There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 111

Hwang Hee.

Hasn’t he changed since he was thrown into the training institute?

‘Through labor re-education, I deeply realized the importance of integrity as an official. From now on, I will live honestly for the country.’

‘I will serve His Highness the Crown Prince, who has made me a new man, like a father!’

It feels like just yesterday he was saying that.

‘Ah, was the last part just my imagination?’

But this time, he’s giving his son-in-law a housing site?

‘This is a distribution corruption scandal of epic proportions.’

My fists trembled.

Hwang Hee was in charge of most of the practical work of the Hanyang Construction Office.

Even if he wasn’t directly in charge, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to allocate two houses to his son-in-law if he put his mind to it.

A storm of anger swirled around me.

Instinctively sensing the unusual atmosphere, the soldiers stepped back from me.

“These bastards······.”

Seo Dal, mistaking their reaction for something else, crossed his arms with a triumphant expression.

However, when the words ‘Ah, is that so? You should apologize to him’ didn’t come out, Seo Dal tilted his head in confusion.

Instead, everyone’s eyes were on me.

Hiding behind Lee Cheon, I took a step forward.

“You, Seo Dal!”

I shouted, filling my diaphragm with strength.

Seo Dal frowned, seeing a mere child calling his name so carelessly.

In the Jianghu [martial arts world], one must be wary of the elderly, women, and children.

But Joseon wasn’t exactly a martial arts world, and Seo Dal was drunk and didn’t notice the unusually imposing figure on this side.

Or maybe he was just a thoughtless person to begin with.

“Who is this guy?”

Seo Dal, displeased that I was calling his name like a neighborhood mutt, strode towards me.

– Cheok!

Reflexively, the soldiers blocked his path, but I pushed past them and headed towards Seo Dal.

“Hiyah!”

Seo Dal rushed at me, raising his fist high.

But the training I received from Lee Seong-gye was not in vain.

The movement was clearly readable to my eyes.

‘Slow.’

– Whoosh

“Ouch!”

Ducking under the fist and tripping him, Seo Dal fell clumsily.

But that wasn’t the end.

My knee was positioned in front of his eyes.

– Thwack!

Seo Dal saw stars.

A stream of blood flowed from his nose, pushed back by the impact, and he stumbled backward a couple of times.

Soon, he collapsed face-down in a sprawling posture.

“You’re slow.”

Even falling.

“Arrest this guy and take him to the Hanseong Department [the capital’s governing body]. This is not something to just let pass.”

I ordered.

It wouldn’t be easy for an average official to arrest a prestigious young man like Seo Dal, but I could because I was the Crown Prince.

That’s why I stepped in personally.

“You guys thoroughly investigate this house! Seeing that the backyard is excessively large, there must have been someone’s manipulation!”

I even ordered them to take actual measurements before returning to the Hanseong Department.

===

As soon as I returned to the Hanseong Department, I looked for the Hanyang Construction Office’s records.

“Let’s see······ Bring me File 己-4251.”

What I was holding was a ledger that systematically organized the classification numbers and retention periods.

I had broadly classified all areas of administrative function into ten categories, from 甲 to 癸 [the first ten characters of the traditional Korean alphabet, used here for categorization].

甲 was general administration, 乙 was general affairs, 丙 was general economics and finance, and so on.

These documents were further divided into major, medium, and minor categories according to specific tasks, and I instructed that each category be assigned a number and stored.

Therefore, with this ledger, finding a single document was a piece of cake, unlike before.

So when I gave this order, the documents related to the Bukchon distribution by the Hanyang Construction Office at that time were presented to me in no time.

‘Of all people, this guy brought it.’

The person who brought the documents was Jang Yeong-sil.

Even after coming before me, he didn’t immediately step back and fidgeted with his fingers.

‘Does he want me to say something?’

I looked at him and asked.

“Is the work manageable?”

“Of course. It’s very interesting.”

Jang Yeong-sil said, his eyes sparkling.

Well, that’s quite the passion.

Lee Cheon, who came from a military background, was about to die from exhaustion, but Jang Yeong-sil seemed to have a tremendous desire for advancement, given his status.

“Okay, okay.”

The evaluations I’ve heard from others so far have been similar.

He always takes charge of everything and his work is impeccable.

‘Voluntarily taking charge my ass, these guys must be dumping everything on Yeong-sil.’

I know how these people operate.

Anyway, it’s true that Jang Yeong-sil is working hard, so let’s look into emancipating him at the appropriate time.

Enough with the small talk, I read through the documents.

‘Just as I thought.’

I twitched my eyebrows.

“Summon Hwang Hee.”

===

“Your son-in-law has been arrested?”

Hwang Hee, who was on official business at the court for the Hanseong Department, was speechless at the sudden news.

“Yes. The Minister of Justice and the Vice Minister have also hurriedly left the court.”

“Where on earth did he do such a thing?”

“In our Hanseong Department!”

The official who delivered the news told him that even the Crown Prince had personally intervened.

Hwang Hee’s eyes shook wildly.

If the Crown Prince personally intervened, this is no ordinary matter.

Hwang Hee was as quick to act as he was perceptive.

He hurried to the houses of his in-laws, the Minister of Justice Seo Seon.

Seo Seon was also pacing anxiously.

“In-law, what should we do? They say our son has been arrested out of nowhere?”

As the Minister of Justice, he certainly had quick access to information.

“It seems the Hanseong Department is involved.”

At Hwang Hee’s words, Seo Seon said with relief.

“Fortunately. If you use your influence to transfer the case to the Ministry of Justice······.”

The rest was obvious.

As an official of the Ministry of Justice, he could smooth things over appropriately.

Indeed, even in the original history, Seo Seon used his position as the Minister of Justice to cover up his son’s murder case, even being imprisoned in the Uigeumbu [a high-level investigative agency], so it was a display of tearful affection for his only son.

However, Hwang Hee shook his head.

“His Highness the Crown Prince personally arrested him.

This is not something we can handle on our own. It could make the crime even bigger.”

Hwang Hee knew all too well what kind of person the Crown Prince was.

A chill ran down his spine.

He couldn’t leave his precious daughter a widow overnight.

“First, let’s focus on the house issue······ This is not something I personally handled. Let’s try to deny it.”

Hwang Hee decided to rely on the possibility that the Crown Prince hadn’t noticed his involvement.

However, as Hwang Hee himself felt, that possibility was slim.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then······.”

Hwang Hee’s expression immediately turned gloomy.

“We’ll have to beg. Please, spare my life.”

===

“Aigo [an expression of dismay], I really didn’t do it!”

Hwang Hee prostrated himself as soon as he entered the Hanseong Department building.

“Make your excuses in front of the branding iron.”

But my reaction was cold.

‘To dare to use such a shallow trick.’

Of course, I wouldn’t entrust the lucrative business of distributing housing sites in Bukchon to Hwang Hee.

‘I’d rather trust a cat with a fish.’

After checking my hazy memories, it was Maeng Sa-seong’s jurisdiction.

“Magistrate Maeng, I am truly disappointed.”

I said, looking at Maeng Sa-seong.

Hwang Hee said urgently.

“The Magistrate doesn’t know anything about this. It’s just a simple administrative error!”

While diligently sending Maeng Sa-seong nonverbal signals to corroborate his story, Maeng Sa-seong, unlike Hwang Hee, was not good at controlling his expression.

The devastated expression on Maeng Sa-seong’s face revealed the truth in detail.

I patted Maeng Sa-seong on the shoulder and said.

“Don’t cover up your colleague’s mistakes, or you might get hit twice as hard.”

The ‘I’ll forgive you if you tell me now’ strategy worked perfectly.

The weak-hearted Maeng Sa-seong wiped away his tears and said.

“It’s all true, sob. His daughter got married this time, and he was worried because the house was too small······. He kept saying what would he do if he fell out of favor with his in-laws······.”

“Uh-huh, and then?”

“He talked about it so much that I just closed my eyes and signed the document.”

“What a mess.”

I said, looking at the ceiling.

I turned my gaze to Hwang Hee.

It was a signal for him to speak if he had anything to say.

– Thud

Hwang Hee immediately knelt down.

“Sob, I was blinded by my daughter getting married······ I have committed a crime worthy of death, Your Highness!”

‘Does he think this is a newlywed hope town?’

Besides, isn’t it common for large families in this era?

‘Giving Seo Dal, his only son, a separate housing site can only be seen as trying to steal blind land.’

“Is that all?”

I’d be a little disappointed if he’s just making excuses.

“······However, this is also a great crime, so I will persuade my son-in-law to donate the house back to the country.”

Hwang Hee desperately tried to control his expression, but his very regretful feelings were clearly revealed.

That’s because all he received from the Hanseong Department was the housing site.

Building a large house and backyard on it was the money of both families.

He must be heartbroken to have to give it all away.

‘Still, he has to release his son-in-law first, what else can he do?’

I asked with a deliberately surprised face.

“No, then where on earth will the precious daughter and son-in-law of the esteemed Vice Minister stay?”

“······I will have them live with me.”

Living with the wife’s family was also very common in this era.

Even though Seo Dal is an only son, he would have to do that to avoid my blade.

‘Did Hwang Hee also receive a housing site under false pretenses?’

I had such suspicions.

But after checking the documents, it seemed that Hwang Hee himself had received the housing site for his own house in a proper manner.

‘Hmm, should I wrap it up at this point?’

I thought, looking at Hwang Hee.

Certainly, Hwang Hee had secured a spot in a good location with easy access for his daughter’s newlywed home, and he had built the house quite well.

I was secretly envious.

But I shook my head.

‘If I end it like this, Heo Jo won’t leave me alone.’

The most upright and stubborn person among us was Heo Jo.

Honestly, he was even a burden to me.

I was using him because he was good at his job and was the best person to monitor the corrupt Hwang Hee.

“I will confiscate the Vice Minister’s allotted land for one year.”

I said, raising one finger.

In this era, officials were given the right to collect taxes from allotted land instead of a salary.

Then Hwang Hee’s face hardened.

“And Magistrate Maeng for six months.”

He had to be punished for giving in to Hwang Hee’s pressure.

‘In short, these guys are now my unpaid slaves.’

“But if you do well, I will return it to you sooner.”

I said.

This would increase work efficiency, so wouldn’t it be killing two birds with one stone?

‘This is a brilliant judgment that even Judge Bao [a symbol of justice in Chinese culture] would cry over.’

I self-praised.

===

“Your Highness! Please forgive my mistake!”

Heo Jo, the Vice Magistrate of the Hanseong Department, who belatedly learned of everything, banged his head on the ground.

‘No, why is this guy like this.’

It wasn’t exactly Heo Jo’s duty to monitor Hwang Hee, but he seemed to be greatly shocked that he hadn’t uncovered his corruption.

“Since you’re going that far, I will forgive your sin.”

I said warmly.

I decided to assign the task of auditing to the Vice Magistrate of the Hanseong Department.

If the Left Magistrate was the Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul and the Right Magistrate was the Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs, then the Vice Magistrate became the Chairman of the Audit Committee.

‘Hwang Hee must have come to his senses by now.’

I glanced at Hwang Hee.

“Seo Dal seems like a complete delinquent, so to refine his character, it would be good to send him to the north······.”

“I will take responsibility and teach him at home.”

Hwang Hee said, his face turning blue.

I was letting him know that I had a hold on him at any time.

“Hmph, the Left Magistrate’s family is quite a sight to behold.”

Lee Suk-beon sneered.

After being demoted to the Hanyang Construction Office, he naturally joined the Hanseong Department sometime after the Construction Office was dissolved.

‘Ugh, can’t he go somewhere else.’

But no one wanted to work with him because of his broken personality and tendency to look down on others.

So I had no choice but to give him the position of Judge of the Hanseong Department.

Lee Suk-beon had become subdued after his demotion, but now that he had adjusted somewhat, his old habits seemed to be slowly returning.

I’ll leave him alone for now since he’s harassing Hwang Hee, but I’ll have to step on him again later if he tries to climb back up.

“Seo Dal’s house will be owned by the Hanseong Department.”

Since it was a house built on land leased from the Hanseong Department, it was transferred to the ownership of the Hanseong Department when it was returned.

‘And if I offer it to the court, they’ll make a fuss about breaking it down and distributing it again.’

But since I got such a good house after all this time, there’s no need to break it down.

Lee Suk-beon asked.

“So, what are you planning to use this house for?”

“Hmm······.”

But of course, there was no particular use for this house in the Hanseong Department.

‘Should I sell it for a good price?’

I was leaning in that direction.

Lee Suk-beon said.

“Just keep the ownership with the Hanseong Department and use it as a villa. How great is that? Your Highness is young, so you may not know, but you will need such a place when you grow up.”

‘What does this bastard take me for.’

If it were the original Grand Prince Yangnyeong, he would have fallen for this in a heartbeat.

He would have enjoyed it to his heart’s content.

‘Well, even if he’s not a rogue like Grand Prince Yangnyeong, ordinary noblemen would like such a place.’

“Hmm?”

I suddenly realized something.

‘I know.’

How to use this house.

End

ⓒ Pitkong