Chapter 124: Silence Has Its Price

Whether Haeryeong stared at him with a sulky face or not, Suyong simply shivered.

“I shall keep my mouth shut now, so please, try to go back to sleep.”

Unable to win against his persistence, Haeryeong lay back down, but his eyes remained wide open and sleep eluded him.

He tried to call for the vanished Suyong again, but the man offered no reply and acted as if he were not there.

“Truly, what exactly is the relationship between the Minister of Rites and the Noble Consort for things to be this way?”

Even when he asked the empty air, there was no response.

Disappointed by the lack of an answer, Haeryeong fell into his own thoughts.

Could the Consort and the Minister of Rites have been in league in his previous life as well?

Then why did they leave him alone for seven whole years back then?

The world was truly full of mysteries.

If there was indeed a relationship between the Minister and the Consort, it was even more baffling, since the Minister was the one who had petitioned the Emperor to take Haeryeong as his spouse.

No matter how much he pondered, no answer surfaced, only increasing his sense of suffocation.

“Has His Majesty retired to his quarters?”

Should he go to the Great Hall?

But even if he sought the Emperor out and asked, would he receive a proper answer?

Suyong remained silent.

As Haeryeong grew somber thinking of the Emperor for no reason, a sudden silence descended upon the room.

****

At that same hour.

Gangcheon stepped once more into the Jeonokseo, which he had already visited earlier that evening.

It was to meet the Minister of Rites and Sirak’s foster father, Jeong Yak-hong.

Since the Minister’s entire household, including distant relatives, had been rounded up, the Imperial prison was in a state of total pandemonium.

Except for a few key figures, everyone had been thrown into large communal cells, making the prison as crowded as a chaotic market.

Children with fair complexions, presumably the Minister’s grandchildren, were wailing in their parents’ arms.

The noise was so great that Gangcheon clicked his tongue as he passed the cells.

Reacting to the Emperor’s annoyance, the jailer banged on the cell doors with his spear, shouting for silence.

Far from quieting down, however, the children’s cries only grew louder.

Receiving a frigid look from the Emperor, the jailer bowed his head with an expression that said he wished he could crawl into a hole.

Gangcheon passed him and walked toward the deepest, most central part of the Jeonokseo.

The area beyond where Ji-hak was confined served as the heart of the prison for high-profile criminals.

Unlike the area near the entrance, these cells were enclosed by stone walls on all sides, with only one prisoner permitted per room.

The further he delved inside, the more a chill radiated from the damp stone walls.

Furthermore, the torture had already begun, and the echoes of screams filled the air.

This only added to the bone-chilling atmosphere.

Reaching the innermost point, he saw a door guarded by two Imperial Guards.

Gangcheon waited for the jailer to unlock the door before entering alone.

Inside was the Minister of Rites, who appeared unharmed except for slightly disheveled hair.

Kneeling in a corner, the man turned his head toward the opening door.

His jaw tightened the moment his eyes met Gangcheon’s.

The bulging of his jaw joint was clearly visible.

Gangcheon offered a radiant smile in response to the Minister’s hostile glare.

“I suppose you did not expect to face me in a place such as this.”

“I did not expect you to sniff me out so quickly.”

Contrary to his harsh gaze, his tone sounded remarkably composed.

Had he given up on saving himself?

Or was he planning to trade his own life for the survival of his kin?

Gangcheon approached him directly, guessing at his inner thoughts.

The Minister of Rites, seemingly loathing to even look up, flickered his eyes toward him once before staring straight ahead again.

Gangcheon laughed quietly at the man who stubbornly fixed his gaze on his own knees.

“My excitement is cooling now that you’ve raised the white flag faster than expected; I thought you would put up more of a fight.”

The man stole a sideways glance at Gangcheon.

“I do not know what you mean by a white flag; your servant is merely awaiting his interrogation; my innocence will surely be proven clearly at the grounds.”

“Aha. So you are not worried because you are innocent? But what a shame; I have quite a few witnesses who will testify to your crimes. If that is not enough, I shall summon the Noble Consort as well.”

At the mention of Sirak, the man’s rigid, expressionless face twitched slightly.

Though he quickly regained his composure, the crack was large enough for Gangcheon, who had been watching him intently, to notice instantly.

“Your servant does not understand Your Majesty’s words.”

“I am saying I shall bring your own grandson here to face you. Shall we have a bet on who raises the white flag first? Whether Sirak will break under torture first, or whether you will confess because you cannot bear to witness your grandson’s agony.”

The Minister of Rites replied with a calm expression.

“His Grace the Consort is the illegitimate son of Lord O Gi-ho, the former Grand Preceptor. Your Majesty may know this, but His Grace’s mother was originally Lord O’s concubine. Your servant learned of this while the Consort was in the gisaeng house. I only sought him out occasionally because of the kindness Lord O showed me in my youth.”

Gangcheon smiled broadly as he countered the man’s words.

“I shall let you in on something you seem to be unaware of. It seems you did not know that your own gatekeeper is a close relative of the man who lured the Consort’s mother away. You thought you had dealt with everyone who knew of that affair, but that wretch is still very much alive.”

This was information Seon and Hyo had uncovered while lingering around the Minister’s residence.

It was thanks to the man who had lured Sirak’s mother feeling uneasy after speaking with the two of them.

Hyo had recognized him when he sought out the gatekeeper at the Minister’s house a few days later.

Gangcheon’s lips curled as he saw the Minister’s cheek twitch slightly.

He crouched down to meet the man’s eyes directly.

“So, what shall I do with my Consort? Must I torture him before your eyes for you to speak the truth? He is a child I once cherished, so I have no desire to go that far, but…”

Gangcheon paused for a moment, his eyes curving into a thin line.

“If you persist in this manner, I shall have no other choice, will I?”

The Minister of Rites glared at Gangcheon with piercing eyes, grinding his teeth as he spat out his words as if chewing them.

“You truly are the Emperor who took the throne by slaughtering your own parents and siblings. You pretended to favor him all this time, yet you would torture him just for the sake of curiosity? How easily you say such things. Truly remarkable. How can a man be so much less than a beast? Even a beast cherishes its parents, siblings, and its mate, does it not?”

Gangcheon rested his elbows on his knees and listened intently before letting out an indifferent laugh.

Since the man had discarded his manners first, Gangcheon replied more comfortably.

“When my siblings and parents target only my own neck, why should I not pay them back in kind? Beasts are especially so; if something lunges to bite their throat, they will bare their own teeth regardless of whether it is parent or sibling—that is the law of nature.”

Gangcheon stood up, chuckling.

“Since the previous Emperor acted like a beast first, what is the problem with me, who bears his seed, becoming one as well? It is the nature of the wild for an old, toothless leader to be pushed aside by a younger rival.”

Gangcheon twisted his mouth into a crooked smile at the now-speechless Minister of Rites.

“There is only one thing I am curious about, so you can either provide that answer, or I shall hear it directly from the Consort. If you answer, at least the Consort’s legs will remain whole. If I ask him personally, I shall not be so gentle.”

He arched an eyebrow as if asking what he would do, but no answer came from the Minister.

Gangcheon nodded as he watched the man keep his mouth tightly shut.

“I shall arrange a modest gathering soon. I pray you remain robust enough to survive until then. Look forward to it, for I shall ensure you witness the tearing of my favorite’s limbs before your very eyes.”

Gangcheon turned away from the man who was still glaring at him.

He had no true desire to go that far with the Consort, but if they were going to be this stubborn, what choice did he have?

By any means necessary, he would drag their scheme into the light.

Gangcheon immediately visited the cell where Sirak’s foster father was being held.

Though he had always considered the man faint-hearted, he had already become haggard during his brief confinement.

“I assume you have guessed why I have brought you here. Therefore, you must also know what I wish to ask of you.”

“Your… your servant is not sure.”

Gangcheon did not lose his temper.

Instead, he replied to him even more softly.

“Yun Hyeon-pyeong sent assassins to target me during the hawk hunt. I have confirmed that you were the one who requested the arrows the marksmen used from the Bureau of Military Equipment. So, how did you become entangled with that raccoon? I cherished you enough to raise you to the rank of Jibusa.”

As Gangcheon lamented his great disappointment, Jeong Yak-hong answered with a trembling jaw.

“Your servant knows nothing of this. I only procured the black bamboo because the Minister of Rites asked me to. He told me he intended to use that bamboo to craft gifts for the Founding Festival.”

Yak-hong prostrated himself, pleading desperately.

Gangcheon quietly managed the urge to stomp on the back of the man’s head and whispered.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

At the Master’s Will

Dominant TopObsessive TopPolite Top

Read Now →
Not interested