“News of Consort Hui’s past reached the court a few days after you left,” Hye-jin read from her book of records, eyes lowered. Not a crease or wrinkle marred her hanbok, not a single strand of hair fell out of place. She was almost as rigid about her appearance as Min-jun. “Since then, the Royal Secretariat has been flooded with petitions to remove him from his position.”
“Who are the petitioners?”
Hye-jin flipped a few pages back and put a finger to her chin. She took a deep breath and began to recite a much longer list than Cheol had anticipated. Among them, both the Office of Censors and the Office of the Inspector-General had voiced concerns. From the six ministries, a handful of officials had also sent in petitions.
Cheol looked down at her, as the court ladies busied themselves with putting on the layers and layers of robes he had to wear. It did weigh him down a bit. “I assume many of them have connections to families vying for Consort Hui’s position.”
Hye-jin nodded, closing the book and pulling it to her chest. “They’re propping up Minister Ni Byeon of the Hwang-og Ni Clan’s daughter.”
“That old man? He’s a fool.” And easy to manipulate. Perhaps his daughter would be as well. “They chose wisely.”
But they forget that Cheol could just as easily attach his own puppet strings to them.
One of the elderly court ladies finished tying the ribbon of his red robe. His staff worked around him like he’d never left, falling into a routine without hesitation. Another court lady, younger than the one who had tied his robe, stepped up to wrap the jade belt around his waist.
He dismissed them once their work was done and stepped down from the raised floor, now level with Hye-jin. “And what does my favorite advisor think?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Hye-jin snorted, lowering her head to hide a smirk. Her expression then reminded him of the clever thief he met so long ago. They had both been children then, united only by their orphanhood and hunger.
“Ktlr jvnlrbg atlcxr atf Blcu rtbeiv qea atbrf qgslcu ilaaif yjrajgvr yjmx lc atflg qijmf.” Lfg tjcv gjlrfv ab jvpera tlr klcufv mjq, qfgofmalbclra ab atf fcv. “Coafg jii, kf tjnf wbgf qgfrrlcu mbcmfgcr ab vfji klat gfujgvlcu atja qjgalmeijg Jbcrbga.”
C rlut frmjqfv tlw, jr tf atbeuta bo tlr tbatfjvfv ibnfg. Vb wemt kbgx ab yf vbcf, ralii. “Ktja kf vb.”
. . .
Cheol entered the throne hall wearing his crimson robes, and where there had been vehement chatter before, now there was silence. The officials, a blur of wine-red uniforms, made way for him, bowing as he went, all envying his position.
Cheol sat back in his throne, and his father’s ghost felt ever closer, sneering at him. “Let us skip the greetings and niceties,” he spoke clearly, stepping into his King’s persona easily, despite all his time playing the devoted lover with Min-jun. He looked to the young official at the foot of the platform. “You may read the petitions.”
The young official unrolled the first scroll, and read, “The Inspector-General petitions the King for the removal of the Royal Noble Consort Huibin from his position and –”
“Next,” Cheol said. The tension in the room grew, the officials shifting their feet and glancing at each other, suddenly uncertain.
Unable to deny a direct command, the young official unrolled the next petition. “The Minister of Finance petitions the King for the removal of the Royal Noble Consort –”
“Next.”
As it turned out, all of the petitions were regarding Min-jun’s immediate and permanent exile from the Palace. They truly are single-minded. This girl they wanted to put in place of Min-jun must be quite extraordinary, and spectacularly easy to manipulate. They only sought control. How Cheol wished he could just be rid of them already.
With a hand covering his eyes, he began to laugh, his elbow resting on the armrest, his body leaning to one side. He must thank his dear father for saddling him with such incompetent, power-hungry fools.
He looked up, and when he spoke, his voice was full of deadly mirth. “I see you’ve all been making good use of my absence.”
They stiffened, jaws set, heads down.
“Your Majesty,” one of them said. Minister Ji Hyon of the Chowon Ji Clan. He was an official from the Ministry of Taxation. The agriculture sector. And now he was getting involved in an Internal affair? “We are only concerned about the influence such a creature might have on you. The news of his background is unnerving to all of us –”
“I’m aware of the news of his background,” Cheol said. “And find it quite irrelevant.”
Another low rumble of chatter rolled through the room. Another official stepped up to protest.
“Your Majesty, to have a former Kisaeng within the walls of the Inner Palace, wearing the title of Consort! It goes against all that we stand for. Honor, dignity, lineage –”
“Honor.” Cheol laughed. “Dignity? You are all standing there prattling about while an apyeon epidemic threatens our borders. Winter will be upon us soon. Have any of you thought of sending extra supplies to villages in the north? No? Yes, I’d forgotten, you’ve all been too concerned with the Inner Court’s affairs to worry about the Kingdom at large. Except when it is to line your own pockets, of course.”
None of them spoke, too afraid of the ire of the King before them. But Cheol was not done yet.
“Minister Ji, I hear your family has invested in quite a few Kisaeng houses in the past.”
The minister sputtered, flinging spit everywhere. “W-well, I –”
“If I should exile my Consort from my home for his past as a Kisaeng, should I not also exile you from my court for supporting a system which is apparently against our values? In fact, should I not exile everyone here who has ever indulged in activities which are not in accordance with our virtues?”
“W-well, that’s different.”
“How so? Are not state affairs influenced by those who conduct them?” It had been their excuse for not allowing Hye-jin into their ranks, though she could run circles around them in any debate. Perhaps her intelligence had made them afraid. A King with a mind of his own was dangerous, but an intelligent woman was lethal in their eyes. They must’ve been quite beside themselves with terror when the rumor that the two of them would marry was still alive and well.
Cheol scanned the room for a retort, a challenge in his gaze.
One minister stepped forward, his head still lowered. “Your Majesty must forgive us. We only fear for your well-being. I’m sure you can understand, considering how your father’s, the Great King’s, condition deteriorated in the years following the late Queen’s disappearance.”
Cheol’s hand tightened its grip on the armrest. Careful, Minister Ni. We wouldn’t want to offend the Great Predecessor King, now, would we?
A/N: Alright, this marks the end of our daily updates. It’s been a lot of 3 am writing sessions for me but it’s finally done. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please leave a comment below! I’m glad this got us through the final sprint of the Wolgwang City arc and into the Palace arc. Next chapter will be up on Saturday as usual (not at 3 am the following day lol). Again, thank you to everyone for reading and for your support! It’s been so much fun sharing this story with you thus far.
Thanks for the chapter!!
Ah the only reason I love seeing a court full of idiot is because of how satisfying the face slappings are later 🤭🤭
The satisfaction of slapping the court down has begun! Personally I think an assassin or two framing Mother is due.
Thank you for chapter
Oohhh they defamed his beloved consort and brought up his horrible father. Don’t they know anything about their own king? Thanks for the updates.