novelraw Chapter 197 : An Unexpected Acquaintance
Chapter 197 : An Unexpected Acquaintance
Chapter 197: An Unexpected Acquaintance
Autumn had deepened. A cool breeze brushed against my cheeks, and the mountains and fields were dyed in colorful autumn foliage.
The refreshing chill that tickled the tip of my nose naturally lifted my spirits.
When the weather became this pleasant, people naturally felt the urge to go outside and enjoy themselves.
And it seemed that the people of the Imperial Household in ancient times were no different. Whenever the harvest-rich autumn arrived, they held a grand banquet called the Garden Banquet to ease the suffocating rigidity of palace life.
And today, the Garden Banquet, which had been halted ever since the Crown Prince collapsed, finally raised its splendid curtain once more.
As if to prove it, cloud-patterned silk brocade gilded with gold fluttered across the vast gardens of the Imperial Palace, and fine liquors shimmered with a clear glow as they filled cups throughout the grounds.
Dishes of unimaginable delicacies from land and sea dazzled the eye. Court musicians played lively melodies. Dancers scattered flower-like movements as they swayed their bodies to the music. There were even acrobatic performers breathing fire and displaying astonishing tricks.
Every luxury and indulgence permitted by the Emperor had been condensed into this place.
Yet—
“Mujin, something feels strange. No one is smiling.”
The Imperial Family members who were supposed to be enjoying this luxury and indulgence all wore stiff expressions, as though they had been dragged onto a battlefield.
Someone nervously bit their nails while watching the reactions of others. Another exchanged tense glances with rival factions. Others emptied their cups while glaring across the table as if they wished to kill the people sitting there.
It felt exactly like forcing relatives who had become mortal enemies over inheritance to sit together in one room.
In a situation like this, the only people truly enjoying the banquet were Imperial Concubine Hwang and a few palace attendants who knew nothing.
“Of course. When factions that all see each other as thorns in their eyes gather in one place, how could festival food possibly go down their throats?”
Especially when the Empress had once been suspected of attempting to poison the Third Princess. Just seeing each other’s faces must twist their insides.
“It goes down just fine though.”
Jo Harang answered while chewing on one of the dishes laid out before her.
“…Right.”
Jo Harang was Jo Harang no matter where she went.
She grinned while hiding her massive broadsword beneath the table.
People who had stars lodged in their heads seemed to have something wrong with them somewhere.
“Mudong, come here. I wish to savor this tenderly prepared bird’s nest dish.”
Imperial Concubine Hwang’s voice echoed through the uncomfortable silence, and everyone’s gaze immediately turned toward me.
For reference, the Mudong she had called was me. When I came previously, I had operated under the alias Muhong, but this time I had been given the disguise name Mudong.
Sniff.
I brought my nose close to the dish placed before Imperial Concubine Hwang and used my sense of smell.
This dish made from the nests of sea swallows was also called the Golden Silk Swallow nest. It had a springy texture like minced jellyfish, with a sticky consistency and a distinctive aroma that filled both the mouth and nose.
Because these sea swallows ate seaweed, the dish carried the scent of the ocean as well.
An expensive Imperial dish.
“Why do you get to eat it alone….”
While I tested the food for Imperial Concubine Hwang, Jo Harang watched me eat and swallowed her saliva.
“…Because I’m the food taster, Harang.”
I wondered if that Purple Star over there could endure eating lethal poison too.
Anyway, after confirming there was nothing wrong with the smell or taste, I activated the Heaven-Slaying Eye and thoroughly examined the surroundings.
For that purpose, I had the cooks, maids, and palace attendants who carried the dishes gathered nearby so I could inspect them all.
But I sensed killing intent from none of them.
Nothing seemed suspicious, and when time passed without any reaction in my body, I nodded and handed the dish to Imperial Concubine Hwang.
“This one is fine. There’s no poison, so you may eat it now.”
Imperial Concubine Hwang smiled brightly at my words and gracefully picked up her chopsticks.
Even in such a tense situation, she could still take pure joy in a single dish.
“You should have a piece as well. It tastes wonderful.”
“…No, I’ll pass.”
She tilted her head at my refusal, even though I had been eating it moments ago, but she did not press the matter further.
In truth, with this atmosphere, it would be fortunate if one didn’t choke while eating. Many people around us were staring in this direction.
The groups were seated like three factions divided around the empty seat reserved for the Son of Heaven, who had yet to arrive.
One was our faction, centered around Imperial Concubine Hwang.
Another was the Empress and the Second Prince’s faction, who had been silently glaring at us the entire time.
The final faction belonged to a higher-ranking consort beneath Imperial Concubine Hwang. We called her Noble Consort Yang.
She was a third force with one son and one daughter. However, since the boy was still an infant, she held little power in the succession struggle.
If anything, the Noble Consort Yang faction was neutral, belonging to neither side.
“Princess Peach Blossom, you haven’t eaten anything for a while. Is there something you’d like to eat?”
I asked with concern as I looked at Princess Peach Blossom, who had not even touched her water.
“…I’m fine. I’m not as strong-hearted as Mother.”
Her voice sounded weary.
There was the trauma from the past poisoning attempt, and the opposing factions were watching with sharp eyes. No wonder she couldn’t swallow anything.
“Sister… but can we really trust that troubleshooter food taster?”
Usually, the food taster responsible for the life of an Imperial Family member was someone they trusted most.
But since that role had suddenly been given to an outsider they had never seen before, the prince clearly found it difficult to trust.
He whispered his concerns quietly to his sister.
Of course, my ears were sharp enough to hear everything.
“He is a man I trust, so you should trust him as well, Zhu Yugan.”
The Third Prince seemed timid and somewhat clumsy when it came to trusting others.
“…I think this is the first time I’ve heard you praise someone like that, Sister. Then I will trust him as well.”
Prince Suan nodded slightly after Princess Peach Blossom declared I was capable and trustworthy.
Amid the conversations, whispers, and music, the banquet continued, with Imperial Concubine Hwang seemingly the only one sincerely enjoying it.
While scanning the area for suspicious individuals, I spotted a familiar face among Noble Consort Yang’s faction.
She seemed to be hiding among the maids who handled menial tasks, but there was no way my eyes would miss her.
It was Yangyang, the thief who claimed to be a Divine Thief.
“What is she doing there…?”
It looked like she had infiltrated the Garden Banquet by attaching herself to the powerless Noble Consort Yang faction.
Did she come because she smelled the scent of luxury and indulgence here?
I circulated my Internal Energy and secretly whispered through Soundless Transmission to her, pretending she was merely serving the Imperial Family.
‘…What are you doing?’
The Garden Banquet that had been halted out of concern for the Crown Prince’s condition had finally been held after all.
This also meant that the Son of Heaven no longer cared about the Empress’s first child.
For the Empress, Gahui-ryeong, this could not help but make her resent the Emperor.
“So you intend to stop caring about him since he will die anyway.”
The Empress cast a resentful glance at the empty seat of the Son of Heaven.
However, she quickly composed her expression and shifted her gaze toward the court officials and palace attendants who were quietly stirring beneath the surface with complicated calculations in their minds.
At this event, which implied many things, countless people were wandering in confusion, unsure where to place their loyalty.
“Ju Gachi.”
“Yes, Mother. You called?”
The Second Prince Ju Gachi immediately lowered his head in response.
“Who is that young man from the Eastern Depot?”
The Empress pointed toward a young and handsome Eastern Depot official she had never seen before.
The mysterious Eastern Depot agent who moved between Imperial Concubine Hwang and the Third Princess while acting as one of their closest aides.
He even appeared to be handling the role of food taster.
If someone was trusted enough to be kept that close, it made no sense for the Empress and the Second Prince not to know him.
And yet, just before an important plan, their personnel had suddenly changed.
“Find out who he is immediately.”
“Yes, I will.”
The Second Prince called for a subordinate to investigate.
But the Empress grabbed his shoulder as though she had one more question.
“And is the preparation proceeding well?”
She whispered so quietly that no one around them could hear.
Her voice sounded soft and filled with anticipation, yet the intent within it was nothing short of a terrifying Blood Calamity.
“…Yes.”
The Second Prince answered more slowly than before, as though worried about the consequences.
He knew well that his mother intended to remove everything that stood in their way here.
The Empress saw the heaviness in her son’s expression and covered her mouth with her fan as she chuckled.
“Do not feel too guilty. They brought this upon themselves.”
Hatred toward the Son of Heaven and Imperial Concubine Hwang clearly shone in the Empress’s eyes.
“If outsiders who deeply resent the Central Plains were to wipe out the families of Imperial Concubine Hwang and Noble Consort Yang, what could even the Son of Heaven do about it?”
If they eliminated everyone while placing the blame on outsiders, the only surviving bloodline would be her son, Ju Gachi.
His appointment as Crown Prince would become the most natural outcome.
“Of course, some will suspect us. Insolent fools will bark.”
There would be those who suspected them despite lacking proof.
But the Imperial Family members who could have supported those accusations would already have been reduced to ashes.
And would anyone dare openly accuse them when they were the most likely candidates to rise to power?
Even if they did—
She could simply crush them.
“This is all your own doing, Son of Heaven.”
The Empress covered her face with her fan and laughed softly.
The sound of that laughter was like a dagger filled with killing intent slicing through the air.
I had come to steal in an extremely dangerous place, and someone had noticed my identity.
What should a thief do in that situation?
Usually, they would flee without looking back.
But perhaps she truly deserved to be called a Divine Thief. Instead of running, she boldly blended into the crowd and gradually approached me.
When I stepped aside after getting Imperial Concubine Hwang’s permission, she immediately spoke.
“You. Who are you? Speak quickly.”
She stood behind me and asked in a cold voice, as if threatening me.
“It’s me.”
“Who the hell is ‘me,’ you bastard?”
When my answer didn’t come immediately, she scratched her head irritably.
“You saw me last time. Dan Mujin.”
She seemed to recognize my voice then.
“…Damn it, why are you here?”
She smacked my shoulder as though she was both relieved and annoyed.
“I’m a troubleshooter. I’m here because I accepted a request.”
I gestured toward my client.
Yangyang looked incredulous, as if wondering what kind of troubleshooter would wander into the Imperial Palace.
“And you? Why did you sneak into the Imperial Palace?”
She scratched her chin and replied.
“Hey, do you know who I am?”
“A filthy thief.”
“…I said I’m a Divine Thief. Seriously.”
She clenched her fist as if she wanted to punch me and continued.
“The Imperial Garden Banquet. It’s an event where corrupt officials who suck the blood of the people gather in one place. And while the Divine Thief Yangyang is watching, you think I’d just let that pass?”
She claimed she would distribute the luxury and wealth they enjoyed back to the people of the Central Plains.
This woman always talked like she was some kind of righteous bandit.
“You’re going to share everything you steal?”
“…Not everything. Maybe half. I need to feel rewarded for my work too.”
Just stealing the money pouches of high officials here would bring in an enormous fortune.
And she said she would give away half of it?
As someone who had repeatedly given up large fortunes and accumulated Good Karma, her answer made me scoff.
“That’s a lot.”
“So what? I’m a thief. If a thief gives away this much, that’s already generous.”
Earlier she called herself a Divine Thief, and now she was a thief again.
Her logic really shifted whenever it suited her.
“So what did you come here to steal?”
Last time she had infiltrated the Emei Sect to steal the Yitian Interspatial Sword.
“There’s something. You know I don’t steal trivial things. Look forward to it.”
Was she planning to steal something from the Emperor?
If so, I would have to admit she had guts.
“I’m working too, so don’t cause unnecessary trouble, thief.”
“Hah. Look who’s talking.”
While we bickered like that—
A group wearing gleaming golden armor suddenly appeared, and the entire area fell silent.
“The Emperor arrives!”
With a thunderous announcement, Imperial Army officers lined up on both sides, emanating a formidable aura.
Soon, the ruler of the Central Plains—
The son of the Heavenly Emperor.
The Emperor of the Central Plains.
Finally appeared at the Garden Banquet.