Chapter 8: The Prince’s Shadow Cabinet

Ah. So you were my reader as well?

I remembered.

Kim Josun. He was the one who once got chewed out by his father for reading novels while working overtime.

I vaguely recalled seeing his name elsewhere, but that was probably because he was an important figure in history.

For a moment, all the wariness I’d built up just melted away.

Given the situation, it was clear my loyal reader had tracked down the author, so how could I possibly turn him away?

“But, what are you doing here?”

“Ah, well… I misplaced a personal belonging nearby, so I was just asking the palace maids if they might have seen it...”

On top of that, this man—

He had the nerve to plaster his face with indifference, as if he hadn’t just been asking the court ladies about a book.

From that unnatural excuse, I could easily read his true intentions.

Well, I suppose it made sense that he’d try to make excuses, thinking a young royal child wouldn’t understand anything yet.

Kim Josun was the man who’d been harshly scolded by King Jeongjo for reading novels and even had to write a letter of reflection.

No wonder—he’d do anything to make sure this incident didn’t reach Jeongjo’s ears.

Of course, the  book I’d seen a moment ago had already disappeared into Kim Josun’s sleeve like lightning.

Naturally, someone who’d been caught once before wouldn’t want to give anyone new ammunition against him in a place like this.

But what could he do? I’d already seen it all.

This was something that could become a major weakness for him.

As soon as I realized that, my mind began spinning rapidly.

I happened to be looking for someone from the scholar-gentry side to use anyway.

If things went well, I might be able to get myself a subordinate—read: slave—out of this.

“Oh? Is that so? Well, I hope you find what you’ve lost.”

“Yes, young master. I sincerely apologize for causing you concern over such a trivial matter.”

With every word, Kim Josun made it even more obvious that he was hiding something, then quickly distanced himself from me.

That’s what happens when you can’t keep a straight face after reading novels during overtime—you get chewed out by your father. Tsk, tsk.

But oh well.

Whether Kim Josun had mastered his poker face at a young age or not didn’t matter at all.

Now, I could already see his next move.

Besides, Kim Josun was rumored to be the next head of a prominent family, and with Jeongjo’s favor, he was expected to become a powerful official in the future.

I planned to take advantage of this weakness and shackle such a useful person with the mark of a slave.

“Yi Sangtang. Let’s return to Junghuidang quickly.”

“Yes, young master.”

With that, I hurried my steps back to my quarters and immediately began drafting a letter.

It was an urgent letter to send to Fanatic No. 1, who would soon make contact with my candidate for slavery.

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Jangdong Kim clan, or the New Andong Kim clan.

The same people who would later earn a notorious reputation for their factional rule were already making a name for themselves at this time.

This was an era when the term “Gyeonghwa Sajok” had emerged, as clear distinctions formed between the Yangban in Hanyang and those in the provinces.

Ever since the famous Kim Sangheon, the Jangdong Kims had formed a powerful Noron faction and become an influential family.

And Kim Josun was a young official considered the next central figure of the Jangdong Kim clan.

With royal blood from his maternal side—a sixth cousin of the king—and exceptional personal abilities that had won him the king’s favor after passing the civil service exam, it wasn’t hard to imagine he’d play an important role in Joseon’s future, even for those unfamiliar with history.

But at this moment, Kim Josun, who had just encountered the young prince, harbored a very secret hobby.

It was a rather unrefined pastime that had been quietly spreading among the scholar-gentry for some time.

‘…?’

‘Your Majesty…!! I have committed a grave sin!!’

‘I told you clearly to devote yourself to the classics and not even glance at frivolous books…!!’

It was a hobby that King Jeongjo—conservative and an exceptional Confucian scholar—absolutely loathed: reading novels.

The entire court knew the story of how Kim Josun, while on night duty at the Office of Royal Decrees, was caught reading a romance novel with his colleague Lee Sanghwang.

Of course, this was mainly because Jeongjo would bring up the incident and mercilessly criticize them every time the issue of novels arose.

Nevertheless, Kim Josun still couldn’t give up reading novels.

Even after being caught reading  in the original timeline and calming the king’s fury with an excellent letter of reflection, that was all it accomplished.

Let’s be honest: the more a secret hobby is suppressed, the more alluring it becomes.

Just like how prohibition in early 20th-century America couldn’t eradicate drinking culture.

As a result, every time a new novel was published in Hanyang, Kim Josun would secretly obtain and read it.

Naturally, the smash-hit  found its way into his hands.

‘Could it be that the one who wrote this novel is a distinguished person inside the palace…?’

‘Yes. If you could get in touch with them, you might receive some benefits as well, my lord.’

Well, the information given by Gye Deoksang, the owner of the Banggakso whom Kim Josun knew, seemed somewhat useful.

But, at present, it didn’t mean much to Kim Josun.

“Madam! Madam!!”

What if Jeongjo learned that he was asking the palace maids about the author of a novel?

He’d be in trouble with the court all over again.

Even so, Kim Josun’s obsession drove him to secretly investigate the author of  inside the palace.

The reason was simple: as an ardent fan, he was genuinely curious about the person who wrote such an insanely entertaining novel.

A great story makes you curious about its author, after all.

 struck directly at the heart of Kim Josun’s tastes.

“Court Lady Choi?”

“Yes. I heard the first rumors from her. She’s famous for loving novels.”

“Is that so?”

But despite inquiring with the palace maids, he couldn’t obtain any useful information.

The only thing that kept coming up was the name of Court Lady Choi—the middleman he’d already heard about from Gye Deoksang.

Thinking back on how he’d encountered the prince while searching around Lady Hyegyeong’s quarters, Kim Josun felt a chill down his spine.

That child, with the same piercing eyes as the king who always scolded him at court, had stared intently at the  he’d dropped.

How could he not break out in a cold sweat?

But Kim Josun would soon feel that same dread once more.

It happened after his failed investigation in the palace, when he sought out the court lady surnamed Choi who had supposedly brought the  manuscript to Banggakso.

“I knew you would come.”

“What are you talking about? You knew I would come?”

Startled by this unexpected greeting, Kim Josun was caught off guard.

A letter was thrust before his eyes.

It was written in an elegant Hangul calligraphy, clearly a woman’s hand.

Drawn in by the compelling style that resembled ’s prose, Kim Josun read on, almost mesmerized.

“…Though I highly value Master Kim’s talent, the crime of secretly attempting to uncover my identity is not so easily forgiven… Huh!!”

By the time he came to his senses, he was already caught in the trap.

Of course, ever since being harshly scolded by the king, Kim Josun had tried to be careful.

But ‘that person’ had seen right through everything.

From digging into their background to breaking Jeongjo’s strict orders by carrying  in his sleeve—it was all exposed.

“Please continue reading.”

With his weakness thoroughly exposed, Kim Josun stood frozen as Court Lady Choi calmly urged him to finish the letter.

But as the saying goes, even when the sky falls, there’s a way out.

The content following the elegant prose was, to Kim Josun’s relief, surprisingly merciful.

[However, I am willing to deeply bury all of Master Kim’s misdeeds. Court Lady Choi is skilled, but as a woman, there are limits to what she can do…]

Within the letter, ‘that person’ ordered Kim Josun to cooperate with novel-related affairs.

In return, they would remain silent about everything that had happened so far.

“Will you accept this proposal?”

Perhaps inheriting her master’s sharpness, Court Lady Choi went straight for the heart.

Of course, it was a little uncomfortable.

But there was absolutely no reason for Kim Josun to refuse.

“Very well. I accept.”

“You’re quite decisive, more than I expected.”

Having Kim Josun sign his name at the bottom of the letter, Court Lady Choi gave him a subtle smile.

But before accepting, Kim Josun had already done his own calculations.

First, being connected to the influential inner court ladies, just like Court Lady Choi, couldn’t possibly hurt.

He’d heard from the palace maids that the queen and Lady Hyegyeong had been in the very place where he dropped .

And the second…

‘To be the very first to read such a novel in Joseon? That’s worth more than a fortune!’

The blood of a novel otaku, fired up after reading .

Despite his seemingly serious demeanor, young Kim Josun couldn’t resist the cry in his heart.

It was, honestly, quite a frivolous reason.

Thus, Kim Josun officially became ‘that person’s’ second right-hand man.

Of course, there was one thought he couldn’t shake from his mind.

‘Could this matter somehow be related to the young prince…?’

After all, it was in front of the young prince that his most damning secret had been exposed.

It was only natural for Kim Josun to harbor such thoughts as he took his leave.

But only briefly.

Kim Josun shook his head vigorously to clear away the thought.

No matter what, there’s no way the author of a masterpiece like  could be a child.

And there’s no way the owner of that elegant, feminine handwriting was the prince.

Such a thing was beyond the bounds of common sense—a tale fit only for ghosts and monsters.

And so, his misunderstanding continued.

---

Some time later.

A letter arrived at the Jangdong Kim residence.

The recipient: Kim Josun, associate director of the Gyujanggak.

It was the momentous first mission from ‘that person’.

“Send people to request cooperation from the merchants of Songsang, Yusang, and Mansang…?”

Songsang, Yusang, and Mansang referred to merchant groups active in Gaeseong, Pyeongyang, and Uiju, respectively.

Kim Josun wondered why that person wanted to involve mere merchants all of a sudden, but only for a moment.

As soon as he saw the purpose written below, he slapped his knee in realization.

“Ha! How could such keen insight have been hidden until now…!!”

Oblivious to the fact that his excessive praise was actually directed at the prince, Kim Josun couldn’t help but marvel.

Apparently, ‘that person’ had an extremely accurate grasp of financial flows even from inside the secluded palace.

Of course, Kim Josun had no idea that the young prince simply wanted to grow the large sum of manuscript payment received.

Then came the second command, after the order to build connections with merchant guilds around the country.

This, too, made Kim Josun exclaim in admiration.

“A paper shortage might soon hit Hanyang… Well, with  selling like this, it’s no wonder.”

In this order, ‘that person’ had accurately predicted the coming problem—soon all of Hanyang’s hanji was being devoured at a breakneck pace for novel printing, and even Kim Josun agreed with the concern.

Besides, ‘that person’ wasn’t worried about the paper supply just for that reason.

For a moment, Kim Josun’s eyes glinted with greed—it was only natural.

“To be worried about distribution issues for the next novel as well…? So you’re already planning the next work…?”

It was a masterfully crafted carrot for a novel fanatic.

For Kim Josun, who was already eagerly awaiting the completion of , the promise of a next work was an irresistible lure.

“I can’t resist this.”

Now, Kim Josun, drooling like a hyena for the sequel, would do everything in his power to carry out ‘that person’s’ orders.

What if a paper shortage in Hanyang delayed the publication of the next work?

No self-respecting novel addict could allow that to happen.

“If all this comes true… The Joseon printing market could be shaken to its core.”

Impressed by the unexpectedly capable proposals, Kim Josun let out a twisted smile.

The orders weren’t just about resolving a short-term supply issue, but demonstrated a remarkably long-term perspective.

It was a practical plan—one not likely to have come from someone ignorant of the world outside the palace.

“‘Three and three’…”

Summing up the two orders with two key words.

With his eyes fixed on the empty air, Kim Josun calculated in his mind and smiled with satisfaction.

These commands would benefit ‘that person’—but they would also bring personal gain for Kim Josun himself.

For now, the name of the teenage boy to be brought through Uiju’s merchant guild, for ‘that person’s’ use, briefly slipped his mind.

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※ Author’s Note

The anecdote about young Kim Josun being scolded by King Jeongjo for reading romance novels in 1787 appears several times in the Annals as a well-documented historical fact.