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Chapter 09
The Shop That Had Already Been Sold
“Goodness!”
The man scratched his head with a troubled expression. In doing so, the hair he had barely smoothed back came loose again and turned messy.
“That shop has already been sold, young master Iseo. The young master Iseo put it up for sale at dawn, and not long after, a certain scholar bought it.”
“What? Who was that person? I’ll buy it back. I’ll pay double the price, so tell them to sell it back…”
“That… I’m afraid that would be difficult. Ah, I’m truly sorry.”
The man bowed his head repeatedly in apology.
“Why?”
“Well, I… it was the first time I had ever seen that scholar as well.”
“Is there no record of where they live or who they are?”
“There is, but… when I reported it to the government office earlier, I handed over all the records. I’ve already received the money as well…”
The man stole glances at Hoyeon’s expression as he fidgeted.
Hoyeon frowned. There was no worse misfortune than this. At this point, there was no longer any way to help Iseo.
After thinking for a while, Hoyeon looked at the man and said,
“Do you know who I am?”
“Of course, of course. Aren’t you the young master of the Jieun-geumbu household?”
The man said while rubbing his hands together.
“If you find out who the owner of that shop is, report it to me immediately. Do you know where young master Iseo is going?”
“You mean the shop owner? Yes, understood. I don’t yet know where young master Iseo is going, but if I find out, I will be sure to inform you.”
Finishing his words, the shopkeeper kept glancing at Hoyeon’s sleeve as if expecting something. Hoyeon pulled a few copper coins from his sleeve and handed them over. The man bowed deeply and said,
“If I find out where young master Iseo is going, I will let you know immediately. But… how do you know young master Iseo…?”
Seeing the sly smile forming at the corner of his mouth, Hoyeon frowned.
“Oh my, no, never mind. This lowly one has spoken out of turn… My mouth is careless.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes, yes, leave it to me.”
Even after Hoyeon left, the man kept his head bowed for a long while. Only after the shop door was completely closed and the interior grew dim again did he straighten his back and tilt his head.
“Your Majesty, it seems the notorious young master of the Jieun-geumbu household is interested in that young master… Young Master Choi Si-hwan is involved, and Lord Kwon Hoyeon is taking interest in Iseo…”
Danyang muttered as if amused, staring at the door through which Hoyeon had disappeared. Then, a section of the wall slid open and Ryun appeared.
“Iseodang…”
Ryun rested his chin on his fan, lost in thought.
Ryun, who had come to Iseodang early in the morning to buy snacks for the Grand Queen Dowager, frowned at the closed shop.
Yujin had clearly said that Iseodang opened early in the morning. She had also said that if he arrived late, all the best snacks would be gone. So he had reduced his sleep and come to the market alley early.
He hated waiting the most. According to Yujin, the shop should have been open by now. But then, from beyond the door, he heard a muffled sound of crying, and his brows furrowed.
With a flick of his fan, Danyang rushed over and bowed.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Find out what is happening at Iseodang.”
“What? Suddenly?”
Danyang protested at the sudden order. He was currently operating undercover in the market alley as a broker, but he did not know the young master of Iseodang well.
Moreover, Danyang believed sweets were something enjoyed by women or children, and had nothing to do with a man like himself. Because of that, he had never even been near Iseodang. This was truly a troublesome order.
Investigating noble households was one thing—at least there were clues. But a pastry shop? Ridiculous!
Danyang frowned and stared at the ground.
Even the most capable investigator needed some kind of lead.
Ryun’s seemingly random command displeased him.
“The Grand Queen Dowager’s health is at stake.”
“What? Y-yes, sir.”
There was no detailed explanation of what a pastry shop had to do with the Grand Queen Dowager’s health, but Danyang, holding back tears, had no choice but to leap onto the roof of Iseodang in the early morning.
Perching on the low roof, he soon heard an elderly woman sitting on the wooden veranda behind Iseo, lamenting.
“What can we do even if it’s unfair? Choi Si-hwan may not be able to report it to the authorities, but he is fully capable of secretly harming Hyeonu. Even without that, there are threatening letters every day, and those ruffians who come to the temple to cause trouble—Hyeonu has plenty to worry about.”
Iseo continued working as if he heard nothing at all.
“Iseo, just help this once… Hyeonu will come to his senses…”
Iseo still did not respond. He knew that whatever he said would change nothing. Originally, things should have gone as planned: he would die, and only his mother and Hyeonu would remain and suffer hardships, until Prince Jeongan eventually saved them. But those people had lived peaceful lives because of him and still did not understand how cruel the world was.
So this time, no matter what, he needed to take responsibility for what he had caused. But his opponent was Choi Si-hwan.
He was someone who handled everything—from usury to matters even his father Choi Chi-seong could not easily interfere with. In some ways, he was even more fearsome than his father, the Chief State Councilor.
Choi Si-hwan had no concern for reputation or propriety. He simply did whatever he pleased. So if Hyeonu failed to repay the money on time and displeased him, death would truly be unavoidable.
“I will put the shop up for sale. Then somehow, we’ll be able to raise that money.”
At Iseo’s words, Danyang on the roof flinched. He had previously looked disapprovingly at Madam Jeong, who was sitting on the veranda worrying only about her eldest son while Iseo worked diligently. Now he turned his gaze elsewhere.
With his slender frame, Iseo was painstakingly sifting boiled red beans through a sieve, and Danyang’s heart ached at the sight.
“Give that money to Choi Si-hwan. And tell him this: he should take care of his own future from now on. Now that I’ve sold the shop, what means do I have to send money anymore?”
“Iseo, but… Hyeonu may have done wrong, but you know he only knows how to study. Shouldn’t you continue to transcribe texts and sell homemade snacks to support him as before? Once the eldest succeeds, he will surely remember your efforts…”
Iseo suddenly stood up and looked at his mother, Madam Jeong.
There had been a time when Iseo thought the same. That if he worked hard and Hyeonu succeeded, their family would return to how it used to be, and that would be his own success as well. Until just yesterday, he had lived believing that. But now doubt had begun to grow.
“Mother, has it not been once or twice? Before, you lost all the money I gave you gambling on a courtesan, and before that you said studying was pointless and spent all the funds on raising a sick pig.”
Pigs ate far more than expected, and an already sick pig would never grow well.
There were many other things Hyeonu had done, but recalling them all made Iseo’s chest ache, so he fell silent and stared into empty space.
“Please tell her I will no longer interfere with studying or anything else.”
“Truly cold-hearted. It is because of you that our family ended up like this in the first place!”
Iseo was dumbfounded. Because of him? Yes, they had been falsely accused of treason due to his betrothal to Prince Jeongan, but even his mother and Hyeonu knew it was an unjust accusation.
And he had not chosen that engagement himself. It had all been arranged by his late grandfather, with no will of Iseo’s involved at all.
Moreover, the man himself, Prince Jeongan, was walking about as if nothing had happened, while only Iseo’s family had been ruined and denied reinstatement. That was what hurt the most. It seemed they had completely forgotten the extermination of the Hwang clan, who had once served as ministers.
Iseo let his exhausted shoulders slump and turned back to the sieve. As he roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, Danyang’s heart ached.
“In any case, I will no longer provide money.”
Since Prince Jeongan had also returned, he would surely find Hyeonu and his mother and help them. He was a person who should have died long ago anyway. Rather than disrupting the flow of the story by showing himself, he would cut ties like this and live in hiding.
He had already done what he needed to do. From now on, he would live like dust, quietly watching Prince Jeongan’s love unfold as if reading a novel.
“You ungrateful child!”
Madam Jeong shouted and stormed out of the shop. Danyang also leapt down from the roof and ran to Ryun.
Despite his earlier reluctance, he spoke firmly as if it were obvious.
“So we just made it seem like Iseodang was sold… you’re going to buy it, right, Your Majesty?”
Ryun looked at him with a slightly reluctant expression but nodded.
“So how much money does Choi Si-hwan need?”
“I didn’t hear that much.”
“Then find out the amount and match the payment exactly to that debt. Make sure the remaining money goes to young master Iseo. Renovate the shop and entrust it to him, and it would also be good to bring in skilled craftsmen so the young master does not struggle.”
“Yes, understood. But why are you taking such an interest in the young master of Iseodang? Isn’t he just a fallen noble who makes sweets?”
“Because the Grand Queen Dowager enjoyed the snacks made by young master Iseo very much this morning.”
During the morning court visit, Ryun had carefully presented a bundle of snacks to the Grand Queen Dowager. She had enjoyed them with a cup of prepared medicinal tea and praised them greatly. Even the palace kitchen maids were known for their skill, yet the Grand Queen Dowager, who had recently lost her appetite and grown thin, had eaten with pleasure for the first time in a long while.
Since she had a small appetite, she might soon tire of them again, but until then, Iseo must not be lost.
Lost in thought, Ryun suddenly looked at Danyang as if remembering something.
“By the way, how are the matters I previously ordered? Have you investigated them?”
“About that… it has been difficult. It happened so long ago, and everyone seems reluctant to speak of it.”
It had already been eleven years. The incident in which an entire family was wiped out under the false accusation of hiding him had remained a lifelong burden of guilt for the young Ryun.
He had never even seen the face of his betrothed, and their marriage documents had not even been exchanged, so he did not even know her name. All he knew was that her family head had once been a loyal subject cherished by the former king.
