Chapter 134
Chapter 134
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Kwon Ram and Han Myeonghoe (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The world is vast, and there are many madmen.
I don't know who said it first, but I think this saying is on par with the famous adage, "A nation that forgets its history has no future."
There are really so many people in this world committing atrocities I couldn't even imagine.
Someone like Kwon Je, who's a high-ranking official in society but beats his wife when drunk at home. Or that beast worse than an animal who impregnated a seven-year-old girl during some king's reign in Joseon—I don't remember which one.
Ordinary folks living normal lives are sometimes shocked, sometimes deeply traumatized by the heinous acts of such heaven-defying criminals.
"Scribe Kim, in all my years, this is the first utterly insane memorial I've seen. Just reading it gives me a splitting headache. Isn't this as horrific as that one from the previous Goryeo dynasty?"
Kwon Je, that bastard, submitted a memorial that exceeded all my expectations.
He claimed that from the early days of their marriage, his wife contradicted everything he said, nitpicking every little thing, making it impossible for him to rest comfortably at home.
And when he took in a concubine, she showed such venomous jealousy that he became too scared to go home after work on time and had to flee to the pleasure quarters...
In the process of correcting his wife's arrogance and jealousy, he had no choice but to raise his hand in violence, and this was merely the loving discipline a patriarch must administer to correct her flaws—what utter nonsense he wrote.
'What a fucking psycho.'
"How could a Confucian scholar, versed in public morality, write something so vicious? It's beyond words."
It's like stumbling upon all sorts of disgusting images posted by trolls on internet forums.
Describing every gory detail in writing—something like that?
No, it was far more repulsive than anything like that.
"It was even discussed in the privy council. His Highness said that permitting divorce for such absurd reasons would shatter Joseon's moral order, and he uttered some truly harsh words unfit to repeat. The historians must have softened them in the records."
I was a bit surprised that King Sejong the Great didn't allow the divorce, but I fully understood his reasons.
In modern countries, a woman can divorce and still make a living on her own somehow, but Joseon is a land where propriety and honor are everything.
In such a Joseon, if a yangban lady gets divorced, it's like having a criminal record equivalent to 'murderer' in modern Korean terms—it follows her for life.
Kwon Je's wife's family is well-off enough that she won't starve to death after the divorce...
But she'll live the rest of her days enduring all sorts of scorn and contempt.
Moreover, if this case sets a precedent and divorce is allowed, scumbags will exploit it, which is probably what worries His Highness.
Even in modern courts, cases that were acquitted yesterday can be ruled guilty by the supreme court today, leading to a flood of similar guilty verdicts afterward.
Why wouldn't it happen in Joseon?
Being abused is bad enough, but if that leads to divorce and social burial, it's like rubbing salt in the wound.
"His Highness judged it so."
"His Highness said he'd personally issue a stern reprimand. Normally, such documents come from the Office of Special Counsels, but this time, he plans to write the appeal himself."
"His Highness must be quite furious. However, I see it differently. I believe divorce should be permitted in this case."
"Oh? I'm very curious what reasoning our memorial-submitting scribe Kim has this time. Go on, speak. What boldness to directly contradict a decision His Highness made in court. Even Jeong Mong-ju of the previous Goryeo dynasty couldn't match your toe."
Jeong Mong-ju is the one paragon deemed 'not horrific' in the entire previous Goryeo—a legendary loyal subject.
Comparing me to him is quite burdensome.
But have I ever cared about such things in my official career? I've just lived by my principles.
If things go south, I submit a resignation memorial and retire leisurely to my hometown. Simple.
From calling me 'memorial-submitter,' it seems the Chief State Councillor is a bit annoyed that I jumped straight into rebuttal.
"That man Kwon Je is a thoroughly brutal bastard."
When I called the rank-2 official Kwon Je by his full name, Hwang Hui's eyes widened in shock.
In Joseon, there's a taboo against calling any yangban—except the king, father, or teacher—by their full name.
Violating this is like spitting 'your mom's a whore' right in someone's face in 21st-century Korea.
If someone calls another's full name without cause among yangban and it leads to murder, that alone would warrant massive leniency.
From decapitation down to exile or flogging.
So naturally, he'd be shocked that I'd commit such an outrage.
"I once saw my disciple Ram and his sister fleeing their home in the dead of night to escape their father's violence. Out of pity, I took them in and protected them at my house. The next day, he came storming to my place, raging at me for meddling in his family affairs. Would a father who loves his children act like that?"
"...What a trash heap of a man."
"If such a man musters the nerve to petition for divorce from his wife and gets rejected, even receiving a reprimand appeal, what do you think will happen? All his resentment will turn to his wife and children. To vent his exploding rage, he'll drink. After guzzling like a whale, as always, he'll unleash merciless violence on his wife and kids. That could lead to an irreversible tragedy."
Kwon Je is the one who beat his own daughter half to death just for trying to stop him from hitting his wife.
King Sejong the Great let it slide because Joseon's laws couldn't clearly punish it, but I'll make new laws if I have to and crush this bastard.
"I understand your point. But if we allow the divorce as is, what becomes of his wife? She'll bear all the dishonor and infamy."
"From what Ram told me about their family situation, all the fault lies with Kwon Je. So naturally, the blame should fall solely on him."
"Planning to overhaul the laws entirely?"
"If a child strikes a parent, they lose their head for the grave crime, no matter the reason. Yet in Joseon, parents can beat and abuse their spouse and children without reason, and face no punishment. Is that just? The system itself is rotten."
Even in modern countries, you can easily find people who think a parent beating their kid while drunk is just a mistake.
Courts often show leniency in such cases.
But if a parent beats their child to death without cause, and the child finally resists by striking back, opinions split.
Some say a child dares strike a parent? Others say the parent wasn't acting like one, so resistance is fine.
In Joseon, they just teach that fleeing is the best a child can do when beaten by parents.
How many children and women have died without even minimal protection from abusive parents or husbands because of such thinking?
"A child should never report their father, but a father wielding a knife to kill them shouldn't result in the child's death for failing to report. So, using this case as a trigger, we must amend Joseon's laws to ensure spouses and children abused without fault receive official protection."
"That's a tough one."
Hwang Hui sighed as he called it difficult.
But he didn't strongly oppose it.
"Still, that much seems reasonable. Punching such a loophole will prevent innocent children from dying unjustly at the hands of brutal fathers."
"I've already written the memorial."
"Not submitting it directly this time? I figured you would, Scribe Kim."
"If you had flatly refused, I would have."
"What if you end up like our Right State Councillor over there? He committed such a grave offense that he's doomed to serve until death without resigning."
Jo Mal-saeng glared piercingly at me and Hwang Hui upon hearing that.
His look said it all.
'You think you two won't end up in lifelong service like me?'
No, Hwang Hui might be stuck, but I'm safe.
How could they indefinitely reject a legitimate resignation with no faults to nitpick?
"Next time, go through the Royal Secretariat. Ignoring procedure like this will rouse the Minister of Rites' eagle eyes, and he'll come charging to the State Council to scold you."
"He wouldn't, surely?"
That hawk-eyed Heo Jo just might.
Even when King Sejong wanted to select a pretty wife for King Danjong, he said outright in council:
'Selecting a crown princess based on looks? Have you lost your mind, Your Highness? It's the heart that matters, not appearance—not even a sparrow's toenail worth. Oh, I can hear Joseon's moral order crumbling; tears flow unbidden.'
He said that directly, even though crown princess selection concerns the ancestral temple and altars.
At this point, it's almost comparable to Park Mun-su telling King Yeongjo, "You must do what a man should, and only then will heaven be moved to grant you a son."
"I'll follow procedure from now on."
"Good. Do you know how much more work it piles on me when you skip it?"
"Chief State Councillor, then transfer me to the Hall of Worthies..."
Hwang Hui waved his hands frantically at my words.
"Send you to the Hall of Worthies? Never utter such a thing! Anywhere else maybe, but not there. Not the Hall of Worthies! If you must go, wait until after I resign..."
This time, Jo Mal-saeng protested to Hwang Hui.
"Does that mean after Your Excellency the Chief State Councillor resigns, I alone must handle the crushing workload Scribe Kim dumps on the Hall of Worthies?"
"Aren't you still young, Right State Councillor? Don't make me look as old and worn out as I am—no strength left to hold a brush. And once I resign, our Minister of Personnel over there will ascend to State Councillor. What worry is there?"
Hwang Hui's combo of Chief State Councillor + age sank Jo Mal-saeng's flagship.
And not long after I submitted the memorial, a response came down.
But why are you coming to the State Council in person?
"I too felt the king's judgment was reasonable but had lingering doubts... and Scribe Kim pinpointed them perfectly."