Chapter 234: The Princess’s Banquet (3)
At Jin Seong-un’s request to have an audience with the Emperor, the atmosphere within the hall subtly shifted.
Jin Seong-un had referred to the Emperor explicitly as the master of the nation. Everyone glanced around, wary that the princess, who stood at the pinnacle of power in this era, might take offense.
Naturally, nothing could be read from the princess's expression. If she had been a woman unable to conceal even such a reaction, she wouldn't have stood at the center of power in the first place.
The princess, too, was trying to read her opponent. She fixed her gaze intently on Jin Seong-un.
‘What a peculiar fellow.’
That was her assessnt of Jin Seong-un.
Though their encounter had been brief and he hadn’t said much, there was sothing about his presence.
Moreover, he displayed neither fear nor awkwardness in front of her.
Leaving aside his handso face, his composure and calm deanor were not sothing soone his age should naturally possess, making him feel quite exceptional.
The princess cast a brief glance at Ha Joo-myeong.
‘Though not quite as extraordinary as that one.’
Ha Joo-myeong was a man who transcended peculiarity and stood out as truly special. At least, that was how the princess saw it.
After a brief silence, the princess addressed Jin Seong-un with a light tone.
“You dare think soone like you can have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor?”
Pressuring her opponent was the princess's habit.
Though she held the core of imperial power, the officials who had sat entrenched within the palace for decades all carried serpents in their bellies.
They were the kind who wedged themselves into every subtle shift in power to secure their share.
The princess, having grown up dealing with such people her entire life, was adept at making others uncomfortable to draw out their true intentions.
Having cast a provocative question, she waited silently for Jin Seong-un’s reaction.
After a brief pause, Jin Seong-un replied.
“It was a wish of mine.”
His tone was entirely nonchalant.
The princess felt a strange sense of release. That rascal always did this whenever he uttered a word or two.
‘He has a knack for draining people’s strength.’
He was the complete opposite of her—while she made others tense and uncomfortable, he relaxed and disard them.
Without realizing, the princess leaned comfortably into the back of her chair.
Though most didn’t notice, Sima Baek, Ha Joo-myeong, and the man standing like her shadow did not miss that gesture.
All three sensed that the princess had let down a layer of her emotional wall toward Jin Seong-un.
Around that ti, Jin Seong-un continued.
“I too am a subject of this country. Since I’ve co all the way to the imperial palace, I thought it only proper to offer a triple bow in His Majesty’s presence.”
Jin Seong-un mimicked Lee Seowon’s tone—specifically, the one he used when dealing with rchants or officials.
And it worked quite well.
The princess asked in an even more relaxed tone.
“His Majesty has not awakened. Even if you bow, he won’t be aware of it. You would use such a precious wish rely for a greeting?”
“Yes.”
Once again, a pressing question was t with a disarming answer. The princess was beginning to realize that pressing him any further was pointless.
She gazed at Jin Seong-un, contemplating. His wish was quite appropriate. Neither excessive nor lacking, and even comndable in a way.
As she hesitated, a line of voice transmission brushed her ear.
—He’s a master. You must not allow him into His Majesty’s bedchamber.
The man standing behind her like a shadow—Heo Chung-won, the Admiral of the Eastern Depot.
In this era, the Eastern Depot was, along with the Royal Guards, one of the most powerful institutions in the imperial household.
It was said their power was so great they could even fell birds mid-flight.
Comprised of eunuchs, they served close to the core mbers of the imperial family and sat at the very heart of power.
Their martial prowess was by no ans inferior to the Royal Guards, who were a proper martial group.
In particular, the current Admiral had a rather special relationship with the princess. It was highly unusual for an admiral to serve the princess instead of the Emperor.
The princess’s brow furrowed slightly. She didn’t know martial arts and thus couldn’t send voice transmissions in return.
So it wasn’t a conversation—just her receiving his opinion and making a judgnt.
Her thoughts grew heavier, when Sima Baek suddenly stepped forward.
“Your Highness, may I speak?”
The princess looked directly at Sima Baek, as if telling him to proceed.
After glancing briefly at Jin Seong-un, Sima Baek continued.
“Jin the Innkeeper is a man filled with more loyalty to this country than anyone I’ve t.”
Jin Seong-un wore a bewildered expression.
‘?’
His eyes said exactly that, but Sima Baek purposefully looked away and went on.
“Think back on his actions. Every single deed he’s taken was for the good of the nation.”
Unintended or not, that was indeed the case.
After all, most of Jin Seong-un’s enemies had been enemies of the people as well.
Sima Baek didn’t quite understand Jin Seong-un’s motives, but judged it was a mont where he had to step in.
The princess nodded, seemingly convinced.
“So, you say that wish is reasonable?”
“It is. If a man who’s risked his life for the country has entered the imperial palace, what more would he wish for?”
To have an audience with the Emperor and offer his respects.
The princess found Sima Baek’s logic persuasive.
Her gaze returned to Jin Seong-un. Realizing that her look had grown more favorable, Sima Baek sent a brief voice transmission to Jin Seong-un.
Jin Seong-un slowly repeated what Sima Baek whispered to him.
“Loyalty… is not shown in hopes that the other person will recognize it. Even if His Majesty wakes after I’ve left and never knows a naless martial artist ca to see him, I do not mind.”
“Huh.”
A gleam flashed in the princess’s eyes.
To think such words would co from that arrogant, indifferent man.
Sotis, an unexpected side to soone could be a charm in itself.
The princess found herself growing more curious about Jin Seong-un.
No matter what the Admiral of the Eastern Depot muttered behind her, she didn’t care. She wasn’t soone who took orders from him anyway.
The princess spoke to Jin Seong-un.
“You’re more foolish than you look. The type I detest most. But your loyalty to His Majesty… I cannot deny. So let it be done.”
From behind, the Admiral kept sending voice transmissions: ‘You mustn’t, Your Highness.’ But she didn’t even flinch.
Once she made a decision, no one in the palace—or under heaven—could overturn it.
The princess added,
“However, not a single finger is to touch His Majesty’s body. You can’t be allowed into the bedchamber anyway. Perform your bows with just the thin door between you.”
“So I shall.”
Jin Seong-un answered without hesitation.
* * *
That was more than enough.
The three of them made their way to the Emperor’s bedchamber.
Throughout the walk, not a word was exchanged between them. Only the Admiral would occasionally glance at Jin Seong-un as though watching over him.
Jin Seong-un, regardless of the Admiral glaring at him, calmly looked ahead as he walked.
Naturally so—he had already spread his sensory qi in all directions to morize the palace pathways.
‘The closer you get to the bedchamber, the simpler the path becos.’
As they neared the center, the maze-like paths converged into a single route, and the number of guards lessened.
But that didn’t an the defenses had weakened.
Each guard’s martial strength was formidable and not to be underestimated.
Those dressed in golden martial robes were comparable even to the elite mbers of the major sects.
Jin Seong-un instantly recognized who they were.
‘Royal Guards.’
Alongside the Eastern Depot, they were the most elite force in the imperial household.
Composed entirely of martial artists, they were tasked with guarding the imperial family.
The Royal Guards’ power stemd from that role.
The boundaries of their “guarding” duties were quite vague—if they arbitrarily arrested and interrogated soone and rely added “for His Majesty’s safety,” that was enough.
As Jin Seong-un observed their positions and martial strength, he noticed sothing unusual.
‘They don’t seem to get along.’
The old man in the green martial robe who guarded the princess kept engaging in a silent staring contest with the ones in golden robes.
—Who is that man passing through this place?
The Royal Guards, in charge of the Emperor’s safety, asked this.
—It is by order of Her Highness the Princess.
The Eastern Depot, which served the princess, replied.
The two factions clashed without end.
Thanks to his keen senses, Jin Seong-un could detect that there was tension between them.
After walking for quite a while, imrsed in various thoughts, the three arrived before the Emperor’s quarters.
Geoncheong Palace, its golden roof gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight, was the Emperor’s bedchamber.
At last, the Admiral of the Eastern Depot, Heo Chung-won, who had remained silent while only watching, spoke.
“It would be best not to act in a way that causes misunderstanding.”
His voice was notably androgynous, and though the words were brief, there was a strange weight to them.
Jin Seong-un glanced at the Admiral and nodded.
“Of course.”
For a brief mont, the two observed each other.
Jin Seong-un had encountered many assassins, including Seo Yu-gyeom and the Vice Leader of Deathshroud, but he had never t soone whose presence was so close to nothingness.
Despite his tall stature, the man was utterly devoid of presence—he could disappear like smoke at any mont.
On the other hand, the Admiral also found Jin Seong-un to leave quite a strong impression.
—How could soone that young…
The Admiral had t countless masters across the murim.
From the Five Great Clans and Nine Sects One Gang, to even the masters of the Unorthodox and Demonic Paths.
Even with such a vast range of experience, it was the first ti he’d seen soone of barely twenty reach such a level.
It was the kind of prowess that belonged only in history books—so it was only natural for the Admiral to feel an odd sense of unease.
As the two locked eyes, the princess softly interjected.
“Let’s avoid unnecessary noise, so as not to disturb Father.”
With that, both Jin Seong-un and the Admiral simultaneously turned their gazes away from each other.
The princess stepped into Geoncheong Palace, with Jin Seong-un and the Admiral following behind.
After passing through several doors, they reached a thin door through which the inside was faintly visible.
The princess spoke.
“You may offer your respects here.”
“Understood.”
Jin Seong-un stepped forward while the princess and the Admiral observed from a short distance away.
Through the thin door, the faint silhouette of a man lying atop a massive bed could be seen. Even in his unconscious, bedridden state, his grand physique was striking.
Jin Seong-un, after gazing for a mont, brought his hands together and began to bow.
The Three Bows and Nine Prostrations Ceremony.
The rite a subject was to perform when granted an audience with the Emperor—three full bows, and nine prostrations with the head to the floor.
Naturally, performing the ceremony in full decorum took longer than a standard bow.
This was precisely why Jin Seong-un had formally requested to perform it before the princess.
He began his bows slowly, spreading his sensory qi discreetly as he did.
The rchant King had said that the mont Jin Seong-un reached the Emperor’s bedchamber, he would know the treasure’s location.
And during the second bow, Jin Seong-un understood what he ant.
‘Beneath the bed.’
A very faint yang energy—subtle enough that even seasoned masters might miss it—was emanating from there.
The rchant King had known just how abnormally sharp Jin Seong-un’s sensory qi was, which is why he had been so confident.
As relief washed over him for locating the treasure, Jin Seong-un also felt a renewed sense of helplessness.
How in the world was he supposed to retrieve a treasure that lay beneath the sick Emperor’s bed?
With that thought, he decided to withdraw his energy for now.
No matter how discreet his use of sensory qi was, there was still a risk that the Admiral, who was clearly a master beyond his level, might detect it.
And that was when it happened.
Through the qi he had sent out to find the treasure, he unintentionally sensed sothing off.
It was the Emperor’s physical body.
Those afflicted with illness emitted a distinct qi flow. The circulation would usually be irregular, extrely weak, cut off, or in severe cases, reversed.
Jin Seong-un wasn’t a physician, so he couldn’t diagnose or treat anything.
But what he did know was that the Emperor’s qi didn’t resemble soone who was sick—it was entirely normal.
To examine him more closely, Jin Seong-un gathered more of his sensory qi.
By then, he had reached the final bow.
While enduring the sharp gaze of the Admiral, Jin Seong-un quietly directed his qi toward the Emperor.
It was a risky move. Observing a person’s ridians required a high degree of delicacy—far beyond rely locating an object.
Especially at this distance, with only a thin door between them.
The mont Jin Seong-un’s qi reached the Emperor’s body—
Tap.
Soone placed a hand on his shoulder.
Like ice being pressed against him, the palm was so cold it felt painfully numb.
He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
No matter how focused he had been on what was in front of him, only one person could approach so closely without triggering his sensory qi:
The Admiral of the Eastern Depot, Heo Chung-won.
“How dare you.”
A voice, even colder and sharper than the hand, fell over his head.
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