The guards bringing Minsu's sister, Lee Min-Seo, from the prison to the interrogation grounds, which are out in the open on the huge compound, were the first to arrive.
She was forced into one of the eight wooden chairs before being handed over to one of the scary-looking muscular guards positioned there by the chairs.
Seeing the whip he was holding was enough to tell Minseo that she has to behave very well if she wants to avoid her body coming into contact with that.
Then he placed his whip on the side since he didn't seem to have a need for it yet.
He positioned Lee Minseo well into the chair before tying her hands behind her across the back of the chair.
Then he moved down and tied her feet to the chair too after bandaging her midsection with the long rope.
The officers bringing Minsu's father, mother, and Okeon also followed respectively.
The guards by the chairs tied them up in a similar fashion as it was done to Minseo.
Next were Youngmi's parents. They seemed really distraught as they came, but their moods changed to that of anger once they set eyes on Minseo and her parents.
Youngmi's servant too was also tied up just like everyone so far.
Not long afterwards, Lee Minsu, the main suspect of this heinous crime, also arrived at the interrogation grounds.
One of the other guards with whips and ropes came to assist his colleague in order to carry "her" down from the other's shoulder.
Even though Minsu thought he was toughing it out and so he would try not to cry out loud, the whimpering that he's been doing had his eyes turned very red and puffy.
It was pretty evident that the "girl" was scared and had been crying.
The guards also placed "her" into a wooden chair just like they had done with the other seven.
Minsu was frantic and fidgety, so one had to hold "her" into position while the other tied her up with the ropes in a similar fashion as they did the others.
All those present were watching as everything was unfolding.
The King as well.
He was very eager to deal with the criminal that had dared to poison not just one but two of his sons. The first two at that!
Not that the pain would've been any less had it been his other children, but an attack on the crown prince is similar to attacking him, the king, and so the repercussions of such a bold deed will attract only grave consequences.
The officer-in-charge then goes up to where the podium is and informs the chief-in-command. "We're all set, sir."
"Alright. Now, have the men be on standby. His Majesty is going to do the interrogations himself."
The chief then informs the king that he can start with the interrogations. "Your Majesty. Everything is set, please. You may please start when you're ready."
The king was more than ready.
He asked the chief as he was getting up. "Tell me, who is whom? Introduce them."
He already knows the faces of the men because they're brothers of his close friend, the prime minister.
As for Lee Minseo, he recognises her as the girl that has been following his uncle, the prime minister, to the palace and hanging out with the princes too.
From the clothes, he could tell that the two other teenagers are the servants of the dead girl and Lee Minseo, but what he couldn't understand is the other young girl with the head covering.
Who is she, and what is her involvement in all this?
'Is she the said sibling that the officers brought with them then?' The king wondered to himself.
The chief-in-command signalled for his right-hand man, who had led the arrest, to come up to the podium and introduce the criminals identities to the king and the ministers.
"The one on the far left is the minister of procurement, the father of the late Lady Youngmi. Next on his right is..." The officer-in-charge continued to introduce all the eight people to the king one by one.
"And this one in the foremost right corner is Lee Minsoo, the twin sister of the accused, Lee Minseo."
"Hm? That's the twin? How so? She looks too young. Are they really sure?" Some of the ministers murmured among themselves as the chief pointed to Lee Minsu.
"What? You mean that this small girl here is the one? Really?" The king enquired.
And what would a little child like this know about such dangerous candles? Are you really sure that your men did their job well?" The king queried. His eyes, not leaving Lee Minsu as he observes him from up there.
"Yes, my king. Her father confirmed it." The officer-in-charge stated.
"Alright. But why have you covered her hair unlike the others? Take that off and let me see exactly how she looks." The king said as he descended from the podium and walked towards the bound criminals.
All the ministers also followed him down.
Prime Minister Lee Beom-Seok only sighed in worry as he walked beside the king in silence.
To the best of his knowledge, this brother of his has only one child. So does this mean that perhaps his wife had another baby and he was not even made aware?
Ah well, it's not like it is mandatory for his brother to announce to them every child of his, so he cannot find fault with him for not doing so.
The chief-in-command himself stopped by Minsu's side to undo the piece of cloth covering his hair. He himself wondered why his men had even allowed that.
But he became astounded once he started to pull the hair wrap off, and under it were only pure, snow-white, long, silky hairs. He quickly pulled the headscarf in one swoop. With the scarf in his hand now, Minsu's hair was now exposed to all present.
And the shocked faces of those seeing him were indescribable.
The white robe that Okeon had dressed him in, coupled with his porcelain, pale white skin, made him look so innocent and pure and out of this world.
The officers who had not gone with their colleagues to Minsoo's house were in disbelief, and so was the king and his prominent cabinet.
The prime minister was beyond shocked to see Minsu again.
"So he was still alive?" He muttered to himself.
This child. This boy here. Everyone in his family has even forgotten about his existence.
The only time that the minister got to see the boy was the very first day that his mother had given birth to him.
His hair colour made him stand out, so the minister remembers very well how that day had unfolded.
His beautiful features had made everyone want to have a look, but his brother had quickly taken the child away as soon as he showed him to them, claiming that the baby was sick.
None of the other relatives ever saw the baby again after that day, and after years of not hearing anything about him again, they all naturally assumed that perhaps he had died.
Besides, his favourite niece, Lee Minseo, has never made any mention of a dongsaeng until today.
'But wait, why are they referring to him as a girl? Could this mean they had another baby that looked just like that child then?' The prime minister thought to himself as he watched on.
The king, on the other hand, was beyond amazed, and for a minute, he forgot all about the interrogations.
He has never seen anyone with such hair all his life before, but he knows from the history books and folklores that there are some humans with rare looks like this.
In fact, it is a belief that there's probably one of such people on this earth every decamillennium (10,000 years).
He's heard that some have red hairs while others' hairs are as white as snow, like this one before him.
But from what he knows, all these types of rare humans are usually women and of royal bloodlines.
There's even a very old portrait of an ancient ancestor of his own lineage kept in the royal archives who also had similar features like this girl before him.
But it looks like this one was unfortunate. She is just a noble. And from all indications, it doesn't look like his family values her that much.
The king moved closer to where Lee Minsu was.
Overwhelmed with curiosity, he found himself touching the girl's hair and feeling it between his fingers, as if he was still in disbelief of seeing such a human in his era.
His ministers and everyone present were beyond surprised at his behaviour.
He then moved from Minsoo's hair and placed his left thumb under the girl's chin before tilting her head up for eye contact.
The interrogation grounds became dead silent.
Every other person in there with them only watched in silence while wondering what the king was up to.
'Is this part of the interrogations too?' Some wondered in their minds.
Minsu has been so scared out of his wits since being brought here, and now this. This was even worse.
The presence of this man before him was intoxicating. His face was beyond intimidating.
Now bound to the chair and not being able to curl up in his usual foetal posture on the floor whenever he was very scared, Minsu ended up peeing on himself while tears flew down his cheeks.
He still couldn't make sense of things yet, but seeing his family also bound to the chairs was an indication enough that whatever it is that is about to happen, Lee Minsoo was sure that he isn't going to like it.