Enemy Phase — A Favor
Meanwhile, having delivered her final farewell to Do Yeop, Chosun returned alone to the imperial palace.
It would have been a lie to say she had not wanted to stay and see him through those last moments. But she could not bring herself to remain — could not watch him die in agony.
We've lost someone precious…
She had long since forgotten the Yuedanping Xu Shao had once given him. He had read the board more accurately than anyone, and he had staked his life on the assassination of Dong Zhuo to answer for his own mistakes.
It's all my fault…
But who could have guessed Cao Cao would use the exact same ploy? More than Do Yeop, who had failed to see through a man kept so close, the greater blame lay with her — the one who had planned and directed the entire affair.
Unable to fill the hollow ache inside her, she turned once more toward the prison where Do Yeop had been held. The cold wind felt as if it were pecking at her heart.
Had he taken the poison by now? According to the physician, he would thrash for a brief time in extreme pain before the end.
Of course she had steeled herself for this. She had never believed a great undertaking could be carried out without someone paying the price.
He was only a mediocre man I brought in as a pawn to begin with, wasn't he?
Even so, the tears welling up were hard to shake off. Perhaps she had grown attached without realizing it. She wanted, even now, to go straight back and comfort the spirit of the dead Do Yeop.
She shook her head hard.
The Emperor is waiting. There is no time for this.
Loyalty to the Han still came first. She shook the tears free with a violent toss of her head and set out for the palace where Yu Hyeop waited.
How many more times she would have to cry after this, she did not know.
"What is the meaning of this? Don't tell me you ordered it, Chosun?"
Yu Hyeop was no less panicked. That he had been carrying a blade other than the White Peach Sword she herself had given him meant the assassination had been planned long in advance.
Which left her no choice but to suspect the woman standing before her. Chosun forced herself to look strong and tried to set the Emperor at ease.
"Everything was done for Your Majesty and for the survival of the realm. If you would punish me, I will accept it. But I will not be ashamed of the will that sought to strike down a traitor."
"Who is asking because they don't understand that? Do Yeop — what becomes of Do Yeop now? Don't tell me…"
Yu Hyeop pictured the cruelest end she knew: the horrific remains of Zhang Yang she had seen in Dong Zhuo's camp, nothing left but flayed skin.
Would Do Yeop meet the same fate?
"Set your mind at rest. He will not be subjected to such humiliation."
"What do you mean by that? It sounds as if…"
"He has already taken the deadly poison I gave him and ended his own life. So…"
"Aaaagh!!"
The news that Do Yeop was already dead struck Yu Hyeop like a physical blow; she flew into a frenzy. Chosun held her back as she spoke.
"Your Majesty! Compose yourself. The grief is great now, but the crisis has not even begun."
"Let go of me! Why did you make him do such a thing? I could have endured anything. We said we would find a way to survive together — who are you and Wang Yun to push him into the jaws of death? Hhk… hhkk…"
Yu Hyeop broke down, sobbing without restraint, cursing Chosun and Wang Yun both. Chosun had no defense left to offer.
"Your Majesty. When all of this is over, I will accept whatever punishment you decree for making you lose someone so precious. But for now, you must calm yourself."
"Do I look as if I can calm myself? Hhk…"
"Pull yourself together! Dong Zhuo will come asking about this soon enough. Your Majesty must insist you know nothing of it. Pin everything on Do Yeop and Cao Cao."
With both the Emperor's eunuch and a palace maid implicated in the assassination, Yu Hyeop herself would find it hard to escape responsibility. Once was hard; twice was easy — there was no guarantee Dong Zhuo would not use this as a pretext to drag in some other replacement emperor.
An extreme scenario, perhaps, but the man was so unpredictable that nothing could be ruled out. And looking at Yu Hyeop's present state, whether she could even face Dong Zhuo properly was doubtful.
"Y-You must not enter!"
The chief palace maid's frantic cry rose from outside. Yu Hyeop and Chosun knew at once that Dong Zhuo had arrived. Chosun slipped behind a folding screen while Yu Hyeop hastily wiped her tears.
The door to the bedchamber slammed open without the Emperor's leave. Not content with that, Dong Zhuo strode forward with a savage face that looked ready to wring Yu Hyeop's neck on the spot.
"G-Grand Preceptor Dong? The search for Cao Cao — how is it…"
"I have a question for the Emperor. This Dong Zhuo raised you from a mere king to the throne — so why repay that grace with enmity?"
"I-I have no idea what you mean. I myself am so bewildered I scarcely know what to— uugh…"
Without warning Dong Zhuo seized Yu Hyeop by the collar and hauled her up. It was the height of insolence for a subject to treat the Son of Heaven so.
Yet the eunuchs and palace maids only trembled; not one of them dared restrain him. Caught in the grip of a man far larger than herself, Yu Hyeop barely managed to stay on her toes.
"Listen carefully. If I deposed an emperor once, I can do it twice. So answer me clearly. Did you order this?"
"Ghk… I-I know nothing of it… Th-There was a eunuch once connected to Cao Cao's grandfather; on his recommendation I took Do Yeop into service. And that palace maid was also brought in by Do Yeop — ghk…"
"Is that the truth? I have no wish to see our relationship fall apart like this either. If anything of the sort happens again, I will not hold back."
"Ghk…"
Dong Zhuo flung Yu Hyeop down as if discarding a piece of luggage. Her head struck the edge of the bed with a dull thud, and a thin line of blood welled from her forehead.
"Your Majesty!"
Only then did the eunuchs and palace maids rush to support her. But the terror of Dong Zhuo was so great that Yu Hyeop had no room even to feel the pain.
"I will proclaim that this entire affair was carried out under Cao Cao's sole direction. In return, Emperor — if you truly wish to plead your innocence, I trust you will affix your seal to the proclamation calling for Cao Cao's extermination."
"O-Of course. Grand Preceptor Dong is as a father to me. Whatever you desire, I will do it…"
Yu Hyeop cast aside even the dignity of the throne and begged Dong Zhuo for her life in utter humiliation — all to keep the promise she had made to Do Yeop: survive.
Watching from behind the screen, Chosun gripped the White Peach Sword and burned to leap out and cut Dong Zhuo's throat then and there. But the sight of the Seven-Star Sword at her own side told her she was not enough.
A traitor stands right in front of me, and I can do nothing…
She cursed her own powerlessness. Not only had Do Yeop thrown his life away for nothing — the Emperor was being subjected to this outrage while she hid behind a screen.
No. There may still be something I can do…
Even so, her mind was racing. The reason Do Yeop and Xiahou Yuan had failed to kill Dong Zhuo was that they had never been able to break through the wall that was Lü Bu.
No man could defeat him. But a woman? For example…
"G-Grand Preceptor! Disaster!"
Just as Chosun was about to reach a certain conclusion far sooner than planned, Hua Xiong came bursting in, shouting Dong Zhuo's name. Dong Zhuo turned at once.
"What's all the fuss? Don't you know this is the Emperor's bedchamber?"
"I know that, but the matter was too urgent to wait. It's… Do Yeop and Xiahou Yuan have escaped!"
"Wh-What!?"
Dong Zhuo was not the only one stunned by Hua Xiong's words. Yu Hyeop, still bleeding, and Chosun behind the screen both nearly cried out at the news that Do Yeop was still alive.
"Those useless bastards — what the hell were they doing? Where's Lü Bu? That bastard said he'd handle the interrogation himself!"
"Well… Lü Bu got into a quarrel with the Imperial Guards at the eastern gate and was delayed. By the time he reached the prison, only two jailers were locked inside."
"Son of a bitch… I knew I shouldn't have trusted a dog that's switched masters twice. Come with me — now!"
Cursing Lü Bu with fury rising to the roots of his hair, Dong Zhuo stormed out of the bedchamber. The moment he was gone, Yu Hyeop turned to the eunuchs and palace maids with wide, startled eyes.
"Leave us."
They filed out in a rush. Chosun emerged from behind the screen and went straight to Yu Hyeop, examining the wound on her forehead.
"Your Majesty? The cut on your head—"
"What does that matter now? You said Do Yeop was dead. But from what Hua Xiong just said…"
"I know nothing of it either. Only… he did seem far too composed."
Chosun bit down hard on her lower lip in frustration. That bastard — no wonder he never looked like a man about to die. He'd already planned the whole escape and was toying with me the entire time.
"What does any of that matter? One way or another, we have to find him before Dong Zhuo does."
"I am deeply sorry to say it, but for Your Majesty's safety he will not return to the palace again. We will have to look for him somewhere else he might go."
In truth, Chosun was just as glad that Do Yeop was alive. The hollow emptiness she had thought permanent was filling again, and her heart had already begun to race with the urge to go find him at once.
"Mm… Come to think of it, Do Yeop asked me for one favor. He said there was something I had to do the moment I ascended the throne, so I did it for him."
"What was it?"
Yu Hyeop leaned close and whispered the last request Do Yeop had left her. And with that, Chosun's destination was decided as well.