"For a pay worth two spoonful of rice."
Dohyun looked towards Hyun Ki who was also shocked at the information they had just gained, something was definitely wrong.
Official Yang spoke, "If your problem lies with the buyers then why must your people drag the royal palace into your mess? The way they've talked about the royal palace could easily get them all beheaded for such conduct."
"Official Yang", Dohyun said, "Do not forget why we are here. We came here to try and fix the situation and not to blame and complain about it."
"Lee Sun Kwan-ssi, you say the majority is bought by those from the Golden Capital, do you have a list of receipts?" Seung Hyun Ki said, "Preferably those beginning since the prices started dropping."
He looked at Dohyun saying, "Only a certain amount of people would be wealthy enough to afford such products in bulk, if reselling is a problem then I would be able to easily point out where. And although the possibility of corruption is low, it is not impossible."
Lee Sun Kwan hurriedly said, "Of course young master, allow me to quickly fetch the record book."
"Seung Hyun Ki-ssi", Official Yang said with a flabbergasted expression, "Do you not think of your words before you speak? Corruption? You imply that the office of the general inspector may have overseen such deeds?"
"Not in that sense Official Yang, but due to the circumstances right now, there are only a few possibilities that I can think of because as far as I know, such products as gold and silver are of high value in the market as of now", Hyun Ki explained.
"You-"
"Here young master, this is the record of imports and sales from five months ago", Lee Sun Kwan said, handing over a thick book.
Seung Hyun Ki flipped through the pages, taking note of specific names and amounts before he finally lifted his head with a weird expression, "Your highness, the prices have indeed significantly gone down but something else has catched my attention."
He turned the book so that it faced Dohyun, "While these buyers don't necessarily buy in very large amounts… all of them are heads from the ministries."
Official Yeon cut in, "It is common for the ministry heads to buy valuable items from all around, as far as I know, every ministry head has some gold, silver, jade, or porcelain related business."
Official Yang added, "Indeed, the ministry heads are wealthy people with businesses throughout the Golden Capital."
"If they are as wealthy as you claim them to be, why would they buy at such low prices?" Dohyun pondered on.
Official Yeon and Official Yang were silent once again.
"Lee Sun Kwan-ssi, if things were already this bad, why let it come to this?" Dohyun asked, confused as to why they had let the situation become so extreme.
Lee Sun Kwan sighed, "Your highness we have tried to communicate with the buyers, some of our men have personally journeyed to the Golden Capital just to be kicked out or denied entry."
He added with a defeated face, "We have tried everything we possibly could, since we ran out of options, the people had no choice but to start a ruckus. Your highness, you need to help us", his voice desperate.
Suddenly understanding where they were coming from, they had likely tried everything they could have and when it came to no avail, they could only resort to ways that would catch the royal palace's attention. It was a situation where status and power were two main factors. It was clear to all of them that privilege was only provided to those of wealthy families and those who weren't, were disregarded in every sense.
"I will do my best Lee Sun Kwan-ssi, I'll see to it that prices will go back to normal as soon as I return", Dohyun said, "May I keep this for now?" he asked, referring to the book Seung Hyun Ki was holding.
"Of course your highness, please ask me for anything you and your people might need, since I don't have enough space here in my residence to serve all of you, I prepared my inn for your stay. You don't have to worry about other people since I've closed it temporarily, there should be a person there to assist your every request."
"Then for this night Lee Sun Kwan-ssi shall we hope for your understanding", Dohyun said standing up.
"No such thing your highness, for you to have come here is already enough hope for me and my people", Lee Sun Kwan deeply bowed.
With that, they left for the inn which was located rather close to his residence, it was his business after all. Two women had been waiting inside and greeted them, assisting them to their rooms. Byung Ho and Minhye made sure the guards were positioned around the perimeters at all times, allowing them to take breaks and rest in between shifts.
It felt weird to see Jaeyong with them, he was definitely more capable than the other guards but at the same time, he seemed more elegant as if it was wrong to have him positioned outside standing all day. Dohyun would call for him later, later after he had a conversation with Seung Hyun Ki who was currently in the room beside his own.
The inn was two stories and had decent sized rooms, you could tell that it belonged to a prosperous village although at the moment, one wouldn't be able to see that no matter how hard he tried to open his eyes.
He knocked on the door three times before whispering, "Seung Hyun Ki-ssi, are you awake?"
A few seconds later, the door opened and Dohyun entered. Now without the eyes and ears of the two elderly officials they could freely talk. Which brings back what they had discussed in Dohyun's room before the night they left.
As Junwoo was seated around the small table in Dohyun's room, it was obvious that Junwoo had also recently thought of what Sanghoon had suggested about the whole situation being a bit suspicious.
"I also thought so", Junwoo said.
Byung Ho, "Your highness Prince Junwoo, you should also bring your personal guards in case. The royal guards are trained for combat but also have their shortcomings."
"Thank you for your concern, I will see to that", Junwoo noted.
"If I may your highness's", Hyun Ki mentioned, "Due to the similar situations, reports and log books from the villages themselves could help a lot. Even if they seem perfectly normal, if there are things being overlooked or wrongly changed, it would be easy to spot."
"I thought so as well", Junwoo stated, "I'll do what I can to bring back useful documents."
Though the chances were high that they were just speculating and making random guesses, they all felt that it would be wrong to ignore something so obvious. Any information they could get their hands on could help explain these coincidences.
Dohyun and Hyun Ki sat down on the floor taking opposite sides to one of the tables, Hyun Ki was first to speak. "With the information we have right now, it wouldn't seem odd for these ministry heads to buy large amounts but why would so many buy from just here? There are plenty of other mining sites which would be more beneficial for them."
"I'm also at a loss", Dohyun said, "All I can do right now is change the prices and fix whatever problem the buyers have with that but if a similar situation happens here or elsewhere, people don't have access to royal court members or offices that can help with their concerns."
"The royal palace was not built in one day, your highness", Hyun Ki said, offering him a smile. "Problems are solved one at a time, I believe his highness is doing his best."
Dohyun suddenly thought it funny how Seung Hyun Ki sounded exactly like a younger version of Master Seo, he dryly chuckled saying, "You're right, and I think you would make an excellent scholar one day Hyun Ki-ssi."
A random thought flew into his mind, "Actually, I think there is something else I need you to do once we return. Let's say the ministry heads do have all sorts of business but there is only a number of gold related shops in the capital, those of which I don't think are necessarily related to the heads.
If you could, look into where these large amounts of gold are heading to for each ministry head in this record."
Seung Hyun Ki couldn't exactly grasp the reason behind it but nevertheless nodded his head, "I'll see to that the minute we get back."
After finishing things up with Hyun Ki, Dohyun silently returned to his room making sure not to gain attention from the two officials next door. Later that night, one of the ladies working at the inn served them dinner in their separate rooms. Dohyun liked eating with others but it wouldn't be okay to call Byung Ho, Minhye, and Jaeyong to eat with him given the circumstances.
Gazing out the small window at the back of his room, he could only make out what was the dark forest behind and the stars above twinkling around the moon, full and luminous.
An unknown time later, Dohyun's eyes opened from his sleep, it was still dark outside, perhaps I've only rested a short while? He walked outside watching from the window, two of the royal guards were on watch outside while the others were resting to the side; on the far right stood Jaeyong, his gaze looking out down the hill where the villagers' houses rested.
Dohyun snuck around, as he made his way to Jaeyong without being seen by the others. "Your highness…", Jaeyong said when he saw him, "Is something wrong?"
Dohyun softly shook his head, "I fell asleep earlier, what time is it?"
"Early morning your highness", his voice softly spoke.
Early morning?
Realizing he had actually slept through the night, Dohyun asked, "What about you? Have you been guarding all this time?"
Jaeyong shook his head, "I've rested well earlier, I just prefer the morning shift."
"Oh", Dohyun let out, looking towards the direction Jaeyong had been gazing at earlier, the sky was still black and the clouds were momentarily covering the moon, most of the light came from torches and lamps outside that burned along the roads and the doorsteps of houses.
"Would you… like to go on a walk with me?" Dohyun suddenly asked, wanting to walk along the vacant roads.
"If his highness wishes to go on a walk then I will surely accompany you", Jaeyong said.
His answer wasn't an exact yes or no and Dohyun didn't know if he really wanted to or if he just obliged by his wishes, but he still took that as an affirmative answer. To be honest, half of the time he couldn't figure out the exact reasoning behind the other's decisions unless he asked specific questions; the one thing that made him feel it was alright was the feeling that the other didn't mind his random requests.
The air was cool against Dohyun's face, not too cold that he shivered but enough to make one feel refreshed. It wasn't often that we would walk around early morning inside the palace, royal guards were always taking shifts and pacing around, instead, he sat in his small garden behind his house, the bushes were high enough to prevent anyone from seeing inside and the space was large enough for three people, making it convenient to do whatever he pleased.
He could hear Jaeyong's gentle footsteps behind him, if it were anyone else he would probably feel weird or distant from that person but now, he found himself growing used to the sound of those footsteps always following from behind.
To the side of the road yellow evening primrose flowers bloomed, they were a beautiful sight, Dohyun stooped down to take a closer look at them.
"His highnes-"
"Dohyun", Dohyun corrected, turning his head giving the other a cheeky smile.
Jaeyong shook his head at the other's fast reactions, "Dohyun-ah likes flowers?"
Standing back up, Dohyun nodded his head saying as he continued to walk, "I picked up a hobby for learning about flowers, it's not really something expected of a prince…people would probably say it doesn't make much sense so keep it our secret okay hyung?"
"If it makes you happy, it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else", Jaeyong said, handing him one of the flowers he plucked. The delicate petals resting in his hand as he gave it to Dohyun.
Holding the flower, his mind marveled at Jaeyong's words, he was enlightened. For something he had always been subconsciously self-conscious of, perhaps he was right when he said it didn't have to make sense to anyone else.
Dohyun tilted his head observing the area to their distant right, a pond?
They walked nearer and it was indeed a pond, a small round body of water hidden away by the bushes and trees by the road, it was only by coincidence Dohyun caught a glimpse of it from where they were standing before.
A variety of plants and small forms of life encircled the pond, the distant chirping of crickets and low croaks of frogs filled the air. Jaeyong walked in front of him nearing the edge of the water taking in the sight around them, just then, the clouds that had been previously covering the moon drifted away with the wind. The moonlight shining down on them turning the scene into an ethereal piece of art under its grace.
Dohyun stood there in place, waiting for Jaeyong to turn around. He wanted to see him under the light of the moon, would his features become what he imagined a god to look like? He didn't need to wait much longer as his question was instantly answered.
For some reason, he couldn't explain what he felt, he just knew that he wanted to be nearer to that person, he wanted to understand what made him so captivating.