My prince so how was it?"
The doctor asked confidently once they were out of the White flower brothel.
Taesan looked at the doctor meaningfully.
The doctor seemed to know what his eyes meant as he smiled.
"Just as I thought. You liked it. So what do you think? My taste is pretty good right?"
"Ya not bad."
"I knew you would appreciate it. You have no idea the hardship I went through to acquire this knowledge."
Taesan laughed at the doctor who was taking credit.
"Why are you taking credit when it's your underlings who did all the hard work?"
"Come on. We're all the same. Besides if I had not given direct instructions they wouldn't have found what they were searching for. Don't you think this is all because I am a very talented individual?"
Knowing that disagreeing in the current situation would only cause the doctor to continue endlessly, Taesan decided to nod his head.
Yoo and Gyeongwan looked at each other puzzled by the conversation the other two were having.
They couldn't possibly comprehend what they were going on about.
Was there another objective Taesan had to visit the brothel?
The doctor who caught the puzzled look on their face came squeezing through and stood in between them.
"Are you guys aware that I have 12 doctors that I am teaching and guiding?
"Yes. They are amazing doctors. Going around this area and treating those that are unwell. Like a true doctor."
"I feel a thorn in your words. Are you intentionally trying to provoke me?"
"Of course not. I doubt there is anyone under this sky who isn't aware of your greatness."
The doctor nodded happily to Gyeongwan's comment.
"You're good, you know how to recognize good talent. Hmm? As for the other person besides me, she seems to disagree."
Reading the room, Yoo shook her head.
"No of course not. I agree with Gyeongwan."
"Alright. I'll believe you this time. But be careful from now on. I am rather sensitive to these kinds of things."
Gyeongwan and Yoo looked like the had a lot to say but held it in. Now was not the right time to refute.
"Anyways it seems like my disciples have some news."
Gyeongwan and Yoo were suddenly curious.
The doctor had been at the Yeon residence the entire time, while his disciples were at the golden wall residence, so how had he heard the news from them?
Before the two were able to dwell further, the doctor continued.
"Cheom Geum Ryeon is carrying out something of an unusual nature."
Gyeongwan and Yoo's faces turned rigid at the mention of Cheom Geum Ryeon.
Cheom Geum Ryeon was a union of merchants in Moohan.
Their objective was to dominate the commercial district in Moohan, and their biggest huddle was the golden wall clan.
Ever since it's formation it frequently clashed with the golden wall clan.
But they haven't made much progress. The golden wall clan's financial power was stronger than they had anticipated.
And their network they had established for a long time was as tight as a spider's web.
Cheom Geum Ryeon had realized through a tough lesson had been quiet for some time.
Hence the mention of Cheom Geum Ryeon caused such a defensive reaction from Gyeongwan and Yoo.
"What is that guy up to now?"
"He started a business."
"Huh? Well, that's…."
Gyeongwan stared momentarily at the doctor. There was nothing unusual about a merchant starting a business.
"But he started it under a disguise and is starting it without any association to himself."
"What's the point in that?"
"It means you have to be consciously aware that Cheom Geum Ryeon is always behind the cause of any trouble or situation they may cause. If it wasn't for me nobody would have known."
Gyeongwan's expression was serious. He could now see the bigger picture.
"And in their new business they started, there's a mixture of soldiers."
"Soldiers…you say?"
"Yes. And they are rather highly skilled soldiers. It's difficult for most merchants to be able to find such high skilled soldiers."
"Then the white petal brothel…."
"That's right. That is Cheom Geum Ryeon's newly established brothel. Excluding the prostitutes working there the rest of them are all soldiers. There are a few other similar establishments in each industry. And there is always a golden wall owned business within the vicinity of these establishments."
If they opened up a business using the normal method, they would not be able to compete against the golden wall clan. Perhaps with this, they might be able to yield better results by creating a synergy.
But surely this was not their main objective.
Finally, now he was able to understand better the conversation between Taesan and the doctor.
"Then all the more we shouldn't have gone to the white petal brothel right? You just led the prince right into the enemy's territory."
"Who's worrying who now?"
Gyeongwan shut his mouth at those comments. Afterall it was true, he didn't have to worry about Taesan.
He was someone who knocked out a senior professional from the Jong clan with one swift attack.
Gyeongwan's gaze subconsciously headed towards Taesan.
'Since when…did the prince learn the martial arts?'
From what he knew he barely had any time to rain. Also, his body was currently in a bad state.
'I wonder if there are other geniuses like the prince out there?'
If there were, he might really fall into serious self-doubt.
While Geyongwan was deep in his thoughts about Taesan, Yoo who had calmly collected her thoughts asked the doctor.
"If they had other similar establishments in each industry it must be costing them a lot of money. Since I'm sure they would have matched the standards we just saw at the white petal brothel."
"You are right. They made a large investment. And they invested knowing that they may be throwing it all away. If they don't reap results it will be detrimental to Cheon Geum Ryeon."
That meant they were confident in a successful investment.
"Are there professionals in each of these establishments?"
"Yes."
"I wonder where they found all these professionals?"
The doctor smirked.
"Well to call them professional will be blowing it out of proportion, they can throw some punches and yield a sword so if they put there mind to it they wouldn't be so hard to find. The real deals are only one or two amongst them."
Yoo was curious just how strong these "professionals" that knew how to throw some punches were. Because strength was subjective to every individual.
"Are their warriors similar to me in strength?"
"No that's pushing it too far. You can probably wipe out ten of them on your own. Although their real professional might prove challenging."
The doctor looked between Gyeongwan and Yoo before continuing.
"You guys are considered to be on the stronger side. You guys are equivalent to most from the elite households. Your skills are probably around the commanders or second in common of the lower rank soldier
But both Yoo and Gyeongwan took his words with a pinch of salt.
As they had realized their own limits during their recent fight with the Jong clan warriors.
Would they still have been able to fight them if they weren't aware of their weaknesses?
"Don't compare to the Jong clan warriors you encountered at the Yeon residence. They are a little unique."
"Then are the Jong clan stronger as compared to other elite households? That is excluding their weaknesses?"
"No. The ones that you saw at the Yeon residence were exceptionally stronger. They must have been trained with great attention."
The doctor laughed out loud.
"I bet the head of the house would have been pretty mad since you guys beat them to a pulp."
The doctor's comments made them even more curious.
"Then even to have one or two professionals in each of these establishments is considered a lot, isn't it? Just where did they find these professionals…."
"That is what we have to look into now. If it had been as I expected it to be then the answer to it would be simple."
The doctor complained, with a look of dissatisfaction.
"What did you expect it to be?"
"I thought the Jong clan were providing the professionals."
"Was that not the case?"
"No, it was not. The Jong clan and Cheon Geum Ryeon are working together, but they did not provide them with the support of any professionals. They work in a silo."
All of their faces became serious.
This could potentially mean that Cheon Geum Ryeon had other allies than just the Jong clan.
An ally that had the capability to move several of their professionals collectively.
"This…is becoming rather complicated."
The doctor smiled.
"So let's change the subject and talk about something more fun."
***
On a front porch of one of the Golden wall merchant buildings.
Byeok Woohang was seated opposite his son Byeok Sangil.
"We were lucky. Weren't we?"
Sangil nodded to his father's comment.
"Yes. We were very lucky. Had the incident not happened in the Jong clan we would have been done for even before we could do anything about it."
"A small matter that was overlooked and left unattended for too long has grown into a bigger one."
Sangil sighed.
"It's quite a bind we're in. All the merchants from the Moo and Bangpa clans that we've formed an agreement with say they find it difficult to help out…"
It was to be expected but whenever there was a difficult situation the large merchants in the area like the golden wall, Moo, and Bangpa merchants would help one another out.
They would provide financial assistance and be supported by them in times of need.
The golden wall merchants were well aware that these relationships were easily broken so they had raised their own military forces, but they were still far off to be self-dependent.
It was after they had heard of the incident in the Jong clan and preparing for it when they realized the change in behavior of the other merchants.
If they had an issue with the Jong clan and they were to clash it would be detrimental.
They could no longer fully rely on the others.
The Jong clan placed high importance on their own reputation so they wouldn't attack them without a sensible reason.
It seemed that they had called Taesan to the Yeon residence to create an opportunity to make a reason.
"I'm relieved that nothing happened to Taesan. I was shocked. To think that they had hidden intentions."
He was referring to Gyeong and Gal.
These two had been commissioned by the Jong clan to offer their services to the golden wall clan.
They had anticipated the golden wall clan to reach out for help and planned meticulously ahead.
"There is no way that this was the Jong clan acting out alone. They don't have enough funds to win over those two."
"It must be Cheon Geum Ryeon."
Sangil was so adamant that his father formed an unexpected expression.
"You seem so sure. We have not confirmed anything yet."
Sangil took out several letters from his inner pocket.
"What is this?"
"Information I had received from someone."
Byeok Woohang read through each of the letters slowly and in detail.
His eyes clearly had signs of surprise.
"Who gave this to you."
Sangil smiled bitterly.
"I do not know. I went to the office this morning and found it on my desk. I tried to investigate who had placed it there but wasn't able to find out."
"Hmm. Have you confirmed if it is true."
"I confirmed whatever parts I could. Based on which I believe this information is true."
Woohang stood up from his seat with a firm expression.
"It seems I need to discuss this matter with the head of the house."
The contents of the letter were surprising.
It mentioned in detail the strategy that the Jong clan and Cheon Geum Ryeon were collaborating to bring down the golden wall clan.
For this amount of detail, the source had to be someone who had been directly involved in the planning of this from the Jong clan.
It seemed to be someone who was aware of the bigger picture but only knew the details from the Jong clan's point of view.
It even mentioned that Cheon Geum Ryeon was likely to be collaborating with another clan besides the Jong clan.
Byeok Woohang's mind was complicated as he hurriedly rushed to Byeok Taesoo's office with the letters in his hand.
'Who had shared this information, and how did they find out.'
No matter, it was important that they were aware of it now.
If they had not known they would have been attacked blindly, but as long as they knew. They could come up with a contingency.
Of course, there was a possibility that the content of the letters was false and actually a trap.
Byeok Woonhang's mind became more complicated as he approached the head of the house's office.