Monopolizing Fortunes (148)
Monopolizing Fortunes (148)
"I don't need anything from your mouth. Your face is answering everything for me."
Do Tong-dal closed the distance to So Cheol-eum. His knee touched the other man, and So Cheol-eum's blood soaked into his clothes.
"The one behind this is obviously the Second Prince. But the Second Prince would have no way of knowing some former member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so there must be someone who acted as the go-between, right?"
Do Tong-dal nodded.
"One of them would naturally be a eunuch who serves as the Second Prince's hands and feet, but a eunuch also wouldn't know you, so there must be someone else as well."
It was something he could easily have predicted, and he could tell from So Cheol-eum's expression that the prediction was correct.
"A low-ranking official couldn't have led an assassination attempt on the Third Prince, so it would have to be someone around the rank of a minister. The Ministry of Personnel? The Ministry of Rites? The Ministry of War? Oh! The Minister of War, then. Let's see, the Minister of War's name is...... Ah! Hwangbo Gil!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Spittle flew from So Cheol-eum and landed on Do Tong-dal's thigh.
"If you react that violently, it's like you're just admitting it, and that's no fun."
Do Tong-dal said as he rose to his feet.
"If we grab Hwangbo Gil and squeeze him, the Second Prince's name will come out. Wait."
Do Tong-dal, who had been about to stand, sat back down.
"You might not know, but someone at the level of the Minister of War would know the Second Prince's temperament well, wouldn't he?"
"Wh...... what are you trying to say?"
"He must have attempted the assassination because there was something in it for him. If the Second Prince becomes emperor and doesn't give it to him, what's he going to do? The Second Prince I know is the sort of great man who would rather kill someone who knows his secrets than keep a promise. If I know that, would the Minister of War not know it?"
Do Tong-dal looked straight at So Cheol-eum and spoke.
"There must be some kind of insurance, right? Something like proof that the Second Prince personally ordered the Third Prince's assassination."
So Cheol-eum was so shocked that he hung his head. He had never imagined that someone could deduce the entire situation this accurately just by looking at his face. It was like a mind-reading sorcerer.
"I thought you had a strong sense of pride, but you're not that kind of person at all. Am I that frightening?"
So Cheol-eum clenched his teeth and raised his head again. If a glare could kill, Do Tong-dal would have been torn into a hundred pieces by now.
Do Tong-dal grinned and looked straight into So Cheol-eum's eyes as he spoke.
"When it comes to proof, there's only one thing. A letter in the Second Prince's own hand."
So Cheol-eum no longer even tried to hide his shock.
"He would have written one for you and one for the Minister of War. Where did you put the letter?"
Of course there was no answer, but the deduction was not difficult.
"You wouldn't carry it on you right now, but you'd keep it somewhere you could get your hands on at any time. It would be the house you live in, wouldn't it?"
That much was correct. The problem was finding the house where So Cheol-eum lived, which would not be easy if the man's face was unknown.
'If a man expelled from the Embroidered Uniform Guard has kept ties with the Minister of War all this time...... then it's right to assume the Minister of War has been using him for dirty work. If there was a job to be done, it would need to be handled immediately, so he would have kept him close.'
Having thought that far, Do Tong-dal asked.
"You're lodging at the Minister of War's residence. No need to be so surprised. It's simple deduction. If we search the Minister of War's house, we'll find the letter."
So Cheol-eum was now utterly dazed. He had thought that as long as he said nothing, he would be fine. He could have remained the great man So Cheol-eum, who never broke under torture or anything of the sort.
But Do Tong-dal had not struck him even once and had only asked questions. Even though So Cheol-eum had not said a single word, Do Tong-dal had figured everything out through questions alone.
He could not understand how such a thing was possible. He swore that So Cheol-eum had not done a single thing wrong.
So Cheol-eum was not the only one shocked. Hwangmi Dal and the two elders who had been watching nearby were also staring at Do Tong-dal with their mouths hanging open.
They had witnessed mind-reading before their very eyes. When Do Tong-dal looked at them, they quickly turned their heads away.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah...... no, well......."
Do Tong-dal narrowed his eyes.
"Looks like you've got something you want to hide from me. Let's see......."
The two elders quickly covered their faces, and Hwangmi Dal covered his chest.
"Why are you covering your chest?"
"You're reading my mind, aren't you? No, are you reading my face?"
Hwangmi Dal stealthily raised his left hand and covered half his face. Do Tong-dal let out a chuckle as he left the warehouse.
"I'll go pay a visit to the imperial palace."
Hwangmi Dal asked.
"What should we do with that bastard?"
Do Tong-dal glanced at So Cheol-eum and said.
"I've gotten everything I need out of him, but keep him alive for now. We might need him for a confrontation with the Minister of War later."
Do Tong-dal headed straight for the imperial palace. He had expected that the Second Prince might try to kill Ju Hyeong-seon, but solid evidence like a letter in the prince's own hand was beyond his expectations.
'I've secured evidence that could finish off the Second Prince, but.......'
If the Second Prince were to fall right now, the pursuit of the Revenge Society might be halted. He needed to secure the Second Prince's letter, but there was no need to rush its disclosure.
Because both Yang Su-pan and Jeon Su-bang had instructed that Do Tong-dal be admitted immediately if he came, entering the imperial palace was not difficult.
Yang Su-pan greeted Do Tong-dal with the expression of a man welcoming a child home from the battlefield.
"Oh! You've made the precious trip all the way here!"
"Do you have something to gain by staying on my good side?"
"Of course I do! You saved His Highness the Third Prince's life!"
"I wasn't the one who saved him."
"What are you talking about! It was thanks to your arrangements, so it's no different from you saving him! His Highness has been counting the days until he could meet you, but I didn't expect you to come so soon! Come along, quickly!"
"I didn't come to see the Third Prince today......."
Yang Su-pan grabbed Do Tong-dal by the hand and pulled him along.
"You've come all this way, so if you don't show your face, His Highness will be disappointed!"
There was no particular reason to avoid meeting him, so Do Tong-dal followed Yang Su-pan.
"How is the mood in the palace?"
Yang Su-pan glanced around and lowered his voice.
"It's tilting more and more toward our side."
"A lot of people from the First Prince's faction must have come over."
"That goes without saying, and the officials who had been displeased with the Second Prince's conduct have now found an alternative in the Third Prince, so they're welcoming it. The one who tried to assassinate His Highness the Third Prince this time is surely one of the Second Prince's people as well. Has that man opened his mouth? If he hasn't yet, our side would like to have a try. He's not dead, is he?"
"He's alive, and I've learned everything there is to learn from him."
Yang Su-pan's face lit up.
"Is that so? So he named the Second Prince as the one behind it?"
"That's something I could tell without hearing it. The Third Prince couldn't have picked the assassin himself, so there must be someone who helped him, and I need to find that person."
"Well, that's true. So that person is......?"
"I found him."
"Who is it?"
"The Minister of War."
"Hwangbo Gil, you mean."
"You don't seem surprised."
"That man was always on the Second Prince's side. And he has the temperament for such a thing. Since the assassin gave us a name, we have grounds to interrogate him, but he's still a high-ranking minister, so we can't just drag him in and question him....... I'll have to think it over."
"What if there's evidence?"
"Evidence?"
"A letter written by the Second Prince himself."
"Such a thing exists? The Second Prince did something that foolish?"
If the Third Prince had been killed, even if every finger pointed at the Second Prince as the suspect, he could simply deny it and be done.
With the Third Prince gone, the Second Prince would be the only one who could become emperor, and there was not a single official who would press such a man.
So he absolutely should not have left behind evidence.
"He has madness, but he's no fool."
"He was that desperate. The only future the Second Prince can imagine is the emperor's throne. Everything else, he just scrambles to resolve whatever is in front of him."
"If a man who can't see an inch ahead becomes emperor of this country...... the very thought is horrifying. But have you secured the letter?"
"Not yet, but I have a rough idea of where it is."
While they talked, they arrived at the Third Prince's residence. The number of eunuchs had increased since before.
"There are more visitors now, so we've added some hands. We've driven out all the ones who were the Second Prince's spies."
"Let's continue this conversation with the Third Prince. It's something everyone needs to hear."
A broad smile spread across Ju Hyeong-seon's face as he greeted Do Tong-dal.
"The savior of my life has come."
"I keep telling you, I wasn't the one who saved you."
"I'm alive thanks to your arrangements, so it's no different from you saving me."
He said exactly the same thing as Yang Su-pan. Ju Seo-in, who was with the Third Prince, suddenly asked.
"That old man who saved my brother, how strong is he?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm asking where he ranks among the strongest people in the Central Plains."
"He's one of the Ten Great Masters of the martial world, so he'd be within the top ten. Why do you ask?"
"One of the Ten Great Masters, you say? Ten Great Masters......."
Ju Seo-in muttered to herself, then asked again.
"Would that old man teach me martial arts?"
"Pardon? You want to learn martial arts?"
Ju Hyeong-seon complained.
"Ever since that day, every time she sees me, it's nothing but talk of martial arts."
"Brother, I'm serious. Something is boiling up inside my body. The books in the Imperial Palace Martial Repository alone seem to have their limits."
Ju Seo-in turned her attention back to Do Tong-dal.
"Could you put in a word for me and ask him to teach me martial arts?"
"You would become a commoner's disciple?"
"As a member of the imperial family, I can't become a commoner's disciple. That old man isn't even a Grand Academician."
"If you want to formally learn something from someone, you have to become their disciple. Regardless of status."
"Is that really the only way?"
"Even if Your Highness the Imperial Princess offered to become his disciple, I'm not sure he would accept."
"You're saying he would dare defy the command of a member of the imperial family?"
"Does that old man seem like the type to accept?"
Ju Seo-in thought for a moment, then her shoulders slumped.
"I don't know."
"Then just give it up. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is everywhere. What would you do with martial arts that you had to work so hard to learn?"
"It's because I learned martial arts that I can protect my brother the Third Prince!"
"That may be true, but once His Highness the Third Prince becomes emperor, Your Highness will no longer be his guard."
It was only because of the current special circumstances; an imperial princess could not serve as the emperor's guard.
"It's not because of my brother the Third Prince. I just want to learn martial arts for myself. This is the first time I've ever felt this desperate about something."
The scent of a person obsessed with martial arts was beginning to waft from Ju Seo-in. Then again, she had trained every single day without fail using only the secret manuals in the imperial library, so she was already that kind of person.
'Huh? Isn't this a good thing for me?'
If Ju Seo-in became absorbed in martial arts, she would stop pestering him about becoming her husband and all that.
"Shall I try asking him?"
"To take me as his disciple? But a member of the imperial family becoming a martial artist's disciple is a bit......."
The wall of status was too solid to be broken down by strong desire alone.
"How about something like an invited guest? The Northern Unorthodox Alliance would have nothing to lose by forming ties with the imperial palace."
The reason the court and the martial world disliked entangling with each other was that if an incident occurred, resolving it became troublesome.
If they could maintain a friendly relationship without any troublesome matters, there could be no better relationship than that.
"Can you arrange that?"
"Your Highness wants it that badly, so I'll have to make an effort somehow."
"Wow! My husband is the best!"
"No, that husband thing is a bit......."
For some reason, he could picture an unpleasant scene in which he ended up asking Hwangmi Dal for a favor and becoming Prince Consort in the bargain.
'Should I tell that old man to put her through about ten years of closed-door training?'
Yang Su-pan's voice cut into Do Tong-dal's scheming(?).
"You can handle Her Highness's matter as you see fit, but we should finish the conversation we were having on the way here."
Whether Ju Seo-in became Hwangmi Dal's disciple or his guest, it was of no importance whatsoever compared to what was about to be discussed.
Ju Hyeong-seon asked.
"What were you talking about?"
"There is said to be a letter containing the Second Prince's order to assassinate Your Highness the Third Prince."
Ju Hyeong-seon and Ju Seo-in were both startled.
"You mean our second brother really left behind such damning evidence?"
"That mad dog is really that much of a dumbass?"
Yang Su-pan glanced at Do Tong-dal.
"We haven't confirmed the physical letter yet, but it's nearly certain."
If Do Tong-dal said it was certain, then it was certain. They trusted Do Tong-dal that much.
"Do you know where the letter is?"
At Ju Hyeong-seon's question, Do Tong-dal made a troubled expression.
"I do know, but obtaining it won't be easy."
"Where is it?"
"It's in Hwangbo Gil's house."
"The Minister of War?"
* * *