Chapter 26

As the Emperor was enraged, Bipaan had no choice but to reply.

“That’s true, Your Majesty!”

“Crown Prince!”

Thump!

The Emperor hit the armrest of his chair with his hands strongly. The sound resonated throughout the large executive office.

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“It is clear that you don’t want to be the next emperor, right? Don’t you know how dangerous it is to succeed the throne without offspring?” Ohyulje shouted.

Bipaan sneered at him in his heart, though. The Emperor told him not to reveal his genuine feelings, but he now openly got enraged and expressed his surging anger at Bipaan. But Bipaan meekly accepted his severe rebuke with a poker face.

By the time Ohyulje calmed down finally. Bipaan said quietly, “Your Majesty, too many princes could bring about the clouds of blood through fierce fighting.”

Bipaan’s remarks implied a veiled criticism of the Emperor. In fact, Ohyulje had several brothers, and he had only succeeded the throne by killing them all.

Clenching his fists after hearing Bipaan’s implicit criticism, Ohyulje reacted instantly, “So, what are you going to do about your offspring?”

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At his asking Bipaan replied, as if he didn’t need to think twice about it, “I’m going to install my prince brother as my successor.”

Bipaan replied without any hesitation. In fact, Bipaan had set up his own plan on the next successor long time ago. And now he felt it was about time that the emperor knew about his plan in detail.

“I’m not going to have another concubine. And as I have no son to succeed my throne, his mother won’t have any chance to intervene in politics. I’m going to strengthen my authority as the emperor to manage state affairs with only the power of the emperor through tough governance. After I, as a strong ruler, build up the Mok Kingdom as a rich and powerful country not to be swayed by the political turbulences in and outside the country, I’m going to hand over my power to the successor. As the previous emperor was a stern and dignified one, the next emperor would further develop the Mok Kingdom governed by the emperor’s authority in terms of cultural power. Generally speaking, a country relying too much on military power is lacking in cultural governance, while a country dependent on arts and literature is easily susceptible to the politics of pleasure. So, I’m going to build a country with the right mix of military power and rich culture.”

“If that’s the case, who do you have in mind as your successor?”

“He’s Prince Ruhae.”

There was a silence between the Emperor and Bipaan.

And Ohyulje made a hearty laugh, patting his knee.

“Pahaaaaaaa!”

Ohyulje felt he had a cold sweat on his back. He was surprised by his son’s eloquence and thorough political calculation. If Bipaan had been one of his brothers, not his son, he could not have succeeded the throne, Ohyulje thought to himself.

Bipaan was already convinced that he would succeed the throne of the Emperor. Besides, he already decided on his next successor. What he told Ohyulje about his succession plan was only a very small part of it in abstract terms. As Ohyulje could not figure out what Bipaan had in his mind since childhood, he was just amazed about Bipaan’s grand plan on the ruling of the Mok Kingdom and his successor.

Besides, Bipaan evaluated the abilities of his brothers better than Ohyulje.

“An emperor who can raise the cultural power of the Mok Kingdom?’

In Ohyuje’s mind, only Ruhae could make the Mok Kingdom a strong cultural power, but Ruhae was too meek to exercise dignity as the emperor. However, if Bipaan could develop the emperor’s tyrannical governance before he handed over his power to Ruhae, the latter would have no problem succeeding the throne. In that respect, Biaapn was not just concerned about his own power as the next emperor. He was already thinking about the future of the Mok Kingdom.

Looking down at his son with a poker face, Ohyulje felt fearful, but he quietly stared at him without expressing his feelings at all.

“Crown Prince, don’t leave the Crown Princess and Princess lonely too long. Don’t you know the proverb that if a woman bears a grudge against a man, frost falls even in May and June?”

Cracking jokes like that, Ohyulje tried to change the topic. At the same time, he pressured Bipaan furtively.

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“As you know, your wife is hot-blooded and sexually active at her age. Who knows if some other guy is going to tempt her when she keeps spending nights alone?”

Obviously, he cracked that joke with the recent rumor about him in mind. Ruhae’s alleged affair with Kyosul. After he was tipped off by Ohyulje about it, Bipaan told his men to find out about the veracity of the rumor and learned that Ruhae was seen heading for Dongbi Palace, Kyosul’s residence, carrying her in his arms. But Bipaan was not aware of their secret meetings in the back garden of the outer palace. In fact, there was almost no one who visited the back garden.

Losing his temper at Ohyulje’s lewd joke, Bipaan balked at him and said, “Actually, I directed him.”

“Directed?”

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“As Crown Princess Kyosul was in bad condition at that time, I ordered Ruhae to carry her to Dongbin Palace. While he was carrying her in his arms to the palace, she got worse. It looks like Ruhae committed an act of disrespect as he was overly concerned.”

“Oh, I see.”

Stroking his chin, Ohyulje nodded at Bipaan’s reply.

Though he was not fully persuaded, Ohyulje couldn’t take issue with the matter further as Bipaan initiated to clear the air.

“I dare request you to stay away from those who are reporting such wicked rumors to you,” said Bipaan, lowering his head.

“I’m going to first punish anyone who challenges your authority.”

“Thanks a lot, Your Majesty!”

Bipaan lowered his head. And when he raised his head again, the Emperor waved his hand as if he wanted Bipaan to leave.

“Long live the Emperor! Let me leave then. I wish you peace, Your Majesty.”

After offering him farewells politely, Bipaan left the royal palace. Leaning on the king’s chair comfortably, Ohyulje murmured while looking at the ceiling.

“Emperor who can make the Mok Kingdom’s culture flourish…”

Suddenly, he recalled a brother he killed several years ago. If he had been wiser at that time, he would have had his brother help him with handling state affairs instead of having killed him. It was Ruhae who took after his murdered brother.

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***

Kyosul, who began to walk around the Dongbin Palace on the occasion of her recent visit to Kyoyoung’s residence there, decided to stop by the flower garden of the central palace. As far as a back garden was concerned, there was one in the East Palace and one in the outer palace that she frequented. But she decided to visit the central palace garden that the chief court lady serving her praised as the ‘most beautiful place.’ As the place was not a ‘back garden,’ but a ‘flower garden,’ there were mainly flowers there, mostly rare species that could not easily be seen anywhere else. Excited, Kyosul headed for the flower garden of the central palace accompanied only by her nanny.

The central palace was divided into the center and the exterior section. Royal members were free to come and go out of the exterior section of the palace, while Taekon Palace, located in the deepest center of the palace, the residence of the Emperor and the Queen, were off-limits to even royal members. Even the Crown Princess needed to come with the Crown Prince to be allowed in. Mostly, the Crown Prince and the Emperor held audience to discuss state affairs in the main hall of the central palace at set times.

Unlike the Hwa Kingdom where royal members were supposed to offer greetings to the King and the Queen every morning, it was very difficult to meet f with the Emperor and the Queen without any special event.

Kyosul stood before the Emperor and the Queen on the wedding day, but she couldn’t see them as she was covered with a red cloth and too nervous to pay attention to them. As it was difficult to meet them easily, Kyosul regarded them as highly dignified persons who she couldn’t dare to have any access to.

“What’s the matter with you?”

When she reached the outer top gate of the flower garden, a couple of soldiers standing guard there stopped her. They were imperial warriors defending the flower garden.

As Kyosul entered the imperial palace only recently and she confined herself in her room for a while, they didn’t recognize her. When they stopped her, the nanny got upset and said, “You guys are rude! How can you stop this woman when you don’t know about her? Show your due manners! She is the Crown Princess Kyosul!”

“We’re so sorry, Your Highness. Long live the Crown Princess! We’re honored to see you.”

When the nanny identified Kyosul’s title, they put down their spears and offered polite greetings.