**Chapter 12: Winter Wind**
The winter wind could not cool the heat surging within his chest.
Fearing that even the royal study might have listening ears from the Dowager Queen’s palace, Taegang summoned Chief Royal Secretary Hong to the reading room.
Taegang waited for the secretary in his *cheollik* (military-style uniform) as he was.
Secretary Hong had been by his side since the day he first ascended to the throne with his late father and practiced archery, and also on the day of his wedding to the Queen.
When Secretary Hong entered shortly after and saw the King’s expression, he sensed at once that something was gravely wrong and ordered the palace attendants to withdraw beyond the courtyard.
“Your Majesty, what has happened? Is Her Majesty the Queen unwell?”
Taegang closed his eyes for a moment and steadied his breath.
How could he say that the Queen had abandoned him?
Secretary Hong approached him, bent low, and leaned his ear close.
“The Queen… has disappeared from the detached palace.”
“Dis-Disappeared?”
“She received word that her mother was critically ill, said she would go briefly to her family home, left the palace, and has not returned since.”
“When did she leave the palace?”
“Hoo… today is already the fourth day. Four days…”
Secretary Hong, who had weathered all sorts of storms within the deep palace, collapsed to his knees with a frantic look.
“Did her nurse go with her?”
“If she had, I would not be this anxious.”
“You mean she went alone?”
“She went with a man who was once a servant of her family and was later elevated to commoner status; he now works as a medicinal herb gatherer. His name is Cha Gil-dong.”
Secretary Hong, who had been kneeling, prostrated himself, adjusted his collar, and reported:
“Cha Gil-dong… I have heard of him. It is said he rendered great service, so the Queen’s father granted freedom to him and his aged mother, and even provided them a house and a shop.”
“How do you know such things?”
“Because it concerns the Queen’s family. Gil-dong is a loyal man, so he will surely take good care of Her Majesty.”
“That is not the issue.”
“Has an even greater problem arisen?”
Taegang took his trembling hand.
“I saw the Queen at Hyogyo Bridge.”
“Then Your Majesty has found Her Majesty?”
“She appeared at Hyogyo Bridge dressed as a scholar. With a young man.”
“And where was Cha Gil-dong?”
“That man did not look like a herb gatherer. How old is Gil-dong?”
“He should be over forty.”
Taegang covered his face with both hands.
“The Queen did not recognize me. She looked at me as if seeing a stranger for the first time, then vanished with that man.”
“In Your Majesty’s presence?”
“Yes. An assassin appeared and shot arrows at her. While the royal guards and I were dealing with the assassin, we lost track of her.”
Secretary Hong rose, wrung his hands, paced anxiously, and then asked:
“Could Her Majesty have injured her head?”
“Someone with a head injury could hardly move about like that. She seemed physically fine.”
“It would be faster to create a description of the man with her and search for him.”
Taegang frowned.
“I cannot recall that man’s face. He was tall and had the build of a nimble martial guard, but his features will not come to mind.”
“That is because Your Majesty has suffered a great shock. It will improve in time.”
At the secretary’s gentle consolation, his heart settled a little.
“Your Majesty, if you are to formulate a plan, you must inform the Chief State Councilor. In such an urgent matter, it would be wise to also borrow the wits of the Junior State Councilor.”
“Yes. Kim Ji-han has solved difficult problems in ways others could not think of.”
At the King’s summons, the Chief and Junior State Councilors, who were on night duty, came to the reading room. They were his most trusted subjects.
There was no room for formality or hesitation.
“The Queen… has disappeared from the detached palace. Four days ago, after hearing that her mother was critically ill, she slipped out and has not returned.”
The two councilors were aghast and looked up at the King’s countenance.
“She went with Cha Gil-dong, a herb gatherer who was once a servant of her family, and both have been out of contact since. Before the Dowager Queen learns of this, I must find the Queen.”
The Chief Councilor reported:
“I will mobilize the entire Office of the Inspector-General immediately.”
But Secretary Hong objected:
“Your Majesty, if the Dowager Queen finds out, it will be a disaster.”
“Should I mobilize the Internal Bureau and the Inspectorate?”
“That way, the Dowager Queen will surely know. It would be better to mobilize the internal special inspectors and your own private servants.”
The Chief and Junior Councilors also offered to mobilize their household servants. For secrecy, that would be better.
“But without a description, how can we search all of Hanyang?”
As Taegang’s sigh deepened, Junior Councilor Kim Ji-han cautiously spoke:
“Your Majesty, a few days ago, a special prisoner was brought into the Office of Prisons.”
“A special prisoner?”
“He once worked as a petty constable at Jongnu (Bell Pavilion), but now he has a knack for tracking down those who skip out on drinking debts or gambling losses.”
“If he has a loose tongue, it will be difficult to use him.”
“He too will be cautious about palace affairs.”
Secretary Hong said to the Junior Councilor:
“Bring that man to the Office of Royal Attendants. Immediately.”
Soon, the Junior Councilor brought a gaunt, disheveled man into the office of the Secretary of Royal Attendants.
He had been sleeping in the prison when the guards fetched him, but his attire was fairly neat. He was a young man of about twenty-five, with a swarthy complexion and sharp eyes.
Taegang observed the man from behind a folding screen.
“Secretary, I have brought Jeong Hup-paeng.”
At the Junior Councilor’s introduction, Hup-paeng bowed to Secretary Hong; his movements were quick and shrewd.
Offering Hup-paeng a chair, Secretary Hong began to question him. Before entrusting him with the task, he needed to test his wits.
“If a foolish court lady from the palace stole a senior court lady’s ornaments and fled, where would she hide?”
“She wouldn’t be a very smart court lady, would she?”
“Well observed.”
“Where a foolish but bold court lady hides and a foolish but timid court lady hides are different.”
Secretary Hong smiled and nodded.
“How are they different?”
“The foolish but bold one will hide the ornaments in her kitchen floor, ceiling, or yard and stay put instead of running. When the guards come to arrest her, she’ll feign innocence—why would she stay home if she stole something? If she’s unlucky, she’ll be caught right away.”
“And the timid one?”
“She’ll go to a rented bookshop far from the palace and trade the stolen ornaments for books.”
At Hup-paeng’s confident answer, Taegang let out a small laugh.
If Taegang were the thief, he would hide the ornaments deep and wait to see how things unfolded. But if the thief needed money urgently, he would try to convert the ornaments to cash, so Hup-paeng’s reasoning made sense.
Secretary Hong asked:
“She would go to a bookshop instead of a trinket shop?”
“The guards will search trinket shops first, so she’ll go there.”
It was common for women to exchange ornaments for books.
“And then?”
“She’ll trade the books from the bookshop for money or goods at another shop. Then, pretending to be ill, she’ll go to a sickhouse or a relative’s home. Even if she escapes at first, she’ll steal again and eventually get caught. Once someone succeeds at theft, it’s hard to stop.”
“Why wouldn’t they run far in both cases?”
Hup-paeng straightened his shoulders and smiled with confidence. At his inability to hide his inner thoughts, Taegang nearly clicked his tongue.
“A senior court lady’s ornaments are worth less than a hundred *nyang*. Would a court lady risk her life to flee far and spend her life being hunted by the guards?”
“Haha, you’re right. That’s why there are no major thieves among palace attendants.”
Secretary Hong turned serious and asked:
“Hup-paeng, if you were a thief and stole palace ornaments to smuggle them out, how would you do it?”
“Hmm, palace ornaments are hard to dispose of. I would steal silverware instead.”
“Because you can melt it down without a trace?”
“Yes.”
“How would you get it out of the palace?”
“I’d paint the silverware to look like brass, hide it in a supply cart from the Royal Kitchen, or sneak it into the lunchbox of a servant attending an official.”
“A lunchbox?”
“Yes, if I offered a good price for the lunchbox, saying I liked it, they’d sell it without question.”
“Haha, clever.”
Taegang, too, liked the resourceful Hup-paeng and gave a short, dry cough.
Only then did Secretary Hong state the matter:
“We are looking for a herb gatherer. His name is Cha Gil-dong, age forty-three. He was a servant of the Queen’s family, was granted freedom for his service, and even had a pheasant stall set up for him—but he fled after stealing ornaments from his master’s house.”
“The scoundrel.”
“This must not leak to the outside. You must act in absolute secrecy. If you find him, do not apprehend him yourself—quietly inform me.”
“Understood, Secretary.”
The secretary handed him a description of Cha Gil-dong and a hundred *nyang*. If he found Gil-dong, he would receive another two hundred.
Hup-paeng’s face already looked as if he had pocketed all three hundred.
—
As Hup-paeng left the Office of Royal Attendants, his mouth was stretched from ear to ear.
“Heeya, a three-hundred-nyang job came in. And entrusted by the old Secretary himself.”
It was a big deal, his first in a long time. Moreover, it was an opportunity to have the King’s trusted secretary as his backer, so he puffed up with pride.
Looking at Cha Gil-dong’s description, he saw the face of an ordinary servant he could run into anytime on the street. In such cases, it was better to search by inquiring around rather than relying on the sketch.
If he visited pheasant stalls, herbal shops, and land agents, he could track down Cha Gil-dong’s whereabouts.
*’If it’s ornaments stolen from the Queen’s family, they’d belong to the matron or the daughter-in-law, right? Maybe even precious royal treasures bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen. That’s why they’re offering three hundred nyang to find them secretly, without the Dowager Queen knowing.’*
He was already itching to boast to everyone in the neighborhood, but when it came to royal affairs, a loose tongue could cost him his head.
Hup-paeng decided to visit Oh Gyeong-muk, the Head Manager of the Boksung Trading Company, who had earned him the most money so far. He would keep his secrets and also lend a helping hand.
