HLCOB C27

Chapter 27

Only those who have lost know it.

That only with power can one protect. And so Jaheon had been able to persuade Lady He. Leaving her quarters, he closed his eyes and exhaled.

“Perhaps the worst has been averted.”

If the Empress’s sorcery became a matter of jealousy, then her deposition would be political strife, not treason. The eunuchs would no longer be able to attack the Qingliu so easily, and the Emperor would lose the pretext to use the eunuchs to sweep them away.

Then only one hurdle remained.

Jaheon, who had shut his eyes for a moment, raised his lids at the sense of someone before him.

“Are you Yirang Im?”

A soldier stood there.

But his garb differed from ordinary troops. It closely resembled the Emperor’s personal guard seen at the imperial study—the Yulim Guard.

“As expected.”

With a faint smile, Jaheon answered,

“Yes.”

The soldier bowed and spoke.

“His Majesty wishes an audience with Yirang Im.”

What remained was only to win over the Emperor who had laid out this entire board.

It was the second time Jaheon was summoned to the imperial study.

Even so, the way there was bleak as ever. After walking what felt like an endless corridor, Jaheon reached the door before the imperial study.

“Your Majesty, Yirang Im has been brought.”

“Let him enter.”

When the door opened, the Emperor was there.

The Emperor was playing dice with a eunuch; but the eunuch before him had gone ashen. From that alone, Jaheon could guess the Emperor’s mood without seeing his face.

As soon as Jaheon stepped inside, the Emperor called him.

“Huaseo.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Tok—

An ivory‑white die dropped before Jaheon’s eyes. And the Emperor asked,

“It was the Throne that bestowed the plaque; why then go to Lady He first to pay respects?”

The tone was much like usual. But at those words, the eunuch sitting before the Emperor trembled; the air turned chill as if a cold snap had swept the study. At that, Jaheon knelt.

“Your Majesty. This servant has committed a capital crime.”

He pleaded guilty at once. The Emperor arched a brow.

“A capital crime?”

“It is so.”

At Jaheon’s answer, the Emperor fell into thought, tapping the table with his finger.

Tok— Tok— Tok—

The measured sound raised the tension in the room. Jaheon strove not to show it. The Emperor’s seat could change anything; even if pretext was lacking, a single word could make the Empress’s “treason” into fact.

“Huaseo.”

After a while, the Emperor asked,

“Then tell the Throne—what is this capital crime?”

Jaheon answered as calmly as possible.

“…Though this servant received a plaque, he overstepped his station.”

“Overstepped?”

“Yes.”

“In what did you overstep?”

“In conspiring with the harem to discard the plaque.”

It had only taken one meeting.

Even so, Jaheon had learned with searing clarity what must never be done before the Emperor.

Lies.

Lies that might throw off the Emperor’s calculations. Likely Zhang Rang had been slapped for the same reason. To the Emperor, all must move as the pieces intended.

“Your Majesty.”

Thus Jaheon spoke the truth.

“This servant does not wish to be bait to draw out the Qingliu.”

This was a ruler who toyed with men by using all power to keep them in his palm. To hide truth from one who could find it at once by power would only be poison. At that, the Emperor said,

“Even though it was bestowed by the Throne?”

“Yes.”

Tok—

The measured tapping ceased. Stillness settled. The eunuch looked ready to faint. Jaheon remained composed. The Emperor murmured,

“So you mean to discard what the Throne has given?”

The voice was cold enough to bring fear rushing in. Swallowing, Jaheon managed to answer,

“…Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because this servant does not wish to die.”

“Is it not those gathered around you who will die, rather than you?”

With no change in pitch, the Emperor spoke, and Jaheon understood that he had desired the worst of the scenarios Jaheon had imagined—to use him as bait and purge the Qingliu utterly. That was the one thing Jaheon had to prevent; he opened his mouth.

“…To lose one’s followers is the same as losing power, is it not?”

“Losing power and dying are different matters.”

“For without power, one cannot protect what must be protected.”

“…What must be protected?”

“…Yes.”

At that, the Emperor’s look turned interested.

“So—this is how you persuaded Lady He.”

From this brief exchange, the Emperor had precisely inferred the conversation between Jaheon and Lady He. At his uncanny acuity, Jaheon bit his lip.

“Huaseo.”

The Emperor asked evenly,

“What if the Throne does not permit such power to you?”

“……?”

The tone was calm; the meaning was not. Like Lady He, the Emperor meant to leave Jaheon as bait and strip away any power he could have. A statement like a threat. Jaheon raised his head—a discourtesy; but the Emperor said nothing.

“What if the Throne permits you nothing at all?”

Rather, he stared steadily into Jaheon’s eyes and asked again. Jaheon clenched a fist. The Emperor had power enough to do exactly that.

But had he been one to bow to that power and cease this path, Jaheon would never have come to Luoyang ready even to accept the path of a male favorite. Even if the world reviled him, he had come to seize strength to protect the only family he had.

“…Your Majesty will be made to permit it.”

Thus he answered without looking away.

“By any means necessary.”

Staring into Jaheon’s eyes—without a speck of falsehood—the Emperor burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha!”

After laughing for a time, the Emperor spoke.

“…Then let us see you try.”

The lightless imperial eyes curved toward Jaheon.

“The Throne is curious how far you can keep what you mean to keep.”

As though he knew Jaheon would flail to change fate.

Leave was granted by the Emperor.

Though there were puzzling points in the talk, in any case it amounted to permission to strike at the eunuchs.

“Damn.”

Merely guessing at the Emperor’s mind felt as if it shaved three years off one’s life. No doubt the Emperor’s hand had much to do with why the eunuchs and Lady He had grown so cutting.

“Young master!”

Having been taut with nerves, Jaheon was hit with dizziness the moment he left the palace. O Juk‑yeop, waiting outside, rushed to steady him as he staggered.

“It is nothing.”

“But, young master…!”

“Truly. If this were enough to fell one, life in Luoyang would be impossible.”

Soothing the worried O Juk‑yeop, Jaheon asked,

“…And what of the request—was it delivered to Lord Wang?”

“Yes. It was sent express; it will reach Bing within a day.”

Climbing into the carriage, Jaheon thought,

“Three days.”

That was the time left to him after he had overturned the board.

Lady He had agreed not to meet the eunuchs or He Jin for three days; there would be no variables within the palace—for she knew well that to see her son, her brother’s power had to be weakened without limit. And he had just gained the Emperor’s leave to strike the eunuchs.

But this alone was not enough.

Even if the Qingliu survived, the court still held many Zhuoliu men aligned with the eunuchs. So Jaheon meant to use this chance to alter the power structure of the court altogether.

“Attendant Wang said he would submit a memorial at court in three days, to foist treason upon the Empress.”

“Chief Attendant Wang Bo.”

Mulling over the name Lady He had mentioned, Jaheon spoke,

“O Juk‑yeop.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Go tonight—unseen—and carry this message to the residence of Prefect Yang.”

Recently, the Hongnong Yang, Yang Biao, had sent envoys to cultivate friendship with him.

Yang Biao held the office of Prefect of the Capital Commandery.

The Prefect of the Capital Commandery.

An office in charge of the administration of Luoyang and its environs. As the post handled the practical administration of the capital region, any who held it would inevitably come to know many of the eunuchs’ corruptions.

“What message shall I deliver?”

For that reason, quite a number of Qingliu men who had held the Prefect’s office in the record of events had tried to impeach the eunuchs; the current Prefect, Yang Biao, was one such man.

“Tell him—the time has come to impeach Chief Attendant Wang Bo.”

Just as the eunuchs had sought to use the Empress as pretext to strike the Qingliu, so Jaheon meant to use the eunuchs as pretext to strike the Zhuoliu.