Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Great King Namsaeng
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Listening to that, I suddenly remembered what I needed to do. I mustered what little strength I had left to speak.
"Everyone else, leave. Father, please stay."
My father, Yeon Gaesomun, heard me and ordered everyone out. I gave my wife's hand a gentle squeeze and blinked at her. It was my way of saying thanks, and she understood, nodding in return. Once Geom Mojam closed the door behind him, Father sat down in an empty chair. He let out a deep, weary sigh, as if the ground itself might cave in beneath him. I turned to him and asked,
"What happened while I was out?"
"What happened? Far too much. While the physician was treating you, I posted guards around Bin Yeongeok Pavilion to keep word from leaking out. And we investigated the assassin."
"Who was it?"
"Who else? One of the palace guard soldiers. I never imagined that damned Great King would stoop this low."
"He even fooled I Maengjin."
"That's what I heard. That money-grubbing fool wouldn't pull something like this."
"And he knew exactly how I'd respond."
"How? Did he have an inside man?"
"No."
None of the close aides around me had red eyes, so I could say it with confidence. Father thought for a moment before replying,
"Then he knew we were searching for a strategist and tried to assassinate you because of it?"
"That's likely."
Strangely, I felt myself calming down, the pain starting to fade. I recalled the time after possessing Yeon Namsaeng's body when assassins attacked me in the market. Back then, I hadn't even gotten a scratch. This time, though, I'd been right on death's doorstep.
"To think the Great King had someone that clever by his side."
I slowly shook my head at Father's words.
"He showed up recently, for sure."
"I think the same. We need to find him fast and take him out."
"What's the Great King's side doing?"
"I clamped down on loose lips, but he must suspect something—he sent someone over. Said he wants to see you."
"And what did you do?"
"Told him you're too ill to meet. Should've just cut off the bastard's head and sent that back instead."
Gazing at my grumbling father, I felt even calmer.
"Now that he's realized the assassination failed, he'll move to the next phase."
"Nothing yet. Even with I Maengjin still hanging around here, he's pretending not to know."
"He's probably waiting for our reaction."
"I ordered the house troops to stand ready."
He didn't say more, but it was obvious where those armed retainers would charge if called upon.
"Won't it be tough without the other division leaders' help?"
"When has our family ever cared about that? We handle it first, worry later."
That mindset was probably what let him stage a coup, slaughter over a hundred ministers, and cut down the king in one stroke. But now wasn't the time for that.
"They prepared this assassination meticulously. They'll have contingencies for failure too."
"True. The palace gates have been shut since yesterday, entry and exit strictly controlled."
"They've likely reinforced their troops as well. Storming the palace directly would put us at a huge disadvantage in terms of justification."
"He tried to kill my son, and you're talking justification?!"
"No one saw it. To outsiders, it'd just look like the Eastern Division Leader storming the royal palace. And they're already prepared."
"I'll lead the charge myself, lop off that loathsome Chief of Central Administration Yeon Jeong-du's head, and end the Great King."
"Then our family gets branded as traitors in the history books. Calm down, Father."
Father Yeon Gaesomun flatly denied being excited, but he didn't look it at all. So I resorted to desperate measures. Despite the pain, I acted like it was much worse. Father shot to his feet in alarm.
"I'll fetch the physician. Hang on just a bit."
"Father. Whatever happens next, we decide it together."
"Of course. Don't worry—just rest for now."
Father patted my shoulder. Then he glanced at Geom Mojam standing by the entrance. Geom Mojam cracked the door open and peered out, and in came the waiting physician... along with an unexpected guest.
"Oppa!"
Tears streaming down her face, Suyeong rushed over. Her disheveled hair made it clear she hadn't done a thing since I collapsed. I signaled the flustered physician to wait and took Suyeong's hand.
"I'm fine, so don't worry."
"How can I not?"
"If worrying fixed things, there'd be no worries left."
It was a Nepalese or Tibetan proverb I'd heard in my modern life, one I used often, but it fell flat with my little sister. As she wailed louder, I said,
"Hey, what if you fall apart too? You need to take care of your sister-in-law."
I spoke a bit sternly, and she nodded.
"You're right. I will."
"I'm not dying, so don't push yourself too hard. It'll be okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now go look after your sister-in-law."
My wife worried me most. Her family home destroyed, treated like cold rice, and just when she was finally living decently, this happened.
"Got it. I'll take good care of her."
"Thanks."
With that, my consciousness faded again. The physician said I needed rest and shooed Suyeong out. He approached, saying he'd check the wound on my lower abdomen. I nodded and blacked out once more.
When I woke next, I felt much refreshed, my body lighter than before. The physician, dozing off beside me, opened his eyes as I stirred.
"Are you conscious now, my lord?"
"How long was I out?"
"Another full day."
"Call Father."
"Right away."
Geom Mojam, guarding the Bin Yeongeok entrance, instructed his man outside. Soon Father arrived, beard fluttering. He sat by my bedside as the physician stepped out.
"You okay?"
"Much better. What else happened?"
"Someone came from the palace again. Asking when you can enter."
"You didn't send back his head, did you?"
"Of course not. I said you were suddenly too sick to move, but he insisted on checking. Told him it's contagious and turned him away."
"What about the Central Administration Bureau?"
"That's the odd part."
"How so?"
Father stroked his beard and replied to my question.
"No real preparations. Word is Yeon Jeong-du seemed flustered himself."
"He was completely cut out of this."
Father nodded at my words.
"Seems that way."
For a moment, I wondered if this was some new scheme from the strategist. But no. Above all, Yeon Jeong-du's pride wouldn't allow it.
"Pushed aside by the new advisor."
"Makes me wonder who the hell he is. Yeon Jeong-du's been the Great King's right hand for twenty years."
Listening to Father, I spotted our breakthrough. Even in my meetings with the Great King, Yeon Jeong-du had shown unreliability a few times.
"He kept failing to check our family, lost the Great King's trust."
"Looks like it. Not sure if I should feel satisfied or not."
Seeing Father's bitter expression, I made my decision.
"I'll meet Yeon Jeong-du."
"Why that guy?"
"We need to widen the rift."
"Too dangerous. Let me handle it."
To my dissuading father, I said,
"If you meet him, he'll remember the head wound. Better if I do it myself."
"Where? The Great King's men are camped around the estate, watching if you're dead or alive."
"Then I'll just show them I'm alive."
Father blinked, not getting it.
Amid the aides' various suggestions, we settled on me stepping out briefly for some air. We'd go to the back of Bin Yeongeok Pavilion, visible from the temple's wooden pagoda outside. Aides surrounded me like a shield wall as I sat in a chair, sipping tea—or pretending to, since the physician forbade liquids—and laughed and chatted. I grumbled about having to act in this farce when I'd never asked for it. Seon Do-hae, who'd once faked something similar crossing from Silla to Baekje, laughed the loudest. Go Jeong-ui capered beside him, drawing eyes.
I covered my wounded lower abdomen with fur to block the chill. After a bit of fake conversation to prove I lived, we returned to Bin Yeongeok, and I lay back down. The aides grunted as they hauled a brazier nearby. Feeling the warmth, I said to them,
"They know I'm alive now, right?"
"More than enough."
Everyone nodded at Gido-ryang's crossed-arms remark.
"Now we wait for their next move. Rest up till then."
I asked only Seon Do-hae to stay. Alone, he clasped his hands and looked at me.
"What do you need, my lord?"
"Send a brief report to Lord Uija. No major incidents; the expedition proceeds as planned."
"The expedition?"
I nodded at his surprised question.
"We need it more than ever. Convey my earnest intent."
Seon Do-hae agreed, said he'd draft it for review, and left. My head throbbed, my gut ached, but it was bearable.
'Time to find their weakness and strike back.'
Until now, I'd had no thought of challenging the Great King's throne or authority. But with a blade at my throat due to someone's plot, I had to show I wouldn't back down. That would deter future assassination attempts. As my thoughts tangled, Father Yeon Gaesomun entered Bin Yeongeok. Beside him was someone I'd wanted to see: Bu Sang, son of the Western Division Leader and Supreme Central Administrator of the Central Administration Bureau. He approached cautiously and spoke, his face a mix of complex emotions.
"You were injured."
"Didn't die."
If I'd had Jumong's spear tip, it wouldn't have been dangerous. But I'd left it behind in the estate—too cumbersome. Never again would I let my guard down. Bu Sang glanced at Father Yeon Gaesomun beside me.
"Why seek me out?"
"Curious about the Central Administration Bureau."
He frowned at the unexpected question before answering.
"It's a hornet's nest now."
"The Chief knew nothing?"
"Doesn't seem so. He was visibly flustered, ordering aides to investigate."
I looked at Father upon hearing that. He sighed lightly and placed a hand on his waist.
"Definitely the new strategist's doing. Even Yeon Jeong-du was kept in the dark."