The Ruler of Darkness

Book 8: Chapter 10

‘The head of the Lee family must die.’

Yeon So-hyeon’s instruction was clear.

‘Even as he surrenders and cooperates, he will be gathering the remnants in some way to sharpen the blade of counterattack.’

Yeon So-hyeon’s will was lucid.

‘Therefore, we cut off the head to remove the enemy’s rallying point.’

And then next.

‘The active officials of the Lee family, with their command structure collapsed, will either seek to survive on their own or move for revenge.’

At this point, Yeon So-hyeon reveals his next hand.

‘Deploy the Gong family to completely crush them before they can even set up their game.’

Luoyang Regional High Court.

Judge Lee was pacing restlessly in his judge’s chambers.

“Oh my… What to do.”

For a while now, he had been repeatedly starting to take off his judge’s robe, then fixing his attire again, then starting to take it off again.

‘Is it more advantageous for the family if I keep my judge’s robe on and guard the chambers?

Or should I head to my in-laws or maternal family to seek help even now….’

The clothes under his loose judge’s robe were already damp with cold sweat.

He clutched his face.

‘Why on earth haven’t I received instructions from anyone? The Family Head? The family elders? Surely not everyone failed to escape from the main house?!’

If there were no instructions from the family until now, there was no more time to wander.

Having made up his mind, he took off the judge’s hat he had been wearing.

It was time to move and do something, anything.

At that moment, the door to the judge’s chambers burst open.

Judge Lee, who had been startled, sighed in relief after confirming the face of the person who entered.

“Oh, if it isn’t Judge Gong.”

He wiped the sweat that had run down his forehead with his sleeve and then burst into anger.

“Hey! Even if it’s you, how could you just barge into a fellow judge’s chambers like this! Where are your manners…?!”

His angry mouth closed.

The expression of Judge Gong, who was always gentle, was hardened, almost cold.

It was like looking at a different person.

“Wh-What’s the matter?”

Judge Gong opened his mouth to answer his question.

“You’ll have to come with our family.”

Behind Judge Gong, the investigators under his command revealed themselves.

They were in full combat gear.

As soon as he saw this, Judge Lee immediately put on the judge’s hat he had been holding.

“I am an active judge!”

Then, as if in court, he shouted with a deliberately imposing attitude.

“To try to take me away arbitrarily! Whatever the matter is, you must know that arbitrarily kidnapping and detaining an active judge is a serious crime that would warrant the dispatch of inspectors from the Imperial Capital, right?!”

“Of course, I know that well, being a judge myself.”

Judge Gong from the Gong family nodded.

If he had been a judge from the Cheong family, there would have been no way.

But he was not Cheong, he was Gong.

And this was not an individual’s will, but the will of the family.

“But you are no longer a judge, so it doesn’t matter.”

If it’s difficult to touch someone because they’re a judge, then just make them not a judge, right?

“Wh-What are you saying?!”

He shouted as he hurriedly backed away.

“A-A judge of the High Court cannot be stripped of their position until all legal procedures are completed-!”

His voice was cut off by a finger strike from an investigator’s hand.

“Take him.”

The investigators who rushed in gagged and bound him, his body momentarily paralyzed by the acupoint strike.

They didn’t forget to tear off his judge’s robe.

Bound in an instant, he was dragged away with a hood over his head so others couldn’t recognize him.

After he was dragged away like a piece of luggage, Judge Gong from the Gong family looked at the empty judge’s chambers.

“…Judge Gong.”

There was a voice calling him.

“Yes, Chief Justice.”

The Chief Justice of the Luoyang Regional High Court looked at him with a grim expression.

“This time, I’m turning a blind eye because the Gong family made such an earnest request, but it won’t be possible a second time. You must absolutely-“

“Chief Justice.”

His words were cut off by Judge Gong from the Gong family.

“Nothing happened here today.”

“Th-That’s right. This High Court was the same as usual today. Of course.”

Judge Gong said as he removed the nameplate with Judge Lee’s name attached to the door.

“Judge Lee, when serious personal misconduct came to light, wrote his resignation letter himself this morning and disappeared.”

This was an action and tone that, under normal circumstances, a mere judge would never dare use with the Chief Justice.

“Th-That’s right. You’re correct.”

But he was not a mere judge now, but one acting on behalf of the will of the Gong family, one of the Sixteen Families of the Imperial Capital.

“Well then. I have many duties piled up today, so I’ll take the rudeness of leaving first.”

Returning to his usual gentle expression, he politely greeted the Chief Justice.

As he turned around, the Chief Justice opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…J-Judge Gong!”

“Yes, Chief Justice. Did you call me?”

The Chief Justice looked around once more and carefully asked.

“…I’ve heard that the former family heads in North Mang Mountain have different intentions from the main houses of the Sixteen Families, but what’s going on?”

As someone of the Chief Justice’s position at the Regional High Court, he had received a visit from Young Master Lee’s side yesterday.

The visitor from Young Master Lee’s side had clearly said that the former family heads of the Sixteen Families were moving independently of the current family heads’ will.

And they had firmly warned not to even think about getting involved in the political strife between the Luoyang Sword House and the Sixteen Families.

But today, the judge with the Gong surname was clearly moving not by the will of an individual former family head in North Mang Mountain, but by the will of the entire Gong family.

“…Let me tell you one thing.”

Judge Gong approached the Chief Justice and whispered in his ear.

“The head of the Gong family is not in the Imperial Capital, but in North Mang Mountain.”

“……!”

The Chief Justice’s eyes widened.

“Th-That means…?!”

Judge Gong raised his index finger to his lips.

“…….”

The Chief Justice closed his mouth and nodded hurriedly.

His wrinkled face was already drenched in cold sweat.

“You just need to stay still. You don’t need to worry about anything else at all.”

Judge Gong spoke in a kind tone and low voice.

“Right now, today’s attendance record is probably being rewritten, and no one who saw Judge Lee attend will open their mouths.”

From the court forces guarding the entrance during arrival time, to those assisting Judge Lee, to fellow judges who had chatted with Judge Lee today.

Everyone.

They were all now being made to swear silence by members of the Gong family.

Just like the Chief Justice.

“…P-Please convey my regards to the Family Head.”

At the Chief Justice’s words, the judge from the Gong family smiled slightly and turned, disappearing down the corridor.

***

And not just at the High Court, similar events were unfolding across Luoyang.

“L-Let go! Do you know who I-!”

As the active official from the Lee family who had been struck in the abdomen rolled his eyes and collapsed, they tied him up, stuffed him in a sack, and put him in a chest with air holes.

“Please! I don’t know who you are, but please spare my life…!”

One who was going to seek help from his in-laws surrendered obediently, was gagged, hooded, and loaded into a carriage.

“How could you do this to me?!”

There were also those who screamed as if in agony as they were dragged away by unidentifiable individuals.

They had been betrayed by trusted friends.

“I’m sorry. Didn’t you know I was from the Gong Grand Academy?”

“G-Gong Grand Academy?! Why on earth would the Gong family…?!”

And so.

Those who confirmed the hand Yeon So-hyeon had revealed, without exception, realized there had never been a way out to begin with.

Those kidnapping and transporting the active officials of the Lee family were all, without exception, heading towards the Gong family mansion in North Mang Mountain.

***

North Mang Mountain, Gong family mansion.

“Just now, the operation at the Luoyang Regional High Court has been completed, they say.”

“The operation at Luoyang Second Dock has been completed.”

“The operation on Wangyang Avenue is progressing smoothly…”

“The one hiding in the Hwang family was, with the cooperation of the Hwang family…”

All final reports were coming to one person.

“Good, very good.”

An old man sitting in a wheelchair nodded repeatedly with a satisfied expression.

It was Gong Ryang, the head of the Gong family, known externally as the former family head.

“Listen, all of you.”

He raised his thin hand.

The attention of everyone present focused on him.

“You must make everyone in Luoyang know.”

An intense aura, unbelievable for someone supposedly bedridden, overwhelmed those present.

“What kind of family this Gong family is, and what kind of person this Gong Ryang is.”

The members of the Gong family bowed their heads even deeper.

“That even active officials can disappear without a trace…”

Gong Ryang bared his teeth.

“You must engrave that fear clearly.”

He was the leader of the reform faction in the Central Plains Kingdom, but he was far from being an incorruptible official who stubbornly adhered only to the righteous path.

To begin with, how could a mere incorruptible official have guarded the Emperor’s side for so many years?

Because he follows a greater cause, his purpose is different from the other old foxes of North Mang Mountain who only covet power.

He too was clearly one of the old foxes.

Moreover, one who had sharpened his blade while enduring and persevering for many long years.

To the extent that he had maintained balance as the leader of the minority reform faction in that corrupt political arena of the Imperial Capital.

The most ferocious old fox.

“Now everyone will clearly know that our Gong family stands behind Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.”

***

Lee family main house.

[Here are the Lee family documents you mentioned]

An investigator approached, avoiding the gazes of others, and reported via close-range sound transmission.

The chief investigator who received the documents from him checked them and replied likewise via close-range sound transmission.

[These documents were never found in the first place. Understand?]

[Of course. I collected them personally and didn’t even list them in the evidence inventory.]

[Good. Return to your original duty.]

The chief investigator who nodded turned around and walked away.

What that investigator just brought was the last of it.

Now he had to report to the one who had given the secret order.

[Family Head.]

The chief investigator with the Cheong surname approached his family head and handed over documents wrapped in a shabby cloth bundle.

“Is this all?”

[Yes. This is practically the maximum we could gather up to this point]

The head of the Cheong family, Elder Cheong, opened the bundle and checked the contents.

Land deeds from Luoyang and various parts of the Central Plains Kingdom, documents related to ownership of buildings, bonds held by the Lee family, promissory notes, various certificates, bundles of high-value vouchers, and so on.

They were documents directly related to the Lee family’s assets.

“Well done. You personally manage the scene until the very end.”

[Yes, Family Head]

Elder Cheong approached Yeon So-hyeon, who was reviewing various ledgers with the judges.

“Young Master.”

“Elder Cheong.”

Yeon So-hyeon checked the bundle in his hand, exchanged eye greetings with the judges, and turned around.

When the two arrived at a place shielded from others’ gazes, Elder Cheong immediately handed the bundle to Yeon So-hyeon.

“As per your request, I’ve included everything except bulky items like gold coins or treasures.”

A mischievous, teasing smile appeared on Yeon So-hyeon’s face as he received the bundle.

“To think that the head of the righteous and incorruptible Cheong family would divert assets that should be returned to the national treasury.”

Elder Cheong shrugged without changing his expression.

“I have no idea what Eldest Young Master is talking about. The investigation results have already shown that all of the Lee family’s assets were taken and disappeared with by the head of the Lee family.”

At those words, Yeon So-hyeon laughed.

“For investigation results to come out already, as expected, the Cheong family’s judges are the most capable in Luoyang.”

Elder Cheong also laughed at that joke.

“Our family is the best in this field in the Central Plains Kingdom.”

There’s no way investigation results that should take several days could have come out already.

Elder Cheong was just letting him know that the results were already predetermined.

He stroked his chin beard and unnecessarily turned his gaze to the distance.

The Illustrious Judge Cheong Hyo.

He swore this was actually the first time in his life doing something like this.

“…Even if we confiscate these assets, it’s obvious they’ll just be passed on to and used by those no different from the Lee family bastards.”

If that’s the case, it was right to hand them over to Yeon So-hyeon.

“Please, Young Master, use them for meaningful purposes.”

Yeon So-hyeon shook the bundle.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Elder Cheong.”

Then he smiled, showing his teeth.

“Now it’s time to pull out even the last cornerstone of those Lee family bastards.”