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Silla

"Here we go again! From where it all started, seems like this is the place where it all will end too." Jeemin sighed looking around the prison. "But I've faith that His Majesty will understand. I'm sure that minister Kang will do something."

At the court,

"The court of justice shall begin! Bring physician Jeemin!" Yunki ordered after settling down on his throne. After some time, the guards brought Jeemin.

"Your majesty! Here's the prisoner!" 

This time, Jeemin knelt in front of Yunki by himself.

"Here we are again, I still remember how we first met!" Yunki said with an expressionless face and Jeemin gave him a faint smile. "Why are you smiling for no reason?!" Yunki tilted his head and asked. Before Jeemin could say anything, she asked another question, "Do you've anything to say in your defense?"

"I'm innocent and I know that even you know it, your majesty!" Jeemin said calmly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Yunki threw a small vial at Jeemin and it landed on his lap. Jeemin looked at it and then at Yunki.

"Don't give me that questionable look, Jeemin! We found this bottle of poison in your room! Now, do you've to say anything?" Yunki asked and Jeemin was shocked, his eyes widened.

"Y-your majesty, I'll never even think of poisoning you. I didn't do anything. Why would I want to kill the person who gave me a place to live and treated me as his little brother? Somebody is plotting against me."

"Minister of law, tell me what the law says regarding this!" Yunki ordered and a man came forward and bowed to him.

"Don't try to persuade the king with your sweet talks, physician Park Jeemin. The proof is in front of you and who will plot against you? Is there a reason to plot against you? You're the one who plotted and that also against the king!!!!!" The minister of laws said while pointing at Jeemin, he then turned towards Yunki, " Your majesty, the laws say that he is a traitor. His sudden appearance out of nowhere was itself suspicious. He is evil and he should be beheaded and justice should prevail!"

"N-NO!!!!! THESE ACCUSATIONS ARE ABSURD!!!!!!" Jeemin tried to explain with moist eyes.

"We agree with the minister of law!!!! Do justice, your Majesty!!!!!!!!" Other courtiers said in unison.

Yunki glanced at Kang once and then spoke, "Right!! Park Jeemin should be beheaded-"

"I'm sorry, your majesty but I've something to say!" Kang cut Yunki off and Jeemin looked at Kang with hope.

"Minister Kang, there's no reason for you to defend that boy now! Everyone can see that he is the criminal and justice should be done." The minister of the law said.

"I'm not going to defend him but going to say the truth! Do I have the permission, your majesty? Kang bowed in front of Yunki!

"Go ahead!" Yunki nodded.

Minister Kang knelt in front of Yunki and said, "I'm the one who plotted against the king. I'm the one who poisoned him and mistakenly left the bottle of poison in Jeemin's room.-"

"LIES!!!!!!!!!!" Both Yunki and Jeemin said in unison.

"WHY ARE YOU LYING, MINISTER KANG?" Jeemin crawled towards minister Kang and asked him while tears rolled down his eyes.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO SAVE THIS BOY'S LIFE BY SACRIFICING YOURS?????" Yunki rose from his throne and asked.

"No! As I said, I'm defending no one but speaking the truth. I'm sorry that you had to face all these because of me, Jeemin, and your Majesty, I'm the one who tried to kill you. I'm willingly surrendering myself to you and I'm ready to accept my fate." Kang bowed.

"NO NO NO NO NO!!!! Your majesty, he is drunk. He is out of his mind. Don't listen to him. Neither of us did anything. I would request you to investigate this matter more." Jeemin pleaded

Yunki sat down on his throne with a thud, shocked by Kang's confession.

"The investigation is already done. We got the vial of poison from your room. Minister Kang confessed his crime and what else do you need, physician Jeemin? The laws say that the criminal must be beheaded." The minister of the law said. "But there is indeed a question left.", he turned towards Kang and asked him, "Why did you try to kill the king?"

Kang fixed his cold gaze on the minister of law and spoke, "Because his majesty is the reason why I lost my son."

A hush fell over the group.

"What do you mean, Kang? Yunki asked, showing no emotions.

"You never properly investigated where on earth did my son vanish to."

"We all know that he was eaten by a tiger when he went for a hunt!" A courtier said.

"And it is the king's fault if he is unable to protect his people," Kang replied calmly.

The courtier was about to say something but Yunki suddenly started to laugh. Everyone looked at him in a confused way, then all of a sudden he stood up, threw away the small table in front of him, and yelled, "THEN WHY DID YOU WAIT FOR ALL THESE YEARS TO KILL ME? I DON'T LIKE ALL THESE JOKES, KANG! STOP JOKING AROUND!"

"I'm afraid that I'm not joking, your Majesty. I  didn't think about it that much before but your court lady explained to me that you're the one who is responsible for my son's death and she was right, YOU ARE A TYRANT AND YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING MY SON AND HER LOVER!!!!"

"HOLD ON. Court lady? Lover? What now?" Yunki furrowed his brows.

The court lady who was standing just a few feet away from Yunki's throne clenched her fist and came forward to speak, "I can assure you that whatever he is saying is a lie and I HAD NO LOVER!"

"Lie! I have seen her multiple times in the palace gardens with the late courtier Lee." A courtier said.

"Yeah me too!" Another approved.

"BUT I'M INNOCENT! I'VE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.!"

"Whether you conspired with Kang to kill the king or not is not proved but it is indeed proved that you were in a romantic relationship. And a court lady entering into a romantic relationship is itself punishable. Justice should be done, your majesty!" The minister of the law said.

"PUT HER TO DEATH!!!! SHE LOVED A MAN WHO WAS A TRAITOR SO SHE IS A TRAITOR TOO!!!!!" Yunki ordered.

"YOU ARE INDEED A TYRANT!!!!!!!!" The court lady yelled at Yunki and glared at Kang, "IF ALL OF YOU PRESENT OVER HERE ARE SO JUSTICE LOVERS, THEN DON'T FORGET TO TAKE ACTIONS AGAINST YUNKI'S REAL KILLER TOO!!!!!!" She pointed at Kang and smirked.

"You don't have to think about that, court lady!" The minister of the law said coldly.

"Take her away!" Yunki ordered and the guards dragged her out of the hall.

"What are your orders for minister Kang, your Majesty?" The minister of the law asked.

"I'm exiling minister Kang!!!!!!" Yunki said.

"But the crime is such that the punishment should be death-"

"I'm the king. I make the decisions here and exiling is the worst punishment just after death punishment. So before the sun rises tomorrow, minister Kang, I want you out of Silla." Yunki said coldly and rose from his throne, "Court is dismissed!" He walked out of the courtroom and everyone else followed after him except two men.

"W-why did you do this?" Jeemin hugged Kang and cried.

"There was no other way to prove your innocence and I had no proof against the real criminal. It was either you or me going down and I couldn't let you go down and I couldn't let the real criminal live in peace to attack the king again either. So I decided to drag her down with me. " He patted Jeemin's back. "I have had lost my son and I was not going to lose you. Now live your life and take care of the king. The king has a soft heart even though he doesn't show it. With the court lady out of the king's way now, there are no enemies inside the palace, you'll be safe." Kang looked at Jeemin and wiped his tears, "Remember what told the first day? 'No matter what, always live'. Don't forget that, my boy."

"How'll I live without you? I know nothing about the palace. Who'll guide me? The physician retired and you are exiled, I won't survive. And don't try to appreciate the king, he could have easily saved you but he didn't" Jeemin buried his face in Kang's chest and sobbed.

"He did save me, Jeemin. Do you know why did he exile me instead of putting me to death? Because deep down he knows that I did nothing but his hands are tied as he is the king. He has to give orders based on what is being presented in front of him. Now that I'll be gone, the king will become sad, be there with him. I know that you're the only one who will be able to cheer him up. The king is fond of you, he had never called a court of justice for anyone before but he did it for you. I'm sure that he'll protect you. And if you ever need my help, then find me at the forests that mark the boundaries of Silla." Kang patted Jeemin's back to calm him down.

......................................

Goguryeo

Namjun just had his official coronation and everyone was screaming, "LONG LIVE THE KING!!!!!!" Namjun smiled at them and sat on his throne, wearing the beautiful jeweled crown on his head.

"Everyone, I'm hereby announcing that I'll marry Jeon Inhyeon and make her the queen of Goguryeo. She'll rule you all beside me and I've decided to make Lee Yeong my royal noble consort." Namjun declared.

"LONG LIVE THE KING!" The court cheered again, clearly pleased by his decision. Jeongguk grinned looking at Inhyeon and Inhyeon proudly smiled at his brother. Lee Yeong was shocked and felt that she was being wronged, she left the courtroom. Namjun noticed her and sighed. He mentally noted to meet Yeong later because he had explanations to do.

"I've another announcement. I've made the to-be queen's brother, Prince Jeon Jeongguk the head commander of the royal army. Every soldier must follow his commands."

Everyone nodded and congratulated Jeongguk.

"Now let's all prepare for the royal wedding." Namjun declared.

"Prepare for two royal weddings." The dowager queen said.

"Two?" Namjun asked.

The dowager queen proudly took a scroll out of her sleeves and presented it to Namjun. Namjun read it and said, "So Baekje wants a royal wedding to seal the bond of friendship." Namjun declared to everyone.

"Yes! And I want the king to grant the wedding permission for the worldwide handsome prince Kim Seongjin."

"No one could have been much more suitable for this wedding! But hyungnim, are you ok with the decision?" Namjun asked Seongjin.

"I've no objections." Seongjin smiled.

 "OK THEN START PREPARING FOR TWO ROYAL WEDDINGS," Namjun ordered.

"Then I'll go to Baekje to bring the bride." Jeongguk proposed.

"Alright, prince Jeongguk! then for that, it would be better if you get going now." Namjun smiled and Jeongguk nodded.

"The court is dismissed!" Namjun said and left the courtroom and straight away went to Yeong's room.
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"The king is here!" The servants announced and Namjun entered her room.

"Welcome, your majesty." She bowed.

"Yeong, I'm sorry!" He sighed.

"You brought me here from my homeland promising me to make me the queen but instead of that, what did you make me? Your concubine." She laughed mockingly, "All men do is lie. I should have never trusted you. Whoever sits on the throne, becomes selfish." Tears rolled down her eyes. "All false promises. Did you ever love me?"

"I loved you, I love you and I'll always love you. " He wiped her tears. "And don't call yourself a concubine. You are the royal noble consort and all concubines are ranked below the royal noble consort, don't you know that? And are concubines married to the king?"

She shook her head no.

"Right! But royal noble consorts are. You're going to be my second wife. Yes, you won't be the queen but still, you'll be married to me.  And you are not only my royal noble consort but also someone very special to my heart. You are my lover, my friend, my everything and just a royal post will change nothing of that."

"But I wanted you all to myself. I wanted to be the only one for you." She sobbed. "You don't love princess Inhyeon, do you? This is just a marriage for everyone's good, right?"

"I-I don't know what feelings I've for Inhyeon. We both are more than very good friends since our childhood. Whenever I go near her, my heart races fast just like it happens when I'm near you."

"Wow great! So you love both of us?"

"Don't worry. I know that she doesn't have the same feelings for me."

"And why are you so sure?"

"Because of the way she acts around Taeheong. She enjoys his company and I think that she likes him. And honestly, they both look good together but look at our fate, they can't be together. I won't mind if after marriage Inhyeon would like to have Taeheong's company...haha. After all, I understand what true love is. And my love, I'm yours....don't worry." Namjun hugged Yeong but that didn't mean that her insecurity vanished.

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