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Join the ServerSuyong rolled his eyes as if in deep thought before asking back.
“Could you not ask your inquiry more specifically?”
“Your servant fears that opening my mouth recklessly might only stir up unnecessary trouble…”
Haeryeong lowered his eyes, pondering his words.
It meant there was indeed a reason.
If Suyong was reluctant to speak, it was highly likely the Emperor was involved.
Was that it?
Had the Emperor persecuted the Noble Consort to the point of him being bedridden?
Haeryeong agonized over whether he should step forward.
Considering his position as Empress, it was right that he should look after the Consort.
However, recalling how the Emperor had neglected him because of the Consort from his previous life until now, he felt a sense of ambiguity.
He wasn’t as angry with the Consort as he had been with the Emperor.
But no matter how much he thought about it, was the Consort not largely to blame for the Emperor’s neglect?
If it was the Consort who had blocked the Emperor’s eyes and ears, then he was the root cause of everything.
From Haeryeong’s perspective, it was only natural to resent him.
Haeryeong wavered between his stance as the Empress and his stance as the individual Lee Haeryeong.
Was there even a need to worry about the former?
That question also played a part in his dilemma.
Their relationship was already irreparably fractured, so what use was the title of Empress?
Yet, his own nature was the problem.
Since he had not yet stepped down, the thought that he must properly fulfill his duties as long as he held the seat was stronger.
Haeryeong let out a sigh, unable to understand his own stifling personality.
“Did His Majesty summon the Consort separately, regarding the matter of the former Minister of Rites?”
He had heard that Seong I-chan, who had been the Consort’s calligraphy tutor, was set to be appointed to the now-vacant position of Minister of Rites.
He had also caught wind that the man was currently jubilant after quitting his role as a tutor.
If the Emperor had gone so far as to make the Consort stop his studies, then their relationship must have soured beyond repair.
Thus, he was curious.
If the matter the Emperor was investigating involved the Consort and Yun Hyeon-pyeong, how would the Emperor act now that Yun Hyeon-pyeong was imprisoned for treason?
Su-yong stared intently at Haeryeong’s face before answering.
“His Majesty summoned the Consort to the Jeonokseo.”
“I only know the general gist… so I do not know exactly what transpired inside…”
“But according to my colleagues, His Majesty is currently overseeing the torture of Yun Hyeon-pyeong.”
Haeryeong guessed the situation from Suyong’s words.
He must have forced the Consort to watch Yun Hyeonpyeong being tortured.
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
He had heard the stories before coming to Yeoran and had even experienced it himself, but even he had underestimated the man.
The Emperor’s nature was even more cruel than he could have imagined.
Haeryeong struggled to relax his stiffening facial muscles and questioned Suyong.
“Is there anything known about the relationship between the Consort and Yun Hyeonpyeong?”
Suyong seemed to deliberate for a moment, gauging Haeryeong’s mood.
Even while doing so, his hand moved incessantly toward the snacks, and only after the plate was empty did he dust off his hands and nod.
“What I am about to tell you is unofficial gossip.”
Starting with that, Suyong briefly explained what had happened between the Consort’s mother and Yun Hyeonpyeong’s son.
“Is that man truly Yun Hyeonpyeong’s grandson?”
“His Majesty likely suspects as much. But the only evidence is that the Consort’s mother was pregnant before she left the capital.”
So that was why the Emperor said he only had suspicions.
But had the relationship between the Emperor and the Minister of Rites always been so poor?
Haeryeong tilted his head, recalling his previous life.
In his past life, that man had remained in the court until the very moment Haeryeong died.
When the current Minister of Rites died suddenly after falling from a horse, he had even concurrently held the positions of Minister and Judge.
Thus, lacking any information, Haeryeong had never realized the bad blood between the Emperor and the Minister of Rites.
Seeing the Emperor arrest Yun Hyeonpyeong so eagerly must mean he had been waiting for this chance…
“Did Yun Hyeonpyeong do something to fall out of His Majesty’s favor? It is a bit puzzling that he would suddenly try to stage a rebellion.”
“When His Majesty ascended the throne, he once orchestrated a rebellion through his agents. I understand that man was the ringleader at the time.”
“Then how did he survive back then?”
Su-yong continued to drain his tea, likely parched from the crackers.
After Haeryeong refilled his cup, the man let out a satisfied sigh and asked.
“Your Highness has surely heard of the enthronement ceremony, have you not?”
Haeryeong nodded quickly.
“The rumors reached all the way to Yeonseo. They said the blood overflowed until even the bare earth was stained red.”
Haeryeong had grown even more terrified of the Emperor after hearing that news.
When the talk of a state marriage with Yeoran first arrived, he had been so scared he couldn’t even swallow his food.
“I do not know how he caught wind of it, but he was the only one absent from the ceremony. I remember he sent only a message and gifts, claiming he could not move because he had sprained his waist.”
Suyong explained that even then, there wasn’t enough evidence to handle Yun Hyeonpyeong.
He added that the officials executed at the ceremony were not killed because of sufficient evidence, but simply because the Emperor’s aura was so terrifying that no one could stand against him.
Suyong giggled, saying that the officials who survived that day still wet themselves whenever they recall it.
Haeryeong stared at Suyong, who was laughing like a back-alley thug.
Suyong, who hadn’t noticed the gaze at first, gradually quieted his laughter.
After stopping completely, he stole a glance at Haeryeong.
Seeing Haeryeong’s stiff expression, Su-yong bit his lip.
“Do not mock the terror of others. At least not in my presence.”
“It is the negligence of an uneducated man.”
Haeryeong stared at the table for a moment before a question came to mind.
“Han Su-yong, how old are you?”
“I shall be thirty in two years.”
Haeryeong’s eyes went wide at the answer that he was older than the Emperor.
To be that age and yet lack such basic discernment.
“I ask because you always use being uneducated as an excuse; can you truly not read at all?”
“How could a fellow who used to do nothing but farm read letters? I only barely learned numbers after joining the army.”
Haeryeong felt a small shock at his answer.
Even though they worked so closely with the Emperor, were they truly no different from common ruffians?
“Are the other members like that as well?”
Su-yong nodded heavily.
“Yes. Most of the Black Shadows are the same. Only the Captain is likely literate.”
Haeryeong let out a small sigh.
So it wasn’t just the Consort who needed to study.
He felt he finally understood why the Black Shadows did not receive official ranks.
Thus, Haeryeong asked Suyong tentatively.
“Do you have no desire to study?”
Suyong laughed brightly, then suddenly hardened his face and turned serious.
“What use would learning letters be at my age?”
“What does age have to do with learning? A person must learn and strive until the day they die. If water stops, it becomes stagnant, and stagnant water is bound to rot.”
“What does water rotting have to do with learning letters?”
“It means a person’s mind will rot like stagnant water if they do not continue to use it.”
Suyong pondered with a lukewarm expression for a moment before shaking his head with a grand air.
“I like things as they are. Most of the other members likely feel the same.”
“I cannot force you to learn, but… if you all were literate, would His Majesty not bestow ranks upon you?”
A warm smile touched Suyong’s lips.
“I appreciate Your Highness’s concern for a fellow like me, but I do not serve His Majesty for the sake of rising in the world. Neither do the others.”
“Then for what purpose do you serve him? Your work consists of nothing but dangerous and exhausting tasks.”
“For money, of course.”
Having vaguely expected a word like “loyalty,” Haeryeong felt his mind go blank.
Su-yong, heedless of Haeryeong’s dazed expression, continued with a playful attitude.
“The amount His Majesty pays the Black Shadow Unit is substantial. It is beyond comparison to lower officials. Where else would commoners like us earn that much? Furthermore, if we lose our lives in an accident, His Majesty ensures our remaining families are taken care of so they can live in comfort forever.”
He understood the sentiment toward family, but how could he act so bold about things after death?
Would it not be better to live with one’s family while doing less dangerous work, even if it meant earning less?
Haeryeong simply could not understand the excitedly talking Suyong.
Not only his living in the palace away from his family, but to risk his life for money—just how much was he receiving to speak in such a way?
Su-yong saw Haeryeong’s slightly furrowed brow and nodded as if in understanding.
“Your Highness truly does not know the lives of commoners. Once winter passes and the Barley Hump¹ approaches, there are countless people who starve to death for lack of food.”
“When a bad harvest ruins a year’s crop, the hunger is so great that parents who cannot endure the winter are even said to eat their own children.”
“They eat their own children?”
As Haeryeong’s mouth fell open in shock, Su-yong nodded as if it were of no consequence.
“Because if the parents die, the remaining children are destined to starve to death anyway.”
Haeryeong was so shocked he nearly overturned the teacup he was holding.
¹ Boritgogae (The Barley Hump): The traditional lean season in Korea (late spring), occurring after the previous year’s rice harvest had been consumed but before the new summer barley crop was ready for harvest.
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Yeah, I’m glad that Su-yong explained the value of money to the mc. He is way too naive. Understandable why he’s naive, but still naive