Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Operation Name: Cuckoo Hunt (3)
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Yi Geum's campaign to break the spirit of the inner palace began with that bastard's birthday celebration.
Three days before seriously bringing up the matter of abdication, on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Right Deputy Prime Minister Kim Sang-ro petitioned once more.
To put it simply, it was that skipping the queen dowager's birthday pardon was a bit much. He added that the crown prince had been deeply hurt and couldn't even sleep at night.
It was a mistake unworthy of a right deputy prime minister. He shouldn't have said that last part.
Yi Geum immediately left the palace and headed to Songhyeon Palace near Namdaemun.
Songhyeon Palace was the temporary residence where King Injo had lived before his rebellion.
The king's resolve not to celebrate his wife's birthday burned as fiercely as Injo's valiant defense at Namhansanseong Fortress.
And the ministers needed to emulate Injo as well.
The first to realize this was Minister of Rites Won Gyeongha, who took off his official hat and prostrated himself. Then he put on a performance of banging his head against the floor.
However, Yi Geum was no merciful ruler like Hong Taiji.
"Even if your head shatters a hundred times, I will not turn back."
The ministers, stunned by the king's heartlessness—worse than that of the Jurchens—soon sent an SOS to the queen dowager via a messenger. She was the only one who could command the king.
This was exactly the point Yi Geum was aiming for.
By defying the queen dowager's edict urging him to return, Yi Geum crushed her dignity.
"I am truly sorry, but until the ministers withdraw their petition for the birthday pardon, even if it is Your Majesty's command, I cannot return."
Holding out any longer would make it look like the ministers were humiliating the queen dowager's quarters. In the end, Kim Sang-ro, who had caused this mess, stepped up and retracted the petition for the pardon.
Queen Dowager Seo’s sixtieth birthday celebration vanished just like that.
Having confirmed his advantage in this probing skirmish, Yi Geum launched a full demonstration three days later, on the eighth day of the twelfth month—Queen Dowager Seo's actual birthday.
He sat outside the snow-swept Sunhwamun Gate, refusing to enter Hejeong Hall, the king's office at the time.
His attitude was polite, but what Yi Geum forced upon the queen dowager was essentially the same as forcing it upon the crown prince.
She didn't prostrate herself on the ground, but the queen dowager had no choice but to come out to Hejeong Hall.
A bizarre scene unfolded: the queen dowager seated in Hejeong Hall, Yi Geum hatless and prostrated at Sunhwamun Gate, and the crown prince—who had naturally prostrated himself there beforehand—still sprawled behind him.
Whether to save firewood since he had no intention of entering anyway, or to troll the queen dowager knowing she would come, Hejeong Hall had no ondol heating and was utterly freezing.
This was a political event. Understanding the king's intent, the queen dowager sent a messenger rather than speaking directly.
To leave a written record of the conversation from here on.
The royal exclusive group chat messenger, Seungjeonsaek, dashed across the inner courtyard of Hejeong Hall.
Yi Geum entered Hejeong Hall as commanded.
To avoid mistakes before the protocol-strict queen dowager, Yi Geum sat in curved position. She knew there was no respect in it, which irritated her even more.
"Your Majesty, why show such behavior?"
"I will abdicate to the crown prince. Please permit it."
"Your Majesty knows better than anyone that I cannot permit it. We can discuss that later—come inside first. The wind is bitterly cold."
Wise unlike the right deputy prime minister, the queen dowager avoided saying, "How soon after the crown prince recovered from measles do you make him suffer like this?" It would backfire anyway.
Surprisingly, Yi Geum nodded readily.
"How dare I defy Your Majesty's will? I humbly obey."
The queen dowager sighed in relief, thinking the face-saving commotion had resolved peacefully.
But Yi Geum swallowed his words faster than a frog snatching a fly.
Seeing Yi Geum refuse to budge, the queen dowager was dumbfounded.
Yi Geum went up again.
Then he apologized once more, saying he'd cease as commanded and enter.
And repeated the same act.
The queen dowager truly regretted protecting Yi Geum so fiercely during the fermented soybean paste faction game—abandoning her clan and even converting to the Noron faction.
When Yi Geum had tried to eliminate a close eunuch of King Gyeongjong, with whom he had bad relations, only to get cursed out by Gyeongjong instead, she should have let it be rather than backing Yi Geum's testimony.
On their fourth meeting, the queen dowager finally changed tactics.
"I know why Your Majesty is doing this."
"Foolish ministers' party lines have left my heart gloomy and stifled, leading me to this unfilial act."
Knowing full well it was Lady Mun's fault, the queen dowager glared at the bowed king.
Words nearly escaped: "Even at your age, clinging to a lowly woman because of some maternal instinct?" Historians would have loved it.
A king bewitched by a favorite concubine could be managed with simple motives.
But the king's tantrum was crushing the Norons' attacks on the Sorons while intimidating the inner palace.
The inner palace couldn't resolve this alone with an independent compromise. It wasn't just their affair.
Consulting the Norons lacked reliable channels (the queen dowager was originally Soron), and above all, time was short. The Norons were probably fuming for the same reason.
But she couldn't do nothing. The king had created a situation where any incident would pin all blame on the inner palace.
Swallowing her rage, the queen dowager surrendered.
"Do as Your Majesty wishes. But while you can seal my mouth, you can't seal everyone's. Your Majesty must have heard the ministers' admonitions about that horrific curse."
Of course, neither Yi Geum nor the queen dowager knew a thing about the cuckoo affair at this point.
Unlike the curse incident, where Noron officials publicly mentioned it and even rat corpses appeared as evidence, the cuckoo rumor had no proof and was too dangerous to report upward.
So Yi Geum replied leisurely.
"Such filthy rumors like the curse are mere slanders from those who love idle gossip—how could they be true?"
Yi Geum had his thoughts on the curse too, as Lady Mun had tearfully claimed innocence.
A seasoned monarch like Yi Geum wouldn't "fall for" a young woman's words.
With long experience, he had techniques to detect lies, and to him, Lady Mun wasn't lying.
The king's discernment was spot-on. The curse truly wasn't her doing.
So Yi Geum spoke with confidence. The queen dowager sighed.
"If that's so, I'm relieved. Return to the inner palace now."
Yi Geum rose, suppressing his triumph. He was finally heading to a warm room.
His business with the queen dowager was done. He'd gotten the words he wanted.
"Do as Your Majesty wishes." That one phrase.
Yi Geum exited with a pledge to obey her command.
Then he made a declaration that even deserved a curse from the queen dowager.
"The queen dowager has permitted the abdication. All ministers, obey."
As shown during the fermented soybean paste faction game, the queen dowager was quite political.
She knew well how grave the king's betrayal was, which made her even more furious.
"The world will point fingers at this quarter. My sin is great. Unspeakably ashamed, I only wish to die and see my late husband King Sukjong again."
Not particularly missing a husband she'd been politically matched with, neglected, and ultimately betrayed, but everyone tolerated the pretense.
More importantly, there was protocol to follow.
As the classics say, if the lord is shamed, the vassal must die.
Even eunuchs mocked by scholars were no exception.
Deputy Chief Eunuch Seo Gyeongdal of the palace quarters was particularly spirited among them.
Seo Gyeongdal approached with quick steps and whispered discreetly.
"Half the blame for this fiasco lies with that vixen Lady Mun of Goseohyeon, so we must eradicate the root to escape slander."
The queen dowager hesitated but decided to hear him out.
"Do you have a plan? I've heard rumors she did the curse, but street gossip without evidence will backfire."
Without wasting time, Seo Gyeongdal showed her a note. Confirming she'd read it, he swallowed it immediately.
Rude, but such rudeness defined a true confidant.
The queen dowager didn't reprimand his eccentricity. Instead, her face drained of color as she spoke.
"This... is this truly real? Bringing in a child from outside? That she-fox plans to usurp the royal line like Ye Bulwi!"
"Calm yourself. There's a place that would know if it's true."
"Where?"
"Chunbang, the crown prince's palace. Word is, Wonryang has been asking Tutor Kim Chunsik of the former Crown Prince's Institute much about proper conduct lately. The crown prince's utmost filial piety lately stems from Kim Chunsik's advice."
The queen dowager knew Kim Unhaeng's name.
"That young Noron talent who proposed equal land tax reforms?"
Seo Gyeongdal nodded gravely.
"Yes, that Kim Chunsik."
The queen dowager had no special interest in equal land tax laws.
The reason Kim Unhaeng's name reached her quarters was a single piece of advice.
Tired of the whiny crown prince, Kim Unhaeng had given empty counsel on purpose.
"Emulate Grand Queen Dowager's filial piety toward the queen dowager."
To Kim Unhaeng, it was like drawing a square for a child king. But to the crown prince, it sounded different.
Because Kim Unhaeng said it.
In persuasion, "who said it" is key. As Greek philosophers noted early, logical refinement ranks low in persuasive elements.
Thus, the crown prince pondered seriously.
"Emulate Grand Queen Dowager's filial piety. It can't mean the same as from a commoner. If it's Kim Unhaeng..."
The bright crown prince soon thought of revenge fitting Kim Unhaeng.
He mimicked Yi Geum saying he'd step down to the queen dowager but not following through.
Despite the father king repeatedly urging him to leave, the crown prince pretended to go, returned prostrate, and repeated.
When the father didn't call him in like the queen dowager, he even shoved open the side chamber door, heard unspeakable commands, and came out. Kim Unhaeng had clutched his head then.
Yet the result flowed unexpectedly for Kim Unhaeng too.
The crown prince gained fame for utmost filial piety. Yi Geum couldn't criticize the mysterious modern man's mirror therapy and just vented frustration.
Even criticism of Lady Mun worsened. The clichéd—but effective—dramatic device of "evil stepmother slandering the filial eldest son" activated.
This was how Kim Unhaeng's name became known in the queen dowager's quarters.
Inner palace women seeking chances to curse Lady Mun created the narrative of "crown prince upholding filial piety on a sage's advice," casting Kim Unhaeng as the "sage."
Seo Gyeongdal added a crucial line.
"I hesitate to say, but Kim Chunsik excels not only in scholarship and martial arts but also finance. One of his caliber surely chooses his master wisely."
Overstepping for an eunuch. The queen dowager grasped the implication without pushing him further.
Kim Unhaeng wouldn't attach to a hopeless cause.
His advising the crown prince meant the crown prince had a way to defeat Lady Mun.
Or Kim Unhaeng himself did.
Like Yi Geum using liquid crystal screen eunuchs as fermented paste faction core, eunuchs handled dirty work and connected to shadows. Seo Gyeongdal had heard of the shadow Kim Chunsik's reputation and drawn that conclusion.
The queen dowager secretly commanded Seo Gyeongdal.
"Send someone to the crown prince's palace. If questioned, say Grand Queen Dowager is worried and needs urgent discussion with Little Ancestor."
"Understood."
Even without knowing history, family and high ministers long exposed to Yi Geum knew his abdication wave was mere theater.
They knew their roles too: no matter how dirty or petty, cling and dissuade endlessly.
Not everyone served the monarch's intent so well.
For instance, Mun Seongguk—mere commoner before entering the palace, and not very bright—panicked.
"What if the crown prince accepts abdication right away? We'll all die then."
Lady Mun scolded her brother with exasperation.
"As if. The day the crown prince accepts would be his funeral. How could the nation tolerate an unfilial, disloyal wretch? Above all, the Norons won't stay silent."
Mun Seongguk looked half-convinced.
Instead of explaining further, Lady Mun brought up practical matters.
"More importantly, since you mention Norons, we must send someone to Kim Chunsik."
"Why?"
"How dense can you be? Ministers hassle His Majesty daily, so he goes out with troops morning and night. No time for palace passes, bell tolls disrupted—never easier to slip through gates."
Mun Seongguk was impressed.
With his sister's due date nearing, they needed to bring in the arranged surrogate anyway.
And as she said, now was ideal with palace security in chaos.
The king, irritated, beat and expelled bell-keepers for noise, so even basic hourly alerts weren't functioning.
"The other day, His Majesty visited Hwahyeop Ongju's residence? Though we don't know the traitor, visiting that cursed house shows he trusts us. We can't miss the chance."
Mun Seongguk nodded resolutely.
"Good. I'll pick a good day and send Inspector Kang Deukhae to Kim Chunsik. But if you luckily have a son, what then? Still pay?"
Mun Seongguk eyed the promised fortune for surrogates greedily. Naive.
But Lady Mun didn't care at all.
Not because of her magnanimity.
She never intended to pay.
"Boy or girl doesn't matter. Listen well. We can't let those women blab anywhere. No mistakes, absolutely."
If Lady Mun births a girl, steal the surrogate's son and kill her.
If a boy, kill both surrogate and child.
And unstated but more terrifying: if Lady Mun births a girl, kill even her own daughter with the king.
Cornered by Kim Unhaeng's curse incident, Lady Mun grew more desperate.
Even if the king blocked public discourse, the inner palace had areas beyond even his interference.
Her "wickedness" in shaming the queen dowager now faced outright contempt.
Thus, no choice but "bear a son."
At any cost.
Mun Seongguk trembled at his sister's ruthlessness.
"D-Do we need to go that far?"
Lady Mun said coldly.
"Yes. Or would you die in my place, brother?"
Mun Seongguk couldn't agree.
Holding two letters, I tossed a poetic jest at Se-hwa.
"Two women throwing themselves at me—where should I go?"
Se-hwa didn't fluster. She replied in kind, song-like.
"A scholar has only the virtue of 'righteousness.' Defy it, and shame alone would end his life."
I'd meant to tease, but she was no ordinary woman.
Se-hwa urged allying with the "legitimate" queen dowager and crown prince, while forbidding any compromise of integrity.
I smiled awkwardly and stood.
"Of course. You'll watch Samhwadang well?"
"Yes. I visited under pretense of offerings—no meat in a temple, but bloodstains and herbal medicine stench abound. That nun, Lady Mun's mother as you said, surely hides the surrogate. I've posted watchers; they'll report her departure swiftly."
"Then no ploy by Lady Mun or Kang Deukhae faking the date to trap us. Leave that to you."
"And you?"
Obvious, no?
I'm off to hunt the cuckoo.
But sorry for Se-hwa's sparkling eyes wishing me heroic return restoring ancestral shrines—I had no plans to shoot arrows.
Author's Note
1. In actual history, the abdication wave began December 7th and ended December 17th when the queen dowager withdrew permission. Officially, it started with her permission and ended with its retraction.
Yeongjo thoroughly shifted all blame to the queen dowager.
Her first December 17th edict withdrawing permission notably lacked admission of prior granting, stating only "I merely listened to the king," whereupon Yeongjo threatened severe punishment of Seungjeonsaek messengers for "distorting words," blackmailing the queen dowager's office to revise documents.
What she truly said then is unknown (Han Jungnok claims she permitted), but she ultimately admitted "In mental confusion, I seemed to permit" and issued a corrected edict, ending it.
2. Yeongjo's antics in the 28th year, 12th month, are countless and each fascinating—not one to skip.
But describing all would fill a novel, so regrettably, only plot-relevant parts are depicted; others omitted. Interested readers should check the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty for that period (not much volume. Even better with 승정원일기 diaries).
3. Yi Geum deliberately shaming the queen dowager twice at Songhyeon Palace and Hejeong Hall; rebuking the crown prince for unfilial protest while seated warmly ordering him to withdraw; crown prince shoving the door when no further retreat; punishing bell-keepers for noise amid irritation; telling Won Gyeongha "Your head shattering a hundred times means nothing to me" despite head-banging—all true (though Injo didn't bang his head at Samjeondo; just deep bow).