Two More Lifetimes
Squelch, squelch.
The dark red blood pooling on the floor soaked the tips of my shoes, but I didn't care. I didn't even spare a glance at the military officer who was vomiting blood and losing consciousness. Instead, I stopped right in front of the low-ranking grunts kneeling behind him, trembling like aspen leaves.
"A-Assistant Minister... This is the interrogation yard of the Uigeumbu! Why is the Chamui of the Ministry of Taxation...!" A flustered Uigeumbu investigator stammered, blocking my path. It was a natural reaction, considering an official from another ministry had just barged in, violating strict protocol.
It was then. The Jejo of the Uigeumbu, who was directing the interrogation, hurriedly raised his head to look up at the private chamber above the pavilion, shielded by a bamboo screen. His gaze was a silent plea for royal guidance. The sovereign sitting behind the screen said nothing. He merely raised his hand behind the blind and waved it lightly toward me twice.
Leave him be. I have entrusted the board to him.
It was a clear, tacit approval—a silent gesture acknowledging that the authority over this interrogation yard had been completely handed over to me.
Having confirmed the royal command, the Uigeumbu Jejo stepped back, casting a displeased look at me. Following his lead, the investigator and the tribunal guards parted like the Red Sea, receding like the ebbing tide to clear a path.
In the middle of the courtyard, which had now become entirely my stage, I bent one knee and crouched down before the remaining low-ranking officers who were kneeling and trembling behind their blood-spitting superior.
"Tearing flesh and branding skin is the Uigeumbu's business, so I care not for it. But opening the mouths of those who coveted the state treasury is now the business of this Assistant Minister of Taxation."
"......!!"
"I never needed any trivial confessions from your mouths in the first place. I know the path the money and goods traveled far better than you do."
I pulled out the merchant group's ledger confiscated from the government office, flipping through the pages with a sharp snap, and began to recite the facts in a dry, indifferent tone.
"On the fifteenth of last month, twenty thousand geun of copper were released from the Gungigam warehouse. On the same day, over a hundred carts headed for Mapo Naruteo."
"......!"
"On the last day of the month, those coppers subtly flowed back into the capital as silver ingots. I already know every single date and the names of the merchants who transported those carts and metal."
Dryly delivered numbers. Precise dates. Every time the logistics route—which they believed had been perfectly severed—was detailed, their trembling shoulders stiffened with dread.
I snapped the ledger shut and took a step closer to them.
"Twenty thousand geun of copper. Isn't that scale far too massive for mere low-ranking military grunts of the Gungigam to embezzle on their own? It is not a volume that can be moved without orders from above."
"......!"
"The mastermind hides behind the scenes, while you, the mere tails, are left to be caught and executed. But the laws of Joseon are not so merciful. Do you truly think your crime of participating in treason by draining the state treasury will end with just your heads?"
I locked eyes with each of the trembling men, offering them a choice.
"Choose. Will you keep your mouths shut until the end and have your entire nine generations exterminated? Or will you spit out the name of the mastermind who used you as pawns right now, and at least spare the lives of your families?"
"......!!"
"If I have to find that mastermind myself... not only you, but your elderly parents and young daughters will all be dragged down by association, and your heads will be hung in the marketplace."
The moment Joseon's most horrific punishment aligned with my threat, the youngest grunt kneeling at the very end finally broke down completely.
"Mmph...! Mmph...!"
Straightening my knees, I stood up, walked over to him, and pulled down the wooden gag stuffed in his mouth.
"Haa, hah...! P-Please spare me! I beg of you, at least spare my elderly mother and sister...!"
"Then speak. Who is this grand superior who ordered you to embezzle the Gungigam's copper? Who is the real mastermind hiding at the end of this severed money trail?"
"T-That is...! The mastermind who pulled our strings is...!"
Tears and snot streaming down his face, the young grunt was just about to spit out the name with his trembling lips at that very instant.
"Your servant, Jo Mal-saeng, begs to address Your Majesty!"
A thunderous shout ripped through the tense air of the interrogation yard. At the same time, a man strode forward from among the ministers lined up on one side of the courtyard, stepping directly in front of the Gungigam grunts.
Without sparing me a single glance, he threw himself to his knees, prostrating on the ground, and raised his voice toward the sovereign behind the bamboo screen.
"The mastermind who commanded those criminals is none other than your humble servant, Your Majesty!"
It was Jo Mal-saeng, the former Minister of Military Affairs, who had now stepped down to the position of Ji-jungchuwonsa. He was an old fox who had monopolized key government posts for over thirty years since the reign of King Taejong.
He was not some petty, corrupt official pocketing pocket change. He was a giant among giants at the pinnacle of Joseon politics, a man who had held onto power and wielded it through the fierce impeachments of countless political rivals and bloody purges without ever losing his head.
Just before suffering the humiliation of having his name dragged out of a mere low-ranking grunt's mouth, such a man had prostrated himself flat on the ground in front of the entire assembly of civil and military officials.
In an instant, an unbelievable silence fell over the interrogation yard. I, along with the breathless ministers, froze like stone statues. Even the young grunt who had been about to speak could only stare at Jo Mal-saeng with eyes wide with shock.
Looking down at the prostrate Jo Mal-saeng, I let out a silent, mocking chuckle.
So he chose to open his own mouth. Truly, an old serpent of thirty years.
Rather than being forced into a confession after his name was dragged through the mud by the ledger and the grunt's mouth, he had prostrated himself before the King first to seize control of his own sentencing.
"......Indeed."
A sigh escaped the lips of King Sejong as he stepped out, pulling back the screen.
"...It was you, Jo Mal-saeng."
The King's voice was not loud. Rather, it was low and quiet. Sejong had already suspected it. He knew that the mastermind behind this incident was Jo Mal-saeng.
"Was it not enough that you were cast out from the position of Minister of Military Affairs for your past corruption? Now you use your remaining lackeys to covet the nation's treasury. Did you find the forgiveness I bestowed upon you so laughable?"
Sejong's gaze pierced Jo Mal-saeng sharply. Yet, Jo Mal-saeng did not beg for his life on the ground. Instead, with an unyielding, rigid posture, he slowly raised his head to look Sejong straight in the eye.
"Indeed, Your Majesty."
"...What did you say?"
"Did your servant not submit resignations dozens of times, with a heart pouring blood? I pleaded that I was already old and sick, a sinner who had long ago dirtied his hands with bribes... begging you to let me strip off my official robes and return to my hometown to bury my bones."
Jo Mal-saeng's heavy voice echoed through the interrogation yard. Instead of a shred of fear, his tone was filled with blatant resentment toward the sovereign.
"Yet, who was it that burned those resignations time and again, dragging this old man by his leash to force him back into the palace?"
"You insolent...!"
Sejong's face trembled with rage. But Jo Mal-saeng did not back down, pressing on toward the sovereign.
"Your Majesty picked up a discarded old dog and used him again! You said you needed a dog to guard the northern borders, and it was none other than Your Majesty who appointed a dog that had already stolen meat once to guard the warehouse gates again!"
Jo Mal-saeng's fierce outburst cut through the cold air of the courtyard and scattered in all directions. The sheer audacity of an old minister daring to speak of "dogs" to the sovereign's face and questioning his appointments. The ministers of the Six Ministries and the other officials gasped in horror, bowing their heads in unison, as the air tightened to the point of bursting.
"Please, grant your servant's resignation, and let me return to my hometown to spend the rest of my days in repentance!"
Sejong's face hardened. In a perfect dilemma where he could neither strike him down nor let him go, the sovereign's fists trembled. Sejong's wavering gaze drifted to me, and I gave a brief nod. It was a signal of permission and acceptance.
I slowly opened my mouth, addressing Jo Mal-saeng.
"My Lord. If you truly wish to strip off your official robes and retire to the countryside, then by all means, do so."
"...What? How dare a mere wretch like you speak so insolently in the royal presence!"
"However, before you step out of the palace gates, as the Assistant Minister of Taxation, I believe we must settle your 'severance package' first."
I wore a leisurely smile and pulled a red ledger from my robes.
"The copper embezzled from the Gungigam by your former lackeys over the past few years amounts to tens of thousands of liang in silver—a massive loss to the state treasury. If you wish to retire, you must first repay your debt to this nation in full."
"W-What?!"
"It is only right that embezzled state funds are fully compensated by the embezzler. The moment you step down from office, officers from the Uigeumbu and the Ministry of Taxation will seize all the warehouses and lands of your family estate to collect the recovery funds."
"......!!"
Jo Mal-saeng's pupils shook as if hit by an earthquake. Looking down at the stunned, old viper, I continued.
"But, My Lord, having lived a life of luxury and comfort, will you be able to spend your golden years sitting on the streets as a penniless beggar without a single coin to your name?"
"Y-You...!"
"Choose, My Lord. Will you donate your entire fortune to the state treasury right now? Or—"
I looked down at him and added:
"Will you keep your official robes on and pay off your debt with your salary until the day you die?"
Jo Mal-saeng's hands trembled like aspen leaves. In an instant, the old minister who had reigned at the pinnacle of power was reduced to a delinquent debtor who had to work for the rest of his life to repay the embezzled state funds.
I flashed a brilliant smile at the shivering Jo Mal-saeng.
"Ah, of course, calculating by your current salary, you would need at least two more lifetimes."