Monopolizing Fortunes (115)
Monopolizing Fortunes (115)
He had thought they could just scuffle bare-handed. But Ju Seo-in, grinning broadly, came back from a corner of the basement carrying a sword and a blade.
"What you trained in was blade arts, right?"
Do Tong-dal found himself accepting the blade she held out.
"This is a real blade!"
"Should we fight with fake ones, then?"
"Of course! Don't you have a wooden sword?"
"No?"
Ju Seo-in hastily added, afraid Do Tong-dal might say he wouldn't spar.
"It's fine. I'll go easy so you don't get hurt."
"Couldn't we just use hand-to-hand?"
"I never trained in hand-to-hand?"
If they didn't spar, that would be one thing, but if they had to, there was no way around using live blades.
'I'll be the one going easy.'
An assassin's martial arts were specialized for speed and stealth rather than raw strength. So even the greatest assassin under heaven couldn't display strength matching their reputation in a head-on fight.
Do Tong-dal wasn't a martial artist, but he knew that much as common sense. He raised the blade vertically in front of his body and spoke.
"Come at me."
He would have to stay sharply focused on keeping Ju Seo-in from getting hurt. But that thought scattered with Ju Seo-in's first attack.
She was viciously fast. Speed was one of an assassin's virtues, but Ju Seo-in was fast enough to blow far past Do Tong-dal's expectations.
"Hup!"
He frantically blocked the sword sweeping at his waist and nearly dropped his blade. The force behind it was monstrous.
'Her Internal Energy is no joke!'
Do Tong-dal dodged the follow-up thrust and sprang backward.
"Train like it's real!"
He ducked to avoid a sword swung at his neck, and heard Ju Seo-in's voice: "Fight like it's training!"
"This isn't going easy!"
"I am going easy!"
There was no way that was true. He could tell from her eyes and her tightly set mouth that she was giving it everything she had.
Then again, Ju Seo-in was fighting someone for the first time in her life; there was no way she could control her strength. For her, "going easy" meant only that she had set aside the killing intent to absolutely, positively kill him.
If he let his guard down, he would be badly hurt, and even at full effort he could still get hurt. Ju Seo-in's martial arts were that strong.
Do Tong-dal was barely managing to block the attacks raining down like a shower. If she was this strong fighting head-on, what would happen if she used an assassin's virtues?
Ju Seo-in was a better martial artist than Do Tong-dal. That was certain.
Slash!
Do Tong-dal twisted his body sideways to dodge, and the hem of his clothes was sliced off. The next sword stroke scattered strands of his hair into the air.
The reason Ju Seo-in's attacks suddenly had to stop was the poor quality of the weapons they were using.
Clang!
The blade and sword that clashed in midair shattered into pieces. It was luck that the flying fragments missed them.
Ju Seo-in stared at her sword, now broken in half, with a dumbfounded expression.
"Why is this thing so weak!"
"It was Your Highness's strength that was too much."
The neglected weapons were weak, but the greater cause was the strength of Do Tong-dal and Ju Seo-in.
"Wait a moment! I'll bring new weapons!"
Do Tong-dal blocked Ju Seo-in as she tried to leave the basement.
"Let's stop here."
"Why? It was just getting fun!"
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Huh? Th-that can't be."
"Then let's stop. If you insist on deciding a winner, Your Highness won."
"I did?"
"Yes. I never managed a proper attack. Naturally, it's Your Highness's victory."
Ju Seo-in smiled bashfully.
"So I'm strong? Or are you just pitifully weak?"
"Later, I'll arrange a spar with someone truly strong for you."
"How strong?"
"One of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven."
As long as he had the Makya Sword, Hwangmi Dal was no different from Do Tong-dal's puppet. Old man, enjoy some hardship.
Do Tong-dal went back up to the third floor of the Imperial Palace Secret Archive and gathered a few books and the Makya Sword. He decided to take the elixirs with confirmed efficacy after the physician in black arrived.
Having spent that night in the imperial palace, Do Tong-dal left the Forbidden City, which felt more suffocating than prison, early in the morning. The moment the outside air touched his face, he felt as if his insides had cleared.
He wanted to head straight to Hangzhou, but he had an appointment with the Third Prince. When he arrived at the promised tea house, the Third Prince and Jeon Su-bang were already there.
"Hello!"
The person waving cheerfully was Ju Seo-in.
"Oh? Your Highness too? But..."
Yang Su-pan, who should have been there like the rice in a rice cake, was nowhere to be seen. Jeon Su-bang spoke.
"Censor Yang could not come due to urgent business."
If he had missed a gathering like this, it must truly be important. The Third Prince, Ju Hyeong-seon, spoke.
"I heard from Censor Yang, but I wanted to hear the detailed plan directly from you."
It was no different from what he had told Yang Su-pan, so there was nothing new. After hearing it all, Jeon Su-bang asked.
"But why did you bring the hidden faction in the martial world into this plan? You said you still don't even know who they are. You could waste precious time just trying to uncover their identities."
"Of course, we could use an assassin to kill the First Prince. That would be simpler. But we need to make the Second Prince the culprit. How would you do that?"
"Bringing in that hidden faction doesn't make the Second Prince the culprit, does it?"
"To frame the Second Prince, groundwork is needed—meaning it takes time. While that groundwork is being laid, we must steadily carry out the work of pinning the blame on the Second Prince."
"Using an assassin would have a similar effect, wouldn't it?"
"Would it? If the First Prince dies, the most likely next emperor is the Second Prince. Could you bind a man like that with a single piece of evidence or one witness?"
The Second Prince would deny it, and unless the evidence was exceptionally decisive, his position as heir would only grow firmer.
"So by drawing in that hidden faction, you can frame the Second Prince for certain?"
"Think of a hunting dog. If we use an assassin, we have to hide that assassin completely. That might not be hard. Since the First Prince is dead, the authorities—and not just them, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot as well—will all be mobilized to find the culprit. But what happens if no trace of the culprit is found no matter how hard they search?"
"They might make some unrelated person the culprit."
"That's the worst case. If the Second Prince's side fabricates a culprit and insists on the Second Prince's innocence, who would oppose that?"
No one would deliberately point to the Second Prince, whose succession to the throne was nearly certain, as the culprit.
Do Tong-dal continued.
"And one more thing: if we use an assassin, we can only use the evidence or witness that the Second Prince is the culprit once. But with a hidden faction, we can keep leaking evidence. If three or four pieces of evidence pile up and then a decisive piece of evidence or a witness appears at the end, not even the Second Prince could escape."
Ju Hyeong-seon spoke.
"We could deny the Second Prince's side the leisure to fabricate a fake culprit."
Thinking, 'Oh? He's sharp,' Do Tong-dal nodded.
"You've put it well. If you keep throwing prey in front of a hunting dog, the dog will keep chasing without a moment to think of anything else. With the culprit right in front of them, who would think of anything else? The authorities, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Eastern Depot will all focus entirely on catching the hidden faction."
Both Ju Hyeong-seon and Jeon Su-bang had thought, 'Why make things this complicated?' when they first heard Do Tong-dal's plan, but hearing it directly, it was a masterstroke among masterstrokes.
"There was a reason Censor Yang recommended you as a strategist."
At Jeon Su-bang's words, Do Tong-dal let out a thin sigh.
"That old fellow just didn't want to die alone."
"He must mean that you are a friend with whom he wants to share life's hardships."
The words 'The interpretation is better than the dream' rose to his throat and then vanished.
Ju Hyeong-seon asked.
"But can you actually make that hidden faction reveal itself? From what I've heard, it seems like a very secretive organization."
"It'll be difficult, but we have to. Leave that to me, and Your Highness, just take good care of yourself."
Jeon Su-bang cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Your manner of speaking is a bit rude."
"What is?"
"Toward the imperial family, proper etiquette..."
Ju Hyeong-seon cut Jeon Su-bang off.
"Enough. Let's overlook such trifles. But what do you mean, take good care of myself?"
"If the First Prince dies according to our plan, Your Highness will also be mentioned as a candidate for the throne."
"Would it be that simple?"
"Until now, the First Prince and the Second Prince have been like dogs and monkeys, haven't they?"
"Ahem!"
Jeon Su-bang cleared his throat in warning because Do Tong-dal had compared the imperial family to dogs and monkeys, but Do Tong-dal paid no mind. Perhaps finding the sight funny, Ju Seo-in burst out laughing—pfft!
"If the First Prince disappears, what happens to the people who were backing him? Some quick-witted ones will switch to the Second Prince, but there will certainly be others looking in a different direction. They'll naturally take notice of Your Highness. Some will even try to make direct contact."
Do Tong-dal's voice carried the confidence of someone speaking about something that had already happened.
"As Your Highness's position rises, the danger will rise in proportion."
"You mean the Second Prince's side might even attempt assassination?"
"That's the natural course. So..."
Do Tong-dal's gaze turned to Ju Seo-in.
"I need Your Highness's help."
Ju Seo-in, who had been sitting there blankly like a sack of barley someone had dumped in the corner, started in surprise.
"Me?"
"Yes. Your Highness must protect the Third Prince. Especially at night."
Jeon Su-bang asked with a baffled expression.
"How in the world would Her Highness the Second Princess protect His Highness the Third Prince?"
"Didn't you know?"
"Know what?"
"Her Highness the Second Princess is a master."
"A... master?"
"A master of martial arts."
Jeon Su-bang looked back and forth between Do Tong-dal and Ju Seo-in, then fixed his gaze on Do Tong-dal with an expression that said, 'What kind of joke is this?'
"Ask her yourself."
Jeon Su-bang's head whipped around.
"Yeah. I'm a master."
"Then next..."
"Wait!"
"Do you have something more to say?"
"The matter of Her Highness the Second Princess having trained in martial arts needs to be settled!"
"Her Highness the Second Princess, the most trustworthy person, is a master. Therefore she is suited to guarding His Highness the Third Prince. What is lacking in that conclusion?"
"The conclusion isn't the problem, it's... that..."
"If there's no problem, let's move on."
Having shut Jeon Su-bang's mouth, Do Tong-dal rattled off the rest of the plan.
"We must somehow get the physician in black appointed as an imperial physician."
Do Tong-dal gave his final instructions and ended the meeting. After confirming there was nothing left to discuss, Do Tong-dal was about to stand when Ju Seo-in asked Ju Hyeong-seon.
"Brother, if you become emperor, Tong-dal over there becomes a meritorious subject, right?"
"Naturally."
"Then there's no problem with him marrying me, right?"
Do Tong-dal, who had been facing the door, spun around like lightning.
"What do you mean by that?"
"We're having a nice conversation."
"Nice for whom!"
"For both of us. I like it—don't you?"
He almost spat out, 'Of course I don't!' The saying that the truth is the best approach is bullshit.
"No... it's not that I don't like it... Ah! A-a prince consort can only take the princess as his wife, can't he?"
"Of course."
"I already have women I've promised my future to. Three of them... no, four."
Whether three or four, in a case like this, the more the better.
"Already? Wow—! You're quite capable."
"Hehe! I'm a bit of a playboy, you see..."
"It's fine."
"Right? It's fi— What? It's fine?"
"You're not married yet."
"We just haven't married—they're as good as my wives!"
"If you're not married, you can just break up. Anyway, you're going to marry me, so get used to it."
Ju Seo-in's resolute expression made clear that persuasion was impossible.
"Ahem! If you become a meritorious subject, you wouldn't be a bad match for our Seo-in. Hahaha!"
Ju Hyeong-seon's loud laugh was hollow. Jeon Su-bang also blinked one eye, urging him to let it go for now.
'Right, I can't flip the board now.'
Do Tong-dal mumbled something vague and escaped Ju Seo-in's clutches. Vowing that marrying Ju Seo-in could never happen, Do Tong-dal set out on the road to Hangzhou.
* * *