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Chapter 14
“I’ve never received any myself, but I’ve heard about it from the older sisters. They say she hands out silver.”
“Money, huh.”
Above all else, it was the most certain and effective tool.
“How much?”
“Pardon?”
“How much money are we talking about? The kind she throws around as rewards.”
Unable to understand the point of the question, Dan Suryeon looked puzzled. Geum Seolha asked again.
“Can Hong Buin’s monthly allowance cover it?”
Dan Suryeon’s eyes widened in surprise. After a moment of thought, she shook her head.
“I don’t know the exact amount, but I don’t think that would be possible.”
“Then would Moyong Sookmo be the sort of person to secretly provide Hong Buin with extra money?”
“That also… probably not.”
Raised as the treasured daughter of the Moyong family, Moyong Huisa was not someone who painstakingly involved herself in the management of servants.
“She might provide some money if necessary, but certainly not enough to be generous.”
As Dan Suryeon spoke after careful consideration, Geum Seolha’s mind worked rapidly.
“I heard that while Baek Buin remained secluded, Hong Buin gained influence and took charge of all sorts of matters.”
“That’s correct.”
“Does she handle affairs involving large sums of money?”
Only then did Dan Suryeon realize where Geum Seolha’s questions were leading. Tension settled over her face.
“Clothing, food, medicinal ingredients, even furnishing residences. All of those involve considerable expenses.”
“The Geum household has the Mudan.”
And the Mudan tore clothes and broke things on a daily basis. That meant a constant stream of money being spent on replacements.
“Has the quality of the food you receive remained the same?”
“It’s become a little… worse.”
“It’s become a lot worse for us!”
So Yeongyeong, who had been standing a few steps away, immediately blurted out. Geum Seolha crossed her arms.
She started cutting costs where it wouldn’t be obvious.
Now she understood why Yu Eunsul had repeatedly brought her meals separately.
Looks like she’s been tampering with the food sent to my residence too.
She had intended to take her time gathering evidence, but things were pouring out from the very beginning.
“But, Miss. Without evidence, Hong Buin won’t step down easily.”
Moyong Huisa stood behind her.
At the mention of that name, Geum Seolha nodded.
“I know. That’s why I plan to deal with that connection too.”
If someone had a powerful backer that was difficult to confront, all she had to do was make that backer find Hong Yeongryeong too troublesome to keep around.
Despite her light tone, Dan Suryeon instinctively understood the enormity of what Geum Seolha was proposing and inhaled sharply.
Only So Yeongyeong, who had roughly guessed the situation, remained calm.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve learned enough.”
Dan Suryeon, lost in thought, suddenly shuddered at Geum Seolha’s words.
“If something goes wrong, you might end up being framed instead, Miss.”
It was a cautious attempt to stop her.
“I know.”
“Then why…?”
“Because if I leave her alone, she’ll keep acting without knowing her place.”
Geum Seolha spoke with an expressionless face.
“She touched one of my people. I think it’s time to teach her a lesson.”
A cold sneer appeared on her lips, carrying an unmistakable determination to see things through no matter what.
Geum Seolha turned away. So Yeongyeong immediately followed beside her.
Dan Suryeon stood frozen, watching the two figures grow farther away. Then suddenly she broke into a run.
“Huff, huff! Wait, just a moment!”
Her hand tightly grabbed the hem of Geum Seolha’s skirt.
“Can you really get rid of that woman?”
“The rumors have probably spread everywhere already. I want Hong Buin to suffer even more than what she did to my maid.”
“…”
“Not only will I get rid of her. I’ll make sure she pays dearly for everything she’s done.”
Dan Suryeon hesitated before speaking.
“When I was cleaning Hong Buin’s residence, I once saw her hiding something.”
A glimmer appeared in Geum Seolha’s eyes.
“But you don’t know what it was or what kind of item it was.”
It could have simply been something valuable that she didn’t want others to see.
At that reasonable observation, Dan Suryeon shook her head.
“It was a book with writing in it. I only glimpsed it briefly, but it looked like an account ledger.”
Only then did Geum Seolha’s expression change.
Geum Jugang had once said that Hong Buin was known as a very generous person.
“And he also said generosity comes from having money.”
Everything fit together perfectly.
The problem was that obtaining it would require directly interfering with Hong Buin’s residence.
Just as Geum Seolha let out a troubled sigh—
“I’ll bring it to you.”
“If you get caught, it won’t end with a beating. You could lose your life. Didn’t you say Hong Buin is ruthless?”
“I don’t care. Just promise me one thing. If I bring you that ledger, make sure she’s thrown out of the Geum household with nothing left to her name.”
As though that was the only thing she desired, her eyes burned with blue-hot fury.
Geum Seolha slowly nodded.
“Fine. I promise.”
With a face full of determination, Dan Suryeon bowed deeply and departed.
Geum Seolha and So Yeongyeong soon left as well.
“I never knew Sister Dan had that side to her.”
So Yeongyeong stared blankly for a moment before suddenly slapping her own cheeks.
“Yeongyeong?”
“Now’s not the time to be spacing out. We still have more people to meet.”
She explained that she was trying to clear her head and clenched both fists tightly.
Making sure not to attract attention, the two slipped out of Sohajeon and passed through several areas before arriving near the training grounds used by the warriors of Hwangryongdae.
“Huh? Yeongyeong, what brings you here?”
“Ah, Warrior Heo! Long time no see! Is your arm fully healed?”
“It was just a scratch. It healed ages ago.”
The man laughed heartily.
As she chatted with him, So Yeongyeong casually steered the conversation toward her real purpose.
“There are so many people who request ointment and then never come to pick it up, so I came personally.”
“Oh dear, those fools are bothering you again.”
Heo Chung glared toward the warriors training on the grounds as though he intended to discipline them.
So Yeongyeong waved her hand.
“Oh, it’s part of what a maid from the Medical Hall does. I’ll just deliver them and leave. Is that okay?”
“Go ahead. It happens to be break time.”
Heo Chung stepped aside.
As So Yeongyeong and Geum Seolha passed by him—
“Huh? Miss?”
“Miss? Whatever do you mean?”
Geum Seolha tilted her head innocently and spoke in a gentle tone.
Her clueless appearance made Heo Chung frown.
“Yeongyeong?”
“She’s a new maid at the Medical Hall. I’m taking her around and teaching her.”
“Is that so?”
Still looking suspicious, Heo Chung stared at Geum Seolha for a while before waving them onward.
Only after they had walked far away did So Yeongyeong finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew… Have you ever met Captain Heo before?”
Seeing how genuinely startled she looked, Geum Seolha scratched her cheek.
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember meeting him.”
“Still, your acting was good enough that we got through it safely. Things could have become troublesome.”
Something in So Yeongyeong’s words caught Geum Seolha’s attention.
“Is he close to my uncles?”
Seeing Geum Seolha’s sudden change in mood, So Yeongyeong shook her head.
“Not really. But he has absolutely no sense of caution and no malice either. If anything catches his eye or reaches his ears, even by accident, it becomes a huge commotion.”
“A huge commotion?”
“Yes. Right now, he’s the last person we want noticing us.”
Geum Seolha glanced back.
She was curious what kind of person could earn such a reputation.
“We’d better hurry.”
So Yeongyeong quickened her pace.
When she had prepared the clothes for Geum Seolha, she had also brought ointments in advance. As they moved through the area, she genuinely distributed them to the warriors one by one.
“Where’s Warrior Eun?”
“If you mean the vice-captain, he’s over there.”
Following the direction indicated by the warriors, So Yeongyeong and Geum Seolha headed over.
A youthful-looking man was pouring water over himself beside a well. His gaze fell upon the ointment in So Yeongyeong’s hand.
“I don’t recall requesting any ointment from the Medical Hall.”
“Warrior Ha said there was a request, so we came.”
At those words, Eun Seokho glanced toward his comrades in the distance.
“I heard there was some commotion yesterday. Is this because of that?”
“That’s part of it, but…”
So Yeongyeong darted her eyes around before quietly stepping aside.
Geum Seolha moved forward.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I came because I have something to ask.”
“Who… Wait. Could it be Miss Seolha?”
Geum Seolha paused when Eun Seokho recognized her immediately.
Even the captain of Hwangryongdae had recognized her at a glance. Why did everyone know her so well?
“It’s because you resemble the Young Lord very much.”
“The Young Lord?”
Ah.
A look of realization crossed Geum Seolha’s face.
Hwangryongdae served the head of the Geum household as their lord. The only person they would call the Young Lord was—
“My father and I look that alike?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
Geum Seolha’s expression turned strange.
After briefly losing herself in thought, she shook it off and continued.
“I came to ask about the uniforms, meals, and other supplies provided to Hwangryongdae.”
Eun Seokho narrowed his eyes, then quickly adopted a knowing expression.
“They’ve become noticeably poor without being obvious about it.”
