Emeralds and Enemies

Chapter Eighty-six

            "In normal circumstances you would have been called to the patriot's courtyard, presented to his majesty's council, and receive their thanks. As you can see," Minister Go frowned at the guards who had inched forward, "these are not normal circumstances. Still, I have been charged to bring tokens of the courts thanks for the role you played in getting the information needed to bring down two of the main conspirators in the Council of Five."

San Jin and Junseo nodded to each other while the other boys looked on in confusion.

"Now, I can see why your uncle put so much trust in you," Minister Go smiled proudly at his son. "You brought essential information to us. Not without a cost," he nodded in Xuiyang's direction, "but with great discretion." Song-hee brightened when he realized he had a role carrying the code book.

"The evil attack on your group inspired someone close to the conspiracy to provide information which helped us stop an assassin reaching the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, some of their accomplices escaped and took revenge on one of his majesty's confidential informants. Through his most heroic efforts Captain Shiro made sure we would be able to track more of the plot and this had led to the arrest of Lord Sun-Gyu and the allies aiming to restore the fourth kingdom." Minister Go then invited Lord Lie to step forward and presented him with the official charter for the training yard along with a permanent lease from General Tan for the city compound.

"We are most grateful for these honors." Wen-Hou bowed formally. "They can never replace the loss we feel since even though Captain Shiro was only with us a short time, he made such a difference. We will do our best to carry-on his legacy of loyal service." It was only with these words the other boys realized what Junseo and Song-hee had known since the morning. Captain Shiro had died.

Chenhui squatted down and covered his face with his hands. He rocked back and forth and Hae-sung knelt beside him and rubbed his back. Xuiyang looked at Junseo who shook his head sadly. San Jin just raised an eyebrow at Song-hee who clearly had not been surprised by the announcement.

Their training master noticed the look and decided to offer an explanation: "Earlier today the fates guided Junseo to the riverside where the captain's body had washed up. His persistence made the guards take notice. He and Song-hee then completed other missions that made it possible to move forward with the case but they had to promise not to share any information with you. Unfortunately, that will still be the case until the whole investigation is wrapped up."

Minister Go stepped in again. "We believe it best if you all stay here to be guarded as special witnesses. I also should mention it will only be a matter of time before more people realize my family line are now the senior descendants to the fourth kingdom. That means more precautions." He stared straight at San Jin who nodded sadly. "Good. Now you can ask questions but I have to warn you we might not be able to answer."

Hae-sung was the first to raise his hand. "Were there any members of the Counsel of Five at the estate when we were there?" When Minister Go nodded Hae-sung quickly asked, "Were they after the San Jin or just some of General Tan's documents?" He could have been more specific about which documents but he did not know how much the guards should hear.

"We are not sure about all their motives. What I can say is you must have stymied at least part of their plot. That is probably why they made their move in the capital before everything was in place." Minister Go looked to one of the men from the palace for confirmation on this point before he added. "Please don't try to figure out who is connected to the Council of Five, or who our informant might be. It is far to volatile a situation for everyone."

"I don't understand why anyone would go after Captain Shiro. He was a tutor and exam coach and really the best teacher I every had." Chenhui choked up again.