CH 2

“Oh, Master Choi..! What brings you here at this late hour?”

It was 2:00 a.m. and the gatekeeper who was about to lock the gate blinked his eyes. When he got the reins from him, the distressed-looking Choi Haengsoo jumped off the horse in a hurry, pushed the gatekeeper, and squeezed himself between the half-closed gate.

“Master Choi…! Master Choi…!”

“I came to see the Lord…! I have something urgent to report, tell him I’m here…!”

“Pardon? At this hour?”

“Even if the Lord is immersed in his sleep, tell him I must see him..!”

“Choi Haengsoo is a person who understands and follows the rules properly. Everyone knows that he would not emit such rude behavior unless bothered by something. Due to the disturbance caused by Choi Haengsoo, the servants who came out to the front yard moved in unison to guide him to the inner room and prepare refreshments. However, he didn’t even touch the tea he was treated with, he just shook his legs angrily as if he were anxious.”

“Choi Haengsoo, what was it that made you want to see me so urgently?”

Soon after, Chae Yoonjik entered the room in clothes that made it clear that he had just gotten out of bed. Choi Haengsoo stood up from his seat and bowed to pay his respects, but Chae Yoonjik raised his hand in response to his greeting.

“Sit down. What on earth is the matter?”

“Take a look at this.”

“……What is this?”

“It’s a tag.”

“What about it? Tags are common.”

“Do you see how ‘Chungchunsung’ is engraved on the back? When you came from Joongkyung, you created a list of all the officials and collected the old tags and made new ones. So, how is this one still around?”

“That’s right. That time, I had Kang prepare the list, so there must have been no mistakes, but how did this….?”

“There must’ve been a spy who stole this.”

Chae Yoonjik was greatly shaken by Choi Haengsoo’s words, but there was only one thing he could think of now. This tag was a tool to prove the identity of the officials, as they had to show it when they passed the palace gate to be able to enter. In other words, having the tag meant that one had the right to enter and exit the castle at will. If it was in the possession of an outsider, it means that the palace was infiltrated from the outside.

“Hmm…. where did you find this?”

“A guest at Haeyunkwan gave out gold and silver then left. He had it on him.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know. They said he came from Joongkyung…….”

Chae Yoonjik, who was silently listening to Choi Haengsoo, knocked on the table a few times to call the servant standing outside into the room.

“Bring Kang. There’s no list now, but I’m sure he remembers everything.”

In other words, the list of those with a tag is not just a list of officials, it should not be leaked to the public. Therefore, after distributing the new tags, the list was burnt right away. If it had been any other case, they would have lamented over that fact, but it was unnecessary for them to do so.

“I will write up the list of the officials again, My Lord.”

This is because there was Chae Kang, who was called the living library.

“As expected, you really do remember..! You’re simply marvelous. How do you not forget anything after seeing it once? Incredible, you’re truly incredible..!”

“It is an insignificant ability.”

Chae Kang was the child of a concubine that Chae Yoonjik had hidden, and externally, he was the same as a foster son. This was because Chae Yoonjik kept the existence of the concubine a secret. There was a time when Chae Yoonjik followed the battlefield when San joined the military in Changchunsung. For 10 years, he wasn’t able to look after his family and was unaware of his wife’s death when he stayed at a remote site for 2 years, busy suppressing the warring states.

Chae Yoonjik was greatly saddened by this. Considering that his wife fell ill and died alone while praying for the safety and well-being of the warriors and outsiders, Chae Yun-jik professed that he could not think of any other woman as a wife.

When Chae Yoonjik, who had such a history, returned after taking over the lordship of Changchunsung, Choi Haeng-su learned that he had a young concubine and also noticed his son from her. However, considering Chae Yoonjik’s reputation, Choi Haengsoo had been pretending to be unaware of this as he realized it would not be an easy issue to talk about as the former clearly wanted to hide this fact.

Whether they knew this or not, Chae Yoonjik and Chae Kang were still pretending not to have a single drop of blood mixed together, so Choi Haengsoo had no choice but to wait until they told him first.

“It’s done.”

“Oh, you are?”

“Yes.”

“Based on this, we can compare and sort them out one by one.”

PR/N: The line was joined with the next one.

Choi Haengsoo cried out with a hopeful face, and Chae Yoonjik nodded politely.

“Based on this, we can compare and sort them out one by one.” Choi Haengsoo cried out with a hopeful face. Chae Yoonjik nodded politely.

“Then I shall take my leave and go to sleep. I don’t think there’s anything else left for me to do.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

When Kang bowed and left the room, Chae Yoonjik put down the list written by Kang in front of him, however, he had no idea whose tag it was among them. Kang was in charge of personally collecting and distributing all the tags, and given his abilities, he could not have missed anyone. At this rate, this would cause them to suspect someone who is innocent for no reason……

When the two of them put their heads together and contemplated it over and over again, there was suddenly a commotion outside. Even before Chae Yoonjik called in his servant to ask what was going on, he heard a shout from the gate.

“My Lord, it is I, Youngchun.”

“Come in.”

“Youngchun, what’s going on?”

“One of Master Choi’s people from Haeyunkwan captured someone and brought him here.”

“Captured? Don’t tell me……!”

“I was told you’d know if I say ‘the person who had the tag’…….”

Even before Youngchun finished talking, Choi Haengsoo sprung from his seat and ran outside without any hesitation. Chae Yoonjik also failed to keep his composure as it was such an urgent issue, so he followed Youngchun with quick steps.

The hallway was filled with the sound of thumping footsteps, and as they reached the cloister, they eventually found a man kneeling on the ground in the cold air. A bonfire was lit, but it was hard to discern his face as it was covered with a black sack. Chae Yoonjik and Choi Haengsoo stepped down the stone stairs.

“Is he the man who had that tag?”

“Yes, he is. This man came back to Haeyunkwan to find the tag, so I dragged him here.

Chae Yoonjik approached the man with a slightly reluctant face as he blinked his eyes at those who captured him. Those who were standing on either side of the man, pressing on his shoulders roughly, ripped the sack off the man’s face and stepped back.

“The sack smells rotten. What was in it?”

As soon as the sack was taken off, the man started coughing continuously. The face of this man who was kneeling and facing the ground was still obscure. Chae Yoonjik took a small torch from the bonfire and brought it towards the man’s face. And then,

“……Oh my God..!”

As if he had seen a ghost, his face turned blue as he stepped backwards, then fell flat on the cold, dirt ground and prostrated himself.

“My Lord, who exactly is he, that you are so shocked?”

Choi Haengsoo took a step closer to the pale faced Chae Yoonjik, and asked. Chae Yoonjik blinked a few times as if he were mute. Then he opened his mouth.

“My Lord, who exactly is he, that you are so shocked?” Choi Haengsoo took a step closer to the pale-faced Chae Yoonjik, and asked. Chae Yoonjik blinked a few times as if he were mute, then he opened his mouth.

“I’m San from Joongkyung. By the way, Old Man…… isn’t this too much? I came to visit after so long…….”

“Your Majesty…!”

The man sitting on the ground only smiled.

“How did you come all the way to this shabby place?”

Chae Yoonjik asked, with a sorry expression. San glanced at the number of people with unknown faces, with heads lower than Chae Yoonjik.

“What do you mean by a shabby place, Old Man? Would you call the place I was born and raised, shabby? This is the land where the Chang Empire originated from.

“……Punish the sinner.”

“Just kidding. ……Anyhow, how about you untie me? It’s uncomfortable because I can’t move my hands.”

When San rolled his eyes and looked at his tied hands, Choi Haengsoo, who was trembling and waiting for his command, lifted his upper body in a bustling manner and approached him, still in a kneeling position. He pulled out the dagger he was wearing on his waist and tried to take it toward the knot. At that time, San roared with a harsh voice.

“Hey! You dare lay a dagger on me…?!”

It was such a situation in which he never thought that San would come to this distant place without prior notice. Choi Haengsoo never dreamed that he would see the emperor without any preparation, so he was scared out of his wits and the mishap came to a halt. Thus, he only realized from his strict words that drawing a dagger to cut the rope could be considered treason. Choi Haengsoo threw his dagger into the distance and banged his forehead on the ground to implore.

“Your Majesty, please kill this imprudent man…!”

“Just kidding. Cut it quickly.”

“Pardon?”

“I was just kidding. Use that knife to cut the rope. It’s too frustrating to untie the knot because I can’t wait.”

As Choi Haengsoo was terribly perplexed and nervous, Chae Yoonjik, who was still prostrating, raised his head a little and made eye contact with Choi Haengsoo. When Choi Haengsoo, with a tearful face, looked at the Lord with a face hoping for help, Chae Yoonjik nodded once.

“Please forgive me for my disrespect.”

“Mhm.”

San, who was finally free after being captured and tied up, shook his left wrist in the air. After letting out a sigh while sitting on the ground, he realized that numerous people were prostrating themselves around him.

“Why are you all on the ground like that?”

“P… Please kill us…….”

“Why would I kill you without you doing anything? Get up and go back to what you were doing.”

Many servants were agitated by San’s words. The emperor they had envisioned was not like this. Rumors about him, who was called the tyrant of the warring states period as the rare pungun*, were truly frightening. It was only natural as on this earth, the emperor was a bigger and more terrifying being than the invisible God.

[*T/N: Roughly means someone with tremendous talent who played a major role in an event]

But what about the man sitting in front of them and turning his wrist? The mercy was frightening enough, but isn’t there a lack of sternness somewhere? The servants doubted whether the founder was truly the emperor they had only heard of.

In any case, they stood up and stepped back to finish what they were previously doing before San urged them any further. Chae Yoonjik also raised his head.

But there was only one person who was still trembling.

“Is this the Choi Haengsoo the old man mentioned?”

“Yes. He is very trustworthy.”

“Stop trembling and stand up. Show me your face. I need to see exactly who the old man’s right hand is.”

At San’s words, Choi Haengsoo stood up from position with his eyes still averted downwards. Then, he put his hands in front of him. As San started looking Choi Haengsoo up and down with his arms crossed, Choi Haengsoo became even more nervous. His heart was pounding so hard and he wondered if its sound could be heard outside. It was all the more so because he had no idea what was going to come out of the emperor’s mouth.

“Hm, you look like a mountain bandit.”

However, the opinion was unexpectedly dull. San soon lost interest in him and turned to Chae Yun-jik.

“……That’s right, Old Man! Give me a room. I didn’t think the Old Man would like it, so I had planned to stay at a guesthouse. But I gave away all my money at the gibang. I’m a bum now.

“Why would I not like it? Makes no sense. I didn’t even think that I would have the honor to see the face of Your Highness again after what happened.”

“Honor, what even. Anyway, quickly show me a place to stay, and don’t even think of sleeping tonight. Do you know how many things I have to tell you? And I have many questions as well. The Old Man has a lot to tell me too, right?”

San chattered like a child with Chae Yoonjik. Choi Haengsoo was quite surprised to see that. Chae Yoonjik, a founding contributor, was appointed to the far outskirts because he was known to have angered the Emperor.

It is said that it took 10 years for San to build an army here in Chungchunsung to advance to the center and establish Chang. Chae Yoonjik was born 66 years ago in Chungchunsung, and even before San was born, he served as a vassal of the Lord of Chungchunsung.

Due to his simple and honest personality, Chae Yoonjik was in charge of disciplining San when he was young, and later, when San grew up to be the Lord of Chungchunsung, he provided him with constant advice and constructive criticism. In addition, Chae Yoonjik was still next to San even when he declared the founding of Chang in the place where the Yeon Dynasty declined.

However, this glory did not last long as Chae Yoonjik brought upon his great wrath in an incident. He was, therefore, stripped of his status as a contributor to the founding empire and was sent to Changchunsung, the easternmost part of the empire.

With this chain of events, Choi Haengsoo thought the emperor had scruples about interacting with Chae Yoonjik. Of course, it’s not like there was nothing strange about it. The biggest question was why the emperor, who changed the name and declared that Changchunsung was the birthplace of the Chang Empire, sent the sinner here.

However, he thought it was of great disrespect to ask Chae Yoonjik directly, and pondered about the past inwardly.

Given the known facts, what of the Emperor’s current attitude towards Chae Yoonjik? Doesn’t he disregard all his dignity as the emperor and act like an old friend? Besides, for reasons unknown, he came to see him all the way in the distant Changchunsung without anyone accompanying him. Choi Haengsoo’s thoughts were all tangled up.

“Your Majesty, what brings you all the way here? This old man was so startled, he almost had a heart attack.”

“Hm? That’s because I thought it was time to meet the old man. Since I was paying a visit to Beiyang, I thought I’d head out to see how you were doing since Changchunsung is very close. It’s the first time I’ve been apart from you for so long. It’s been 5 years already.”

“How could a sinner remain beside the emperor? …You spared my life…….”

“The real sinner is someone else.”

San quickly hardened his expression and clenched his jaw. After observing the scene for a while, Chae Yoonjik thought it’d be better to change the subject. There is nothing more foolish than talking about politics in a meeting where you haven’t met each other for a long time.

“But, Your Majesty, why did you travel so far alone without your guards? What if you got hurt? There’s no issue with Your Majesty coming to this land, but would you be able keep yourself intact from east to west…… This one thing is my only concern. It would take 6 days even if you rode straight without resting at all, and then what about state affairs?”

“Ugh……. Nag, nag, nag…!”

San frowned and covered his ears. However, as he was saying that, it didn’t seem that he didn’t want to hear the nagging of the old man. Rather, he had a strange smile around his mouth, as if he had missed his ceaseless advice.

“There’s no one like the old man in Joongkyung”

“…….”

“But then again, it’s not that I need someone like you. I need you.”

He knew that San needed him, and he also knows that this was an unparalleled honor for an old servant like him. However, Chae Yoonjik had already decided to die here, thinking it was of best help for San. San was also aware of Chae Yoonjik’s innermost thoughts and feelings, and so, did not push the matter too much.

“Old man, I think I’m having a child.”

“Is that true, Your Majesty? A child? That is great news…!”

“It’s annoying because it’s not from the womb I wanted.”

Chae Yun-jik, understanding what the emperor meant, looked apologetic. In the early days of the country’s founding, the court had not yet found complete stability. The people who had been scattered formed various groups and gathered together and supported the same emperor, so conflicts were frequent.

San always felt tired easily watching such a power struggle, and said, “I jumped into the war for nothing. I should’ve lived in Changchunsung roughly and died.” He only expressed this in front of those worthy of his trust.

“Do you wish for it to not be a prince?”

“It cannot be a prince.”

“……My apologies”

“Get me a brazier. I’m going to smoke Namryeongcho.”

T/N: When first introduced, tobacco was called “Dambago” or “Namryeongcho,” Dambago originated from the pronunciation of the word tobacco, and Namryeongcho means “a divine grass from the south.”

The smoke of the two people’s Namryeongcho wafted through the room, and only after time passed and the dawn rooster cried, did the room’s light go out. It was the deepest and most comfortable sleep San had since he established Chang.