THE ATTACK

Seunghyeonjeong arrived outside the Manor only to be received by the cold gaze of his grandmother.

"Young Master?" Mr. Song called.

"What were you thinking you little silly boy running away from home?" Lady Han asked.

"Did you have no remorse or worry when you left your mother in that condition which is painfully disturbing her?" she added.

"I am sorry Grandmother." Seunghyeonjeong said.

"Where had you run off to?" She asked as the Imperial guards that had escorted him finally left them alone with only a messenger.

"At the palace." Seunghyeonjeong hesitantly replied.

"At the palace?" Lady Han said so surprised.

"What were you doing all the way there?" Lady Han asked.

"He confronted the King." The messenger replied.

"Goodness." Lady Han said as she was slowly started and nearly fell to the ground but gained her stamina after Mr. Song helped her.

"What do you want to do to me my Child, do you want to kill me when my own son is away?" Lady Han said nearly bursting into tears.

Seunghyeonjeong instantly went down on both his knees.

"Forgive me grandmother, I am at fault and in wrong here, please punish me." Seunghyeonjeong said as he bowed his head.

At the moment, most of the people who were walking on the streets stopped to steal a glimpse of what was happening at the Han Manor's doorstep.

"Get up." Lady Han said as she took hold of her grandson by his arms and helped him to his feet.

"Get inside." She said.

"Freshen yourself up and get rid of all those rugs, make sure you do not tell your mother anything and stay out of trouble or else I shall have you locked in your room for the rest of the week." Lady Han said as she led Seunghyeonjeong inside.

"Yes I will grandmother." Seunghyeonjeong replied.

When Seunghyeonjeong got into his Chambers, he found that a couple of clothes had already been prepared for him.

"Freshen up young Master." Mr. Song said.

"And call me if there is anything else that you need." Mr. Song added.

"It's alright, I just wanted to apologise for causing you trouble." Seunghyeonjeong said.

"Don't say that young Master, If you are really sorry, and you can not stay out of trouble, please, I beg of you as an elder that you try not to cause it.

Sometimes interference in some matters might cause you more trouble than you would have ever imagined and I know that with time when you grow old, you shall come to understand this." Mr. Song said.

"I'll try my best Mr. Song." Seunghyeonjeong said.

"Very well then young Master." Mr. Song said as he bowed before taking his leave.

Seunghyeonjeong who was left inside started to undress and then went to the bathroom to shower in the water that had been prepared for him.

It was smelling rich in the scents of mixed lotus and chamomile, and also the bath that Seunghyeonjeong liked to have best.

When he was done, he returned and then sat down in front of the mirror in his room as he smeared his body with some olive oil.

As he was picking up the clothes that he had been wearing, the Jade pendant that he had retrieved fell down on his bed that forced him to halt for a while.

"I only have a half?" Seunghyeonjeong said a little bit surprised that he put the clothes down and shuffled through them over and over again.

"Where is the other half, I am sure that I picked it up along as well?" He questioned but couldn't seem to find it anywhere around.

"Maybe I dropped it in the city." He concluded.

"No it's precious, father will kill me if I can't find it." Seunghyeonjeong murmured to himself.

That very moment, the door of his room was slid open and in panicking he put the other half behind him.

"Young Master." Mr. Song called.

"What is it?" Seunghyeonjeong asked.

"I am here for those clothes you were wearing." Mr. Song replied.

"Oh, you can take them." Seunghyeonjeong said.

"Alright young Master." Mr. Song replied as he walked in and picked them up from Seunghyeonjeong's bed and then walked out with them at hand.

Seunghyeonjeong followed Mr. Song up to the doorway and when he saw that nobody else was watching, he closed the door behind him and then finally pulled the half of the Jade pendant and looked at it in his hands.

"Where could the other half of you certainly be?" Seunghyeonjeong asked himself as he started to think about it.

"What's wrong with you brother?" Gyeongjeong the Crown Prince asked his brother.

"Nothing." Grand Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"I know you brother, better than anyone else." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

The Grand Prince didn't seem to listen and all he did was to gaze at the halved green Jade pendant in his possession.

The Crown Prince seeing that there wasn't a response from his brother Drew closer to the balcony where he was seated while staring at the rooftops of the buildings in the city.

"Wow, that is one beautiful Jade pendant." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

"Never mind, I got it as a memento from someone unexpected." Prince Gyeongseongmun said.

"Who is that girl?" The Crown Prince asked.

"It isn't even a girl." Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"Who is that boy then?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"I don't know." Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"You do not know, how do you get something from someone you do not know?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"It was unexpected, the way the both of us crossed paths, and besides, he must have been from a very miserable family." Grand Prince Gyeongseongmun said.

"If he is from a miserably poor family, the chances of you meeting him again are very low." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

"That is the bitter truth." Prince Gyeongseongmun.

"Judging by the way that he was dressed, those rugs all on him and his hair was covered in hay, he still had the most strange eyes that I have ever seen." Prince Gyeongseongmun added.

"But that is impossible." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

"Why?" Prince Gyeongseongmun asked.

"Let me have a look at that pendant." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

Prince Gyeongseongmun was hesitant but he eventually handed over the Jade pendant to his brother who keenly looked at it and studied it.

"What is wrong with it?" Prince Gyeongseongmun asked.

"You said that it was a peasant boy who had this pendant?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"Yes." Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"What is the matter?" Prince Gyeongseongmun added.

"This Jade pendant is original and there is no way a peasant could possibly own an heirloom that is made of this precious material.

This Jade was crafted thoroughly so it must have been done by a very skilful Craftsman, that isn't affordable for someone from the peasantry.

If this is a half, you can tell that the original and full pendant is very big so it must have been expensive to acquire it

Lastly, there are half characters on the pendant all of which we can not read and it is normally nobles that get to mark such ornaments in that even if it is lost with someone they can easily be identified." Prince Gyeongjeong replied.

"So could he have been from a wealthy family?" Prince Gyeongseongmun asked.

"Most likely, that is one of the three most likely incidents." Prince Gyeongjeong replied.

"What are the other two?" Prince Gyeongseongmun asked.

"He could either be a lost son of a noble or perhaps he stole it from somewhere else." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

"Impossible." Prince Gyeongseongmun said.

"You've only met him once and how can you possibly know that, what would a peasant be doing all alone in the palace of the King if it weren't to steal?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"He constantly said that he wanted to meet the King." Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"Really?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"Yes." Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"Well then, you can find out who that mysterious boy was if he actually met father, the guards could be aware of that boy's real identity." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

"No, let it be." Prince Gyeongseongmun said.

"What?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"Let it go." Prince Gyeongseongmun replied.

"Why, I thought you were interested in finding out who the owner of the pendant was." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

"It doesn't really matter, why should I care about a strange boy trespassing in the state residence of the King?" Prince Gyeongseongmun said.

"Then why did you bother keeping the pendant up to this time?" Prince Gyeongjeong asked.

"I suppose I was only being curious." Prince Gyeongseongmun said as he stared at the halved heirloom in his right hand.

"Alright, we'll only think so." Prince Gyeongjeong said.

Lord Han was still waiting in the prison cell when a couple of other soldiers walked up to him.

The doors of the prison were unlocked and Lord Han watched as a group of about six men all entered at once.

One of them walked up very close and handcuffed him as the others tied ropes around him to prevent him from escaping.

"Where are you taking me?" Lord Han asked.

"The office of the Inspector General can retain you no more." One of the Ministers at the office said as he came out of the blue into the cell.

"Minister Shi?" Lord Han said surprised.

"The King has decided that you shall be moved on to the State tribunal for further interrogation." Minister Shi added.

"Is there a reason for me to be afraid?" Lord Han asked.

"Of course, you must know that all these years you have been in the government what the specialty of the State tribunal is." Minister Shi said.

"Take him away." the Minister ordered all the other officers.

"Yes Sir." they replied in unison as they dragged Lord Han out of the cell and the building at large.

Transporting a capital criminal in broad daylight without any strong evidence against him, the officers used the backdoor of the office and then travelled through the small forest that was stationed on the rear side of the capital.

The forest was not only a place that concealed them from the sight of many but it also served as the best possible shortcut since it was the one thing between the Office of the Inspector General and the tribunal.

Once the soldiers and their prisoner arrived at the other side of the forest, the structures of the state tribunal came in to sight.

Lord Han did not mention any word as he was led on by the guards secretly into the structure which to his surprise was less occupied than he expected.

"Why would such an important institution have a very low number of guards?" Lord Han asked himself but he did not say a word.

He was eventually put into another cell and locked inside.

"What are you going to do to me?" Lord Han asked.

"Await your awful fate or if you can then certainly confess your misdemeanors and all your transgressions shall be forgiven." Minister Shi replied.

Lord Han kept quiet for a while.

"I did nothing wrong." he said in his defence.

"I thought that you would say so." Minister Shi said.

At once, he departed and Lord Han was left handcuffed in the cell.

He struck the cell with his anger as he watched the soldiers vanish with Minister Shi.

"Hang in there." he comforted himself.

"You shall soon be freed." he softly spoke to himself as he slowly sat down onto the hay covered ground.

"Is everyone still aware that Minister Han is still at the Office of the Inspector General?" King Gwangyang asked.

"Yes your Majesty." Prime Minister Hong Kojeong replied.

"He was moved with absolute secrecy that even the rest of the guards at the Office of the Inspector General are unaware of it." Prime Minister Hong added.

"Very well then, tighten the security around the Office of the Inspector General, we shall have visitors any time soon." The King Gwangyang said.

"Yes your Majesty." The Prime Minister replied.

"Very well then, you may take your leave." King Gwangyang said.

The Prime Minister bowed his head and then walked away.

When dusk had approached and the sun had finally set, it was dark and most of the people in the capital were asleep.

At midnight, a group of men dressed in fully black attires made their way towards the office of the Inspector General.

They were in a very big number and they were all headed for the confinement where they were certain that Lord Han had to be.

The sooner the men climbed the walls and jumped into the courtyard, they killed some of the guards at the entrance.

Quietly, they continued on their way inside until finally, they arrived at the main hall of the office.

A couple of guards on patrol spotted the Intruders that they rushed in the building and shouted around.

"Intruders." They yelled and then sounded the warning gong and a couple of more soldiers charged out towards the courtyard.

The sound of the gong was loud enough that another batallion of guards in the city made their way towards the office of the Inspector General.

A few of the Intruders who had charged inside and reached Mr. Han's known confinement opened the door and then found a man who was standing and facing the wall with his hands cuffed.

"We are here to set you free My Lord." One of the Intruders said as he Drew closer to the imprisoned Mr. Han.

One of the Intruders who was their looked at the man who was dressed in the clothes of a Minister and then held him by the left shoulder to turn him around.

He must have been aware that there was something strange about Mr. Han and judging by his expression, he must have known how Mr. Han looked like.

"We have been tricked." The Intruder said.

"What?" another spoke up.

"Retreat." the head of the Intruders said and they were quickly headed for the exit of the prison when they were rounded up by the Imperial guards.

Those in the courtyard who had managed to hear the shout of retreat turned around and as they a climbed up onto the roofs to escape, they were shocked when a batallion of Imperial guards surrounded the whole office from outside.

"Cease them." The Commander of the Imperial guards said and the guards rounded up most of the Intruders.

The Intruders fought hard but only thirty were not enough to hold the Imperial guards off until one of them stood up in front of the rest of his colleagues.

"My brothers, we have all been tricked." He yelled that all the others were completely dumbfounded.

"But today, in this country, we shall all be remembered as heroes of the service that we have made in this life." The leader yelled.

"We fight as heroes, we'll die political martyrs." he added and with the edge of his sword, he stubbed himself right through the left side of his chest.

All the remaining Intruders who had broken into the office of the Inspector General drew their swords and then stubbed themselves as well.

"Geosan and the House of Hyeonju Lee, they will all fall." The leader said in front of all the other Imperial guards watching.

At once, the Intruders all fell down and died instantly one by one as the Commander watched.

"Collect all the bodies and inspect them, find out whatever you can find about all those people that have been involved in the break in.

Check their families and their criminal records." The commander said.

"Yes Sir." The guards replied as the commander Drew closer to one of the Intruders that had been the leader and unveiled his face.

"Lord Geum?" The commander said so surprised that he could barely believe his eyes.

"Your Excellency." someone called the commander's name so he turned around to see who it was.

"What is it?" the Commander asked.

"What should we now do afterwards?" the soldier asked.

"Did you not hear what I told you earlier, find out everything that you can about everyone of the Intruders that is dead.

We can as well tell the King that Minister Geum led the attack." The Commander said.

"Turns out the King's very enemies are stationed within his court." The Commander added.