Chapter 130
Chapter 130
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: As the Gods Desire (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Time rewound to just after Kim Unhaeng had been arrested. Hong Daeyong, who was in Cheonan at the time, had no intention of returning to Seoul unless absolutely necessary.
However, the person Hong Daeyong needed to be cautious of wasn't just Kim Unhaeng.
His wife was exactly the same kind of person.
"Mobilize your swiftest secret agents and head to the capital without delay."
Hong Daeyong couldn't ask "Why?" The letter explained in full why he needed to come up.
"If you do not meet your brother-in-law within ten days, everyone in the capital will know the name of Scholar Hong."
Hong Daeyong tore up the letter.
"What the hell is this guy telling a woman at home?!"
Hong Daeyong didn't know much about it, but if used properly, a certain level of erotic material could serve as a spark for marital relations.
His own marriage was already plenty lively, so that wasn't the intent, but regardless, it was true that Kim Unhaeng had handed over all his secret operations (excluding the Yuryongmok) to Se-hwa, starting with the Hong Mojek case.
It was precisely for times like this. Using Kim Unhaeng's seal as proof, Se-hwa had rallied every available person she could muster.
Hong Daeyong was just one of them.
Arriving at Wangsipri utterly out of breath, Hong Daeyong nearly collapsed at the sight of what looked like at least two hundred able-bodied men. It was impossible to tell if this was a horse ranch or a ranch for humans.
Hong Daeyong immediately headed to Jangdong to meet Se-hwa.
Se-hwa, who had hidden the truth fearing her brother might get scared and not come, finally explained the whole story.
Hong Daeyong's horror only grew.
"You're not planning to storm the Royal Guard Prison, are you?"
"If my husband truly faces death, as someone versed in the ways of fidelity, wouldn't that be exactly what I must do?"
He wondered what country had virtuous wives who launched rebellions to rescue their husbands, but then he recalled that Joseon had once awarded fidelity gates to women who bare-handedly beat tigers and saved their spouses. Former Royal Guard Commander Lee Uipung knew better than to mess with a man who had a Joseon wife.
Fortunately, Se-hwa wasn't going that far—not because her resolve was weak, but because she knew there was no backing it up.
"It's just a manner of speaking. Anyway, since it's hard for me to go out, I've had to trouble you, brother. You'll have to help me this time."
"You seem unaware as a sheltered wife, but these matters only get worse the noisier they become. We must let them follow their natural course and wait..."
"A man who lives by righteous loyalty and upholds clear morality—how can it be the natural course for him to be dragged off to the Royal Guard on the word of some rebel spy?"
Hong Daeyong questioned the scholarship of his famously wise sister. What crooked book of some shameless villain had she read to so abuse the words "loyalty" and "morality"?
But Se-hwa wasn't just possessed by some demon in her eyes.
She opened the privy and pulled out a thin ledger.
"This is the initial draft he made while interrogating Hong Mojek as the Military Armory Auditor. Take a look."
"Why was something like that in the privy?"
What Hong Daeyong received was the Dutch voice-phishing document Kim Unhaeng had recently compiled.
Kim Unhaeng had stored it in his secret archive but hadn't had time to explain its purpose to Se-hwa before his arrest. Following emergency protocols, she had searched there and found the draft.
This initial draft hadn't been published or reported yet. If it had, the Royal Guard wouldn't be merely holding someone like Kim Unhaeng.
Anyone with goodwill toward Kim Unhaeng might interpret it as him deliberately hiding Hong Mojek's testimony to protect the Noron faction.
And Se-hwa had more than enough—overflowing—goodwill.
"As a daughter of the Noron, I married into the Jangdong Kim family, descendants of loyal retainers, to raise our house and uphold the righteous cause."
'What nonsense. She came for his looks,' he thought, but Se-hwa's demeanor was too serious to say it.
"Thus, not only the Namyang Hong clan but any who claim to be Noron must consider my husband's loyalty in hiding this draft and help him accordingly."
"How?"
"I have a plan."
Hong Daeyong swallowed hard. He knew one person who said that a lot.
Currently jobless as a military official, Hong Daeyong's access to court was limited. So he first gathered his Gangnam Daeseong alumni.
When Hong Daeyong relayed Se-hwa's plan, the most enthusiastic supporter was second-year Won Inson.
It wasn't solely because his father, Won Gyeongha, had been dismissed in this latest Noron purge by Yi Geum.
Won Inson was the capital's top gambler. The plan's gambling nature suited his tastes.
"Virtue Treasure is right. Most of us Gangnam Daeseong students have passed through or are in the Three Offices. But if we petition for his release directly, we'll be suspected of factional bias. Showing the 'public sentiment'—that's the best approach."
Won Inson's inflection on "public sentiment" echoed Kim Unhaeng's on "propriety" or "morality."
He added his experiential methodology.
"In gambling dens, cheats aren't just marked cards or fast hands. The board is set before the mark even enters—replacing suspect decks with fresh ones, laying out the mats and snacks, even the tavern wench fetching drinks. Everyone's in on it."
Park Jiwon looked enlightened. The other alumni pretended not to notice him, clearly recalling some hefty fleecing he'd endured.
"So we must align our scheme flawlessly across court and commoners. Implement Virtue Treasure's plan while each seeks what they can do in their posts."
All the Gangnam Daeseong students vowed to spare no effort for the Noron Chundang. They divided roles and dispersed.
And on the very day first-years Yoo Eonho and second-year Seo Myeongseon began campaigning—threatening, really—through family connections to those on the list, Yi Geum was trying to break Kim Unhaeng.
Kim Unhaeng said calmly,
"If this servant were truly in league with the rebels, how could His Majesty's discerning eyes have appointed me to the Royal Guard? And having received that command, how could I have broken Hong Mojek? If I were colluding, wouldn't the rebels have escaped from Chief Magistrate Jo Dongjeong's residence instead of being captured there?"
Yi Geum roared in fury,
"The guards aren't putting in effort—that's why the criminal can still yap! Tighten the thumbscrews harder!"
The guards, flustered, applied more force.
No matter how tough, anyone caught in those would scream shrilly.
Yet Kim Unhaeng didn't even breathe heavily, let alone scream.
Honestly, the attending officials sided with him too.
Torturing a war hero on Shin Chiwoon's ravings alone—King Sunjo hypnotized by Won Gyun's app had more grounds than this when tormenting Yi Sunsin.
If treating Shin Chiwoon's words as truth, shouldn't his "other statements" be true too?
Chae Je-gong, present as Hongmungwan Inspector, didn't see Kim Unhaeng as guilty either.
So he whispered to Kim Seonhaeng, the Royal Scribe and Kim clansman,
"As fellow kin, you must know. Has Chunsik always been so bold since childhood?"
"W-well... We're distant relatives, so I didn't see him often, but I don't think so..."
Kim Seonhaeng, of course, had received word as a Hyang clan member by now. He subtly planted a seed with Chae Je-gong, hoping for help.
"Can't say much, but he might truly be wronged."
Whether false or not, a confession under beating meant guilt confirmed. That was Joseon's justice.
Conversely, no confession under beating could mean innocence. The East had its divine judgment too.
Chae Je-gong nodded.
"Could be. I can't imagine such a hero plotting something petty. It's like the spirit of Martyr Prime Minister Kim Sangyong, who died at Ganghwado, reborn."
Kim Sangyong of the Andong Kim clan was the scholar who, during the Manchu invasion, lit the castle's powder to self-destruct as the Jurchens breached Ganghwado.
Injo was irked by postwar ministers' requests to posthumously honor and fund sacrifices for him—he'd groveled to survive while his subject stood to die.
Injo repeatedly refused despite pleas, insisting Kim Sangyong hadn't martyred but accidentally dropped his pipe ember into the powder. Peak pettiness in the life of King Jar-mok, summed up as "pathetic."
Thus, the Andong Kim, previously just another noble house, gained esteem among scholars post-incident and rose as Noron core. Maybe why Kim Unhaeng despised Injo.
Chae Je-gong's choice of Kim Sangyong over closer Chungheon-gong Kim Changjip was telling.
'Our king isn't like Injo, is he?'
Though the "Joseon lawyer" failed his first mission ever, calling in the thumbscrew priest, the demon possessing this Kim Unhaeng resisted even top exorcism.
The Royal Guard guards, who'd never doubted rowan crosses before, now questioned their faith.
And the Crown Prince's dead eyes began reviving.
That irked Yi Geum most.
The Prince finally shed tears.
If Kim Unhaeng broke here and confessed, further probes would implicate the Training Command—and the Prince couldn't escape guilt.
'The King won't kill the Prince, surely,' but his fragile political foundation would crumble entirely.
Not meaning Kim Unhaeng's fall from power.
Given the father-king's nature, a meek false confession from Kim would trade for exile mercy while dooming the Prince.
Simple. One phrase sufficed:
'I acted as the Little Lord's limbs by His Highness's command.'
Yet Kim refused.
In other words, he endured for the Prince, not himself.
Realizing this, the Prince surpassed even role model Liu Bei. Worlds apart from some cad fleeing, abandoning family like mats.
'How can I stand by?!'
The Prince rose to remonstrate, defying his august father.
But no drama ensued. Yi Geum, unable to contain himself, bolted up first.
Rightly furious. Like a flasher opening his coat to giggling high school girls.
"Tough bastard. Fetch the branding iron!"
Yet hesitation permeated the officials, obvious even to Yi Geum.
Chief State Councillor Jo Jaeho signaled the Prince to stop, then intervened—not for Kim, but to shield him.
"Kim Unhaeng's words hold no contradictions, and no accusers beyond rebel Shin Chiwoon. We should halt torture and reinvestigate. Fearing damage to the bloodline if the heavenly fury prevails, please calm yourself."
Ask Yi Hajing, and he'd thumbs-up "ine filial pose" swearing collusion—but he was dead.
Plus, the King himself, feigning sagehood, had long exceeded torture limits.
Yi Geum wordlessly flicked his sleeves and stormed out. The audience halted.
I sat primly in my cell, checking my body. Each pull on Guan Yu's endurance brought blinding headaches.
Thanks to Yeongjo tinkering with tortures on whims, none dragged on long.
No ruptured organs from excessive caning or dislocated leg bones from thumbscrews.
Infection-proof as I was, recoverable wounds.
Good Jo Jaeho stopped the branding.
Scars would devastate Se-hwa, wailing with food before me now.
"Please lie down! If the guards tormented you..."
The guards wore the world's most wronged faces—not from civic duty, but because I wasn't ordinary prey. No weapons drawn either.
"No. I'm fine. Even in death, Zizhong kept his turban, so with integrity and chastity, I sit primly..."
"Why do all men love posturing? Last time, ten strokes left you rolling like death—how could you be fine?"
I memorized that smirking guard's face. Despite Guan Yu's endurance, pain lingered as I changed topics.
"How fare house affairs?"
Se-hwa wiped tears, composing herself. My hunch was right—her visit as councilor's wife wasn't mere concern.
"Thanks to your recent loyalties and past virtues, people high and low have stepped up. You'll be freed soon—steel yourself and wait."
Virtues? Bribes? Recent what?
Oh no. Se-hwa had flung money wildly. I barely suppressed a cavernous sigh.
But fine. Home had the Dutch voice-phishing ledger to recoup from.
Not wanting to leak more to guards, I said curtly,
"Thank you."
Kim Unhaeng's "long-term" favors spanned the court.
Plus, Gangnam Daeseong students freely burned his "recent" voice-phishing ledgers, rapidly amassing supporters.
"Knowing Hong Mojek and rebel Shin Chiwoon's frame-up was baseless, Kim Chunsik hid this draft at risk of guilt. Even when Shin slandered again, he held firm—ready to cover for all lords and martyr alone. How can a scholar stand idle?"
Noble scions schooled at Gangnam Daeseong, their tongues rivaled Kim Chunsik's. Won Inson shone.
Mid-tier Noron didn't act from mere threats either.
Clearing Kim Unhaeng as innocent enabled hitting back: Yi Ikbo's drivel, like Military Stables' Choi Jinhae.
A chance to counter the King slapping Noron labels wildly.
Of course, such calculators were minority.
Overwhelmingly, those wielding brushes for Kim Chunsik were moved by the Jangdong Kim embodying Martyr Kim Sangyong and Chungheon-gong Kim Changjip's grit and chastity.
In under three days, petitions piled before Yi Geum—Hanseongbu paper merchants rejoiced, legends say.
As mood ripened, the final ploy triggered.
Yi Geum knew dragging Kim out again would mock himself.
So he kept him locked, intensified Yi Ikbo's grilling (whose screams pleased him) while seeking mood-lifters.
Sim Hwanji, eyeing the chance, proposed—he'd long handled markets like Pyeongsi Seondeok Pavilion.
"With rebels quelled and peace reigning, Great New Year's arrives. Though year-end was tough, shall we hear market folk's grievances as custom?"
Needing exactly that, Yi Geum rejoiced. Fit his "man of the people" image.
Oddly prescient for a non-regressor, he recalled 21st-century events.
Outside, he ordered eunuchs,
"Heat against heat. Cold weather—craving naengmyeon. Buy for the guards too from market."
Naengmyeon, era's staple delivery.
Feeding guards too meant hefty sum; guild merchants would thank king's grace.
Only a Saga alumnus knowing folk woes could devise such benevolence.
Soon, naengmyeon deliverymen arrived.
But something was off.
Even for king's order, wasn't one bowl per man, reverently borne, wasteful? Numbers rivaled all present.
No treason—weapons absent.
Just naengmyeon.
The crowd, as if prearranged, set bowls down.
Then knelt en masse, bowing to the king.
Author's Notes
1. Even today, some call it accidental fire, but Kim Sangyong's was deliberate suicide. His kids protested: "Dad hated tobacco his whole life!" Common sense: no smoker lights up over powder kegs.
Injo refused sacrifice requests, pushed pipe story, or ignored. Finally relented late. Partly grudge: Crown Princess Kang's brother (Injo-killed) married Kim Sangyong son Kim Kwanghyeon (also tormented). Andong Kim and Injo were fated foes.
2. Silhak scholars gambled plenty. Jeong Yakyong blew 3,000 jeon on backgammon with courtesans; Park Jiwon loved it but, broke and friendless, assigned roles to left/right hands for solo dice mastery.
3. Annals: Jeongjo first used "heat against heat" (not medical)—politically, quelling faction strife by leniently using same-side aides.