The Cruel Imperial Family Episode 7

[Episode 7] The Reversed Trap, the Collapsing Throne

 

The next morning, the special hearing on the internal investigation of the royal family, and the audit certificate.

 

Beneath the colossal throne of the king, dozens of meticulous auditors and journalists from media outlets seeking scoops were swarming like clouds, filling the venue.

 

Emperor Yu Jong-seok sat in the seat of honor with a deliberately solemn and heavy expression, concealing the composure of a perfect victor.

 

And next to it, behind the elaborately draped pearl curtains, Empress Min Si-eun, who attended as the head of the inner court, sat still and still without a single movement.

 

Although her expression was hidden behind the curtain, Jong-seok scoffed.

 

It was clear that they were trembling in fear, like an aspen leaf.

 

"Now, I will begin the special inspection of the Imperial Family."

 

Jong-seok's solemn voice echoed loudly through the microphone, echoing through the thank-you room.

 

Today, this meeting is to clearly reveal the ugly truth about how the sacred 500 billion won of the imperial family, the people's hard-earned taxes, flowed into the illegal slush fund of the Minseok Group.

 

"Immediately bring in Park Dong-sik, the key witness and accounting officer from the Ministry of Finance!"

 

The heavy door opened, and a man with a pale face, terrified and pale, walked into the center under the strict escort of the royal guards.

 

Jongseok inwardly cheered.

 

If only the single word "I received the Empress's instigation" came from that naive Park Dong-sik's mouth, Si-eun and the Min-seok Group would immediately be branded as traitors of the empire and completely finished.

 

Park Dong-sik stated that while working at the Imperial Treasury, he directly witnessed the illegal flow of national funds into the Minseok Group's nominee accounts and managed those dirty ledgers. "Is that true?"

 

At Jong-seok's almost threatening, fierce scolding, Park Dong-sik flinched and flattened himself on the floor.

 

The reporters' camera flashes went off all at once, flashing brightly throughout the venue. However, Si-eun, sitting behind the curtain, simply held a warm teacup amidst the commotion and leisurely savored the aroma of the Jakseol tea.

 

Answer! Whose instigated you? Is it the Empress or Chairman Min Hyun-seok?

 

Just as Park Dong-sik was about to open his dry mouth, trembling.

 

"Wait a minute"

 

The heavy door of the thank-you room opened roughly, and the voice of an old woman, with a resolute and unapproachable dignity, instantly overwhelmed all the noise in the hall.

 

Everyone's gaze turned towards the door with shock.

 

Dressed in a black purple, high-quality dangui with her white hair neatly tied up like a hairpin, the woman who appeared with the support of Secretary Kim, was 'Daebima,' the eldest elder of the Korean Empire's imperial family and the previous empress.

 

"Uh... Mommy? "Mother, why is it possible for someone who is not well here to be in this place?"

 

Jongseok, flustered, jumped up from his throne and couldn't hide his embarrassment.

 

The queen dowager glared at her unattractive son with cool and sharp eyes before slowly walking into the center of the appreciation room.

 

The reporters were frantically snapping their shutters at the appearance of the Queen Dowager, a symbol of living power.

 

"I cannot bear to watch this noble imperial family, which I have dedicated my life to protecting with blood and tears, decay and decay due to corruption and shallow schemes, so I have come with this old body, Your Majesty."

 

The auditors and reporters held their breath in unison before the Queen Dowager's weighty authority.

 

The queen dowager coldly looked down at Park Dong-sik, who was lying face down on the floor, and gave an order.

 

"Park Dong-sik, tell the truth with your own mouth. Who is the 'real owner' who ordered the dirty slush fund ledger you allegedly managed and laundered the embezzled money into nominee accounts? If there is even a shred of a lie, I will annihilate your entire family according to the laws of the inner court!"

 

Jong-seok was feeling uneasy as cold sweat poured down his spine.

 

Why does my mother ask with such a confident voice?

 

Jongseok was going through something very, very fatally, and was going wrong.

 

"Speak! Isn't it the Minseok Group, the Empress's family? Speak straight!"

 

Growing anxious, Jong-seok shouted with all his might, but Park Dong-sik slowly raised his head and bowed deeply not towards Jong-seok, but towards the Queen Dowager and Si-eun behind the curtain.

 

And he threw out a massive bombshell that would completely turn the arena upside down.

 

"So..." I am wronged! I was merely subjected to the horrific threat to testify by disguising the perfectly fabricated ledger handed to me by a subordinate of Shinari as if it belonged to Minseok Group! The actual owners of the nominee accounts into which 500 billion won of national funds flowed were overseas paper companies disguised under the names of relatives of Shin Ari Mama!

 

"What... what?!"

 

The letter of appreciation was turned upside down as if it had been bombed.

 

The reporters scribbled their pens wildly in their notebooks, and Jong-seok froze in place as if struck on the head with a giant hammer.

 

 

Yes... You rascal! How dare you deceive me, the emperor, and lie?! "Bring out that crazy guy right now!"

 

"Can't we just leave it alone!"

 

The queen dowager's scolding came down like a thunderbolt.

 

Secretary Kim, who had been standing beside her, took a step forward and lifted a thick stack of documents high.

 

This is clear evidence that perfectly supports the testimony of Accountant Park Dong-sik! This is a statement where the flow of funds from ghost companies established under the direction of Shinari Mama matches the serial numbers of the imperial checks that flowed there by 100%! "All of this evidence was lawfully obtained through the collaboration of Secretary Han of the Minseok Group and the Empress!"

 

It was a perfect counterattack against Si-eun.

 

It was the moment when the trap the Emperor had meticulously dug to strike down Si-eun's family turned into a massive noose that tightened around the Emperor and Ari's necks, suffocating them.

 

Jongseok's face flushed red with anger, then quickly turned pale.

 

However, the real twist and hell didn't end there.

 

Bang!

 

The back door of the thank-you room opened roughly, and this time, Kim Min-hyuk, the Empress's chief bodyguard, dragged a low-ranking court lady who was a henchman of Shin Ari like a piece of luggage and threw her into the middle of the thank-you room.

 

Thud,

 

From the court lady's arms, bundles of deadly poisonous herbs, said to have been brought from the Western Regions, poured down in a torrent.

 

* *Chark*

 

Finally, the pearl curtains were lifted, and Min Si-eun slowly walked down from the platform, revealing her dignified and radiant figure.

 

Her cool gaze alternated between the court lady trembling like an aspen leaf on the floor and Jongseok, who had completely lost his spirit.

 

"Your Majesty"

 

Sieun's voice was quiet and elegant, but within it lay a murderous intent more chilling than a sharpened blade.

 

Shin Ari falsely accused my nanny and tried to poison my empress's herbal medicine, but was caught. The embezzlement of a massive 500 billion won in national funds and the attempted poisoning of the queen were carried out by a lowly court lady who fearlessly manipulated the Ministry of the Interior and attempted to seize the empire. "Even so, will Your Majesty still condemn all of this as an abuse of power by the Minseok Group directed at me?"

 

Si-eun coldly gripped the chin of the fallen court lady with her leather-gloved hand and made a firm declaration so that all the reporters and people in the hall could hear.

 

From this moment on, under the authority of the head of the Ministry of the Interior, I order the immediate imprisonment of Shin Ari, a court lady directly under the Emperor, on charges of embezzlement of national funds and attempted assassination of the Empress. "Anyone who obstructs the Empress's authority or protects criminals will be punished for treason, regardless of their rank or status!"

 

The emperor, who had attempted deception amidst his own arrogance and growing distrust, ultimately fell into his own trap and was completely trapped in the grave he had dug himself.

 

Amidst the reporters' shutter sounds pouring down like a downpour, Si-eun standing on the podium and Min-hyuk, who was like a black panther watching her back, exchanged glances in the air.

 

The sound of the second gears of revenge, set to topple the cruel victorious prelude empire, echoed heavily across the gray sky of the imperial palace.