Catching the Rat
"There's someone I'm suspicious of."
The very next day after my conversation with Han Jing, I heard those words from Jeong.
"Suspicious of whom?"
"The assassination."
I narrowed my eyes. Jeong looked up at me with bright, expectant eyes, like a puppy hoping for praise. When I first met her, she had seemed like a stray cat bristling with rage and malice toward the world. Now, traces of a child's innocence were beginning to show through. Yet I couldn't simply shower her with praise for it.
I had never told Jeong the details of the assassination. Of course, rumors had spread, so she likely knew something had happened. But knowing about the incident and uncovering the true culprit were two entirely different matters. What Han Jing and I had instructed the household servants to do was merely to stay vigilant—not to hunt for clues about the perpetrator.
Yet here Jeong was, bringing up the true culprit of the assassination…
"Just out of curiosity—Jeong, did you overhear the conversation between Han Jing and me?"
"U-uh, yeah. But I wasn't trying to eavesdrop! I just came to see you, and I heard voices…"
Perhaps my tone had been too cold. Jeong looked flustered and hurried to explain herself.
"It's fine. I'm not scolding you. I just wanted to say that this isn't something you need to concern yourself with."
It wasn't some top-secret matter that absolutely couldn't be overheard. If it had been, Han Jing and I would have been far more careful with our words from the start.
"That aside, you said you had someone in mind?"
"Ah! Right. You mentioned it yourself, Dan. If we ever found out who really assassinated the enemy general, we should tell that person named Chuyeon."
"I did."
It wasn't as though we absolutely had to identify the culprit, but since Jeong had gone out of her way to help, I let her continue without interrupting.
"I don't really know the enemy general or Chuyeon, but from what I heard, this all comes down to a fight over the Sangbang position, doesn't it?"
"You could see it that way."
Jeong's ability to analyze power dynamics was remarkable, as always. From nothing more than the conversation between Han Jing and me, she had immediately grasped that the root cause of the assassination was a power struggle over the Sangbang seat. The human desire that chases after authority. The conflicts between factions vying for the pinnacle of power that was the Sangbang position. And the actions each faction took depending on their stance. This level of political instinct wasn't something one could develop simply by surviving on scraps of favor. It required an innate understanding of power.
It's talent, plain and simple.
If Jeong hadn't been cast aside even among the collateral branches of the royal family, she might have secured a position for herself. She might even have become queen.
While I was briefly lost in thought, Jeong continued eagerly laying out her reasoning.
"So I thought about who would benefit the most from this incident. At first glance, it looks good for Lord Geonsin—he's gaining ground against Lord Pyeongwon, and the enemy general who suddenly threatened the Sangbang seat is dead. But that's not really the case."
"Because most people would suspect him of being the culprit."
"Exactly. Then wouldn't it benefit Lord Pyeongwon, who would be next in line once Lord Geonsin falls?"
"Wouldn't it? If Lord Geonsin loses the king's favor due to suspicion, Lord Pyeongwon would obviously rise in power."
"It might seem that way, but what if Lord Pyeongwon had followed Gongsun Long's advice?"
If they had acted according to Gongsun Long's judgment, Lord Pyeongwon's faction would have pinned the blame on Lord Geonsin as the assassin. While that would have completely destroyed Lord Geonsin, it would have also deepened the king's suspicion and wariness toward Lord Pyeongwon. Once Lord Geonsin was gone and Lord Pyeongwon stood alone at the top, his next rival might well be the king himself.
"The next person who would benefit…"
"Would probably be whoever holds the highest office after Lord Geonsin and Lord Pyeongwon."
Upper Minister Jo Jang. Lord of the Pillar Han Hyang. Guest Minister Je Myeong. So the prime suspects were these three?
"But Chuyeon probably thought this far as well."
"I know someone named Han Hyang."
"You do, Jeong?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it—not out of dismissal, but genuine confusion. Han Hyang was a high-ranking official who had reached the level of chancellor. If Jeong had been an official hostage like me, that would be one thing. But from everything I'd seen, she had no connection to someone like him.
But she doesn't seem to be lying.
Jeong pursed her lips at my question. She clearly had a reason but found it difficult to speak. There must be a reason she couldn't explain it. Rather than prying into a secret she didn't want to share, I was about to ask why she suspected Han Hyang. But Jeong seemed to have decided that clearing my doubts mattered more than guarding her secret.
With visible difficulty, she opened her mouth and spoke in a small, hesitant voice.
"…He was someone who came to see Mother."
Jeong's mother—Zhao Ji. Her family had been a wealthy merchant household. But because she married Ying Yi-ren, Ying Zheng's father, the entire clan was destroyed by association. They poured every last bit of their wealth into avoiding execution, yet what options remained for a woman left with nothing? In the end, Zhao Ji returned to being a dancer, just as she had been during banquets hosted by trading companies in the past.
But the malice of the Zhao people, which had even reached young Jeong, would never have left her mother in peace.
Dancing alone wasn't enough. As a result, Zhao Ji fell even further.
"Every time that man Han Hyang came to see Mother, he would go around saying that once he became Sangbang, he would take her as a concubine."
A childhood spent secretly listening to her mother with other men. How much of a painful, shameful memory must that have been for Jeong—one she wanted to hide and forget?
I offered neither cheap sympathy nor empty words of comfort to Jeong, who had made such a difficult decision. Such words would only diminish the weight of her resolve. Instead, I simply expressed my gratitude, just as she had once done for me. I patted her head and thanked her. A faint smile bloomed across Jeong's face, still clouded with pain.
"Did I help?"
"Of course you did."
"Good. That's enough for me."
Jeong placed her own hand over mine, which rested on her head, and smiled bashfully.
With this, we had our most likely suspect. Whether or not to pass this information to Chuyeon was another matter to consider. As long as all eyes in Handan remained fixed on the assassination of the enemy general, I would have more freedom to move. But if the case were solved too quickly, the surveillance and pressure on Jeong and me would resume.
The deliberation didn't last long. My answer came so immediately that it felt almost embarrassing to even call it a deliberation.
Of course I should tell him.
What good was freedom of movement if the trading company didn't survive first? We needed funds before anything else could be done.
That very day, I contacted Chuyeon. I told him we had a promising suspect.
§
Despite his busy schedule, Chuyeon came at once in response to my summons. I relayed the information Jeong had given me, only slightly altering the source. Chuyeon didn't seem particularly surprised—he had likely already considered the possibility himself. After listening calmly, he nodded and murmured,
"Lord of the Pillar Han Hyang… He was indeed among the names under investigation."
"Have you made any progress?"
"High officials like Jo Jang, Han Hyang, and Je Myeong are difficult to investigate deeply, even with Lord Pyeongwon's backing. And since we had to look into others as well, we haven't found anything substantial yet…"
Having too many suspects was a problem, but the absolute lack of time for the investigation was an even greater issue. If finding the culprit's trail had been easy, Lord Geonsin's side would have already presented evidence of their innocence.
"But if we focus our investigation solely on Han Hyang, we might find a lead quickly."
Chuyeon spoke with strong determination.
"Since the others are being handled by those His Majesty personally assigned, I'll concentrate on Han Hyang first."
"Is there anything I can do to help? I owe Lord Pyeongwon a great deal, so I'm more than willing to assist if it would be useful."
"Haha, Lord Pyeongwon will be pleased. I'll be sure to pass on your words. However, you've already provided significant help. Any further involvement might draw unnecessary attention to you."
He was right—becoming too deeply involved wasn't necessarily a good thing. My image was already less than favorable; I didn't want to add the impression that I was meddling in Zhao's political affairs. It was best to remain in the role of someone who merely provided clues and offered assistance to Lord Pyeongwon.
"I'll handle the rest. I'll show you exactly why His Majesty the King of Xiaoyang appointed me as his teacher."
Perhaps it was because the previously vague investigation now had a clear direction. Chuyeon displayed a confidence that contrasted sharply with the troubled expression he'd worn when we first met. And he proved his bold claim with results. Less than five days after Chuyeon began investigating Han Hyang, he found concrete evidence that Han Hyang was the true culprit.