The court was filled with ministers, each harboring schemes of their own.
Outwardly, they bowed their heads as if nothing were amiss, but inwardly, every one of them was thinking something different.
They knew it as well.
So long as the empress did not keep silent, this matter would inevitably be investigated to the very end.
And this was only the beginning.
Even so, the interests of so many people were already entangled in it.
If the truth were to be fully revealed...
No one could say how many would be dragged down with it.
Among them, the Duke’s insides were seething most of all.
The Ministry of Revenue was a faction he had painstakingly cultivated himself.
It was also the post into which he had placed his most cherished disciple.
The position was so important that many had always coveted it.
If someone else were to take that seat...
The network of power he had built up all this time would be severed in an instant.
That was precisely why Yunseo was insisting on dragging Jinseok down now.
In other words, the Duke would be forced into a direct clash with the forces led by the empress and Yunseo.
If that young whelp seized the opportunity first...
The damage he would suffer would be far from small.
“Your Majesty!”
The Duke stepped forward and paid his respects.
“This subject, too, acknowledges that Censor Yuk is a man of outstanding ability.”
His voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge hidden somewhere within it.
“However, there is one matter this subject must ask. I beg Your Majesty to grant permission first.”
Wolhwa’s brows furrowed slightly.
“What is it that the Duke wishes to say, that it requires Our permission?”
The Duke slowly waved a hand.
“This matter is of great importance. If this subject were to speak without Your Majesty’s permission, I might inadvertently commit a capital offense.”
His gaze swept once across the court.
“Therefore, I can only open my mouth after first receiving Your Majesty’s permission.”
Those words were, in truth, another trap.
Wolhwa could not begin to guess what he was about to bring up.
If the Duke raised a subject here and now, and its contents shook the flow of the court...
She might lose the initiative she had so painstakingly seized.
After thinking for a moment, Wolhwa spoke.
“If you have something to say, say it again tomorrow. We are tired today.”
Having finished speaking, she rose from her seat.
The Duke hurriedly tried to speak.
But at that moment, Wolhwa’s gaze turned toward him.
Within it lay an unconcealable murderous intent.
In the end, the Duke had no choice but to swallow his words.
Then, at last, he lowered his head.
“In that case... I shall report it again tomorrow. May Your Majesty take care of your sacred body.”
“Withdraw.”
The eunuch’s voice rang through the court.
Even after the court assembly ended, Wolhwa did not send Yunseo away at once.
She summoned him straight to her study.
When Yunseo entered, Wolhwa spoke first.
“You did well today.”
Yunseo gave a light nod.
“Your Majesty handled it well, too.”
A faint admiration flashed through his eyes.
Wolhwa let out a small snort.
“There is no need for you to say such things. We were never such an incompetent monarch to begin with.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“From the moment the Duke began showing odd signs, We had already noticed.”
Hearing that, Yunseo shrugged.
“Then there is no need for me to repeat the same thing.”
At those words, Wolhwa’s expression stiffened slightly.
It felt strangely distant.
This fellow...
Since when did his manner of speaking become so proper?
Had becoming a censor gone to his head for no reason?
While Wolhwa was thinking that, Yunseo spoke again.
“Your Majesty. Right now, Your Majesty’s life is in the hands of several ministers in the court.”
Wolhwa’s eyes widened slightly.
Yunseo continued slowly.
“Jang Munyeon is a man who will use any means necessary. The Duke is also a seasoned fox.”
He spoke calmly.
“If those two join hands, they become quite difficult opponents. If we cannot separate them...”
Yunseo’s gaze deepened.
“Your Majesty and I will eventually find them hard to handle.”
Wolhwa quietly let out a sigh.
“But you saw for yourself that it will not be easy.”
Fatigue was visible on her face.
“Those two are bound together by profit. Splitting apart their interests is not as easy as it sounds.”
A meaningful smile appeared at the corners of Yunseo’s lips.
“That depends on the method.”
His eyes gleamed sharply.
“Jinseok and Wangho. Those two are the breakthrough.”
He spoke slowly.
“If the two old ministers each try to protect their own pieces... then we need only move in the opposite direction.”
Yunseo’s voice sank low.
“We must cut off both their heads. That will be... the warning that strikes the mountain and startles the tiger.”
Wolhwa’s heart flinched for an instant.
“Have you gone mad?”
She immediately added,
“If you clash with them head-on like that, the one who ends up in danger will be you.”
The smile hanging on Yunseo’s lips still did not disappear.
“Only by stepping into a place of death on one’s own can a path to life appear.”
His voice was astonishingly calm.
“There is no other way.”
After a brief silence, Yunseo spoke again.
“Your Majesty cannot personally take on the danger, can you?”
The moment she heard those words, something deep in Wolhwa’s chest trembled slightly.
“Yuk Yunseo.”
Wolhwa’s voice had become much softer than usual.
“We know your loyalty.”
After pausing for a moment, she spoke again.
“But if you die... We will only be alone again in the end.”
“Your Majesty.”
Yunseo let out a small sigh and put on a troubled expression.
“Could you perhaps think of it in a slightly more positive light?”
He tilted his head as he spoke.
“It is merely a trip to Huainan and back. Surely I will not lose my life over it.”
Wolhwa looked him over once.
“Even if you hurry as much as possible, reaching Huainan will take two days and nights.”
Her gaze moved toward Yunseo’s body.
“Can you even endure it in that state?”
In truth, that was an excuse.
She simply could not bring herself to say aloud that if Yunseo left, she would become even more isolated in court.
Yunseo, too, had realized what she was truly thinking.
He laughed heartily.
“Do not worry.”
Yunseo’s voice was relaxed.
“Your Majesty will not be left alone. I will assign someone to you.”
The instant she heard that, Wolhwa’s heart dropped.
“Whom do you mean?”
She asked at once.
“Surely... you do not mean that child So Yunseol?”
Yunseo froze for a moment.
Then he soon smiled brightly and opened his mouth.
“Your Majesty. At this point, it seems Your Majesty must be the worm inside my stomach.”
He spoke playfully.
“To think you even guessed that.”
The moment she confirmed it was true, Wolhwa’s face stiffened.
“You intend to bring that woman in?”
Her gaze cooled.
“Are you trying to torment Us? We and that woman have never been on good terms.”
“Your Majesty.”
Yunseo’s expression suddenly turned serious.
“Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven.”
His voice was quiet, but clear.
“The Son of Heaven must not harbor personal feelings toward anyone.”
He took one step closer.
“Otherwise, expanding the realm and eliminating treacherous ministers will both become impossible.”
At those words, Wolhwa was momentarily unable to reply.
This fellow...
He truly knew how to speak.
It was not as if he was wrong, but Wolhwa still did not feel at ease.
Especially when she recalled the way So Yunseol would obey anything Yunseo said.
In the end, she took a step closer and grasped Yunseo’s arm.
“Remember this.”
Her eyes stared straight at him.
“You are Our person. You must not give your heart to another woman—”
It was at that moment.
Yunseo raised a hand and lightly lifted her chin.
And with his other hand, he pulled her waist toward him.
The distance between the two of them closed in an instant.
There was a certain cool composure in Yunseo’s eyes.
“Your Majesty.”
He spoke in a low voice.
“I am certainly Your Majesty’s subject. I can leap into fire for Your Majesty’s sake.”
After pausing for a moment, he added,
“But I am not anyone’s one and only.”
His eyes flashed coldly.
“If Your Majesty intends to suppress me with imperial authority... then you are mistaken.”
Wolhwa’s brows lifted slightly.
This fellow...
Is he warning Us right now?
But upon seeing her reaction, Yunseo merely smiled.
“What is the matter? Does Your Majesty perhaps want a puppet?”
His words were almost too direct.
“Someone who follows only Your Majesty’s words without a thought of his own.”
Yunseo continued slowly.
“Could such a person truly lead the court against the Chancellor and the Duke?”
Wolhwa could not say anything for a moment.
Those words had clearly struck precisely where it hurt.
She was not, by nature, someone skilled at concealing her feelings.
Even when she tried to use schemes and stratagems, she was more likely to be used in return.
In the end, she let out a sigh.
“Enough.”
Her voice softened a little.
“In that case, you will have to suffer a little more on Our behalf.”
Yunseo immediately lowered his head.
“I shall obey Your Majesty’s will. This subject will never fail Your Majesty’s expectations.”
Then he turned around.
“Then I shall take my leave—”
Just then.
Wolhwa suddenly grabbed his belt and pulled.
Yunseo’s body stopped in place.
Her eyes had, at some point, grown languid.
“Tonight...”
Wolhwa’s voice flowed out softly.
“Do not go back.”
For an instant, Yunseo was unable to speak.
Just as he was about to refuse with difficulty—
Wolhwa reached out first and pushed him down onto the bed.
Late that night, when midnight was drawing near.
Yunseo hurriedly rose and began putting on his clothes.
A trace of regret was on his face.
How had he ended up falling for the empress’s honey trap like this?
Originally, he had planned to go find So Yunseol tonight and ask her for a favor.
He had intended to bring her into the palace so she could stay by His Majesty’s side.
But now, there was no time.
Setting out on the night road right away would instead catch the other side off guard.
After thinking for a moment, Yunseo nodded, then immediately brought over brush and paper.
And he began writing a letter with his own hand.