Monopolizing Fortunes (149)
Monopolizing Fortunes (149)
Ju Hyeong-seon gave a small nod.
"That man is more than capable of attempting to assassinate me."
He was the very incarnation of ambition, to the point that he considered not being born into the imperial family the regret of a lifetime.
Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Can we really storm the house of a minister like the Minister of War and search it without solid evidence?"
Yang Su-pan asked.
"What about the man who tried to assassinate His Highness the Third Prince? He's opened his mouth, so that's reason enough. This is no ordinary matter. Attempting to assassinate the future emperor is a capital crime warranting the extermination of three generations."
Do Tong-dal scratched his forehead.
"Well...... it isn't exactly that the bastard confessed with his own mouth."
"Huh? If he didn't confess with his mouth, then what—did he confess with his nostrils?"
"The truth is......."
"Ah! You didn't use a divine art, did you?"
Ju Hyeong-seon asked with a puzzled look.
"A divine art?"
"When Tong-dal was in the Hangzhou Underworld, word had spread far and wide that he possessed a divine art."
"There's no way such a thing could really......."
"At first I naturally thought the same. But it wasn't just one or two people saying it. Decisively, the fact that I rose to this position is entirely thanks to Tong-dal. Why else would I have had him come all the way to Beijing to see which of the First Prince and Second Prince had the makings of an emperor?"
Only then did Ju Hyeong-seon nod.
"Come to think of it, your coming to Beijing was because of that divine art too. Did you really learn it through that wondrous divine art?"
Do Tong-dal found it awkward to answer. He couldn't call it a divine art, and if he called it mind-reading, that was just as preposterous as a divine art.
"I'm rather good at catching other people's lies. Just by looking at their facial expressions."
It was less unbelievable than a divine art or mind-reading, but it was still hard to believe.
The wrinkles on a forehead couldn't open their mouths and speak, after all.
"You're saying you catch people's lies just by looking at their expressions?"
Ju Hyeong-seon's finger pointed at Ju Seo-in.
"Until what age did Seo-in wet the bed?"
"Brother!"
Ignoring Ju Seo-in's sharp cry, Ju Hyeong-seon continued.
"If you get that right, I'll acknowledge what you say. Of course, I'm not saying I don't believe you now. If someone else had said such a thing, I'd have ignored it without even testing it."
Do Tong-dal let out a thin sigh and turned his gaze toward Ju Seo-in. Ju Seo-in, who had flared up, was just as curious, and straightened her posture.
She maintained a thoroughly blank expression so as not to let her mind be read. Do Tong-dal did not ask with his mouth.
He simply held up two fingers. Then soon three fingers were raised.
'Where's he trying to land the guess.'
After holding up roughly four fingers, he would say "four years old." Normally, by that age a child would no longer wet the bed.
Do Tong-dal, holding up four fingers, looked at the expressionless Ju Seo-in and tilted his head.
'Well now. It seems like it would be rude to raise any more fingers here,' he muttered to himself, yet Do Tong-dal raised all five fingers.
It didn't show on her face, but (in Ju Seo-in's opinion) she was startled. Because she hadn't expected Do Tong-dal to raise more fingers.
Ju Seo-in was startled inwardly, but Do Tong-dal showed his surprise openly.
"Not even five years old? Haah—! Please don't resent me for this."
Do Tong-dal added one left index finger on top of the five spread fingers.
Ju Seo-in felt her heart drop. Of course, she maintained her blank expression. Not only she, but Ju Hyeong-seon and Yang Su-pan also thought her expression control was excellent.
Do Tong-dal, who had been staring at Ju Seo-in, quietly curled his fingers back in.
"I'm glad it stopped at six."
Yang Su-pan scolded Do Tong-dal.
"Hey, how could the wise Imperial Princess have wet the bed until she was six? Isn't that right, Your Highness?"
The smile vanished from Yang Su-pan's face as he asked Ju Seo-in. Those roundly widened eyes were unmistakably surprise. Ju Hyeong-seon's face was no different from Ju Seo-in's.
Yang Su-pan's gaze shifted to Do Tong-dal.
"You...... it's true."
"Why would I lie?"
Indeed, at present Do Tong-dal was a person who was sufficiently trusted even without any other ability.
Ju Hyeong-seon, who had been silently watching Do Tong-dal, quietly stood up.
"It's a bit hot today."
It was not the sort of weather to be hot, but Ju Hyeong-seon took a folding fan out of a drawer. Seeing that, Yang Su-pan quickly spoke.
"Your Highness, do you happen to have a spare fan?"
"As it happens, I do have one more."
Ju Hyeong-seon snapped open a black fan, waved it three or four times, then quietly covered the lower part of his face.
Yang Su-pan, who had received a pink fan, also covered most of his face like Ju Hyeong-seon.
"What are you two doing?"
At Do Tong-dal's question, Yang Su-pan answered, "It's...... it's hot."
"Seo-in, shall I give you a fan too?"
"No. I have nothing to hide from Tong-dal."
"No, it's not about hiding anything, it just suddenly got hot......."
"I can still see everything."
At Do Tong-dal's words, Ju Hyeong-seon was startled.
"You don't also have clairvoyance, do you?"
He looked ready to believe it if the answer was yes.
"I can tell just from your eyes, so don't waste your effort and just put it away."
Ju Hyeong-seon let out an awkward laugh and folded the fan.
"Well, what would I have to hide from you anyway? Isn't that right, Censor Yang?"
"W...... well, of course. We're the sort who show each other everything down to our internal organs. Hahaha!"
Do Tong-dal's voice cut through Yang Su-pan's laughter.
"Will you forcibly search Hwangbo Gil's house?"
It was not a matter that could be decided simply. There was no evidence and no testimony. All they had was the fact learned through Do Tong-dal's miraculous power, and they could not storm a minister's house on those grounds.
Moreover, Hwangbo Gil was practically a trusted confidant who enjoyed the Second Prince's powerful support. If by any chance things went wrong, Ju Hyeong-seon's position could be shaken for carelessly touching a high-ranking minister.
"We'll just storm in."
The words came from Ju Hyeong-seon's mouth. Yang Su-pan spoke.
"It's only natural that you're angry, but this isn't something to decide on impulse."
"Do I look like I'm in a bad mood?"
"Well...... you don't seem to be."
It was an expression anyone could read, even without Do Tong-dal.
"Honestly, if we leave it to Tong-dal, he'll find a solution somehow."
Do Tong-dal did not deny Ju Hyeong-seon's words. No idea came to mind immediately, but he had always found a solution, and this time would be no different.
"But putting all the burden on Tong-dal alone is too shameless of us. This is practically the same as Tong-dal setting the whole table for us."
He had told them who the culprit was and even the location of the evidence, so Ju Hyeong-seon's words were not wrong.
"At the very least, we should lift the spoon ourselves. If I become emperor and Censor Yang becomes a meritorious subject without even doing this much, what shameless people would we be? Don't you agree?"
But given the gravity of the matter, Yang Su-pan had no choice but to be cautious. If they found that evidence, Ju Hyeong-seon would be as good as emperor.
Yang Su-pan glanced at Do Tong-dal. By principle, Ju Hyeong-seon's words were a hundred times right, but in matters where lives were at stake, one had to be a thousand, ten thousand times cautious.
Receiving Yang Su-pan's gaze, Do Tong-dal opened his mouth.
"Do as you wish, Your Highness the Third Prince. I don't particularly want to see an emperor who only leans on others either."
There might be safer methods if they looked, but the dangerous method imbued with Ju Hyeong-seon's will held more value than the safe method Do Tong-dal would have found.
Ju Hyeong-seon spoke.
"Then Censor Yang, summon the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard you can trust. Since this is to uncover the mastermind behind my attempted assassination, it will be reason enough to storm Hwangbo Gil's house."
The reasons were more than sufficient. The problem was the evidence.
"There may be resistance, so I will select those with outstanding martial prowess."
At Yang Su-pan's answer, Do Tong-dal shook his head.
"No. Choose the most trustworthy men rather than the best fighters. Because Hwangbo Gil must absolutely not find out before we storm in."
"But Hwangbo Gil has quite a number of private soldiers at his house. Would the man who tried to assassinate His Highness the Third Prince surrender meekly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
In Beijing, it was illegal for officials to privately maintain soldiers, but there were quite a few officials who sneered at such laws.
Among those officials, the one with the strongest and most numerous private soldiers was Hwangbo Gil.
"If we can't subdue him in one stroke, we're just giving that bastard time to destroy the evidence. Honestly, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's martial strength these days isn't what it used to be......."
In the end, Yang Su-pan drew the answer he wanted out of Do Tong-dal.
"Fine. I'll just go along."
"Huh? Really? Oh dear, then we'd seem far too shameless......."
Ju Hyeong-seon had inwardly hoped for those words too, but because of what he himself had said, he couldn't openly show his delight.
Do Tong-dal asked Yang Su-pan.
"By when can you be ready?"
"Since it has to be done covertly, it'll take three shichen. But how many should go? The number of private soldiers at Hwangbo Gil's house......."
"About twenty will do. We just need to let it be known that the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to arrest him."
"Can you handle it alone?"
"I'll bring the Alliance Leader old man."
"I'll have two sets of Embroidered Uniform Guard uniforms prepared."
Do Tong-dal's gaze turned to Ju Hyeong-seon.
"I have one last thing to say."
At his rather serious expression, tension appeared on Ju Hyeong-seon's face.
"What is it?"
"Even if we obtain the evidence this time, I hope you won't reveal it immediately."
Yang Su-pan asked in surprise.
"Why? If we just have proof that he tried to assassinate His Highness the Third Prince, we could immediately...... bring down His Highness the Second Prince!"
No matter how much of a Second Prince he was, that letter would be enough to send him flying.
"First of all, this is a matter within the imperial palace. What happens if His Highness the Second Prince denies it?"
"If we compare the handwriting, it'll come to light quickly."
"Will it be that easy? First we'd need to find an expert to compare the handwriting, and that process alone would cause quite an uproar."
Naturally, that was how it would go. The Second Prince would try to plant his own people, and if things looked unfavorable, he would clearly dig in his heels and refuse to acknowledge it.
"The succession struggle that has been unfolding beneath the surface would rise above water, and the imperial palace would become a complete mess. Then His Majesty, who has kept silent until now, would have no choice but to step forward."
Yang Su-pan spoke.
"If His Majesty steps forward, it doesn't seem like it would be disadvantageous to us. Surely he wouldn't side with the Second Prince, who tried to assassinate the Third Prince?"
"Have you heard from the physician in black about His Majesty the Emperor's condition?"
"I've been far too busy lately......."
"I don't know the details either, but what happens if he collapses in anger over this matter?"
There was no one who didn't know that what Do Tong-dal was talking about was the emperor's death. Yang Su-pan muttered as if groaning.
"Chaos would come."
The simple truth that the guilty are punished did not apply, at least not in the imperial palace. The imperial palace was a special place where common sense simply did not work.
Ju Hyeong-seon asked.
"By your logic, even if we find the evidence, it's useless, isn't it?"
"Why? Just the fact that the evidence is in Your Highness the Third Prince's hands will make the Second Prince feel like he has a noose around his neck. He tried to murder Your Highness the Third Prince just because the situation got a little difficult—imagine if that evidence existed."
"He'll thrash about like a wounded beast."
"He'll bring himself down. And since we even have powerful evidence in the form of a handwritten letter, it becomes a fight we cannot lose even if we tried."
Everyone looked at Do Tong-dal with admiring eyes. It was astonishing how such deep foresight could come out of a person's head.
Whatever they thought, Do Tong-dal wanted something else. In truth, if they exposed the Second Prince's handwritten letter now, the fight would be over.
The whole process of comparing handwriting and so on wouldn't drag on long either, since the Second Prince had already been named a suspect in the First Prince's murder.
The Second Prince being cut down too quickly was not the picture Do Tong-dal wanted.
The closer Ju Hyeong-seon got to the imperial throne, the further the imperial palace's will to pursue the Revenge Society was bound to drift.
Do Tong-dal chose that path because he was certain that even if they dragged things out, the result would not change.
After all, the most important thing at present was Ju Hyeong-seon becoming emperor.
"Still, just in case, I'll place the Alliance Leader old man as His Highness the Third Prince's escort."
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