Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 644 Crown Prince Yi Cho

Simindang Hall stands in the northern corner of the East Garden of Changdeokgung Palace. It was the sleeping quarters of the Crown Prince of Joseon. The name "Simin" is taken from the Book of Documents, which says, "Only by being humble and diligent in learning, and always being quick-witted, can one achieve true success." It is meant to admonish the Crown Prince to be humble, studious, and quick-witted at all times.

Crown Prince Yi Chok did indeed practice this principle—even after he grew up and got married, he still maintained his habit of reading early in the morning and practicing calligraphy late at night. But today, Yi Chok was distracted. Although he was holding a newly published volume of "Memorials of Famous Ministers Throughout History," he couldn't sit still. After half a day, although he had turned the pages several times, he hadn't managed to read a single word.

If it were just that he couldn't concentrate on his book, that would be one thing, but the problem was that Li Zhu also had to walk around the room. He would sit and read for a while, then walk to the door and look up at the sky, and his hands would itch and fidget with the furnishings in the room. These movements weren't very loud, but the constant rustling was quite annoying.

"Your Highness, could you please sit still? You're wandering around here, making it hard for others to concentrate on their reading," Madam Park said, putting down her copy of "Illustrated Explanation of Female Virtues" and frowning slightly in reproach.

"I'm so hot, and my heart feels heavy." Li Chu threw down the book and plopped down in the nearest chair.

"Then let me fan you." Park picked up the folding fan beside her, and came to Yi Chu's side with a faint fragrance.

"I'm not feeling hot, I'm just feeling restless inside. I have this feeling that something bad is about to happen," Lee Chok said, putting his arm around Park Shi and sighing softly.

"Don't overthink it, there's nothing wrong." Park pressed her face against Lee Dok's, gently rubbing it. "Even if something bad does happen, I will be by your side, Your Highness, and face it together."

Although Yi Jok and Park's marriage was a typical political alliance between royalty and a high-ranking official, the couple's relationship was surprisingly harmonious. In their ten years of marriage, they never had any major conflicts. Their relationship was one of perfect harmony and mutual understanding.

The two pressed together, and Lee Cheol felt even hotter, but his restless heart unexpectedly calmed down. "You..." Lee Cheol gently shook off Park's sleeves and pushed her away, then reached out and cupped her chin.

"No. It's still broad daylight." Park blushed and turned her head away.

"What's the big deal? Master Zheng won't be here until this afternoon." Lee Cheok pinched Park's chin and forcefully turned her face away.

“It’s not appropriate to be so lewd in broad daylight. If word gets out, people will say the Crown Prince is immoral.” Park lowered her eyelids in embarrassment, but couldn’t help glancing up at him.

"What's wrong with me loving my wife?" Yi Chu joked as he approached. "Besides, even if I'm licentious in broad daylight, it's still better than rumors that I'm a homosexual." Because Yi Chu had been married for ten years without an heir, there were rumors that he was a homosexual and rarely got close to the Crown Princess.

"It's my fault for being so useless." Park was very perceptive and immediately connected the dots between the joke and the hidden story behind it, so her eyes darkened.

"Don't overthink it, that's not what I meant." Li Chu kissed him.

Unfortunately, the two young and healthy lips hadn't been touching for long when the door to Shimintang was rudely pushed open.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!" A young eunuch shouted as he walked, and soon arrived at Yi Chu and Lady Park's side.

"Bae Ji! What are you doing? Why didn't you knock!" Lee Cheok frowned, but did not immediately release Park.

"Jin, Jin sent someone to tell you." The young eunuch stammered, panicked. "Your Majesty, His Majesty has vomited blood! You must...you must go to the Hall of State at once!"

"What! Father vomited blood? Why! He was perfectly fine this morning!" Lee Jo's face changed instantly. He quickly released Park and stood up himself.

"This servant...this servant knows nothing. Please come over here quickly!" The young eunuch knelt down with a thud.

"You stay here! I'll go, I'll be right back." Li Chu mumbled incoherently, then turned and ran out of Shimin Hall.

Mrs. Park stood there, staring blankly at her husband's rapidly receding figure, her heart pounding. "No way..."

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Changdeok Palace was not a large place. Yi Chok followed the eunuch who came to deliver the news and ran as fast as he could. In no time, they had rushed from Simindang to Hwajeongdang.

"Your Highness!" As soon as Lee Joo stepped into the main gate of the Hwajeongdang courtyard, he was stopped by his grandfather-in-law Park Seung-jong and maternal grandfather-in-law Lee Il-chan. No matter how great the differences in their political views were, at least at this moment, their positions were the same.

"Lord Park, Lord Lee, why are you here too! What happened to Father?" Lee Jo's face grew even paler. His sudden vomiting of blood and summoning of his key ministers—was he about to entrust his son to someone else?

"Your Highness, this cannot be explained in a few words!" Park Seung-jong pulled out the manifesto with a flick of his wrist. "You should take a look at this first!"

"What are you looking at!" Li Chu glanced at it only once before pushing the crumpled piece of paper aside. "What's wrong with Father?"

"Your Highness. His Highness has been deposed by the Emperor! This is a proclamation issued by the Imperial Envoy of the Celestial Empire, Yuan Keli, ordering him to oversee Joseon!" Li Erzhan snatched the proclamation and shoved it into Li Chu's hands. "You should take a look first."

"Huh?" Yi Chu was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to understand what Yi Erzhan meant. He unfolded the proclamation with trembling hands, and muttered as he read it, "That matter really is... how could it be... oh dear!" After a long sigh, Yi Chu visibly slumped down.

"Your Highness, you must pull yourself together!" Park Seung-jong encouraged. "Only you can take charge now!"

"Presiding over...me?" Lee Chok couldn't accept it, even finding it hard to comprehend reality. For this young crown prince, who had long lived in the inner palace and rarely had any real experience, the impact of this proclamation was simply too great. "What exactly is going on! Is my father alright? What about my mother?" Lee Chok trembled all over, and tears even welled up in the corners of his eyes.

“His Highness fainted after vomiting blood,” Li Erzhan stepped forward and patted Li Chu on the shoulder. “But please rest assured, Your Highness, Imperial Physician Xu has just gone in, and the Princess and Lady Jin are also inside.”

"I'm going in right now!" Lee Hyuk took a step forward, but was immediately stopped by Park Seung-jong. "Going in now won't do any good, and if you shout, it will only delay Physician Seo's treatment! Your Highness, let's wait for Physician Seo to come out first."

“Yes, yes.” Lee Cheok stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at the main hall on the other side of the courtyard. After a long while, he calmed down a little and realized that he was holding something crucial in his hand: “This proclamation, where did this proclamation come from?” “A proclamation,” Park Seung-jong swallowed hard. “It was personally delivered by Paju Governor Lee Dong-hwan this morning.”

"Paju!" Yi Chok was shocked, his lips turning white. "The Ming army has already entered Gyeonggi Province?"

“Yes,” Park Seung-jong nodded. “People in Ganghwa, Jangtan, and Paju have reported seeing Ming cavalry. I’m afraid the Ming army will be at the gates of Hanyang tomorrow, or even today.”

"Then why did we only get news today?" Li Chu trembled uncontrollably.

“Yes, Prime Minister,” Li Erzhan interjected. “Why hasn’t the Security Bureau reported this? Isn’t Park Yeop your nephew?”

Park Seung-jong's already unpleasant expression turned even more grim. "What's the point of saying all this now? Let's focus on the matter at hand."

“Yes, Your Highness,” Li Erzhan’s lips curled up slightly. “Let’s focus on the present matter first. We can investigate the responsibility of Park Yeop and the others later.”

Yi Chok was still young and had little experience with political maneuvering outside of court intrigue. He was completely unaware that his wife, Lady Park's, grandfather and maternal grandfather had long been bitter enemies due to power struggles, and he was even less aware that Yi Erchan was subtly influencing his impression of him. "Indeed, indeed. Lord Yi, Lord Park, please tell us quickly what to do. Is there any room for maneuver?"

“I’m afraid not.” Park Seung-jong glanced at Li Erzhan with disgust, then pointed to the beginning of the proclamation and said, “Your Highness, as far as I know, this Yuan Keli and Xu Guangqi, who proposed the guardianship, are quite close. Last July, the late Emperor passed away, and the current Emperor ascended the throne. By September, Xu Guangqi had been summoned to the capital and promoted to Minister of Rites. Clearly, the current Emperor was already planning this when he was still a prince. If the Ministry of Rites had discovered the current Emperor’s intentions earlier, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this humiliation today. But now that the proclamation has arrived and the imperial army is about to arrive, it is too late to reverse the situation.”

Park Seung-jong's move hit Lee Er-chan right where it hurt. Lee Er-chan glared at Park Seung-jong, who returned a knowing look.

"Then what should we do?" Li Chu asked.

“Now that the army to punish us has been raised, the only way to protect the nation and save millions of people from suffering is to obey the will of Heaven, welcome the imperial envoy from afar, confess our crimes and accept punishment.” Park Seung-jong said.

"Plead guilty and accept punishment? Then wouldn't Father...wouldn't he?" Li Zhu asked.

“Your Highness, it’s alright,” Li Erzhan replied. “The Emperor’s military campaign in Korea is ultimately to strengthen our national defense and resist the Jurchen invaders. We can use the argument of ‘pacifying the situation and delaying the disaster’ to defend Your Highness and try our best to obtain leniency. As long as the royal line remains intact, even if Your Highness is deposed by the Emperor and reduced to a commoner, you can still spend your later years in peace under your filial piety.”

Lee Chok's breath hitched, and he finally understood why Park and Lee had stopped him at the door. "This is between you and me, I can't... I can't do such a treasonous thing." Lee Chok's heart pounded even faster.

“A king is a vassal of the emperor. When a vassal king is deposed, his son succeeds him. This is the way of things throughout history and across the world. How can it be considered a great treason?” Park Seung-jong said.

"But, but this proclamation doesn't say that I should succeed to the throne." Yi Chu read the proclamation over and over again, but only saw the content about deposing the king.

Park Seung-jong was also worried that the emperor intended to have someone else succeed him to the Joseon throne, but at this moment, he could only calm himself down and reassure his father, saying, "Your Highness, please do not worry. You were appointed by the late emperor eleven years ago, and you are His Highness's only son, so it is perfectly legitimate. Therefore, please rest assured and take charge of the overall situation!"

Li Chu swayed his body in a manner that was neither a nod nor a nod. "Lord Li."

“Your subject is here,” Li Erzhan replied immediately.

“If I remember correctly,” Yi Chu asked, “that Lord Yi is not only the Chief of the Ministry of Rites, but also the Chief of the Ministry of Justice, right?”

Li Erzhan immediately straightened up. "Yes."

"Then could you kill those two people before Imperial Envoy Yuan arrives in the capital?" Li Chu asked.

"Which two people?" Li Erzhan asked knowingly, glancing at Park Seung-jong as well.

"Of course it's Jiang Hongli and that Vice Marshal Jin Jin!" Li Chu rolled up the proclamation and pointed to the name "Hongli." "I want you to kill them all to silence them, so that the imperial envoy doesn't find any evidence against my father!"

A layer of cold sweat appeared on Li Erzhan's forehead.

What a joke! The imperial envoy, once in the capital, will most likely not execute the king, but he will certainly not show mercy to those who remain compliant and coerced. Killing Jiang Hongli and Jin Jingrui at this time is tantamount to suicide.
Li Erzhan took a deep breath, buying himself a moment to phrase his words. "If Your Highness gives the order, I will naturally obey. However, the Chancellor said when he met with Your Highness earlier that these two people should not be killed."

"What kind of logic is this!" As expected, Yi Ye-chan's attention was diverted to Park Seung-jong by Yi Er-chan's move.

Park Seung-jong's eyes twitched, and he cursed Li Erzhan several times in his heart.

His earlier remarks weren't intended for the king's ears. Park Seung-jong was merely justifying his previous actions in protecting Kang and Kim, and indirectly emphasizing his complete ignorance of the king's "ignorance of the king's treachery in ordering the frontline general to communicate with the enemy envoys." However, while Park Seung-jong might disregard the thoughts of the deposed King Yi Hun, he couldn't ignore Yi Jo's feelings.

Although Queen Yoo, Yi Cho's mother, was never particularly favored, and under pressure from Lady Kim, there were even rumors that the king intended to depose Lady Yoo and install Lady Kim in her place, Lady Kim, despite being the most favored concubine, did not bear the king any children. Yi Cho, at the age of twenty-three, remained the king's only son, so the relationship between Yi Hun and his father, Yi Cho, was generally not tense.

Park Seung-jong had always been pleased to see the king and his son being kind and filial, since there were few disagreements between the king and the crown prince, and the various maternal relatives didn't need to fight to the death. But at this moment, Park Seung-jong hoped that Yi Chok would harbor resentment towards Yi Hun, or at least not be so blinded by filial piety.

Park Seung-jong thought hard for a moment, then instinctively put on an expression of loyalty and patriotism: "Your Highness, I believe that since the Celestial Empire has already sent troops to punish us and issued such a proclamation, it must have already obtained some circumstantial evidence. Even if Jiang and Jin are dead, the Imperial Envoy can still convict them based on this evidence. Killing someone at this time would only bring harm and no benefit, and would only make the Celestial Empire think that Your Highness is guilty. Moreover, Judge Lee may not be able to cover things up perfectly, right? If the Uigeumbu (Imperial Guard) can't withstand the pressure, this fire might even spread to Your Highness."

"Then Father King" Li Chu shrank back.

"I still maintain that as long as the royal line remains intact, even if Your Highness is deposed by the Emperor and reduced to a commoner, you can still live out your later years as an uncrowned king under the care of Your Highness." Li Erzhan chuckled inwardly; he was already quite satisfied that Park Seung-jong had put it this way.

(End of this chapter)