CLS-Chapter 116

Chapter 116

“Hmmmm.”

Prince Gong, Zhu Lun, let out a deep sigh as he looked over the reports coming in.

“This won’t be easy.”

He had thought they could press Nok-gi’s faction harder based on the incident at the Hanrim Grand Estate, but Nok-gi’s power remained solid.

Though they had experienced some turbulence, they had firmly united to oppose him.

Looking at it coldly, Nok-gi’s faction currently held far superior power within the imperial court.

If Moon Yu-hwan stepped forward directly, they might be able to reverse the situation, but after hearing Moon Yu-hwan’s words that a sudden reversal could instead provoke Nok-gi’s side, they had shifted to a long-term strategy of recruiting supporters.

The problem was that this was proving far from easy.

“That eunuch…”

He had to acknowledge Nok-gi’s abilities. If those abilities were used for the country, they could bring about an era of great peace, but watching him manipulate the imperial court for his own selfish interests made his blood boil.

“Hmm…”

If things continued like this, the imperial court’s future was obvious.

They needed to come up with some kind of drastic measure…

The variable that Moon Yu-hwan and Prince Yi had prepared was either dead somewhere or locked away in some room sleeping—there was no news at all.

“That’s why I said it wouldn’t work… tsk.”

Despite his strong opposition, he resented Moon Yu-hwan for insisting on giving that fellow the Inspector’s Golden Sword.

“Your Highness.”

Just then, a voice calling for him came from outside.

“What is it?”

“A messenger has arrived from Hubei.”

“Hubei?”

Prince Yi tilted his head.

There was no one in Hubei who would seek him out, so why would a messenger come?

“Who sent it?”

“The Governor sent it. He brought an official letter.”

“An official letter…”

Prince Yi swallowed his contemplation and said,

“Bring it here.”

The door opened and a servant entered carrying the letter.

Prince Yi received the letter the servant carefully offered, but didn’t immediately tear it open, instead quietly looking down at it.

Hubei Governor Yeon Jeong-rip wasn’t particularly connected to him.

Though he maintained strict neutrality, if pressed, he was someone slightly closer to Nok-gi’s side.

While the position of provincial governor wasn’t low by any means, governors generally tended to avoid involvement in central affairs.

So why would such a person send him an official letter?

“Hmm…”

Prince Yi swallowed his contemplation, then carefully tore open the envelope and opened the letter.

After quietly reading the letter, Prince Yi burst into hearty laughter and set it down.

“This lazy fellow.”

Prince Yi laughed with good humor.

“Is anyone outside?”

“Yes.”

“Bring a drinking table.”

“Understood.”

Prince Yi read the letter once more and chuckled.

“I told him to fish for people, but he’s going around making threats.”

But what did it matter when he’d caught such a big fish?

If it was difficult to maintain balance within the imperial court, they could simply receive support from outside.

Hubei Governor Yeon Jeong-rip was someone with considerable influence. If such a person supported Prince Yi, not only other governors but also officials in the capital who were watching and waiting would all reconsider their positions.

“This shameless fellow.”

Prince Yi leaned back and laughed.

‘I suppose I can trust him a little more?’

The moon visible through the window seemed to be saying yes.

***

Seo Mun Da-yeon felt that something was going terribly wrong.

No, it was already seriously wrong.

‘Where did it all start going wrong?’

Dragging Wei Yan-ho down from the mountain had been fine. When Wei Yan-ho took the bait she’d cast, she had been confident.

Though persuading him had been difficult, once she’d managed it, she thought Wei Yan-ho would follow her words. No matter how strong he was, she was a woman and he was a man.

Once they’d become traveling companions, what he should do and what she should do was more or less decided.

That’s what she had thought…

Creak, creak.

“Ah, please pull more gently. And avoid the stones.”

“…Yes.”

Where had it gone wrong?

And where exactly had it become like this?

She was forcibly holding back tears that wanted to flow down her cheeks.

“Tsk tsk, what kind of spectacle is that?”

“What a strange sight indeed.”

Seeing the people around clicking their tongues, she wanted to find a mouse hole to hide in right now.

“Gently!”

“…Yes.”

The situation was quite simple.

After reaching a simple agreement, they came down from the mountain. Of course, Wei Yan-ho had lain down whenever he felt like it during that time, but that was still something she could endure.

But the real problem began after they came down to the village.

“…Walk?”

As soon as they came down to the residential area, Wei Yan-ho made a serious face.

Though he clearly had feet, Wei Yan-ho denied that his feet existed for walking.

She tried coaxing and persuading him, but Wei Yan-ho firmly expressed his refusal, and what he found was…

‘Why this kind of cart! Why!’

No horses, no mules, and even oxen were hard to find in such a sparsely populated village—it was fortunate they managed to find even a cart.

After Wei Yan-ho threw Gwak Hwan onto the cart, asking who would pull this cart was the natural next step for anyone, but that was apparently a forbidden question that should never be asked.

Wei Yan-ho answered as if it were perfectly obvious:

“You.”

“…”

And so this was the result.

Creak, creak.

The wheels of the cart, which wasn’t properly painted, made a loud noise.

Seo Mun Da-yeon was pulling that noisy cart from the front.

“What is that young maiden doing?”

“Indeed, what is she doing?”

Seo Mun Da-yeon quietly looked up at the sky.

‘I’d rather take the mountain path.’

Who knew that encountering people could be such an embarrassing thing?

Seo Mun Da-yeon’s heart was indescribably miserable as she pulled the cart instead of a horse.

It would be nice if they could find a horse market somewhere along the way, but unfortunately, she had no money. She seemed to have dropped it somewhere while fleeing.

No matter that she was a member of the Seo Mun family and worked for the Orthodox Alliance, without even an identification tag, no one would believe her words and give her such expensive horses or oxen.

She gave Wei Yan-ho a pleading look, but only received a glare as if he would devour her.

“Huff.”

She was getting out of breath.

Though she had learned martial arts, continuously pulling a cart with two grown men wasn’t easy.

“…Can’t we rest for a bit?”

“Then we’ll arrive next year.”

“Just a little.”

“Well, do as you please. I don’t mind. But then the time spent pulling will increase.”

Seo Mun Da-yeon’s shoulders drooped.

‘What kind of person is this?’

How could anyone with even a shred of common sense tell a grown maiden to pull a cart with him in it?

She didn’t even hope to be treated as a woman. But he should at least treat her as a human being!

‘How did I…’

It was true that she had survived because she met Wei Yan-ho, but the price of survival was too high.

While Seo Mun Da-yeon pulled the cart with a gloomy heart, Wei Yan-ho was lying in a very comfortable position, enjoying the scenery.

“La la laaaaa.”

A song naturally came out.

“Ugh…”

Then Gwak Hwan, who was lying beside him, began to slowly open his swollen eyes.

“Hey!”

Crack!

Wei Yan-ho sent Gwak Hwan far away again with one elbow strike, then put a grass whistle to his lips and began to blow.

“Ah, the world is still beautiful.”

He didn’t think he’d ever traveled anywhere so leisurely like this before.

When going to the Hanrim Grand Estate, he’d been hungry, and when going to Sacred Hand Hall, he’d been carried in a cargo hold. Now he was being carried in a private cart—it couldn’t be more luxurious.

“The sunlight is warm too.”

So how could he not fall asleep?

Anyone would inevitably fall asleep in such a situation.

Wei Yan-ho surrendered himself to the drowsiness that was gently washing over him.

Thump!

But at that moment, the cart hit a stone and shook.

“Ugh.”

“S-sorry.”

When Wei Yan-ho groaned, Seo Mun Da-yeon immediately apologized.

“How much further?”

“…Not much further.”

“You keep saying we’re almost there. Is it really not much further?”

“Yes.”

Really, there wasn’t much further to go.

The problem was that they would soon enter Xinyang, and Xinyang, which had an Orthodox Alliance branch, was quite a large city. Naturally, more people would see her current state.

“I’m really sorry, but…”

“Yes?”

“…When we enter the city, could we leave the cart behind?”

“You want to abandon this precious thing?”

“I’ll buy you ten of them once I reach the branch.”

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho looked thoroughly displeased.

“I-I’ll carry that person on my back too. You just need to walk a little.”

“Hmm.”

Of course, Wei Yan-ho was a generous person.

“Well, if you insist, I suppose there’s no choice.”

“Thank you.”

“Father always said we should treat women well.”

Is this treating women well?

This?

Does this person have no conscience?

Though steam seemed to rise from her head, Seo Mun Da-yeon forcibly held back her anger and sighed.

After barely reaching Xinyang, Seo Mun Da-yeon hid the cart in a secluded forest before reaching the city walls, then hoisted Gwak Hwan onto her back.

“Let’s go.”

“Why park it so far away?”

“There are too many people over there…”

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho clearly showed his displeasure, but he didn’t insist on riding the cart even that far.

Thankfully, to the point of tears.

“Let’s go then.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Though she’d been thoroughly tormented, her gratitude toward Wei Yan-ho was genuine. Without Wei Yan-ho, she wouldn’t have been able to survive, nor would she have been able to bring the demon here.

In front of the city gate, people wanting to enter the city were lined up in a long queue.

After waiting a bit, it was soon Wei Yan-ho’s turn.

“Identification tag.”

“Ah…”

Only then did she remember that she’d lost her money pouch. She had nothing to prove her identity.

“I lost it.”

“You lost your identification tag…”

The official who was checking identification tags saw the man she was carrying on her back and glared.

“What about this person?”

“He’s a demon. I’m from the Orthodox Alliance, escorting this demon to the branch. I lost my identification tag in the process. If you contact the Orthodox Alliance branch, they’ll verify my identity.”

But the official wasn’t friendly toward her.

“Orthodox Alliance? Hmph! So you’re one of those ruffian scoundrels. Why should I bother contacting the Orthodox Alliance for you and wait for their response? Either find your identification tag or get lost!”

“That won’t work…”

Seo Mun Da-yeon stamped her feet.

Just because she was turned away now didn’t mean there was no way to enter, but it would require more time. Time had already been delayed enough. She needed to hand over the demon as quickly as possible to expose their conspiracy.

As she worried about what to do, Wei Yan-ho slipped up beside her and asked,

“Why?”