episode_0144

*** ***

“You declined.”

“Keuung.”

I don’t know what made him angry at lunch yesterday, but in any case, Hyuk Kirin’s anger hasn’t gone away yet.

I was lost in thought while eating royal food. Maybe it was because I was eating alone, but even though it was a high-quality meal that was not much different from the meal I had yesterday, my appetite was not very good.

“Phew.”

Even though I cleaned up all the dishes without any leftovers, the reason I wasn’t as satisfied as yesterday was probably because I ate lunch alone. I felt like I knew what it was like to be alone in a crowd after being surrounded by court ladies who had a strangely hostile attitude.

I completely emptied my cup of Yongjeong tea and fell into contemplation. I guess it was because I was bothered by Hyuk Kirin’s attitude.

Which part was the problem…

First, let’s look back at the premise.

It is certain that the emperor called us to the imperial palace to meet Hyeok Kirin.

And the court ladies of Gungcheongjeon are well aware of the fact that Hyeok Kirin is a cross-dresser and a princess.

The thing that remained on Hyeok Kirin’s head was clear evidence. The fact that the imperial palace, which confiscated foreign goods in an editorial manner, kept only Hyeok Kirin’s case was proof that the court ladies knew that Hyuk Kirin was a crossdresser and a princess.

I could say that Hyuk Kirin and I were quite close. I knew that she was a woman who disguised herself as a man, and because of her relationship with Yeo Il-ye, she went through the Sichuan incident together and spent quite a long time in the fortune-telling group.

hmm.

No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think that gentle and kind-hearted Hyeok Kirin would be so angry at the fact that I said I was a ‘friend’.

Perhaps there were circumstances that made it unavoidable.

“Um.”

I was conscious of the eyes of the strict court ladies who were obsessively watching my every move. Although I did not take the imperial palace lightly, it was true that I did not expect that it would suffocate people to this extent.

It’s rigor beyond imagination.

In the morning, I thought I was going to die from suffocation. While practicing for an audience, 10 court ladies came in and lined up like courtiers… Wow, more than 10 people were shooting rays of light with their eyes, and I thought they were suffocating.

In addition, they measure the measurements to refine the garments, and they put a ruler in 50,000 places from head to toe… why are they measuring the length of hair, why are they looking at the color of the tongue and eyes… These are all reflected in refining the garments. When I heard that it was possible, I couldn’t help but hold my tongue.

Look, even now, even though it was tea time after lunch, there were more than a few court ladies who were constantly examining me with sharp eyes like blades.

I thought they were being strict on the first day to take the lead, but they seemed to regard the first day as just the first day.

“Hmm…”

If the imperial palace is this strict, Hyuk Kirin’s reaction yesterday is somewhat understandable. Aren’t there a lot of stories like this? It is said that people from high-ranking families have to be selective about making friends.

I tried to objectify my situation.

A Sichuan ronin is, after all, a ronin, and his martial arts skills are top-notch, his name is not particularly known, and his identity is, strictly speaking, unknown.

In this strict imperial palace, it’s not enough to say we’re friends.

I guess that’s why he got angry.

I thought about it from Hyeok Kirin’s perspective for a moment. Yes, the imperial palace could be said to be Hyeok-ki-rin’s home, and its family customs were strict beyond imagination. Since you’ve returned home after such a long time, you probably want to show only good things.

You may want to show that you have succeeded as a martial artist, both to reassure your family and to be recognized for what you have achieved.

however.

At best, a first-class ronin shows off that he is very friendly in front of a court lady?

Even if you call them Sacheon ronin, they are still ronin. What type of occupation is a ronin? Prospective criminal and potential outlaw. Isn’t he a scoundrel who doesn’t hesitate to kill people for money and persecutes the common people at his leisure?

How would the imperial palace view Hyeok Kirin if he became close friends with such a top-notch person but with nothing special? Even if I am the emperor and the imperial grandson, I can’t help but look worried at Hyeok Kirin, who hangs out with Ho Cheon-an and others.

It would also be difficult for Hyuk Kirin, who only wants to show his good side.

Now that I think about it, Hyuk Kirin was in a strange state even before I said the friend line. When he saw me, he looked at me a lot and acted awkwardly. Maybe Hyuk Kirin was just sending a signal right then and there to let me know that Hyuk Kirin was in trouble.

“No matter how much I think about it, it seems like that…”

Wow Mr. Hocheonan. I lost all sense of being a fully functioning member of society. If a person repeats such strange behavior, you should have sensed something. It took another full day to realize this.

I completely ignored Hyuk Kirin’s signal to please stop pretending to be friendly and just move on quietly and pretended to be friendly, so Hyuk Kirin had no choice but to pretend to get angry and keep his distance from me.

It wasn’t something that Hyuk Kirin should be upset about. I was a fool for forgetting the difference in social status. Could it be that I put Hyeok Kirin in trouble with my trolling?

“Hmm…”

Okay, let’s not embarrass Hyeok Kirin and just live quietly while we are in the palace.

You should also be as sincere as possible in your education. My reputation could soon lead to Hyuk Kirin’s reputation, but I just thought it was boring, so I showed too much of an insincere attitude.

We can’t help what happened, so we have to make up for it.

“Afternoon work time.”

“Hmm! I’m ready!”

I strengthened my resolve, focused my eyes, and looked at the middle-aged court lady.

“Today, we will learn about the education that the female servants of the imperial palace receive.”

“….Hmm?”

“Let’s find out what kind of environment the female concubines of the imperial palace grow up in, what kind of education they receive, and what kind of bridal classes they receive.”

As I looked at the court lady speaking in a strangely oppressive tone, I wondered what this was, but I quickly shook off my doubts. The content of the class doesn’t really matter. First of all, restoring your reputation comes first.

“Hmm. I understand.”

I nodded with enthusiasm, and the middle-aged court lady looked at me for a moment, muttered something, and then started class.

*** ***

“What is this?”

Sima Jinghui, the admiral of Dongchang and a member of the prestigious Sima family, bowed his head.

“I apologize. Your Majesty.”

From the first line, Yu-kyung frowned. Origin unknown? What are the details of his whereabouts until the age of 15? Is this a report from an intelligence organization called the famous alumni?

“Are there any clues to guess the origin?”

“Completely absent… After reviewing his behavior and impressions at the time, it is highly likely that he was from a slash-and-burn farmer or a nomad rather than a descendant of a prestigious family… but that is only circumstantial evidence and there are no clues to his origins. Not at all.”

It feels like it fell from the sky. Sima Qinghui’s words rose up in his throat, but he did not say them out loud. Does it make sense for a person to fall from the sky? I just couldn’t find it.

“Tsk. Let’s find out for sure.”

“Chung!”

Yu-kyung frowned at her conflicting feelings and evaluated Ho Cheon-an. Yu-kyung was quite interested in the Sichuan martial forest where Hyuk Kirin was active. When it comes to the characteristics of Sichuan, it is Sichuan Province, and the most heterogeneous beings in Sichuan Province were the Sichuan people.

Yu-gyeong does not know much about Sacheon ronin, but he has as much knowledge as the people of Sacheon.

‘It was said that Sichuan people handle their work while hiding in the shadow of anonymity. Is it a good ability to completely hide one’s background and something that should be praised…’

It is unlikely that the classmate did his best to conduct a household survey in Hocheonan. However, Ho Tian-an was one of the people the emperor needed to have an audience with. That too is a martial artist. Even though it was Hyuk Kirin’s side, it would not have been investigated so lightly.

The fact that he was able to protect his personal information from the hands of such a classmate was a skill worthy of recognition.

Yu-gyeong continued to read the report, feeling somewhere between the discomfort of not knowing Ho Cheon-an’s origins and the satisfaction that he still had to have this level of ability to become her brother-in-law.

Yu-kyung read until the middle of the report, put it down for a moment and looked at the sky.

Sima Gyeong-hwi understood Yu-gyeong’s feelings and bowed his head deeply.

“Is this….true?”

“…There is not a single lie in the report.”

“Huh….Huh…”

Yu-kyung felt dizzy and leaned her head against the throne. The hard feel of the throne’s back pressed down on her head, but that wasn’t what was important to Yu-kyung.

“…After becoming a ronin. You snooped around the gambling den every day and gambled all night?”

Sima Qinghui bowed silently.

“And you snooped around the gambling den every single day for 5 years… and always lost a huge amount of money?”

I bowed further.

“According to estimates, most of the enormous income he earned as a Sichuan ronin…was all squandered through gambling?”

“Please let us know! Your Majesty!”

The eunuchs and Sima Jinghui bowed in unison and bowed their heads. There was no answer from Yu-gyeong for a while, and when Sima Kyung-hwi couldn’t bear it any longer and raised his head, Yu-gyeong was staring blankly into space.

“Hehe…”

Yu-kyung let out a laugh. Sacheon ronin… I like to say it, but I’m a sacheon ronin. Isn’t it a job where you sell your pride as a warrior for money? Match-fixing, surprise attacks, etc. In the end, they either lose badly or shamelessly attack first with a surprise attack…

I thought I could do that because Yu-kyung had enough knowledge about the lives of the poor.

But… I lost my pride and sold it for the money.

“Gambling…”

I gambled. He stays up all night gambling, so much so that he loses his pride and throws all the money he sold on the gambling table.

Grumbling.

Two streams of hot tears flowed from Yu-kyung’s eyes.

Sima Jinghui and the eunuchs were so shocked that he hit his head on the floor.

“Please let us know! Your Majesty!”

“Please let us know! Your Majesty!”

Even as the eunuch and the admiral repeatedly took pictures of her head and asked for calm in a sorrowful tone, Yu-gyeong lowered her head in tears.

“All of this is my vice.”

“Please let us know! Your Majesty!”

“How can I raise my head to see His Majesty the Emperor in the underworld?”

“Your Majesty…”

The subjects held their breath at Yu-gyeong’s earnest voice.

The guy named Ho Cheon-an was a man whose job was to fake defeat and run away, and he was a gambling addict who lost and lost again and again at the gambling table!

I can’t believe Hyeok Kirin has such a miserable man in her heart!

Yu-kyung truly felt responsibility and shed tears of sorrow. Since she left the imperial palace at a young age, she was not able to establish a proper view of the opposite sex, and since she left the imperial palace and lived as a cross-dressing woman, she ended up giving her heart to such a ridiculous bastard!

“Jim was unlucky and lacked strength, so Yuya had no choice but to decide to go to the martial arts. As a girl, I was put in a situation where I didn’t receive a proper education, I couldn’t raise my head, and I even ended up giving my heart to someone like that… If all this isn’t my vice…!”

“Your Majesty…!”

Sima Qinghui lowered his head with a sombre expression, and hot tears flowed from the eunuch’s eyes.

Yu-kyung, who was sad and shed tears for a while, controlled her heart. okay. First, let’s take a look at this top called Hocheonan. It was already clear that he was a gambling addict who would destroy his family’s roots, but there were still many reports left.

Yu-kyung chuckled as she read the report.

“Hahahaha! okay! There was a dispute while practicing witchcraft, and it was not resolved by drawing a sword, but through Yabawi! Ahahahaha!”

“Please let us know! Your Majesty!”

“Hahahaha! Hey Admiral! And the eavesdroppers! Look here! After being invited to the Jeomchang school, he taught hand techniques to Zen masters! Ahahahahahaha! In that school of fortune-telling, a single ronin is teaching Zen masters hand techniques! They say they taught me! It’s being used in the name of children’s education! Hahahahaha!”

Where is the martial arts sect whose classmates are risking their lives to gather information? Of course, he was a fortune-teller. It was possible that the Hyukkirin faction could have their hands on Jeomchang, and even if it was not a matter of the faction, there was always a need to check whether any troubles would occur to Hyeokgirin and whether there was any abnormality in the movements of the Jeomchang faction that protected Hyeokkirin.

Therefore, Dongchang was able to find out what Ho Cheon-an was doing in the Jeomchang Sect.

“Khehehe! If it’s too much of a gamble, it looks like you can’t live without it! If you have passion and interest in gambling, you will be the best gambler in the world! Hehehe…”

Everyone bowed their heads to the sound of Yu-kyung’s laughter, unable to tell whether she was crying or laughing.

“Be prepared.”

Sima Gyeong-hwi raised his head at Yu-gyeong’s cold voice.

“…Your Majesty?”

“I need to see that bastard right away.”

Yu-kyung’s eyes were burning brightly.