Chapter 19 — A Shift in the Balance (2)
At that moment, inside Park Jeongdo's residence, the Ibang found himself unable to speak.
"..."
Just as Park Jeongdo had said, the Ibang had been the one who approached him first and asked for help.
"Have you had some change of heart?"
The Ibang had not always been a corrupt local clerk.
However...
The problem had begun years ago, when Kim Jiseok first took office as magistrate.
That was when the Ibang had shown an ugly side of himself before his son.
"Compared to those yangban whose only merit is being born into the right status! You...! You are a hundred, a thousand times more impressive than them, Father!"
"Isu! Forgive this foolish father!"
The Ibang had never been particularly dissatisfied with his own life.
But hearing those words from his son made him ashamed of himself.
Isu is different from me.
He's an exceptionally intelligent child.
If only he were allowed to take the main state examination...
Surely he would achieve an excellent result.
He also began to feel sorry for his son.
But my son and even my grandson will probably be treated exactly as I was for the rest of their lives.
Because they were born to the wrong ancestors, they will inherit a fate that prevents them from ever taking the main state examination.
The Ibang did not want Isu to end up like him.
So what he needed to do seemed simple.
Buy a higher status.
I cannot force my son to walk the same path I did.
That was why the Ibang approached Park Jeongdo for help.
In exchange for assisting Park Jeongdo with corrupt dealings, he received large sums of money.
The Ibang had spared neither money nor effort in trying to make his son a yangban.
He wasn't a fool.
He knew full well that he was committing wrongdoing far beyond what he should have allowed himself.
But...
His love for his son had become distorted enough to blind him.
No matter what it takes...
I will make Isu a yangban!
Then came the moment when Isu refused the magistrate's offer.
"I-I'm sorry.... I am truly grateful for your words, but I don't think I can accept."
The Ibang felt as though he had been struck in the head with a hammer.
His foolish and hot-tempered son...
Yet also the boy who was more righteous and proud than anyone...
Could not even lift his head.
Only then did the Ibang finally realize the weight of his own wrongdoing.
"..."
"Hah..."
Seeing the determination on the Ibang's face, Park Jeongdo understood that further persuasion would be meaningless and let out a bitter laugh.
"I won't accept the box."
"I see. If that's your decision, then what more can I say? I only hope..."
A crooked smile appeared on Park Jeongdo's lips.
"...that you become a father your son can be proud of."
"...I will take my leave."
The Ibang's face looked exhausted from all the worrying he had done.
But his eyes were brighter than they had been in a long time.
He was just about to rise when Park Jeongdo called out.
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"...I understand your decision. Still, take the dried meat. It's quite good. Share it with your son."
"...Elder."
Park Jeongdo smiled with the expression of a generous old gentleman.
"Consider it a final gift."
After hesitating, the Ibang bowed and accepted the dried meat.
He then left the estate.
Only after his shadow disappeared beyond the gate did Park Jeongdo and Jeongmu begin speaking privately.
"Hah. Who would've imagined such a thing?"
"Indeed. But Elder, why did you give that fool a gift after all that?"
"...To buy time."
"Excuse me?"
Jeongmu tilted his head.
Park Jeongdo snorted.
"A man who has accepted something from you always has something dirty hanging over him. We already know each other's weaknesses. A little piece of meat is a cheap price if it makes him hesitate."
"...I see."
Once Jeongmu nodded in understanding, Park Jeongdo cautiously asked another question.
"Jeongmu."
"Yes, Elder."
"...Will this affect the plan?"
Jeongmu rested his chin on one hand and thought for a moment.
"Not immediately."
"Is that so?"
Jeongmu glanced toward Park Jeongdo's strongbox.
Inside it were stacks of written agreements promising the sale of land.
"Now that the agreements are already prepared, we can proceed even without the Ibang."
The Ibang had only been necessary during the process of securing land documents.
Now that the agreements were ready, they could still push forward without him.
Park Jeongdo nodded in satisfaction.
"That's the best thing I've heard today. I was worried that fool might ruin everything."
"However."
"...Hm?"
Jeongmu lowered his head with a serious expression.
"There are two things that concern me."
"Speak."
"First, the government office's ojagin has been acting strangely lately. The servants say that even after Im Dogyeom came by, that girl continues snooping around."
"By ojagin... you mean Yeoni."
Park Jeongdo recalled an old memory.
Yeoni was the daughter of a butcher.
After her father died, she would normally have been destined to become little more than someone's maid.
But Kim Jiseok had taken pity on her and brought her into the government office.
She's only a lowborn girl.
Even if she's scheming something, so what? If we pay too much attention to something so insignificant, we might create a bigger problem ourselves.
It was well known that Kim Jiseok protected that lowborn girl.
If Park Jeongdo interfered over something trivial, he might only make things worse.
"Leave the girl alone for now. Unless we hear something else, don't touch her."
Jeongmu nodded and continued.
"Understood. The second matter is the Ibang."
"Hm."
Jeongmu lowered his voice.
"Elder, we've been feeding him bribes for years. We cannot simply leave him alone like this, can we?"
"..."
"Now that he has withdrawn from the plan, there is nothing stopping him from informing Kim Jiseok at any moment."
"Hmm..."
Park Jeongdo stroked his beard thoughtfully.
He wants to kill the Ibang.
Naturally, the fewer loose ends there were before carrying out a major scheme, the better.
If they could safely eliminate the Ibang, there was little reason not to.
As always, however, the real problem was how.
"I understand what you're suggesting, but..."
Park Jeongdo deliberately trailed off.
Understanding his hesitation, Jeongmu answered immediately.
"I have a good plan. You need not trouble yourself. I will handle everything."
"Haha..."
Jeongmu had spoken confidently.
But Park Jeongdo's lukewarm response made him frown.
Grit.
Does he think I'll lose to that bastard Kang Doyul again?
Jeongmu suppressed his anger and spoke.
"...Forgive my impertinence, but this time I truly am confident. Please trust me."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Jeongmu still needed Park Jeongdo for the time being.
So despite his anger, he forced a smile and lowered himself.
You useless fool! Once the plan succeeds, I'll be the first one to stab you in the back!
"Yes. If we prepare properly and act at the right moment, failure will be impossible. Elder, please trust me just this once."
Seeing anger mixed with wounded pride in Jeongmu's eyes, Park Jeongdo became curious.
"...And when exactly would this 'right moment' be?"
"Now that the weather is warming, before long..."
Jeongmu smiled maliciously.
"The Ibang will have to go out to survey the mountain lands, won't he?"
Elder Yang cautiously watched everyone's expressions before speaking in the voice of a kindly old man.
"Goodness, Scholar! Please show this old man a little mercy."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"How much meat can an old man like me possibly eat? How much would I even need just to taste some?"
"..."
"My strength has faded with age, so I only wanted a little meat to restore my vitality. But I made one small mistake in the way I spoke. Surely you can forgive me just this once."
"Elder! That's not..."
"Quiet."
"...!"
Doyul quickly stopped Makdong from interrupting.
"I will listen to Makdong after Elder Yang finishes. You will have enough time to explain yourself, so wait your turn calmly."
"...Understood."
Mistaking Doyul's intervention for support, Elder Yang became much more enthusiastic.
"Thank you, Scholar! I am not saying I refuse to buy meat. Of course I intend to pay properly for the amount I meant to purchase. But isn't it far too cruel to demand that I buy all ten geun simply because this old man misspoke once?"
"..."
Elder Yang bowed his head.
"Please show mercy this once. Makdong can sell the remaining meat to someone else, but if I buy all ten geun, I won't even be able to eat it all before it goes bad."
"...I understand for now."
Doyul slowly nodded.
"Now, Makdong, you may speak."
"Scholar! Please listen to me!"
Unable to suppress his frustration, Makdong poured out his grievance.
"Elder Yang says I can sell the remaining nine geun to other people, but that isn't easy at all. If it were only one or two geun, maybe. But how am I supposed to sell nearly ten geun of meat within a few days in a small county like this?"
"...Hmm."
"If I had misheard him, I wouldn't even complain! But he came to a butcher shop and said he wanted ten geun, so I prepared ten geun. Now he says he meant the medicinal standard instead. What am I supposed to do?"
Storage technology was poor in Joseon.
And because meat was scarce, it was also very expensive.
There was virtually no way Makdong could sell nine geun before it spoiled.
In the end, he would have to sell it for almost nothing or throw most of it away.
Ahem. What an annoying butcher.
And all of this had been Elder Yang's intention from the beginning.
The miserly old man needed a large amount of meat for his upcoming seventieth-birthday feast.
But paying full price for all that meat felt unbearably wasteful.
So he had come up with a scheme.
I thought Makdong would complain a little, then I'd clear my throat a few times and offer to buy the meat from him cheaply.
But the damned fool dragged this all the way to the government office!
The situation had nearly become inconvenient.
But now Elder Yang secretly celebrated.
Actually, this may have worked out even better.
Judging by the way that young scholar is handling things, he seems inclined to side with me.
Excellent.
Once Makdong is in trouble, I'll approach him as though I'm doing him a favor and offer to buy the meat at a reasonable discount.
I'll get cheap meat and gain a reputation for generosity at the same time.
Two birds with one stone! Hahaha!
Elder Yang bowed respectfully.
"Scholar. I humbly ask for your wise judgment."
"...I've already reached a conclusion."
Doyul had decided almost immediately after hearing both sides.
"...You've finished thinking already?"
Kim Jiseok sounded concerned.
It was a complicated case.
Makdong clearly had reason to feel wronged.
But Elder Yang could also claim unfortunate circumstances.
Had Doyul truly resolved it that quickly?
Doyul smiled.
"Yes. Fortunately, this is a familiar kind of case, so I already have a sense of how it should be handled."
"Huh...?"
"Hm?"
"A familiar case?"
Everyone looked confused.
"Ahem. Well... I once read a book that discussed how to resolve a similar dispute."
"...There is such a book?"
Doyul hurriedly glossed over the matter.
"...It wasn't particularly famous, so you probably wouldn't know it, Magistrate. Ahem! In any case, what matters is reaching the correct resolution, isn't it?"
"That is true."
There was a separate reason Doyul had reacted with surprise the moment he heard the case.
...It's almost identical to a problem I've solved before.
Back in law school, while preparing for the bar examination, Doyul had encountered a very similar scenario in a mock exam.
Come to think of it, measurement standards were probably even more ambiguous in Joseon.
This kind of dispute may have happened more often here.
The legal issue between Makdong and Elder Yang could be summarized simply.
[Can the sales contract be rescinded on the grounds of mistake?]
Doyul smiled and spoke.
"...I, Kang Doyul, yulli of Yeongsan County, would like to offer my humble opinion to the magistrate."
Kim Jiseok smiled as well.
"Humble opinion? You're being far too modest."
