There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 287

“Your Majesty, please execute Yi Sok!”

“Yi Sok’s crime is related to treason! Subjects all over the country cannot contain their anger, so please make a decision!”

A disturbing medley echoed in the peaceful court.

Even though it was called treason, it wasn’t the work of evil traitors plotting to overthrow the country or incite rebellion.

Rather, it was closer to a ridiculous happening.

“Has another princess appeared in the country when the wedding ceremony is already over? If she is the daughter of Princess Gwon, I have a son, but if she is the daughter of a court lady, my son is already dead!”

To send off my half-sister, Princess Jeongsin, in marriage, we were collecting horoscopes. But when a fortune teller visited the house of former Jichun County Magistrate Yi Sok, he heard these words and was promptly kicked out.

‘Is he crazy?’

Even though she’s my half-sister, he’s saying, ‘Your sister’s mother is too lowly, so I can’t marry her to my son?’

Of course, the King Emeritus [a retired king] was furious as soon as he heard this news.

“Originally, that family has no roots. I wasn’t considering Yi Sok’s family from the beginning, but the laws of the country require us to submit horoscopes! I cannot help but punish this!”

Yi Bang-won said, huffing and puffing.

I wonder if he feels like he was rejected without even confessing.

‘Why make such a fuss and make it like this.’

My head throbbed.

Submitting horoscopes is something that all families with men of the right age do.

In other words, I couldn’t understand why he made such a fuss when it wasn’t even confirmed that his son would become the royal son-in-law.

‘I have no choice but to appease the King Emeritus’ anger.’

I reluctantly gave orders to the constables.

“Hey, guys, get your tools.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

This is not only a matter of the King Emeritus’ personal feelings but also a matter of the royal family’s dignity.

Regardless of their mother’s status, all members of the royal family have the blood of the king.

Yi Sok’s actions were tantamount to denying the king’s DNA.

“Rough him up a bit and drag him to the Uigeumbu [the Royal Secret Investigation Bureau].”

“Shall we completely destroy him!”

“No, don’t destroy him completely because we have to drag him in and interrogate him.”

Anyway, these guys don’t know what ‘appropriate’ means.

Basically, when they are told to bring someone, they are set to beat them up and drag them by default.

They were the ones who misunderstood when I told them to bring Ahn Gyeon and waged a war on crime with the crackdown on erotic paintings.

When the constables dragged Yi Sok in, a voice burst out as expected.

“Your Majesty, Yi Sok lied about his son’s death and deceived the king. He must be punished!”

“There is no need. Yi Sok only stated the truth, so what crime can we charge him with?”

Yi Bang-won said, waving his hand.

‘Does that mean he’s going to make it true that his son is dead?’

I don’t know, but my face must have shown considerable embarrassment.

I whispered to my father.

“Are you really going to kill Yi Sok’s son?”

“It was his father who made the reckless remarks, so there’s no need to kill the son. However, we cannot leave Yi Sok alone.”

Yi Bang-won said, his eyes shining.

“Good. Take this opportunity to learn how to deal with those who are rude.”

Yi Bang-won looked at the officials and asked.

“Many officials are saying to punish Yi Sok, so I cannot refuse. What punishment would be appropriate?”

“Of course, you must exterminate Yi Sok’s three generations!”

Then Yi Bang-won waved his hand.

“Exterminating three generations seems like an excessive measure. I don’t feel like killing him either.”

Even if you say that while spewing murderous intent from your eyes, it’s not very believable.

“However, we cannot help but punish him. How about flogging him and demoting him to a commoner?”

“Hmm, I don’t feel like it, but… what does His Majesty think?”

Suddenly to me?

“I think that’s an appropriate punishment.”

“Oh, if His Majesty thinks so too, I can’t help it. Carry it out.”

It was like saying, ‘I don’t really care, but I’m punishing him because you guys want me to.’

My father’s political skills of pretending to be benevolent while having his officials question the crime.

“I will flog Yi Sok one hundred times and demote him to a commoner.”

At my command, Yi Bang-won nodded with a satisfied face.

‘The problem is that it’s not over yet.’

Yi Sok himself may think it’s over with this, but there are still asset confiscation and exile courses left.

The officials will periodically bring up the issue of Yi Sok’s punishment, and each time, additional punishments will follow.

‘Poor guy.’

I can’t help him even if I want to because of the King Emeritus.

Blame your own reckless mouth.

===

There was a joyous event in the family, although there was a disturbing one.

Do’s second son was born.

Originally, when a child is born, a gold cord is hung for twenty-one days, and the entry of outsiders is avoided.

In fact, it’s better to be careful about entry even after that for a while,

‘But we’re not outsiders, are we?’

We’re family… we’re not strangers…

Under such circumstances, about 20 days later, Hyoryeong Daegun [Prince Hyoryeong], and the youngest Seongnyeong Daegun [Prince Seongnyeong] and I each packed a gift and visited Do’s house.

“Welcome, brothers! Seongnyeong is here too!”

“Yes, brother! I brought some clothes for my nephew!”

I also brought some health food for my sister-in-law to eat while she recovers.

“Thank you, but don’t I get a gift?”

“It’s enough to bring gifts for your sister-in-law and nephew, what more do you want?”

A guy with a lot of money.

He pretended to be disappointed, but Do’s face was beaming because the mother and baby were healthy.

“May I hold my nephew?”

“Of course. Ah, but wash your hands first.”

I know, man.

He’s very concerned because it’s his son.

After washing my hands with soap, I held the baby and looked down at him quietly.

‘Is this Sejo [a future king of Joseon]?’

Sejo is a king I’ve heard of quite a bit, but to be honest, I don’t know much about him if I dig deeper.

Only textbook keywords that I memorized when studying for the Korean History Proficiency Test, such as the Direct Land Act and the Six Ministries Direct Control System, lingered in my head.

Even then, I memorized them without thinking, so I don’t really know about Sejo’s historical contributions or faults.

So, if I put all that aside and just look at the image of Sejo that is engraved in my head, it’s about a dignified traitor I saw in a movie.

‘But he’s more ordinary than I thought?’

Except for his chubby cheeks, which he inherited from his father Do, he was just an ordinary-looking baby without any special features.

Compared to the appearance of Grand Prince Suyang [Sejo’s title before becoming king] in the scene that circulated as a meme in my previous life, it’s a world of difference.

As someone who grew up seeing true traitors like Yi Seong-gye [founder of the Joseon dynasty] and Yi Bang-won, I was a little disappointed(?).

‘Well, let’s just say that’s because he’s a baby now.’

Even taking that into account, he seems to have less force than when our son was a newborn.

‘Is our child too abnormal?’

Shooting a target with a toy bow, climbing over the wall to go outside the palace and being caught every time, sneaking into the Seungjeongwon [Royal Secretariat] at night, so the officials who were dozing off during their night shifts were terrified, and rumors spread that the Crown Prince would come if they dozed off during their duty…

‘Who on earth does he take after?’

I don’t think I was like that when I was young.

Anyway, he seems much quieter than Dan, who runs around and scares people.

At this point, it’s right not to attach much meaning to the original history and just use it as a reference.

The original history’s Munjong [another future king] and Sejo are also just the king’s nephew and one of the royal family members here.

I don’t think he’ll be able to wield power like he did in the movies or dramas.

History has already been twisted by me, so what’s the point of being wary of a guy who’s still just a baby?

I don’t even know if this baby born in the changed history is actually that Sejo.

I made a mischievous joke while looking at the baby.

“Hehe, this guy. Don’t cause any rebellions when you grow up.”

“Brother?!”

I only said it because it was just us here, but my brothers’ faces froze.

No, I’m just kidding.

===

“Phew, I thought you saw something in the child and said that.”

Do barely understood after I glossed over it as just a silly remark.

“A baby is like a blank canvas, neither good nor evil, so what would I have seen and said that? Of course, it’s a joke.”

“Well, you often say silly things, so it’s hard to tell what’s serious.”

This brat?

“Still, from my point of view, it’s uncomfortable to hear it as a joke.”

Do grumbled.

Well, even if it were me, I’d be mentally broken if the king suddenly said something like that.

I have to admit that I made a mistake.

“Also, you sometimes show a god-like side, so it’s hard to ignore.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

I gave him words of blessing to study hard like his father to the other kids, didn’t I?

I handed Do a piece of paper since I came.

“What is this?”

“The inaugural issue of 「Good Thoughts」. I thought my sister-in-law wouldn’t be able to come because she’s recovering, so I came to deliver it for her.”

The first inaugural issue was scheduled to be delivered through the women’s association meeting tomorrow.

I was wondering if I should receive applications in advance, but I didn’t think there would be much response without seeing the actual product, so the inaugural issue was scheduled to be delivered directly through the women’s association.

‘If there’s a response here, I can tell them to apply for a subscription.’

So I had no choice but to put my heart and soul into this inaugural issue.

I even referred to magazines I saw in my previous life to structure the content to attract people’s attention from the beginning.

The core of that was the article written by our Chungnyeong Daegun [Prince Chungnyeong, later King Sejong].

To be exact, I wrote it, but Do only lent his name.

“My essay is at the very end.”

“That’s right.”

Because the main character always appears at the end.

What would be of most interest to the women of the Sadaebu [aristocratic] families?

Wouldn’t it be their children’s study methods?

In that sense, Chungnyeong Daegun’s past success story was something that parents with sons couldn’t help but look up.

The reason why I contacted Chungnyeong Daegun as the first priority after hearing Joo So-hwa’s idea was precisely for that reason.

– Studying was the easiest! What is the secret to Chungnyeong Daegun’s past top score?

If a mother saw this title written on the first page, she would be so excited that she couldn’t help but turn the next page.

Then she would have no choice but to pay attention to the life information or anecdote corner in the middle.

I rubbed my hands and smiled evilly.

It’s nice to have a younger brother who gets the top score.

===

Lee Je’s efforts were not in vain.

「Good Thoughts」 began to gain explosive popularity from its inaugural issue.

“Brother, is this the 「Good Thoughts」 that came out of the women’s association?”

“That’s right. Our children are preparing for the Sogwa [minor civil service exam], aren’t they? I heard that Chungnyeong Daegun’s success story is in here, so I got it with difficulty, but does your wife know how to read Hangul [Korean alphabet]?”

“Recently, I learned it over my husband’s shoulder while he was studying…”

Even among women, there were hardly any who could read Hangul from the beginning, but they would help each other learn.

“Idangsamrak! Chungnyeong Daegun said that he passes if he sleeps for two hours and fails if he sleeps for three hours!”

“Our child sleeps until noon, so we’re doomed!”

“Hangul is such an excellent writing system that it makes you smarter if you study it from a young age?”

There were exaggerations intentionally inserted in the middle, but it was not easy for them to distinguish them.

But what does it matter even if they knew?

“Brother, this anecdote in the middle is also very interesting.”

“Let’s see, Old Scholar Noh and Miss Joo? Is it a love story between lovers?”

“It’s a story about two men and women from a family entangled in grudges. The next story will be in the next issue…”

An era where there was terribly little to enjoy, especially for women.

They had no choice but to encounter the literary life from an object that had received a lot of modern people’s baptism.