Chapter 65
Part 15: Blind Money
The office was located in the deepest part of the main building of the Inner Court.
Here, one could not find anything so crude as a low-grade brazier.
Even so, the office was as warm as a spring day, and that was thanks to the heavy desk positioned in the center of the room.
The top of the enormous desk, large enough for two men to lie down and sleep on it, had Heat Sun Stones embedded within it, radiating a gentle warmth.
When the weather grew hotter, Cold Ice Stones would surely be swapped in for the Heat Sun Stones and set into the desktop instead.
A faint fragrance drifted in from the window, where sunlight entered through the private garden.
It came from the various aromatic tree bonsai lined up along the window.
They were bonsai carefully housed in celadon pots said to be precious even in Haedong.
A pair of obsidian scissors decorated with mother-of-pearl was delicately trimming one of the bonsai.
The hand holding the scissors was wrinkled all over, yet the skin was fair and soft, without a single callus to be found.
“…The First Young Master, personally?”
“Yes. The First Young Master is currently meeting with the Four Seasons steward in charge of Wongakjeong.”
The obsidian scissors shattered.
It was because his composure had been shaken.
In the first place, they were not made of a material suited to trimming hard aromatic trees.
Looking at the broken scissors, the old man clicked his tongue.
“Good grief…”
It was not because he felt regret over the scissors, whose price rivaled that of a respectable piece of art.
It was because he was displeased that his own composure had been disturbed.
The middle-aged man who had been reporting looked toward the scissors.
“That was the work of a master artisan, was it not?”
“Was it…?”
The old man threw away the broken scissors.
There was not the slightest hint of regret in the gesture.
“But I have many scissors.”
The old man opened the drawer of the table.
Inside, different pairs of obsidian scissors, each of a different shape, were arranged neatly.
Every single one was a work of art made by renowned craftsmen.
“If I need more, I can simply acquire them. No matter how expensive they may be, these are merely replaceable objects.”
The middle-aged man quietly listened to the old man’s words.
“And so…”
The old man closed the drawer.
“So long as my hand is not hurt, and so long as the bonsai is not damaged, that is enough.”
It was a meaningful remark.
“I shall keep that in mind.”
When the old man held out his hand, the middle-aged man respectfully handed him his cane.
Then he helped him put on his outer robe.
“I shall be away for a while, so handle matters properly.”
The middle-aged man bowed his head deeply.
“Yes, Chief Steward.”
Only the middle-aged man remained after the old man had left.
His gaze turned toward the wooden box into which the old man had thrown the scissors.
That wooden box was filled with broken scissors.
“There are many scissors, is it…”
At his waist, as many as seven golden-thread cords glimmered in the sunlight.
***
“A fine fragrance. Excellent.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon said as he enjoyed the scent of the tea.
“…I am honored.”
The Third-Rank ceremonial steward from the Inner Court’s Department of Rites, who had hurriedly appeared, bowed his head.
Yeon Sang-hyeon snorted.
“The tea leaves are good. Why are you the one feeling honored?”
The ceremonial steward closed his mouth and stepped back.
“Mm, tea leaves from Mount Wuyi in Fujian. Mount Wuyi has many families that produce excellent renowned teas.”
Instead of the Third-Rank steward, who had shut his mouth, the triplet maids nodded.
“As expected, there is no one who can match Master’s understanding of tea.”
“I, too, have heard of Mount Wuyi.”
As if something had suddenly occurred to him, Yeon Sang-hyeon opened his mouth.
“Come to think of it, regarding the famous tea families of Mount Wuyi… among them, there was certainly the Seomun Family, was there not?”
His gaze turned toward Steward Seomun, who was seated across from him.
“Is that so?”
“Now that you mention it, I believe I have heard of them as well.”
“Is Mount Wuyi not the famous domain of the Evil Tyrant Heaven?”
While the maids replied with perfect nonchalance, Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
“That is right.”
The Evil Tyrant Heaven was none other than the maternal relatives’ faction of the Second Young Master.
He looked at Steward Seomun, whose expression had turned uncomfortable.
“Are you perhaps connected to that Seomun Family?”
“…This may be a leisurely time of day for the First Young Master, but our Inner Court is in a very busy period.”
“Is that so?”
At her words, Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
“Then let us get to the point.”
He pushed the tea, of which he had only enjoyed the fragrance, toward Steward Bang, who was seated beside him.
“You drink this.”
“I-I am terribly sorry, but…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon stroked her trembling head and made her close her mouth.
“Why did you not pay for the books?”
Steward Bang hurriedly opened her mouth.
“E-Everything was my fault…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon tapped the teacup placed before her.
“You may just drink that.”
His gaze turned toward Steward Seomun.
After meeting his gaze head-on for a moment, Steward Seomun let out a small sigh.
“…Is it not merely the cost of some books? I shall personally step in and resolve the matter.”
“I asked why you did not pay for the books.”
The triplets chattered among themselves.
“He is right. That steward is giving an answer to a question no one asked, is she not?”
“And she has not even offered an apology to Master. How brazen.”
“She is merely a Four Seasons steward. Where does that confidence of hers come from?”
They were whispering, but in this quiet waiting room, there was no one who could not hear their voices.
At once, the faces of the stewards on Steward Seomun’s side turned red and blue with fury.
They wanted to leap from their seats and leave at once, but this was a moment they had to endure.
None of them had imagined that the Swordless would drag the name of the Chief Steward of the Inner Court into this.
Steward Seomun clenched her teeth and replied.
“…If you require it, I shall offer an apology at once.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon rested his chin on his hand and looked at her.
“When did I ever tell you to apologize?”
The triplets whispered again.
“He asked why she did not pay for the books, so why is she only giving strange answers?”
“I do not understand why she keeps changing the subject.”
Sam-ryeong looked at Steward Seomun and gave an irritating smile.
“Repeated answers to the wrong question… Could it be because she comes from the Seomun Family? Seomun-dongdap?”
It was a childish and utterly silly joke, and Yeon Sang-hyeon merely let out a faint laugh.
But as Steward Seomun, being mocked by mere maids was something she could not tolerate.
“How dare a lowly maid like you…!”
Just as she was about to spring up from her seat, Jeong-ah, who had remained still until then, opened her mouth.
“Are you raising your voice before the First Young Master of the main family?”
With her backside hovering in midair, Steward Seomun could neither sit back down nor finish standing up.
Her face turned red with rage and humiliation.
At that moment, Yeon Sang-hyeon struck the table.
“Ah! This is truly frustrating. I am asking why you did not pay for the books!”
Steward Seomun exploded.
“Is it not obviously because the First Young Master took all the budget allocated to Wongakjeong from the Inner Court?!”
“There is no way the budget I received was all of it.”
“What are you saying?! That was all of it!”
Yeon Sang-hyeon laughed.
“You mean you did not leave even a handful of the budget behind, and gave me every last bit of the funds allocated under my name?”
“Are you insulting the Inner Court right now?!”
Jeong-ah looked at her coldly.
“Master, that is a lie.”
At her words, the stewards who had been holding themselves back sprang to their feet.
“A lie?!”
“Do you have proof?!”
“How dare a lowborn maid of unknown roots say such a thing?!”
Jeong-ah did not so much as blink.
“Do you have proof?”
One of the stewards took a ledger from inside his robe.
“This is the ledger for Wongakjeong!”
“That is…!”
Steward Seomun hurriedly raised her hand to stop him, but I-ryeong was faster in snatching the ledger from the steward’s hand.
“Master, here is the ledger.”
She respectfully presented the ledger to Yeon Sang-hyeon.
“Now then, shall we take a look?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon opened the ledger with a bright smile.
Then he asked Steward Bang, who was seated beside him.
“Steward Bang. Is this ledger the genuine one?”
Steward Bang hurriedly nodded.
“Yes, yes. That is correct. It is the genuine ledger.”
“Is that so? Then let us take a look.”
As Yeon Sang-hyeon began turning through the ledger, Steward Seomun instead smiled and sat down.
The other stewards also snorted and took their seats.
A short while later.
Seeing Yeon Sang-hyeon flip through the ledger so quickly, they all sneered inwardly.
‘What manner of examining a ledger is that?’
‘He should be checking whether the calculations match, yet he is only busy turning pages.’
‘Ha! Now I see. He only wanted to show off in front of his maids.’
Yeon Sang-hyeon closed the ledger.
“Mm, according to this ledger, there is no problem.”
At those words, Steward Seomun and her stewards all smiled inwardly.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“No.”
At Steward Seomun’s words, Yeon Sang-hyeon shook his head.
“This is merely a ledger of the amount the Inner Court paid out to Wongakjeong. Like this, it cannot even be called a proper ledger in the first place.”
Steward Seomun’s eyebrow twitched.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Therefore, I shall have to enter the Inner Court’s ledger archive myself and examine it.”
At Yeon Sang-hyeon’s words, she let out a snort.
“The Inner Court’s ledger archive? Is the First Young Master not overestimating himself far too much?”
I-ryeong cut in.
“How dare you question the qualifications of the First Young Master of the main family when he has given an order?!”
Another steward at the side clicked his tongue and interrupted.
“Girl, you are the one who should not be mistaken. The title of ‘First Young Master’ is merely that person’s status. The First Young Master, who is currently living in seclusion, holds no actual position in the main family.”
“Therefore, is it not only natural that he has no right to demand access to matters treated as confidential even within the Inner Court?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon tapped the ledger.
“Then I shall have to go and ask the Chief Steward of the Inner Court directly.”
Steward Seomun smiled.
“Please do so. In any case, the Chief Steward of the Inner Court will not permit the First Young Master to enter the ledger archive.”
She was right.
Leaving aside the possibility that the Chief Steward of the Inner Court might dismiss her for causing him this trouble, there was no way he would open the ledger archive where the accounts of the entire Inner Court were stored.
“Then it cannot be helped.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon raised both hands.
“Considering his status, he probably would not still be in his office after I came all the way here.”
Jeong-ah asked him,
“Then shall we end things here?”
“Yes. It seems this is as far as we can go.”
‘It is over.’
At those words, Steward Seomun and her stewards smiled.
“First Young Master.”
Steward Seomun rose from her seat and bowed respectfully to the First Young Master.
“Allow me to take this opportunity to apologize to you for everything that has happened until now.”
Her stewards all rose as well and offered similarly courteous bows.
Steward Bang also hurriedly stood and knelt.
“I offer my apologies to the First Young Master.”
Steward Seomun spoke to Yeon Sang-hyeon in a gentle voice.
“From now on, I shall personally step forward and ensure that no unpleasant matters arise because of the Inner Court.”
She smiled softly.
“So, perhaps this matter should end around—”
Yeon Sang-hyeon cut her off.
“No. This is frustrating, truly. I am not asking for an apology. I am asking why you did not pay for the books.”
At the First Young Master’s obstinate, almost maddening conduct, Steward Seomun and her stewards could not find anything to say.
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked at them and sighed.
“Even when I ask, you will not answer properly. And there is a limit to how far I can find the answer myself, so what can be done about this matter?”
He turned to Jeong-ah.
“Head Maid, summon the Inspection Department.”
The Inspection Department.
Everyone froze.