Chapter 55

Yangyang went on in a trembling voice, “Though I knew it was rude, I stopped at my spot and watched them as if I was bewitched by somebody. I saw that woman who was about to go back to the North Palace ….”

With an angry and sorrow look, Yangyang stared at Hosana. She didn’t mention Hosana’s name on purpose. Swallowing her anger, Yangyang continued with a heavy heart, “I saw her receiving something from Prince Ruhae.”

According to her testimony, the court lady received something suspicious from him.

At that moment, Ruhae jerked his head in shock, which Bipaan must have noticed it obviously.

Ruhae also remembered what she testified. The moment he saw Hosana tied up with a tight rope, he recalled that scene. The court lady was pretty nervous after seeing him in front of the narrow gate, dropped something on the ground while turning back hastily. It was a small pouch containing incense. So, he stopped her and gave the pouch to her.

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“At that time I didn’t know what it was, but when I looked back, it looked like poison.”

Poison.

Piercing through the terrifying atmosphere of the interrogation place, this short word shocked everyone there.

Breaking the icy silence that dominated the place, Ruhae protested, “No, I don’t know anything about it. It’s true that I stopped the court lady and handed that pouch to her, but it was not something I prepared, but she dropped.”

“Was it an incense pouch?”

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Repeating what Ruhae just said, Bipaan looked at one of the soldiers and called him by a nod. And then he quickly went out of the place.

Bipaan asked Yangyang, “Did you see Hosana drop something on the ground first?”

“I checked out the narrow gate when I heard Prince Ruhae calling that woman, so if he called her after he first picked up the pouch…”

“Did you see her drop it first or not? Just answer!”

Bipaan cut off her words when she tried to reply cautiously, fully taking into consideration Ruhae’s position. Stricken with fear, Yangyang replied, “I didn’t see it.”

Ruhae protested again, “When I picked up the pouch, I called that court lady who was hastily leaving the place. After I called that woman, Yangyang saw me. When she noticed me, I was holding the pouch, so it’s natural that she didn’t see me picking it up. Please think of the logical sequence of the situation.”

Ruhae’s protest fell on deaf ears.

Bipaan wouldn’t listen to him and nodded for her to leave. After she went out of the interrogation place, Bipaan started the questioning again.

“How often do you see Prince Heyjin as her prenatal education teacher?”

“I see her every other day, and three times per week at most.”

“It looks like you went to see her pretty often.”

“That’s because…”

“I already know that you have a sense of strong responsibility,” Bipaan said, cutting off his words and praising him, but Ruhae felt his praise was a joke to make fun of him.

As expected, Bipaan sharply pointed out, “You used to go there so often with such a strong sense of responsibility, but you don’t go there these days, do you?”

“I was busy taking care of the state exam for civilians, which is taking place in the fall.”

“Do you stage the civil state exams usually around this time?”

That was a trick to entrap Ruhae. His trick was too obvious, but Ruhae told the truth.

“I can’t point out the exact timing of the exams, but I have the exams ready around the same time every year.”

“When you were so busy like that, you went to the North Palace eight days ago, right? Even at that time you went there for Princess Heyjin’s prenatal education?”

Eight days ago, Ruhae found he was going to be snowed under with work, so he got nervous. He was afraid he might have to delay conveying his letter to Kyosul when he was overwhelmed by his workload.

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That’s why I barely took time out around that time to go to the North Palace and convey that letter.

That day Ruhae turned back to the South Palace after seeing Kyosul at the North Palace to convey his letter. Was it his mistake not to have met Prince Heyjin as he got carried away with having seen Kyosul and hastily came back?

Ruhae answered with a heavy heart, “No, I didn’t see Princess Heyjin that day.”

“Why didn’t you see the princess that day?”

He went to the North Palace that day only to convey his letter to Kyosul, but Ruhae couldn’t tell the truth.

When he hesitated to answer, Bipaan pressed on him again.

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“You left the South Palace for the North Palace, but turned back even without seeing Princess Heyjin, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” he replied quickly. This time he couldn’t make any excuses. He just recognized his whereabouts that day and shut his mouth.

He heard many people at the interrogation place whispering among themselves.

Despite that, he couldn’t answer honestly.

He couldn’t tell Bipaan that he returned to the South Palace after meeting Kyosul at the North Palace.

***

Interrogation of Prince Ruhae was like a difficult tug of war to Bipaan. Ruhae denied his charges by all means, while Bipaan persistently interrogated him harshly enough to make even an innocent man forcibly confess his false charges. The long and persistent tug of war didn’t produce a result.

Bipaan returned to the East Palace only when the sun was going down. When he was about to lie on the bed, exhausted by long interrogation of Ruhae, someone was waiting for him unexpectedly.

“Your Majesty, Crown Princess Kyosul is waiting here for an audience with you.”

“Your Majesty!” Kyosul called him in a feeble voice as if she were about to collapse any time, but he cast an icy glance at her. She opened her little and dry lips, “Prince Ruhae was with me.”

Before Kyosul went to the East Palace to meet with Bipaan, she was shocked to learn from her nanny that Ruhae was taken to the imperial palace for interrogation.

“Nanny, what are you talking about now?” Kyosul screamed in astonishment.

Her eyes trembled wildly. For that short moment, she got so worried and nervous.

She was apparently more shocked by Prince Ruhae’s arrest than the bad news about Heyjin.

“Why has Prince Ruhae been forcibly taken by them?”

Kyosul kept pulling the nanny’s arm. Her tense eyebrows and sad eyes, as well as her impatient voice, clearly showed that she was heartbroken.

Though the nanny expected how Kyosul would react, she was embarrassed at the Crown Princess’s violent agitation.

“I heard that they started interrogating Prince Ruhae formally at the Central Palace.”

“What? Interrogation of Prince Ruhae? Does it mean that he was imprisoned on charges of a big crime? Why would he commit treason?”

“I also heard that even though Prince Heyjin collapsed, her baby on the way was in more danger.”

The emperor’s grandson was in danger. It was not just an ordinary son of a prince. He was the only grandson of one of the four princes in line to the throne. As Bipaan had no child, that grandson could be appointed as the next heir after him.

“Please tell me more, nanny!” Kyosul demanded strongly. She pulled the nanny’s sleeves harder with her hands trembling.

Looking at Kyosul, she told Kyosul everything she heard in detail.

“Two days ago Princess Heyjin suddenly fell from a sharp pain in her abdomen in the evening, I hear. So, those around her thought as her due date was approaching, she might deliver a baby earlier than her due, but she didn’t.”

Why did she complain of stomach ache when she was almost due?

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Kyosul could think of only two possibilities.

“So, the royal doctors in the palace were all mobilized on emergency standby at the North Palace. Prince Binsung was so enraged at the incident. As they quickly handled the situation, they caught a suspect running away from the palace.”

“A suspect?”

“Yes, the suspect was allegedly a court lady who put poison in the meals for the princess.

When they discovered the poison and the suspect, there took place an impromptu state interrogation, and Emperor Ohyulje left the interrogation with Crown Princess Bipaan.”

“Then, did the interrogation happen yesterday?”

As the imperial palace was vast, Kyosul didn’t know there took place such a big incident outside the East Palace. She vaguely thought they must have started an investigation into the incident to catch the real suspect of the royal family who instigated that court lady to poison the princess’s meal.

That’s why Kyosul was more embarrassed and confused.

“I hear they judged that court lady alone could not have committed such a wicked act, so they investigated all the court ladies of the North Palace and found one who saw Prince Ruhae with the suspect. So, the imperial army soldiers surrounded the South Palace to arrest Prince Ruhae.”

“That’s just sheer nonsense!” She flopped into a chair and said as if she couldn’t believe her ears, “Do you think it makes sense that he was taken on circumstantial evidence? There is no direct evidence. This is a total set-up!”