The provisional court established by the northern rebel forces.
Prince Jeongan’s side had also already received word that a powerful ally had attached himself to the Empress’s side.
“What could possibly change just because one Inspector Censor has joined her?”
Though he pretended to be calm on the surface, an indelible unease had begun to bloom in his heart.
Before he knew it, his fingers were tapping anxiously against the table.
The rumors recently coming out of Jinling were all far from ordinary.
Prince Jeongan’s gaze sank coldly.
“I’ll have to confirm it.”
He immediately issued a top-secret order.
“Send someone to Jinling.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
—
That night.
A man dressed in black secretly slipped into Jinling City.
The place he headed for, without hesitation, was the Chancellor’s residence.
“Lord Chancellor.”
A smile spread across the man’s lips.
“It has been a long time.”
Jang Munyeon’s face instantly stiffened.
“Have you lost your mind?”
He immediately looked around.
“How dare you crawl all the way in here yourself?”
There was unmistakable agitation in his voice.
“Leave at once.”
But the envoy only laughed aloud.
“Are you not being a little too sensitive?”
His eyes gleamed shrewdly.
“It seems you are acting this way because you fear the Empress. But if word reaches the north that you mistreated this envoy, do you truly think you will remain unharmed?”
Jang Munyeon’s brow twisted violently.
“Shut your mouth.”
His voice scraped harshly from his throat.
“Do you have no idea what the situation is right now?”
Regret surged through him.
Why in the world had he joined hands with such a dangerous man?
If only he had not been blinded by greed back then and accepted that silver, he would never have been bound by such shackles.
The envoy sidled closer and lightly tapped Jang Munyeon on the shoulder.
“Lord Chancellor, you have grown terribly timid.”
Mockery clung to his tone.
“What is there to fear so much about one mere young girl?”
In that instant—
Smack!!
Jang Munyeon’s hand flew out.
The envoy’s head snapped sharply to the side.
“Do not speak recklessly!”
Jang Munyeon gnashed his teeth and growled.
“His Majesty is the master of this nation. She is not someone the likes of you may take into your mouth.”
The envoy clutched his cheek, stunned.
However—
Soon, the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
‘As expected.’
The rumors were true.
That arrogant Jang Munyeon was watching his step this much?
That meant—
The Empress had truly begun to grasp power.
It was certain the Empress’s ally was no ordinary figure.
The envoy opened his mouth again.
“Very well.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“I will overlook what just happened as a momentary lapse of temper on your part, Lord Chancellor.”
At some point, his gaze had turned cold.
“Prince Jeongan wishes to continue receiving reports on the situation from here on.”
A shadow fell across Jang Munyeon’s face.
“No.”
His eyes grew heavy.
“The situation now is different from then.”
The envoy’s expression hardened icily.
“…Surely not.”
His voice lowered.
“Are you saying you intend to pull out now?”
Just as Jang Munyeon was about to answer—
A red light flashed outside.
Fwoosh—
In an instant, the world beyond the window was dyed red.
Jang Munyeon’s complexion turned pale at once.
‘We’ve been discovered.’
He immediately seized the envoy by the collar and forced a sword into his hand.
“Take me hostage. Now.”
“What?”
The envoy’s eyes widened.
“Hurry!”
Jang Munyeon clenched his teeth.
“If this continues, we both die!”
Only then grasping the situation, the envoy hurriedly seized Jang Munyeon by the neck.
The cold blade was pressed close against his throat.
Amid taut tension, the two of them moved outside.
And there—
They saw a man already waiting for them.
Yuk Yunseo.
He stood there without the slightest disarray.
His cold gaze quietly swept over the two of them.
Jang Munyeon cried out, feigning urgency.
“Lord Yuk! A vicious assassin has broken in! I fear for His Majesty’s safety, so hurry and go to her!”
It was quite a convincing performance.
But Yunseo did not so much as blink.
“His Majesty is safe.”
His voice carried a chill that pierced to the bone.
“Three thousand elite soldiers are already guarding the palace.”
Yunseo’s gaze fixed deeply on Jang Munyeon.
“More importantly.”
A bitter smile brushed across his lips.
“How is it that the man called Chancellor is suffering the humiliation of being taken hostage by someone like that?”
Tonight.
None of this was a coincidence.
All this time, Yunseo had merely pretended to remain by the Empress’s side, while behind the scenes he had joined forces with Cheongugak to gather information.
Yunseol, too, had secured evidence that Prince Jeongan’s spies were steadily infiltrating Jinling.
They had been waiting leisurely for the fox to fall into the trap.
And at last—
This was the moment Yunseo closed the trap himself.
A disbelieving laugh slipped from his lips.
That old fox had failed to capture the envoy and had instead come out being held hostage.
Jang Munyeon was also someone who had learned martial arts.
Yunseo already knew that fact.
His intention was obvious: safely return the envoy to Prince Jeongan, then leak even the palace’s internal secrets.
At that moment—
“Stand back!”
The tip of the sword against Jang Munyeon’s throat pressed in another inch.
“If you do not clear the way at once, I will cut this old man’s throat!”
Jang Munyeon, his face deathly blue, continued his act as well.
“Lord Yuk!”
He cried out urgently.
“Hurry… hurry and save me!”
Yunseo said nothing.
Instead—
He slowly picked up a bow.
Click.
The sound of the bowstring being drawn split the night air.
In that instant.
Jang Munyeon and the envoy’s eyes went wide at the same time.
‘Surely not.’
Was he really going to shoot?
Jang Munyeon’s eyes trembled.
Yunseo aimed at the two of them with a cold gaze.
“Chancellor.”
His voice was excessively calm.
“If we let this spy escape now, he will report everything about Jinling’s situation to Prince Jeongan.”
The bowstring was pulled taut to its limit.
“And if, because of that, harm should befall His Majesty.”
All warmth vanished completely from Yunseo’s eyes.
“Even if the two of us died ten thousand times, we would not be able to atone for that crime.”
Cold sweat ran down Jang Munyeon’s spine.
He was mad.
Truly—
Who knew he could be this cruel?
The envoy, too, was completely flustered.
The hand holding the sword trembled violently.
Yunseo did not miss that fleeting opening.
Whizz—!!
The arrow tore through the night air.
“Aaaagh!!”
The envoy’s left hand was pierced clean through.
The sword fell to the ground.
At the same time—
“Seize him.”
Yunseo’s order fell.
Rumble—
The soldiers who had been lying in wait rushed in at once and crushed the envoy down.
Clank!
Iron chains wrapped around the man’s body.
He was thrown straight into the prisoner’s cart as though being flung inside.
Jang Munyeon stared blankly at the sight.
It was something he had never imagined, not even in his dreams.
A short while later.
That old fox put on the mask of Chancellor once more and hid his expression.
“Yuk Yunseo! How dare you hide soldiers outside the Chancellor’s residence?”
His eyes bulged.
“Do you even know what you have done? I am the Chancellor of this nation!”
Yunseo opened his mouth with an indifferent expression.
“Yes, you are certainly the Chancellor.”
His voice sank low.
“However.”
Killing intent gathered at the end of his gaze.
“You must not forget whose Chancellor you are.”
Jang Munyeon’s heart dropped with a thud.
Those eyes.
Those words.
Surely—
Did he even know that he had joined hands with Prince Jeongan?
“Let us go.”
Yunseo spoke calmly.
“His Majesty is waiting.”
The moment he heard those words—
The strength drained from Jang Munyeon’s legs.
The fact that tonight’s events had already reached the Empress’s ears meant—
That the one watching him had not been Yunseo alone, acting on his own judgment.
It had been the Empress’s will.
—
The Chancellor and the envoy were escorted straight to court.
Wolhwa slowly rose from her seat.
Her ice-cold gaze turned toward the two of them.
“Chancellor.”
Her voice was quiet.
“I trusted you and entrusted you with heavy responsibilities. And yet—”
Her gaze shifted to the envoy.
“Explain how you came to be in the same place as a spy.”
Jang Munyeon hurriedly knelt.
“Your Majesty!”
Thud—
He immediately bowed his head to the floor.
“This subject never harbored any intent to rebel!”
“Then?”
Wolhwa’s eyes narrowed.
Jang Munyeon continued urgently.
“This subject… was acting for Your Majesty’s sake!”
“……”
“I merely intended to grasp Prince Jeongan’s movements in advance and prepare accordingly!”
He poured out his words without even being able to breathe.
“To that end, this subject deliberately made contact with them and was extracting information!”
“Information?”
Open derision appeared in Wolhwa’s eyes.
“If it was so important, why have you not said a single word of it to me until now?”
Jang Munyeon’s lips trembled.
“T-that is…”
“If you had reported it beforehand.”
Wolhwa slowly walked down.
“You would not have been dragged here as a traitor like this.”
Jang Munyeon’s mouth opened and closed several times, but in the end, no sound came out.
“Surely.”
The corner of her mouth twisted.
“You did not think you could seize the palace and the court and shake them as you pleased.”
“Your Majesty! This subject never meant—”
“Enough.”
Wolhwa raised a hand and cut him off.
Her gaze turned to the envoy in the prisoner’s cart.
“I have no interest in your excuses.”
Wolhwa’s cold voice rang loudly through the court.
“There is only one thing I wish to know.”
Her eyes were honed as deadly as a blade.
“What purpose that spy had in sneaking into Jinling.”