten up the mood.
Lee Jong-san was completely out of his mind. To him, his fourth son, Lee Jeong-ryong, had a crooked finger.
His body was like a piece of wood, so he could not learn martial arts, and his head was a lump of stone, so Confucius and Mencius were not embedded.
He was such a heartbroken child to leave him alone, and a child who could not be taught.
However, he suddenly discovered one of the long-standing problems of Pyoguk, and after a few days, he won first place in the government exam.
The boss couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. Did he meet the Sea God when he jumped into the West Lake?
“The two are now able to apply for the public exam in Beijing as applicants. If either of them were to win the first place…….”
Nothing else could be heard. Many Pyoguks, including the Cheonryong Pyoguk, have long had the custom of hiring local top students as their messengers in the name of sponsoring poor Confucian scholars.
The purpose is, of course, to benefit from the Confucian scholars who passed the state examination and were appointed to receive them throughout the central districts of the country. And they are called “Elite Messenger”.
But his son became the applicant. He didn’t even want his son to win the first place in the exam.
However, if God helps him pass the examination as he said, his son will get the Jinsa (a person who has only passed the first examination for office) and at least be assigned to a mayor of a county town.
He thought it wouldn’t be bad if one of his sons had a career working for the government.
In particular, Jeong-ryong did not know any martial arts and had no reliable maternal family, so entering government service may be the only way for him to make his career.
In addition, he doesn’t have to fight for succession with his brothers. Lee Jong-san said while returning the copy, “Hem! I think I’ve made a mistake.”
“Now can you get me a drink? Hahaha.”
Wang In-tak breathed a sigh of relief into his heart. Although he failed to get something in return for good news, it was fortunate that he did not take off his official uniform.
“How many posts do you plan to placard?”
“It is not customary to attach about a hundred copies.”
“……”
“……but the custom always changes into something new. This is the first time in 20 years that Hangzhou has unanimously adopted the top score pass, so this year, about 1,000 copies…….”
“……”
“……and then hand them out to ten patrols, and then to every corner of nearby cities, including Soju and Yangju, as well as Hangzhou.”
In the end, it’s just a number that he just spoke without consideration. Ten thousand would be ten thousand, but the murder of a scoundrel who killed nearly a hundred people and disappeared in Jiangxi had not been so much done.
The mere thought of when to transcribe them all and when to put them all together made him feel dizzy. Hiring transcription people for 10,000 pages won’t be enough, so he thought it’d be better to engrave a woodblock.……
To cool the burning stomach, Wang In-tak drank the tea on the table at once.
As soon as he put the teacup down, in front of him was a small money bag that had not been there a moment ago.
“What is this?”
“Open it, please.”
When he opened it, it was full of gold coins. There were roughly 50 gold coins.
“Why would you give this……?”
“It would cost a lot of money to get 10,000 posts for the patrols’ salary and paper expenses. It’s all due to my stupid son, so I think I should pay for it.”
Lee Byung-ryong’s maternal family brought 50 silver coins in return for letting him pass the exam.
However, Lee Jong-san is offering 50 gold coins in return for attaching a few more posts for his son, who already won first place in the exam.
Even though they both spent money easily, they are different in capacity and style.
Wang In-tak opened his mouth wide. Lee Jeong-ryong, the pretty boy, took first place in Hangzhou where Wang was in charge and gave him sudden wealth.
“I’ll try to make good use of it.”
“I’ll buy alcohol in a good place next time.”
“Hmm? Oh, I forgot I had an appointment. Then I’ll see you next time.”
Wang In-tak stood up and greeted him as if he were dealing with his master. Then, he held the moneybag in his arms and disappeared as if someone was trying to steal it.
***
“What kind of surprise is this? How did you win first place in the exam? Ah, I thought you were too pathetic. Kill me.”
Then, Jang-sam pulled his neck out.
“Don’t make a fuss. My heart is pounding right now, too. I expected to pass the exam, but I didn’t know I would win first place. Huh…….”
“You’ll have to take the public exam, right? If you pass it, at least you will become the mayor of the county town. Oh, my God. A mayor. I will be the servant of the mayor.”
“Why are you deciding my life?”
“That’s not what I decide. Isn’t that how it goes? Unless you’re not going to take the exam.”
“I’ve come this far, of course I’ll take the exam. But even if God helps me pass the exam, I won’t become a government official, so stop dreaming.”
“Why?”
“I told you, I’m going to be a messenger.”
“The elite messenger you mentioned last time?”
“I have received the edict. As soon as the identification card is issued, I will visit Great Janggwe and ask him to hire me as an elite messenger. He wouldn’t say no, would you?”
“That’s not the problem right now, is it? No, even if you fail the public exam. Of course, you should be a government official if you won first place in the local government exam. Why are you going to take the tough job of a messenger?”
“Because it’s cool.”