Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 211

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#211

“Now that we’ve caught one, they’ll unwind like sweet potato vines—one after another.”
“I expected as much, but this one’s clearly a hard case. He won’t open his mouth under any interrogation.”
Given that he’d taken part in treason, the torture he must have endured was beyond imagining.
“But why Nanjing?”
“The man we caught was stationed there until three months ago. So we’re starting the investigation in Nanjing. But the leads are so thin I can’t say whether it’ll take months or years.”
“The Imperial Guard really does have it rough.”
“I don’t think anyone else sees it that way, sir.”
“Standing motionless for hours just to protect the Emperor, sleeping rough in the dust on investigations—is that any way to live? And if you don’t catch the criminal, you won’t get promoted either…… Wait. Did I ever mention Song Daein to you?”
“No, sir. First I’m hearing of it.”
“I was so scattered at the time, I forgot I’d even said it.”
Kang Chan-sik recounted in detail the circumstances surrounding Ak Cheon-gil’s death.
“Ak Cheon-gil mentioned the name Song Daein?”
“I paid no attention then, but if remnants of the gang remain, couldn’t it be this ‘Song Daein’?”
Song was a common surname, and in Beijing alone there must be a hundred people called by that name and the title Daein.
Yet the information Kang Chan-sik had provided was invaluable for narrowing down the suspects.
“Could you stay in Beijing a few more days, sir?”
“What for?”
“You’re the only one who knows anything about this Song Daein.”
“You heard what I said. I only caught the man’s dying words or whatever. What I know and what you know are the same now. Or rather, you know more than I do. At the very least, you’d know a few people in Beijing called Song Daein.”
“There’s no guarantee this Song Daein is even in Beijing, is there?”
“That’s true. I thought it was important information, but it’s turned out to be nothing.”
“Still, we’ve narrowed it down to about two thousand people. Your posting doesn’t have to begin for a few days anyway. Please stay a little longer.”
“No!”
Dan Jeong-cheol bridled at Kang Chan-sik’s firm refusal.
“Do you find your younger brother so disagreeable?”
“I’d happily live in Beijing if it were just you!”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Kang Chan-sik’s voice suddenly dropped.
“The Lords might come to Beijing.”
“The Lords? Why would they?”
“They went to take care of business in the Northern Sea and Sae-oe, and they’re apparently stopping by on their way back to Oseong Jang-won.”
“Then you should just travel with them.”
“Have you ever been picked up by your Lords’ hands and flown?”
“Flown? What do you mean?”
“The whole world turns one color, and everything you ate last year comes right back up…… Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.”
Kang Chan-sik, drowning his queasy stomach in one long gulp of wine, continued.
“Rather than travel with them, I’d crawl to Hangju on my hands and knees. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Is something in your eye? Why are you winking at me? Ha! That’s the kind of look you get when you see a beautiful woman on the road……”
Kang Chan-sik stopped mid-sentence as he felt something cold descend upon him. Swallowing hard, he turned to Dan Jeong-cheol.
“The thing I fear most is happening right now, isn’t it?”
Dan Jeong-cheol nodded.
“I might actually die here, mightn’t I?”
Dan Jeong-cheol glanced behind Kang Chan-sik and made a skeptical face. But Dan Jeong-cheol still did not know what manner of people the Lords of Oseong Jang-won truly were.
Kang Chan-sik’s face twisted as if he might weep at any moment.
“What do I do?”
“What can you do? Your legs will break and you’ll have to crawl to Hangju. You’ll make a decent living begging on the way.”
The voice falling from above belonged to Do Pyeong-su.
“Hehe! He’s just joking, of course! Traveling with the Lords is always the greatest joy of my life.”
Kang Chan-sik sprang to his feet and spun around to bow deeply.
“What a blessing to see you, sirs!”
Do Pyeong-su sat in the empty seat and spoke.
“You won’t make a great name for yourself, but you’ll live long.”
“Living long and lean is the best thing, isn’t it? Hahaha!”
Dan Jeong-cheol also rose and greeted them.
“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you.”
“Master, your complexion seems to have grown worse since you arrived in Beijing.”
At Geom U-bin’s remark, Dan Jeong-cheol scratched the back of his head.
“It’s what comes from eating nothing but the finest at Oseong Jang-won…….”
Seo Seok-san clicked his tongue.
“What’s the point of earning money if you don’t spend it on good food?”
“Could the foods we ate at Oseong Jang-won truly be purchased with coin?”
“Hm? The things we ate were common enough, weren’t they? We just occasionally had tiger meat because Do Pyeong-su had such peculiar tastes. Otherwise it was all grass and greens.”
Only these people would call centuries-old ginseng, ten-thousand-year shou wu, and legendary spirit herbs like Nine-Leafed Red Heart Grass “grass and greens.”
“Yes, quite right.”
Once everyone had settled into their seats, Geom U-bin turned to Kang Chan-sik.
“You’re being appointed as Provincial Governor of Hangju? Congratulations. Or rather, the people of Hangju should be the ones congratulating themselves, having a man of your caliber as their governor.”
“My, my—my only aim is to conduct myself quietly and retire without hearing the whispers of ‘corrupt official’ attached to my name.”
As he answered, Kang Chan-sik understood with perfect clarity: Geom U-bin was indeed more formidable than the emperor himself.
“Lord……, great Lord.”
Dan Jeong-cheol addressed Geom U-bin with visible difficulty.
“What is it?”
“Might it be possible for my brother to remain in Beijing a few days longer?”
“You mean the Provincial Governor? Why?”
Dan Jeong-cheol explained the situation, and throughout his account Kang Chan-sik kept his mouth shut—there was a chance, if things went well, that he might avoid the dubious fortune of returning together with Geom U-bin’s party.
But then Yeon Geum-hong spoke without preamble.
“What makes the Provincial Governor essential to this? What does he know beyond the fact that this Song Daein exists?”
“That may be true, but since we’ve just learned the name, wouldn’t even a little additional investigation prove worthwhile?”
The perceptive Seo Seok-san narrowed his eyes at Dan Jeong-cheol.
“You just want to stay a while longer in Beijing with Chan-sik, don’t you?”
“No, it’s not so much that…….”
“And you’re using the investigation of this Song Daein as an excuse to avoid going to Nanjing.”
Seo Seok-san’s tongue became a blade of truth, carving into Dan Jeong-cheol’s chest until blood began to flow—but Geom U-bin rescued him before the wound went too deep.
“There’s no problem with the Provincial Governor staying in Beijing a few more days. But how do you propose to investigate? You can’t arrest every Song Daein in Beijing, and the title might be used only among their own circles. Beyond that, you’re left with nothing but the surname Song.”
If one was being that strict, the only thing remaining was the Song family name itself.
“We must narrow it down to those with the surname Song who possess both the wealth and authority to orchestrate treason.”
The Imperial Guard and the Censorate had already conducted thorough searches, and the intelligence gathered over that time filled three entire carts.
They had no choice but to sift through the Songs among all that data.
Geom U-bin posed a question.
“By now you’ve surely mobilized every intelligence network to find suspects, haven’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Then perhaps the reason you haven’t found him yet is that he’s someone unexpected?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Someone no one thought of. The very person you’re certain could never be the criminal—he could be the culprit after all.”
The reason no one suspected the Hangju conspirators of being the Hyeolpung Saja was that they had lived lives completely different from their former selves.
“You’re suggesting a change in perspective?”
“I’m merely offering my thoughts.”
The moment Geom U-bin’s voice fell silent, a name flashed across Dan Jeong-cheol’s mind.
‘Song Jin-myeong.’
But he immediately shook his head.
‘No, that Grand Academician couldn’t possibly……. The name simply came to mind because he happens to be a Song. That’s all.’
The Grand Academician, who served as the emperor’s secretary, held the rank of Rank 3 Official, yet his actual power exceeded that of the Rank 2 Official who headed the Six Ministries.
Because the Grand Academician oversaw all the major and minor affairs of the Imperial Palace, he was a man who held knowledge of every secret.
His feelings rejected the notion that it was Song Jin-myeong, but contrary to his emotions, his mind continued to work.
‘Those who know the positions of all imperial relatives and officials—you can count them on one hand, even within the Forbidden City.’
Of course, Song Jin-myeong was one of that handful. Among those ten or so individuals, the only other person with the Song surname was a eunuch attached to the Court Rites Directorate.
‘Could it be Song Chang-hak?’
But Song Chang-hak had no more reason to participate in treason than Song Jin-myeong—in fact, were the current emperor to fall, his life wouldn’t be worth saving even ten times over, making him far less likely than Song Jin-myeong.
And so his thoughts drifted back to Song Jin-myeong.
‘That man, who holds loyalty as dearly as life itself—could he have been party to treason?’
If you asked a hundred scholars aspiring to official life to name a figure they respected, sixty would speak Song Jin-myeong’s name—a man who had become the model for all.
“It seems someone has come to mind.”
Startled by Geom U-bin’s reading of his complex expression, Dan Jeong-cheol fumbled for words.
“There is someone……, but no—that man could never be capable of plotting such treason.”
“That judgment is yours to make.”
“If word were to get out that I had investigated him, I would not survive it.”
As a member of the Imperial Guard investigating treason, he wouldn’t face punishment.
But investigating Song Jin-myeong—a man who commanded universal respect and enjoyed the Emperor’s favor—without any solid evidence would at minimum cost him a demotion.
Geom U-bin spoke.
“You could always pretend you didn’t notice. Then there’d be no trouble at all.”
Failing to catch a criminal didn’t necessarily bring censure, so from a self-preservation standpoint, that was ideal.
But since becoming an Imperial Guard, Dan Jeong-cheol had never once shirked what duty demanded of him, no matter the personal cost.
“If I get thrown out of the Imperial Guard, will Oseong Jang-won take me in?”
Seo Seok-san spoke bluntly.
“Dogs eat well enough here.”
Dan Jeong-cheol, who had set down his wine cup with a sharp clink, sprang to his feet.
“I’ll stake my life on this, then!”
Geom U-bin turned to Kang Chan-sik.
“You’ll need to go with Vice Commander Dan, won’t you?”
Kang Chan-sik, who had been reaching for his cup, froze.
“Why me?”
“You’re the one who provided information about Song Daein. If we catch the criminal, you’ll earn another great merit.”
Kang Chan-sik’s expression darkened at once.
“I don’t want merit. Surely the Lord has no intention of taking credit himself? After all, it was really you who caught Ak Cheon-gil, wasn’t it? I just happened to be at a table that was already set.”
“All the merit belongs to you, Kang Chan-sik. And if something goes wrong, there’s no way it could harm you, is there?”
The last question was directed at Dan Jeong-cheol.
“Of course not. Whatever happens, I won’t let any trouble reach you.”
Kang Chan-sik rose awkwardly, uncertain what he even wanted anymore.
If this Song Daein was indeed the man Dan Jeong-cheol suspected, then catching him would mean earning merit and facing that uncomfortable audience with the Emperor again.
But if he wasn’t, Dan Jeong-cheol himself could face disaster.
‘There’s nothing good in any of this!’

***

Back at the Imperial Guard headquarters, Dan Jeong-cheol launched his investigation immediately. It was not his method to decide on a suspect first and then fit the evidence to match.
True investigative work meant building the case from evidence to suspect, and that was the only way to avoid framing the innocent.
Yet the necessity of proceeding with a predetermined suspect sat in his chest like indigestion, impossible to ignore.
With no leads to work from, this was the only path available. He began by investigating the one connection he’d secured in this entire affair of treason: the relationship between Bong Tae-jung, a clerk from the Ministry of Justice, and Song Jin-myeong.
Since Bong Tae-jung was a clerk under the Ministry of Justice, he would have had frequent contact with Song Jin-myeong, the Grand Academician.
Dan Jeong-cheol pored over documents detailing the past activities of Song Jin-myeong and Bong Tae-jung.
Kang Chan-sik, who had reluctantly tagged along, pitched in to help—better that than sitting idle doing nothing.
Grappling with documents was always one of the most tedious labors in the world.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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