"Your Majesty?" the lady in waiting asked Ji-Hye
"Go," the Queen responded, her sight locked on her father
Minister Lim waited for the entourage to leave. "You did well to separate the prince from his friends," he said, walking towards his daughter. "But instead of letting the King execute our enemy, you manipulated the situation so that the King would accept the court maiden's proposal! We should have gotten rid of him by now. And that is where I am disappointed in you!"
"Forgive me, Father, but after doing everything you asked of me, I am just getting my reward. I am just taking back what was promised to me," Ji-Hye shot back at her father
"If you do not get rid of the prince, if you keep on clinging on to him, you will get dragged down with him," He warned the Queen
Ji-Hye sensed something was amiss and questioned her father. "What is going on? What are you planning to do, the prince?" she asked worriedly, knowing her father's treacherous nature.
"It is nothing that concerns you, I will warn you just this once, Ji-Hye, stay away from the prince!" Minister Lim then walked past the Queen, but he stopped a few steps away. "If you warn the prince, I will make sure that he does not wake up to see another day." He continued to walk away, leaving her alone by the palace lake.
The Queen was distraught at the thought that something might happen to the prince, so she quickly returned to her residence.
Young-Sik's feet took him to the Cherry blossom, straight into his secret hideout. He looked at the vacant Room and he felt a nipping sensation in his heart. He sat down and pulled on the golden chord. After a few minutes, Mun-he came with several servants carrying tons of delicious food and liquor. "Why are you alone?" she asked the prince, surprised by the fact that he was not with Jin-Ri or Kwan.
Young-Sik extended his cup, and one of the servants poured wine into it, filling it up. "You complained when I started to bring some friends over, and you're still complaining now that I am alone," he said before taking a sip from the cup.
"I like to complain, especially if it's about you," Mun-He sat beside the prince. "I have some terrible news to report," she said, waiting for the prince to ask for her report
"What is it?" Young-Sik's cold voice asked, his playful demeanor vanishing in an instant.
Mun-He sat opposite the prince and handed him a piece of paper. "While your group was in Guiong, the King ordered a manhunt for his mother. A day after that, a battalion of soldiers attacked his grandfather's estate in Mong-Din...no no one survived."
Young-Sik's face registered shock and disbelief. "What? No one? Not even the King's grandfather?" he asked, unable to believe that his brother had fallen so far from grace, that he had forgotten all the wisdom imparted to them by their late father.
"I need to speak to the King; he needs to know that he has deviated from what our father intended for him." The prince stood ready to leave and march straight to the palace.
Mun-He held on to the prince's hand. "There is more, your Highness." Lady Hu's words rooted the prince; he turned and sat back down. "My people did some digging and they found out a name that had links to both Aranes and Guiong."
She handed over several pieces of parchment to the prince. He took them and read through the contents. "It's him? Are you entirely sure?" he asked
"I trust my people, Your Highness, if they say it's him...I can be sure that it's him," Mun-He confidently assured the prince
"This new information is very unexpected...he serves the King now, and confronting him right now will be nothing but folly," Young-Sik sadly concluded. "Does Eri know what his son did to her father?" he inquired
"No, your Highness, I was hoping that you would tell her," Mun-He told the prince
"Not yet...I know this sounds sketchy, but we still need the names of her accomplices. I am hoping the shock value of this news will boggle her mind into cooperating," The prince said coldly
"But your Highness, that is wrong. She must be informed of her family's fate," Mun-He said in disapproval of the prince's tactic
"You will do no such thing; do you understand me, Mun-He?" The prince instructed Lady Hu, his voice stern and steadfast in his decision
Though Lady Hu disagreed with Young-Sik's plans, she bowed her head and replied, "As you wish...Your Highness!"
"For now, I would like to drink and forget something," Young-Sik expressed. he extended his glass, and Mun-He poured wine into it. The prince drinks the wine as he stares off into the dark sky.
The next morning, Young-Sik had just returned from the Cherry Blossom and was about to enter his residence when he was approached by several royal guards who bowed to him, "Prince Young-Sik, the King summons you," one of them informed him.
"What does he want?" He coldly asked if it did not matter, and he did not care.
"We don't know Your Highness, but he said it is important. He is waiting by the court grounds, with Guiong's envoy," The guard leader informed him.
Surprised by the information, Young-Sik's interest in the matter was quickly piqued. "Envoy? When did they arrive?"
"Last night, your Highness, it was already late when they entered the capital." The guard replied, "Please, Your Highness, the King is waiting," he reminded the prince.
"Of course...lead me to him," he calmly told the soldiers. The soldiers led the prince, and he followed them to the court grounds.
When he arrived at the court grounds, he saw his brother and the envoy sitting by a long table, draped in red cloth with golden tassels. Dozens of Guiong soldiers were standing in attention surrounding the area. The guards continued to lead the prince until he was in front of the King and envoys, then they left him. Young-Sik was confused by the turn of events. "What is going on?" he asked
"Prince Young-Sik," the envoy called his attention. He turned to where the voice came from and saw an old man sitting beside the King. He faced the old man standing straight and defiantly. "Emperor Yuan orders you to surrender yourself to me and face judgment and punishment in a Guiong court for the murder of Captain Xun Ju." He then signaled to several Guiong soldiers to take the prince into custody.
The soldiers attempted to grab the prince, but as soon as they were within range, Young-Sik sent them flying back with punches and kicks. Two Guiong soldiers fell hard, decked by twin roundhouse kicks from Young-Sik. Two more soldiers tried to encircle the prince, but he was able to grab the one in front and knock him out cold by throwing him onto the ground. The one in the back was swept by the prince, and as he fell to the ground, Young-Sik buried his fist into the soldier's solar plexus, nearly killing him.
As more soldiers charged at the prince, Man-Ju stood from his seat. "Enough! Young-Sik, you will surrender yourselves to the Guiong envoy now!"
"Are you...what?" Young-Sik expressed befuddled by the King's command, "Why should you follow the orders of Yuan? Chiongsun is not part of his empire."
Minister Gi, clearly not a fan of personal space or common sense, stormed toward the prince, dramatically declaring, "How dare you speak ill of the emperor, you insignificant little..." But before he could finish his dramatic monologue, Young-Sik delivered a backhanded slap that knocked the minister out cold, proving once again that sometimes, silence is golden—especially when a good slap accompanies it!
Jin-Ri, upon hearing the commotion, ran towards the court grounds, her heart pulsating inside her chest. When she saw that several Guiong soldiers were attacking the prince, she rushed in to help her beloved prince. Captain Gi and Yeng were both fully aware of the repercussions should Jin-Ri intervene, and quickly prevented her from going any further by blocking her path. "NO! Get out of the way, Yeng, the prince needs our help!" she shouted
The moment Jin-Ri's voice reached his ears, he began to search the crowd and soon located her, struggling to reach him. Kwan turned to the prince, who was shaking his head, and then he made a subtle chin motion, indicating that Kwan should take Jin-Ri and leave.
That small window of distraction cost Young-Sik, a Guiong soldier was able to hit him on the back of the head with a small club. The impact immobilized Young-Sik for a moment, but it was more than enough time for ten Guiong soldiers to subdue the prince.
The site of Young-Sik being tackled was more than Jin-Ri could take. "Let go of him!" she shouted. Her outburst caught the attention of Man-Ju and the Guiong envoy.
"How dare a woman give us orders!" The Guiong envoy expressed, he then looked at the King, "Get your woman under control before I do!" he demanded
The King furrowed his brow at the envoy and then called to Kwan, "Captain Gi, Lady-in-waiting Yeng, kindly take Consort Hong back to her mansion." he then looked at Jin-Ri. "I will have a word with you later," he snarled at the two.
Young-Sik, now captured and restrained, was presented to Man-Ju and the Guiong envoy. The soldiers forced him to kneel. Man-Ju stepped forward and struck him across the face. "How dare you jeopardize Chiongsun and disgrace me before the emperor's envoy?" The King delivered another slap. "I revoke your title of prince and all associated privileges. Your wealth and belongings are forfeited to the emperor as compensation for the family of the late Guiong Hero, Captain Xun Ju." He cast a glance at Jin-Ri, ensuring she witnessed the moment. "I hand you over to the envoy's soldiers for punishment before they take you back!"