Chapter 694: The Emperor

"I'll go prepare at once." The man standing beside Kim Jeong-min said hurriedly.

With that, he turned and walked out.

At the entrance to Kim Jeong-min's residence.

Yi Ryang helped Kim Jeong-min into the carriage, then walked along the street to the corner, and said to the man waiting there with a grim face: "The master has already left."

The man glanced at Yi Ryang, nodded, and said: "You did well."

With that, he casually tossed a bundle to Yi Ryang and continued: "This silver is for you. Your family is already waiting for you. Take them and leave at once."

"Yes, thank you." Yi Ryang hastily caught the bundle, turned, and left.

Watching Yi Ryang's retreating figure, Zhang Feng said: "Tell them to make their move."

"Yes, sir." The men behind him acknowledged and dispersed.

Kim Jeong-min, seated in the carriage, was anxious. He desperately, desperately wanted to reach the palace and explain the whole matter to the King.

Now he understood—someone was stirring up trouble, and it was very likely Grand Prince Bongnim behind it!

He never imagined he'd fallen for the trap!

It was most likely the scheming of that old bastard Zhao Chenqi.

He truly hadn't expected that after years without dealing with each other, this old bastard had become this formidable, with schemes reaching so far ahead. This time he'd fallen right into his trap. Park Jeong-yang's affair was probably his doing too—utterly heinous!

"Whish, whish, whish, whish, whish!"

Suddenly, the sound of countless arrows tearing through the air rang out, and a hail of arrows shot straight into Kim Jeong-min's carriage.

In the very middle of the road, a man raised his bow and loosed an arrow in one fluid motion.

The arrow flew straight through the carriage curtain and into the carriage.

"Thunk!"

Before Kim Jeong-min could even react, the arrow pierced his body, and blood burst forth instantly.

His face twisted with deep unwillingness, Kim Jeong-min toppled over in the carriage.

Chaos erupted all around. Countless people screamed and fled, the entire scene thrown into utter pandemonium.

No one knew where so many bandits had suddenly sprung from. These men moved with clean efficiency and fierce brutality.

"Check." Zhang Feng waved his hand.

Someone rushed to the front of the carriage and finished off all the drivers and guards with extra strikes; then he took one last look at Kim Jeong-min inside the carriage, and without a moment's hesitation, gave him another stab as well.

He then turned and walked to Zhang Feng, nodding.

"Withdraw." Zhang Feng put away his bow.

The street had descended into chaos, and soon constables and city patrol guards came rushing over.

Seeing this, everyone knew—it was over, something terrible had happened!

The news was sent out quickly.

Inside the Joseon royal palace.

Zhang Yu met with the King of Joseon.

What Zhang Yu hadn't expected was that Grand Prince Bongnim was actually standing right beside the King of Joseon—which was a good thing.

Eyes narrowing slightly, Zhang Yu said: "I pay my respects to Your Majesty, and to the Grand Prince."

"Lord Zhang, no need for ceremony." The King of Joseon said with a smile.

Once host and guest had taken their seats, tea was served.

After a few pleasantries, the King of Joseon finally asked: "May I ask what business brings Lord Zhang to the palace today?"

Zhang Yu glanced at the King of Joseon and said: "Previously, Prince Fu came here and spoke to Your Majesty about certain matters concerning your kingdom. After returning, the Prince felt deep regret, so this time he sent me."

"But Your Majesty should understand—at the time, the war between Great Ming, Joseon, and Japan was raging fiercely, and we truly had to be cautious, without the slightest misstep. Had that war been lost, neither of our houses could have borne the consequences."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The King of Joseon hastily waved his hand and said: "The Prince is far too courteous. Everything he said, I can understand. I shall personally visit the Prince and have a good talk with him."

"That would be for the best." Zhang Yu nodded with a smile and said: "This trip, my purpose was precisely this matter. I simply never expected that Lord Zhang Fu and his entire family would commit suicide out of guilt—truly lamentable. Had Great Ming not been involved, this affair would never have reached such a state. The Prince feels remorseful in his heart and is too ashamed to face Your Majesty, so he sent me instead."

"Here, I wish to make my position clear: affairs within Joseon are Joseon's own affairs—Great Ming will not interfere. As for this case, there's nothing particularly serious about it. After all, we have already won the war; Japan no longer exists. What comes next is simply the matter of occupying Japan. This case sitting here unresolved is like a fishbone stuck in the throat—better to settle it sooner rather than later. What does Your Majesty think?"

The expression on the King of Joseon's face was subtle. Just moments ago he had been delighted, since Zhang Yu had said Great Ming would not interfere in this matter, nor in Joseon's internal affairs from now on.

But no sooner had he said that than Zhang Yu immediately shifted his stance and delivered another piece of news: Great Ming felt this matter needed to be resolved. These cases could not be allowed to keep dragging on.

Though the manner of handling it was comfortable for the King of Joseon, was this really Great Ming not interfering?

Wasn't it?

He had barely let out a sigh of relief before his heart seized up again, and his expression turned very ugly.

The King of Joseon pondered for a long while, then could only force a smile and say: "Lord Zhang speaks sensibly. This matter truly should not be stirred up too greatly. Having reached this point, it is indeed time to close the case. I shall make arrangements within the next few days."

"That would be for the best." Zhang Yu hastened to say with a smile.

Grand Prince Bongnim's expression brightened as well.

Lin Dechang truly hadn't deceived me—he really had persuaded the Ming side, and they truly were going to suppress this matter.

Grand Prince Bongnim also became aware of another thing: Great Ming was simply too powerful.

Such a major case, so many affairs—yet it only took a single word from Great Ming to settle. It was rather hard to accept.

Turning to glance at his father the King, Grand Prince Bongnim didn't know what to say.

You, the dignified King of Joseon—is it really proper to be like this?

Grand Prince Bongnim couldn't help but think of his elder brother.

Clearly, this time his elder brother had performed very actively after arriving in Ming—or rather, unlike his father the King—and as a result, he'd been detained by Ming.

Grand Prince Bongnim kept warning himself inwardly: he absolutely must not reveal his own intentions too early, or his elder brother's fate would become his own.

Just as both host and guest were enjoying themselves, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

The King of Joseon's expression instantly turned very ugly.

This is a meeting with honored guests — what's all the commotion outside?

He said in a deep voice, "Go out and see what's going on. Why all the noise?"

But before the one who wanted to go out could leave, someone came in from outside to report.

"Your Majesty, our men below just reported that Lord Kim Jeong-min was assassinated on the street — he died on the spot!"

After speaking, the messenger hurriedly knelt down.

Upon hearing this, the King of Joseon was filled with disbelief, then abruptly stood up and asked, "What did you say?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Kim Jeong-min was assassinated on the street — he died on the spot!" the messenger said hastily.

Both the King of Joseon and Grand Prince Bongnim wore expressions of utter shock.

No one had expected that Kim Jeong-min would die — and assassinated at that!

It was far too sudden!

"What exactly happened?" the King of Joseon demanded angrily.

"It is said that Lord Kim Jeong-min was trying to rush to the palace when he was ambushed halfway there. The attackers carried powerful bows and crossbows and launched their assault right on the street. They first struck with bows and crossbows, then finished with blades. Lord Kim Jeong-min and all his attendants perished on the spot. By the time our men arrived, the culprits had already fled without a trace." The messenger spoke tremblingly.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" the King of Joseon said furiously. "What place is this? This is the capital of Joseon! And someone could assassinate a minister in broad daylight on the street, using powerful bows and crossbows no less? What are you people even good for? And after the assassination, you let the culprits just run away? All of you are useless!"

Grand Prince Bongnim snapped back to his senses at this moment and hurriedly stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, now may not be the time to assign blame. We must immediately pursue and hunt down these culprits and get to the bottom of this. Now that Lord Kim Jeong-min is dead, who knows what else these villains might do — we must capture them as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu also stood up from the side and said, "Your Majesty, the Grand Prince speaks sense. At this point, this is indeed the top priority. These people dared to assassinate Kim Jeong-min in the street — who knows what other deranged acts they might commit. If we cannot capture them soon, I fear other incidents may arise. Your Majesty likely has matters to arrange, so I shall take my leave."

The King of Joseon let out a breath and nodded, saying, "Lord Zhang speaks sense. I will consider it carefully."

With that, the King of Joseon turned to look at his son. "See Lord Zhang out on my behalf."

Grand Prince Bongnim bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"No need, no need." Zhang Yu smiled hurriedly and said, "I can see myself out. How could I presume to trouble the Grand Prince?"

"Lord Zhang, this way please." Grand Prince Bongnim still came down and made a gesture of invitation to Zhang Yu with a smile.

After leaving the Joseon royal palace, Zhang Yu returned to the Great Ming embassy.

At this time, Song Xiang was already there waiting for him.

Upon seeing Zhang Yu, Song Xiang stepped forward and said, "Everything has gone smoothly. Our people have withdrawn."

"Tell them to stay hidden and not get caught." Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "There absolutely cannot be any problems now."

"Don't worry." Song Xiang nodded and said, "After they killed the man, they entered a courtyard on that street. We had already prepared a secret tunnel inside that courtyard long ago. After going in, they changed clothes and slipped into the tunnel. Once they left, the tunnel collapsed."

"At the other courtyard, they walked out openly and brazenly. They've now scattered throughout Hanseong, and the support personnel are already in place. There won't be any problems. They won't reappear for a short while, and finding them won't be easy either."

"Good." Zhang Yu nodded and said, "They won't have to wait much longer. Now that Kim Jeong-min is dead, it's time for Li Feng to make his move. Tell him to inform Zheng Xuhong to enter the palace immediately. When I went to the palace today, Grand Prince Bongnim also went in — this works out perfectly."

"He went too?" Song Xiang said with a smile. "I didn't think that coward would actually dare to step forward. It seems Lin Dechang's work on that front was very thorough. He should be credited for this."

"Make a note of it." Zhang Yu said with a smile. "With Grand Prince Bongnim entering the palace, our affairs will be much easier to handle. Later, when we have Zheng Xuhong enter the palace to tell the King of Joseon, he'll be more inclined to believe it."

"Tell Lin Dechang that his side must be fully prepared. Have our people ready as well. In another three to five days, we can make our move."

Song Xiang nodded and said, "After being in Joseon this long, we've finally gotten things done. Once everything is completely settled, I definitely want to return to the Great Ming. I've had enough of this place."

"Don't worry — even if you wanted to stay, you couldn't." Zhang Yu said with a smile. "Has the secret letter been sent?"

"Already dispatched." Song Xiang nodded and said, "Barring any accidents, it should have reached His Majesty by now. After all, if things kick off over here, Liaodong will need to make some preparations. If we fail on our end, they'll need to send troops as well."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu's expression also turned grave, and he nodded slightly.

Though they had prepared for a long time and schemed for so long, when the plan was truly set in motion, no one knew what variables might arise. Nothing was guaranteed to succeed one hundred percent — if they failed, it would be trouble.

Raising his head to look at Song Xiang, Zhang Yu said, "If we fail this time, I fear none of us will be able to go back. Even if His Majesty does not hold it against us, I would have no face to see His Majesty again."

"Take a look at this." Song Xiang handed a secret letter to Zhang Yu, saying,

"What is this?" Zhang Yu was startled and said with slight hesitation.

"It's a secret letter from His Majesty." Song Xiang said with a smile. "His Majesty already wrote in the letter that he knows you are a proud and lofty person — if the scheme failed, you might well take your own life to atone. His Majesty said you need not do such a thing; there is nothing in this world that can be schemed successfully on the first attempt every time. Victory and defeat are common affairs for soldiers — you can simply start over. His Majesty told you that if you fail, you should go directly to Liaodong, or to the Great Ming navy, take command of troops, and try again."

Zhang Yu's face flushed red, and he hurriedly took the letter.

As he read, Zhang Yu's eyes reddened and his nose began to sting.

His fingers traced the imperial seal on the paper, and Zhang Yu's tears came streaming down all at once.

Without the slightest hesitation, holding the letter in his hands, Zhang Yu kowtowed respectfully in the direction of the capital, and his expression gradually grew resolute.

Song Xiang stood to the side watching Zhang Yu, eyes slightly narrowed without speaking, the smile on her face never fading.

To be in a foreign land and receive such regard and concern from one's sovereign — this was a subject's glory.

A scholar dies for one who appreciates him. Since His Majesty cared so much about the two of them, what more was there to say?

Zhang Yu stood up, carefully folded the Emperor's secret letter, and treasured it into his bosom. With a resolute expression, he said, "I'll go review the plan once more. I absolutely cannot let His Majesty down. This time, we must succeed in one strike!"