Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: The Secret Passage of the Forbidden Zone
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Palace of Illusory Flowers.
The Empress, having taken a solid blow from Yi Hwan, was so furious that a hollow laugh escaped her lips instead.
“Ha!”
No one around her dared offer even a word of comfort. Everyone knew she was at her most dangerous in moments like this.
The Empress closed her eyes and said nothing for a long while.
In the suffocating silence, all waited anxiously to see what decision she would make.
How much time passed?
“I must get the military reorganization exactly as I want it. To do that, we need to pour everything into securing the ministers not yet on our side.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The Empress’s gaze turned to one spot. Hwa Ryeong sat there.
“What of the Prime Minister?”
“We’ll soon seize a fatal weakness in the Prime Minister’s household through his eldest son, so please wait just a little longer.”
“If you’ve gone that far with him, you should have results by now.”
“I judged that something certain, even if it takes a little time, is better.”
Hwa Ryeong did not look at the Empress. The Empress had the ability to spot lies just from a person’s eyes.
“How long must we wait?”
“Three or four days should suffice.”
“Very well. I’ll give you three more days. If there are no results by then, you’ll answer for it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
‘Damn old hag, taking her irritation out on me for no reason.’
Hwa Ryeong quietly bowed her head.
‘Now, only three days left here.’
The Empress continued.
Most of it concerned securing the ministers. Hwa Ryeong stepped outside before that. The Empress paid it no mind.
“Hmm.”
Hwa Ryeong looked up at the sky and drew in a quiet breath.
She had once loved this flower-scented place dearly. She had thought she would never leave it forever.
But not anymore.
Hwa Ryeong headed not for her quarters but for the bridge. This was another place she had cherished.
The female guards at the bridge blocked her path.
“Where are you going?”
“The market.”
“Did you get Her Majesty’s permission?”
“If you’re curious, go ask her yourself.”
“…….”
“Move. I’m busy.”
Hwa Ryeong shoved the female guards aside and crossed the bridge. As she crossed, she looked down at the river flowing below.
Just then, large carps swam past beneath the bridge.
‘You’ll be saying goodbye soon too.’
After crossing the bridge, Hwa Ryeong headed straight for the outer walls. Beyond them lay the market streets. The path wound through a beautiful forest, one she often took.
Hwa Ryeong breathed in the scent of the woods as she made for the gate. Her eyes sharpened when she spotted people moving stealthily along a forest path from the right of the outer walls toward the Palace of Illusory Flowers.
‘Even court ministers can’t enter there casually…….’
The Palace of Illusory Flowers had an absolute forbidden zone.
Only the Empress could enter it. No one else was permitted.
Yet these people were slipping into the forbidden zone, their presence completely suppressed.
‘What are those guys?’
Hwa Ryeong followed them into the forbidden zone.
How long did she pursue them?
Hwa Ryeong couldn’t hide her shock. In the forbidden zone stood a boulder the size of a house. The intruders fiddled with something in front of it, and soon the rock split apart left and right, revealing a passage.
‘A passage like that in the forbidden zone.’
Hwa Ryeong hesitated, torn between venturing deeper or turning back here.
Meanwhile, the intruders had already gone inside.
‘Too dangerous.’
In the end, Hwa Ryeong gave up.
It was far too risky to enter alone when she had no idea who else might be waiting inside.
‘Better tell the Great Prince.’
Hwa Ryeong memorized the mechanism to open the secret passage, repeating it several times, then turned back.
* * *
Golden Army headquarters.
Yi Hwan finished his heart method cultivation as usual and soaked his body in cold water.
After sweating, immersing in cold water made the day’s fatigue melt away. It was a small pleasure for him—and perhaps the very reason he never neglected his cultivation.
Splash!
Yi Hwan draped his arms over the edge of the tub and took time to reflect on everything he had done up to now.
Looking back, it had been days of running nonstop.
Solve one problem, and another would appear. Solve that, and yet another would follow. The cycle repeated.
‘So far, it’s not bad. But as long as the Empress has the authority to forge imperial edicts, we’re still at a disadvantage.’
The problem was that even Yi So didn’t know where the Emperor was.
Splash!
His mind grew complicated, and Yi Hwan lay back in the water.
How much time passed?
A figure shimmered above the water’s surface.
“My lord.”
It was Cheol Mu-ok.
Splash!
“What is it?”
“Hwa girl is here.”
“Urgent?”
“No. But she said she has important words.”
“Is that so?”
Splash!
Cheol Mu-ok draped a large cloth over Yi Hwan’s body as he stepped out of the tub. Spotting a large sword scar, his eyes gleamed.
‘Jung-kyeong—that the spot he hit?’
Cheol Mu-ok followed Yi Hwan inside. Cha Jung-kyeong was just grinding tea leaves.
After confirming Yi Hwan had entered the room, Cheol Mu-ok smacked Cha Jung-kyeong on the head.
Smack!
“Ugh! Why hit me!”
“Grind it properly, with care.”
“I am grinding it properly, with care!”
“Brat, where do you get off yelling.”
Smack!
“Guh!”
As Cheol Mu-ok stepped out, Cha Jung-kyeong trembled, clutching the pestle, his eyes shooting sparks.
“Argh, seriously.”
* * *
Hwa Ryeong and Go Mi sat facing each other.
Go Mi noticed that Hwa Ryeong’s complexion was more drawn than usual.
“You’ve lost some weight.”
“I’ve been eating lightly lately. My body feels heavy, and my mind foggy. Does it show?”
“A little.”
Go Mi’s attitude toward Hwa Ryeong had changed markedly. Before, she never would have initiated conversation like this.
“How’s the mood at the Palace of Illusory Flowers?”
“Chilly. They cooked up their own death stew and served it straight to the Great Prince.”
Just then, Cha Jung-kyeong entered with the tea, pausing their talk.
Yi Hwan entered right after.
Hwa Ryeong rose from her seat and bowed. She sat beside Go Mi.
“What is it?”
“Well…….”
Hwa Ryeong explained in detail what she had seen. When she finished, Go Mi looked more shocked than Yi Hwan.
“A place like that in the forbidden zone…….”
“You’re certain you memorized how to open the passage?”
“Of course.”
Yi Hwan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
“A secret passage in the forbidden zone……. If I didn’t know about it, that’d be one thing, but now that I do, I have to check it out.”
“Won’t that be too dangerous?”
“There might be the Emperor inside—the source of her greatest power. If so, we have to take the risk.”
Hwa Ryeong asked.
“You’re going personally, Great Prince?”
Yi Hwan nodded silently.
Go Mi voiced her concern at once.
“Send escorts instead.”
“Nonsense. If we can grasp what’s inside, we might gain a powerful card. I have to go myself.”
“…….”
Yi Hwan took a sip of tea.
Clink.
“For now, I need to think about the timing and method.”
“I’ll help too.”
Yi Hwan looked straight at Hwa Ryeong and asked.
“When do you plan to leave the Palace?”
“After this is done. By the way, is my room ready?”
Go Mi answered in her place.
“I cleared the room next to mine. It’s not the Palace, but it’ll be plenty for living alone.”
“Thanks.”
The three spent quite a long time talking about this and that. Yi Hwan asked all sorts of questions about the Palace, and Hwa Ryeong explained even the smallest details.
Hwa Ryeong stood.
“I guess I should head back.”
“You told the Empress you were out on Jin Chu-gwang business, right? Stay and sleep here tonight.”
“I forgot something and left it behind. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
A moment later, Hwa Ryeong returned to the Imperial Palace.
Yi Hwan sat with arms crossed, lost in thought. Go Mi watched him silently, expecting him to find some answer.
It was a dangerous venture with unknown perils, but she believed Yi Hwan would find the best solution, just as he always had.
Still, her worries didn’t fade.
“Moon Lord.”
“Yes?”
“Could you make a human skin mask of Yi Tae-ji?”
“Certainly possible. But why…….”
“For contingencies, it’d be best to disguise as him when entering. Make it right away.”
“Understood.”
* * *
The Golden Army’s late-night operations continued.
Yi Hwan had investigated every single member of the Golden Army, and those confirmed as Empress or Second Prince affiliates were mostly sent to the Southern Legion or Northern Legion in a personnel shake-up.
After the reorganization, the numbers were quite substantial.
“Amazing they haven’t been devoured by the Empress until now.”
“We’ve weeded them out now, so no more worries.”
“There might be more. See it through to the end, thoroughly.”
“Yes, Great Prince.”
As Yu Yu-seong stepped out, Yi Hwan donned his outer robe and rose.
“Going out?”
“Entering the palace.”
“I’ll prepare.”
* * *
Whoosh!
The wind blew fiercely.
Yang Chan gazed down at the market streets from the inn window, lost in melancholy.
He had come all the way to the Yeon Kingdom’s capital to confirm Yi Hwan’s identity, yet he had wasted his time without even managing a proper approach.
‘Should I just forget it and leave? I cast off that fate anyway…….’
Hesitation flooded him.
Thinking of his village slaughtered mercilessly made him want to return to the Zhao Kingdom at once for bloody revenge.
But he couldn’t—not without meeting Yi Hwan. The fate he thought he had shed clung to him tenaciously, like an eternal shackle he could never escape.
Gulp.
Yang Chan drank.
The liquor he had started touching again lately had become his sole solace for his troubled heart.
How much time passed?
His gloomy eyes flashed for a moment. A carriage was racing in from the north end of the market streets. It was Yi Hwan’s.
Yang Chan downed the rest of his bottle and headed to the first floor. On the way, he bumped shoulders with Jang Han coming up.
“Hey, keep your eyes open!”
“Sorry.”
Thud!
“Think a sorry fixes everything?”
Jang Han grabbed Yang Chan’s shoulder. At the same time, Yang Chan’s hand twitched slightly.
Jang Han lost consciousness while still standing.
Yang Chan paid at the counter and stepped into the market streets. By then, Yi Hwan’s carriage had come very close.
Yang Chan melted into the crowd and checked the coachman’s seat first. Cheol Mu-ok and Ju Tae sat side by side, driving the carriage. No other escorts.
‘Need a horse…….’
Yang Chan scanned the surroundings. He spotted a stable behind the inn across the way and headed there. He mounted a horse from there and began tailing Yi Hwan’s carriage.
A moment later, the stable erupted in chaos.
“The horse is gone!”
“Find the horse thief!”
In the midst of the uproar, a middle-aged man and two warriors stepped outside.
“A thief stole my horse?”
“We’re sorry. We’ve sent men—they’ll catch him soon!”
Slap!
“Eek!”
The stable manager flew back a good distance and crashed to the ground. The middle-aged man bellowed at the two warriors.
“You go look too!”
“Yes!”
The two warriors dashed into the market streets.
The middle-aged man approached the staggering stable manager.
“What kind of horse was it?”
Punch!
The stable manager’s head hit the dirt.
The middle-aged man was a close aide to Second Prince Yi Tae-ji.