Chapter 78: Interrogation Officer [1] Jeong Yeo-rip.
Hearing the name from someone other than Yeoju made it sound properly frightening.
Enough to make him feel fear.
From the looks of it... he doesn't seem to know about Yeoju's situation as well.
That was probably the case.
Jeong Yeo-rip might be one thing, but Changgwon was not such a well-known figure.
And who, moreover, would know his daughter?
Naturally, no one would know that she had been going around dressed as a man all this time.
Kanghyeok put on the stupidest expression he could manage and replied,
"My knowledge is not very deep, so I do not really know what sort of person this Jeong Yeo-rip is."
In a way, it was not even a lie.
It was true that his knowledge was shallow, and he truly did not know much about what kind of person Jeong Yeo-rip was.
If not for Yeoju, he would not even have cared.
"Mm."
Yi Hangbok merely nodded quietly.
Instead of his usual cheerful and light atmosphere, there was only suffocating tension.
He silently recalled the conversations he had shared with Kanghyeok.
The first time they had discussed Tachibana Yasuhiro at Ryu Seong-ryong's house, and the talks afterward about defining relations with Japan.
At the time, Kanghyeok had simply listened in silence, so Hangbok had taken him for a very taciturn man.
Later, he realized the fellow had simply had nothing to say.
After that, it had mostly been the same.
Aside from medicine, he was a man who knew virtually nothing.
"Then again, you truly have little interest in worldly affairs."
Kanghyeok almost let out a sigh of relief.
That was how great the tension brought on by Yi Hangbok's silence was.
And just as great was the relief brought by his smile.
"So you must be careful. If by any chance you have any connection to that man, it would be best to cut it off now."
"What exactly is that man doing, for you to say such a thing?"
"Hmm."
Instead of answering, Yi Hangbok gave an ambiguous sigh.
Then he patted Kanghyeok on the shoulder and smiled.
"Well... in any case, I have matters to discuss with Lord Ryu Seong-ryong today as well. The reason I gave you advance warning is... you understand, don't you? Since you have already said you do not know, keep saying you do not know to the very end. Surely they will not let the sparks fly as far as you."
"Fly as far as me?"
"Haha. Come, the lord must be waiting. Let us go."
"Ah, yes."
Leaving behind those meaningful words, Yi Hangbok walked off with easy strides.
Following behind him, Kanghyeok kept turning the last remark over in his mind.
Since I've already said I don't know...? Could it be he knows about Yeoju?
If so, that would have been serious, but at the same time reassuring.
After all, he had said no sparks would fly his way.
Surely the great Lord Oseong would not speak twice with the same mouth.
Whatever might happen later, their relationship was still fairly good for now.
"My lord, Yi Hangbok, Left Assistant Minister of Rites, has arrived."
Caught up in all sorts of thoughts, he soon found himself before the sarangchae of Ryu Seong-ryong.
He had gone in and out of the place so often that his feet seemed to have walked there on their own.
"Ah. Tell him to come in."
At Seongryong's order, the servant standing by opened the door.
Yi Hangbok removed his leather shoes and went straight inside.
"Have you been well, my lord?"
"Yes, yes. Thanks to you. Ah, Kanghyeok came with you as well."
Through the gap in the open door, Ryu Seong-ryong's eyes met Kanghyeok's.
Seongryong gave a hearty laugh and beckoned with his hand.
It meant for him to come in quickly.
"You come in as well."
"Yes, my lord."
Only after Kanghyeok entered too did the door close.
There was already one other person inside, a small-framed old man.
Judging by the atmosphere, the drinking had not started yet.
And yet the old man's face was already very red.
It seemed he normally drank quite a lot.
"Oh. Elder, you were here first?"
Yi Hangbok had been striding in without hesitation, but paused when he saw the old man.
From his manner alone, the man seemed to be someone of very high rank.
In that case, I can't just stand here either.
There was no real loss in bowing first.
Kanghyeok hurriedly lowered his head.
"How do you do? My name is Baek Kanghyeok."
At his words, the old man simply laughed heartily without saying anything.
Seongryong, seated beside him, introduced him instead.
"This gentleman is Lord Jeong Cheol, who currently serves as Right State Councillor."
"Jeong Cheol...! I failed to recognize you. It is an honor."
If it was Jeong Cheol, there was no way anyone from the CSAT generation would not know him.
Gwandong Byeolgok, Samiingok, Sokmiingok, Seongsan Byeolgok.
Was he not the very culprit who had made countless examinees' heads ache, singing song after song in exile instead of reflecting on himself?
At one point, Kanghyeok too had been able to recite at least the excerpts in the textbook without getting a single word wrong.
"See? He says it's an honor again, doesn't he?"
"Indeed. You were exactly right."
Ryu Seong-ryong and Jeong Cheol laughed heartily while looking at Kanghyeok.
Kanghyeok started to explain himself out of indignation, then stopped.
What am I supposed to do when great historical figures keep popping out wherever I go?
Even Kanghyeok found it maddening.
Why were there so many famous figures in King Seonjo's reign?
The place was packed to the brim with people who had each left their mark on history.
Seeing Kanghyeok's flustered face, Jeong Cheol spoke.
"So. It is an honor to meet me?"
"Yes, my lord."
After all, was he not the Right State Councillor?
One of only three state councillors in the entire country.
To Kanghyeok, who did not even belong to the lowest minor office, he was truly a figure as high as the heavens.
It was best to bow his head first.
"Do you happen to know something about me?"
"Ah, well, that is..."
When he hesitated for a moment, Seongryong and Yi Hangbok burst out laughing.
"That's just how he talks."
"Did he not say the same thing to me? As though I had done anything worth it. Haha."
Ryu Seong-ryong and Yi Hangbok, two of the greatest statesmen in history, were laughing at Kanghyeok.
Saying he claimed it was an honor to meet them as though they were nothing at all.
These people really have no idea who they are.
Only Kanghyeok, who had come from the future, found it frustrating.
He suffered inwardly in silence for quite a while, then suddenly remembered Jeong Cheol's Samiingok.
He had memorized it so intensely for the CSAT that even now he still vaguely remembered it.
"I have memorized Samiingok, which Your Lordship wrote. I heard it so movingly that I could not forget it."
"Really? Samiingok? That is not something much seen in the world."
For a moment, Kanghyeok felt a jolt.
Surely he didn't show it only secretly to the king?
When he belatedly studied Jeong Cheol's expression, it did not seem to be the case.
Rather, the man was looking down at him with a pleased face.
"Then recite it."
"Yes, my lord."
Kanghyeok cleared his throat for a moment.
Right. Might as well do it.
Knowledge from more than ten years ago instantly arranged itself in his mind.
Even he thought he had a rather fine brain.
"When this body was formed, it was formed in pursuit of my lord, so was it not a bond for one lifetime, a matter heaven itself had arranged? I alone remain here, and my lord alone cherishes me, so how could this heart, this love, ever be worn away?"
The opening lines he had memorized to death, again and again.
Sure enough, Jeong Cheol's face brightened visibly as he listened.
The faces of Ryu Seong-ryong and Yi Hangbok beside him were no different.
They had been interacting with Kanghyeok practically every other day, but never once had he looked as learned as he did today.
"Well now, this fellow."
"So there really was at least one poem he had memorized."
"I had thought that business about Yungil was nothing but fiction."
Listening to the two of them, it became clear how well they truly knew Kanghyeok.
Well, I am rather illiterate in most things.
It was all because he dug only into the fields that interested him and that he was good at.
In truth, that was not unique to Kanghyeok. Doctors were mostly like that.
People who barely knew even how the world was turning outside their specialty.
There was a reason people said "idiot savant of one's major."
Once you became buried in your own work, your field of vision naturally narrowed.
Good thing I at least memorized something back then.
Kanghyeok successfully recited Samiingok all the way to the end.
It was such a massive work that even Jeong Cheol himself, who had written it, often made mistakes in it.
That Kanghyeok recited it flawlessly from beginning to end was no accident in making him seem like a monster.
"Haha. This fellow, really. I like him."
Jeong Cheol laughed endlessly.
That was only natural. Who would dislike someone for reciting their poem from memory?
Especially when, according to what he had heard from Ryu Seong-ryong, the fellow did not seem to know any other poems worth speaking of.
Ryu Seong-ryong was equally astonished.
"Well now. I never dreamed he liked Lord Jeong Cheol's poetry this much."
"Indeed. Truly impressive."
"You flatter me."
Thanks to Kanghyeok's little trick, the atmosphere in the room softened considerably.
Jeong Cheol chuckled and filled the cups with wine.
"Haha. Seongryong. The fellow you introduced to me is quite charming."
"I do not keep him close by for no reason."
"From what I heard from you, I thought he was merely a friend with excellent medical skill. But he has literary talent too."
It was a bit ridiculous to start talking about literary talent just because he had memorized one poem, but Kanghyeok laughed along anyway.
For some reason, he had a feeling he ought to.
And that feeling was absolutely right.
The moment Yi Hangbok spoke again, he knew it at once.
"That... Jeong Yeo-rip."
"Yes. Have there been any new developments?"
Unlike Jeong Cheol, who immediately threw out a question, Ryu Seong-ryong kept his lips tightly shut.
Though he was on fairly intimate terms with Jeong Cheol, was he not still firmly one of the Easterners?
As a fellow Easterner, it was difficult for him to be entirely free of responsibility for Jeong Yeo-rip's faults.
"I have obtained information that some of the Daedong-gye he organized are active in Hanyang as well."
"Really? Not in Hwanghae Province?"
"Yes. He had a troupe of performers going by the name of the Gwanghui faction."
"A troupe of performers? For what reason?"
At that point, the only ones really speaking were Yi Hangbok and Jeong Cheol.
Ryu Seong-ryong merely sat there listening to the two with a hardened face.
Kanghyeok did not dare cut in, so he only fiddled pointlessly with his wine cup.
"By a fortunate chance... with the help of this Baek Kanghyeok here, we caught the troupe's Pyeonsu."
"Really? Haha. It seems this fellow has martial ability too."
Certainly, Yi Hangbok seemed intent on giving Kanghyeok credit, not causing him harm.
That's something to be grateful for.
Kanghyeok set down his cup and bowed his head.
"It was truly by chance."
Yi Hangbok patted Kanghyeok on the shoulder as he turned his gaze back to Jeong Cheol.
"In any case, that Pyeonsu is no ordinary tough one... we are having difficulty getting him to open his mouth."
"Then how do you know he is connected to Jeong Yeo-rip?"
"I heard people in the marketplace speaking of it. Afterward, there was also someone who saw a man named Byeon Sungbok making contact with the troupe."
"None of that is certain information, is it? A yangban operating a troupe of performers may be a personal blemish, perhaps... but it is not in itself something punishable."
Jeong Cheol's words were textbook-perfect, and therefore difficult to refute.
Thanks to that, even Ryu Seong-ryong's face relaxed somewhat.
"Yes. Hangbok. You may be overreacting."
"Even so, my lord, the fact that the Pyeonsu of a mere troupe is so unbending is itself suspicious. At the very least, we must hear that man's account."
"You say he will not open his mouth. Is there another method?"
Yi Hangbok's official post was Left Assistant Minister of Rites.
Naturally, all his actions were under the supervision of Ryu Seong-ryong, who was Minister of Rites.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that Seongryong knew better than anyone exactly what Hangbok had done to that Pyeonsu.
Probably, unless it was someone who had attempted to assassinate the king, there were few who had suffered harsher torture than he had.
"It is not that there is no method at all."
"Is that... so?"
Since it was not an answer Ryu Seong-ryong found particularly welcome, his reaction was lukewarm.
Yi Hangbok, suppressing his apologetic feelings, turned toward Kanghyeok.
"I hear there are rumors that this fellow is rather skilled at interrogation as well."
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