There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 174

< Abdication Show (2) >

“It’s about time some of those hotheads started flipping out.”

Lee Bang-won tapped his fingers as he spoke.

He had been dragging out the abdication show longer than expected, but he intended to use this opportunity to clearly identify friend from foe.

It had already been several days since he had declared his abdication, and by now, anyone would be starting to get confused about his true intentions.

It wouldn’t be strange if one or two people were mistaken, thinking, ‘Is he really going to abdicate?’

Lee Bang-won watched their actions closely, planning to bring them up and use them when necessary.

‘Who will side with the Crown Prince and aim a knife at my back? The royal relatives? Or the Crown Prince’s faction?’

Or perhaps the Min clan’s in-laws?

“Did Min Mu-gu and the others attend court today?”

“Yes, they are discussing matters with others in Seonjeongjeon [the main hall for daily royal audiences].”

Lee Bang-won’s eyes turned cold.

Either way was fine.

Those caught this time would all have to offer their heads someday.

“I should show my face in Seonjeongjeon today. Prepare for it.”

===

Kneeling in repentance basically involves kneeling on a straw mat.

Of course, I had no intention of repenting in such a by-the-book manner. It’s not like I did anything wrong.

“Your Highness, Your Highness, people are coming.”

“Hmph!”

Nobun ran up in hurried steps and shouted, and I quickly straightened my posture from lying sprawled out.

Soon, the officials who had gathered in front of Heejungdang [a building in the palace] saw me and exclaimed.

“The young Crown Prince has been kneeling here for days in such an upright posture!”

“What an admirable, scholarly figure…!”

These old guys have such innocent sides.

Some, seeing my appearance, were filled with righteous indignation and shouted.

“How can we let only the Crown Prince suffer like this! This humble servant will also kneel and inform His Majesty of the injustice of the abdication!”

‘Ugh.’

I need to stretch my legs and do some stretching when people aren’t watching, but if they stick by my side, it’s no different from being monitored.

I said in a gentle voice.

“I appreciate your loyalty, but there is no need to do that. Even in times like these, state affairs cannot be neglected, so focus on your duties and dedicate yourselves to taking good care of the people.”

When I hurriedly dissuaded them, they would often retreat in tears.

‘This is really tiring.’

It wasn’t just one or two people who came to stop the abdication whenever they were bored.

I can’t slack off when they’re around.

After they left, I knelt properly for a long time, then cautiously looked around.

‘They must be far away by now, right?’

Just as I was about to lie down on the straw mat with my stomach exposed, a shadow fell over my face.

“Your Highness, is that the posture for repenting?”

“Heok!”

When I saw the face of the man looking down at me with a crooked expression, a scream involuntarily escaped my lips.

It was none other than Heo Jo, the Vice Minister of Rites.

‘Of all people, it had to be this guy.’

He’s so fastidious that I expected a barrage of nagging.

‘He’s literally a picky squid, Heo Jo.’

For the record, this is a nickname I made up; he was known as the ‘Skinny Hawk’ (瘦鷹) in the world.

“I knew Your Highness would be like this.”

“No, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”

I was kneeling just a moment ago.

It’s always like the door opens only when I turn on the computer after finishing all my studying.

Regardless, Heo Jo, who had been exuding momentum, plopped down next to me.

“Vice Minister Heo?”

“I have come to keep Your Highness company, so rest assured.”

Heo Jo said.

“In any case, the abdication is not His Majesty’s true intention, and Your Highness has no sin to atone for, so what use are the formalities of repentance? Rather, to impose formalities on this kneeling repentance is an insult to the rites.”

“Vice Minister Heo…”

I was moved and muttered.

As a renowned scholar of rites who is currently in charge of reorganizing the court’s protocols, Heo Jo’s words felt like gaining a thousand soldiers.

I lay down in a carefree manner.

“……”

Heo Jo paused for a moment, as if to say something, but stopped.

It was awkward and boring to just sit there quietly, so I urged Heo Jo.

“Tell me an interesting story.”

Heo Jo was well-versed in the historical events of the past and present, befitting his status as a top lecturer on rites.

He probably knows more anecdotes than I do, who am only at the level of the Korean History Proficiency Test.

“Then, I will tell you a story from the time of King Chungseon of Goryeo…”

Heo Jo’s story was somewhat interesting, but I couldn’t listen to it for long.

Just as Heo Jo finished one story, Hwang Hee rushed in.

“Your Highness!”

“What is it?”

Hwang Hee rushed in urgently.

“Your Highness, this humble servant is coming from Seonjeongjeon.”

Seonjeongjeon is the official council hall of Changdeokgung Palace.

Since Lee Bang-won had declared his abdication, he had been holed up in Heejungdang, so only the officials gathered in Seonjeongjeon to discuss how to get the king to withdraw his abdication.

“But your Highness’s maternal uncle, Min Mu-gu, seemed strange.”

“What did he say?”

I felt uneasy at Hwang Hee’s words.

“As a subject, I have no choice but to obey the royal command, so if His Majesty happens to come to the council hall, let us ask him again and gather the opinions of the subjects…”

My face turned pale.

Involuntarily, my head snapped back towards Heejungdang.

‘Was this it?’

The goal of tightening the reins of the court through the abdication show was just an excuse.

Or perhaps only half the truth.

The real purpose was to ferret out those who were swayed by this abdication and trying to support me.

I felt a brief pang of betrayal.

How could I have known that the abdication show, which I had thought was a trivial play, would be a huge ant lion’s pit [a trap]?

‘Is my maternal family going to be destroyed as in history?’

I tried so hard to create a harmonious family, but is this how it ends up?

I strode towards Heejungdang.

The royal guards blocked my path.

“Step aside.”

“His Majesty’s order is that no one is allowed to enter.”

“……”

I clenched my fist and shouted.

“Is this what Father was aiming for?”

Removing those who threaten the royal authority is something a king should naturally do.

But this is…

‘It’s too harsh.’

He shouldn’t have set the bait in the first place.

If my maternal family is destroyed, it won’t end there.

Could Queen Wongyeong, not to mention my young siblings, withstand the mental strain?

Even after going through such an ordeal, could the framework of a couple, of a family, be maintained?

However, Lee Bang-won, who was clearly sitting inside Heejungdang, gave no answer.

‘Damn it.’

There’s no time to hesitate!

I turned back to Heo Jo and Hwang Hee and consulted with them.

“Minister Hwang, go to the council hall right now, express my intentions, and stop our maternal uncles.”

“But wouldn’t it be too late…?”

If Lee Bang-won came out of Heejungdang and headed to Seonjeongjeon right now, it would be over.

“I’ll buy time somehow! Hurry and go!”

At my urging, Hwang Hee moved quickly.

Heo Jo looked at me and said.

“It’s not too late now. We must immediately pressure His Majesty to withdraw his abdication.”

‘But how?’

My eyes shook wildly.

“It seems Your Highness must clearly show that you have no intention of accepting the abdication.”

“Aren’t I already kneeling in repentance?”

Even if I’m doing it while playing around, Lee Bang-won wouldn’t bat an eye even if I knelt in repentance by the book.

‘The repercussions wouldn’t be that great either.’

The officials currently think I’m kneeling in repentance in the proper manner, so it would be difficult to reverse the atmosphere.

“It was wrong to borrow the form of repentance. His Majesty holds the knife, doesn’t he?”

Heo Jo said.

Since it is literally begging for forgiveness, the decision of whether to forgive and the timing are entirely up to Lee Bang-won.

“Then…”

We need to change our position.

Not as a son begging for forgiveness, but as a subject opposing the king.

Above all, we needed a powerful performance that could also send a warning to my maternal uncles, who were plotting useless things.

My eyes met Heo Jo’s.

I could tell without speaking. That he and I were thinking the same thing.

“Nobun!”

I hurriedly called Nobun.

“Go and get me something!”

===

According to Heo Jo’s crash course, there was an upright official named Woo Tak during the Goryeo Dynasty.

When King Chungseon took the late king’s concubine, Woo Tak resolved to die and submitted a memorial, but the officials couldn’t bear to open and read it, and the king was ashamed and couldn’t lift his head.

If this was all, Woo Tak would have remained one of the loyal remonstrators who existed in every era.

However, Woo Tak’s memorial had a slightly special performance added to it, which allowed him to leave behind his great name for posterity.

“Your~ Majesty! Please withdraw your command!”

I raised my voice so loudly that the entire palace echoed with my wailing.

Until now, I had only pretended to wail when officials occasionally came to visit, but now was not the time for that.

If I could, I would have brought the copper megaphone I made last time and shouted.

Fortunately, it seemed I had succeeded in attracting people’s attention.

The officials, court ladies, and eunuchs who were hurrying through the palace all had no choice but to turn their gazes here.

But this was not the end.

I had the best performance a subject could do, which Woo Tak had first implemented.

“If not, please just kill this servant with this axe!”

I jumped up and grabbed the axe next to me.

Then, I slammed it down on the floor with a thud.

At my loud voice, the door of Heejungdang burst open.

“Crown Prince, what is this?”

Lee Bang-won’s eyes widened when he saw the axe on the floor.

This sharp axe would have been clearly visible to the people who were looking at me.

I knelt down again next to the axe and shouted.

“This son sincerely entreats you, if you do not intend to withdraw the abdication, then strike this son’s head with this axe, Father!”

The jibubangsoso [petition to be beheaded] brilliantly revived in this era, transcending a hundred years.

===

‘Look at this guy?’

Lee Bang-won, who had broken the heads of countless people in his life, couldn’t help but hesitate at his son’s actions.

There was also the problem that his main weapon was a mace, but even if that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t just go around hitting people’s heads.

Lee Bang-won, who had passed the civil service examination, knew the meaning of these actions better than anyone else.

The jibubangsoso is literally submitting a memorial with a do-or-die attitude, either accepting the memorial or killing oneself.

Isn’t someone who kills a scholar who remonstrates at the risk of his life an undeniable tyrant?

Especially if that person is his own son.

Lee Bang-won’s love for his children was exceptional, but the reason wasn’t just that.

‘Jin’s Fusu was banished for advising Emperor Qin, and Mizi Xia tried to end his life when his father, King Zhou, did not listen to his loyal advice.’

The composition was too good.

It was none other than the Crown Prince who raised loyal advice and made a statement to cut off his own head with an axe, so it was no different from preempting the position of a wise son like Fusu or Mizi.

If he did not accept this, it meant that he would become a tyrant like Qin Shi Huang or King Zhou.

“Shall we go to Seonjeongjeon?”

“Wait a moment.”

Lee Bang-won replied stiffly to the eunuch Noh Hee-bong’s question.

‘The Crown Prince blocked it at a perfect time.’

Lee Bang-won clicked his tongue in disappointment.

The news that the Crown Prince had expressed his strong opposition by even submitting a jibubangsoso would have already reached Seonjeongjeon.

Perhaps those who were plotting behind the scenes would have lowered their heads again.

To draw out their machinations again, a more elaborate plan would be needed.

Lee Bang-won was not a man to dwell on things when the outcome was visible.

“A great plan was used in a small way.”

Lee Bang-won muttered, clicking his tongue.

Still, he had already achieved half of his intention by tightening the atmosphere of the court once through the abdication declaration.

‘There will be opportunities to clean up those guys anytime.’

Lee Bang-won put aside his disappointment and said to the eunuch Noh Hee-bong.

“Tell the Crown Prince to come in.”

Lee Bang-won eventually surrendered.

< Abdication Show (2) > End

ⓒ Pitkong