Lean

IV

TAEHYUN

Ten days went by since Taehyun left King's Coast. All of his family members and around twenty of his family's bannermen made it out of the chaos that ensued in King's Coast. Taehyun estimated they lost around nine bannermen when Choi Minjun took the throne and his father protested. They endured ten grueling days of travel, pushing their horses to exhaustion to get away from the capital's lands and to the green valleys of crops and flowing rivers that defined the territory that the Lees controlled.

With each mile they took further away from King's Coast, Taehyun couldn't help but feel depressed from the situation. His father was locked away in the dungeons of King's Palace, suffering from charges that he didn't deserve. If it was up to him, he would have broken his father out. Huening Kai assured him that fleeing King's Coast was the right thing to do, explaining that if Taehyun had it his way, his decapitated head would be on a spike next to his father's. His mother told him that they had to be patient and that his father would be able to maneuver his way out of harm. Taehyun doubted her, but reluctantly had no choice but to agree as they pushed further north.

Eventually, they made it to Evergreen, the city where the Lee family resided. The city was large and filled with villagers and highborns. A massive stone bridge marked the entry point to the city, spanning gracefully over a flowing river. Lee Hangmin's loyal bannermen received them warmly, having been informed of their visit through a messenger dispatched by Taehyun's mother a few days ago. The Lees were preparing for a celebration of their own with the start of a fall harvest. Workers were busy hanging green and gold decorations to welcome the new season of crops.

Lee Hangmin was still in King's Coast serving on the council to settle everything that had transpired since King Shin had passed away. His family would likely be gone by the time he got back. In his absence, his sons were running the kingdom. They were provided with some of the guests rooms in their spacious castles. Taehyun felt much more at home with his view of the luscious forest in his assigned room compared to the bedroom he'd been staying at in King's Palace.

After a short nap to recover from the long morning of horseback riding to get to Evergreen, Taehyun joined his family down in the dining hall at dinnertime. The smell of fresh beef cooking wafted through the air and Taehyun could see the rows of various vegetables and fruits stacked on the large dining tables. The Lees were always generous hosts to them, as their families held close bonds with one another. Lee Hangmin and his father once fought together on the battlefield. After the war in Mirage, his father took Taehyun to visit Evergreen many times.

As he approaches the table where his family sat, he can feel their eyes settle on him. Everyone looked to him now for answers, a stark reality he had to come to terms with. There were times that he filled in for his father to deal with matters regarding the kingdom, but he hadn't felt a burden quite like this. His family's bannermen were now under his command. Even his aunt and uncle who were running things in his absence in Frostholm had to listen to him. While his father was imprisoned, he was the leader of the Kang dynasty. Taehyun didn't have any answers to their situation, which made everything much more difficult.

Huening Kai greeted him with a small smile as Taehyun settled into the seat next to him, at the center of the table. On the other side of Taehyun, his mother sat, idly picking at the food on her plate. Taehyun had never seen her act so strong before. He was used to his father speaking up in times like these, but not his mother.

"A message came for us, from Lee Hangmin," Huening Kai tells him before slipping a scroll of parchment paper to him.

Taehyun nods, glancing at the stamped seal of Lee Hangmin before opening it. As he reads the message, he can feel his eyes widen and his grip on the scroll tighten. Lee Hangmin's message was about his father, explaining that he would soon be on trial to confess his crimes of treason for refusing to acknowledge Choi Minjun as the rightful king of Mirage. The crime of treason was most egregious, and most often punished by death. If his father confessed his crimes and accepted Choi Minjun as the king, the punishment would be less severe due to his high status as one of the five lords in Mirage.