Yunseo’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What is the matter, Chancellor?”
His gaze fixed squarely on Jang Munyeon.
“Surely… you are not thinking of changing your mind now?”
A faint smile spread across Yunseo’s lips.
“If so, you need only say the word. I will hand Wang Ho back to you. However—”
His eyes sank into a cold chill.
“This matter is a disgrace to the entire court. Even if Her Majesty does not question it openly….”
He paused for a moment, then tilted his head slightly.
“Do you think her trust in you will remain as it was before?”
The instant he heard those words, Jang Munyeon’s expression twisted violently.
Rage was boiling inside him.
‘This bastard….’
He glared at Yunseo through clenched teeth.
Yunseo’s words were not wrong by even an inch.
The moment he shielded Wang Ho again here, Jang Munyeon would fall out of the Empress’s favor.
And for him now, that would be the most fatal choice.
Meanwhile, Yunseo had already realized it.
Even if Wang Ho died here, he would not drag Jang Munyeon down with him.
His eyes had already accepted death.
Because they were family.
In the end, he intended to shoulder every crime himself.
The Duke watched the scene with narrowed eyes.
It was strange.
Normally, Jang Munyeon would never make such a choice.
By nature, he was practically a political enemy of his.
And yet now, to protect him instead, he had even killed a man before the Empress’s very eyes.
‘What on earth is he plotting…?’
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he could hardly believe it.
And Wolhwa’s face, as she confronted all of it, had hardened.
Eyes gone cold.
What dwelled within them was not simple anger.
Suspicion.
Unease.
‘Yuk Yunseo….’
Her gaze dug persistently into Yunseo.
‘Just whose side are you on…?’
“Your Majesty.”
Yunseo slowly stepped forward.
“There is something more important than assigning guilt right now. The flood.”
Yunseo deliberately stopped speaking and watched the court’s reaction.
“Let us do this.”
His voice was calm.
But what lay within it was unmistakable pressure.
“The two of you.”
His gaze turned toward the Duke and Jang Munyeon.
“Raise one million nyang within a short period.”
At once, the court stirred.
“If you do so, I will grant you the right to speak on this matter.”
The eyes of the Duke and Jang Munyeon flashed at the same time.
One million nyang.
If they set their minds to it, that sum could be prepared.
And that would become a pretext to cover over their crimes.
Both men’s gazes turned to Wolhwa at once.
For a moment, Wolhwa could not say anything.
“…Very well.”
Her voice sank low.
“If everyone accepts this condition, it shall be carried out accordingly.”
After catching her breath for a moment, Wolhwa added,
“But remember this.”
Her eyes settled heavily.
“The people of Huainan will not wait. If you cannot do it, say so now.”
It was then.
Thud.
One man dropped to his knees.
It was Jo Hyeong, Vice Minister of Works.
“Your Majesty.”
His voice trembled.
“In the national treasury… there is no more silver.”
In that instant, Wolhwa’s eyes flashed sharply.
“What do you mean?”
Her voice fell low.
“Then where has the money the court uses every day been coming from?”
A silence flowed through the room.
“Do you mean to say it was all the blood of the people?”
Jo Hyeong lowered his head and slowly nodded.
“Your Majesty. Since Prince Jeongan’s rebellion, the national treasury has continued to run dry. We have only barely endured by using the money collected from the people each month.”
“Then—”
Yunseo opened his mouth.
Calmly, but firmly.
“Now it is time to return it.”
Every gaze turned to him.
“Those who have amassed wealth until oil flows from them.”
His eyes drifted coldly into the air.
“Collect taxes from them.”
He had already investigated them.
They were clinging to the powerful and sucking the people’s money dry.
“If the money was taken from the people, then it must return to the people.”
He added one final thing.
“From now on, if anyone tries to stand above the people and rule over them.”
There was no warmth in Yunseo’s voice.
“I will cut them down myself.”
The air of the court froze.
The expressions of the Duke and Jang Munyeon hardened at the same time.
This was no simple declaration.
It was a warning.
‘This man….’
Both men’s eyes wavered at once.
‘He is no ordinary person.’
Yunseo was already seeing farther ahead than they were.
The ministers of the court sank into silence.
If things continued like this, the board would be overturned, but no one could make a decision, and they merely watched one another’s faces.
As Wolhwa looked down on that sight, the light slowly vanished from her eyes.
It seemed she had no intention of enduring any longer.
“Yuk Yunseo has already presented a solution.”
Her voice fell decisively.
It was not loud, but it was enough to press down on the entire court at once.
“And yet, if there is still anyone who says they cannot do it—”
Wolhwa paused, and her gaze swept over the ministers one by one.
“I shall behead them myself.”
A silence descended so deep that even breathing could scarcely be heard.
“If you are going to die anyway.”
The corners of Wolhwa’s lips twisted subtly.
“It would not be so bad to go first.”
The moment her words fell, Jang Munyeon and the Duke dropped to their knees at the same time.
“Your Majesty, please forgive us!”
Their voices overlapped.
Jang Munyeon stepped forward and bowed his head deeply.
“Your Majesty. This lowly subject and the Duke will prepare five hundred thousand nyang each at once.”
Unlike his bloodless face, his fists were quietly clenched within the folds of his robe.
“We will surely offer it within two days.”
The moment she heard those words, Wolhwa’s eyes narrowed.
Too fast.
And—
They accepted far too easily.
She instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
There was no way she did not know what that sum meant.
Nor how difficult it would be to prepare it within such a short time.
And yet these two had answered without the slightest hesitation.
Wolhwa’s gaze suddenly turned to Yunseo.
At that moment, Yunseo gave a very faint nod.
The movement was so slight that no one else noticed it, but Wolhwa clearly saw.
For a moment, Wolhwa closed her eyes without saying anything, then opened them again.
“…Very well.”
Her voice settled calmly.
“I will believe those words.”
It was a short statement, but no one could take its weight lightly.
“Be certain to keep them.”
The air within the court drew taut once more.
“We shall obey your command.”
Jang Munyeon and the Duke answered at the same time.
After that, the two men no longer hesitated.
They hurriedly rose and left the court.
Their steps were noticeably faster than usual.
As though they were men racing against every moment.
The ministers left in the court did not dare move, and only watched one another’s faces.
The tension from just before still weighed heavily on the air.
After the court was put in order, Wolhwa silently seized Yunseo’s wrist.
Then she pulled him straight to her side.
The motion was swift and rough.
“Yuk Yunseo.”
Her voice seeped in softly.
“You… have quite the nerve.”
Her eyes pinned Yunseo, who stood right before her.
There was clear wariness in that gaze.
Yunseo did not hurry to make excuses.
He merely brought his hands together and offered his respects.
“Your Majesty.”
His voice remained calm.
“To kill those two now—”
He paused for a moment.
Then, one beat later.
“Would be walking into Prince Jeongan’s scheme of our own accord.”
As soon as those words fell, Wolhwa’s eyes wavered.
“What do you mean?”
There was undisguised suspicion in her voice.
But Yunseo did not waver in the slightest.
“What Prince Jeongan wants is chaos within the government.”
His gaze did not falter to the end.
“If the Duke and the Chancellor both collapse now, we will crumble from within before we can even fight an external enemy.”
Wolhwa’s lips pressed tightly together.
“Hmph.”
After a very brief silence, she gave a snort.
“You make it sound plausible.”
Her eyes flashed sharply.
“In the end, are you not simply trying to avoid taking anyone’s side?”
“If Your Majesty thinks I am taking no one’s side—”
With his head lowered, Yunseo leisurely lifted the corner of his mouth.
“You may strip me of my post right now.”
A sharp silence pierced the space.
“Rather.”
Yunseo lightly raised the corner of his mouth.
“It would not be so bad to wander about at leisure.”
For an instant, strength entered Wolhwa’s hand, then slowly loosened.
“…Yuk Yunseo.”
Her voice lowered.
“I know you have eyes capable of seeing the larger game.”
A short breath slipped between her lips.
“But.”
At a distance so close their breaths nearly crossed, Wolhwa’s gaze sank deeply into Yunseo.
“At the very least, should I not know what you are doing?”
Yunseo faced her to the end and did not step back.
In the end, the one who turned away first was Wolhwa.
“…I was rash.”
Yunseo did not deny those words.
He merely bowed his head.
“Your Majesty.”
His voice continued as though nothing had happened.
“The two old men of the court will certainly play tricks now. For that reason, I will enter and leave the palace frequently for the time being.”
Yunseo’s gaze caught hers again.
“It is to protect Your Majesty.”