The Bride of Anchuunbugu
Lee Man-ju turned to Duri and spoke.
"Your brother Duri was received by the King of Joseon in Hanyang and even succeeded in raising the iron quota at the Manpo tribute market. It falls far short of what we need, but it is no small feat."
"I beg your forgiveness."
Duri said, lowering his head.
He was tall, and though he could not match Go-nap-hap, who was hailed as the finest-looking man in the Jianzhou Guard, he was striking enough in his own right. He never let his true thoughts show on his face, and it was precisely for that composure that Man-ju favored him, entrusting him with the whole of his diplomacy — missions to the Liaodong Regional Military Commission of Ming or to the Joseon court, dispatched in person in his father's stead. Perhaps because of that, Man-ju had never granted Duri the separate household he had allowed Go-nap-hap, keeping him always at his side — and Go-nap-hap, for his part, never stopped keeping his brother at arm's length.
That bastard...
Go-nap-hap glared at his younger brother. Duri, apparently well aware of the stare, calmly accepted his elder brother's venomous gaze without so much as a flicker.
You're scheming to take my place. Not a chance.
That was what Go-nap-hap's eyes were saying. Power strips away all blood and tears, yet among Man-ju's many sons, the covert war between these two brothers burned hotter than any other.
"Kunaha. Are you listening?"
"Yes? Yes, of course..."
Go-nap-hap snapped back to attention.
"Put an end to the business of procuring iron at Hwangseongpyeong."
"Yes? No — Father!"
The words burst out of him before he could stop himself, and only under the glacial weight of Man-ju's gaze did he realize his blunder.
"Forgive me, Dudu... but I swear I will give it my utmost!"
"I intend to entrust you with another task, one better suited to your talents."
"Yes?"
Unable to fathom his father's thinking, Go-nap-hap could only stand there looking foolish. Man-ju turned to the squat man standing at his side — unremarkable in build, yet with his clothes and beard trimmed and arranged with fastidious care.
"This is Onyan Ichigeo — the late Onyan Isiha's half-brother."
Isiha's half-brother?
Go-nap-hap could make no sense of where this was going. The elderly man called Onyan Ichigeo gave a slow nod.
"Onyan Isiha was once a great chieftain, but the years have caught up with him. He has made a fool of me more times than I can count. Yet Providence, in its mercy, saw fit to deny him what it granted to me — a healthy son to carry on his line. His only direct blood is a single daughter. And how is a girl to lead a clan? A woman's fate, after all, is to be taken into a man's keeping..."
The elders laughed, low and grim. Only Duri did not laugh.
"And so, Kunaha — if you take that girl, it will be as good as taking the whole Onyan clan."
That much Go-nap-hap already knew. But had the old man Isiha not been dodging the proposal with all his might for years?
"That Isiha has evaded every answer until now — claiming he would not discuss a marriage until his daughter was fully grown. But enough is enough. He has been humored long past all patience."
Man-ju rose to his feet.
"In return for recognizing Onyan Ichigeo as the next head of the Onyan clan, I am resolved to see that my son Kunaha takes the Onyan daughter for his own."
Only then did Go-nap-hap grasp the full shape of his father's plan.
"Kunaha. At the Chuseok rites this autumn, you will go to Anchuunbugu with Ichigeo. There you will make the demand unmistakably clear — face to face, before the whole assembly, Isiha will have nowhere left to squirm."
"Yes, understood."
"The Onyan clan is of imperial blood, and they must never be permitted to look down upon the house of Lee Man-ju. See that you make preparations worthy of it."
Man-ju paused a moment.
"Kunaha."
"Yes... speak, Father."
"This time, you will not fail. Do you understand?"
Go-nap-hap swallowed hard.
"Yes, Dudu."
Man-ju turned to Ichigeo.
"Lord Ichigeo, you will accompany Kunaha to Anchuunbugu."
"I shall."
Ichigeo answered with oily courtesy, then looked over at Go-nap-hap.
"I shall call upon your residence soon, my lord."
"Do so."
Once outside, Go-nap-hap let out the breath he had been holding in one long sigh. His trusted men, Irongha and Olanggamokya, came hurrying over.
"What did Dudu Lee Man-ju have to say, my lord?"
"Hm. He's ordered me to Anchuunbugu."
"Anchuunbugu..."
Irongha and Olanggamokya exchanged glances.
"To ask for that Onyan daughter, is it?"
"And who could be better suited to it than you, my lord?"
Irongha's laughter carried an ugly edge. The two of them had thought nothing of roaming the length of the Jianzhou Guard, carrying off women at whim.
Go-nap-hap shrugged.
"Spare me the flattery."
"Still — they say the Onyan clan are the descendants of the old Jin imperial house. If this succeeds, wouldn't you become their Buma, my lord? Son-in-law to the imperial line itself?"
"I suppose I would."
Buma! The word sounded impossibly foreign on Go-nap-hap's tongue. Irongha was practically dancing with excitement.
"Then when you ride to Anchuunbugu, you simply must dress the part of a Buma, my lord!"
"Irongha is quite right."
Even the earnest Olanggamokya chimed in, nodding gravely.
"And we shall need to dress fittingly as the escort of a Buma as well, won't we?"
Irongha snickered, and despite himself Go-nap-hap burst out laughing.
"But of course. I'll have to squeeze that scoundrel Pushan Hadaru a little harder. Back to Hwangseongpyeong!"
"Yes, my lord."
Go-nap-hap wheeled around — and his eyes fell, quite by chance, upon his younger brother. Duri was in quiet conference with his trusted retainer, Dodeori.
Some perverse urge made Go-nap-hap want to pick a fight.
"Well, well — Myriarch Do."
"Elder brother."
"Congratulations. Won Father's trust, have you? Feels good, does it?"
Go-nap-hap did not bother to hide the sneer. Duri gave a short nod.
"I merely did what needed doing for the clan."
"Hmph. 'What needed doing,' was it? Feeling pleased with yourself, making a fool of your elder brother?"
Duri did not so much as flinch. Only after a long silence did he open his mouth.
"Hardly."
"You sanctimonious snake! You think I don't see through that pitch-black gut of yours? Every time you crawl before the Liaodong Commission or that Joseon king, you're slandering me, aren't you? Because you covet my place."
"You go too far with your suspicions, my lord Kunaha—"
"You hold your tongue, Dodeori! Where does a servant get the nerve to cut in?"
Dodeori fell silent. Duri only looked at his brother, saying nothing.
"Scheming all you like changes nothing. When Father passes, that seat is mine. All your clever little games are for nothing."
"Absurd words... How could I ever covet your seat, Elder brother?"
Duri replied with perfect calm.
"...Especially once you take the Onyan girl for your wife. I wish you every success — for the sake of our clan, of course."
"Hmph. How smoothly the words slide off your tongue... I've no need for well-wishes from the likes of you."
Go-nap-hap turned on his heel and strode away in great, angry strides.
Dodeori was trembling.
"That — that man. There is nothing he wouldn't say to you, Myriarch."
"Pay it no mind."
Duri said quietly.
"His own legs have gone weak beneath him — what can he possibly do? Eldest or not, with Father still propping him up, he carries on so wretchedly. A pitiful sight."
Through Duri's eyes, Go-nap-hap had only ever needed to do his one duty and his future was assured. Short of some grave disqualification, the succession belonged to the eldest son by right. Go-nap-hap's reputation was hardly spotless, but a fondness for women scarcely counted as a flaw worth mentioning. He had also proven himself, more or less, as a commander. Above all — among all the sons, had he not been the only one granted leave by Man-ju to build a faction of his own? In that, at least, Duri genuinely envied his brother, and coveted his position. If Go-nap-hap took the Onyan daughter to wife, his seat would be cemented beyond all challenge.
Dodeori studied his master's face for a long moment.
"I will speak my honest opinion... The one who ought to succeed is not Lord Kunaha, but you, Myriarch."
"Dodeori. Such words are not to be spoken lightly. Guard your tongue."
"Yes, my lord. My apologies."
Dodeori bowed his head. Duri glared at the receding back of his eldest brother until, at last, he turned sharply away — biting his lip so hard it had gone white.
While Hong-wi remained at Anchuunbugu, Jeong Ho-chan and Kim Si-seup set about planning their visit to the house of the palace eunuch Kim Cheo-seon.
"First we must establish beyond doubt whether Kim Cheo-seon has already gone over to the other side. Only then do we approach him."
It went without saying. The Six Martyred Ministers themselves had been driven to their deaths by the denunciation of a comrade they had trusted — Kim Jil. By Song Hyo-bin's account, Kim Cheo-seon seemed a man worth trusting, but the man had already endured one calamity, and certainty was impossible.
"That's true enough, but how are we to know otherwise? He certainly won't announce his sympathy for His Highness in the open. And if he truly were blabbing to everyone and his brother, he'd be the last man we should let near us — under any pretext."
"Fair. Which means, in the end, we simply have to go and find out."
Jeong Ho-chan listened with half an ear while sorting through everything they had learned so far.
"What is certain is that Kim Cheo-seon rose under Senior Eunuch Eom Ja-chi. Eom practically raised him from the day he entered the palace, and Cheo-seon followed the man like a father. So it would hardly be strange for him to nurse a deep and abiding grudge against Suyang — the man who cut down a father figure to him."
"In a world where even brothers inform on one another," Kim Si-seup added dryly.
"Still, the possibility is there... In any case, there's nothing for it but to meet the man and sound him out."
Jeong Ho-chan's eyes met Kim Si-seup's. Kim Si-seup broke into a sly grin.
"Going right now, are we?"
"Strike while the iron is hot, as they say — right now. We'll time our arrival to the hour he leaves the palace."
The hour of Kim Cheo-seon's return home from the palace had already been established. Palace eunuchs and court ladies were the twin pillars who managed the royal household, but unlike the ladies, who lived and died within the palace walls, eunuchs kept residences outside and could come and go to work. Kim Cheo-seon's house was modest, though not shabby. Unlike the eunuchs of China or Goryeo, those of Joseon had never grown powerful enough to run rampant, yet a long-serving eunuch could still accumulate a respectable fortune — and Kim Cheo-seon, having weathered several rises and falls, apparently had rather less wealth than one might expect.
Or perhaps he never cared for hoarding in the first place.
"How will you get in? Just open the gate and walk in?" Kim Si-seup asked.
Jeong Ho-chan looked at him and smiled.
"Your old talent for the con game ought to come in handy here, no?"
"You simply mean to bury my true self, then?"
Kim Si-seup grinned back.
"Out in the country a gentleman could talk his way into a noble house on the pretext of reading the land's fortune. But no such trick will serve in Hanyang."
"Ah, I see it. Then let us only pray that Eunuch Kim has a heart of faith."
"Even a man without faith, if he would abuse a visiting monk for no cause, can hardly be credited with loyalty. Begin."
"Indeed."
Kim Si-seup strode up to the gate of Kim Cheo-seon's house, drew a wooden fish gong from his cloth bag, and began to strike it and chant the sutras.
"The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom Sutra. Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, practicing deep the perfection of wisdom..."
His voice rang out so thunderously that it rolled down the whole alley. Before long there was movement inside.
"What in the world is that racket — so loud..."
With a creak, the gate swung open. A grizzled old maidservant poked her head out, scowling, and grumbled,
"Now who might you be, carrying on so? The whole neighborhood's about to flee."
Kim Si-seup, deigning to answer, simply shut his eyes and chanted louder.
The maidservant shouted again.
"Are you deaf, monk? Give it a rest! There's chanting and then there's plain lawlessness — and this is the lawless kind!"
"Oh come now, lawless? The good monk is only helping your master heap up merit."
Jeong Ho-chan, standing beside him, stepped in with a beaming smile. The old woman's eyes bulged.
"What merit, with all this din? You'd scare off whatever merit the man's earned so far! Stop it this instant — the master's only just left the palace and is trying to rest, and here you are — what am I to do with..."
"Is this the residence of Eunuch Kim Cheo-seon?"
"It is."
Through all of this back-and-forth, Kim Si-seup chanted on, utterly indifferent to the world around him.
"Form is no different from emptiness; emptiness no different from form. No eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. No form, no sound, no scent, no taste, no touch, no things..."
"Do you know this monk, sir? Well then, just stand there and watch him, why don't you. Goodness me — the whole house can hear it by now..."
Loath to scold an actual monk, the old woman could only fume silently as her nerves frayed. Jeong Ho-chan grinned, sly as a fox. She was working up to another outburst when footsteps sounded from within.
"What is all this commotion?"