He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 133

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

Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe (4)

The world is wide and there are many crazy bastards.

I don’t know who said this, but I think this saying is a famous quote on the level of “A nation that forgets its history has no future.”

There are truly many people in this world who commit atrocities I could never even imagine.

There are those like Kwon Je who are socially high-ranking but engage in drunken violence when they return home, and there was even a bastard worse than a pig or dog who impregnated a 7-year-old girl during some king’s reign in Joseon.

Ordinary people living normal lives are sometimes horrified and sometimes deeply shocked by the atrocities of such criminals who deserve universal condemnation.

“Scribe Kim, in all my life, this is the first time I’ve seen such an insane petition. Just reading it gives me a headache. Isn’t this petition as vile and ominous as Former Goryeo?”

That bastard Kwon Je wrote and submitted a petition with content that exceeded my imagination.

He said that from the early days of marriage, his wife would argue against everything he said from one to ten, and constantly nagged him about everything, making it impossible for him to have comfortable rest at home.

Also, when he took a concubine, she showed such venomous jealousy that he was afraid to enter his house and had to flee to the gibang after work hours…

In the process of correcting his wife’s jealousy and arrogance, he had no choice but to resort to violence, and this was a rod of love he had to use as the head of household to correct his wife’s wrongdoings – that’s how he wrote it.

‘What a fucking crazy bastard.’

“How can a scholar who learned the way of Confucius and Mencius write such a vicious text? Its vileness is beyond description.”

When you access internet community sites, there are bastards who spread all kinds of disgusting photos.

Would it feel like writing out every detailed part of such photos in text?

No, it was much more disgusting than those things, incomparably so.

“This petition was also discussed in Pyeonjeon Hall. His Majesty said that if he allowed divorce for such ridiculous reasons, Joseon’s laws would collapse, and he spoke harsh words that were difficult to put in one’s mouth. He spoke so severely that the court historians had to tone it down on their own.”

It was somewhat surprising that King Sejong didn’t allow the divorce, but I could fully understand his reasons for not allowing it.

In modern countries, even if a woman gets divorced, she can somehow make a living on her own, but Joseon is a country that lives and dies by etiquette and honor.

In such a Joseon, if a yangban family’s daughter gets ‘divorced,’ that woman would carry a stigma equivalent to being a ‘murderer’ in Korea for the rest of her life.

Since Kwon Je’s wife’s family is fairly well-off, the divorced woman wouldn’t starve to death, but…

She would probably live her entire life receiving all kinds of criticism and contempt.

Moreover, if this case were accepted and the divorce went through, it would become a kind of precedent, so he’s probably also worried about the increase in bastards who would abuse this.

Even in modern national courts today, there are countless cases where matters that received not guilty verdicts until yesterday suddenly get guilty verdicts from the Supreme Court today, and then everything after that becomes guilty verdicts one after another.

Would Joseon be any different?

Being abused is already unjust, but if she gets divorced on top of that and faces social burial, that would be like pouring salt on an open wound.

“So His Majesty has made that judgment.”

“His Majesty said he would personally issue a stern written reprimand. Usually such documents are written by the Office of Royal Decrees, but he said he would write this reprimand himself with his own hand.”

“His Majesty must be very angry. However, I think differently. I believe we must allow the divorce in this case.”

“Really? I’m very curious about what reasoning our written memorial Scribe Kim has this time for saying such things. Go ahead and tell me. Such audacity to directly point out that His Majesty’s personal decision in court was wrong. Even Jeong Mong-ju of Former Goryeo wouldn’t reach your ankles.”

Jeong Mong-ju is a great loyal subject who is considered the only ‘unblemished figure’ in Former Goryeo.

Being compared to such a person is quite a burdensome thing.

But have I ever lived my official life worrying about such things? I’ve just lived according to my convictions.

If things go wrong, I can just submit a resignation petition and return to my hometown to live leisurely.

Also, judging by how he called me by the nickname “written memorial,” it seems the Chief Minister finds it somewhat annoying that I immediately stepped forward with a counterargument.

“Kwon Je is an extremely brutal bastard.”

When I called Kwon Je, who held a high second-rank official position, by his ‘real name,’ Hwang Hee’s eyes flashed wide open.

In Joseon, there’s a taboo against calling yangban by their ‘real names’ except for the king, one’s father, or one’s teacher.

Breaking this taboo is equivalent to saying “Your mother is a whore” to someone’s face in 21st century Korea.

If a murder case occurred between yangban because someone called the other’s real name without special reason, this would probably be grounds for tremendous sentence reduction.

Instead of receiving a death sentence, it would be reduced to exile or beating with a stick.

Since I committed such an outrageous act, he had no choice but to be shocked.

“Ram-i, whom I took as my disciple, and his sister fled their house in the middle of the night to escape their father’s violence, and I happened to see them and took them to my house to protect them out of pity. The next day when he came to my house, the first thing he did was get angry at me, asking why I was interfering in his family affairs. A father who loves his children couldn’t possibly act like this, could he?”

“… What a piece of trash.”

“This bastard somehow mustered the courage to submit a petition asking to divorce his wife, but what will happen if he gets rejected and even receives a handwritten royal reprimand? All his resentment will focus on his wife and children, and he’ll drink alcohol to vent his explosive anger. After drinking like a whale, he’ll commit merciless violence against his wife and children as he always has. If that happens, a truly irreversible situation might occur.”

Kwon Je is the bastard who beat his daughter to near death when she tried to stop him from hitting his wife.

King Sejong let this atrocity slide because it was difficult to punish under ‘Joseon’s criminal law,’ but I’m going to destroy this bastard even if I have to create new laws.

“I understand what you’re saying. But tell me, if we allow this divorce as is, what will happen to his wife? She’ll be covered in all sorts of dishonor and disgrace.”

“From what I heard about the family situation from Ram-i, all the fault lies with Kwon Je. So we should rightfully hold only Kwon Je accountable for the wrongdoing.”

“Are you planning to completely overhaul the law?”

“If a child strikes their parents, regardless of reason, they’re beheaded for violating moral order. Yet in Joseon, when parents beat and abuse their wives and children without cause, no crime is charged. Is this truly right? The system itself is fundamentally flawed.”

Even in modern nations, you can quite easily find people who think a parent beating their child while drunk is merely a mistake.

Courts often show leniency in such cases too.

But if parents beat their child nearly to death without reason, and the child, unable to endure it any longer, resists and strikes back, opinions would be divided.

Some would say how dare a child strike their parents, while others would say it’s acceptable since they resisted parents who weren’t acting like proper parents.

Moreover, in Joseon, when parents beat their children, they only teach that ‘running away is the best option.’

Because of this mindset, how many children and women have died unable to receive even minimal protection from abuse by parents and husbands?

“While children should never dare to accuse their fathers, I believe it’s absolutely unacceptable for them to be killed because they couldn’t even report a father trying to murder them with a sword. So using this case as an opportunity, we must partially change Joseon’s laws so that wives and children suffering abuse without any fault can receive protection from the Government Office.”

“This is truly a difficult matter.”

Hwang Hee sighed while saying it was difficult.

However, he didn’t strongly oppose or object either.

“Yes, I think that much would be acceptable. We need to create even such a small opening to prevent people from dying unjustly at the hands of brutal fathers.”

“I’ve already written the petition.”

“Aren’t you submitting a written memorial? I expected that from Scribe Kim.”

“I was going to do that if you said it was absolutely impossible.”

“What will you do if you end up like the Right State Councilor over there? That fellow committed such a grave sin that he’s fated to never be able to resign until he dies, hasn’t he?”

Hearing those words, Jo Mal-saeng stared intently at me and Hwang Hee.

I could tell just from his gaze.

‘You think you won’t have to serve for life like me?’

Well, I don’t know about Minister Hwang Hee, but I’m safe.

When there’s nothing to find fault with, how could they reject a legitimate resignation request until death?

“Next time, go through the Royal Secretariat. If you keep ignoring procedures like this, the Minister of Rites will keep a sharp eye out and come running to the State Council to reprimand Scribe Kim.”

“Surely that wouldn’t happen?”

That falcon Heo Jo would really do something like that.

Even when selecting Crown Prince Munjong’s wife, when King Sejong said he would choose a pretty woman…

‘You want to select the Crown Princess based on appearance? Have you lost your mind? The heart is what matters, appearance isn’t even as important as a sparrow’s claw… Oh my, I can hear the sound of Joseon’s laws crumbling and tears flow naturally.’

He said these words directly and openly in Pyeonjeon Hall.

The Crown Princess selection was a matter involving the Royal Ancestral Shrine and State, yet he spoke like that.

At this point, I even think it could almost compare to Park Mun-su’s remark to King Yeongjo: ‘Shouldn’t you do what you should as a person, so heaven would be moved and grant you a son?’

“I will follow procedures from now on.”

“Do that. Do you know how much work I have to do when you don’t follow procedures?”

“Chief Minister, then please send me to Jiphyeonjeon…”

Hearing those words, Hwang Hee waved his hands frantically and said.

“Send you to Jiphyeonjeon? Never say such words carelessly! I don’t know about other places, but absolutely not Jiphyeonjeon! If you’re going there, it’ll be after I resign…”

This time Jo Mal-saeng protested to Hwang Hee.

“Does that mean after the Chief Minister resigns, I alone should handle all the heavy workload that Scribe Kim pours out at Jiphyeonjeon?”

“Isn’t the Right State Councilor still young? Look at me, I’m old. I don’t even have the strength to hold a brush. And if I resign, that Minister of Personnel over there will rise to take my place as councilor, so what’s there to worry about?”

When Hwang Hee used his ultimate technique combining Chief Minister + age, Jo Mal-saeng’s ship sank.

And not long after I submitted my petition, a Royal Reply came down.

But why are you personally coming to the State Council?

“I too felt that His Majesty’s judgment was reasonable, but there were parts that troubled me… Scribe Kim has pointed out those parts very clearly.”

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