## Chapter 5 — The Thousand-Nyang Lawyer (2)
The king was the master of Joseon's Eight Provinces.
The people were required to offer the specialties of their regions to the royal palace as tribute.
As a result, unique products from across the country gathered at the royal court.
Among them, fruit was extremely precious because it was difficult to cultivate.
And of all those rare fruits...
One fruit stood above the rest.
The tangerine.
"Tangerines are produced only on Jeju Island and in the southern parts of Jeolla Province. They can only be harvested during winter, which makes them extremely precious. All tangerines must be offered as tribute. So how could you possibly..."
Donggu looked at Ppaengi as if he were some kind of animal.
Ppaengi quietly averted his gaze.
"Ahem. Ahem."
Tangerines weren't literally more expensive than gold.
But because nearly all of them were destined for the royal court, ordinary commoners had little chance to even see one.
So saying they were rarer than gold wasn't entirely wrong either.
"Young Master, we need to throw him out immediately. He's a terrible man. He comes to someone destined to serve the nation and says he was secretly promised tangerines? He deserves a severe flogging."
"Wait. Let's hear the rest before deciding."
Promising to receive tribute tangerines might itself become a problem.
However, judging from the story so far, Ppaengi hadn't actually received any.
And that didn't seem to be the real issue.
"Yes... Ahem. To be honest, I never really expected I'd receive tangerines! I thought it was just something he said out of courtesy!"
"Then what became the problem?"
"Well, one day I was drinking at Elder Park Jeongdo's house and..."
"Park Jeongdo? Isn't Elder Park Jeongdo the richest man in this county?"
Even Donggu knows him? He must be famous.
Park Jeongdo was apparently the wealthiest influential man in the region.
Since Ppaengi bought merchandise in the capital and sold it elsewhere, he naturally had business dealings with people like Park Jeongdo.
Normally, Park Jeongdo treated Ppaengi very generously.
But on that particular day, while Ppaengi was drinking at Park Jeongdo's house...
Snore!
Despite normally handling alcohol extremely well, he somehow got completely drunk and passed out.
"I was drinking with Elder Park and overdid it. I lost consciousness... and the next day, he suddenly showed me a paeji."
"...A paeji?"
"Yes. A written agreement supposedly made between me and Elder Park's servant. My memory is hazy because I was completely drunk, but... apparently I promised to sell the servant tangerines."
A paeji was a form of written contract used in Joseon.
"So Elder Park pushed the document in front of me and threatened me with it. Sob... He said that while drinking, I bragged that I was going to receive tangerines. His servant apparently didn't believe me and suggested writing up an agreement. Then they claim I accepted and placed my hand seal on it."
...Hm?
"You don't remember examining that document at all?"
"Of course not! Would I have put my hand seal on a document like that if I were sober? I'm only saying this to you, Scholar, but no matter how much I think about it, I don't believe that hand seal was made willingly!"
"Then... are you suggesting Elder Park used your hand to make the seal while you were unconscious?"
Ppaengi cautiously nodded.
He couldn't directly accuse Park Jeongdo of such a thing.
From his perspective, the situation was enough to drive him insane.
"Yes... That's right. Elder Park gave me three choices."
"...Let's hear them."
Ppaengi immediately looked miserable.
"First. He takes the contract directly to the government office."
Taking a written agreement for the illegal sale of tribute tangerines to the government office?
That was an obvious threat.
"Second. I sell him the tangerines as promised."
"Hmm..."
But Ppaengi didn't have the tangerines.
How could he sell what he didn't possess?
"Third. I pay him one thousand nyang in exchange for burning the contract."
"Good grief..."
Donggu let out a hollow laugh.
"My ears are rotting from listening to this nonsense. The anger sleeping inside me is beginning to awaken. We should throw this rotten bastard outside before I beat him half to death."
"...Just stay quiet for a moment."
"Oh? Were you planning to beat him yourself, Young Master?"
Doyul ignored Donggu and calmly asked Ppaengi another question.
"I understand what happened. So why exactly did you come to me?"
Ppaengi answered in a tiny voice.
"O-Of course I know I did something wrong... B-But isn't this too harsh for one drunken mistake? I don't know enough to understand how I should respond, so I came seeking the wisdom of a learned scholar..."
"...Hmm."
Ppaengi asked desperately.
"I truly regret it! B-But demanding a whole thousand nyang over something like this... Isn't that a little excessive? If there were any way to reduce the amount, I would be extremely grateful..."
From Doyul's perspective, the suggestion was absurd.
But surprisingly, Ppaengi appeared to be genuinely considering that option.
If he gives Park Jeongdo money, it'll only create bigger problems.
This needs to be handled through litigation.
Doyul already had a strategy in mind.
But there was a problem.
It wasn't exactly the kind of strategy a lawyer would normally choose.
Doyul thought for a moment.
Haah.
Still, fighting this by conventional means puts us at too much of a disadvantage.
Between legal ethics and the probability of winning...
Doyul chose victory.
He spoke calmly.
"Do not give Park Jeongdo anything."
"R-Really?!"
Ppaengi's face brightened.
"Hm? It seems I never finished what I was writing earlier. Let's see..."
Doyul casually added another sentence.
[Fee: ten percent of the amount saved, payable only upon success.]
Ppaengi stared at the writing in disbelief.
***
Ppaengi asked doubtfully.
"Scholar! If I simply ignore Park Jeongdo's proposal... do you truly have some sort of solution?"
From Doyul's perspective, there was only one proper approach.
"Hm? Naturally, we go to the government office."
Ppaengi's eyes widened at Doyul's calm answer.
"W-What are you talking about?!"
I thought he had some intelligence. Is he actually this impossible to communicate with?
Ppaengi cleared his throat before speaking carefully.
"Ahem! Forgive me, but I think there may be a misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding?"
"Well... I did not come here because I'm worried that I might actually have to give Park Jeongdo tangerines... Ahem!"
If they brought a contract involving the sale of royal tribute goods before the government office, the agreement would obviously be invalid.
Ppaengi knew that.
Park Jeongdo knew it too.
"But that's not the problem! If Park Jeongdo brings that document to the government office, I might be severely punished for daring to sell royal tribute goods!"
Did Park Jeongdo actually believe the contract itself was legally enforceable?
Of course not.
Joseon people weren't idiots.
Ppaengi could somehow try to obtain the tangerines.
Or he could let the government discover everything and receive severe punishment.
Or he could end the matter by paying one thousand nyang.
Park Jeongdo was essentially telling him:
Choose whichever one you like.
There were two reasons Park Jeongdo had used his servant's name on the contract instead of his own.
The first was that, given Joseon's social customs, it was frowned upon for a yangban to directly conduct business.
So transactions were often handled through servants.
The second was even simpler.
If litigation began, Park Jeongdo could cut off responsibility.
Suppose the magistrate declared that both buyer and seller should be punished.
Park Jeongdo could simply say the contract wasn't made in his name and pretend he knew nothing about it.
Of course, Kim Jiseok probably couldn't casually punish Park Jeongdo, the wealthiest and most influential man in the area.
Still, there was no reason for Park Jeongdo to expose himself to unnecessary risk.
Ppaengi leaned closer to Doyul and whispered.
"I came to you because I wanted to know whether I should somehow negotiate the thousand nyang down with Park Jeongdo or whether there was some other brilliant solution! But if you start thinking about whether this contract is legally valid at face value, what am I supposed to do? I'm not a complete idiot! Did you think I came here because I genuinely didn't know whether I had to somehow find tangerines and hand them over to Park Jeongdo?!"
Doyul silently listened.
"Tch! I came here because I was afraid of going to the government office, and now you're telling me to go straight there! What kind of...! Forget it. I'll be leaving. Pretend this never happened!"
Doyul waited until he finished before slowly speaking.
"The worst possible choice would be to perform the agreement."
Ppaengi stopped.
"...What did you say?"
"In that case, even if you somehow obtained tangerines and handed them over, you'd only make the situation worse. If you truly smuggled and sold royal tribute goods, punishment would become unavoidable, and Park Jeongdo would gain even greater leverage over you."
"..."
Ppaengi quietly sat back down.
"...The next-worst option would be for Park Jeongdo to report you first and force you into a difficult trial."
"Y-Yes."
"The mediocre option would be to pay Park Jeongdo as he demands. Money may be precious, but if spending it guaranteed your safety, it wouldn't be the worst outcome."
Ppaengi couldn't hide his confusion.
But hadn't Doyul just said they should file a petition with the government office?
"Then why are you telling me to submit a lawsuit?"
Doyul answered simply.
"What will you do if Park Jeongdo takes the thousand nyang and still refuses to stop?"
"W-Well..."
Park Jeongdo had already threatened him by demanding one thousand nyang in exchange for destroying the contract.
There was absolutely no guarantee he would actually destroy it after receiving the money.
Ppaengi's face fell.
"Then... what am I supposed to do?!"
"In that case..."
Doyul smiled.
"Wouldn't the best possible solution be to pay him nothing and have the entire matter disappear quietly?"
From the perspective of modern law, there were many ways to argue that the agreement was invalid.
Establishing the invalidity itself would not be particularly difficult.
Even Ppaengi, who knew almost nothing about law, understood that an agreement to sell royal tribute tangerines couldn't possibly be enforceable.
But...
How could Doyul establish that invalidity while also minimizing the risk that his client would be punished?
The most obvious approach would be illegality against public order.
But that's the worst possible self-destructive move.
The agreement concerned illegal conduct from the beginning.
If Doyul argued that the contract was invalid because its purpose was unlawful, he would almost certainly win on validity.
The problem was what came afterward.
Avoiding punishment for Ppaengi would become extremely difficult.
Many other strategies came to mind.
But once he examined them carefully, they were either unsuitable for the circumstances or carried too much risk of losing.
A lawyer's skill isn't just knowing what rights exist.
It's knowing which claim gives the client the greatest advantage.
Doyul picked up the brush.
...If that's the case, there's only one proper approach to this matter.
Then he rapidly wrote out the petition in one smooth motion.
"Oh! You're really writing something this time!"
"What else would the Young Master be writing if not writing?"
"Ah. N-Nothing!"
