I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

40 – Catching Rats

“There is a suspicious person.”

The very day after I talked with Hankyung, I heard that from Jung.

“Are you suspicious?”

“The assassination case.”

I narrowed my eyes.

Jung was looking at me with bright eyes like a puppy looking for praise. When I first saw it, it looked like a stray cat united with anger and evil towards the world, but now the unique innocence of a child is revealed little by little.

However, I was delighted with it and couldn’t just praise Jeong.

I did not tell Jung about the assassination. Of course, rumors spread, so you probably know what happened. However, finding the real culprit beyond simply knowing the case was a separate issue.

Me and Hankyung’s instructions to our family members were to be more careful, not to find clues to the real culprit.

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But Jung is talking about the true culprit in the assassination case….

“I’m asking just in case. Jeong, did you hear the conversation between me and Hankyung?”

“Uh, yes. But I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just came to see Dan, and I heard a voice…”

Did I say it too coldly? Jung showed disapproval and hurriedly explained his situation.

“It’s okay. I’m not trying to scold Jeong. I just want to tell him that it’s nothing to worry about.”

It’s not the kind of top-secret thing that should never be found out by anyone, and if it was that kind of thing, I and Hankyung would have thoroughly cracked down on it.

“Are you suspicious anyway?”

“Ah! That’s right. Dan said it. If you know the real culprit who assassinated the enemy general, you can tell it to a person named Chuyeon?”

“I did.”

It wasn’t that it was absolutely necessary to find out, but it was something that Jung wanted to help. I left out the afterwords and let Jung speak.

“I’m a person who doesn’t know either the enemy general or Chuyeon, but after hearing the story, it was something that happened over the top, right?”

“You can see it that way.”

I usually think about it, but Jung’s ability to analyze power was astonishing.

Seeing through the fact that the fundamental cause of the assassination of the enemy general was a power struggle over a higher position, just through the conversation between me and Hankyung.

Human desire for power. Conflict between forces with upper positions, the pinnacle of power. And even the action taken according to the position of each faction.

This level of political sense cannot be created by simply eating a nun. It is impossible without an innate understanding of power.

‘It must be a talent.’

If Jeong hadn’t been abandoned and neglected even in the collateral royal family, he would have taken a place somehow. Maybe he could have been king.

Jung worked hard to develop his thoughts even while I was thinking about something else for a moment.

“Then, I thought about who would benefit the most from this incident. If you look at it simply, Pyeongwon-gun is also winning the game, and the enemy general who was suddenly threatening the position above is dead, so it looks good to Gunsin-gun, but it’s not.”

“Most people will suspect him of being the culprit.”

“Right. Then, if Geonsin-gun also falls, will it benefit Pyeongwon-gun, who will be next in rank?”

“Isn’t that so? If Geonsin-gun loses his favor and becomes suspicious of King Jo, it’s obvious that Pyeongwon-gun will gain the upper hand.”

“It may seem that way, but suppose Pingyuangun followed the agenda of a man named Gongsunlong.”

If Gongsun-ryong had followed Gongsun-ryong’s judgment, the forces of Pyeongwon-gun would have pointed out Gunsin-gun as the culprit of the assassination and drove them away.

Then, Geonsin-gun would completely collapse, but there was a great possibility that King Jo’s suspicion and wariness towards Pyeongwon-gun would deepen even more.

If Geonsin-gun’s competitor disappears and Pyeongwon-gun becomes the top 1, Pyeongwon-gun’s next competitor might be King Jo.

“The next person to benefit is…”

“Perhaps he is the one with the highest authority after Geonsin-gun and Pyeongwon-gun.”

Superintendent of the Sanggyeong (上卿).

Han Hyang of the country of origin.

Exemption from Gaekgyeong(客卿).

Then, are these three prime suspects?

“But I think Mr. Chu probably thought of it up to this point.”

“I know a person named Hanhyang.”

“Jeong-i, you?”

I didn’t mean to ignore it, but it was a question that popped up because I really didn’t understand.

Hanhyang was a high-ranking official who rose to the rank of chancellor. I don’t know if Jung was an official pawn like me. It was an opponent that I couldn’t find any connection with the Jung I’ve seen.

‘But I don’t think Jung is lying.’

Jung pursed his lips at my question. Although he had a reason, he noticed that it was not easy to say.

There must be a reason why I can’t tell you why. I tried to ask why Han-hyang was so suspicious, rather than forcibly asking Jung about a secret he didn’t want to talk about.

But Jung seemed to think that clearing my doubts was more important than keeping some kind of unspoken secret.

Jung, who had difficulty parting his lips, spoke in a small voice.

“…I was the one who came to see my mother.”

Jung’s mother, Jo Hee.

Her family was a target family that could be called rich in its own way. However, she was implicated for marrying Yin, her father, Yin, and her family was shattered.

She was spared the death penalty by pouring out all of her family’s wealth, but how can a woman who has become broke have a way to live?

In the end, Johee returned to being a dancer, just like she used to dance at banquets in the upper class.

‘However, the malice of the people of Zhao, which was directed towards her young Jeong, could not have tolerated her quietly.’

Dancing alone was not enough.

As a result, Johee fell further.

“A man named Hyang Han, every time he came to visit her mother, he said that he would take her as a concubine when he became a Sangbang.”

As a child she lived secretly overhearing that her mother was with another man.

It must have been a past that Jung wanted to hide and forget.

I didn’t say anything of sympathy or consolation to Jung, who made a difficult decision.

I think such cheap words only tarnish Jung’s determination. Rather than that, let’s say thank you for making a difficult decision.

I thanked her, stroking her hair as she did for me before, and Jung painted a faint smile over her face, which was stained with her anguish.

“Did it help Dahn?”

“Sure. Of course.”

“Yeah. I’m done with that.”

Jung smiled broadly as she placed her hand on the back of mine, which was placed on top of her own head.

With this, the prime suspect came out.

However, it was something to think about whether or not to inform Chuyeon.

If Handan’s attention was focused on the assassination of the enemy commander like now, I was able to work more freely in return.

However, if the assassination case is resolved soon, surveillance and pressure on me and Jung will continue.

The worries were not long. My answer came immediately to the point where even discussing the length was embarrassing.

‘Of course I should inform you.’

What do I do when I am free to do activities?

First of all, I have to survive from the top and have some funds before I can do anything.

I immediately contacted Chuyeon that day.

There is a prime suspect.

§

Choo-yeon responded to my call right away even though she was busy.

I changed the source of the information Jung gave me and informed it to Chuyeon. Chuyeon, too, did not appear to be very surprised as to what extent he had guessed.

Chooyeon, who calmly listened to the story, shook her head and murmured.

“It’s Hanhyang, the home country… It’s definitely a name that was among the objects of investigation.”

“Is there any progress?”

“Anyway, high officials like Chojang, Hanhyang, and Jemyung are difficult to penetrate even if they have a background called Pyeongwongun. And because it was necessary to investigate not only them but also others, there was no great harvest….”

It is also a problem that there are many suspicious subjects, but the absolute investigation time itself was short.

If it was easy enough to find a clue to the real culprit right away, the healthiest soldier, who is most anxious about it, would have come up with some kind of evidence of innocence.

“However, if we intensively investigate only one Hyang Han, we might be able to quickly catch a clue.”

Chuyeon showed strong will.

“Anyway, the others will be found out by those whose Majesty directly ordered the investigation, so I’ll have to focus on Hanhyang first.”

“Is there anything else I can help you with? Pyeongwon-gun has a lot of debt, so if it helps, I’ll be happy to help.”

“Heh heh, Prince Pyeongwon will be pleased. I will make sure to pass on Young master’ words. However, Young master has already been of great help. Anything more than this may arouse unnecessary interest in Young master.”

As the saying goes, it’s not always a good thing for me to be too deeply involved.

I already have a bad image, but I want to avoid being planted with the impression that I am interfering in the political world of Cho Nara.

My position remains as a clue-giver to the end, and the extent to which I help Pyeongwon-gun is just right.

“I will do it after this. I will show you why His Majesty King Soyang chose me as his teacher.”

Maybe it was thanks to the vague investigation.

Choo-yeon expressed confidence, which was the opposite of the embarrassing appearance she had when she first met me.

And Chooyeon proved with her performance that her boasts were never empty words.

Only five days after Chuyeon set out to investigate Hanhyang, she found physical evidence that he was the real culprit.