There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 213

< Love is a Slave to Chaos (4) >

“I know…”

Of course, he knew.

Even though he added the condition ‘if,’ wasn’t it because he dared to talk about replacing the Crown Prince?

Shim On timidly protested.

“I, our family, have absolutely nothing to do with this matter. That’s why I turned away all guests and locked the doors, isn’t it?”

“It seems you don’t quite understand why His Majesty is delaying the royal interrogation.”

Ha Ryun said, looking straight at Shim On.

As he said, the royal interrogation had not yet begun.

Lee Bang-won was, in effect, still keeping Yeom Chi-yong’s crime under wraps.

“All officials should be of one mind in petitioning to punish Yeom Chi-yong’s crime, yet Chief Scholar Shim is rather shutting himself away…”

Shim On closed his eyes, but he couldn’t avoid Ha Ryun’s gaze.

“Aren’t you trying to see how His Majesty will react to these claims?”

“H-How could I dare…”

Ha Ryun cut off Shim On’s words.

“Power cannot be shared even between father and son, so how long will the relationship between His Majesty and the Crown Prince remain strong? If His Majesty’s favor turns elsewhere, the wind might change, that’s the hope you’re harboring, isn’t it?”

At Ha Ryun’s whisper, Shim On’s face stiffened.

In reality, he wanted to show that he had no connection to Yeom Chi-yong’s conspiracy, and he also wanted the world to see it that way.

But if that were all, he would have preemptively called for Yeom Chi-yong’s death, as Ha Ryun said.

It was also true that he had been imagining things, speculating about Lee Bang-won’s intentions as the interrogation of Yeom Chi-yong was delayed day after day.

Having his inner thoughts exposed, Shim On barely opened his mouth to speak.

“Are you saying His Majesty would never do such a thing?”

“No, you’re wrong. It’s not that he would never do such a thing, but that he cannot do such a thing. It may sound like wordplay, but the two are distinctly different.”

Shim On’s eyes trembled.

Did that mean that even the king could not touch the current Crown Prince?

“There is only one reason why His Majesty has not yet interrogated Yeom Chi-yong.”

Ha Ryun said, raising a finger.

“It is because if Yeom Chi-yong’s conspiracy is revealed, the Grand Princes will also be subject to gossip.”

Shim On tried to hide his dismay.

“Is that all?”

“That is all. But that reason is like your lifeline, Chief Scholar.”

Ha Ryun said, his eyes gleaming.

“Do you understand? This must be treated as nothing more than Yeom Chi-yong’s raving due to madness.”

His Majesty also wants it to be handled that way.

That’s why he delayed the royal interrogation.

“Yet, Chief Scholar, you have only been locking your doors and taking no action, so I have come here myself.

Soon, when the royal interrogation begins, there will be attempts to involve the Grand Princes in any way possible, so how do you think the political situation will unfold then?”

Shim On wasn’t a fool.

Even if the Grand Princes were not implicated due to the king’s protection, could it be guaranteed that their in-law families, who would support them in an emergency, would be safe?

“The only thing you can rely on now is the Crown Prince’s brotherly affection. Do you understand?”

Only Crown Prince Lee Je can navigate this difficult political situation without bloodshed.

At Ha Ryun’s words, Shim On nodded, unable to hide his trembling.

“I-I will send word to my daughter.”

“You must hurry.”

Then, Shim On suddenly looked at Ha Ryun and said.

“What is the reason you came here in person to tell me this? Perhaps…”

He meant to ask if Lee Bang-won had sent him, but Ha Ryun shook his head.

He smiled bitterly and said.

“I also have some urgent matters to attend to.”

===

“Your Highness! Please save your brothers!”

I was speechless at the sight of my in-law kneeling before me.

My sister-in-law said that my in-law wanted to see me, so I personally brought my younger brothers to greet him, but he suddenly knelt down and said that.

‘Why is this guy doing this again?’

I thought, rubbing my throbbing forehead.

It wasn’t that I had no idea what was going on.

It must be because of the people who were being dragged to the Uigeumbu [the Supreme Court during the Joseon Dynasty] because of this incident.

I heard that the guys who were caught were also insisting that they were not at fault, only repeating, ‘That bastard is a really bad guy!’

“Lord Jeong Yeok, the father-in-law of Grand Prince Hyoryeong, is away as the governor of Hwanghae, so he could not come, but Governor Jeong also sends his apologies to Your Highness. Please, considering your brotherly affection…”

I sighed and looked around.

Hyoryeong and Chungnyeong, of course, and my half-brother Grand Prince Gyeongnyeong, and even the young Grand Prince Seongnyeong, were kneeling, following their brothers without knowing what was going on.

‘What the hell is all this?’

I thought, looking at my brothers kneeling.

“I have seen ministers prostrating before the king for being involved in treason, but this is the first time I have seen a high-ranking official rushing to prostrate before the Crown Prince.”

Noh Boon said from the side, but I wasn’t happy at all.

“Hey! Everyone, get up!”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Chungnyeong and Hyoryeong got up and dusted off their knees.

They only listen to me well at times like this.

“Grand Princes, you must not get up yet!”

Shim On shouted, but I said calmly.

“Chief Scholar Shim, you get up too.”

I felt sorry to see my in-law, who was much older than me, acting like this.

I took Shim On’s hand and helped him up.

“If I have to do this every time some crazy bastard says something crazy, I can’t be the Crown Prince.”

“Your Highness…”

I think I know why Lee Bang-won didn’t let his younger brothers leave the palace and made them live with me.

Living together every day means there’s no room for misunderstandings, and even if they arise, they’re quickly resolved when you’re face to face.

“My brothers are stuck in the Crown Prince’s residence all day like gum… no, like taffy, who would they conspire with?”

‘Go out a little.’

Especially you, Do, who needs exercise.

I stomped my feet in front of Shim On and shouted.

“My brothers are not the kind of children who would be involved in treason, it’s just that a madman spread strange rumors.

If anyone dares to mention it again, I will tell my father and throw them into the gulag myself!”

Then, Shim On swallowed his tears with a moved expression.

“Our family has no complaints about the Crown Prince’s policies. We have already freed all the slaves in our household and made them hired laborers, which will also help Your Highness in carrying out your intentions.”

Hired laborers refer to servants.

The difference from slaves is that they are clearly commoners and wage laborers who work for pay.

‘To be exact, it’s not my intention, but my father’s.’

I wasn’t even interested in the slave issue.

I just feel sorry for my wife, who is being unfairly criticized.

Still…

“My brothers are innocent.”

Ju So-hwa, who was next to me, preemptively said what I was about to say.

I smiled and took Ju So-hwa’s hand.

I think marriage has more advantages than I thought.

===

“Just now, Shim On prostrated himself in the Crown Prince’s residence with the Grand Princes.”

“What about the Crown Prince?”

“He took Shim On’s hand and made it clear that he would ensure that no one would be implicated in this matter.”

Only then did Lee Bang-won breathe a sigh of relief.

Shim On prostrated himself, and the Crown Prince, who was the person involved, put a line in the sand, so no one would try to escalate the matter further.

“Yeom Chi-yong, that guy caused trouble at the end by spouting nonsense.”

Lee Bang-won initially intended to wrap up this matter by arresting and punishing those who criticized the court’s policies regarding the slave issue as an example.

So, Lee Bang-won couldn’t hide his displeasure with Yeom Chi-yong for unnecessarily dragging in the Grand Princes.

“I didn’t know Yeom Chi-yong was so short-sighted.”

In the original history, he was a figure who slandered the king over the slave issue, causing the innocent Min brothers to be targeted as a set, and he himself was exiled and demoted to a government slave, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Lee Bang-won couldn’t help but be taken aback by his bomb-like remarks.

“Well, I’m not the only one who’s relieved.”

“It’s all thanks to His Majesty and His Highness’s graciousness.”

Ha Ryun’s grandson had been adopted as Yeom Chi-yong’s adopted son, so if this were treated as treason, his grandson would inevitably be implicated.

So, he encouraged Shim On to minimize the matter through the Crown Prince by any means possible.

“Yeom Chi-yong’s blasphemous words should be punished with execution, but considering it was raving and not treason, there will be no implication. We can handle it like that.”

Well, it was actually raving.

He may have thought it was possible as a result of interpreting the king’s intentions in his own way.

“In the court, the officials who served the Crown Prince formed a so-called Crown Prince faction, so His Majesty must have been displeased with this.”

The working-level officials who are helping the Crown Prince carry out various policies.

They were the mid-level managers of this country and talents who were growing into future prime ministers.

“They are truly the talents of Joseon, but if His Majesty has a strong mind, there is no one he cannot remove.”

At Ha Ryun’s words, Lee Bang-won smiled and shook his head.

“Are they the only ones who support the Crown Prince?”

Ha Ryun noticed who was at the end of Lee Bang-won’s gaze.

“Are you talking about His Majesty the Retired King?”

“If I harbor the intention to remove the Crown Prince, my father would be the first to come and shoot me to death.”

The moment he shows any movement to abolish the Crown Prince, Lee Bang-won would have to fight another all-out battle with the Retired King.

Lee Seong-gye would try to finish his unfinished revenge this time.

‘The Northern regions will try to secede from Joseon.’

The northeastern local magnates such as the Yeongheung Choi clan and the northern Jurchens such as Yi Bukha of the Samsan Thousand Household are connected to Joseon only through the Retired King and his successor, the Crown Prince.

They would take the expulsion of the Crown Prince as a purge against themselves.

“What about the Buddhist community? What about the Giiin [local administrators] or the shamans?”

The local gentry who are dissatisfied with the court’s policies may still think that they can lead the local public opinion, but that is a big mistake.

The Giiin who are in charge of local construction projects, the monks who are sharing local administration at the level of modern Tong/Ban chiefs [neighborhood association leaders], and the shamans who are performing hygiene duties.

They are evenly spread out to the remote corners of the countryside where the court’s authority does not reach.

They were the ones who were oppressed for their own reasons until the Crown Prince gave them protection, so they would not want to go back to the days when they were despised again.

These are not the only ones who support the Crown Prince.

What about the meritorious subjects who are tied together by the interests of Cheonghaejin?

What about Han Sang led by Baek Dal-won?

What about the Queen and the Yeoheung Min clan, who will support their eldest son to the death?

‘And Ming China.’

The Yongle Emperor will not forgive Joseon for expelling his younger sister along with the Crown Prince.

The collapse of the tributary relationship is a given, and there is a high probability that ‘that’ army that finished off Annam will cross the Yalu River.

So, even Lee Bang-won has to risk his political fate if he wants to drive out the Crown Prince.

If he fails, he will not be able to avoid being deposed, and even if he succeeds, the foundation of Joseon’s rule will be completely destroyed at the same time.

‘Even if he hears these stories, he’ll probably whine about what they mean.’

Thinking of his eldest son, who pretends to be trembling at his words even though he has such power, a smile formed on Lee Bang-won’s lips.

Could there be two such sons in the world?

“They are truly foolish.”

Why would there be any need to be jealous of and pressure the Crown Prince who cannot be driven out?

All the development and reforms that the Crown Prince has brought about during his reign will eventually be recorded as Lee Bang-won’s achievements.

He takes the Crown Prince’s achievements as his own and wields the strengthened royal authority to his heart’s content.

“There is no such thing as a deposed Crown Prince.”

This is the most rational choice for politician Lee Bang-won.

“That is a matter of course, Your Majesty.”

Lee Bang-won was very refreshed that he could come to such a conclusion even after excluding all his feelings as a father.

< Love is a Slave to Chaos (4) > End