The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 25

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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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The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family – Chapter 86

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“…Is that really true?”
“I’m telling you, the palace is in complete chaos right now!”
“All the court officials and nobility have entered the palace!”
From early morning, the atmosphere in Beijing felt decidedly ominous.
Everyone was thrown into panic by the sudden news of the Emperor’s passing.
Despite reaching the age of ninety-nine, the Emperor had continued to appear vigorous and sharp.
For the people who knew this, it was incomprehensible.
Yet from the whispers I heard scattered throughout the city, the Emperor’s death seemed to be an undeniable fact.
“…Surely not….”
“Shh!”
Someone tried to voice it, but the person beside them quickly covered their mouth in urgency.
The Crown Prince’s Rebellion.
That was the situation that came to mind first.
But it was also something that could not be spoken aloud.
If the Emperor’s death truly resulted from a rebellion, then the coming storm of blades would sweep everyone away.
As a result, unlike before, the noisy atmosphere of Beijing settled into silence.
Especially those who remembered the dance of blades wielded by the Iron-Blooded Emperor long ago held their breath in fear of what was to come.
Tension hung over all of Beijing.
After half a day, the gates of the Imperial Palace, which had been tightly sealed, swung wide open.
Then mounted soldiers poured out in a thunderous rush.
Those who witnessed it gasped and covered their mouths in shock.
It had begun.
Just as in the past, without even holding the Emperor’s funeral, they had already drawn their blades.
The Golden Armored Guards poured from the palace, splitting apart and scattering in all directions.
This meant their target was not a single person.
Among all locations, one stood out particularly.
The Unryong Inn.
Crash—!
The Golden Armored Guards smashed through the doors of the Unryong Inn and stormed inside.
Startled by the sudden assault, Jin Baek-ryong cried out with a sickly pale complexion.
“What is the meaning of this—!”
“Jin Baek-ryong! This is by order of the Crown Prince! Will you come quietly, or will you face execution!”
At that fierce declaration, Jin Baek-ryong felt his breath catch. The momentum of the Golden Armored Guards who had burst through the inn’s doors was uniformly ominous.
From that alone, it was clear they had not come with good intentions.
Should I resist?
I entertained such thoughts, but quickly dismissed them.
If the Emperor’s death was true as the rumors suggested, then the Crown Prince would soon ascend to the throne.
Resist the Golden Armored Guards sent by such a person?
How was that any different from staging a rebellion?
Yet if I allowed myself to be taken away like this, a grim fate awaited me—that much was certain.
To the Crown Prince, Jin Baek-ryong was a thorn in his side.
After all, he had been one of the Emperor’s closest confidants.
If taken away, death was inevitable.
Jin Baek-ryong, who understood this better than anyone, had to think quickly and devise a way to escape this predicament.
Then, an idea struck him.
What if he claimed this was all done on Jin Ga-muk’s orders?
If he did that, Jin Ga-muk and his blood relatives would lose their heads, and the Jin Family would suffer a devastating blow, but he could save his own life.
With that thought, he relaxed his body.
Did they interpret this as surrender?
Someone shouted.
“Seize them all!”
The military personnel moved swiftly, apprehending not only Jin Baek-ryong but also everyone working at the inn.
Jin Baek-ryong himself complied with the order and smiled.
I would not crumble so easily.
As he raised his head with that thought.
His eyes trembled visibly.
“…You… Why?”
“What is the meaning of this, Uncle?”
Someone who should not have been here walked through the shattered entrance of the inn with heavy steps.

* * *

While the Golden Armored Guards, acting under the Crown Prince’s orders, moved swiftly to carry out their commands, the Imperial Palace was suffused with a silence and tension far more oppressive than the streets of Beijing.
Though there were those moving about to conduct the funeral rites for the deceased Emperor, nearly all of them kept their expressions rigid, unable to speak properly.
One careless slip of the tongue meant death.
Knowing full well the gravity of the situation, these were people who understood that discretion beyond necessity was the wisest course.
Within the Imperial Palace, where such an atmosphere hung heavy, the Crown Prince gazed expressionlessly at the deceased Emperor.
Even as I looked upon my father’s corpse, I felt no emotion.
It was as though that part of me had been carved away.
“Your Highness, it is Chungho.”
At the sound of that voice, I turned my gaze.
With a slight raising of my hand to grant permission, the door opened and Chungho entered.
“Well, how does it proceed?”
“We are apprehending them one after another.”
“It seems the Golden Armored Guards follow orders well.”
“They are the commands of Your Highness, who shall soon ascend to the throne. They have no choice but to obey.”
“Fortunate indeed. I had considered slaughtering them all if necessary.”
The Crown Prince nodded with a faint smile.
In Dowon Village, I had cut down many, and half of those who held the centers of power had been swept away. No matter how formidable the Golden Armored Guards, with no one to lead them, they had no means to resist my commands.
The same applied to the Eastern Palace.
Ga Inhoo, who could be called their leader, was dead.
With no one to guide them, they would have no choice but to obey in the present circumstances, and when order was restored, even if they wished to reverse course, they would find it impossible.
“Have you also apprehended that insolent wretch?”
“Do you speak of Jin Baek-ryong? In fact, it is precisely because of him that I sought to meet with you urgently.”
“It seems something has occurred.”
“Yes, Your Highness. We have apprehended all the household members of the Nakhyang Jin Family in Beijing, but in the process, an unexpected person was also present.”
“An unexpected person?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The Young Master So of the Nakhyang Jin Family.”
“The Young Master? He was present as well?”
“He arrived during the apprehension of Jin Baek-ryong. According to those who bound him, Jin Baek-ryong was quite startled—he apparently had no knowledge of the Young Master’s arrival.”
The Crown Prince nodded and offered a small smile.
Jin Baek-ryong was undoubtedly one of the Emperor’s closest confidants.
To restrain him meant the same as holding the Nakhyang Jin Family accountable for his actions.
Or perhaps the entire Nakhyang Jin Family shared his intentions.
Knowing this, I had obtained a most invaluable situation to discern the truth.
“Keep them confined until the funeral rites are concluded.”
“Yes, I understand.”

* * *

Cold, dark, and damp.
The straw scattered across the floor could hardly be called a place for anyone to lie down, and the frigid air that permeated the dim prison seemed to psychologically torment those confined within.
The insects that crawled across my body whenever I tried to sleep were horrifying, and the meals—food that even beggars would refuse—were nothing short of abysmal.
Even that brief respite was stolen when rats emerged from their hiding places to gnaw at whatever remained, making it impossible to eat anything at all.
I leaned against the wall and quietly observed my surroundings.
This was a prison within the Imperial Palace.
The entire household of the Jin Family from Beijing was gathered in this spacious cell.
There were others imprisoned as well, but they didn’t appear to be high-ranking officials who had served the previous Emperor.
There were two reasons why such people were absent from this place.
One was that they had already breathed their last in Dowon Village, and the other was that the Emperor’s funeral rites were still ongoing.
The moment the funeral concluded and the Emperor was entombed.
A storm of blood would descend.
With such thoughts, I turned my head once more.
Through the thick prison bars, I could see my uncle’s gaunt figure.
Having never experienced sleeping or eating in such a place before, it would be impossible for him to rest or eat properly.
As a result, in merely four days, he had withered like a dried-up tree branch.
“It’s already been four days, Uncle. Are you truly determined not to speak?”
“Silence!”
Jin Baek-ryong still possessed enough strength to glare at me and bark out his command.
His resolve not to be questioned further was unmistakably clear.
Indeed, even if he wanted to speak, he couldn’t.
The events in Dowon Village and his attempt to devour the Jin Family by manipulating the Emperor—such things could never leave his lips.
I smiled faintly and turned my gaze away.
I could see the members of the Jin Family groaning in distress.
But the moment their eyes met mine, they hastily averted their gaze.
The fact that none of them answered my questions, despite my position as the Young Master of the Jin Family, made it abundantly clear that most of the household members in Beijing were loyal to Jin Baek-ryong.
At least now I knew whom to discard, so these four days hadn’t been entirely wasted.
I smiled and looked back at my uncle.
“Speaking of which, it seemed like a considerable amount of funds were depleted from our Beijing operations. Did you use that to assist the Emperor?”
“…What nonsense! That’s impossible!”
“It appears a rebellion has occurred, and I can’t think of any other reason why we’re imprisoned here. You supported the Emperor with both resources and effort, so you must have been a thorn in the Crown Prince’s side.”
“…It was Father’s orders.”
“Ha, so you’re trying to evade responsibility.”
“I’m not evading anything! It’s the truth!”
At the harsh rebuke that reached my ears, I nodded.
No matter what I said, Jin Baek-ryong would never change that story.
He was well aware that this claim was his last lifeline to survival.
If Father’s head fell, he would gather up everything remaining of the Jin Family, offer it appropriately to the Crown Prince, and live out his days in comfort.
A transparent scheme.
I ignored the sharp gaze directed at me and lay down upon the straw.
Jin Baek-ryong observed me with a peculiar gaze.
His eyes held the look of someone bewildered—as if questioning how I could be so at ease in a place I had deliberately distanced myself from my entire life.
Well, this was paradise compared to what I’d endured.
I had slept in snowfields without even straw to cushion me.
The memory of those days made me shudder.
It was then that Jin Baek-ryong’s voice reached my ears.
“You still haven’t explained yourself to me. Why did you come to Beijing?”
“Must a nephew have a reason to visit his uncle?”
“Have you ever sought me out even once before?”
“I came partly to see my uncle’s face, and partly for another matter.”
“Partly?”
“Yes, the ledgers coming into the main family from Beijing seemed somewhat irregular. Didn’t I mention it earlier? That money was being…drained away.”
As I spoke with a slight smile, Jin Baek-ryong flinched visibly.
There was no way to verify whether money was disappearing from the ledgers sent to the main family in the first place.
They had already been manipulated.
However, considering how freely I spent money in Dowon Village and the tributes I offered to the Emperor, it would have been impossible with the funds he possessed.
In other words, I had dipped into the business operations’ coffers.
It was speculation, but it was also certainty.
Sure enough, I could see Jin Baek-ryong’s pupils trembling.
He was wondering if there was a hole somewhere in the ledgers.
He must have been confident in the falsified records.
As I withdrew my gaze from Jin Baek-ryong with such thoughts, the prison door that had been closed suddenly swung wide open and someone entered.
Thud, thud—
The footsteps of the approaching figure sounded unusually loud.
He scanned each person imprisoned in the cell one by one, then stopped before me and gazed down intently.
I recognized him as well.
The Crown Prince’s guard and the man who had orchestrated the rebellion.
Chungho, once the foremost disciple of the Martial Artist.
Upon seeing me lying casually on straw, he let out a hollow laugh as if astounded, then opened his mouth.
“Are you the Young Master of the Jin Family?”
“I am.”
“By order of the Crown Prince, come with me.”
At Chungho’s words, I nodded and rose to my feet.
Four days.
The Emperor’s funeral had ended in just four days.
Considering the late Emperor had ruled for a long period, it was remarkably brief, yet for the Crown Prince—who needed to find fault with his predecessor’s achievements—it was sufficiently long.
It was astonishing that the funeral had even been held at all.
And soon, when the blades began to swing, the Nakhyang Jin Family might well be the first to have blood spilled upon them.
The moment the Crown Prince’s order was mentioned, Jin Baek-ryong’s tension arose precisely for this reason.
As I confirmed the flood of anxious looks and approached the door, Chungho produced a key and unlocked it for me.
As I stepped out of the prison through the open door, Jin Baek-ryong’s eyes seemed to tremble with even greater intensity as he gazed upon me.
Had he truly believed I would be the first to seek him out?
I curved my lips into a smile and followed Chungho’s back as we walked forward.
At last, the moment to face the new Iron-Blooded Emperor had arrived.

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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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