"Young-Sik is surely not behind this; if anything, he would probably prolong this trial and use my mother as bait to net all of her accomplices," King Man-Ju reasoned to himself
Similarly, Prince Young-Sik thought that this was not the King's work. "Man-Ju would have surely done everything to protect his mother, I bet that he is also wondering who would be powerful enough to pressure Eri to admit to all these charges."
Minister Lim discreetly smiled when he heard Lee Eri's answer. He composed himself and continued with the trial, "You Lee Eri charged with treason, causing the deaths of Queen Jang Min-Ah, Crowned Prince Kim Seo-Joon, and Crowned Princess Park Yoo-Na, by revealing their escape route...How do you plead?"
Lee Eri took a deep breath. "Guilty!" This time, nobody made a sound or uttered a word; it was as if they were expecting her to give the same answer.
"In light of your confession, we, the Ministers of Chiongsun, hereby accuse you of instigating the uprising from fifteen years ago. How do you plead?" Minister Lim asked with a grin on his face
"I am guilty of all charges against me. I planned all of these all by myself, and I didn't have any accomplices, no one knew what I was planning, no one...but me." Eri confessed with a solemn voice. Tears began to flow freely from her eyes and down to her cheeks.
Minister Lim stood at the center of the court pedestal and spoke, "Having confessed to all three charges, you Lee Eri, former Dowager Queen, have been found guilty and are sentenced..."
"WAIT!" Prince Young-Sik exclaimed, stepping forward to interrupt the proceedings. He turned to the former Dowager Queen, saying, "Your Majesty, we may not have always seen things the same way, but I am certain you didn't act alone. You don't have to be just an expendable pawn, you don't have to bear this burden by yourself. If you reveal the names of those who were complicit, I... no, we can assure you that the punishment will be banishment rather than execution."
King Man-Ju stood there unable to talk, he was torn between saving his mother and saving his throne. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wishes that his mother would just stay quiet. "There were no other people involved! Can't you get that into your thick skull? There is no one else!" She shouted at the prince
"If that is where you stand..." the prince paused, "I'm sorry there is nothing more I can do for you," He added, lamenting the fact that Eri chose to remain silent.
"If there is nothing else, this ministry will now pass judgment," Minister Lim interjected. "Lee Eri, after confessing to all three charges, you're found guilty by the throne of Chiongsun and are thus sentenced to die by beheading!" He then faced Man-Ju as if he were addressing the King directly, "Lee Eri will be executed five days from now at Pyeongchaek's square."
The entire ministry and all of the councilors stood up, faced the King, and bowed to him, chanting in unison, "Let it be so, Your Highness! Punish the one who robbed us of the royal family!"
King Man-Ju kept his composure despite trembling inside with anger and loathing. He gave a gentle nod before turning around and walking away, followed by his entourage. Lee Eri was taken away by the detention guards back to the prison cells. Minister Lim and the rest of them walked past the prince, and they all glared and grinned at him as they did so.
Prince Young-Sik gritted his teeth in frustration as he watched the only person he knew who could point at the true mastermind. Jin-Ri and Captain Gi approached the prince. "What do we do now?" Jin-Ri asked.
"Your Highness, what's our next move?" Captain Gi also asked the prince.
Sighing, Young-Sik admitted the bitter truth, "I don't know." Jin-Ri and Captain Gi exchanged worried glances, for it was the first time they had heard the prince say those words.
At the King's residence, Man-Ju was pacing around and throwing things in a fit of rage. His servants hunkered in a corner of the receiving area, afraid of the King's wrath. Minister Lim entered the room and saw the King going berserk. he turned to the servants and said, "Leave us and secure the room, make sure no one is within earshot, now go and leave!"
The servants all bowed to the Minister and left the room hurriedly. He waited for the door of the room to close before locking it. "Your Highness," He called out to the King.
Man-Ju turned around, and the moment he saw the Minister, he raged towards the old man, ready to rip his head off. "Do-Yun, you snake, I will kill you!" He shouted at the old man as he gripped him by the neck and attempted to strangle him.
Minister Lim struggled to free himself from the King's stranglehold. "If...I don't get back to my home, I have...instructed my servants to report your knowledge of your mother's actions to the prince!" he revealed to the King. "You will lose your throne!" he added, threatening the king with the consequences.
The King let go of the Minister. "What do you want? Speak up quickly before I change my mind," he told the Minister
After coughing several times, the minister straightened his garments. "Kindly remember, your Highness, that if you dare move against me and my daughter, I will let the prince know of your knowledge of all of your mother's actions and how you framed the three masters just to cover it up."
"Is that it? Is that what you came to say? Leave this very instant before I have you and your entire family beheaded!" He threatened the old man
"That is not the reason I came here. I just want to ask if you found something odd about the prince yesterday when he arrested your mother?" The old man inquired of the King
"Odd...you find it odd that he has arrested my mother and dragged her to a cell for the death of his entire family?" Man-Ju scoffed at the question
"The prince never said his family, he only said the Late King and Queen and the crowned princess," Minister Lim reminded him
"What are you getting at? He said the King, his mother, and our brother" Man-Ju mentioned, reminding the minister of what the prince said,
"No, your Highness, he never once mentioned Prince Seo-Joon," Minister Lim revealed to the King
Man-Ju pondered for a while, his eyes grew as he remembered the exact words the prince said that day, "Dowager Queen Eri, by the authority I hold as prince of Chiongsun, I hereby arrest you for the murder of my father, King Seo-Jung. You are guilty of high treason for revealing my mother, Princess Yun-Na, and Queen Min-Ah's whereabouts to the rebels, leading to their death!"
The King finally recalled that not once did Young-Sik mention their brother's name during the arrest. He tightly grabbed Minister Lim by the shoulders, stuttering as he asked the question, he feared to know the answer, "Does that mean...Seo-Joon is alive?"
"That is also my theory, Your Highness." The minister paused for a while. "What I fear is that he and Prince Young-Sik are colluding to take the throne for themselves."
"Do you think Young-Sik knows about Seo-Joon being alive?" Man-Ju asked, paranoia slowly creeping inside him
Minister Lim nodded, smiling discreetly as he was now sure that he had the King under control. "Foolish king, greedily holding on to power that is never truly his. The mere mention of a threat to his throne was enough to make him forget that his mother is incarcerated and waiting for her execution." He thought to himself, "I think he is aware of this fact, I think that he and Seo-Joon are bidding their time before they attempt to overthrow you."
"Call the prince now, arrest him for treason if needed. I want to know if he is a threat to my throne or not! I want to know if he is after my throne!" The King fearfully commanded.
"We cannot do that, your Highness, remember it is just a theory. We can do one of two things: We can watch him carefully and wait for him to take us to Seo-Jung himself, or we can kill the prince, so Seo-Joon will no longer desire the throne and just live in misery wherever he may be," Minister Lim suggested.
"Kill him...kill the prince! I will order my soldiers to kill him now!" Man-Ju said anxiously, "No one can take my throne away from me!" he declared
"Not in Chiongsun soil, your Highness, we have no evidence, executing the prince is something we cannot justify." Minister Lim explained to the confused and fearful King.
"Then what should we do? Tell me what needs to be done and it will be done!" He commanded Minister Lim to tell him of a way to eliminate the threat to his reign.
Minister Lim grinned as he told the King of their plot, "Next week is the celebration of the Guiong Emperor's birth. Send him as an envoy to greet the emperor. Minister Gi has a friend in their court, and that person will devise a plan for the prince to be executed as a traitor in Guiong."
King Man-Ju calmed himself. "Do both, I want the two of them killed!" He commanded the minister, "Have soldiers scour the land to look for Seo-Joon in secret. As for Young-Sik, send him to Guiong, where his death awaits him!"
"I have a better option, Your Highness." The minister clapped his hands. The door to the King's receiving area opened, and in came a middle-aged man. "He knows a lot about the court maiden and through him, we can watch Prince Young-Sik's every move."
Man-Ju stared at the man, scrutinizing his looks and demeanor. "What can you offer me?"
"I know that you want the court maiden. I can tell you everything you want to know about Hong Jin-Ri. Where her family is, and who her friends are. I know her weakness, Your Highness. I can share it with you." The man offered Man-Ju
"What is your name?" The King asked the mystery man
The man replied, "I am Bong Il-Sung, your Highness." Chief Bong replied, introducing himself to the King