Chapter 62
Part 12. Stepping on the Line
“Damn it!”
The inkstone he hurled shattered into pieces.
The expressions of the aides gathered in the office darkened.
“It seems you suffered under the Second Young Master’s temper during the meeting after all?”
Lately, the Second Young Master’s mood had already been strangely unpleasant because of that damned rumor.
The man who had thrown the inkstone flew into a rage.
“You should call him our lord! Our lord! Do you still think you are some hunting dog wandering around Jiangnan?!”
The one who was shouted at flinched, lowered his head, and stepped back.
One of those who had been gauging the mood sighed and stepped forward.
“In the end, the issue is retrieving the Sword Clan bronze plaque that was lost when Geumju went missing.”
The superior currently losing his temper was none other than the strategist who had pushed for Geumju to be granted the Sword Clan bronze plaque.
“Damn it! If that Dark Heaven Venerable One or whatever he is was going to kill that woman, he should have just killed her. Why the hell did he have to take the bronze plaque too?!”
Because of that, the situation had become extremely troublesome for him.
In Luoyang, which was ruled by the Luoyang Sword Clan, he had never imagined that anyone would dare directly harm the holder of a Sword Clan bronze plaque.
And on top of that, even the Sword Clan bronze plaque itself had gone missing.
It was an utterly absurd situation.
After throwing a fit by himself for a while and smashing expensive objects, he finally exhausted himself and sank back into his seat.
“…I swear on the name of Han Myeong-hwi, I will tear that bastard into a thousand pieces, no, ten thousand pieces.”
His close aides slowly gathered back around Han Myeong-hwi.
“We have sent out our best trackers, so there should be word soon.”
“Yes, that is right. We should be able to smooth this over somehow before the main clan’s Inspection Department steps in.”
At present, they had used the Second Young Master’s influence to block the Inspection Department’s movements.
If this matter became public, the Second Young Master’s name would be dragged into it from all sides.
“…Mobilize as many people as we possibly can.”
Han Myeong-hwi placed both arms on the desk and covered his face.
“Yes. We will deploy every tracker we can spare.”
Struggling to maintain his composure, he opened his mouth.
“You are investigating the source of the rumor about that Swordless bastard, are you not?”
The aide in charge of that matter stepped forward and answered cautiously.
“Yes, but tracking it is difficult. Everyone everywhere is stirring things up trying to confirm the rumor…”
Their informants had become frightened.
“This is undoubtedly the work of a professional…”
Han Myeong-hwi stroked his beard.
“Have you checked outside the main clan?”
The aide shook his head.
“Would the rumors circulating outside not ultimately have their source in the main clan?”
Another aide crossed his arms and answered.
“So many people enter and leave the main clan every day. The rumor must have gone outside through them.”
Han Myeong-hwi shook his head.
“No. If that were the case, the rumors circulating on the streets of Luoyang would inevitably have become distorted, either exaggerated or embellished with things that were never there.”
One aide flipped through the documents he was holding.
“…Now that you mention it, the rumors outside are nearly identical to those circulating within the main clan.”
Han Myeong-hwi’s eyes narrowed.
“That undoubtedly means there are people carrying out operations outside as well. Find them.”
“Ah, but we are already short on manpower for the internal investigation…”
Han Myeong-hwi clicked his tongue.
“Did you not say that it would be difficult to obtain proper results inside anyway?”
The aide quickly understood Han Myeong-hwi’s meaning.
“Ah! Then we will focus the current internal investigation personnel on the external investigation.”
“Exactly.”
Another person stepped forward.
“I have a few useful acquaintances outside, so I will have them help.”
“Good.”
“If the rumor is spreading in largely the same form across the vast land of Luoyang, it may mean the source of the rumor has sufficient credibility.”
“Hm. Then we must check merchant organizations, people connected to the main clan, and information brokers without fail.”
“Excellent.”
Han Myeong-hwi’s mood seemed to ease slightly.
This was the organization he had built by carefully selecting only skilled individuals.
It was only natural that his mood improved whenever they showed themselves to be quick and experienced.
Leaning back, he asked,
“…From what I heard at the meeting, it seems they finished verifying the information that all the ears planted around the Fourth Young Master had been cut off.”
One aide stepped forward.
“Yes, we confirmed it as well. They all vanished on the same day, at the same time. Their bodies have not been found either.”
Han Myeong-hwi snorted.
“No matter how young he may be, he is a little snake that inherited the Tang Clan’s blood. There is no way he would leave corpses behind.”
“Now that you mention it…”
One of the aides smiled darkly.
“Strategist Choi must have been utterly torn apart at the meeting.”
“The Fourth Young Master was under Strategist Choi’s private faction’s responsibility, was he not?”
At those words, Han Myeong-hwi chuckled.
“His head nearly burst open.”
They all exchanged laughter in a harmonious atmosphere.
The failure of another private faction might not become the success of their own, but at the very least, it could make them happy.
“Attention.”
Han Myeong-hwi tapped the desk.
All his aides stopped laughing and turned their gazes toward him.
“Use this incident as an opportunity, and make sure none of you forget.”
Han Myeong-hwi rose from his seat.
“We always obtain correct information, accurately grasp the situation, and take preemptive measures before a problem grows larger.”
That was Han Myeong-hwi’s personal creed, the creed of his private faction, and also the creed of the strategists on the Second Young Master’s side as a whole.
It was a method that required an enormous amount of resources.
However, just like the Third Young Master at present, the Second Young Master received tremendous support from his maternal family, which was what made such a method possible.
“No further mistakes will be tolerated. Is that understood?”
Everyone answered loudly.
“Good. Then…”
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Then a scholar answered in confusion.
“I do not know the details, as my rank is low, but I heard that this rumor has a definite source.”
“What?”
***
“Come in!”
The one who appeared was a scholar from the Second Young Master’s side.
He carefully opened the door, entered, and handed Han Myeong-hwi a note.
After unfolding the note, Han Myeong-hwi’s eyebrows twisted.
“Another rumor about Swordless…”
He asked the scholar,
“I suppose the source of this rumor has not been identified either?”
A woman dressed in apprentice maid’s attire wore a blank expression.
“Are you saying that is true?”
The young man in silk clothes sighed.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The woman and the other apprentice maids around her made a fuss.
“Oh my, then what will happen?”
“What about the First Young Master’s book payments…”
“What could the people of the Inner Court be thinking?”
It was a story that the Inner Court had refused to pay Yeon Sang-hyeon’s book broker.
The young man in silk clothes sighed deeply once more and said,
“Originally, I should not speak of such things elsewhere, but because I have a connection with all of you, I am opening my heart.”
“Of course.”
“Were we not acquainted in Luoyang’s social circles even before entering the Luoyang Sword Clan?”
They were the wealthy young women who had recently been thoroughly disciplined by Jeong-ah in front of the Housekeeping Department.
At present, they had been demoted back to apprentice maids and were undergoing reeducation.
“Alas, I repeatedly asked them to take care of this, and yet in the end, such a thing has happened.”
The young man in silk clothes gazed sadly at the distant mountains.
“What in the world should be done about this?”
The apprentice maids did their best to comfort the dejected man, then left him behind on the pretext of their training schedule.
Once they had put enough distance between themselves and him, the queen bee of the group smiled nastily.
“Hmph. She acted so high and mighty in front of us, saying she was the head maid of Wongakjeong.”
The other apprentice maids also mocked openly.
“To think she would be ignored by the Inner Court, which is supposed to serve the direct bloodline.”
“This tells us exactly what kind of position the First Young Master holds in the Sword Clan.”
“She acted as if she were so impressive, but now things have become quite laughable.”
Just then, a group passed by, and the women hurriedly stepped aside and bowed their heads.
By now, they could at least distinguish between what could be said aloud and what could not.
“By the way, that gentleman seems to grow more handsome by the day.”
They were speaking of the young man in silk clothes they had just parted from.
“Whenever he attended social gatherings in Luoyang in the past, he was always tremendously popular.”
“He is also from the direct line of the Kaifeng Yeon Family.”
“And he is an etiquette advisor of the Outer Court.”
“Ah, if only I could be engaged to someone like him…”
At that moment, another group passed by them.
They stepped aside again and bowed their heads.
***
“Yeon Ha-ong, is it? Shall we summon him in his true name and have a conversation with him?”
“If he is merely a collateral-line honorary official, he will wet himself the moment he sees the Second Young—no, our lord’s pavilion.”
“He will spill everything without us even having to press him.”
Han Myeong-hwi’s subordinates giggled and laughed.
“There is no need.”
Han Myeong-hwi shook his head.
“He has always been one of those who frequently came and went from Wongakjeong. It would not be strange even if he knew the internal circumstances.”
They had already identified all of Wongakjeong’s regular visitors.
“And besides, his nickname itself is…”
When Han Myeong-hwi trailed off, one of his aides quickly picked up the words.
“‘Rumor on Legs,’ is it not?”
Han Myeong-hwi nodded.
“Exactly. He is somewhat unusual, but at his core he is nothing more than a lover of gossip. Do not provoke the Outer Court for no reason.”
This rumor did not seem to be related to their duties.
“Then we will go and simply carry out a brief confirmation.”
“Do that. But do not be rude. No matter that he was driven out of his own family, he is still the older brother of the current young patriarch of the Kaifeng Yeon Family.”
***
At that time, at the front gate of Wongakjeong.
Yeon Sang-hyeon appeared, dressed as always in plain white clothes.
“We greet the First Young Master.”
Behind him followed Jeong-ah and the triplet maids, dressed in splendid outdoor attire.
Their complexions could hardly be called good, even as empty praise.
“Are you going out?”
The Death Shadow Sword, who had been warming himself in the waiting room by the front gate, hurriedly came out.
If Yeon Sang-hyeon was going out, then as his guard, he could not be absent.
“No. There is no need for you to follow.”
Leaving only those words behind, Yeon Sang-hyeon lightly stepped outside the front gate.
Jeong-ah and the maids, their expressions stiff, followed him.
Among the triplets, Sam-ryeong watched the head maid’s mood, stayed behind, and informed him of the situation.
“The Inner Court refused to pay for the First Young Master’s books…?”
The Death Shadow Sword’s mouth fell open.
The surrounding colleagues heard the story and openly burst into laughter.
Sam-ryeong shot them a fierce glare, making them stop laughing, then shook her head.
“Fortunately, we were able to resolve the matter with the book broker before the rumor spread outside the main clan.”
The Death Shadow Sword let out a low sigh.
“That is a relief.”
Inside the clan, Yeon Sang-hyeon’s name had nowhere further to fall.
But it would not be welcome for Yeon Sang-hyeon’s name to fall even lower outside the clan than it already had.
“Then the place the First Young Master is heading to now is…”
Sam-ryeong nodded.
“He is going to the Inner Court.”
The Death Shadow Sword’s face turned pale.
“W-what is he planning to do…?”
“I do not know either.”
Sam-ryeong shrugged.
“Master merely said that he was going to ‘step on the line.’”