Chapter 160
“You got here fast. Wow, Sohae, the letter you sent must have reached home already. What did you send it with? I want to use that too.”
“You even shook off the guard assigned to you! Do you have any idea how mortified the poor child looked when she came back alone?”
“She kept telling me I couldn’t do this and couldn’t do that.”
“Because you kept trying to do things you were not supposed to do! The Manor Lord is furious. He ordered you to return to Luoyang at once.”
“He was the one who told me to go out and make a name for Yang Manor.”
“He meant through your martial prowess! Who told you to make a name for yourself through scandal? Marriage fraud! Of all things, marriage fraud! Oh, my aching head.”
The steward of Yang Manor sank to the floor and sniffled.
“Come on. As long as you keep quiet, no one will ever know.”
Of course they’ll know. She really hasn’t learned a thing.
Apparently accustomed to the steward’s wailing, Yang Gyojin did not so much as blink before introducing him to Jang Miryeo.
“Miryeo, say hello. He’s our steward.”
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Jang Miryeo of the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild.”
“...I am Jin Gukwi, a retainer of Yang Manor. You may call me Steward Jin. Are you the young lady whose hand was offered in the martial contest?”
“I am. I was just about to suggest that we dispense with the formal betrothal gifts and proceed directly to selecting an auspicious date.”
“Y-you intend to set the wedding date?”
“Yes. The sooner, the better.”
“You truly intend to go through with this marriage? You cannot!”
“Oh, there will be no harm done to Yang Manor. Ah, I suppose I should show you the contract first.”
“I said you cannot! Why are you trying to take our young master? She will only become a burden to the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild. No, more importantly, our young master is—mmph! Mmph!”
“Now, now, Steward. I told you, everything will be fine as long as you keep your mouth shut.”
The conversation was such a disaster that I found myself worrying about the stomach of a steward I had met only moments ago.
It seemed the discussion between the two families would drag on, so I tried to excuse myself. Steward Jin finally wrestled free of Yang Gyojin and hurriedly caught hold of me.
“Are you the honored lady of the Tang Clan who sent the letter?”
“Yes. I sent it.”
“The Manor Lord asked me to convey his deepest gratitude. We cannot imagine how we might repay this debt... Yang Manor will never forget your kindness.”
“It’s fine. All I did was pick her up after finding her collapsed by the roadside, put her in my carriage, feed her a little, give her a place to sleep, and lend her some money.”
“...How many days did you spend with our young master?”
“About a month?”
“Then the cost of her meals must have been... considerable. Please wait a moment.”
Wiping away his tears, Steward Jin pulled an abacus from inside his robes. After clicking the beads back and forth and calculating a month’s worth of Yang Gyojin’s meals, he handed me a thick stack of bank drafts.
I accepted them without protest, smiling brightly.
“I’ll leave you to your discussion, then.”
“Yes. Thank you, truly. Ah, should you ever pass through Luoyang, please visit Yang Manor! The Manor Lord said he very much wishes to meet you.”
“I will.”
I would rather avoid getting tangled up with Yang Gyojin again, but there was no telling when Yang Manor’s help might prove useful. Maintaining a good relationship could not hurt.
I hummed as I left Jang Miryeo’s office. Yeon Ryang followed me out, chuckling.
“My little sister certainly loves money.”
“I told you. The more money you have, the better. Brother, you haven’t already forgotten the days when we went hungry, have you?”
“We didn’t go hungry because we lacked money. And even then, we solved the problem by raiding a mountain stronghold.”
“Who said anything about raiding it? They merely treated us to a meal.”
“...Your brother no longer has the slightest idea what to do with you.”
Rubbing his forehead, Yeon Ryang lightly pinched my cheek before letting go.
“Still, isn’t that too many bank drafts? To cash such a large sum all at once, we would have to visit a major bank in Wuhan. Even then, I doubt they could release the funds immediately.”
“That’s true. But we can’t exactly carry it all around in silver.”
Uncle Geunmyeong had opened a bank account for me, but the clan could inspect its transactions. I did not feel comfortable depositing the money there.
The clan could cover my living expenses, but I still needed a private reserve of my own.
...Wait. Why not leave it with Jang Miryeo?
I fell into thought.
I knew next to nothing about how the economy of the Central Plains worked. Rather than meddle clumsily and lose money, it seemed wiser to entrust it to a gifted merchant.
“Brother, what do you think of Miss Jang? Does she seem like a capable merchant?”
“For her age, she is anything but ordinary. With a few words, she turned the Tang Clan into the guild’s backer.”
“What? Why would the Tang Clan be backing her guild?”
“If a merchant guild has a direct descendant of the Tang Clan holding a five-percent stake, won’t everyone assume the clan is lending it support?”
Oh. He’s right.
“Then what about giving Yang Manor a share of the profits?”
“She plans to maintain ties even after Young Master Yang leaves and benefit from the family name. Compared with the protection money a merchant guild pays to nearby sects or the cost of hiring guards, it is still a profitable arrangement. Few would dare trouble a guild with connections to renowned martial families like the Tang Clan and Yang Manor.”
My mouth fell open at something I had failed to notice until Yeon Ryang pointed it out.
That woman is far more shrewd than I thought.
For a moment, my brow furrowed at the feeling that I had been manipulated.
Yet that only made me trust her more.
Anyone capable of securing practical gains even while her life was in danger was unlikely to make a losing investment.
“Brother, do you think Miss Jang could make good use of the gold Her Highness gave me?”
“Most likely. People may decide what something is worth, but it still takes the right person to recognize its true value.”
“Wow. That was an elegant way of saying I’m not capable of managing a thousand taels of gold.”
“Ahaha.”
Yeon Ryang burst out laughing, then pretended not to hear as he pushed me along by the back.
“Come now. We still have a journey ahead of us. We may not have seen Dongting Lake this time, but there will be another opportunity.”
“Yes. Let’s come back. Oh, Grandfather has a safe house north of Jiangling. I’d like to stay there for a while.”
“To take that elixir from before?”
“Exactly. Since I went to the trouble of acquiring it, I should squeeze every last bit of benefit from it.”
The longer I wandered the martial world, the more painfully aware I became of my shortcomings.
I had also begun to feel a stubborn desire not to fall behind Jinseong or Yang Gyojin.
Inner force was not everything, but having more of it certainly did no harm. This was a good opportunity to take my time and refine my martial arts.
We also needed to conceal Yeon Ryang.
Even though he had worn a human-skin mask and suppressed his presence, the Demonic Sect follower had recognized him immediately. There had to be some method by which members of the Demonic Sect could identify one another.
“We’ll need plenty of provisions. We should ask for several sets of martial clothing too, just in case.”
“All right. Is there anything you need, Brother?”
“A swordsman needs only a sword. More importantly, we should get treats for the little furball...”
As Yeon Ryang continued talking, I latched onto his arm and let myself dangle from it.
“What brought this on? Is my little sister feeling needy?”
“Yes. I’m being needy, so carry me tucked under your arm.”
I answered playfully, but my heart felt strangely heavy.
He looks exactly the same as always, so why do I feel so uneasy? Is it because we encountered someone from the Demonic Sect?
My grip around Yeon Ryang’s arm tightened.
An ominous feeling kept gnawing at me, as though he might suddenly vanish.
*****
Two days flew by as we gathered provisions and everything else we would need at the safe house.
In the meantime, Steward Jin appeared to have lost his battle of wills with Jang Miryeo. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes.
“Good morning, Steward Jin.”
“Honored lady... Are you leaving today...?”
“Yes. Stay strong.”
At my attempt to console him, his face crumpled as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
Poor man.
I passed him and entered the office, where Jang Miryeo greeted me with a radiant smile.
“Miss Tang. Are you preparing to leave?”
“Yes. Here, take this.”
“What is it?”
Jang Miryeo examined the bank drafts with a puzzled look. Her eyes widened.
“W-what is this?”
“I want to invest it. I would like us to draw up a new investment contract for these drafts.”
“An investment? You wish to invest a thousand taels of gold in the merchant guild?”
“Yes. More precisely, I want to invest in you, not merely the guild. I believe you can make my money grow.”
“I...”
“I already own five percent of your guild, so its growth benefits me as well. Please accept it.”
Jang Miryeo stared blankly between me and the bank drafts. Then her expression changed. She clasped her hands and bowed.
“I will not betray your trust.”
Her fingertips flew across the page as she drafted the contract with a determined gleam in her eyes.
“Where should I send the profits?”
“Reinvest them. Just keep precise accounts and send me copies from time to time. As for the money... I’ll write when I need it. I don’t expect to have any immediate use for it.”
Jang Miryeo set down her brush and took something from inside her robes.
“Even so, there may come a time when you need funds urgently. I will give you one of the guild’s tokens. You will not be able to withdraw an enormous sum with it, but any bank that deals with us should release up to a thousand taels of silver immediately.”
It was a golden token engraved with the name of the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild and the image of a dragon.
I quickly accepted it and slipped it into my sleeve.
“I’ll put it to good use. There is one more favor I would like to ask.”
“Name it. I can grant anything except a request to return those drafts.”
I smiled awkwardly at the pointed sincerity in her words before getting to the matter at hand.
“Do you also distribute tea?”
“Of course. This guild controls the distribution rights to eighty percent of all Junshan Silver Needle.”
“When the new harvest arrives, could you send the finest tea to the Tang Clan? Not much—only a catty or so.”
“To whose attention should it be sent?”
“Address it to the Seventh Elder. He will know what to do with it. My grandfather... is fond of tea.”
As I spoke, I remembered Grandfather seated in the tea room, quietly savoring its fragrance.
Jang Miryeo answered calmly.
“Do not worry. I will select the very best and send it myself, since it is intended for my benefactor. By the time the new tea is ready, the waterways of the Yangtze should have reopened.”
She added one catty of fresh tea to the supplementary clauses of the contract, then passed me the brush.
After sealing our respective copies, we exchanged smiles.
“Must you truly leave today? You could stay a few more days...”
I firmly shook my head at her invitation.
“I have business elsewhere. Besides, I don’t think I could bring myself to watch the wedding.”
Jang Miryeo looked slightly disappointed, but she did not press me further.
“I will see you off. Are you departing now?”
“Yes. We need to leave immediately if we want to reach an inn before sunset.”
Jang Miryeo nodded and rose to follow me.
Outside, Yeon Ryang was inspecting the luggage loaded onto the carriage. Beside him, Yang Gyojin was kneading Cane between her hands and chattering away.
When she saw me, Yang Gyojin waved.
“Sohae, are you really leaving?”
“Yes. I am. Take care of yourself.”
“I see. Let’s meet again. Next time, we can play with real swords.”
“When the opportunity arises.”
I shrugged, said farewell to the two extraordinary young women, and climbed into the carriage.
My visit to Dongting Lake had brought nothing but exhaustion, without so much as a leisurely boat ride.
Still...
It seemed I had formed a few worthwhile connections.