Chapter 132: Returning Home in Glory [2] anuary was not a very good season for setting out on a long journey. That was even more true in circumstances where there was not really anything suitable to ride. They had no choice but to keep walking while taking the cold wind head-on.
"Damn it, I'm freezing to death."
A curse spilled from Makbong's mouth as he walked at the front. It was irreverent in the extreme, considering he was serving his master right behind him, but no one blamed him, because they were all the same.
"Damn it."
"Fuck..."
Dolseok and Yeoni were no exception.
"Ah... shit..."
And Kanghyeok himself was at the center of it. Other than Yeoju, who had at least received proper household upbringing, every last one of them kept trudging forward while cursing under their breath. Since even Kanghyeok, the head of the group, was like this, there was no need to say anything about the laborers carrying the baggage.
In good weather, it would have been a distance they could cover in no more than two or three days, but now it had nearly doubled, making the journey all the more grueling.
"Young master! We're almost there now!"
"Really?"
"Yes. You can see it over there."
Makbong pointed toward the gate leading into Suwon. Perhaps because the weather was so cold, not a single traveler could be seen going in or out. There were only a few soldiers, clearly forced to be out there.
"Whew. We finally made it."
Kanghyeok turned back with eyes full of emotion. He did not know how much they had suffered while pushing through the snowy roads all the way from far-off Hanyang. A few of the laborers had even nearly lost their lives to frostbite. If Kanghyeok and the others had not treated them properly each time, they probably would have ended up dragging corpses along with them. One horse actually did die, too. Still, thanks to that, they had at least come with full bellies after boiling meat soup.
As Kanghyeok stared off into the distance, Yeoju and Yeoni approached him in turn and handed him clothes. They were garments Ryu Seong-ryong, Yi Hangbok, and others had given him as gifts to congratulate him on entering official service.
Yeoju spoke first as she handed him a dallyeong, a round-collared robe.
"Young master, you should change into this now."
"Now?"
"Yes. So that everyone in Suwon can see that you've succeeded."
"No... it's not as if I became a State Councillor or anything. I'm only a Jikjang of the Royal Medical Bureau."
"And that is still no small thing. Elder Baek Seungmun will be pleased."
"Mm."
The old man certainly would be. Had not almost everyone already given up on Kanghyeok? Of course, that Kanghyeok had not been the present Baek Kanghyeok. Even so, Baek Seungmun had never abandoned his hope and expectations, so Kanghyeok could hardly imagine how happy he would be to see him wearing official robes.
Old man... what if he has a heart attack or something?
That would be a disaster. No matter how capable Kanghyeok was, he had no way of delivering an electric shock with his bare hands.
"What are you thinking about that has you smiling like that?"
"Hm? Nothing. Right... let's put the clothes on. But aren't they too thin?"
"They say people usually wear padded garments in layers in the dead of winter, but this is all they gave you."
"Right. Hm."
"Even so, put them on."
"O-okay."
Kanghyeok started putting on the clothes piece by piece. He had practiced dressing himself a few times by now, so it was not especially difficult. Once he had on the dallyeong, the tosu, the haengjeon, the jeoksam, black deer-leather shoes, and even the official belt, he looked every bit the proper government official.
"Young master, wear these too."
Yeoni handed over the ieom, ear covers she had been holding until now, along with the samo, the official hat with two horn-like wings worn by civil and military officials. Kanghyeok's ears had already been aching from the cold.
"Oh. Hurry up and give them to me."
He put on the ieom first, then the samo. He had always had a commanding physique, the kind that made anything look good on him. Now that he was wearing official robes made to emphasize elegance and dignity, his bearing was naturally extraordinary. He no longer looked like some measly little Jikjang, but more like someone on the level of a Panseo.
Even Dolseok, who usually loved to mouth off, could barely keep his jaw shut.
"Wow, young master. You really..."
"What."
"You should have entered official service long ago."
"You little bastard. What flattery."
"I'm not. I mean it."
Dolseok looked as excited as if he himself had received the office. A moment later, he shoved past Makbong and ran straight to the front of the group. Then he began shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Make way! Clear the road!"
Back in Hanyang, it had been difficult for a mere nobleman with no office to go around shouting that. There were far too many noblemen there compared to Suwon, and especially too many officials with real authority. Even with Kanghyeok holding the post of Jikjang now, it was still awkward. After all, Seventh Rank was still considered a low-ranking official. If they strutted around like this in the marketplace, people would gossip everywhere that they were acting above themselves.
"Make way! Clear the road!"
As if determined to vent all the frustration he had built up, Dolseok kept shouting at full volume. Because the rice fields stood empty, his voice echoed far and wide. Thanks to that, even the soldiers at the gate in the distance realized someone was coming. And not just anyone, either, but someone of fairly high rank and rather noxious temperament. Otherwise, why would a master have his servant scream like this at the top of his lungs in the middle of an empty field?
"Who the hell is coming?"
"Did we get any notice?"
"No. Damn it, they show up right when we were about to change shifts. In this cold, too."
"Exactly. They should've hurried up. Where the hell are they shouting from?"
The soldiers' grumbling continued for quite a while. Dolseok had started yelling from very far away. Only when his throat had practically gone hoarse did the group finally reach the gate.
The soldiers looked Kanghyeok over in his splendid official robes and nodded to themselves. As expected, he did not look like an ordinary person. It was not only Kanghyeok's bearing, either. The size of the group traveling with him was impressive too. There were more than twenty people carrying baggage divided among three ox carts. And Makbong and Dolseok, who were assisting Kanghyeok at the front, also had an unusual presence.
"Did he take first place in the state examination or something?"
"For heaven's sake, man. Who holds the civil examinations in the middle of winter?"
"Then what is it?"
"Someone must have risen high and come to take office in Suwon."
"Then he would be our direct superior."
"Exactly. Let's hurry over."
Under that absurd misunderstanding, the soldiers hurried forward with extremely brisk manners to receive the party. Then they spoke as carefully as they could.
"G-greetings, my lord."
Their very first word was "my lord." Dolseok puffed himself up and turned back with a smug look, as though his noisy efforts had borne fruit. Makbong and Yeoni, however, were the sort who had no interest at all in such things, so they only looked unimpressed. But Kanghyeok himself felt rather pleased.
Yes, this is Suwon's good point.
Hanyang was a very fine place. There were many people, and as a result, the food was better, and it was lively and entertaining. But playing king there was absolutely impossible, because the real king was there. As someone who was, at best, from a prominent local family, Kanghyeok found it hard to throw his weight around there.
Not here.
Kanghyeok nodded cheerfully.
"Very good. You've worked hard in this cold weather."
"Yes, yes. If I may ask... who are you, and where are you headed? I am too ignorant to have recognized your honored name."
The oldest-looking soldier stepped forward to handle the exchange. He spoke so smoothly it was as if his mouth had been greased with honey. That put Kanghyeok in an excellent mood. In the first place, he had no intention of picking a fight here.
I still have to pay my respects to Lord Busa, after all. I can't go acting too arrogantly.
Though even now, he was already acting quite arrogantly and haughtily. For Kanghyeok, however, this counted as modesty. Anyone who had seen his normal behavior would have understood why.
"Very well. I am Baek Kanghyeok, appointed as Jikjang of the Royal Medical Bureau."
"The Royal Medical Bureau...?"
Not Suwon Prefecture, but the Royal Medical Bureau? The soldiers, who had been bowing and scraping, now felt strangely cheated. And Jikjang, at that. It was not even such a high rank. Yet here he was with such a grand procession. If Suwon Busa Kim Yungil had seen it, he might have given him a thorough dressing-down.
"Wait... Baek... Kanghyeok?"
One of the soldiers looked closely at Kanghyeok's face with a doubtful expression. Kanghyeok examined the man in turn, but there was no way he would remember him. So he merely stared blankly while the soldier nodded repeatedly.
"Oh... it really is him. Lord Baek Seungmun's son. I told you before, didn't I? That time we went to Eotan-myeon together."
"Ah. Then?"
"I heard you had gone to Hanyang, but it seems you passed the examination after all."
"Yes, yes."
Kanghyeok nodded with a pleased smile. In truth, it was an office obtained through connections by questionable means. But if they wanted to misunderstand on their own, why should he bother correcting them? It was not as if they lived in an age where every detail ended up in records.
It really was an age well suited to swindling people.
"My apologies for the discourtesy. Please go right in. The rest of your party may also enter without inspection."
"Good. You've worked hard."
"Not at all. I survived thanks to you, Physician... no, my lord."
The soldier grinned as he showed the long scar running down his forearm. A wound of that size was probably not one Kanghyeok had treated personally. If so, Yeoni or Dolseok must have handled it, but the man's memory seemed badly distorted, judging by how he kept thanking only Kanghyeok.
"Then we'll be going."
And so Kanghyeok strode proudly into Suwon. Though the weather was cold, there were still quite a few people in the market. No matter how cold it was, people still had to eat to survive.
"Make way! Clear the road!"
At that, Dolseok started shouting again. The group already stood out enough as it was, and once he added yelling to it, everyone stopped and turned to stare. Among them, the sharp-eyed ones began recognizing Kanghyeok.
"Isn't that Elder Seungmun's eldest son?"
"That troublemaker?"
"What troublemaker? He's the best physician in Suwon."
"But he's an official now too?"
"Looks that way. Wow, Lord Baek Seungmun really came into filial blessings in his old age."
"He opened up his granaries every time famine struck, so I guess heaven really doesn't overlook such things."
Most people merely stood where they were and talked, but a few started running toward Seungmun's house. Then they pounded on the front gate like mad.
"Who is it? Okseok, go out and see."
"Yes, master, madam."
Since it was winter, Okseok had been sitting idly by the fire with his master, but now he dashed to the gate at once. Then he came running back even faster than he had gone.
"M-master, madam."
"What is it? Why has your face gone so pale?"
"Y-young master."
"Who? Kanghyeok?"
"Yes, yes."
"What happened to Kanghyeok?"
Had they not exchanged letters only a few days earlier? At that time, he had written about how happy he was to see Yi Sun-sin again after so long, and about how he had met and become acquainted with someone called Kim Simin. In any case, it had all been good news. Yet now word was arriving all at once through a third party. Suddenly, Seungmun's heart began pounding.
"T-that is..."
It was clearly good news, and they wanted to announce it quickly, but it was not easy. It was all too sudden and unexpected, and that left only Seungmun's insides burning black with anxiety. It was like the habit of parents who had raised a problem child. No matter what happened, they could scarcely remember ever hearing good news related to their child. Naturally, their thoughts always turned first in the other direction.
Just then, Dolseok's voice began to ring out from far away.
"Make way! Clear the road!"
Though they had been apart recently, had Dolseok not spent nearly his whole life in this house before that? Neither Seungmun nor Okseok could possibly have forgotten his voice.
"Hm?"
"Isn't that your older brother's voice?"
"Yes, it is."
"Go and find out—"
Before Seungmun could even finish speaking, the gate was thrown wide open. And through it, Kanghyeok came running in, splendidly dressed in official robes.
"Father! Your son greets you!"
"Ah... no, you..."
"This time I have become Jikjang of the Royal Medical Bureau and have been granted official robes."
"Huh... you became an official..."
Seungmun looked as though he might die from happiness. But Kanghyeok was not the sort to bring only good news. He immediately dropped the next piece of news like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
"Yes! And for that reason, I will be joining this year's diplomatic mission!"
"What? You're going to Japan?"
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