Chapter 69: Oseong Daegam [4] Kanghyeok had to walk for a while following Yi Hang-bok.
Hang-bok had lost his father at a young age and had not grown up in especially abundant circumstances, but Kwon Yul was fairly wealthy, since his father had served as Yeonguijeong.
Naturally, the household was quite large.
"Even if my father-in-law's official career was short, he didn't earn little. He's really got a head for business."
If one heard it wrong, it almost sounded as though Kwon Yul had personally squeezed the people dry on a grand scale.
"My father-in-law may be a bit slow, but he's a good man."
Hang-bok kept teasing Kwon Yul, and Kanghyeok could only feel awkward about how to respond.
To begin with, Kwon Yul was far too great a figure in Kanghyeok's eyes to be turned into a joke.
Was this not Chungjanggong Kwon Yul himself?
They taught us: Yi Sun-sin at sea, Kwon Yul on land.
And yet here was someone mocking such a man without pause.
If it had been anyone else, Kanghyeok would have smacked him across the back of the head.
But the other party was Yi Hang-bok, was he not? The extraordinary famous minister known as Oseong Daegam.
"Yes, yes."
In the end, all he could do was nod helplessly and follow along.
"Here we are. There's another father-in-law inside."
"Yes, elder."
"What do you mean, elder? I mean my wife."
"I know that too..."
"Haha. Wait just a moment."
Yi Hang-bok pushed open the door at once and went inside.
He could hear him saying this and that, and the tenderness in his voice was beyond description.
He had been going on about her being ugly and resembling her father, but in truth they seemed like a couple who were completely smitten with each other.
Only after quite some time did Yi Hang-bok open the door again.
"My wife is also curious whether there might be some solution. Well then, would you like to take a look?"
"Yes. Would it be all right if I brought in one assistant?"
"Mm, yes. Go ahead."
"Yes."
Kanghyeok looked back for a moment.
Unlike usual, Yeoni was standing there with her hair neatly braided.
She was even dressed somewhat like a medical woman.
To anyone looking, she would have seemed like no more than one of Kanghyeok's disciples.
"Yeon."
"Yes, young master."
Even the way she answered was perfectly demure.
It almost felt as though Yeoju were standing in front of him.
"Come to think of it, where did Yeoju go?"
Dolseok, who had nothing to do now, answered at once.
"She went out with Makbong."
"With him? Why?"
"Lately Makbong's been busy looking for places to perform, but as you know, he's not very good at talking. Back during the Duchang matter too, from what I heard, well..."
"Ah. They said he talked a huge amount of nonsense in front of Father, right?"
Hadn't they said that at first they thought he might actually be deficient?
And in Hanyang, there were gentlemen everywhere who were no worse than Seungmun, if not even sharper, so there was no way he could properly bring anything up.
"So Miss Yeoju seems to have decided to help him a little. These days she says there's nothing to draw and she's bored."
"Ah. All right, then. Fresh air will do her good. Understood."
"Yes, young master."
"Well then, shall we go in?"
Kanghyeok entered the room under Yi Hang-bok's guidance.
Yi Hang-bok's wife was sitting directly in front of him, and Kanghyeok almost burst out laughing.
She... she really is exactly the same.
If they just put a beard on her, she would look like Kwon Yul.
He could understand why the two of them wanted plastic surgery.
"Ahem. First, I need to examine your face a little more closely."
"You may look from nearby. Just don't touch."
"Yes."
Even though they were both yangban, the difference between this and Jeong Changgwon was like heaven and earth.
If he had asked Changgwon whether he could take a close look at his daughter's face, the man probably would have immediately fetched a reed mat.
Ah... now I'm thinking of that gentleman.
When it came down to it, had he not turned out to be quite a decent man?
If Kanghyeok had known that then, he would have at least shared a drink with him once.
He found it regrettable now that he had not.
"All right, hm."
Seen up close, she looked even more like Kwon Yul.
He felt as though anyone at the market would recognize her.
Oh my, you're Kwon Yul's daughter, aren't you?
Had she not heard that question quite often?
"She does resemble him, doesn't she?"
He was just barely holding it in, and then Hang-bok landed a clean hit.
One that nearly turned into a knockout blow.
"Ahem."
Kanghyeok suppressed the laughter threatening to burst out with sheer force of reason.
"So... you want something done about the jaw?"
"That's right. Here."
That husky voice cutting in so matter-of-factly.
That sturdy hand gripping the thick lower jaw.
"Hah."
In the end, Kanghyeok had to turn his head away for a moment.
"Come, let's take a look... Yeon, you feel it."
"Yes, young master."
Yeoni stepped in on behalf of Kanghyeok, who had nearly gone into a stunned state.
As she had heard on the way over, she carefully felt along the lower jaw.
"What do you think? Is it bone?"
"Mm... it's hard, but I'm not completely sure."
The jaw muscles were among the strongest muscles in the body.
In someone very developed, they could feel literally as hard as stone.
"Excuse me, could you open and close your mouth for a moment?"
"Like this?"
"Yes."
Yi Hang-bok's wife, and Kwon Yul's daughter, did exactly as Kanghyeok instructed.
"How is it now?"
"The tension eases a little."
"Good. Now clench it tight."
"Oh. It becomes hard."
Then that meant it was not bone, but muscle.
Naturally, it would not have the same effect as shaving down bone.
But even reducing the muscle alone ought to have a considerable effect.
As Kanghyeok nodded with a look that suggested he had figured something out, Hang-bok, standing behind him, stepped forward.
"Is there some kind of method?"
"There should be one, but..."
"What is it? Whatever it is, say it."
Yi Hang-bok was, after all, a man who had married into a powerful family.
Even if Yejo Jwarang was only a Senior Fifth Rank office, the power and wealth he possessed far exceeded that.
"We need pufferfish."
"Pufferfish...?"
"Yes. Pufferfish."
Pufferfish had been eaten on the Korean peninsula for quite a long time.
It was poisonous, yes, but safe enough if prepared properly.
More than anything, was it not an extremely delicious fish?
Naturally, Yi Hang-bok knew what it was.
"But where exactly are we supposed to get that?"
"Couldn't you obtain it by sending requests to local magistrates?"
"Mm. I do have a few friends."
It seemed the distance was the problem.
Well, if we wrote a letter now asking them to send it, it would take nearly a month.
He had come from an age where one could lie on a sofa, click a few times, and have goods set down at the front door the next day.
This place was inconvenient beyond measure.
"Then let's go look at the market."
"Mm. Yes, let's try getting it there first."
Yi Hang-bok looked ready to follow Kanghyeok out immediately.
He seemed so leisurely that for a moment Kanghyeok wondered whether this man even had an office to attend.
"Aren't you going to court?"
"To court? Haha. I'm off duty today."
To think there were off days even in Joseon.
That was something he had not known.
Unexpectedly, it made the job seem like it might even be sweet.
In fact, Yi Hang-bok looked altogether too happy.
"Ah... understood. Then shall we go together?"
"Let's do that."
The markets of Hanyang were a little different from those in Suwon.
First of all, they were very large, and the range of goods handled was broad.
One could even see items from Japan, China, or even more distant countries.
How did he know so well?
Because Kanghyeok had gone wandering around there for fun countless times.
In any era, the lot of a rich, idle man was the best.
"Where should we go?"
In contrast, Yi Hang-bok wore a very anxious expression.
It felt as though he was determined to have the treatment done that very day if possible.
Judging by appearances, they had not been husband and wife for just a day or two.
It was almost hard to imagine how they had lived together until now.
"This way."
Dolseok, who had been going out to amuse himself together with Kanghyeok the whole time, took the lead as guide.
Because his memory was so good, his sense of direction was sharp too.
He knew the roads of Hanyang better than the servant Yi Hang-bok had brought along.
"If we go this way... there's the spice market."
When they turned the corner, the smell of pepper pricked at his nose.
It was such a precious spice that there were almost no customers.
"If we go here, there's a salt merchant."
"Buy salt!"
The salt seller appeared like a ghost the moment the word was spoken.
Kanghyeok and Hang-bok could only nod and follow behind.
Only Yeoni was glancing around with a tense expression.
Not that such a thing was likely, but she was preparing for a possible attack just in case.
"If we go here, there's the fish market."
"Hey, you're like a navigation device."
"Yes, haha."
Naturally, it was a word he had never heard before, but Dolseok no longer bothered asking questions.
What was the point? It would only earn him a sore head again.
"Mm. There's a lot of dried fish here."
Hang-bok suddenly stepped into a stall.
At once, the owner sprang up with a startled expression.
The face of Yi Hang-bok, the elegant man-about-town, was fairly well known.
And the Kanghyeok who had come in with him was also quite famous.
As the ringleader of a gang of hoodlum-like loafers who roamed the markets every day.
"Wh-what brings you here?"
"Ah. Do you perhaps have pufferfish here?"
"Pufferfish...? Yes, we do. A few black-spotted pufferfish just came in."
"Really?"
Perhaps because a great figure had stepped forward, things were going smoothly.
The merchant soon brought over salted pufferfish.
"If you steam this, the taste is absolutely superb."
Kanghyeok stepped forward from behind.
"Yes, yes. Has it already been cleaned?"
"No, no. If you want, I can prepare it right away. I'll remove this part and this part."
The fish seller pointed to the parts where the liver, testes, and ovaries of the pufferfish would be.
At that, Kanghyeok immediately shook his head.
"There's no need."
"Pardon? It's dangerous because it's poisonous."
"I need that poison."
"Y-yes... yes?"
He already looked like a swaggering troublemaker, after all.
And now such a man was asking for poison, so there was no helping how unsettling that felt.
In the end, the quick-witted Yi Hang-bok had to add an explanation.
"This man is a very famous divine physician. Since he says poison can also become medicine, just give it to him."
Yi Hang-bok was so famous in Hanyang that there was hardly anyone who did not know him.
In his youth, they said he had had an image similar to Kanghyeok now, but at present he was a proper Yejo Jwarang.
Once such a man vouched for him, what could a mere fish seller in the marketplace do?
He had to give them what they wanted.
"Ah, yes, yes."
The fish seller was about to place four pufferfish into a basket when Kanghyeok stopped him.
"Mm. Separate the poisonous parts and give them to me separately."
"Ah, understood."
Come to think of it, there was no reason to separate them himself.
He would not have known how anyway.
Looks like we'll be steaming pufferfish today.
The thought alone made him happy.
Pufferfish really was a delicious fish.
The fish seller was highly skilled at separating the poison from the pufferfish.
He cleaned off the skin neatly and also separated out the liver, ovaries, intestines, and the rest.
"It's all done now."
"Good. Pack them separately."
"Yes, yes."
"Dolseok, Yeon, carry these."
"Yes, young master."
The basket with the pufferfish flesh went to Dolseok, and the basket with the poison went to Yeoni.
They were leaving the stall feeling much lighter when a commotion broke out nearby.
"You sons of bitches, where do you think you're talking about rice bowls from?"
"Where did some stray bastard like you come from, barging into someone else's turf, huh?"
At any rate, Korean curses really were hard to form without the word dog.
"What's going on?"
Yi Hang-bok had the kind of disposition that could never simply pass by when something interesting was happening.
"Shall we take a look?"
Kanghyeok found no reason not to enjoy the spectacle either.
The treatment was not especially urgent, nor was it something that could be done that very day.
Tetrodotoxin, the poison from pufferfish, was a deadly toxin that could truly kill a person if used incorrectly.
It meant he had to go through sufficient clinical testing.
"Let's go."
"Yes, elder."
Since ancient times, watching a fight or watching a fire had always been entertaining.
Thanks to that, an enormous crowd had gathered around the commotion at the market.
It was difficult even to push through them.
And it was not as though they could shout, Make way! The Yejo Jwarang is here!
That would only amount to publicly advertising that a government official was out wandering around to watch a brawl.
There was no choice but to push through by force.
"It seems your servants have learned some martial skill."
Hang-bok made that remark while watching Yeoni and Dolseok part the crowd with taekkyeon techniques.
"It just happened that way."
"It's a good thing. Heh heh."
Thanks to the two of them clearing the way ahead, Kanghyeok and Hang-bok could even chat leisurely as they followed.
Laughing and talking, they finally came face-to-face with the disturbance.
"Mm?"
"What, do you know them?"
"Yes. Why are they here?"
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