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# 338
Taejonbirok Volume 14 Episode 13
Chapter 80: Lazy Man, Appearance (3)
The emperor, whose face had turned red, glared at Wei Yanhu and shouted.
“The more I look at you, the more arrogant you become. How many lives do you have that you dare to say such nonsense in front of me!”
“Everyone has only one life. Are there people who have two?”
“Hey, this guy!”
At this point, the emperor was more dumbfounded than angry.
'What on earth does this guy think of me?'
Who is he?
Isn't he the emperor who rules the world?
All things in the world submit to him, and no one dares to raise their head before him. So what on earth does this guy believe in that makes him act so stiffly?
“Do you really think your neck will survive after saying that?”
“It wasn’t like you weren’t going to save me anyway?”
“…….”
“I’m going to die anyway, so what’s there to be afraid of? Looking at the situation, it seems like no matter what I say, you won’t spare me, so I’d rather just say what I want and die.”
The emperor looked at Wei Yanhu with a bewildered face.
'That's not exactly wrong, but… … .'
I heard that when Taejo founded the country and purged his loyal subjects, there were people who died with their necks stiff and saying things like that.
But it was a sight he had never seen since he ascended to the throne.
The Emperor, no longer able to threaten death, felt at a loss for words.
“Your family will not be safe either.”
“Or so you say.”
Wi Yeon-ho answered calmly, then picked up his chopsticks and began eating the food on the tea table.
“……Is the food going down?”
“They say that ghosts that die from eating are pretty, so if you’re hungry, you have to eat. I’m not going to let you live if you don’t eat this.”
“…….”
At this point, the emperor was beginning to have one regret.
'Did I say I'd kill you for nothing?'
Since it was already declared that he would be killed, there was no way to punish the guy who was acting so boldly. But wouldn’t it be too shameful to say that he could be spared now?
“Are you saying that you are not afraid of even the most brutal punishment?”
“Hey! Seriously, I’m eating!”
“…….”
The emperor opened his mouth wide.
Regardless, Wei Yeon-ho chewed and swallowed the rice cake on the tea table and burped.
“Ah, now I can live a little.”
The emperor's eyebrows twitched.
What on earth do I do with this guy?
Wi Yeon-ho stared at the emperor, who seemed at a loss as to what to do, and then opened his mouth.
"hey."
'hey?'
The emperor began to seriously consider whether this man was really an assassin. He even thought that he might actually die from high blood pressure.
“Heh heh heh heh.”
The emperor rather laughed.
“Yeah, if you think you’re going to die anyway, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“That’s right.”
“So you have no choice but to understand me?”
"yes?"
The emperor pointed to himself.
“I’m in a state where it wouldn’t be strange if I died tomorrow. The only reason I can speak and shout like this is because of the desperate efforts of the royal physician and the countless elixirs I’ve consumed without stopping. However, even that has now reached its limit.”
Wi Yeon-ho narrowed his eyes.
Although I couldn't touch it, so I couldn't know the exact condition, I could tell that what the Emperor was saying wasn't just empty words.
The emperor's body is weak.
That too, innately.
Wi Yeon-ho is not a doctor, so he doesn't know exactly what the illness is. But even if he brought Jin So-ah, it didn't seem like anything would change.
This is the palace, and that man is the emperor.
Perhaps all the great doctors in the world would have rushed to cure that person. If they still couldn't cure him, Jin So-ah wouldn't be able to do anything.
“So what should I be afraid of? My body will die and disappear, so there is nothing to cling to. So I can devote everything to the well-being of the royal family.”
Wi Yeon-ho's eyes narrowed.
“Do you think that’s right?”
"of course."
“Then I was wrong.”
“Do you admit it?”
"yes."
Wi Yeon-ho nodded obediently.
“I was wrong. I thought you were a normal person, but you weren’t.”
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“……What did you say?”
Wi Yeon-ho's eyes grew cold.
“Aren’t you the emperor?”
“Yes.”
“What does the Emperor do?”
The emperor laughed lightly.
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“Of course I know. But Your Majesty, I don’t think you know.”
“Don’t you know? Expensive?”
The emperor looked at Wei Yanhu with a dumbfounded expression.
“Are you saying that your Majesty is now neglecting his duties as Emperor?”
“No. It’s not that he’s neglecting his duty, it’s just that he doesn’t seem to know what to do.”
“What does that mean?”
Wei Yanhu did not change the subject. It was a waste of time to change the subject to someone like this.
“Is everything over if I protect the royal family?”
“That’s not true. Ultimately, it’s important for the Emperor to stand up straight. But right now, that’s not possible, so let’s look far ahead and take a moment to…….”
“What about the people?”
The emperor looked at Wei Yanhu silently.
His face was extremely delicate. It seemed as if he had been caught off guard, or that he was bewildered. What was certain was that Wei Yanhu’s words were shaking something in the emperor.
“No matter how uneducated and ignorant I am, I know that the Emperor is the one who takes care of the people. However, nowhere in what Your Majesty says does the people appear.”
The emperor frowned.
“To the people, the emperor is like a parent. If the parents are well, won’t they be able to take care of their children?”
“There is no parent who sells his child for his own good. You must know very well how much suffering the people will have if Nokgi wields his tyranny. It is the same now. You are fully aware of how many people are suffering because of Nokgi, but if you just turn a blind eye to it by saying things like “the Crown Prince”, then Your Majesty will be remembered in history as a tyrant.”
The emperor's beard began to tremble.
“A tyrant? Did you say that he was a tyrant?”
"yes."
Wi Yeon-ho answered calmly.
"this……."
“Why are you acting so surprised? You already know.”
“What did you say?”
“They say the emperor learns everything?”
“…….”
“You can know this by reading just one book. Even I, who know nothing about history, know that the emperor who tormented the people is being criticized as a tyrant. You can’t be the only one who doesn’t know this. You just don’t want to admit it and want to turn away.”
“Hey, this guy……”
“Oh, of course, if you want to achieve a mental victory, I will acknowledge it. Life is hard enough, so who would say anything if you live like that alone? But I hope you don’t tell others that you are enduring it because you have some kind of intention. It’s hard for the person listening, too.”
The emperor looked at Wei Yanhu as if he was amazed.
Until now, not a single person had ever stiffly raised their head in front of him and said everything they wanted to say. Even Nokgi, who was supposed to rule the world, was busy bowing his head in front of him.
That's the kind of position an emperor holds.
The emperor was the father of all things in the world and the one who ruled over all things in the world. But that little guy was deceiving the emperor.
However, the Emperor must have felt more resentment than anger.
"this guy……."
The emperor's voice trembled.
“What do you know?”
“Yes. I don’t know anything.”
“I wanted to become a great and wise ruler! I also wanted to become a proud king. However, I can’t do anything with this body. What am I supposed to do with a body that would not be strange if it died tomorrow! The palace is full of people who are greedy for power like devils, and the crown prince is young and foolish. Do you know how I feel, having to endure it alone in a place surrounded by devils on all sides? Do you know how I feel, not even being able to trust my only older brother and having to kill him with my own hands?”
“I don’t know.”
Wi Yeon-ho shrugged his shoulders.
“But how dare you…….”
“Hey, I think you’re mistaken…….”
"……what?"
Wi Yeon-ho answered calmly.
“Those who evaluate history will not take that into account. Well, wouldn’t they just evaluate him like this? A foolish monarch who was swayed by a traitor, Nokgi. Because of his misdeeds, the suffering of the people was beyond words. Well, he will probably remain as an example of a monarch who was swayed by a traitor.”
The emperor's body trembled.
The words I most wanted to hear came out of that guy's mouth.
“And whoever committed an act has his own reasons and excuses. Even the King of Silver would feel wronged. He said he was not a tyrant.”
“…….”
“You don’t make the evaluation yourself, but others do. If you truly think you’re sacrificing yourself for the imperial family and the throne, then you should accept it even if history spits on your grave. Isn’t comforting yourself by saying that you’ll be re-evaluated later just running away? You don’t have the confidence to be evaluated right now, so you’re just trying to win a mental victory?”
“What a cheeky guy you are.”
The Emperor's face hardened as if he were covered in iron armor.
“If you can’t say what you want to say because you thought you were going to die anyway, then you’re going to pay the price.”
“No. What…….”
Wi Yeon-ho scratched his head.
“I didn’t say that rudely because I thought I was going to die anyway.”
“You don’t intend to die?”
"yes."
“Heh heh heh heh heh.”
The emperor's face was distorted.
“Do you think you can run away?”
“No. I have no intention of running away.”
“What?”
“Actually, I did think about that. I thought that if I just threw a piece of bread at them and went to live in a faraway country, they wouldn’t chase me. Or, joining the Demonic Cult would be another option.”
“……You’re not in your right mind.”
“If I were out of my mind, I would have already done that. But I thought that was something I couldn’t do.”
The emperor frowned.
What on earth is this guy talking about?
And why is he listening to this crazy talk?
The emperor, whose spirits were broken, waved his hand.
“That’s it. Whatever you say is meaningless now. Go back. Your sentence will be carried out as soon as day breaks.”
“No, you have to listen.”
“I said there was nothing to hear. Listen!”
At that moment, Wei Yanhui smiled and said.
“Let’s make a deal.”
"transaction?"
“Yes, it’s a deal.”
The emperor looked at Wei Yanhu as if he was dumbfounded.
How dare you make a deal with the Emperor. This is… … .
“Father and the others, especially King Lee Wang-ya, seem to think that I can somehow persuade His Majesty through conversation, but that is truly madness. It is nonsense.”
"……huh?"
Wei Yanhu's face began to turn evil.
“Still, I have gained some things from our conversation. I have found out what Your Majesty’s biggest problem is. If I can solve that, everything will be resolved right away. So I will do that for you.”
“What are you guys doing! Do we have to keep listening to this crazy guy!”
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the door flew open and the eunuchs rushed in, grabbing Wei Yanhu by both arms.
“Put that bastard in prison right now. And execute him for treason tomorrow. His entire family will be destroyed, and his genealogy will be burned! And!”
At that moment, Wei Yanhu muttered something.
"……for a moment."
The emperor's eyes trembled as he heard Wei Yanhu mutter.
“What, what did you say?”
A smile of repentance appeared on Wei Yanhu’s lips. After a long pause to make the emperor excited, Wei Yanhu opened his mouth.
“I’m a little hungry before that. Can I have a look at the table of food that only the emperor can eat? I think my tongue will work better if I’m full.”
It was the moment when the lights in the palace kitchen, which had been turned off, came back on.