HLCOB C64

Chapter 64

It was Cao Cao’s strength—

to act one step swifter than all others.

Such swiftness cost him much at times, yet when it succeeded, the gains far outweighed the losses. By that very swiftness he had become the victor in the chronicles of history.

…As expected.

Jaheon let slip a hollow laugh. He had anticipated it, yet the sheer speed still startled him. At Cao Cao’s sudden arrival, Mi Zhu released the hem of Jaheon’s robe and turned in alarm to his servant.

“C-Captain of the Guards, you say? Lord Cao himself?”

“Yes, master! He claims to be investigating the shops nearby in connection with the late Commandant’s corruption…”

At those words, Mi Zhu’s face went utterly pale.

“M-my lord, what—what shall I do…?”

But unlike the frantic Mi Zhu, Jaheon’s expression remained composed. Raising the wine Mi Zhu had poured him, he drank before speaking.

“I told you, did I not?”

He had been hounded long enough by Cao Cao to know better. Jaheon was not so ignorant of his adversary as to be caught unawares by this much.

“As long as the matters of the slums are not linked to me, there will be no great harm.”

For Cao Cao’s purpose was only his submission. Unless someone in Xu Province killed Cao Song, Cao Cao’s father, as in the true history, he would not strike Mi Zhu beyond what was needful.

“As long as there is no direct proof tying me to it, the matter will not swell beyond control.”

“…But are we not meeting at this very moment?”

“And that is precisely why Aman is here now.”

“Then surely this is no time to be so calm! What—what am I to do?”

“Is there a back door?”

“Yes, if you leave by that way—”

Then, struck by realization, Mi Zhu cried out:

“You mean to leave me here alone? My lord?!”

“There is no need to fear so. Go home tonight and burn every letter between us.”

Unmoved by Mi Zhu’s pleading, Jaheon turned to go. Yet before leaving, he looked back at the tearful merchant.

“Ah, one more thing.”

It was a final admonition.

“……?”

Jaheon had come to this inn veiled, wearing a scarf that hid his face. He had even left behind O Juk-yeop, who was becoming well-known as his close retainer, and come alone. And yet Cao Cao had arrived at this very inn. What could that mean?

“You had best put your household in order. It seems someone carried word to Cao Cao that a ‘noble guest’ would be here.”

Thus Mi Zhu received Cao Cao alone.

“Wh-what brings you here, my lord?”

His face was near weeping. He could not endure even that brief time without bursting into the very room where he had sat with Jaheon. Soldiers scouring the chamber at Cao Cao’s command only made the air more suffocating.

“No need to fear. I have not come for any grave matter.”

Cao Cao soothed him, but no fool would believe it. Mi Zhu felt tears sting anew, and cursed Jaheon for vanishing and leaving him behind.

“I have only come to ask a question. Sit comfortably.”

Gesturing, Cao Cao bade him sit. Mi Zhu sat reluctantly at the wine table, forcing a feigned composure.

“Ahaha… what could you possibly ask of a paltry merchant such as I? I doubt I can be of much help.”

But Cao Cao replied:

“How is the master of Xu’s foremost guild a paltry merchant?”

The Mi consortium was not mere peddlers. Their wealth, built on generations of credit and reputation, opened vast trade routes. With the profits, they gave generously to the people of Xu, earning wide renown. It was no ordinary merchant house—indeed, even Cao Cao had to tread carefully around it.

“Ahaha… it is all the merit of my forebears. I only live upon their blessing.”

Mi Zhu answered as meekly as he could.

“Yet I hear the guildmaster himself has a keen nose for money.”

Lifting an empty cup from the table, Cao Cao studied it. There lingered the faintest fragrance of wine, yet the cup was drained—

as though another had just left.

Scanning the untouched table, Cao Cao asked:

“Is it true that the master of the Mi clan makes great profit by employing others wisely?”

Unlike his lineage, Mi Zhu himself was not gifted in trade. His talent lay in investment—placing his family’s amassed wealth into the hands of talent and reaping it back manyfold.

“Ahaha… a merchant must live by the scent of money, must he not? Since I cannot sell well myself, at least I sniff it out.”

“By scent, you say…”

Cao Cao smiled faintly.

“Then does even your charity in the slums smell of coin?”

“……?”

Fingering the rim of the cup, Cao Cao added:

“For no matter how I think on it, my dull head finds no answer.”

Mi Zhu swallowed hard in alarm. At his reaction, Cao Cao’s eyes gleamed with interest. Hastily, Mi Zhu recalled Jaheon’s warning and stammered:

“…I-it was only drought, my lord! The people suffered, and so I opened the granaries! Not only in the slums—I have ever done so, even in Xu…”

This was true. Even in Xu Province, Mi Zhu had often distributed grain to the people. It was no strange thing. He had focused his charity on the poor quarters, yes, but not there alone.

“That will suffice.”

Cao Cao set the cup down and rose.

“……?”

Mi Zhu blinked in confusion at how easily he departed. But Cao Cao spoke no further, striding out of the room. One of his soldiers approached him outside.

“Captain.”

“What news?”

“No man has entered or left this inn today.”

“…No man?”

Unexpected. Had he not stormed here because word came that Mi Zhu was hosting a distinguished guest?

Pondering, Cao Cao asked:

“And women?”

“Only the kitchen maids, a few servants, and some courtesans veiled with scarves…”

Before the soldier even finished, Cao Cao smiled.

“Expel every woman wearing a veil.”

It was instinct. Yet he was certain.

The faint fragrance lingering in the cup, the unusually reasoned words from Mi Zhu—who was said to lack business acumen and excel only at handling money—these pointed to but one truth.

“That was the one I seek.”

It meant Jaheon’s hand had touched Mi Zhu.

That Jaheon met with Mi Zhu alone was not, by itself, enough to ruin him. After all, even the Emperor knew he had used the guild to organize the poor, yet his favor toward Jaheon remained unshaken.

But if the matter began to be spoken of openly at court, it could mark the beginning of his downfall.

Damn it.

Even Wang Yun longed to cast him down, suffering him only because he was useful for the moment. And Zhang Yang, who followed him only grudgingly. Give them the excuse, and dozens would leap to tear him apart. Should he lose his influence at court, even the Emperor’s favor might fail him.

At the least, his execution is swift.

So why had Jaheon moved alone? For many reasons—but above all, because he was confident he could flee. Even before awakening his modern memories, he had been skilled at slipping away. Had he not, the schemes of his youth to earn coin would surely have seen him beaten to death by now.

But this time, escape was barred.

Heh.

Cao Cao had closed every path leading back to his estate. He had come assuming from the first that Jaheon was behind the guild’s stirrings.

Of course Cao Cao would know. None had watched him more intently than that man. Only his meticulous methods made Jaheon weary.

“Search the area!”

Even the soldiers he thought shaken off now pressed closer again.

No helping it, then.

Lowering his gaze, Jaheon bit his lip, thinking of someone.

…Still he has not moved.

After a pause, Jaheon strode calmly into the main street. Better to walk of his own accord than be seized in flight. Suspicion they could raise, but without proof he could slip free.

Cao Cao too had acted in haste. Without evidence, he had hoped to catch him red-handed.

“So it was you, after all.”

At his words, Jaheon smiled faintly.

“And what, pray, was me?”

“The one who left a cup still fragrant with wine.”

In front of all his soldiers, he bared his desire. Jaheon’s brows knit.

“You would do well to remember you have only just passed twenty.”

“In the presence of beauty, all words are fair game. By the way, did you like the gift I sent?”

He could mean nothing but the portrait—the one Jaheon had consigned to the flames.

“It suited me so well I had to burn it.”

So he answered, half in jest.

“Not even ashes remain.”

“…Ah. Truly, it is hard to win a beauty’s heart.”

At that, Jaheon could only laugh bitterly.

“Do deeds worth a heart, then speak of it to me.”

“…Hmm. Such as this?”

Cao Cao beckoned, and his men dragged forth a ragged man. Folding his hands behind him, Cao Cao said lightly:

“Speak.”

The man trembled and babbled out:

“…Th-they said those who gave relief chose out the children, took them elsewhere—to raise them as soldiers! That is all I know, my lord! Sp-spare me!”

At this, Cao Cao turned to Jaheon.

“What say you?”

“……”

“That Im Huaseo has been raising his own troops in secret here in Luoyang.”

With a smile, Cao Cao touched the edge of the veil to his lips and whispered:

“Is that not enough, to make you give me your heart?”