Commotion (5)

After my conversation with Her Majesty the Emperor, nothing in particular happened. The moment I withdrew from my seat, she summoned the officials with her usual practiced air, and the bureaucrats who had been slipping in furtively, watching her every mood, seemed to sense that the Emperor's temper had improved — a noticeable air of relief settled over the chamber.

The meeting that followed proceeded quite smoothly. The officials traded weighty jargon back and forth, exchanging opinions, while the Emperor watched the whole scene in silence from atop her throne. Then, whenever an agenda item was raised, she would give it a single indifferent glance, declare that a decision would come later, and bring the session to a close.

Naturally, not one soul addressed me for the duration of the meeting. With the Emperor glaring beside me, eyes blazing, who would dare?

Aside from Xun Yu, who kept sending me looks that seemed to say she had faith in me, there was nothing about this session that particularly weighed on my mind.

The reason Her Majesty held the agenda items in reserve instead of adopting them on the spot was simple.

"Grand General, what ought to be done about this matter?"

She asked for my opinion — purely so that she could follow it to the letter.

"……"

It felt as if I'd become the pilot of some emperor-shaped robot. I'd been through this any number of times by now, and yet the surreal feeling still hadn't worn off.

It wasn't as though her political judgment was lacking. So why on earth did she keep doing this?

I offered Her Majesty my thoughts.

"Your Majesty, it shames me to say this of myself, but seeking my counsel is not a good practice."

"Hmm? And why is that?"

"Naturally, if my own inadequacy led me to offer poor advice, it could do grave harm to the state—"

"Ah, so that's what you were worried about."

The Emperor, still scanning the agenda in her hands, cut in before I could even finish.

"When you are not at my side, I handle matters on my own well enough. So don't worry."

"……"

…Then I understood it even less.

Her Majesty had an inscrutable streak, which made it impossible to guess the reasoning behind any given action.

Seeing the bewilderment written across ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my face, the Emperor let out a small laugh.

"It is so that I may have a little more time alone with you. That is all."

"…Your Majesty."

"Sometimes you seem so quick to read ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a room, and yet so slow."

With those words, the Emperor held out the bamboo slip she'd been holding for me to see.

"Take a look at this. I have stripped the needless flourishes from it for you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

What else could I do, when Her Majesty wished to spend time with me? I accepted the slip without fuss and ran my eyes over its contents.

And after staring at it for a good long while, I came to one realization.

This was beyond anything I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could understand.

You know how it is, even in the modern world — whenever you study something new, there are always sentences that stop you dead in your tracks. Legal texts, for instance. A classic example.

It had been quite a while since I'd last hit a wall like this. After all, I had spent long years serving in fairly high office, honing my abilities along the way. In any line of work, once you build up the knack, the work practically handles itself.

Which meant this agenda item had to be one of two things. Either someone had deliberately coiled the prose round and round in technical jargon so that no reader could untangle it — or a talent so brilliant it defied my imagination had submitted it.

But if it were the former, there was no way neither I nor Her Majesty would have caught on. Which left exactly one conclusion.

I asked the Emperor.

"…Might I ask who submitted this agenda item?"

"Hmm… Ah. It's Xun Wenruo, isn't it."

Ah-ha. So that was why I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Having named Xun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yu, the Emperor went straight on.

"I don't know what wind has blown through her of late… but at the very least, now I know who wrote it."

The Emperor looked at me and smiled.

…It was, without question, a beautiful smile. And yet, for some reason, something else seemed to be threaded through it.

I was not the only one thrown into alarm by the news that I had nearly been assassinated.

BANG!

"You were almost assassinated?! Are you okay?!"

A voice pitched in sheer panic. Lü Bu came charging into my house shouting, with enough force behind her to smash the front gate to splinters.

"……"

No — not "enough force to." She actually smashed it.

I stared at what remained of the gate — or what had once been a gate — and pressed a hand to my forehead.

"Yep. It's well and truly smashed."

"Just how strong are you?"

The servants, as though they had long anticipated this day would come, began calmly gathering up the splintered wood. Why did they somehow seem more competent than I was?

Lü Bu, who had closed the distance at some point, asked me with trembling eyes.

"You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Huh?"

"I'm fine. I never even laid eyes on a blade, so let's calm down first."

"No! I won't calm down!"

Lü Bu shook her head hard at my words.

"I'm going to check you myself! Take your clothes off!"

"Wha—?"

Even with me visibly flustered by the sheer abruptness of it, her hands did not stop.

"Hold on — at least somewhere out of everyone's sight—"

"I said hold still!"

This is a crime!

Wrestling against Lü Bu's overbearing strength, I shot Seo Yeo a desperate, pleading look.

"……"

Taking in the scene, Seo Yeo did what she always did: she slid an arm under Lü Bu's and pried her off me.

Lü Bu thrashed and hollered.

"L-Let go! I have to check!"

"……"

"Nngh…! Why are you so strong?! Are you even human?!"

And just who was saying that to whom?

I, who had very nearly ended up headlining a public strip show, heaved a long sigh of relief. Something about my clothes kept making odd flapping noises — apparently they'd been stretched well past their original size.

I spoke to Lü Bu.

"Lü Bu."

"…What."

She looked like a sulking child, hurt that I hadn't done as she asked. I gave a small laugh at her curt reply.

"I know what you're worried about. But you can check that later, can't you?"

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

"When it's just the two of us."

Having said that much, I felt my clothes hanging loose about me and hastily tugged my collar straight. Well, these are unwearable now.

At the sight of this, Lü Bu's face flared scarlet, and she shouted.

"D-Don't seduce me like that! You think I'll just let it slide?!"

"……"

What on earth was she on about?

I knew she only showed her soft side to the one person she'd set her heart on, but apparently every little thing I did registered as deliberate seduction.

"I can't take it anymore! I'm moving into Jeong Reung's house too!"

"Huh?"

"Don't you dare try to stop me! I'm going to pack my things, so you just wait right there!"

The instant Seo Yeo released her, Lü Bu dropped this bombshell out of nowhere and strode off without a backward glance.

…So Lü Bu meant to shadow me around the clock now, just like Seo Yeo? Where on earth had my privacy gone?

Only the former gate, swaying feebly whenever the wind stirred, bore silent witness that a storm had just swept through.

"…Seo Yeo."

"Yes."

I opened my mouth to ask.

"Am I really that attractive?"

It was something I'd wondered about for a long time. It was true that I'd been "corrected" into genuine good looks. But by this world's standards, I was, at best, thoroughly average. If you went looking for a man more handsome than me, you could find any number of them. Even Yuan Shu, of all people, had been better-looking than I was.

My mother did insist I was the most handsome man in the world, but a parent's eye for their own children has never been worth trusting.

To my question, Seo Yeo answered without a flicker of hesitation.

"Yes."

"……"

So that's how it was…

Meeting Seo Yeo's utterly unshakable gaze, I realized I'd picked the wrong person to ask. Instead, my mind drifted back to a conversation I'd once shared with Cao Cao in Shuchun.

In other words, if I wanted an honest verdict, I'd have to find someone who wasn't wearing rose-tinted glasses where I was concerned. …Now, who had that been, again?

Even as I sat lost in thought, time flowed steadily on, and at some point Lü Bu reappeared, both arms wrapped around an armful of luggage.

I said, astonished.

"…You're actually going to move in?"

"I'm a woman who does what she says she'll do! I don't tell lies!"

How very like Lü Bu.

Naturally, she was hardly the only one reacting this intensely.

"Your lordship's safety is the very stability of all under heaven. You must remain vigilant at all times."

"I know. Thank you for the concern."

The white-haired strategist, intoning in that placid voice of his, White Feather Fan in hand.

"…You really are all right, aren't you?"

"That's what I keep telling you."

"Hmm…"

The purple-haired strategist, arms crossed, eyeing me with a distinctly unimpressed expression. And so on, and so forth.

Truth be told, being fretted over by the people around me didn't feel bad at all.

And even amid all of it, that day kept drawing slowly nearer.

The sixth year of the Guangxi era. Spring of the year 195.

The day I would hold my wedding ceremony with Her Majesty the Emperor.