episode_0172

It is common knowledge that a secret passage exists in the imperial palace. Should I say it’s like ramen and kimchi, or black bean noodles and pickled radish?

Of course, just as not all people in the world live in strict compliance with the law, there are also people who casually commit acts such as serving kimchi instead of pickled radish when ordering black bean noodles.

Of course, such people also exist…

At least this time, you won’t have to worry about such cases.

After all, who are the people we are dealing with now?

You will become the famous Sipsangsi.

‘Strictly speaking, it is now 9th grade, not 1st grade.’

They were called the Ten Sangshi because they were ten slanderers. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, one of them was accused of trying to communicate with the Yellow Hoods and was punished, so the number was reduced by one.

So, strictly speaking, it would be correct to call it Gusangsi instead of Sipsangsi.

In any case, he climbed up from the bottom as a mere eunuch, not an official, and eventually gained power that was close to omnipotent.

There is no need to say how difficult the process to get there must have been.

I don’t know, but I guess I’ve been living a life where every day is like a war.

And as they lived such a fierce life, the people who were bound to be more sensitive to self-sufficiency than anyone else in this land of Luoyang were the Sipsangsi.

This has already been proven by the fact that they tried to join hands with the Yellow Turbans, a traitorous cabal.

The people who do not hesitate to join hands with those who are plotting to overthrow the country in order to maintain power and protect themselves are the old monsters called Sipsanshi. Don’t they have a life-saving tool that they can use when the need arises?

They were the ones who would quickly create secret passages that did not exist in order to survive, so we were confident that the moment the tide turned towards us, they would take us out without even looking back.

Thanks to this, the discussion that naturally arose was about where they would run if they escaped using a secret passage or something.

‘What everyone shouted together at that time was that there was no way they would run away from Luoyang.’

If you think about it, it is natural that their power base is entirely concentrated in Luoyang, or more specifically, in the imperial palace.

But you throw it away and run away?

I would have immediately been reduced to a situation similar to a kite that has lost its strings, but there was no way I would have chosen that option as long as I was still sane.

Therefore, I thought that even if they did escape, they would run somewhere in Luoyang, and as they searched for a possible location to escape to, the place that naturally came to mind was the Empress Dowager Hall.

Since this is where Empress Dowager Dong of Yeongnak, who can be said to be the biggest adult in the current imperial family, stays, it is a place that not only Ha Jin, who is nothing more than a general, but even the newly ascended emperor cannot easily touch.

At the same time, it is a place with plans different from ours, as it plans to place Emperor Ying’s first son, Liu Bian, on the throne.

Therefore, from the perspective of those bastards, this place can only be the safest place in all of Luoyang.

I thought that if they attacked Ren with the intention of plotting a later date, they would definitely head there, so I quickly armed the servants who worked at the Jo clan’s manor in Luoyang and created a temporary force to guard the road leading there.

In fact, there was an underlying reason why Ha Hoo-yeon could not be seen at the scene.

In that sense… the fire that came up from the direction of the Empress Dowager just moments ago was probably shot by Xiahouyeon.

Among the people sent there, there is no one other than her who can shoot an arrow that high.

How long had it been since the sound resembling a hawk’s cry echoed through the imperial palace?

A person who had been deployed with heavy responsibility joined us again.

A middle-aged man with a body that looked quite sturdy for a eunuch was tied up with a thick rope, held in front like a trophy.

Since his life was at stake, did he literally do his best to resist being arrested?

The appearance of Geon-seok, who was dragged away by Ha Hoo-yeon, was quite shabby for a person worthy of being the head of the infamous Sipsangsi.

No, it was beyond shabby and miserable.

The official cap on his head was distorted and crooked, and there was no place on the official uniform he wore that was not engraved with footprints.

Was she secretly satisfied to see the person who had been hindering her from beginning to end acting like that? Jo Jo closed his eyes as he faced Geon-seok, who stumbled and ended up kneeling on the floor.

“It seems like the situation is exactly the opposite of last time. Mr. Sanggun.”

“… Since she is the granddaughter of Queen Bijeong, she should have killed you a long time ago.”

“Are you still not fully aware of the situation? Or what does it mean to live long enough?”

Jojo’s hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed Geonseok’s shoulder.

I was already so battered that there was no place that didn’t ache, so I guess I couldn’t bear it because one more pain was added.

It didn’t seem like he was grabbing it very hard, but Geon-seok’s expression suddenly distorted.

“Ugh… What could I do with a subject I had no intention of saving anyway…”

“Well, isn’t that something you don’t know?”

“What…?”

“Don’t you know? Who is my grandfather?”

Even though we are involved in bad things, in some ways, we can be seen as being of the same faction.

So, if you want to live, prove your worth.

The eyes of Manager Geumgun, who was sitting with him, widened significantly at the words that escaped from his red lips, which seemed to be darker than usual, perhaps because of the chilly weather.

Then, as he was about to move forward with his lips licking, Xiahou Dun and Jo In naturally blocked him.

“If you let me live….”

“If you let me live?”

“I will give you half of this imperial palace.”

“Hmm… sure… that’s a bit appealing.”

Did he at least feel hope in Jojo’s reaction, which seemed to be seriously contemplating?

Geon-seok, who may have thought that he was showing hope that did not come to fruition for the purpose of making fun of him, suddenly changed his attitude whenever he showed only a ritualistic response and began to talk about what he could do.

It was right after that that Cao Cao, who seemed to be struggling as he tapped the handle of the sword he was wearing at his waist with his fingers, nodded his head once.

Did he react to Jojo’s gesture like that? The moment when hope began to well up in Geonseok’s eyes as he lifted his head as if he had been waiting.

Phew!

A sword stuck out through the crumpled and dirty official uniform.

“Uh, why… standing…?”

Could it be that he couldn’t believe the reality that he, who had the imperial palace in his hands and was massaging it as he pleased, had suddenly become no better than a human Tanghulu?

A trembling voice came out of the slightly opened mouth, accompanied by dark red blood.

“Why? Did you really think you would save me?”

A voice that seems to be blatantly mocking.

At the moment when Geon-seok’s twitching eyes filled with poison, he was about to jump up from his seat.

Kwasik!

Ha Hu-yeon, the person who plunged the knife into Geon-seok’s body, used another sword given to him by a soldier to decapitate Geon-seok.

Thanks to this, my body, which had escaped the control of my brain, fell to the floor again, as if I had never tried to get up.

“Phew….”

Even though they are said to be in a relationship due to ill-fated relations, was it inevitable that my mind would naturally become complicated as I witnessed the miserable words of a person who was once at the peak of power right in front of my eyes?

Jojo, who let out a long sigh that made his tail hang white, wiped the blood splattered from his face with his hand, looked down at the headless body lying at his feet, and then pushed it away with his foot.

And then….

“Let’s go, there are still things to organize, right?”

He began leading us again with a more determined expression than before.

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Even within the eunuch forces represented by the Takryu faction, I thought it ended well until Geon-seok, who was in charge of actual military force, was ousted and the eunuchs who remained in Geon-seok’s residence and were fighting were eliminated.

What made me realize that things were going strangely was when I joined up with the main unit, which had briefly split up, to kill off the remaining Sang-si guys after taking down Geon-seok’s compound.

It must have been the moment when those who led this rebellion followed Cao Cao in the name of security and joined the gathering.

I felt it as soon as I reached it.

There’s something strange about the air flowing between people.

A sense of disappointment and sadness.

There were no positive feelings at all and only negative feelings were flowing among the people.

The moment I frowned slightly, wondering what was going on, I wonder if Jojo felt the same atmosphere as me.

Jo Jo looked at the people’s faces for a moment and then turned to Yuan Shao, who seemed to be in good condition among those gathered.

” Herb.”

“… Aman.”

“What’s going on? Why is the atmosphere…”

“Sorry, I was complacent.”

“What?”

“I missed Miss Zhang.”