Cao Song (3)
"My lord. Word has just arrived that the Governor of Yanzhou's army has pushed into Xuzhou."
"...So it matches the report we had from Luoyang."
Tao Qian, who had gathered the talents of Xuzhou at the provincial office to deliberate the affairs of state, stiffened at the report. Sensing that all was not well in his lord's bearing, Zhao Hong cried out with perfect confidence—he was, after all, one of the men who had lately flattered his way into a seat of honor at Tao Qian's side.
"Fear nothing, my lord! If we march out to meet them, even that Cao Mengde will tuck her tail like a frightened puppy and run!"
The moment Zhao Hong raised his voice, the rest of the flatterers began chiming in one after another, exactly as he had.
"He speaks the truth! Give us the command, and we will lead Xuzhou's elite troops and drive Cao Mengde's army out before the day is done!"
Men whose natures were rotten from birth—men who delighted in tearing others down and savoring wicked schemes—lifted their voices in a chorus. Worse still, Tao Qian himself doted on such creatures, so those who genuinely feared for Xuzhou and its people could not breathe so much as one honest word of counsel; all they could do was watch their lord's face and hold their tongues.
After a moment's deliberation, Tao Qian spoke.
"No. For now, we shall watch and see what the Governor of Yanzhou does in Xuzhou."
"A wise judgment, my lord! Truly, your discerning eye shines through!"
No sooner had Tao Qian rendered his decision than the very men who had been clamoring to fight Cao Cao praised him to the skies, as though they had never opened their mouths at all.
Like every other warlord who had raised a banner in these chaotic times, Tao Qian harbored ambitions of his own, and vast ones. That such a man would hold his silence even with another power marching an army into his domain had a simple reason: he had received a gift far too great to refuse.
The moment word spread that he had set a banquet and slain Que Xuan, the man who led a horde of bandits, the General-in-Chief had dispatched an envoy to him at once. That envoy bore the black hair and black eyes said to mark the imperial bloodline, and her appearance was truly striking.
"The General-in-Chief rejoiced greatly to hear that the Inspector of Xuzhou had put down the bandits."
"Heh heh. I merely did my duty as an official who draws the state's stipend."
Undisturbed by Tao Qian's humility, the woman envoy smiled sweetly and continued in a calm, melodious voice.
"Be that as it may—how could we possibly leave a man of such great merit unrewarded?"
Then she called her retinue over, and they began unloading cargo from the wagons that stretched on without end. Under the direction of warriors whose looks were every bit as striking as the envoy's own, the servants busied themselves carrying in the countless bundles loaded aboard.
When Tao Qian saw what they carried, his eyes went as wide as saucers. Every last item was a rare treasure, the kind that left a man utterly astonished.
"This is the General-in-Chief's token of esteem for the Inspector of Xuzhou. Please accept it."
"Ahem—hem! How could I accept such a reward for merely doing my duty? Take it all back."
Even as he said it, Tao Qian's gaze kept sliding back toward the treasures, again and again. The envoy saw it all perfectly well, but betrayed nothing, and pressed on with impeccable courtesy.
"This bears upon the General-in-Chief's authority as well. I must beg you not to refuse."
"But what could I possibly do with so many treasures..."
Mindful of the eyes around him, Tao Qian buried his greed as best he could and kept on declining. He had been knocked about the political arena long enough to catch the drift: the General-in-Chief wanted something, and this mountain of treasure was the price of the asking. He began dropping meaningful little glances on the woman, as much as to say that she might as well name it.
The woman was hardly the sort to miss the true intent buried inside his polite refusals.
"Then would you grant us a single request?"
"A request, you say?"
"Yes. Grant it, and I believe you too will be well satisfied, Lord Tao."
Sensing that they had at last arrived at the heart of the matter, Tao Qian answered with all the dignity he could muster.
"Very well. Let us hear it."
"Yes, my lord. It is simply this..."
Her request was a simple one. The Governor of Yanzhou would be leading an army into Xuzhou before long—might the Inspector see fit to pretend not to notice him, just for a little while?
"Hmm... Even so, that is..."
"We would only be escorting Lord Cao's household, presently in Xuzhou, back to Yanzhou—nothing more."
As Tao Qian sank into brief deliberation, the woman opened her mouth again at once.
"They will not push deep into Xuzhou. They will only linger a moment at the border that divides Yanzhou from Xuzhou, so pray set your mind at ease."
"..."
Between the woman's manner, which carried not the faintest scent of a lie, and his own craving for those rare treasures, Tao Qian found himself nodding in the end.
"Only for the briefest while."
"We are deeply grateful for your magnanimity."
The envoy bowed with perfect courtesy and withdrew, and the striking black-haired women in her train melted away one after another behind her. And in the place she left behind, the treasures lay piled high—startling even now, as he looked at them all over again.
"...Heh heh."
A giddy chuckle escaped Tao Qian before he could stop it, and he clamped his mouth shut at once.
Jeong Reung Hwahyeon. Truly an unfathomable man. What on earth had he seen in this Cao Cao, that he would extend such consideration—enough to look after the woman's very family? Could he perhaps have conceived a fondness for the Governor of Yanzhou?
Cao Cao's beauty was of the kind that could bring every man under heaven to tears, so it would hardly be strange if the General-in-Chief had lost his head to those looks. Ah, young love. It certainly burns hot. Knowing nothing of the actual circumstances, that was as far as Tao Qian's thoughts could carry him.
Cao Cao peeled away a portion of the soldiers who had been minding the prisoners, folded them into her army, and struck out straight for Xuzhou. She had drawn in as many men as she could, yet the number fell hopelessly short of what it would take to stand against Tao Qian's power—so the troops under her command clutched their reins white-knuckled, ready to scatter the instant the word came down.
But as though that fear had been a storm in a teacup, even after they entered Xuzhou and a fair stretch of time had passed, Tao Qian's army never once showed its face.
"...What is this? They're really not reacting at all?"
Xiahou Dun, sweeping her gaze over their surroundings like every other soldier, muttered with a dazed look on her face. At her reaction, Cao Cao drew herself up proudly, as if to say I told you so.
"What did I tell you? I said I had something planned, did I not?"
"W-well... I suppose my faith ran a little short."
Xiahou Dun scratched her head, looking sheepish. In truth, for all her confident words, Cao Cao had simply marched on her trust in the General-in-Chief; she had no plan of her own to speak of. Had Tao Qian's army come to bar her way, she would have had a good laugh—so even the General-in-Chief misses the mark now and then—wheeled her horse's head about, and run for it. Had Xiahou Dun known what was actually passing through her lord's mind, she would have fixed Cao Cao with a very peculiar look indeed.
But the General-in-Chief had not betrayed her expectations. He had severed Tao Qian's interference at the root, making it possible for her to bring her family out in safety.
'I truly do not know how I could ever repay this debt.'
Everything Cao Cao had thrown at the General-in-Chief until now had been half in jest. She had kept pressing closer for no better reason than that his floundering, every single time, was a delight to watch. But it seemed the time had come to think rather differently. If he took such pains over the household of another family, how devotedly would he cherish her own?
To Cao Cao, who set great store by the bonds of blood, that side of the General-in-Chief was dear beyond measure. She pictured herself stepping within the General-in-Chief's fold, and a smile stole across her lips.
'I find myself looking forward to it.'
Everything she had thrown at him had been half in jest—which meant, by the same token, that the other half had been earnest. Now Cao Cao meant to fold just a little more sincerity into it. And if the General-in-Chief should succumb to her charms and lay her low... well, that would make for a most amusing diversion in its own right, would it not? Though the General-in-Chief was a man sorely lacking in manly boldness, so the odds of that were slim.
'As I thought, I shall have to be the one to move first...'
To set a woman's heart stirring like this—the General-in-Chief's sins ran truly deep. Just as Cao Cao was entertaining these faintly dangerous thoughts, Xiahou Dun spoke to her.
"Mengde. We're here."
Cao Cao cut the thread of her thoughts and looked ahead. A vast estate stood rooted before their eyes, its sheer scale proclaiming all on its own just how wealthy its master must be. And there before that estate, an aged man who had received word of his child's arrival stood waiting at the head of his retinue to welcome her.
Cao Cao dismounted, offered her respects, and spoke in a level voice.
"Your child A'Man greets you, Father."
"...Ah, what a dearly familiar name that is."
At the sound of Cao Cao's childhood name—the name she had been called in her earliest years—Cao Song smiled faintly. The other sisters who had come out with him to greet her watched the scene with eyes misted over by old feeling.
For a long moment, Cao Song simply held his long-absent child's gaze. Then he spoke.
"The day is getting on. Come, let us go inside and talk."
"Yes, Father."
Having caught the exchange, Xiahou Dun tipped a glance to the officers standing by; with a brief bow, they took the soldiers in hand and set a watch around the grounds. And so the parent and child who, in the history that should have been, never managed to lay eyes on each other again after Dong Zhuo seized power, found their reunion at last.