Hongdu - The King's Men - Chapter 6

If asked to name the most honest thing in the world, it would be time.

Time moves forward honestly without the slightest concealment.

When night passes, morning comes.

When the golden morning sun becomes languid, the evening glow invariably arrives.

Thus, days passed with day and night alternating.

On a day when the spring sunshine was especially warm.

Just as the brightness of midday seemed to disappear behind the red sunset, darkness suddenly arrived.

“Are you suddenly trying to move?”

A voice was heard from the void along with the thick darkness.

Hong Woo Geon lowered his arm that had been resting on the half-moon window.

He had been watching the scene of darkness falling outside the open window.

Though one might be startled by the sudden voice.

Hong Woo Geon seemed accustomed to his current situation, appearing indifferent.

“When did you arrive?”

An immediate answer came to his question.

“Perhaps since you were leaning on the window with your arm.”

The voice was still heard without revealing its form.

However, this time it came from the opposite direction of where it was first heard.

A faint spark flickered in Hong Woo Geon’s bored eyes.

“Have I become dull? Or has your concealment skill improved?”

“Let’s say it’s half and half.”

Hong Woo Geon let out a chuckle at the voice that seemed to be showing great generosity.

Was it a laugh rarely seen?

A voice filled with doubt came from the darkness.

“What’s this? Have I unknowingly started an amusing game?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Even though you said you hated Hanyang no matter how much I asked. Suddenly you’ve acquired a house, they say. And even using a ‘name plate’…”

“It’s not a house for me to live in.”

“Then?”

“It’s a house for someone who will pass the civil service examination this time.”

“Don’t tell me… it’s the house chosen by the Myeongye Bang Hwa Seob Ja?”

The voice was full of surprise.

Enjoying that surprise leisurely, Hong Woo Geon answers.

“Yes.”

“They willingly gave up that house?”

“As if. Considering they used not only a skilled broker but also a ‘name plate’, you can guess the circumstances, can’t you?”

As if thinking about recent events gave him quite a headache, Hong Woo Geon furrowed his brow.

However, being in darkness.

The voice, unable to read his expression, added some nagging.

“Surely the ‘name plate’ wasn’t given to be used for such trivial matters.”

“It’s not trivial, but rather a significant matter.”

“It’s just about creating one successful candidate, how is that ‘significant’?”

The voice was clearly filled with disbelief.

Hong Woo Geon shook his head vigorously.

“What if that successful candidate is not just an ordinary one?”

“If not ordinary?”

“For example, if the ‘Myeongye Bang Hwa Seob Ja’ becomes the successful candidate?”

Was it because it was such an unexpected answer?

Silence fell for a moment.

How much time passed like that?

Suddenly, breaking the silence, the voice was heard.

“You don’t mean…?”

Instead of answering, Hong Woo Geon smiled slightly.

Then he shouted as if grumbling towards the darkness.

“How long are you going to make me talk to thin air?”

“Oh!”

With a small exclamation, there was a sound of landing on the floor from the void.

Eventually, the owner of the voice slowly revealed himself from the darkness.

The man’s grape-like eyes were strangely very similar to Hong Woo Geon’s.

Hong Woo Geon, still smiling as he looked at the man, opened his mouth.

“But…”

“…?”

“Aren’t your secret excursions becoming too frequent, Your Majesty?”

[This is the timeline separator]

The two men looked alike yet different.

Unlike Hong Woo Geon, who was six feet tall, the king was somewhat shorter with a slight build.

While Hong Woo Geon’s appearance gave a refreshing and solid impression, the king had many delicate and fragile aspects.

Nevertheless, the appearance of the two facing each other was strangely similar.

There was a reason for this.

The two were twins born on the same day, at the same hour.

However, few people knew the secret that the king had a twin, countable on one hand.

The two stood side by side on the edge of a forbidden blade that could never be revealed to the outside world.

One person from the highest and brightest throne in the world.

The other living as someone who exists yet does not exist in the world.

In the distant past.

When the difference in their physiques was not so apparent and their appearances were indistinguishable, they even took turns playing the role of crown prince.

Using the secret of being twins unknown to the world as a weapon, they enjoyed the stuffy palace life in their own way.

However, in the year when the two turned eight.

The previous king suddenly passed away.

The one who was in the palace at that time was the current king.

There was no way to escape from the palace that was tightly locked inside and out.

In the end, the king ascended to the throne and became the owner of the massive golden cocoon that was the palace, bearing the heavy weight of that responsibility.

Even when the Queen Dowager ruled on behalf of the young king, he had to sit upright on the dragon throne.

Some praised that unwavering figure as a heaven-sent ruler, while others whispered that he was a fearless brat.

How could one put into words the numerous threats and arduous hardships of the past years?

However, what had to be endured was not the days that had passed, but the life that lay ahead.

The king cast his gaze with hands bound in silk cloth.

Hong Woo Geon’s head moved along with it.

“Are you hurt? What happened?”

There was no hesitation in Hong Woo Geon’s actions towards the king.

To Hong Woo Geon, the king was a precious family member before being a king.

The king was Hong Woo Geon’s light, an existence he had to protect forever.

He was not someone to be treated according to etiquette and formality or to whom loyalty was sworn, but a younger brother to be cherished without barriers.

That’s why he often reacted excessively even to the king’s small scratches.

But this time, the wound was large enough that Hong Woo Geon’s reaction was not excessive.

Blood had seeped through the silk wrapping his palm in spots.

“Who did this?”

The king smiled dryly at the hastily asked question.

“It’s nothing serious.”

“It must have been serious indeed.”

When the king said it was nothing, something special usually had happened.

“What happened?”

“Just…”

“Are you trailing off again?”

As he briefly imitated a reproaching older brother, the king let out a small “haha” laugh.

The king’s expression, which had been heavy throughout, lightened considerably.

Tap tap.

Hong Woo Geon offered his shoulder, signaling him to lean on it.

Without refusing, the king obediently rested the tip of his head on Hong Woo Geon’s shoulder.

“Tell me.”

Hong Woo Geon urged again, glancing sideways at the king.

“It’s just… it’s really nothing.”

The king closed his eyes slowly, recalling the unusual night that had just passed.

*

The night in the royal chamber was sunk in the darkness of old ink.

For the king’s peaceful sleep, the palace servants did not even make a loud breath, let alone speak.

A sea of black and deep silence enveloped the king’s bedchamber.

The suffocating stillness continued for quite some time.

Those who had spent a hard day succumbed to the temptation of the sleep demon that had seeped into the darkness. The heads of the palace servants on duty also nodded in the air several times.

Eventually, many surrendered to sleep, resting their heads against the back wall.

Despite it being a time when sleep dominated the darkness.

The king, the master of the royal chamber, was still unable to sleep.

The faint footsteps that had been heard for a while had been disturbing the king’s sleep.

Whose footsteps could they be?

The king finally raised his upper body.

“Is it Chief Eunuch Jang?”

The king raised his voice towards the darkness.

But there was no answer.

If it had been Chief Eunuch Jang, he would have made his presence known, either by approaching or clearing his throat.

The fact that he didn’t meant that someone who couldn’t openly reveal their existence had appeared here.

A cool breeze brushed past the king’s mind.

The purpose of stepping into the royal bedchamber in the dead of night was obvious, wasn’t it?

It was to take the king’s life.

“You never tire, do you?”

This wasn’t the first or second time since ascending to the throne.

At first, there was a commotion, criticizing the royal guards and strengthening the security of the royal chamber in concern for the king’s safety.

But it was useless.

There would be no intrusions for a while during the commotion, but the moment they let their guard down, assassins would invariably find their way to the king’s bedchamber.

This was clear evidence that there were those within the palace who wanted to kill the king, or those who were in league with them.

But there was only circumstantial evidence, no physical proof.

By now, rumors were secretly circulating among the palace servants that the king’s personality was too sensitive and that he was seeing empty delusions.

At some point, some even began to dismiss the assassin’s intrusions as the king’s nightmares.

All these changes had occurred after the sudden death of the previous king, after the king’s power had weakened.

The real power in Joseon was not the king but the in-laws.

At the center of all power was the Queen Dowager who acted as regent, followed by the Queen Mother who put the in-laws at the forefront. The king came after that.

That’s why the king had to protect himself.

Even on a day like today, the king had to take up the sword himself rather than calling for someone.

With a swish, the king drew the decorative sword placed at his bedside.

It was only decorative on the outside; inside the scabbard was a blade sharpened to a keen edge.

The king faced the darkness.

A moment later.

Whoosh, along with the sound of wind, a sharp sound of air being cut pierced the ears.

Clang! Clash!

Steel met steel.

In the darkness, honed blades clashed roughly.

Blue sparks flew, blooming.

The exchange of swords didn’t last long.

One-sided attacks were directed at the king.

He couldn’t even remember when he had dropped the sword he was holding.

It was only a brief moment, enough to exhale once and raise a hand, but to the king, it felt like an eternity, long and urgent.

The king rolled his body to avoid the sword fiercely lunging at him.

And then…

“Chief Eunuch Jang! Chief Eunuch Jang!”

The king called out for Chief Eunuch Jang at the top of his lungs.

The voice that shook the silence of the night stirred the palace.

Every corner of the royal chamber, drowsy with sleep, lit up brightly.

“Oh no.”

A curse-like sigh escaped from the mouth of the man holding the sword.

“I’ll withdraw for today, but I’ll surely return.”

Seeing the approaching light and shadows, the man leaped out through the side door.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! What’s the matter?”

Just as the man disappeared, Chief Eunuch Jang rushed into the chamber.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Chief Eunuch Jang flung open the door with eyes wide in shock.

The court lady, with sleep still clinging to her eyes, looked around in confusion before hastily bowing her head as she saw the two.

“Did you see anyone leave through this door?”

The court lady shook her head at the king’s question.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“No, never mind.”

Chief Eunuch Jang hurriedly closed the side door.

He moved closer to the king.

“Your Majesty, what happened?”

“It’s nothing. I must have had a nightmare.”

Though he said this, the king’s mind was racing quickly.

The vivid sensation of death that had touched his nape.

And this wound.

The king looked down at his palm.

In the middle of his palm, cut by the man’s sword tip, dark red blood was flowing.

*

Save yourself from story hunger — the novel below will blow your mind!

“How dare you!”

“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?

“I will never accept that.”

“I will never let you return to him.”

“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”

“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”

“I will never let you escape me!”

This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!

At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.

Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.

The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.

Synopsis:

Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?

Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?

Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?

The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.

The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.

Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~

_____

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