Foreign Contaminant
When Gan Yong leaped up in front of me, I had no choice but to set aside my shock at an identity I never could have imagined.
"Ack! No! Why do you keep spitting tea all over my face!"
"Huh? Uh-oh? What do I do?"
"Just wipe it off already…!"
"Yes, yes. It's my fault, so stay still. Stay still."
Once the brief uproar settled, I sank into thought with a grave expression.
Huang Hao. Huang Hao, of all people. I truly had not seen this coming.
Only now did I understand the uneasy feeling that had been gnawing at me. To run into that creature here, of all places.
"What's wrong? Is there some problem with that eunuch?"
For all his usual clowning, Gan Yong's instincts were razor-sharp. Sensing how serious I was, his own face hardened in turn.
A problem? Yes. Of course there was a problem. An enormous one.
If I told him that this man would one day be among the causes of Shu's downfall, he would never believe me. Times like these, being the only one who knew the truth was pure frustration.
But that Huang Hao should exist in this era at all—I never would have dreamed it.
Whenever I thought of Huang Hao, the image that came to mind was the one from games and comics: a withered, wizened old sycophant. I had never once imagined him as a clean-cut young man like this.
I had thought the great ordeal of saving Guan Yu was behind me. I never expected a surprise obstacle like this to drop into my lap.
"Yes. That eunuch bothers me. Watching him up close, his flattery seems excessive. I worry that someone who only ever pours out sweet words, sitting so close to His Highness, might lead him astray."
"And how many of those are there? Among people who serve the high and mighty, you'd be hard-pressed to find one who doesn't flatter."
"That's true enough, but I can't shake this ominous feeling. It wasn't so long ago that the Ten Attendants left the Han in ruins. And the Qin had their infamous Zhao Gao as well."
"I understand how you feel, but aren't you fretting a little too far ahead? The man hasn't actually done anything yet."
Hmm. Was I worrying too early? Liu Bei was still alive and well, and history had already changed a great deal.
No. This wasn't just anyone—this was Huang Hao. Leaving him alone felt far too unsettling.
Whether I should count it a blessing or a curse that Liu Bei had left Liu Shan behind was anyone's guess.
"Well now, speaking of which—His Highness the Crown Prince should be arriving soon."
Speak of the tiger and he appears. Liu Shan came looking for me again that day, and the sharp-witted Gan Yong bolted at once.
"General! General! I'm here!"
"Yes, yes. We entrust His Highness the Crown Prince to your care once more today. His learning and bearing grow deeper by the day, all thanks to General Jin's devoted efforts."
Liu Shan still seemed buoyant—no, even more so since meeting Huang Hao. There was nothing inherently wrong with a cheerful disposition, but every time I looked at Huang Hao, the future of Shu Han rose unbidden in my mind, and it left me deeply uneasy.
"General. Is something troubling you? Has this humble Huang Hao somehow given offense?"
"Hm? Ah, no, nothing of the sort."
"Your color always turns poor whenever you look at me, so I feared I had done something wrong."
"…"
This little—? He seemed to have a gift for reading people's minds. Well, of course he did. That was how he would later twist Liu Shan's heart around his finger and run the state however he pleased.
"Ah, no. I've simply been a little worn from my official duties, that's all."
Huang Hao began speaking again in that cloying voice of his. Whether it was the colored lens I was looking through or not, the sound of it made my skin crawl.
"Oh dear, oh dear. It seems I failed to take into account the burdens of a general who bears the weight of the realm. The fault is entirely mine for not attending more carefully. Your Highness—perhaps it would be best to retire for today?"
As Huang Hao spoke with a look of deep concern, Liu Shan's expression darkened in turn.
"Oh. Oh no. General. If you're tired, should we just go back today? I feel like I came for nothing."
Ugh. Tempting me with something sweet, was he?
But with Huang Hao present, I had to steel myself.
Huang Hao made a show of courtesy toward me, yet I could sense a quiet tendency to peel me away from Liu Shan. Was that the plan—to gradually push everyone else to the margins, then later mold Liu Shan however he liked?
"No. Absolutely not. His Majesty the King of Hanzhong entrusted His Highness the Crown Prince to me. How could I possibly neglect him? Come, please step inside."
"But General, you are a treasure of the realm. Surely we cannot impose upon you. Studies can wait for another day—perhaps later we might…"
"No. This is a duty His Majesty the King of Hanzhong charged me with in person. I will not commit the disloyalty of shirking it. Come, Your Highness. This way. Allow me to escort you."
At my words, Liu Shan brightened and came scampering over. Huang Hao, by contrast, wore a look of regret. Listen well, you little snake. As long as I am here, I will never let you run free.
And so I spent the time once more with Liu Shan, reading various texts and exchanging questions and answers.
Several days passed in that fashion.
"Has His Highness the Crown Prince left?"
"Yes. Teacher Gan. Please, come in."
The moment Liu Shan was gone, Gan Yong slipped in as if he had been waiting for the opening. But this time there was no exchange of the usual idle banter.
"I looked into that Huang Hao fellow, as you asked."
"Thank you for your trouble. What did you find?"
"Twenty years old this year. From Ba Commandery in Yizhou—he applied a few years back when they were recruiting eunuchs. He's been attending His Highness the Crown Prince since Chengdu. His Highness said he wanted the man with him, so His Majesty the King of Hanzhong brought him along on this campaign. Must mean he served the Crown Prince well enough that His Highness requested him by name. He's no highborn, just a common eunuch, so there's little of note in the records."
After ascending the throne as king, Liu Bei had established a eunuch system and begun recruiting them. Huang Hao had been one of those who applied.
Is this really the Huang Hao I know? Not just someone who happens to share the name?
The scarcity of records on Huang Hao was frustrating. His origins, courtesy name, and even his years of birth and death were unknown, making him difficult to pin down.
But a eunuch named Huang Hao, fawning at Liu Shan's side—that alone was reason enough to mark him as someone to watch.
If he was twenty now, he would be roughly in his sixties by the time Shu fell. Chronologically, his presence here was not strange at all.
Still—a twenty-year-old already angling for power? Or perhaps for now he was merely playing the eunuch, and his nature would only rot later.
Either way, he was someone who needed watching.
But what was I supposed to do? If he had committed some crime, I could bring charges. As it stood, there was nothing. Punishing him without cause would only get me reprimanded.
Should I consult Pan Jun?
In the original history, while serving under Wu, Pan Jun had been upright enough to draw his sword and declare he would kill the sycophant Lü Yi with his own hands. Lü Yi had caught wind of it and fled, so the attempt failed—but still.
It would have been ideal if Dong Yun, who historically kept Huang Hao in check, were here. But he was currently performing his duties in Chengdu.
As I was fretting over what to do, a figure I never expected stepped forward to put pressure on Huang Hao.
"You little bastard! Who the hell do you think you are, sniffing around someone else's daughter! Want me to kill you right here?!"
"M-my lord, Your Excellency, General—it's a misunderstanding. I was only checking whether the young lady was comfortable…"
"Shut your mouth! I hate sniveling little men like you most of all! If I catch you flattering or simpering in front of me one more time, I won't let it slide! You hear me?!"
"Y-yes, my lord. General. Of course, of course…"
"Too quiet! You hear me?!"
"Y-yes! Yes!"
As Zhang Fei thundered at him with a voice like a storm, Huang Hao's eyes welled up and he tucked his tail between his legs.
That was Zhang Fei for you. I sometimes truly envied that unrestrained temper of his.
"Hahahaha. Your Highness. And you too, Ying. No need to look so worried. I'm not angry at all."
He turned then to Liu Shan and Zhang Ying, who stood stiffly behind him blinking, and offered them a booming laugh.
I had been passing nearby under the pretense of checking on Liu Shan and Huang Hao when I stumbled on the scene.
After Liu Shan left, I approached Zhang Fei.
"General Zhang."
"Ah, General Jin. There you are. Come on over."
"What exactly happened here…?"
I heard the full story from Zhang Fei. Apparently Huang Hao had been hanging around Zhang Ying as well, laying on the flattery. Since Liu Shan was betrothed to her, he must have figured scoring points with her would help his standing.
And then Zhang Fei had caught him red-handed.
To walk straight into the detector of a man who loathed petty sycophants—Huang Hao truly had no luck.
"I don't like that one."
By pure coincidence, Huang Hao was exactly the sort of person Zhang Fei despised.
An unmanly sort. (Unfair, perhaps, given that he was a eunuch through no choice of his own.)
And a sycophant who lived by flattery.
On top of that, he had dared approach the daughter Zhang Fei cherished above all else. Huang Hao had well and truly stamped himself into Zhang Fei's memory.
His habit of treating soldiers roughly had mellowed a great deal, but his loathing of petty men remained intact.
"My Ying is betrothed to His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness is welcome anytime—but that one, I just can't stand the sight of him."
"Truth be told, I've been keeping an eye on Huang Hao myself. I fear he may exert an unhealthy influence on His Highness."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Yes. I've been watching him ever since I began attending His Highness here. His flattery is considerable. I was concerned that if left alone, he might affect His Highness's education and character."
"Hmm. I see. I just didn't like the way he looked at my daughter, or that simpering tone of his—all that 'yes, yes' business."
Hearing Zhang Fei imitate Huang Hao's manner in that gravelly voice of his produced a strange dissonance. Well—the voice itself was hardly Huang Hao's fault, given that he was a eunuch.
Naturally, Zhang Fei was not angry because he foresaw Huang Hao becoming a treacherous minister who would corrupt the future. He simply found it galling that some contemptible creature was cozying up to his daughter.
Then again, short of someone who could see the future, knowing such a thing in advance would have been the stranger outcome.
"If you're saying that much, I'll keep a closer watch myself."
It was pure luck—a blind cow stepping on a mouse—but I was grateful to have someone of like mind. And not just anyone: Zhang Fei.
As long as he so much as glared in Huang Hao's direction, the man would not dare try any foolish tricks.
And so, though one contaminant had lodged itself among us, quiet and peaceful days continued to pass—until a single piece of major news arrived.
It came from a foreign land, but it was more than enough to shatter the calm.
Cao Cao was dead.