Episode 95. Sang-sang’s test (1)
“If Bok-dae-in pays for it, of course we should treat it. Please come this way.”
When the attitude of the lawmaker changed, Hwa-bok bowed her head to a man named Bok Dae-in.
“Thank you for the favor. I will definitely return the favor later.”
“It’s over later, and I don’t think you’re hurt too much, but please carry my luggage to the house. As you can see, the servant injured his leg, so I had to carry all that luggage by myself.”
Hwabok nodded his head when he noticed a man who appeared to be a servant of a man named Bokdaein with a bandage on his foot.
“All right. After my party is healed, I will lift the load for you.”
Hwabok’s wound wasn’t too big, so the doctor applied a little bit of Geumchangyak.
Bok Dae-in paid 5 nyang for treatment.
“Then now carry my burden.”
“yes. silver ball. Please rest here while I bring the luggage of the great man to the house.”
“They say you’ll be fine if you take a day off today, so come back quickly.”
“yes.”
Bok Dae-in made Hwa-bok bear all the burden.
Hwabok carried the burden on his shoulders without complaining because Bokdaein didn’t lift any of the burden, but he paid 5 nyang for treatment.
‘Ugh, this is pretty heavy.’
Hwabok stood up straight, holding her balance on her legs that were about to stumble.
“Follow me.”
“yes.”
Bokdaein went ahead, and the servant limped along beside Hwabok.
“Is your luggage very heavy?”
“Well, it’s a little heavy, but bearable.”
“Looks like he lives a noble life… He must have met a group of beggars who were no different from a group of robbers and were punished.”
“How would you know that pretending to be hurt like that is acting?”
“Confucius doesn’t really know the world. It is a common trick of beggars to rob people in that way.”
“Is that so? Aren’t those beggars vicious?”
“It is only when beggars are beggars that they behave servilely. Is it because the merchants are accompanied by escorts simply because they are afraid of robbers or bandits? Even beggars belong to every common person.”
“okay. I’ll have to keep that in mind when I see beggars in the future. Is it far from home anyway?”
“I have two more visits.”
“yes! What is that?”
Hwabok was surprised. The weight of the luggage on my shoulders was too heavy to carry for two hours, and it was already late afternoon, so it would be midnight when the sun had gone down.
When Hwabok was surprised, the servant made a rather strange expression.
“You mean it’s only two o’clock away? I walked for two days with that burden.”
“It’s not because the luggage is heavy… it’s because the party is waiting.”
“I don’t know where I’m going, but since I was seriously injured, shouldn’t I have to sleep in a nearby inn anyway?”
“That’s right.”
“I paid a whopping five pieces. No matter how precious life is, you don’t have to pay for it.”
“It is. I was short-tempered.”
Hwabok was speechless at the servant’s criticism.
If it was 5 nyang, it was money that an adult man could earn after two and a half days of work. That’s a lot of money for just two hours of luggage.
Hwa-bok walked for two hours carrying a heavy load, and her legs were shaking and her whole body was wet with sweat.
“Good work.”
“Hey! Oh no Then let’s go now.”
“I had a hard time bringing my luggage until now, but please eat and go.”
Hwabok habitually tried to refuse, but suddenly remembered that he had no money.
‘Come to think of it, I can’t even get a guest cup. The weather is warm, so it’s okay to sleep in the rubella camp, but… Eun-gong must be hungry too.’
“My party is waiting, so could you pack some rice for me?”
“Oops, I said I was robbed by a bunch of beggars. Okay. I’ll have my underlings prepare the food, so wait a little bit.”
“yes.”
“Oh, and with this money, you should be able to grab a shabby inn.”
Daein Bok took out 2 nyang of Osujeon from his bosom.
“Thank you. I will definitely return the favor later.”
“What is grace? Don’t be taken away by the beggars again.”
“Haha, I will never make that mistake again.”
Bok Dae-in went into the house, and Hwa-bok returned to the medical room after a while with a small bag brought by a servant.
The doctor’s room was already closed, and Eun-muk was waiting in front of the doctor’s room for a reconciliation.
“I thought you abandoned me because you didn’t come.”
“sorry. Bok Daein’s house is so far away that I walked four times.”
“I was also surprised to find out from the councilor where Daein Bok’s house was only later. So I waited until now, otherwise I would have gone back to Yeongcheonseong alone.”
“Anyway, that senator is so mean. It’s time to close the door, but you’re throwing out patients like this.”
“Isn’t that what all people in the world are like? Hmm, I can smell the savory smell from somewhere. Is it food in the bag?”
“yes. Bokdaein, who heard about our situation, ordered a servant to pack some food for us.”
“okay. Come on, take a look. I haven’t eaten anything since I ate a late breakfast, so I’m so hungry.”
“yes.”
When I opened the bag, there were 3 rice balls in it.
Hwa-bok and Eun-muk ate one loaf at a time and hesitated, unable to reach for the rice balls.
“I usually eat less, so I’m already full. Take care of this.”
“It is the food that the painter got, how can I eat it alone without shame. Would you like to share half?”
“Ah, that will work.”
Hwabok no longer trembled with humility and shared the rice ball in half.
“Silver ball. I received two more coins from the fortune teller so that I could get a guest cup, but it was already late at night…”
It was too late to knock on the door of any house to ask for a night’s sleep. In fact, there is no way that the world will put you to sleep just because it is like that.
Eun-mook opened her mouth as if she knew Hwa-bok’s inability to speak.
“With that money, I can go on the road tomorrow without going hungry. It’s not too cold to sleep, so how about sleeping anywhere?”
“That’s right. Fortunately, there are many spare clothes in the pack, so if you wear thick clothes, you will be able to withstand the cold.”
The two were able to sleep over a bonfire in a clearing near the village.
Eun-muk woke up the next day and walked with Hwa-bok, but his legs limped. Because of this, Hwa-bok had to walk while supporting Eun-muk.
“It’s probably because of me that we won’t be able to reach Yeongcheon before the Dragon Boat Festival ends… I’ll just go first, I’ll take care of myself later.”
“It can’t be. Eun Gong is the one who came to help me, how could I go alone? If we walk diligently, we should be able to reach Yeongcheon Castle well before Dragon Boat Festival.”
“That would be nice, but… I see. Let’s walk as far as we can.”
Hwabok saved two nyang as much as possible and walked while buying rice balls or steamed buns sold on the street.
I bought steamed buns to eat the next day in the morning and was walking when three young beggars begged.
“I’m sorry, but I’m in no position to help you right now.”
Hwabok passed by ignoring the young beggars.
After a while, an old woman and a young girl, who looked like skin and bones, cringed and begged.
stop.
“Whoa…”
Hwabok handed out one of the two loaves of bread to the little girl.
“I can only give you this. sorry.”
Eun-muk made a puzzled expression while looking at such a hwabok.
“The young beggars from a while ago pretended not to see it, so why did they give bread to that grandson? Is it because of those beggars last time?”
“Oh, there is that too.”
Hwabok scratched his head shyly.
“It wasn’t because of that… it was just because it was so nice to see a young child taking care of an elderly mother. It’s okay for me to starve for another day or two, but wouldn’t that be the case for that child?”
“Isn’t starving the same as young beggars and that grandson?”
“That’s true, but the sight of an elderly mother with limited mobility still touches my heart.”
“Hmm~. is it? Then we both share this bread.”
“no. Have a silver ball.”
“Tsk, only you have a heart and I don’t? We have a long way to go, but we have no money… Let’s save it and go.”
When Eun-muk took out half of the steamed bread, Hwa-bok ate it with a shy expression.
“Then, I will eat without shame.”
“I don’t have shame. It would have been much easier if I had left it.”
“The body may be comfortable, but the mind will be uncomfortable. I’m not that shameless.”
“Huh true. Confucius Hwa really has a great personality. The world would be better if people like you were in charge. I hope His Highness honors you and bestows you with a high rank.”
“What if it’s an aesthetic job? No matter what position you are in, shouldn’t you be able to serve the emperor above and enrich the lives of the people below? I would rather be in a position where I can help more people than a high official.”
“Heh heh… If I had the strength, I would definitely hire someone like a painter, but as you can see, I’m also a body that runs errands… so all I can say is. Too bad.”
“no. I am really grateful. If it wasn’t for me, Eun Gong wouldn’t have suffered like this. Above all, isn’t it an era where it is difficult for even those who put in so much effort to climb to the bottom of the aesthetics? It’s such a shame because I’m so bad that I’m benefiting from my younger brother.”
Eun-muk looked at Hwa-bok with a strange expression and smiled slightly.
* * *
“Today is the last day of the Dragon Boat Festival, so why haven’t you come yet?”
The fireman was standing in front of the gate of Yeongcheon Castle with a nervous expression on his face.
By probing Hyeon-bi and Cheong-bi, he found out how long Sang Jin-gyu had told his brother to come. Of course, they didn’t even know about the test.
The sun went down and the soldiers at the gate began to prepare to close the gate.
“If you come by horse, it’s two days away, but it’s not like you changed your mind and didn’t come, right?”
As the fireman anxiously paced in front of the castle gate, a soldier cautiously approached and opened his mouth.
“Hey, Mr. Hwabu.”
“yes.”
“I have to close the gates now, so please step out of the way.”
The painter turned his head and looked at the sun disappearing over the sunset.
“ha-. driving me crazy. I’m sorry, soldier over there, but can you leave the gate open for just a little bit more?”
“If the city gates are not closed in time, my colleagues and I will be reprimanded. sorry.”
“Yes? I’m sorry. What am I talking about?”
When the fireman withdrew, the soldier and his comrades closed the gate.
thud.
When the castle gate closed, the fireman’s complexion darkened rapidly.
No matter how much Sang Jin-gyu liked him, he didn’t think he would bestow an official position on his older brother who broke his promise.
“I do not know. True hyung…you should have come no matter what.”
The fireman shook his head, but could not leave the gate. Later, I went up to the watchtower and looked down from the side of the soldier, out of sight because it was dark.
Originally, ordinary people could not climb the watchtower, but soldiers who owed the fireman permission. The fireman waited for a long time, then came down from the watchtower and returned to the Yeoncheong guest house when the moon was in the middle of the sky.
“Oh, and hyung too!”
I thought something was going to happen.
Although he is still young and doesn’t know much about the world, his uprightness was what the painter felt enough.
“Did something happen?”
Until now, he had suffered quite a bit when he was outside. In some ways, Hwabok doesn’t know that kind of world better than herself.
What if you met robbers or bandits on the way?
“I am worried about this. Shall we go out tomorrow? Ah-oh! You can’t do that because there’s an assassin.”
The painter couldn’t be restless in a situation where he couldn’t do this or that. In addition, the inspection plaque of Uicheong may be taken away tomorrow.
The painter couldn’t sleep all night because of the growing worries.
The next day, he ordered misinformation to find out the atmosphere in the palace, and went out to the gate again.
After noon, it was lunchtime, and Obo learned about the atmosphere in the palace.
“Hyeonbi Mama and Cheongbi Mama are quite concerned about Master’s safety. Master’s inspection plaque was confiscated. I said I would do anything to stop it… but His Highness is angry, so it seems difficult for Confucius Hwabok to be hired.”
“W I guess so too.”
“Also, there is a dispute on the side of Mama Cheongbi, and she also said that if she were to become pregnant before the Mama Hyeonbi, she would make a seat for Namhyeon Yeo.”
“Whoa! is it? Good job.”
“What am I struggling with? I’m just going to pick it up and listen.”
“By the way, are there any changes in your body?”
The painter turned the subject of the story with an expression of almost giving up.
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