The Changshan Royal Residence
Do Yeop and Zhao Yun have sex. Do Yeop is a virgin—and he discovers that Zhao Yun is a virgin as well.
[Zhongping Year 1, Mid-Spring — February 184 AD]
Ji Province, Changshan Commandery, Yuanzhi County.
A vast fortress crowned a hill that commanded a sweeping view of the entire fief. King of Changshan Yu Go stood upon the watchtower with his crown prince, Yu Chwi, gazing down across the grasslands.
“Word has reached us of unrest stirring in Julu,” Yu Chwi said.
“I have heard the same. Those followers of the Way of Great Peace, or whatever they call themselves, are multiplying beyond control.”
“The omens are poor. Would it not be wise to increase the palace guard, just in case?”
The Yellow Turban Rebellion was already breathing down their necks. Yu Chwi offered the counsel out of genuine worry, yet the king himself felt no real sense of danger.
“A famine has left the common folk hungry, and they turn to religion merely to forget their suffering. Even if trouble does arise, that is a matter for the provincial administrators—not a virtue expected of a king. More importantly, if we swell the palace garrison without cause and draw the Son of Heaven’s suspicion, what then?”
“But still…”
“Enough of that. Today the Guard Commander, Jo Tak, said he had something to tell you. Have you not met with him yet?”
“I have not seen Guard Commander Jo today… Ah—there he comes now.”
Just as Yu Chwi spoke, Jo Tak could be seen climbing the watchtower from afar. At his side walked a girl still too young to be called a woman, her features soft with youth.
“Your servant Jo Tak greets the King of Changshan.”
“You look as though you have spent the entire day drilling the royal guard. And who is this lovely young lady at your side?”
“My daughter, Your Majesty. She has trained in the martial arts since childhood. I judged the time had come to place her among the royal guard, and so I brought her to seek your leave.”
“The royal guard? Is she not still a child?”
She was tall for her age, yet baby fat still clung softly to her cheeks. If one had to guess, she was a little younger than the crown prince himself.
“Zhao Yun. Courtesy name Zilong.”
Zhao Yun spoke in a calm, steady voice, utterly unshaken by the presence of king and prince. Yu Chwi understood her intent at once.
“She already bears a courtesy name—surely that makes her an adult. Since Guard Commander Jo has raised her himself, will Your Majesty not grant permission?”
“Haha! Or is it simply that Jo Tak’s daughter is so strikingly beautiful that she has caught your eye?”
“Th-that cannot be. I already have a fiancée.”
“Even with a fiancée, what does it matter to a man of standing? Now and then one may enjoy a little diversion between lord and retainer.”
“…”
Yu Chwi turned scarlet to the tips of his ears and could find no reply. Zhao Yun flicked a quiet glance toward him.
He was a young man whose neat features and natural dignity suited the title of prince. They were nearly the same age, and despite the vast gulf of rank between them, a strange sense of kinship stirred in her.
“So you are Jo Tak’s daughter, are you? Has your father told you what your duty is to be?”
“He has. Father said I was born to protect the Crown Prince standing there.”
“What nonsense is that? The one you must protect is His Majesty, not me!”
Yu Chwi cut in, insisting she was mistaken. But the answer pleased Yu Go; he threw back his head and laughed heartily.
“Haha! She is not wrong. By the time that child is fully grown, you will be king, will you not?”
“Yet for now she is to serve in Your Majesty’s royal guard. To speak of protecting me… is that not tantamount to treason?”
“Treason? What a serious boy you are. Enough—go talk between yourselves. I have matters to discuss with Guard Commander Jo.”
Yu Go left Yu Chwi and Zhao Yun alone and descended the tower with Jo Tak. The moment the adults who might have mediated vanished, an awkward silence settled between the boy and the girl.
“A quiet child, are you?”
“I was taught not to ask unnecessary questions.”
“At least you answer well—that is a relief. Had I been the one granted audience with the Son of Heaven, my heart would have pounded so hard I could never have spoken as you do.”
“…”
Zhao Yun gave no reply. The young man before her was of a station so exalted she could never compare herself to him; she had been raised never to voice personal opinions.
“What has Guard Commander Jo taught you?”
“Spearmanship, various military treatises, and horsemanship.”
“You can ride?”
Yu Chwi himself had only recently learned to ride and now left the city gates several times a day. Yet the generals of the royal household who instructed him were so skilled that he always lagged behind.
Against a girl still so young, however, he thought he might stand a fair chance. He led Zhao Yun straight to the stables.
Neigh!
They rode for a full double-hour before reaching the riverbank. After letting the horses drink, Yu Chwi turned to Zhao Yun.
“Your seat is correct. We have come a long way, yet your posture has not wavered once.”
“Because I must protect Your Highness.”
“Is that why you matched your pace to mine?”
“…”
Yu Chwi might be a novice rider, but he could still judge the gap in skill. Even at her tender age, Zhao Yun was an outstanding horsewoman.
No—perhaps none of the royal generals he had ever watched could ride half so well as this girl.
“You said something interesting earlier. That you were born not to protect your father, but me?”
“I spoke believing those words true until this moment. If that is treason…”
“Of course it is not. Yet so long as His Majesty still reigns as king, he—not I—is your master. Remember that.”
“I shall.”
A conversation utterly devoid of amusement. And yet…
They had only met, only ridden together for a short while, and already their hearts were in quiet accord. Two young people who had lived nothing but dull, predetermined lives—one to become king, the other to become a royal guard—had at last found a small diversion.
Hyah! Hyah!
Day after day the two of them rode across the fief. Even the common folk they passed would watch their retreating figures with fond smiles.
“You drink first.”
Zhao Yun dismounted and held out the water skin; Yu Chwi waved it away. She looked at him, uncomprehending.
“This is Your Highness’s water. I cannot drink it.”
“Did I not just command you? If I drink first, my saliva will touch it—so you must drink first.”
“But… you said my master is His Majesty, not Your Highness.”
“Haha! You still remember that? Then let us make a ‘promise.’ You are indeed His Majesty’s royal guard—yet you will obey every order I give.”
“Would that not constitute treason?”
“If we fail to keep it secret, it is treason. If we succeed, it is merely a secret. Will you promise me?”
“I will.”
Zhao Yun nodded. Then, to keep her promise to Yu Chwi, she tipped the skin and drank deeply, gulping the water before he did.
“…”
Yu Chwi could not tear his eyes away. Each time her slender, deer-like throat moved as she swallowed, an uncontrollable heat rose inside him.
This girl was beautiful. When he first saw her she had seemed pure child; yet how swiftly she was growing, little by little becoming a woman.
He was already hopelessly in love. He could only hope Zhao Yun felt the same.
“Zilong. Do you know of the diversions between lord and retainer?”
“I do.”
“If… purely hypothetically… I were to command such a thing of you, could you accept it?”
Even as the words left his mouth, Yu Chwi felt ashamed. And then something still more astonishing happened.
Thud…
Without a word, Zhao Yun began unfastening the cords of her armor. She removed the silver-polished breastplate and raised her hands to loosen her garments.
“I-it was a joke! As if I would ever truly order such a thing of you!”
“Earlier you made a ‘promise’ with me. Any command, no matter what…”
“Not this! I—I will never be a king who forces a retainer into his bed against her will.”
“…”
Yu Chwi berated the devil that had momentarily possessed him and jerked his head away. Zhao Yun watched him in silence and retied her armor cords.
“Where have you been going every day lately with that girl?”
That night his fiancée, Lady Im, came to his chambers. The jealousy blazing in her eyes told Yu Chwi her purpose at once.
“You mean Zilong?”
“Zilong? How can you use an honorific for a girl of such low birth?”
“We merely ride together so that I may improve my horsemanship. She is of the royal guard, and someone must protect me, must they not?”
“Others think differently. Do you know what rumors are circulating outside? Our wedding is not far off—how can you humiliate me like this?”
“…”
Lady Im was the daughter of a great house that had produced high officials in Changshan for generations. Even King Yu Go himself could not lightly disregard a family of such immense wealth.
“I had not considered that far. I will be more careful.”
“I cannot trust mere words. Give me proof of your sincerity.”
“…”
Ahh… nnngh… harder… harder…
Fierce moans spilled from Yu Chwi’s chambers. The servants pressed fingers to their lips and whispered among themselves as the night deepened.
Creak…
After settling Lady Im to sleep, Yu Chwi stepped out to ease the hollow ache in his chest. And there, standing guard at the door, his eyes met Zhao Yun’s squarely.
“Wh-when did you arrive?”
“My evening watch was suddenly reassigned. I have been here the entire time.”
“Suddenly reassigned? Then that means…”
“…”
She had heard everything. Yu Chwi floundered, unsure how to explain.
But what was there to explain? Zhao Yun could not possibly be ignorant of what had taken place inside.
More than that—why had he not realized that the one who had suddenly changed her watch was Lady Im herself?
She had wanted to show, right before Zhao Yun’s eyes, who truly belonged to Yu Chwi. Panic seized him; he gripped her shoulders.
“It isn’t… it is absolutely not what you think…”
“Your Highness, I am only…”
“I am a prince! I am bound to marry the woman my father has chosen. Sometimes that is simply how it is. Sometimes one must share intimacy with a person one does not love! I… I would never…”
Could he truly claim he had not betrayed her? Even if it was the natural duty of a man about to become a husband, even if the other party was merely a royal guard who need not concern herself with such things—
Before all else they were a man and a woman. The shame of having betrayed the one he loved right before her eyes was more than he could bear.
“It was not against my will.”
“…?”
Zhao Yun spoke words that seemed utterly out of place. When tear-streaked Yu Chwi lifted his head, she reached out and gently wiped the corners of his eyes.
“When Your Highness spoke earlier of diversions between lord and retainer, I did not think of it as something forced.”
“…”
It was the most direct confession Zhao Yun could offer. That the feelings were not Yu Chwi’s alone—that these past few days, while they raced across the plains, she had felt exactly the same.
“Tomorrow… let us go riding again.”
Yu Chwi made his decision. Even if his body belonged to Lady Im, his heart would belong to the Zhao Yun standing before him. She answered, a shy flush coloring her cheeks.
“I will… prepare the horses.”
A tender love that transcended the gulf of rank. Yet the two of them never rode out together again.
The very next day, the Yellow Turbans invaded the King of Changshan’s fief.
A seething yellow tide…
A yellow wave rolling in like a tsunami. For the first time in his life, Yu Chwi felt the true terror of death.
He climbed the watchtower and shouted himself hoarse encouraging the soldiers, but it was useless. All of them were already defeated by fear before a single blow was struck.
“What of His Majesty?”
“He has safely broken out through the western gate!”
The one mercy was that King Yu Go had forced the gates before the enemy closed in. Yu Chwi tried to steel his faltering heart. And then he saw someone he should not have seen.
“Zilong! Why are you still here?”
It was Zhao Yun, fully armed and ready for battle. She herself did not understand the question.
“Protecting Your Highness is my duty.”
“What idiocy is that? Your master is not me—it is my father! You should have followed Guard Commander Jo and guarded His Majesty. Why did you remain?”
“But…”
“Did we not make a promise? Yesterday you clearly promised to obey whatever I said. So I command you now: leave at once through the western gate and protect His Majesty. You are never to return here.”
“…”
Even Zhao Yun, long accustomed to orders, could not help but hesitate. Unable to bear it, Yu Chwi shoved her with all his strength—thud!
“I said get out of here at once!”
In the end she had no choice but to turn away. Zhao Yun barely held back the tears that welled up and swung into the saddle.
“…”
Yu Chwi watched her final retreating figure. He let out a long breath of relief and thought:
Thank heaven. At least I could save you.
Neigh!
Zhao Yun succeeded in catching up to Yu Go’s party. When Jo Tak recognized her, he hurried forward in shock.
“What is the meaning of this? Why have you left His Highness’s side to come here?”
“His Highness… ordered me to guard His Majesty.”
“You fool! You should have stayed until the end! Is that how I raised you?”
“…”
She had merely obeyed Yu Chwi’s command. Yet Jo Tak raged like fire, ashamed of her actions.
“Enough. It is only natural that the royal guard protect the king.”
It was Yu Go himself who finally restrained Jo Tak. Far behind them, smoke rose from the palace. Had the enemy already begun scaling the walls?
“Your Majesty, I have a request.”
Where the courage came from, she did not know. Yet before she realized it, Zhao Yun was on her knees before Yu Go.
“What request?”
“Permit me to bring His Highness out. If it is only His Highness alone, I can escort him to safety.”
It was her last desperate struggle not to lose Yu Chwi. She could not prevent the fall of the city, yet she still begged, pitifully, to save at least that one life.
“Impossible.”
“…?”
Yu Go shook his head without the slightest hesitation. He rose and laid a hand upon her shoulder.
“When a king leaves his seat, the crown prince takes his place. If even the crown prince flees, the house of Liu will become the laughingstock of the realm—and that shame will reach even the Son of Heaven.”
“He is Your Majesty’s own son.”
“One may give birth to children, but one cannot give birth to parents. Why do you think I have three sons?”
“…”
The utterly natural Confucian doctrine that children sacrifice for their parents.
But Zhao Yun could not accept it. Whether it was the teaching of the sages or the command of a king who stood like heaven itself made no difference.
She spun on her heel and vaulted back into the saddle. Jo Tak cried out in alarm.
“Where are you going?!”
Hyah! Hyah!
Zhao Yun rode without a single reply. Even if the bond between father and daughter snapped, even if she became a traitor, she had to return to that place.
The wind whistled…
Yet it was the perfect miscalculation of a girl still too young. By the time she reached the city, the enemy had already withdrawn.
Leaving only countless corpses behind.
“Your Highness… Your Highness…”
Like a madwoman, Zhao Yun raced among the bodies searching for Yu Chwi. When she reached the rear of the watchtower, she found him—still faintly breathing.
“Your Highness!”
“Gah… wh-why have you come here? Why did you not follow Father…”
A single arrow was buried deep in his chest. He had been directing the troops from the tower until the very end when a sudden shot struck him and sent him tumbling backward.
“I… I told you I was born to protect Your Highness. Father said so clearly.”
“You foolish girl… In the end you could not protect me, could you? And you broke your promise to me as well. If anything befalls Father because of this, how am I to face him after I die? Cough…”
“…”
She herself was unharmed, yet her heart felt as though it were being torn in two. She had only been honest with her feelings—and to the last, Yu Chwi reproached her.
“Your Highness… let me tend your wound…”
“It is already too late… Go… go back to His Majesty at once… If you cannot keep a promise, you have no right to call yourself a royal guard. No matter who the other party may be, a promise once made must be kept. That is the fate you were born to…”
“…”
With those words, Yu Chwi’s breath ceased. Of course neither of them could have known then—
That the final charge he left for his father’s sake would shackle Zhao Yun’s feet for the rest of her life.