Royal Coup d'État - Chapter 11

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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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Episode 11
As the Emperor’s second son, Yi Gu Daegun lacked little in this world.
He possessed the exalted rank of imperial prince, and around him swirled a constant abundance of people vying for his attention. In his youth, his eloquent tongue had drawn eyes and ears; in his maturity, his position swept people along in its current.
The man who would become first in the Order of Succession the moment the Crown Prince—now without an heir since Won Son’s early death—ascended to become Emperor.
Yet that precarious position could be snatched away in an instant if the Crown Prince took in even a single adopted son.
For someone who had spent a lifetime balancing on such an unstable rope, he carried himself with remarkable confidence. As if his father’s death and his brother’s death were certainties that would make him Emperor, he conducted himself like the future sovereign—and not in a way that inspired admiration.
“Yi Gu Daegun has arrived!”
“Brother, why have you come so late? Do come sit here.”
“What are you saying? My lord. I’ve kept a seat for myself—please, come this way.”
The moment Yi Gu Daegun entered Gyeongchun Hall, the air erupted into a cacophony that made one’s ears ring. The sight of men fawning before this new seat of power was revolting.
Each one scrambled to catch his eye, to offer a word, to position themselves favorably in his gaze.
“Ha, ha. Why is everyone so excited? Show some restraint.”
“We simply wish to sit with you, brother.”
Everyone, don’t be reckless. I hear our esteemed brother has suffered a grave accident. This is hardly the time for such noise.”
Yi Gu Daegun’s face glowed with satisfaction at this welcome from his faction. He laughed expansively as he surveyed the room to choose his seat, looking every inch the affable man of power.
‘Is this how a younger brother behaves upon hearing of his older brother’s accident?’
She crossed her legs and tapped her foot—a small, visible outlet for her displeasure.
Gyeong An Gun, hovering behind their father and reading the room, was tiresome enough, but Yi Gu Daegun remained the true source of her irritation. That radiant smile on his face refused to fade.
“Sun.”
Then she heard footsteps approaching from behind. At the sound of deliberate strides, she turned her head slightly.
Few among the imperial family were truly on her side, but the man now approaching was different. Her face brightened.
“You came?”
The man receiving her greeting was Dong, her cousin, the Lord of Yeongpyeong.
As the grandson of Yeonchин Wang and great-grandson of the previous Emperor, Dong maintained a residence in Jeungpyeong, near where Ui Jeong Daegun’s palace stood in Jincheon, and they had visited each other frequently since childhood. Unlike other members of the imperial family, he was someone with whom she could speak freely.
He glanced toward the crowd surrounding Yi Gu Daegun, then pulled out a chair and dropped into the seat beside her. The silence around her broke, and the air came alive with breath.
Dong folded his arms and, watching Yi Gu Daegun, clicked his tongue.
“He seems to be the one most thoroughly enjoying himself.”
“The position he’s longed for is practically within reach. How could he not be thrilled?”
She too let out a bitter laugh, muttering the words. Dong, sharing her sentiment, shrugged.
Fortunately, she was not alone in finding Yi Gu Daegun distasteful. Just as his faction was unmistakably clear, so too were the eyes that regarded him with discomfort.
“Tsk. The Crown Prince has suddenly met with calamity, and yet he shows no restraint.”
“Yi Gu Daegun has been insufferable since childhood, but now—he’s like a fish that’s found water.”
“The Crown Prince isn’t even holding a memorial rite, and yet he can’t conceal his glee. Tsk. It would have been better if the Crown Prince had one more child.”
The whispers from those standing apart from Yi Gu Daegun carried with surprising clarity. The unfortunate part was that most of those who looked upon him with disfavor were elderly elders of high rank and distant relation.
As they advanced in years, they appeared less frequently at imperial ceremonies, and thus their voices held little sway.
Meanwhile, another faction watched the situation in silence—those positioned at the very edge of the Order of Succession, with no possibility of ever inheriting the Imperial Throne. They were calculating in their self-interest, concerned only with what benefits might fall to them.
She scanned the assembled imperial family and exhaled slowly.
Dividing friend from foe—it felt like a lifelong burden. Even having lived apart from matters of the throne, she could not escape the gnawing discomfort of necessity that crawled up her skin.
“When I see that smug face, I want to scatter ashes on it.”
Her mouth turned bitter.
There were suspicious elements surrounding the Crown Prince’s accident, and the investigation itself had stalled completely. In this situation, only one person stood to benefit—Yi Gu Daegun—but the evidence was insufficient to name him.
To conclude an investigation hastily was one thing; to accuse him of murdering the Crown Prince was another altogether. She could not simply assume that her uncle had gone so far.
Yet personal animosity kept rising in her throat. Over his lifetime, he had shown himself to be neither clean nor virtuous—criminal or not.
If such a man became Emperor of this nation, what would become of it? How could she present to her people a leader she herself, as a member of the imperial family, could not respect?
Her mind grew tangled. The face of Tae O, with whom she had parted in silence, kept surfacing in her thoughts.
That detective needed to understand her will. In the TF Team, which seemed to have already fallen under Yi Gu Daegun’s control, the only person she could trust was Kwon Tae O—a man with no trace of having made any deals with others.
If only he would commit himself more to the investigation. If only he would move according to her wishes. She tapped her foot anxiously.
“So you’ve been assigned to the Special Investigation Team.”
Dong whispered softly, leaning toward her. She glanced toward Yi Gu Daegun’s direction and nodded.
“If Her Majesty went so far as to name you herself, there must be something amiss.”
“I’m not sure how much Her Majesty understands, but most of the team members don’t seem interested in investigating. The majority have connections to Yi Gu Daegun.”
“That won’t be easy.”
Dong sighed with genuine sympathy.
Dong had been called a prodigy since childhood and had graduated early from middle and high school before receiving a scholarship for overseas study—a rare achievement among imperial family members.
He was the only member of the imperial family to undertake study abroad on an academic merit scholarship rather than on royal stipend or imperial foundation funds.
After completing his studies abroad, Dong had returned to the imperial family despite numerous lucrative offers—a move so unconventional that foreign press had made a stir. But she understood his choice.
Life within the imperial family was a thorny path for life, yet it was also a burden impossible to simply cast aside. Neither she nor Dong possessed the sort of temperament that could abandon such weight.
Since his return, Dong had assumed the directorship of the Royal Cultural Foundation, which managed imperial family cultural properties, yet even his work had been frequently obstructed by Yi Gu Daegun’s faction.
They invited guests to the Haenggung and Byeolgung without permission, borrowed cultural artifacts, and whenever convenient, they simply wielded their authority to crush resistance. It was a persistent headache.
She exhaled slowly.
As the siblings’ sighs deepened, Gong Chin Wang, the chairman of the Royal Family Council, made his entrance. He was the eldest son of Yeonchин Wang and the Emperor’s most trusted and favored eldest nephew.
The moment he took his seat at the chairman’s podium and struck the gavel, the noisy chamber finally fell silent.
Now the oldest among the imperial family after the Emperor and Empress, he watched with a thoroughly exhausted face as people fumbled about seeking their seats.
Thanks to the aura that emanated from his years of experience, even the chattering crowd closed their mouths and found places to sit.
Once the last person had settled into an appropriate seat, the meeting finally began.
“We have quite a few uninvited guests.”
The old man, well past seventy, voiced his complaint in a weary tone.
The Royal Family Council typically convened only four times a year, and it was certainly not meant to be this warm a gathering of relatives. The sight was unfamiliar even to him, and irritation clung thickly to his wrinkles.
“Those without speaking rights must keep silent. Unless you wish to have this old man’s funeral conducted alongside this one.”
Gong Chin Wang grumbled as he opened the meeting.
Still, Gong Chin Wang was a fairly loyal member of the imperial family.
No matter how boldly Yi Gu Daegun carried himself in the palace, he remained loyal only to the Emperor.
He was the son who best followed the wishes of Yeonchин Wang, who had pledged never to overstep his younger brother’s authority, and he was an honest man who knew how to reprimand his siblings who strutted about as they pleased. Though he had lately reduced his public activities due to illness, he was at least not a liability to the throne.
“All of us gathered here will understand, but the Crown Prince’s condition is not favorable.”
Gong Chin Wang spoke with gravity. His solemn words brought silence to the chamber.
She felt the glances darting toward Yi Gu Daegun. She forced herself not to look at the smug expression he was undoubtedly wearing.
“In preparation for the worst, His Imperial Majesty has ordered us to make ready for a State Funeral.”
State Funeral. The word felt heavier than ever before. The Emperor, like herself, had foreseen that the Crown Prince would not recover, but to speak those words aloud before everyone carried a different weight.
As she sensed the murmuring around Yi Gu Daegun, an unbearable displeasure washed over her.
“Silence!”
Gong Chin Wang, too, caught the irreverent voices and barked sharply. Even from his bent frame, aged as it was, his voice rang out clear and strong.
Gong Chin Wang examined the documents he had brought. Even with magnifying glasses on, his vision blurred before his eyes, and he frowned deeply as he stumbled through the contents.
All eyes fixed on Gong Chin Wang’s lips.
“His Imperial Majesty has ordered the establishment of the Sam Do Gam to oversee the Crown Prince’s State Funeral. According to custom, the Won So Do Gam will be coordinated and decided under the Imperial Household Ministry’s oversight, and His Majesty has entrusted the chief directors of the Hon Gung Do Gam and the Ye Jang Do Gam to Ui Jeong Daegun—so we need only select imperial family members to assist him.”
“I beg your pardon?”
The objection erupted first from the gallery—surely Yi Gu Daegun’s men, judging by how his face had visibly paled.
Looking at it plainly, Yi Gu Daegun’s life had been remarkably easy. He always had someone stepping in on his behalf.
She accepted the barrage of stares meant for Ui Jeong Daegun, whom she had deliberately sought out instead of attending this gathering herself, and reflected on this.
“Shouldn’t Yi Gu Daegun, who stands higher in the Order of Succession, be the one to undertake this duty according to custom?”
“That is correct. In times like these, it is all the more important to follow proper procedure and precedent.”
Yi Gu Daegun’s supporters, who had been holding their breath, began to speak in unison. Some imperial family members who normally didn’t take any clear stance also began interjecting, gauging the mood. It seemed they had made their decision about which faction to join upon hearing that the Crown Prince was in critical condition.
In any case, imperial family members were those who read the tide faster than anyone else when it came to such matters.

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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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