The Result of the Outing (2)
After dinner and a short rest, I headed to the Silver Dragon Hall where Father was.
The personal guard announced my arrival, and soon after, I was let in.
"You're here. Have a seat."
I sat down in front of the tea table on one side of the office. Father personally brewed the tea and placed it in front of me.
"Thank you for the tea."
As I drank the tea Father had given me, I smiled inwardly.
It was a familiar tea.
A sweet fruit fragrance, with a lingering floral scent that gently spread through the mouth—this tea was...
"How is it?"
"It's a truly fine tea."
"It's Tieguanyin from Anxi in Fujian Province."
Tieguanyin retains its flavor and aroma even after being steeped seven times, and the spring harvest is the best.
But the autumn harvest is also aromatic, so it's called Autumn Fragrance Tea.
In short, it's an expensive, high-grade tea.
Only the tea cultivated in Anxi County is recognized as true Tieguanyin, which means its quantity is limited.
So, it's incredibly difficult to obtain.
"Right now, Pavilion Master Yeon is working tirelessly to get this tea delivered directly."
Tea is also one of the main products of our Merchant Group, but we've only been getting Anxi Tieguanyin through intermediaries.
Because of that, we couldn't make much profit, and we were at the mercy of the intermediaries' unreasonable demands.
Thus, Pavilion Master Yeon has been striving to receive it directly, but we only started getting direct deliveries around the time I had just become a special apprentice of the Breeze Pavilion.
This issue needs to be resolved soon.
It's not pleasant to suffer unnecessary losses.
I set down the teacup and said,
"There should be good news soon."
"I certainly hope so."
Smiling as he set down his own teacup, Father asked me,
"What are your plans for this special holiday?"
"Ah, that day..."
I'm thinking of lazing around in bed all day.
But saying that felt a bit guilty.
Neither Father nor my eldest brother, who has officially become the Vice-Leader of the Merchant Group, has any special holidays.
"I'm thinking of catching up on some personal studies."
"I see."
Father nodded, and after a brief pause, he asked again,
"In that case, may I make a personal request?"
"I shall listen, Father."
"During this special holiday, I'd like you to take Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo on an outing."
"...Excuse me?"
I tried to understand the true meaning behind Father's words. But I couldn't grasp it at all.
That's how unexpected Father's words were.
"Uh, um, are you referring to an outing in the sense I'm thinking of?"
"Going out, eating, drinking, having fun—what else could an outing mean?"
Father continued,
"In truth, Chief Yoo tried to forfeit his special holiday this time. But I insisted, so he had no choice but to submit his holiday request for approval."
Only then did I understand the events behind Chief Yoo sighing deeply with a gloomy expression as he corrected the paperwork today.
"But Chief Yoo is the type to work even at home."
I nodded at that.
Chief Yoo was practically married to his work.
As if he'd die if he didn't work.
"Coincidentally, your holiday and Chief Yoo's fall on the same dates. That's why I'm asking. Help him get some real rest, and at the same time…"
"You're telling me to keep an eye on him, aren't you?"
At my words, Father nodded.
Suddenly, Father's face brought back an image from my past life.
At the funeral of Chief Yoo, who died from overwork, Father had cried bitterly.
"I understand, Father. I shall follow your will."
"Thank you."
If sacrificing a bit of my rest can prevent Father's grief, then that's more than enough.
Chief Yoo must only die of old age. Nothing else.
***
Clatter, clatter,
The rhythmic sound of the carriage wheels echoed.
The carriage carrying me and Chief Yoo was heading toward a valley about an hour away from the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Drinking tea and having a meal in the pavilion there was the main purpose of this outing.
But Chief Yoo had been making a deathly grim face for some time now.
Because of that, the servant sitting beside him looked extremely nervous.
Ah, I actually feel sorry for him.
At this rate, outing or not, I'll be the one clutching my neck from stress.
"Chief Yoo."
"Why do you call, young master?"
"Do you need to poop?"
"...What?"
Chief Yoo looked bewildered at my words.
"It's just that, you've been making the same face as a puppy needing to poop since earlier."
"Ahem, ahem."
"If not that, then perhaps you didn't like Father's order for you to go on an outing with me?"
"..."
"Is it that you didn't like going with me, or that you didn't like the outing itself?"
The atmosphere in the carriage quickly turned icy at my question.
Chief Yoo's servant looked like he was about to faint.
Now that I thought about it, Chief Yoo's servant was always a bit timid.
But I had my reasons for saying this.
It was to help Chief Yoo truly enjoy the outing.
If things kept going like this, it wouldn't work out at all.
Might as well go back to the Finance Pavilion and get some work done.
At my direct question, Chief Yoo let out a sigh.
"Why would I dislike going with you, young master?"
"Then that means you dislike the outing itself."
"That's correct."
Chief Yoo nodded and passionately spoke.
"Do you know how much paperwork is piling up right now? To go on an outing at a time like this!"
"Then who's handling that work right now?"
"That would be Vice-Pavilion Master."
"Then there's no issue, is there?"
"But there are a lot of things I personally need to take care of."
"Father will handle those. I believe he accounted for that and forced you to go on this outing. Am I wrong?"
"..."
"Now that we're already out, please don't frown so much and make your servant uncomfortable."
"Ah..."
Only then did Chief Yoo glance over at his servant, and upon seeing the pale face, scratched his temple.
"Sorry about that."
"It, it's okay. Hahaha."
It seemed Chief Yoo's mood had lightened up a little, but I decided to drive the point home.
"Honestly, even if you frown, it's not like things will go back to how they were, right?"
"..."
"Your attitude is making me very uncomfortable too, Chief."
At my words, Chief Yoo looked as if he had realized something. Then he clasped his fists in salute toward me.
Huh? What's with him all of a sudden?
Chief Yoo spoke seriously.
"My apologies. I didn't realize my behavior was making others uncomfortable."
What?
"I will be more mindful from now on."
"Yes. I look forward to that."
Though I was a little flustered by the sudden change, I responded smoothly.
Now that I thought about it, Chief Yoo was not the most socially adept.
Still, his abilities were exceptional, Father had great trust in him, and the other Pavilion Masters treated him with consideration, so he managed just fine.
But judging by what he just said, I think I understand a bit more now.
He never learned how to live among people.
Wasn't there a saying for people like him? A capable fool…
Maybe, rather than preventing Chief Yoo's death by overwork, it'd be better to teach him social skills first…
That way, we could prevent unnecessary conflicts, and my work environment would improve too.
Before that, I should do something about that stiff expression of his.
"Then, please follow me."
"Pardon?"
"Come on."
"Ah, yes."
"Relax your brow, and—hahaha."
"Hahaha?"
"Yes. That's how you smile."
This man… has he seriously never smiled in his life? It's so awkward.
Still, no one gets full from one spoonful of rice. He'll get better with time.
.
.
.
A short while later,
we arrived at our destination.
"Wow! This place is amazing!"
Palgap shouted in excitement.
Thanks to the recent rain, water flowed through the valley, and the mountains wore robes of pale green.
Pink and yellow flowers blooming here and there added to the charm of the scene.
Chief Yoo's servant laid out the mats, and Palgap set up the food.
Meanwhile, the Silver Wind Squad martial artists, led by Squad Leader Gu Jiseong, stood guard around us.
"You must be hungry from the journey. Please, go ahead and eat."
"Let's eat."
At that moment, I raised my hand to stop Chief Yoo from eating.
"...?"
He looked at me, puzzled, and I said,
"Everyone here is hungry right now. Everyone, as in people."
"You're stating the obvious."
"Those guards are people too. They must be hungry."
"They're not children, they'll take care of themselves."
"You're right. But a single word can build a man's reputation."
With that, I walked over to Squad Leader Gu Jiseong.
"Squad Leader, please join us for the meal with your squad."
Gu Jiseong looked slightly flustered at my words and hesitated.
"It's fine. While we shouldn't let our guard down too much, there's no need to go this far."
"In that case… understood. Thank you for your consideration, young master."
Gu Jiseong gestured to the other martial artists to prepare a spot to eat.
In the meantime, I returned to my seat and spoke to Chief Yoo.
"There's a big difference between saying something like this and not. I've heard that in some places, no one is allowed to eat until the master gives permission."
"..."
"Then let's eat."
The food Palgap prepared was quite plentiful.
He had been so excited about the outing that he went all out preparing it.
Huh?
He even brought alcohol.
I couldn't help but let out a small laugh and asked Palgap,
"What's with the alcohol?"
"Oh, young master! How could there be an outing without a drink or two? You sip a glass while enjoying the scenery, that's what an outing is!"
This is... a bit ridiculous.
"Servants aren't allowed to drink."
At least in the Eunhae Merchant Group, the servants and maids who attend to the household never touch alcohol.
The only time they're allowed to drink is during the banquet hosted once a month by the Pavilion Master of the Breeze Pavilion.
"Of course I know that! I brought it for you, young master."
I appreciated the thought, but I had to avoid alcohol right now.
Alcohol didn't suit my constitution.
That was when Chief Yoo spoke up.
"It's been a while. I should have a drink."
"Ah, is that so?"
At his words, Palgap quickly prepared a cup, and I poured alcohol into Chief Yoo's glass.
One drink, then two—soon, Chief Yoo became flushed and started smiling more frequently.
Huh? What's this?
Don't tell me… my advice lost out to the alcohol?
This must be why they say moderate drinking is like medicine.
Of course, too much is poison.
Suddenly, Chief Yoo began to recite a line of poetry.
Even I, not well-versed in literature, could tell it was beautiful.
But wait… this poem… I've heard it before?
After a long pause, I remembered.
In my previous life, when I went to the capital, a poetry collection written by a famed writer was a best-seller.
The man was a high-ranking official who, after retiring from office, compiled and published all the poems he had written.
And the poem Chief Yoo just recited was in that very collection.
But that collection wouldn't be released until over ten years from now—how did Chief Yoo recite it?
"That was a beautiful poem. Just hearing it lifted my mood."
"Thank you. Sitting here in nature with a drink, it suddenly came to me, so I recited it—though I'm embarrassed by my poor skill."
"I see."
What?
You're saying you wrote that poem, Chief Yoo?
"Have you ever recited that poem in front of anyone besides me?"
"I'm not the type to recite poems in front of others."
Chief Yoo gave a shy smile and shook his head, then suddenly looked like something dawned on him.
"Ah, now that I think about it, there was one person."
He seemed to be digging through his memories.
"When I first entered government service, I recited it in front of my superior."
"Do you happen to remember his name?"
It couldn't be Zhou Yigong… right?
"At the time, he was the Chief Instructor of the National Academy, Zhou Yigong…"
"..."
Ha… I was afraid of this, and it turned out to be true?
What I feared was right.
In Zhou Yigong's poetry collection, every poem had its date of creation listed—and those dates were far in the future compared to now.
That means that bastard took a poem written by Chief Yoo, lied and claimed it as his own, and published it.