Chapter 671: Park Jeong-yang Committed Suicide

Qingqing glanced helplessly at Chen Facai, truly at a loss for words.

In this world, the only one who dared speak like that was probably His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming, right?

"Then do they need me to do anything?" Qingqing looked at Chen Facai and asked once more.

This matter was also something she was rather worried about, after all, in the current relationship, she was the closest to Park Jeong-yang.

Under such circumstances, if someone wanted to kill Park Jeong-yang, she would be the most suitable one.

Chen Facai glanced at Qingqing, a strange expression appearing on his face.

"You've followed me for so long, I thought you'd already realized how terrifying they are, but it seems you still haven't seen it for yourself." Chen Facai said with a helpless tone: "This time, just wait and see for yourself."

Qingqing did not refute Chen Facai, only nodded.

Qingqing truly had never witnessed such things before. She trusted Chen Facai, but there was still a trace of doubt in her heart.

She had come into contact with Sun Chuanting, Zhang Yu, and others; these people all seemed quite kind and amiable.

What she didn't know was that these people only showed kindness selectively. They were kind to her because of Chen Facai — she was about to marry Chen Facai of the Great Ming. If you were their enemy, or anyone else, that kind of kindness would never appear on their faces.

While Qingqing and Chen Facai were discussing, Zhang Yu and Song Xiang had already formulated their plan.

As night fell, a man arrived at the Great Ming embassy.

This man was none other than Park Jeong-yang's nephew, Park In-yong.

He walked into the Great Ming embassy, a hint of gravity on his face.

To be honest, since he had latched onto that Great Ming envoy, this was the first time he had been so serious.

After entering the room, Park In-yong spotted Zhang Yu at a glance and hastily bowed in greeting: "This humble one pays respects to Lord Zhang."

"No need for such formality." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "Have a seat."

"Thank you, my lord." Park In-yong quickly sat down.

After Park In-yong sat down, Zhang Yu said: "It's been quite some time since you pledged yourself to me. Come to think of it, I really haven't helped you with anything. Now that I think about it, I do feel somewhat ashamed."

"This humble one wouldn't dare. Being able to stay by your side is already this humble one's good fortune." Park In-yong hastily said.

"No need to be so modest." Zhang Yu waved his hand casually and said: "I'm not the type of person who doesn't reward others. You've been loyal and devoted ever since you started following me, and I naturally remember that. Here, I have a good opportunity for you. Once it's done, I guarantee you'll rise to great heights."

"May I ask what it is?" Park In-yong said excitedly.

"To have you inherit the Park family." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "Right now, the one in charge of your family is your uncle Park Jeong-yang, but I think you're more suited to take charge of the Park family. Once this matter is accomplished, the relationship between us can also be strengthened."

"This..." Park In-yong said with some hesitation: "But what about Manager Chen's side..."

"What is a mere Chen Facai?" Zhang Yu said with a disdainful expression: "The people who came this time are all nobles of the Great Ming. Their merchant houses want to get a bigger slice of Joseon's commerce."

"To be frank with you, even the current Empress's younger brother has come. Compared to them, what is Manager Chen?"

"He's just meat on the chopping block. These people want to find a local partner here in Joseon, and I think you're quite suitable — young, bold, driven. I have high hopes for you."

"Once this matter is done, your business will be at its zenith. Not just business — I'll also arrange for you to hold official office."

"The officialdom here in Joseon isn't really all that interesting. I'll get you a position with the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Great Ming. Of course, this Embroidered Uniform Guard identity will be kept private. As for publicly, you'll still serve as a Joseon official."

"With the Great Ming's help, I guarantee you'll soar to greatness. Within a few years, you'll be sitting in the position your uncle holds now. By then, you'll have money and power, and you'll be able to help me do even more."

Park In-yong swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

The words this man before him spoke were simply too grand, making him somewhat afraid.

If anyone else had spoken like that, Park In-yong would have gone up and slapped them long ago.

But the man before him was an envoy of the Great Ming, representing the Great Ming's stance. And behind him stood so many formidable people, so what he said might very well be true.

If even the Great Ming Empress's younger brother had come to Joseon, then that was truly impressive.

Thinking that he was about to replace his uncle and obtain everything his uncle had, Park In-yong found it hard not to be excited.

After a long moment, Park In-yong said: "Since my lord has spoken thus, this humble one can only respectfully comply."

At this point, there was nothing left but to gamble. Park In-yong thought to himself.

"Excellent." Zhang Yu nodded lightly and said with a smile: "Then go back and wait for the good news."

Park In-yong stood up and said respectfully: "Thank you, my lord."

After Park In-yong left, Song Xiang walked out from behind, came straight to Zhang Yu's side, and said: "You still chose not to have him make the move."

"Having him make the move isn't appropriate." Zhang Yu shook his head and said: "If he really did it, many matters would have no room for turning back."

"Besides, I'm worried he doesn't have the guts. Someone like that is just useless, completely worthless. If his attempt fails, it would only delay things and in turn affect our plan."

"This time, let your people do it. Your people shouldn't have any problems, right?"

"Don't worry." Song Xiang shook her head and said: "How could something like this go wrong?"

"Then let's do it that way." Zhang Yu said with a smile.

Park Jeong-yang rode in a sedan chair into his home, rubbing his forehead as he stepped down from the sedan.

After a busy day, he really was somewhat tired. Though this kind of life was hard, it was also fulfilling, and Park Jeong-yang liked it.

Recently, his situation had been getting better and better. As the elders faction kept increasing the pressure, the young Turks faction had been beaten back step by step. Especially with the Great Ming's support, many matters had been going smoothly.

Over on Grand Prince Bongnim's side, the progress was also evident.

On his own side, it was double happiness — his position within the elders faction was growing increasingly important, and the power he wielded was growing ever greater. The other piece of good news was that he was about to be married.

Thinking of marrying that young and beautiful Qingqing from the Great Ming, Park Jeong-yang even felt like dancing.

Stepping up the stairs and through the main gate, Park Jeong-yang was feeling absolutely delighted.

But what he never could have imagined was that a doorkeeper standing behind the gate suddenly raised his hand.

A short crossbow suddenly opened up on this doorkeeper's arm, aimed directly at Park Jeong-yang.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

After several rapid shots, five arrows struck Park Jeong-yang from behind.

Park Jeong-yang had no time to react at all. Blood instantly burst forth from his body, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Within the gate, chaos erupted in an instant — no one had time to react.

This gate attendant moved extremely fast; the next moment he raised his hand again, aiming the crossbow bolt at the gate attendant across from him.

With a "bang," the gate attendant opposite also took a bolt to the head, and finally collapsed to the ground.

This gate attendant unhurriedly walked over to Park Jeong-yang's side, reached out to feel his breath, pressed his carotid artery, confirmed the man was dead, then pulled all the bolts out of Park Jeong-yang's body.

He then walked over to the other gate attendant and reached out to pull the bolt from his forehead as well.

Afterward, he turned and walked out the main gate.

Before the people outside could even react, he had already turned a corner and disappeared into the street.

At that moment, a crowd of people suddenly rushed out from inside the gate.

At their head was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties.

Seeing this scene, he was not flustered either. He strode forward without the slightest hesitation and waved his hand behind him.

Two people ran over from not far away and, without any hesitation, directly hoisted Park Jeong-yang up and carried him toward his room.

Someone else dragged away the corpses of the dead gate attendants.

Two more people came out from the side and directly took up the positions where the gate attendants had originally stood.

The entire operation was clean and efficient, extremely fast—some people even scrubbed the bloodstains clean from the ground.

By the time everything was finished, the front of Park Jeong-yang's house had fallen quiet again.

After a short while, a startled cry suddenly rang out.

Someone shouted loudly: "Someone come! Something terrible has happened—the master has killed himself!"

This shout completely shattered the tranquility of the Park household, and countless figures rushed toward Park Jeong-yang's room.

The fastest runner among them was Park Jeong-yang's nephew, Park In-yong.

He had still been thinking about how the Great Ming would help him, how he could make his uncle hand over the position of Park family head.

On the one hand, his heart was filled with anxiety; on the other, he was brimming with excitement. Under such circumstances, his mood was extremely complicated.

But no matter what, he had never imagined that his uncle would suddenly commit suicide.

How could this be possible?

Park In-yong refused to believe it no matter what.

If his uncle wanted to kill himself, then no one in this world would want to live.

His uncle's love for fame, fortune, money, and beautiful women—that was true devotion, true attachment.

Under such circumstances, how could his uncle possibly commit suicide?

When Park In-yong walked into his uncle's bedchamber, his brow immediately furrowed—a thick, heavy stench of blood rushed at his face.

The smell of blood stung his senses so badly he nearly vomited.

This was the smell of human blood.

Passing through the side hall and entering the bedchamber, Park In-yong saw Park Jeong-yang lying on the bed.

At this moment, Park Jeong-yang's eyes were tightly shut, his face pale, completely motionless. He had clearly been dead for some time.

Walking to the bedside, Park In-yong took a look at Park Jeong-yang, and his expression turned very ugly.

Although his uncle was thoroughly dead and the bed was covered in blood, anyone with discerning eyes could tell at a glance this was not a suicide.

Because there were no other injuries on his uncle's body—none on the front, none on the face—that left only one possibility: his uncle's wounds were on his back.

How could anyone commit suicide by stabbing themselves in the back?

Even if someone did stab themselves in the back, it would be inconvenient.

If a person was going to kill themselves anyway, why would they use such an inconvenient method?

That left only one possibility: his uncle had been murdered. This was no suicide at all.

Turning his head to look at a middle-aged man standing beside him, Park In-yong said viciously: "Who said my uncle committed suicide? Who the hell said my uncle committed suicide?"

At this moment, a figure walked over from the side, looked at Park In-yong, and said: "Young master, you don't think so?"

Park In-yong whipped his head around and immediately saw the old man. His pupils contracted slightly as he pointed at the old man and said: "You people call this suicide? This is suicide?"

"Before the master died, he left behind his final words—that the young master would inherit the Park family. This is the master's will." The old man unhurriedly took a will from his bosom and respectfully handed it to Park In-yong, saying: "Young master, please take a look."

Park In-yong was stunned, staring intently at the old man before him.

"You, you..." Park In-yong pointed at him but could no longer form words.

Reaching out to take the will, he quickly flipped through it. His expression shifted several times, and finally, with a thud, he knelt down before the bed, grabbing Park Jeong-yang's hand with both hands and wailing loudly.

"Uncle! Uncle! How could you be so shortsighted?"

"If something was troubling you, why didn't you tell your nephew? I would have handled everything for you. But now that you've left this world so suddenly, what am I supposed to do?"

"With such a great family estate, how am I supposed to inherit it?"

He wept—wept so sorrowfully, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse from crying.

After a long while, Park In-yong wiped away his tears, held Park Jeong-yang's hand, and said: "Uncle, rest assured, I will definitely handle your funeral affairs properly—a grand and honorable burial. You may go in peace."

"The twenty-six wives and concubines you left behind, I will surely take good care of them for you. Your children, I will also raise them to adulthood, teach them to read, and arrange work for them. I will definitely not treat them unfairly. Uncle, rest easy!"

The people around listened quietly; no one spoke and no one moved.

He hasn't even been put in the coffin yet—is it really okay to provoke your uncle like this? Won't he rise from the dead?

Park In-yong felt it was about enough. He turned to look at the old man beside him and said: "Head Steward Park, immediately send word to the various households and report to the palace to inform the King that my uncle has committed suicide."

"Yes, my lord." The old man replied respectfully.

Hearing the old man call him "my lord," the corner of Park In-yong's mouth twitched. Finally, he flicked his sleeve and said: "You take care of all the affairs in the household. I'm going right now to comfort my uncle's family."

"This happened so suddenly—I'm truly afraid they won't be able to accept it and might do something foolish. Uncle is already like this; I absolutely cannot let his family do anything rash."

Having said this, Park In-yong wiped his tears, turned, and strode toward the rear at great speed.

The old man raised his head to look at Park In-yong's retreating figure, then looked at Park Jeong-yang lying on the bed and said: "Everyone, get moving. Go report immediately—say the elder master has committed suicide."

In an instant, Park Jeong-yang's household was thrown into complete chaos, and naturally, the news spread quickly.

In an instant, the entire city of Hanseong in Joseon was stunned, jaws dropping to the floor.

Park Jeong-yang actually killed himself? What kind of international joke was this?

Upon receiving this news, the King of Joseon abruptly rose to his feet and said in disbelief, "Park Jeong-yang killed himself? Who is spreading such nonsense?"