Chapter 44 (1/2)
Chapter 44
”Oh my goodness!”
He was infuriated on having unknowingly eaten the beef from that sick cow . He had just now been thinking of Wonhyo and the lesson that it taught .
He thought it was tasty while eating it, but now, it seemed to have been smelly and foul all of a sudden .
”Why?” Dolseok asked while blinking his small eyes .
His face was innocent, and he did not do anything wrong to be fair . But, Ganghyuk was angry anyway .
”Son of a…No . It is fine . Let's go . ”
All of them had the same thing, so what was the use to talk about it now?
'It is all the same when it is in the body . . . The same thing . ' He tried to console himself .
While walking, he thought he should ask the question that had been in his mind ever since he heard about their destination .
”Where are we going now? Where is the monk?”
”Eum… It is in Anseong . ”
”Anseong? The place with the mayor who had hemorrhoids?”
The mayor had visited Ganghyuk while sitting on a cus.h.i.+on on the saddle . He had yelled as soon as he arrived and even hit Dolseok's head . Finally, he returned to Anseong after the operation .
'When he was healed completely, his personality changed as well . '
How difficult it must have had been for him because of the painful bowel movement! So, when it was resolved and he had no more pains or b.l.o.o.d.y stools, he became quite meek .
Moreover, he actually sent a thank you letter later on, along with some dried fish .
”As we are going there, let's meet him as well . ”
”Do you really want to see him?” Dolseok seemed to remember the unpleasant hit .
”Why not? It will be great . He will treat us well for sure . ”
”Ahem… Treat . . . ”
”Yes, he will have some good rooms for us . I don't like the inns very much . ”
There was a saying, ”There is no place like home', and it was true in Joseon as well . The inns here were all shabby, and served very humble food, which was just too much to tolerate for Ganghyuk, considering that even 'delicacies' in this era weren't all that great .
'Furthermore, they gave me meat from the sick cow . '
He felt quite unpleasant while thinking of it even now . He would have dealt with the hostess instead of Makbong if he had not met up with Heo Jun…in a different way, of course .
”Isn't the government office better?”
Dolseok nodded in response . He was a servant, but he served a rich n.o.bleman . Hence, he did not have to suffer much hards.h.i.+ps .
On top of that, his life had been even better than before recently, much better than other commoners .
”Yes, I think so too . ” Yeoju agreed . She did not have to suffer much hards.h.i.+ps either . Even though she lived in a small and shabby house, she was a n.o.blewoman nevertheless .
”If you know the mayor, it is a good thing to visit him . ”
Yeoni and Makbong did not mind it . They thought that an inn was still a good place, as they did not mind sleeping even on the road . Anyway, they would not object to Ganghyuk's opinion .
”Ok, let's go . ”
It was a long way from Gw.a.n.ggyo to Anseong . So, they could only enter the village some time after the sunset .
Seeing them, a few soldiers approached, looking very cautions . They were sure that Ganghyuk was a n.o.bleman from his appearance .
He had four escorts and a big carriage behind him; he seemed to be a tyc.o.o.n .
”May I know who you are?”
Ganghyuk would answer quickly if he were what he used to be . But now, he was a n.o.bleman in Joseon .
Hence, Ganghyuk looked down from the horse with dignity . As a tall man was looking down from the horse, the soldiers felt a bit overwhelmed .
They retreated and asked him again .
”May I know who you are?”
He thought he should answer at this point . But, the person who answered was Dolseok, who loved this kind of scene, and hence had a big smile on his face .
When could he speak to soldiers with dignity if not at this time?
”He is Scholar Baik Ganghyuk from Baik family in Suwon . He has come to meet your mayor . ”
”Ah, I will guide you, sir . ”
”Ok . ”
The soldier walked forward even though he tilted his head . He did not like the situation where a servant ordered him, but Ganghyuk seemed to be a very high-ranking n.o.bleman .
Additionally, one of them had actually recognized Ganghyuk .
”He, the very person…”
”Who?”
”You remember that the mayor visited Suwon for a few days…”
”Ah, the very Baik?”
”Yes, I saw him at that time . I am sure he is the one . ”
”Ugh… We may be killed if we do something wrong . ”
Rumors and memories could be easily twisted . Ganghyuk's image in Anseon was obsessively tyrannical . It was said that not only mayor, but the governor also followed Ganghyuk's order because he showed his spirit .
Of course, he had countered the mayor, so it was not a groundless story .
Because of this rumor, the soldiers showed a politer and more favorable att.i.tude .
”Here, sir . ”
”Good!”
Even though Dolseok gave a presumptuous answer, they did not protest .
”I will report your arrival, sir . ”
”Ok . ”
The group stopped in front of the door while the soldier went in through the side door .
When Ganghyuk reached the place, he got a little worried . He had not made an appointment before the visit after alld .
”He will receive us, right?”
”Pardon?”
Hearing Ganghyuk's remark, Dolseok showed an unappealing face . He exercised his authority by relying on his master, but the master was worrying now .
What did he want him to do?
”I received a letter, but I do not remember if I replied . ”
Probably, he had not replied . He did not remember writing many letters at that time . Therefore, he had been rude to the mayor twice: when he examined him, and when he did not reply to his letter .
'We do feel bad if even a simple text message is not answered . '
When a message was read and then no reply came back, people would usually get angry . Hence, Ganghyuk felt a late regret .
Dududu!
However, it was found to be baseless anxiety .
”Haha, you came here, Dr . Baik . ”
The mayor dashed out to meet him, looking much better .