Reconvening at their palanquin was not as exciting as it seemed. Jung Min's empty face made the grinning Prime Minister lose his appetite. His onyx-black eyebrows scrunched and assembled together as he sat opposite to his son. "Get that long face of yours out of my face."
He then instructed the palanquin escorts to start moving, as they were about to go home. "Let's go."
Jung Min turned to him, face still as blank as a paper. He just grabbed a book and started reading. With his son ignoring him, the Prime Minister cleared his throat and finally opened up the result of his meeting with the Balhae Queen.
"Son, drop that book and listen to me."
With all due respect, the Prosecution Head folded the book and gazed straight to his father. "What is it? Are you going to tell me that you just successfully manipulated that Queen?"
Jung Ho scoffed, "What? No! It's not manipulating, it's mind conditioning... she agreed!"
"Don't try to sugarcoat it in front of me. No matter how nice and pleasant you twist your words, it's still the same. Before I went out of that room, Queen Songyeon was rigid about her decision. She doesn't want the terms of our King. Now, you're telling me that she agreed?" traces of blood patches filled Jung Min's cheeks—in a suppressed anger. "Tell me. What did you do to convince her? How did you manipulate... Ah, no. How did you condition her?"
"A little exchange of favors. Something that she couldn't resist."
The smirk on the Prime Minister's lips made Jung Min's skin writhe in disgust. He shot a glare of fury to his father, realizing that the woman he had an argument might be correct: Jung Ho's reputation had already tainted the almighty reputation of their Heavenly Kingdom. That he was a seed of a manipulative, vile, and conniving demon.
"And what is that?"
"You!"
"Me?" the baffled son's forehead curled.
"Yes, my son. The end of this small conflict between two big kingdoms depends on you."
"What are you talking about?"
"You... are going to marry their princess."
Jung Min's jaw dropped, his mouth gaping open in shock. Suddenly, the last image of the embarrassed woman looking at him before she climbed back to the palanquin crossed his mind. He then thought, I'm going to marry that woman?
To a certain extent, he had no complete, utter, solid objection of the plan. Jung Min knew deep inside him that the moment his eyes laid with that pretty, dazzling hazelnut, a peculiar yet bouncing feeling kicked his stomach like he was in a Hwarang match. His defenses shattered, his heart skipped not just one beat—thousands of it. It even jumped out of his chest, and he did not mind. The woman's astonishing, perfect superficial features sent butterflies to his fortified stomach. She might have been quite shady for dragging his name with the Prime Minister. But in the end, when the woman's true emotion peeked into her eyes, when her unexpected vulnerable side got revealed, the annoyance that Jung Min felt towards her flew and pulverized into the wind, and he just wanted to see her again... to know her more—perhaps to apologize first and acknowledge his mistake.
However, those reasons alone were not enough for him to marry her instantly. For him, marrying someone just because of infatuation, guilt, or worse because of political purposes pertains abuse and control. Those two were not the essence of marriage. It would not last for a lifetime because there was no solid foundation. Pure selfish theatrical acts of tomfoolery. Was he selfish? Jung Min could not tell anymore.
"This is ridiculous! You've decided on yourself without consulting me?"
"That's what we're doing at the moment. I need you to do it as soon as possible."
"You're insane! You've lost it!" Jung Min shivered, crossing his arms.
"Call it whatever you want. Insanity, foolishness, lunacy. I don't care! We have a war here. Can't you see that? If you really want to prove yourself that you're rightful to be one of Silla's pillars, you'll do everything to protect it."
"By ruining other people's lives? I'll talk to the Queen again. This won't do!" Jung Min opened the window and yelled, "Stop the palanquin!"
The moment the carriage dropped, Jung Min abruptly opened the window and got out. Medium-cool hands of the wind unclogged his wheezing bronchi. Fortunately, they were only a few paces away from the main gate of the palace. He could have run as fast as a thunderbolt, but apparently, Jung Ho had held his arm before he could even jet. The son looked back, giving his father a glare as scorching as the afternoon sun.
"Let go!"
Jung Ho's gripped tightened, his trimmed nails digging to the man's dandelion skin. "You don't want this to get ugly, do you? Get in." his voice was as soft as a whisper but strong as thunder roar. The scathing stress, the conviction, the authority!
"I will never be your running dog all my life! I'm done. I won't ruin another person's life just for your enjoyment."
"Do you even hear yourself saying that heroic stupidity? You're not going to ruin someone. In fact, you're helping them to build what they've lost." the grip loosened as the wild son has been pacified.
"Can you please stop these vague speeches and go straight to the point? Why do I need to marry that Princess?" Jung Min's voice shot from his lungs straight to his father."
"The King has failed to clarify his terms and conditions. He stated in that letter that he'll finally allow an open trading relationship if the Queen approves the thirty-day labor of her nobleman. It's not clear what kind of trading relationship. It could be academic, cultural, political... You know what, that's not what the Queen needs right now. She doesn't care if they learn something about our culture, practices, or kitchen spices. What they need right now is iron."
Jung Min's lips thinned out, listening to his father, trying to digest every word he was saying. The Prime Minister continued, "I think the King did that on purpose. A vague statement of an open trading relationship. He doesn't want to give Balhae even an ounce of iron ore...He'll let them suffer because of the blatant insult that fat nobleman has given Silla. But I am different. Giving a small number of our resources to those poor people in their provinces won't cripple our nation. No righteous, hard-working person should be squeezed and punished just because of these political tensions. You know who should be punished? Those sneaky, opportunistic hoarders exploiting our resources—not the common people."
His father's speech was clearly a double-edged sword. Black and white. Helpful in a way, but with dark impurities. Knowing his father, Jung Min was pretty much aware of the hidden layers of Jung Ho's proposal. But then he realized, yes, no commoner should suffer because of their leaders' conflict.
"And how is that related to marrying the Balhae Princess?
"I told Queen Songyeon that if she and her daughter agree with this, they'll receive some help from us. I'll give them what they need."
"How about the King? He won't agree with this. You just said that."
Jung Ho grinned and grabbed his son's shoulder. "I can handle him."
A thrifty smile and a nod were all Jung Min could respond. Apparently, he seemed slowly impressed with the Prime Minister's audacity and sagacious decisions. His father's last statement made him convinced. "Well, your insights are very enlightening, father. At the end of the day, it's still for the people. Right—when we get home, I will tell the King all those inspiring words that you've told me. I will convince him to give some iron ores to the people of Balhae. It won't cripple us, right? I know our king. He's compassionate, kind, and loving. He'll understand." he then winked.
The color on Jung Ho's face faded, his heart dropped into his stomach. With the loss of control and composure, his fist flew straight into Jung Min's face. So hard, he and his molars almost stumbled into the ground. Jung Min snickered as he sneered to his father, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I can't believe you just went low for that."
A guffaw burst from his bleeding mouth, his white teeth bathing in scarlet blood. "This is so funny! I thought they're the ones who are desperate, but it seems like it was you."
If only Jung Ho's eyes could drill and bore his son, Jung Min's gut would have been a hollow, bloody carcass devoid of its organs. His eyebrows furrowed in a glower, unbalanced breathing clouding up his way. "Do you think the king would favor you even if you explained everything to him? Do you think he will give you the same attention he's been giving to Sae Joo ever since he was a baby? Do you think you would find the perfect father figure in him? Don't make me laugh, Jung Min. That will never happen!"
The wounded man was taken aback by his father's blunt words. He, himself, also did not know who he was, what his actions meant, who he was serving for, and what he would do. His body was trapped to his father by the powerful thread of blood, while his soul was attached to the King. Hating Sae Joo seemed nonsensical for him as time went by. Was it really hatred or just a petty pinch of jealousy? He wanted so badly to have a real father figure, a real parent, where one would turn the whole place upside down if he went missing, the one who would be as restless as a spinning top if he was ill, the one who would constantly check and talk to him, just to ask how his day was, and the one who would do anything to protect and cherish him. All he had become through the years of pain and emotional torture was a lost soul, finding his own sacred sanctuary. He had a parent, a physical father, but he only had himself.
"I know the King. He won't treat me like his son, but he will treat like a human." pearls of tears damped Jung Min's lower eyelid. He kept on blinking to keep them from falling. "He'll listen to me. I guarantee you that."
"That may be true. The King might listen to you, but how sure are you that the council will? You know how we council members settle kingdom conflicts—an outlier has the power to flip a unanimous decision, especially if that outlier is me. Your wish will be denied." sniggered Jung Ho.
No response, just a strong wavelength of blood-red ferocity on Jung Min's eyes. It seemed like Jung Ho had to unleash his last trick card to reverse the situation. His son has already shown his soft side. That disgusted him deep to this marrow. Deception: the most powerful weapon that he could utilize to convince his crybaby son.
Jung Min could not take his father anymore. His mind wanted to shut for the moment so he decided to travel separately back home. "When we get to the jetty, I'll ride a different boat to Seorabeol. I won't tag along with you." he was about to get back to the palanquin when Jung Ho blurted, "Chil Yook... I will help you find him."
"What?" the curious man turned.
"You heard me right. I'll help you close the dark chapter of your life. Just let me open up your new one. Join forces with me, and we could find him in no time."
Jung Min wiped his mouth and spat into the ground. "I don't need your help. I can find him by myself. I'll close my dark chapter and open my new one the way I want to. If you really want that position, if you intensively crave being a king, then go. Marry her!"
He turned to a palace hwarang and commanded, "I change my mind. I'm going to the jetty by myself. You take care of my things."
"Get in, Jung Min. You don't want the King to question why we traveled back separately. Endure it for a week."
Hesitant as he was, Jung Min had just to comply. He ran out of energy to think of arguments for rebuttal. His body was tired anyways; he felt like a carnivorous plant had sucked all of his positive chi. His father always had this ability to convince people even in the simplest ways because of his arguments—arguments that made sense. Like nothing had happened, he came back to his seat and closed his eyes. Another excruciating and long seven days ahead of him.
~~•~~
A week and two days had flown away before they stepped foot back to the kingdom they longed so much. For those days that passed, they expected that a lot of big things have also happened in the palace. What happened to Dae Wong's mission? How was the preparation for the Hangawi festival? What new updates could they get from their nangdos doing secret jobs?
For the first one, Dae Wong's series of operations had been folds of peaks and valleys. Those energy-draining nights had collected not only the lives of illegal miners and hoarders but also the honorary vigor of Silla's soldiers. There had been blood baths on the mining sites. Fortunately, they were successful. The mining industry in Sangju had been reclaimed by the capital. No more private miners. All mining sites were demolished and would be reconstructed under the close supervision of the palace. Dae Wong was right after all; they had discovered that the governor of the province was the mastermind, alongside with a big group of barbaric bandits from Balhae. Catching him was never easy. It took days of planning to incriminate him.
Because of Jae Joong's fury, he had ordered a big public execution. All captives were hanged in the East Market. The whole kingdom had been encapsulated with fear and vigilance. Jae Joong also had declared a law about the strict entry of immigrants from other nations. More hwarangs had been deployed in fortresses near borders—inland or in seas. The barbaric group of Balhae was still a large force to destroy, but at least, Silla was exerting great efforts to prevent their entry. No, no. Never again!
Days after the dark chapter, the kingdom had never forgotten giving praises to the Heavens for saving their kingdom from exploiters. As Jung Ho and Jung Min came, the palace was on its third and last day of celebrating the Hangawi festival. So festive, one could not imagine the horror and terror the kingdom had been through in the past week. There had been a hwarang dance competition, archery contests, and offerings to the Heavens.
Simple as it was—no big commotions when their palanquin set foot in the palace courtyard. Sun rays were almost receding, hiding in groups to the mountains. Skies and their orange cirrus clouds peeked on top. The entire palace was serene. Palace workers and officials had gone to their homes to honor their deceased family members and spend their precious time together.
Jung Ho and Jung Min stopped at the King's pavilion to pay him respects, to report all their negotiations with Balhae. Jae Joong just arrived from the shrine after paying respects to her late Queen and son—Sae Yoo. His long white robe sweeping the floor welcomed the two from their trip.
"I didn't expect that you are coming today. You've missed the main highlights of the festival. It's been a long day. Let's talk tomorrow. You two rest."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," bowed Jung Ho.
Jae Joong peered, noticing the pale skin of his nephew and dew of sweat accumulating on his forehead. "Jung Min, are you alright?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," he answered, without looking straight to the King's eyes.
"Are you sure? You look ill."
"Y-ye—" Jung Min's eyelids shut skywards. Duggggg! He dropped on the floor in a loud thud.
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