Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 332

Chapter 332
『–Tssrut? (Father, are you alright? You are unharmed, yes?)
–Kyuuu? (Papa, where have they taken you? Dong-ah, you are protecting Grandfather, aren’t you?)
–Kkyut! (I am guarding Grandfather! Do not fear, Father!)
–Grrrng! (Dong-ah, alert us the instant anything seems amiss! Understood? I will be there in a flash.)
–Kkyuut! (Understood!)
–Beeeep. (Baap. Sustenance.)』

Their anxious communications resonated within my consciousness the whole time I was being led away.
Even with Dong-i secured to me, the rest of the children were clearly not pacified.
While Hwa-eun and the Dragon Fangs were under immense strain trying to restrain the little ones, a streak of white light shot like a bolt through the doorway the Dragon Fangs were struggling to hold shut.
Dong-i.
He weaved through the forest of legs and fastened himself to my own, digging into the folds of my clothing—he was physically attached, yet his concern for my safety was overwhelming.
『“Your father is alright, do not be anxious. Dong-i is with me, and this individual does not appear to be malicious.”』
Were the children still attempting to pursue me?
Or was the situation at the docks still in chaos?
I reached out silently through our mental link to inquire with Hwa-eun.
Even while being forcibly escorted, my primary worry was that the children would cause a disturbance and land themselves in serious danger.
The deployment of a full military unit to quell them would have been catastrophic.
‘Hwa-eun, have the children settled down?’
‘Yes, So-ryong. Cho is currently circling above, so order has been restored for the moment. Please focus on your own situation, do not worry about us.’
‘Cho is following our progress?’
‘Indeed, I was unable to deter him. However… have you discovered that man’s identity?’
‘Not yet. We have only just reached a large building. I will inform you the moment I learn anything.’
As anticipated, Cho was shadowing us from the air.
I glanced upwards but could not make him out in the darkness.
It was then that we stopped before a formidable structure.
The doors swung open to show guards in full armor and a set of stairs descending into the earth.
And the sounds… of suffering.
“Gggggh… J-just end me…”
“P-please… have pity…”
From the secured corridor beyond, wretched moans of torment ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ filtered through. They were unnatural, unsettling, and spoke of profound misery.
I turned to the man leading the way—Meng Cheong-un, the Jinmusa of the Imperial Guards—and managed to ask,
“W-what place is this?”
He answered with a gentle smile that starkly contrasted our surroundings.
“This is the main headquarters of the Imperial Guard. And below us lies the Imperial Dungeon. They say that once you pass its threshold, emerging alive is almost unheard of.”
“The Imperial Dungeon!?”
–Gulp.
An ordinary person trembles before mere constables, but this?
This was akin to being hauled into a regal version of Alcatraz, operated by the Emperor’s personal secret police.
My hands trembled. My mouth was parched.
As Hwa-eun had explained, the Imperial Guards were the Emperor’s own intelligence apparatus—his direct instruments of power.
And the dungeon they controlled? You entered, but you did not leave. Not even as a lifeless body.
Hearing our destination was this dungeon, a horrifying suspicion seized me:
Had all that previous politeness merely been a ruse to get me to comply and come quietly!?
Throughout the entire journey, he had been courteous. I had not detected any hint of aggression.
But now, standing at the precipice of this abyss filled with moans and shadows… how could I not be distrustful?
Perhaps I had been foolishly optimistic about the entire affair.
I had not even had my wedding ceremony yet.
The memory of Hwa-eun’s comforting arms and the adorable images of the children passed through my mind.
“Ughhhh…”
My feet felt rooted to the spot, and as the guards behind me urged me down the stairs, Meng Cheong-un spoke again, his smile unchanged.
“Mind your step—it is quite dark. Please, enter.”
He indicated a passageway illuminated by guttering torches, black soot coiling from their brands.
If they began to torture me, should I reveal my connection to the princess?
Should I summon Cho, even if it meant being branded a rebel?
Just as I was steeling myself for the worst—certain we were proceeding further into the depths—Meng Cheong-un halted.
–Creeeeak.
He pushed open a door set into the shadowy stone wall.
For a heartbeat, I assumed it was a chamber for interrogation.
But it was not.
Inside was a desk, a chair, and a feeling of warmth—it resembled a private study.
As I entered, a voice I recognized called to me.
“It has been some time, Young Hero So.”
I peered through the lamplight—and saw a face I knew.
My eyes widened in sheer astonishment.
“What? S-sir!?”
“Look at his expression. Geom-ah, did you not tell him anything before bringing him here?”
The elderly man chastised Meng Cheong-un for not providing an explanation.
“I reasoned that if he seemed overly composed, it might draw unwanted attention from observers. I did, however, advise him not to be fearful.”
“That may be, but he is not a youngster. You cannot simply say that and think it sufficient. See how ashen his face is. Worry not, come and take a seat.”
“Sir!”
Hearing that familiar, kind tone, I almost wept with relief.
It was General Maeng Gyu-seong of the Imperial Iron Cavalry.
The man who had bestowed upon me the title Venom King Papa, and who had accepted the Jidam Pill from me.
He was here, right before my eyes.
“I truly believed my innards were about to twist themselves into knots.”

***

This time, I swiftly communicated the reality of the situation to Hwa-eun.
She must have been terribly anxious.
『”Hwa-eun, all is well—it seems that man, Meng Cheong-un, is the son of General Maeng Gyu-seong, whom your father-in-law once received as a guest from the Tang family!”』
Meng Cheong-un, a Jinmusa—among the highest ranks in the Imperial Guard—was the son of General Maeng Gyu-seong of the Iron Cavalry.
The Maeng family wielded enormous influence within the military.
The father commanded the Iron Cavalry, and the son was one of the two chief officials in the Imperial Guard. They were a household of undeniable power.
『“Is that true!?”
“Yes. So you can set your worries aside.”
“What an immense relief.”』
I could sense a flood of relief emanating from Hwa-eun.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The children also appeared to grow calmer after she relayed the news to them.
『“There is no more cause for alarm. The man who took Father away earlier was the son of an old acquaintance of Grandfather’s who once visited the Tang family. Is that not so, Bini? Do you recall that man who shared drinks in the pavilion?”
–Tssr. (Ah, that elderly gentleman?)
–Grrrng. (You know him, Bini?)
–Tssrut. (Yes, I encountered him on one occasion, sister.)
–Grrr. (Then we can be at ease. Even so, Cho, remain near So-ryong for precaution.)
–Tssrrut! (Understood, sister!)』
Once Hwa-eun and the children were reassured, I heard the general click his tongue and speak.
“You foolish boy, if an incident of this nature occurred, you should have come to me at once. When I learned that Commander Ak had been taken by the Imperial Guard, I hurried here—only to find your name being discussed. That is when I instructed Geom to bring you directly to me. You nearly ended up in the clutches of the Dongchang.”
“The Dongchang?”
“The Dongchang is a clandestine agency operated by eunuchs. If you are taken there, even my influence cannot reach you.”
“Indeed, Young Hero. Consider it the eunuchs’ counterpart to the Imperial Guard. My father came to question why Commander Ak was being detained by our office. When your name was mentioned, he ordered us to fetch you immediately—despite the late hour.
The Dongchang is already mobilizing because this situation concerns a eunuch.”
It unmistakably felt like a monumental event was unfolding behind the scenes.
Two secretive organizations loyal to the imperial family were now in motion.
I had believed this was simply about reporting a single villain from the Five Venoms Sect to the Emperor for eradication. Clearly, the matter was far more complex.
“But what is truly happening? Commander Ak stated that His Majesty is a sagacious and compassionate ruler—that even if a eunuch from the Five Venoms Sect was near him, he would not pause to punish such a wicked individual.”
At my question, the father and son shared a look and released a weighty sigh.
Then, speaking in hushed tones, they continued.
“Huuu…”
“What I will now tell you must not be repeated outside this chamber. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Five years ago, the Empress departed this world. Not long after, the Emperor’s cherished daughter, the Princess, was wed and moved to a distant land. His Majesty has been profoundly solitary since that time.”
So the Princess’s mother died five years ago?
From what I knew of the Princess, the Emperor had held the Empress in the deepest affection. I had been unaware of her passing.
The Princess had always seemed so vivacious that the thought never crossed my mind. But it explained much.
“I too have heard of His Majesty’s profound love for the Empress.”
“Yes. Their bond was so devoted that she herself would encourage him to show greater kindness to his other consorts. That was the depth of their connection.
Thus, after losing her, and after their daughter, who mirrors her image, departed, he has been deeply forlorn.”
“I understand…”
To lose his spouse and then see his daughter married away, leaving him alone in a sprawling palace?
Yes, even an emperor could feel hollow and adrift in such circumstances.
As I nodded with sympathy, General Maeng went on.
“Then, merely a few months ago, he ventured from the palace in disguise. At a pleasure house he frequented, he glimpsed a woman whose countenance recalled the Empress in her youth.”
The instant he said this, my intuition screamed in alarm.
The eunuch from the Five Venoms Sect who had received a sudden promotion.
A courtesan who resembled the Empress.
The connection was undeniable.
“You mean the eunuch, Eunuch Heo, now leading the Department of Rites and Ceremonies, is involved in this?”
“Precisely. At that time, he was serving in the Office of Imperial Carriages. When the Emperor showed an interest in visiting a pleasure house, Eunuch Heo proposed his own establishment as a secure alternative.
He argued that public houses were unsafe, but vouched for his own. And it was there that His Majesty saw the courtesan who mirrored the late Empress.”
From the explanation, the woman was bestowed the rank of Beauty—the lowest position within the inner palace’s Six Chambers.
Nonetheless, since Eunuch Heo now headed the department responsible for selecting consorts for the Emperor’s bedchamber, she currently enjoyed His Majesty’s utmost favor.
“So that is how it transpired…”
“Commander Ak is devoted, yet ignorant of the politics within the inner court. That is why matters have developed this way. I have cautioned him repeatedly to be more attentive to the occurrences inside the palace.
But he associates solely with men of similar upright character—thus, this outcome was inevitable.”
So my sister-in-law’s uncle—Commander Ak—was truly a loyal official, but also rather inflexible.
He seemed the type to speak truth regardless of the peril.
A man with a neck readily placed on the executioner’s block.
I should have investigated him more thoroughly… I placed too much trust in my sister-in-law’s word.
One must always tread carefully where a favored woman is involved. This entire strategy had been flawed from the start.
Whether the courtesan was a member of the Five Venoms Sect, or someone Eunuch Heo had chanced upon—if Heo was the one who presented her as a consort, she would undoubtedly defend him vehemently to the Emperor.
I could easily envision the scene.
‘Why does my love wear such a troubled expression?’
‘Well… a report has arrived alleging that Eunuch Heo is affiliated with the Five Venoms Sect.’
‘What!? That cannot be. Someone must be conspiring to falsely accuse him. Your Majesty, I implore you to ensure the truth is uncovered so he does not suffer unjustly!’
‘V-very well… I shall see to it.’
Shaking off the imagined conversation, I turned back to General Maeng.
We could not possibly navigate this without assistance.
“What is our course of action now?”
“First—are you entirely certain the woman you captured is a leader of the Blood Cult?”
“Without any doubt, sir.”
“Then we must conduct a renewed interrogation of her under the authority of the Imperial Guard, and present that formal evidence to His Majesty…”
His voice faded at the end, clearly uncertain how the Emperor would respond—given the woman’s status as his favored consort.
And at that very moment—
A voice shouted from beyond the door.
“Jinmusa! You are needed at once! The Dongchang has come—they are insisting we surrender the prisoner!”
“What!?”
They demanded myself and Nanhwa—the leader of the Bloodshade Unit.
Alarmed, I instinctively moved closer to General Maeng.
“U-uh, sir…”
The eunuchs had come for me.
And the mere sound of their name sent a chill through my legs.