I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 190

< Treason (1) >

“The Seongwon Prince will arrive in five days at the latest.”

The Empress nodded, seemingly pleased.

“I have already completed all the preparations. All that’s left is to set the date for the uprising.”

“It would be best to finish it quickly. The Seongwon Prince is coming because he believes it is His Majesty’s summons, so he must not arrive before the day of the uprising.”

“Indeed. Let’s allow the Queen Dowager to swell with anticipation for a few days before the Seongwon Prince arrives. I want to see her expression when she falls back into the abyss.”

The Empress’s face was filled with laughter, as if merely thinking about it was enjoyable. But soon, her expression turned vicious. It was because she thought of Yang Ryeo-cheong.

“Immediately arrest that Yang Concubine and imprison her. I plan to interrogate her myself.”

Her teeth were grinding.

The Empress intended to repay Yang Ryeo-cheong for all the Emperor’s excessive favor she had received until now.

It wouldn’t be a long time, but the pain she would inflict would be so harsh and cruel that she would rather beg to be killed.

“By the way, what should we do with her brother?”

Wi Chung-hyeon answered without hesitation.

“Jo Gwang-yun is quite skilled in martial arts. If he senses even a hint of a trap, he will surely run away immediately, so I plan to summon him to the palace after the uprising is over.”

“What is the justification for entering the palace?”

“Your Majesty.”

“Me?”

The Empress was surprised by the unexpected answer.

“He will be told that he is being summoned by Your Majesty to commend him as the top contributor to the uprising. And if we say that Your Majesty is calling him to promise a sure reward for his merits, he will come running.”

“That’s good.”

“Then the Imperial Guard will arrest him, break his limbs, and destroy his dantian [energy center]. Then he will be nothing more than a disabled man who can’t even use his strength properly.”

“Don’t kill him right away?”

“We need to figure out his assets. As you know, isn’t he the wealthiest man in the Central Plains?”

The Empress clapped her knee.

“That’s a really good idea. If we can get our hands on his wealth, we will have both money and power in our hands….”

“That’s right. Our family will be able to rule this country for eternity.”

The siblings flared their nostrils, dreaming of the infinite power they would enjoy in the future.

* * *

“Inform your subordinates in Haan Palace. The day of the uprising is the day after tomorrow.”

Wi Chung-hyeon’s voice trembled as he spoke quietly.

Even an old ginger [experienced person] would be afraid to kill the highest dignity of the country.

“Did you prepare the poison?”

Wi Chung-hyeon nodded his head.

“I got a poison that doesn’t make you vomit blood. It will look fine on the outside.”

“Where are you going to put the poison?”

“Alcohol. I heard that your sister only drinks about a glass.”

“That’s right. She doesn’t usually drink. She only empties the first glass of wine that His Majesty offers on the day of their union.”

“So I’ll put it in the second bottle. After checking, His Majesty always drinks three or four bottles.”

The Emperor’s wine bottles are close to useless works of art. The shape and color are beautiful, but the size is small, so it doesn’t even come out to a few glasses.

Even if you drink three or four bottles, it doesn’t exceed one bowl.

“I understand. Then I will have them taste only the first bottle.”

“That’s right. Then they won’t even think that the wine is poisoned.”

“Who will put in the poison?”

“There is a court lady in the Seonbang [palace department] who the Empress has taken good care of. She is already old and will be leaving the palace soon, but when I offered her a lot of money, she didn’t hesitate. She must have thought that if the Emperor disappears, the Empress will take control of the royal family, so there will be no aftermath.”

“You won’t let her live, will you?”

“Of course. We have to silence her after she leaves the palace.”

The more he talked about the murder plan, the more Wi Chung-hyeon’s voice trembled. He was clearly very frightened.

“Sir, don’t tremble. It’s already an arrow that has left the bowstring. There’s nothing you can do to stop it now.”

“Hehe, isn’t that so? But as someone who has served the late Emperor and the current Emperor, I don’t feel comfortable committing disloyalty to save my own life.”

“It’s not disloyalty.”

Killing the Emperor is not disloyalty? Wi Chung-hyeon blinked at the unexpected words.

“If one person stands against the Emperor, it is treason; if many people stand against the Emperor, it is a rebellion. Up to this point, it is disloyalty. But what if everyone opposes the Emperor?”

Jo Gwang-yun stared into Wi Chung-hyeon’s eyes and said.

“People call it a coup or a revolution. How many times in history have runaway emperors been replaced?”

“What we are trying to do is not treason, but a coup?”

Jo Gwang-yun smiled and nodded.

“If only one person dances in broad daylight, they are crazy, but if everyone dances, it is a festival. Each individual is dancing the same, but that’s what it is. You and I are plotting not treason, but a coup. It’s like a festival for just the two of us. There’s no need to be afraid, and there’s no need to blame yourself for being disloyal.”

Wi Chung-hyeon chuckled at Jo Gwang-yun’s sophistry.

“We have no justification. All we have is the desire to live. We are not saving the people, are we?”

“All coups were due to the desire to live. Whether it’s physical or political… There’s not much difference. And what justification is more desperate than survival?”

Wi Chung-hyeon stared at Jo Gwang-yun for a while without saying a word, then smiled gently.

“You are a man who would stand up to the heavens to survive.”

“I do even more than that. But all of this is because I don’t want to worry about surviving. I really hate being anxious.”

Wi Chung-hyeon finally stopped trembling when Jo Gwang-yun shook his head as if he was fed up with it.

“After the day after tomorrow, you won’t have to worry about that again.”

Wi Chung-hyeon thought that he would face death as the brother of the Emperor’s assassin, so there would be nothing more to worry about.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more if that were the case.”

As the uncle of the young and only heir to the throne, he holds absolute power. Now, instead of having to use his head to survive, he has to use his head to decide who to save. This is Jo Gwang-yun’s thought.

The two people, expecting completely different results, were confident of success, each thinking that they were trapping the other.

* * *

Jo Gwang-yun called his subordinates.

“Gather about two hundred ronin [masterless samurai] warriors by the evening of the day after tomorrow and have them wait outside the capital.”

Ronin suddenly? If necessary, two hundred people can be sufficiently filled with Changryongmun warriors.

When the subordinates showed that they were holding back their doubts, Jo Gwang-yun said.

“All those guys have to do is gather and run away. But some may die and some may be arrested. We must not reveal that we are our people at that time.”

“Who are you saying will be arrested?”

“What would it look like if you gathered outside the capital with weapons?”

“Ah… Someone might think they are attacking the palace.”

“That’s right. The Imperial Guard will definitely be dispatched. When you see them, run away quickly.”

“It’s not that difficult, so we can gather them easily.”

As soon as the Emperor dies, his brother arrives in the capital with two hundred soldiers.

The two hundred soldiers are too few to be called rebels, and too many to be called soldiers escorting the Seongwon Prince.

An ambiguous number that is neither a rebel army nor a guard army.

The problem is that the two hundred soldiers, led by the Seongwon Prince, enter the palace bloodlessly. On the day the Emperor died.

All that is needed is for this act to be seen by everyone as a plot of treason.

Of course, this plan is Wi Chung-hyeon’s. He will reveal the fact himself, becoming the mastermind of a meticulous treason.

He is excited, but also trembling with fear.

* * *

“The Emperor is here.”

As the eunuch’s voice was heard, Yang Ryeo-cheong ran out lightly.

“Your Majesty. May you have great fortune.”

“Hey, how many times have I told you that you don’t have to do this every time? Get up.”

The Emperor raised Yang Ryeo-cheong, who was kneeling, and went straight inside, saying.

“Where is the prince?”

“He is fast asleep.”

“Really? It’s really hard to see that little rascal’s antics. Haha.”

“If Your Majesty comes early….”

Yang Ryeo-cheong stuck close to the Emperor’s side, acting cute, and went inside.

The three women always watched the two of them with a smile, but today, even a smile did not come out.

Their eyes were only on the court ladies who were following the Emperor.

The sound of the tray holding the wine bottle clattered as the court ladies carrying trays of food, tea, and wine entered in a row. Following that gaze, the hand of the old court lady holding the wine bottle was shaking slightly.

The court lady placed one bottle of wine on the table and the remaining two bottles on the auxiliary table, and hurriedly stepped back.

The three women tasted the food on the table little by little as usual, but only pretended to taste the wine.

“Your loyalty is truly exemplary. How can you not miss a single day?”

The Emperor said with a satisfied expression from behind them, and the three women knelt down at the same time, saying.

“We are honored.”

“Good job. Go out.”

This means that they will spend some time alone.

The eunuchs went out completely, and the three women were on edge near the bedroom. Waiting for the moment the Emperor collapses.

– Everyone, be tense. It’s starting now.

The two women nodded at Hongyeon’s telepathy.

There was no need to increase hearing in particular. As the wine went in, the Emperor’s cheerful voice was loud, and Yang Ryeo-cheong’s laughter was also loud.

If the Emperor drinks a deadly poison, his voice will be cut off and Yang Ryeo-cheong’s panicked voice will be heard. It’s not that difficult to recognize the moment to move.

I hope the Emperor drinks a couple of bottles of wine as usual.

If he ends the night with one bottle, there will be nothing more absurd than this.

Time passed slowly.

Today, the clattering sound and the sound of pouring wine were unusually loud.

Around this time, a light thud was heard, and the fingertips of the three women began to tremble.

It sounded like the Emperor was collapsing.

But Yang Ryeo-cheong’s cracking voice was not heard. For a moment, no sound is heard.

– Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?

– Could it be both of them?

The three women looked at each other at the same time and nodded their heads.

The Empress is truly a poisonous woman. Isn’t it a deadly poison that kills instantly?

I also knew why Yang Ryeo-cheong had collapsed. She received the second glass today and drank it all.

Hongyeon let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

If Yang Ryeo-cheong was alive, she would have to do troublesome things, but she avoided that and avoided the guilt of killing a healthy person.

The three women recalled Jo Gwang-yun’s instructions.

At Hongyeon’s signal, Cheongyeon left first. Cheongyeon has to take the baby and run to the Queen Dowager’s residence.

As Cheongyeon left, Hongyeon winked at Jayeon and kicked the table where the Emperor and Yang Ryeo-cheong were lying with all her might.

If the scene of death is too neat, the shock will be less. The two people lying on the floor and the shattered pieces of dishes must be scattered in a mess to make the scene of the murder more vivid.

Crash!

At the same time as the sound of dishes breaking, the two women screamed.

Kyaaak!!

The two women’s piercing screams pierced the silent night sky and spread throughout Haan Palace.

< Treason (1) > End