Chapter 674: Stirring the Ultimate Elders

Watching Zheng Xuhong rush in with a terrified expression and hurried steps, the Joseon king's face instantly turned tense as well.

He stood up, looked at Zheng Xuhong, and asked, "My minister, what has happened?"

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" Zheng Xuhong hurried forward anxiously, nearly stumbling, and barely managed to steady himself.

Hearing Zheng Xuhong say this, the Joseon king's expression grew even worse, and he couldn't help clenching his fists.

Right now, this was the sentence he feared hearing most; clearly, whatever one fears is what comes. Park Jeong-yang's death was already a problem—too much of a problem.

Zheng Xuhong was thinking the same thing, though his view differed from the king's.

In Zheng Xuhong's eyes, this matter was clearly a nuisance, just a messy affair. He wished it would simply pass and be done with, rather than going out of one's way to court trouble.

After all, Park Jeong-yang was never one of his own people anyway; his death brought Zheng Xuhong plenty of benefits. He should have just ruled it a suicide and been done with it—no investigation needed.

But the king insisted on investigating, and now the investigation had stirred up trouble, hadn't it?

"Your Majesty, Park In-yong is dead." Zheng Xuhong said with a grim face.

Hearing this, the Joseon king's expression changed drastically. He stood up, stared at Zheng Xuhong, and said, "How did he die? How could you let him die? It shouldn't be—he shouldn't have died."

Zheng Xuhong was equally helpless. He knew the man shouldn't have died, but die he did.

"How did Park In-yong die?" After steadying his emotions, the Joseon king asked directly.

"He died of poisoning." Zheng Xuhong said somewhat helplessly, "After we arrived, we had him arrested."

"Before I left, I had men watching him. From start to finish, no one left his side. He didn't eat anything, didn't drink anything, and no one came into contact with him—yet he simply died."

"It seems this was premeditated," the Joseon king said as he sat back down, somewhat helplessly. "But how could anyone have predicted that we would investigate?"

Zheng Xuhong said nothing. The king hadn't seen through it, but he had.

There were two possibilities for this matter. One was that Zhang Fu was behind it all—he had arranged for someone to kill Park Jeong-yang, bribed Park In-yong, and then killed Park In-yong to silence him. As for the letter in Park In-yong's possession, Zhang Fu should have been confident in retrieving it.

But his own appearance had completely disrupted Zhang Fu's plans, and the letter had been found. Now things had become somewhat unmanageable.

If he and His Majesty went to question Zhang Fu now, the man would certainly deny everything. With the dead unable to testify, why would Zhang Fu confess?

It was just a single letter, after all. Admitting to it would mean endless trouble, so Zhang Fu would surely deny it to the death. There was simply no point in continuing this investigation.

That left only the other possibility: someone was scheming behind the scenes, having calculated everyone into their trap. If his side sent people to investigate, they would find the letter, and then Park In-yong would die.

If his side didn't go, then before Park Jeong-yang's funeral altar, in full view of everyone, Park In-yong would die of poisoning—this too would cause an uproar, and the other party certainly had other schemes in store as well.

Either way, this matter would become a huge problem.

Thinking of this, Zheng Xuhong's head throbbed, and a chill ran down his spine.

If Zhang Fu had done it, then there was nothing to it—merely factional intrigue and assassination. Though lives had been lost, it was no big deal. What day passes in this world without someone dying?

There were plenty of people who died unjustly or wrongfully; one more Park Jeong-yang made no difference. At worst, Zhang Fu could be executed according to the law in the end, killing him to appease the public.

But if someone truly was scheming behind the scenes, then this matter was far too terrifying.

Someone walked in from outside with hurried footsteps and said directly, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhang Fu has arrived."

"Let him in." The Joseon king said with a grim face.

Before long, a man in his thirties walked in from outside.

Reaching such a high position at such a young age was no easy feat, which made Zhang Fu a representative of the young and vigorous faction.

Upon seeing the Joseon king, Zhang Fu said, "Your Majesty!"

He then noticed Zheng Xuhong off to the side and greeted him, "Lord Zheng."

"No need for formalities!" The Joseon king waved his hand and said, "You've heard about Park Jeong-yang's matter, haven't you?"

Zhang Fu nodded with a solemn expression and said, "I've heard of it already. It's caused such a stir—outside, people are anxious and restless, and rumors of every kind are circulating."

"This matter must be settled as quickly as possible, or it will become very troublesome. On my way here, I heard that Lord Zheng went to investigate and seemed to have found something. Might I ask what was discovered?"

Hearing Zhang Fu ask this, both the Joseon king and Zheng Xuhong's expressions changed.

This was ordinarily a very common question, but at this time, under these circumstances, Zhang Fu asking it made one inevitably suspicious—what are you worried about?

The Joseon king glanced at Zhang Fu and said, "I have a letter here. Take a look."

With that, he handed the letter in his hand to Zheng Xuhong beside him.

Zheng Xuhong passed the letter to Zhang Fu, then stepped back to the side and watched him closely.

Taking the letter, Zhang Fu was somewhat bewildered.

What was in this letter? Why was it being given to him specifically?

After opening the letter, Zhang Fu's pupils contracted sharply.

It was his own handwriting—of course Zhang Fu recognized it; he had practiced this script for a long time. Wang Youjun's running script—he had copied it for ages, and only now had he achieved a measure of its spirit. It had always earned him considerable praise among his colleagues. He never expected a letter like this to exist.

After reading the contents, Zhang Fu's expression changed drastically. He looked up at the Joseon king and said, "This... might I ask where this letter came from?"

"Zheng Xuhong found it on Park In-yong." The Joseon king said.

The moment those words fell, both the Joseon king and Zheng Xuhong stared intently at Zhang Fu, wanting to see if there was any change in his expression.

But both of them were disappointed. Aside from anger and bewilderment, there seemed to be nothing else on Zhang Fu's face.

"This is a frame-up!" Zhang Fu said furiously. "We must get to the bottom of this, Your Majesty. We need to arrest that Park In-yong and investigate along his trail—then we'll find out who is framing your subject!"

"Park In-yong is dead." Zheng Xuhong stepped forward and said, "News just came in."

"How did he die?" Zhang Fu's expression grew even darker as he asked in a low voice.

Without any concealment, Zheng Xuhong told Zhang Fu everything that had happened, then stood to the side watching him.

"A formidable move indeed." Zhang Fu remarked in admiration.

By now his emotions had settled, and the expression on his face had returned to calm.

As someone who had reached a high position at a young age, Zhang Fu naturally had his own depth of character and would not be swayed by emotion.

After hearing Zheng Xuhong's account, Zhang Fu more or less understood the situation. He looked up at the Joseon king and said, "Your Majesty, this matter was absolutely not done by your subject. If I had done it, I would never have left behind such a letter to put myself in this position."

"If this letter were in Park In-yong's hands, wouldn't that be handing him a handle to use against me? How could I be so foolish? Someone is framing me!"

"But this matter can't be explained away," Zheng Xuhong said from the side. "If someone is framing you, then this affair outside can hardly be kept hidden. Even if no one wanted to expose it, someone would expose it anyway."

The expressions on all three of their faces were very grim.

This had hit the nail on the head.

At that moment, another person ran in from outside.

His steps were hurried, and after entering he said directly: "Your Majesty, Lord Zheng, Lord Zhang, news has come from the Park family—Lord Kim Jeong-min has gone to the Park residence."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all three changed.

Kim Jeong-min, Park Jeong-yang's teacher, was the oldest of the old-timers in the elders faction, already seventy-two this year. This old fellow rarely spoke up on ordinary days, and after the elders faction declined, he simply retired to his home.

The court had granted him some honorary titles and then stopped paying him any attention. But who would have thought that at a time like this, he would come out of retirement?

The death of his own student had stirred this old fellow. Compared to him, Park Jeong-yang's prestige was lacking by more than a little.

Both in the provinces and at the center, there were students of Kim Jeong-min—one could say his protégés were spread across the land. The Injo Restoration back then was basically planned by this old fellow together with Queen Inmok.

And now, of all things, this old fellow had come out. What was to be done?

"Y-Your Majesty," Zheng Xuhong looked at the King of Joseon, a hesitant expression on his face as he said: "Should your servant go over and take a look first?"

Zhang Fu beside him also had a grim expression, but he did not offer to go.

If someone was plotting, he had already fallen into the trap. If he went, he might not even come back.

"Good." The King of Joseon nodded and said: "Go at once, and report back at the first opportunity if anything happens."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zheng Xuhong acknowledged the order, then turned and walked out.

He held his head high and his chest out, taking large strides, with quite the air of a brave man setting off on an irreversible journey.

In his heart, Zheng Xuhong knew clearly that this time he had to go whether he wanted to or not. Originally, there had been no need for him to be involved in this matter at all, but the King had insisted on doing things this way. Now one foot was already in, and his leg was covered in mud—there was simply no way to pull himself out.

Rather than passively waiting, it was better to take the initiative and strike. Even when facing Kim Jeong-min, Zheng Xuhong was unwilling to back down.

Inside the Great Ming embassy.

Zhang Yu sat in place drinking tea, holding the cup in his hand and taking a gentle sip. His expression was very calm, carrying a gentle and leisurely feeling.

Song Xiang stood behind him, gently waving a folding fan, a hint of curiosity on her face as she asked: "Aren't you worried at all?"

"What is there to worry about?" Zhang Yu said with a smile: "An arrow loosed cannot return. I don't believe that after all this planning of mine, they still have a way to turn things around. This time I've mobilized so much manpower and resources—if I still fail, then I don't need to stay in Joseon anymore. Back to the capital I go!"

Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu, her expression unreadable, and said with a light smile: "I just like this confident look of yours, as if there is nothing in this world that can stump you."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu gave a wry smile, then said helplessly: "How could there not be? I don't know how I'm going to explain your matter to my wife when I return. Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

Song Xiang gave a cold snort and said: "Are you regretting it?"

"No, no." Zhang Yu quickly waved his hand and said: "You know I'm not the type to think messy thoughts like that. Since the matter has already happened, one must think about how to resolve it. It's just that for the moment, I don't have any particularly good solution."

"You're overthinking it." Song Xiang said with exasperation.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Yu looked at Song Xiang and asked.

"You think your wife doesn't know? You think your wife expects you to run off to Joseon for several years and remain chaste for her sake? You're thinking too much. Do you believe that when you return, your wife will accept it very calmly?"

"We'll talk about it when the time comes!" Zhang Yu waved his hand and said: "What one has done, one must acknowledge."

"Let's not talk about this." Song Xiang shot Zhang Yu a glare.

In this regard, this man had no talent whatsoever, and continuing the conversation would only make her angry.

If he had even the slightest bit of talent in this area, she wouldn't have had to be so resolute herself.

"News just arrived—Kim Jeong-min has gone to the Park residence."

Song Xiang took the message from the hands of the person beside her, waved for that person to withdraw, and then handed the slip of paper to Zhang Yu.

Seeing the intelligence on the slip of paper, Zhang Yu immediately smiled, smiling very happily.

"I didn't expect the effect to be this good." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "It even stirred up that old fellow Kim Jeong-min. There's going to be a good show this time."

"Are you sure they'll send someone?" Song Xiang said: "I still find it a bit hard to believe."

"It's actually very simple." Zhang Yu said: "Park Jeong-yang's cause of death doesn't matter at all. No one cares how he died."

"A dead man has no ability to bring benefits. When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; in officialdom, when someone leaves, the tea goes cold—let alone when they die."

"But whether his death can bring benefits to everyone—that is a very important matter. Now it's clear that it can bring benefits to everyone, so why not make a move?"

"The contradiction between the elders faction and the young Turks faction has been building for a long time; it was only lacking a trigger point. This time I ignited Park Jeong-yang, thoroughly igniting the struggle between the elders faction and the young Turks faction."

"The elders faction will feel that one of their own has already died, so naturally they will press their advantage relentlessly. As long as there is evidence suggesting this matter was done by the young Turks faction—or even implicating the King of Joseon—they will not let it go."

"Even if they face the danger of national destruction from outside, they will still fight to the end. Even if they know that winning the struggle will ultimately end in death, they absolutely cannot swallow this anger, and they will definitely fight."

"Then what do we do next?" Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu and said.

"Naturally, we help the young Turks faction suppress the elders faction." Zhang Yu said with excitement in his tone: "Plant enough of our own people, and when the time is ripe, have them raise troops in rebellion. Tell your people not to fixate only on Grand Prince Bongnim—the King of Joseon has so many sons, don't hang yourself from just one tree."