Chapter 7

Wang Yun could not easily shake off the aftermath of what had happened two days prior.

“Heh, heh….”

It was the shock of a cross‑dressed boy entering his residence as a candidate for adoption and laying out sophistry before him.

But there was something odd.

On reflection, Wang Yun could have noticed early on that the boy was in fact a boy. The frame seemed feminine, yet too large for a girl; the voice was sweet, yet low; the appearance was beautiful, yet the lines were too bold to be called that of a woman.

“…I could have kept from being swayed.”

Turning the matter over and over in his mind, Wang Yun soon realized why he had been swayed by Jaheon.

“A loyal servant of the Han like yourself is about to resort to the inferior stratagem of marriage, is he not?”

Selling an adopted daughter to obtain backing.

Because Jaheon uttered those words, Wang Yun lost his reason for a moment. It was, after all, something he wished to hide. Highly valuing honor, Wang Yun felt shame at those words and could not clearly perceive Jaheon.

Was that all?

When Jaheon revealed that he was a man, Wang Yun was flustered and sent him straight out of the residence. Whether Jaheon had revealed the truth after deliberately riling his emotions could not be known.

“Absurd.”

But in any case, Jaheon used that very point to leave Wang Yun’s residence unscathed, and what happened yesterday became something known only to Wang Yun and Jaheon.

In short, Wang Yun could no longer hold Jaheon accountable for toying with him.

“…If I lay blame, I must reveal that Wang Yun was toyed with by a lowborn.”

A hollow laugh escaped Wang Yun.

No scholar‑official would proclaim to the world that he had been toyed with by a boy not yet of age. Recalling it again, Wang Yun found it preposterous.

“…Create another set of Ten Attendants.”

And yet, at the same time, he was impressed.

He was not a man easily handled. And yet he had been toyed with so blatantly. It meant the boy’s wiles were considerable. The boy’s ability was clearly outstanding.

Then Wang Yun wondered.

“Why do such a thing?”

He could not understand why such an exceptional boy would go so far as to cross‑dress to reveal stratagems to him. Because Wang Yun was timber for restoring the Han? Wang Yun was not so soft‑hearted as to believe such empty flattery.

“What if it is a trap laid by those eunuch curs….”

How many times had the eunuchs blocked Wang Yun’s recommendation to Luoyang. He must not lower his guard easily. Wang Yun was lost in thought, turning over every possibility, when—

“My lord.”

Someone addressed him. Before him stood his trusted retainer. It seemed the inquiry he had sent out to investigate Jaheon had just now borne fruit.

“Have you found anything?”

When Wang Yun asked, the retainer bowed his head and replied,

“Yes. It seems he is quite renowned in his village.”

“…Renowned?”

“From the village’s fields and wells to their houses, there was nothing that did not pass through the boy’s hands. It is even said that he once turned back a band of brigands who intended to raid the village by winning them over.”

“Huh.”

He had thought the boy no ordinary sort, but this exceeded expectations. If his family had been good, such feats would have spread his name long ago.

“Anything else of note?”

“I do not know if this counts as notable, but there is one extraordinary point.”

“Extraordinary?”

“It is said he cherishes his younger sister to an extreme degree—so much so that the entire village knows it.”

“His sister?”

Wang Yun raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. They say he cherishes her to the point that there are more than a few households that were ruined after sending marriage proposals for his sister.”

“…That boy ruined households? How does a household fall to ruin merely for sending a betrothal letter?”

“It seems that matters such as a wife’s adultery, a son’s gambling, or an affair between daughter‑in‑law and father‑in‑law were all exposed. No one knows who exposed them, but the villagers all suspect the boy.”

Recalling Jaheon’s looks, Wang Yun burst into laughter. With that angelic face, he was deft at sinister stratagems. Wang Yun shook his head.

“And so he did not get along with the village’s wealthy families, and among them he was on the worst terms with the former headman.”

“Why?”

“The headman often tried to oversee the sister’s marriage or demanded her as an adopted daughter. But each time, misfortune befell him….”

An elder brother who cherished his sister to the utmost, the selection of adopted daughters, humble origins. Listening to his retainer’s report and falling into thought, Wang Yun smiled.

“…As expected.”

A picture formed before his eyes.

Why Jaheon had entered in his sister’s stead, and why he had toyed with Wang Yun. Though called an inspector in the provinces, a Registrar was still an official dispatched from the central government.

Local officials would have forcibly selected candidates for adoption to curry favor with Wang Yun. Could a man of lowly birth like Jaheon truly have refused his sister’s selection?

Never mind the village headman, who was not an official—what of the county magistrate who wielded military authority? The prefect?

Jaheon would have been unable to refuse.

“In that case….”

Driven to the edge of a cliff, he had come to Wang Yun. Then the boy’s words were worth hearing at least once. Was it not sincere? A beautiful boy who, to save his sister, came cross‑dressed and boldly laid out stratagems. Then Jaheon was not a card Wang Yun could not use.

“Find that boy and bring him.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Wang Yun lifted his tea and added,

“And do not forget the sister.”

If anything, securing Jaheon’s sister would be a card of utmost certainty.

A noodle shop in the market of Jinyang, Bing Province.

Those passing by all cast sidelong glances at the shop. It was due to the appearance of the boy who had finished his noodles inside and the young girl picking at her food before him.

Even though their faces were wrapped in blankets, their looks could not be easily concealed, and drew the gaze of onlookers.

“Brother.”

Thus Choseon addressed Jaheon. Was she not the one who had always been taught by him not to reveal her face easily? Hesitating, Choseon asked,

“Is it all right to show our faces like this? We’ll draw attention….”

“We intend to draw attention.”

Having already finished off a bowl of noodles, Jaheon added shamelessly,

“We need our story to reach my lord’s ears, one way or another.”

At Jaheon’s carefree demeanor, Choseon sighed and whispered carefully. She had many worries.

“…Do you truly think Lord Wang will take us in?”

“If he is no fool.”

But Jaheon was certain. Wang Yun was not incompetent. Had he been, he would not have been called a pillar of the throne nor have risen to one of the Three Excellencies, the highest offices of the Han.

It made no sense that such a Wang Yun would fail to recognize Jaheon’s ability.

“Is this brother not more useful than he seems?”

Besides, Wang Yun had a tendency to overestimate himself. Since Jaheon had deceived such a man, Wang Yun would, regardless of the truth, surely overestimate Jaheon’s ability.

Wang Yun’s aim was, in any case, singular.

To seize central power by any means necessary and restore the Han. If Wang Yun had been willing to sell other men’s daughters to gain influence, what was using a lowborn like Jaheon?

“So once our background check is done, he will seek us out.”

After a moment of silence at Jaheon’s words, Choseon asked,

“…Do you trust Lord Wang, brother?”

At her question, Jaheon rolled his eyes lightly once and answered firmly,

“No, I do not.”

“Then why….”

“I trust that man’s desire.”

At present, Wang Yun lacked a base of power in Luoyang. Moreover, Wang Yun was not particularly adept at the art of politics.

Then Jaheon appeared before him.

That is, whether Jaheon could truly realize the superior stratagem was not what mattered to Wang Yun. Wang Yun simply needed a strategist like Jaheon whom he could employ in Luoyang.

“I trust my lord’s desire to grasp power in Luoyang by any means.”

Moreover, people tend to overestimate those who possess what they themselves lack.

Thus, Wang Yun would attempt to win over Jaheon by using Choseon as leverage. From Wang Yun’s perspective, Jaheon—so long as Choseon was at hand—was nothing more than a docile dog who would obey.

In other words, Choseon was a hostage.

So long as Jaheon continually proved his usefulness, Wang Yun would be forced to protect her. Such is the nature of a hostage.

“If I work for my lord, then in the end he will protect you for my sake.”

In short, until Jaheon’s value was determined, Wang Yun would have no choice but to protect Choseon in his stead. Even once that value was set, if it outweighed Choseon, Wang Yun could never lay a hand on her. While Jaheon gathered strength, Wang Yun would be a shield who protected Choseon in his stead.

“There will be times now when I cannot personally remain by your side….”

Jaheon spoke with a lonely smile.

“…I will have no choice but to entrust you to another.”

At those words, Choseon, who had remained silent, smiled. Gazing out at the crowded streets of Jinyang, she spoke,

“It’s all right.”

“……?”

“I cannot remain forever under your protection, can I?”

Choseon’s golden eyes, so like Jaheon’s, curved with a strange gleam.

“In truth, from the moment you said we would go to Jinyang, I thought of it. That someday there might come a time when we would live apart.”

Though she had always been mature, Choseon seemed all the more grown, and Jaheon was moved. But at the same time, he was deeply disconcerted. The truth was, he was not yet ready to be parted from her. He had only said the words. Why already? I am not ready, and you…!

“Ch‑Choseon? I, I still….”

But Jaheon’s aggrieved heart could not make it past his lips.

“……?”

Because, behind Choseon, his eyes met those of a middle‑aged man who looked extremely awkward.

“Ahem. I pay my respects to Lady Im and Young Master Im.”

The man who met Jaheon’s gaze bowed with hands clasped.

“I am O Juk‑yeop, a servant of Lord Wang.”

And he delivered the message to Jaheon and Choseon.

“My lord Wang wishes to see the two of you.”

It was the summons from Wang Yun they had been waiting for.