HLCOB C67

Chapter 67

The world has never once flowed according to plan.

Indeed, from the very moment Jaheon had set foot in Luoyang, not a single matter had gone as he intended. Thus, he had grown accustomed to entanglements.

But never had he wished for such an entanglement as this.

“W-Why is the great lord here?”

For before his eyes stood the one man in the palace he least wished to encounter.

“Why, His Majesty has granted this old man the opportunity to instruct the Imperial Prince! And so here I am!”

At Cai Yong’s gleeful words, Jaheon shut his eyes tight. This was absurd in every respect—for the prince was not yet even the Crown Prince.

“Tell me, have you done the work I charged you with? Even if you are now Shizhong, even if the investiture ceremony keeps you busy, I will not allow your literary talents to lie idle!”

As though venting all the weariness he had suffered beneath the Emperor’s hand, Cai Yong drained the life from him. Jaheon could not protest—after all, had it not been his own doing that Cai Yong had been delivered to the Emperor? Who could have foreseen his condition would worsen thus?

At this, Choseon, who stood behind him, softly asked,

“Brother… who is he?”

So it was.

Today was the very day Choseon entered the palace as attendant to the prince. Lifting his heavy eyelids, Jaheon forced a smile and answered,

“This is Lord Baekgae Cai, the Emperor’s tutor…”

“…Did you not long to see me? For I longed dearly to see you!”

But Cai Yong was swifter. He gave Choseon no chance for introduction, grasping Jaheon’s shoulders, shaking him, demanding his answer like a beggar at a shrine.

“Yes… I too have missed the days of working with you, my lord.”

“Good! For I had a mountain of books to send you regardless…!”

“……!”

At the sight of her brother’s ashen face, Choseon pressed her lips together, suppressing laughter. Never before had she seen him so undone. Her stifled chuckle drew Cai Yong’s notice, and at last he saw her.

“…And who is this child?”

“My sister.”

“…Sister?”

“Yes.”

At that, Cai Yong frowned.

“An attendant—and a girl…?”

It had never crossed his mind that Jaheon’s sibling who entered the palace as attendant would be female. How could a girl serve the prince? Unless she were to be the prince’s consort. Only one destined for such a role could serve so near.

But his doubts went no further.

“It is my honor to meet you, Lord Baekgae. I am Im Choseon, sister of Lord Huaseo. Please call me Choseon.”

She bowed with perfect courtesy.

“……!”

In truth, Cai Yong had always been fond of Jaheon, yet never had he thought him refined. How could he? Hidden beneath his handsome visage, Jaheon was lax in his duties. Of course, Cai Yong never admitted his own standards were impossibly high.

And beyond that—was Jaheon not rather like a street swindler? With words like a conman’s, he had lured Cai Yong into accepting the Emperor’s post as tutor. If Jaheon had not written so well, if his hand had not been so graceful, if his nature had not been tolerably kind, Cai Yong would never have grown so fond.

“I have long heard of your fame, Lord Baekgae, as a most noble instructor. Though I am but a humble girl, I shall do my utmost that my small efforts may aid His Highness’s learning.”

So to speak, his first impression of Jaheon had not been good.

Yet why was this meeting with Jaheon’s sister—whose bearing was suffused not with cunning but with warmth—so different?

Choseon possessed a grace Jaheon lacked.

And she was none other than Jaheon’s sister—the man whose script had been so beautiful the Emperor, in jest or in lust, had declared Huaseo his own. Surely she had learned that hand. Even her words revealed that her literary cultivation was as keen as her brother’s.

Literary talent.

The very phrase set Cai Yong’s heart aflame.

Unlike Jaheon, she was a girl. She would never step into the court. Thus he could teach her more literature still!

Overcome with rapture, Cai Yong stared.

“……?”

Choseon, puzzled by his gaze, tilted her head.

“This old man can assure you—you shall be of great help to His Highness.”

And with that, Cai Yong cast aside centuries of prejudice rooted deep in his mind.

“If you are on your way to the prince, then this old man shall guide you.”

With a softened face, Cai Yong led her on. Jaheon was forgotten.

Seeing his sister treated kindly, Jaheon felt some relief.

“……?”

Yet somehow, he could not rid himself of the sense that he had just been thoroughly scolded.

“Huaseo’s sister has entered the palace.”

“Already? That is swift.”

“Yes. Moreover, His Majesty has entrusted part of the prince’s education to Cai Shijiang.”

“Cai Shijiang? You mean Lord Cai?”

“Yes.”

At the soldier’s words, Cao Cao smiled.

“…So, does His Majesty intend to make Huaseo’s sister the Empress?”

For there was but one way a girl might receive education alongside the prince.

The Empress.

The most exalted woman of the Han.

Those destined to be Empress were raised with an education equal to the prince’s own. It was only in recent turmoil that this tradition had faltered. To be Empress, one must have received such instruction.

Thus, the Emperor had in effect chosen Choseon as the future Crown Princess.

“Was there no opposition in court?”

Cao Cao, who had been so focused on pressing Jaheon that he had neglected factional strife, asked now. For though the Emperor had marked her so, she was not a royal bride. Surely many would be displeased.

“There are many complaints, but no memorials have been raised.”

“So they whisper only in the shadows.”

It was only natural.

Jaheon had become Shizhong before he even reached twenty, while his sister alone attended the prince in the palace. Now none could easily threaten his power. The Emperor himself had entrusted to Jaheon the Empress’s investiture. If that ceremony passed without mishap, and he gained a marquisate as reward, none could stand in his way.

In short, the ministers might oppose the appointments of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who had only just entered the court, but few had the courage to oppose Jaheon as well. Especially while the Emperor’s favor burned so brightly.

And this was the very Emperor who, under the banner of the Party Prohibition, had slaughtered hundreds of scholars in a single stroke.

“It seems their heads are dear to them.”

Even Cao Song had not raised a protest. Clearly, they feared the Emperor’s wrath should they move against Jaheon.

But Cao Cao knew better.

“In truth, now is the perfect time.”

For the Emperor did not wish to shield Jaheon—he wished to provoke him. That was why he had thrust the office of Shizhong into his hand. The higher one climbed, the greater the fall. That was why Cao Cao had pressed him so early—and pressed him well. Had Yuan Shao not appeared, Jaheon would have yielded.

How vexing.

Cao Cao closed his eyes, recalling that day.

Huaseo sought only to meet me.

From now on, Yuan Shao would surely aid him constantly. Why else would he have appeared then? Cao Cao had already suspected some secret bargain between them. Without it, how could the scorned son of the Yuan house rise to command the Imperial Guard—usurping the place of the legitimate heir?

It could only have been Jaheon’s hand.

For the Yuan Shao he knew had never defied his clan.

Then what does Huaseo gain?

So he tried to think of the profit.

He had to think of it, if he would stop Jaheon’s next move.

But strangely, unlike his usual self, his sharp mind found no answer. The more he thought, the more his thoughts returned to that image of Yuan Shao’s carriage, carrying Jaheon away.

“……”

At that, Cao Cao’s expression hardened.

He had always believed he was free of greed.

Had he not given up treasure without care? Had he not, despite the stain of his eunuch blood, possessed everything else? Beauty, wealth, even power nearly equal to Jaheon’s own?

Then why this feeling?

“What of Concubine Wang?”

Smiling, he spoke.

“They say her time is near.”

“…Then best the investiture be delayed.”

Rashness brought no gain.

“Before the ceremony, Concubine Wang must bear a son.”

Yet Cao Cao was never one to suppress his feelings.

“For Huaseo’s investiture ceremony must be ruined.”

His voice trembled with an emotion he could no longer disguise.