There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 464

465. Side Story – Whereabouts of This Star (6)

Please tell me something like that isn’t happening.

I can feel my face turning pale without even looking in the mirror.

My mother, who had been staring blankly at my face, crossed her arms and said, “Our art gallery is originally members-only, but this exhibition is being held in conjunction with the Imperial Family, so non-members can also view it. Most of the guests will probably be non-member visitors.”

“Ah… Ah….”

“But reservations are required.”

Ugh, that means there’s a reservation list!

Seeing my face relax, my mother burst into laughter, as if she found it amusing.

She’s my mother, but her personality is really something…….

This might be considered personal information, but it should be okay to just take a quick look.

I received the reservation list and thoroughly searched for names that seemed like they belonged to women.

But even if I estimate conservatively, half of them are women, so it wasn’t easy to deduce who it could be.

‘Maybe…’

It suddenly occurred to me that just as I had been resurrected in the Lee family, Jo So-hwa might have been as well. But even considering that, it wasn’t easy to find her.

“……Why are there so many?”

It just so happened that there were too many people with the surname Joo on the reservation list.

My mother swirled her coffee cup around and said, looking at the list, “I heard that the Joo Hee clan came for a group viewing?”

“Ugh!”

Anyway, that Joo Ja guy is of no help to my life, whether in my past life or this one.

I scratched my head and thought.

Then, my mother, who was swirling her coffee cup around and looking through the list, said, “Ah, one of them is from that side. It’s the daughter of the Duke of O (吳國公) [a high-ranking noble title].”

“Duke of O?”

I hurriedly tried to recall where the Duke of O’s family was.

I definitely remembered the name. Quite vividly, too.

In the past, Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, rose up as a Red Turban rebel and occupied Jiqing Road, now Nanjing, and was granted the title of Duke of O.

Then, after defeating his greatest rival, Chen Youliang, he proclaimed himself the King of Wu, and after even drowning Han Lin’er, his nominal lord, he founded the Ming Dynasty and became emperor.

It was the first title Zhu Yuanzhang obtained, so it could be said that it had a special meaning for the Ming imperial family.

The revival of this title of Duke of O was after I received the abdication from Zhu Wengui, the last emperor and puppet of the Ming Dynasty.

‘I can’t very well ennoble even a former emperor as a king.’

The deposed Zhu Zhanji was dethroned and received the title of Prince Yongseong, but that was half an insult, and the Ming Dynasty was still nominally in existence.

But since I had closed the Ming Dynasty, I had no intention of even granting a royal title, and instead gave him the Duke of O, which Zhu Yuanzhang had held in the past.

In fact, it was only not a royal title, but in terms of treatment, it was not comparable to Zhu Zhanji’s Prince Yongseong, who had become a lonely ghost in the East Sea.

Although its status was lower than that of the royal families such as princes and grand princes, they were granted the right to continue the Gong family without any reduction in status.

Except for a few royal families ennobled by my own siblings, even the emperor’s direct descendants would become commoners after only a few generations, so this was a considerable privilege.

It was the least I could do for the jade seal custodian who had been confined for life by the Yongle Emperor, was enthroned by me, and then had to step down again.

In any case, the former imperial family was also related to us, so we didn’t treat them poorly, and keeping them in Nanjing to use them as magnets to attract potential rebels was actually a great benefit to them.

By the time Zhu Wengui himself died, the situation in the world had stabilized, and the Ming Dynasty restoration movement had long since subsided.

‘At least the lineage was cut off in the middle, so a collateral line was adopted to inherit the Duke of O, I heard.’

Since even political instability had disappeared long ago, they were able to enjoy considerable economic privileges in Nanjing, the center of Jiangnan, and continue the Gong family for nearly two hundred years.

And that led directly to the prosperity of the Duke of O’s family.

“There are many people who have succeeded as individuals these days, but when it comes to family wealth, the imperial family and the Prince Jin’s family always rank first and second. They’re probably the next richest family,”

My mother said with a twisted lip.

Even the owner’s family of Yeoheung Ilbo wouldn’t be comparable to the Duke of O’s family, so it seems like she’s feeling a bit jealous.

No, why is someone who is already enjoying so much wealth and glory still like this?

But this is the mother I knew.

“Especially the new Duke of O is said to be very eager to expand his family’s wealth. I heard that’s why he sent his younger sister to study in Hanseong?”

“The person listed here came to study in Hanseong?”

“Yes. She’s attending Gangnam University, but suddenly came to Seoul University as an exchange student last year.

Gangnam University is also a prestigious school, so why would she do that? Her brother probably sent her to Hanseong to build connections while he stays there.”

My mother said that, but she also spoke in a tone that suggested she didn’t quite understand it herself.

“But…… strangely enough, there’s no news about her at all. If she were to do something in Hanseong, it would usually come to my or your father’s ears. Why else would I have seen her face for the first time at this exhibition?”

I’m not very interested in such complicated political situations.

My mother pondered for a moment and then continued, “Was she interested in this kind of exhibition? Should I invite her again sometime to get to know her?”

“Could you do that?”

“Of course. There’s no reason not to.”

When I asked with sparkling eyes, my mother nodded, then suddenly her expression hardened.

“But why are you taking the initiative…… Don’t tell me……?”

My mother slapped my back repeatedly and shouted, “Has he gone crazy! If another woman problem breaks out this time, you’ll be beaten to death by your father!”

I waved my hands hastily at the look in her eyes, which were full of distrust of her son. I don’t want to end up like Jeong Mong-ju [a historical figure known for his loyalty and tragic end] either.

“No, it’s not like that!”

No, is it actually like that?

I was trying to meet a woman, but I gave up on trying to figure out how to say that the woman is actually my ex-wife without looking like a crazy person.

Instead, I approached it from a practical perspective.

“Did you get her phone number or anything?”

“I do have it…… but it’s not her personal number, it’s the Duke of O’s family phone number.”

I let out a sigh that was half relief and half disappointment.

Still, just finding someone I could roughly guess was a real step forward.

It’s much better than having no chance of finding her at all, isn’t it?

I clenched my fist tightly.

I’ll be able to meet her soon.

Jo So-hwa.

* * *

– Hey! Untangle the net properly!

– The captain scolds when the work is delayed. He may be kind usually, but he is more serious than anyone else when it comes to work.

– Our Naval Commander is the king on this ship, the king.

– Naval Commander? Admiral?

– That’s what we call him. He knows so much, and everyone is afraid of the captain.

– Stop talking nonsense and carry the net!

The old captain, who looks over eighty, pulls the net without regard to the swaying waves.

His face with its grizzled beard was full of charisma.

However, when it’s time to take a break after the fishing is over, that appearance disappears without a trace.

– Do you feel bad if we call you Naval Commander?

The old captain waved his hand at the PD’s [Production Director’s] question.

– Oh, I like it. I’ve never been so successful. My father would have been very happy if he had heard that. But I’m still embarrassed…….

The old captain, sitting on the hull, smiled kindly and reminisced.

– My father was a soldier, but he left the military due to an unfortunate incident. After that, the family fortune declined, and there wasn’t a job I didn’t do after graduating from high school.

– That must have been hard.

– It was hard. But thanks to that, I learned humility, I learned gratitude…… I sent all my siblings to college, and now I have a ship and I’m working as a captain, aren’t I?

The captain’s words were full of pride in his life.

– Then will you keep riding the ship?

– Of course. I have to ride it until I die. I’m going to die at sea, too. Isn’t that romantic?

The captain says, grinning with his missing teeth.

As if it’s coming to an end, a calm and peaceful background music flows, and then a random narration pops out on top of it.

– Captain Won Gyun! The sea is good, but you have to take care of your health too! You have to live happily with the crew for a long, long time~

-End-

I, who watched the documentary that was being broadcast with a changed time slot due to the Nadam [a traditional Mongolian festival] broadcast, was speechless for a moment.

“…….”

I felt bad about pressing my mother, who said she would contact me tomorrow, and I turned on the TV to calm my mind at home, as I was anxiously pacing around.

A name I had heard a lot was popping out.

Didn’t that mean that the people who had already appeared in the original world no longer existed?

‘Is it a person with the same name?’

A person whose actions and personality are 180 degrees different from the person I know.

But if you look closely, it seems a bit like the imaginary portrait drawn in modern times.

‘Well…… it wouldn’t be strange if it were real.’

People are greatly influenced by their surroundings as well as their nature.

‘There are cases where you only grow up after going through some hardships.’

Even that jerk, Prince Yangnyeong, could have grown up to be a righteous man like me if he had been born in modern times and lived the same life as me.

‘Huh?’

I felt uneasy, but my thoughts didn’t last long.

Because someone put a hard object to the back of my head.

“Freeze.”

“?!”

I slowly turned my head with both hands raised.

Behind me was an old man aiming a gun at me with fierce eyes.

“Grandfather?”

I asked unconsciously while looking at the old man, but the other person didn’t let down his guard and said, “Who are you? Why did you come into this house?”

“I’m your grandson, Grandpa.”

At my answer, the grandfather trembled with the gun in his hand.

“No, that can’t be. You’re not my grandson! You’re a stranger!”

Looking at the grandfather who was drooling and ranting, I said coldly, “Stop playing around.”

“Damn it, he’s not fooled.”

The grandfather, whose lips drooped down in an instant, slumped down on the spot.

“Didn’t the butler say anything?”

“Did you go senile, Grandpa?”

“Yeah. I played a few pranks on him, and he thinks I’m really senile.”

“I think you really are…….”

Otherwise, what else would he do as soon as he saw his grandson who had returned from a car accident?

“You son of a bitch!”

However, the grandfather, who was hit by my fact bomb, couldn’t stand it and gave me a flick on the forehead.

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve tasted this flick.

Tears welled up in my eyes at the pain that I missed so much.

“W, was it that painful?”

“No, I’m happy.”

“……Crazy bastard.”

The grandfather clicked his tongue while looking at me.

Then he tilted his head and said, “But weren’t you originally more distant from me like this?”

“Wasn’t I originally?”

“That’s right. Originally, you were just an annoying brat, but now you seem friendly…… It feels like I woke up from a long dream.”

The grandfather, who was fiddling with his chin, came to a clear conclusion.

“Well, who cares. It doesn’t matter since this is better.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

I also nodded eagerly.

By the way, the airsoft guns in this world look just like real ones. And the color isn’t painted on either.

I muttered while still fiddling with the gun that was pointed at me.

Then the grandfather asked as if he was talking nonsense, “This is a real gun?”

“No way, really!”

I was horrified and took a step away from the gun.