Tidying Up (4)
Having just finished my conversation with Gong Ju, the former Inspector of Ye Province, I stood with my arms crossed, sinking deep into thought.
"So Prince Yu Chong has taken an interest in me, hm..."
It wasn't entirely out of the blue. If our positions were reversed—if I were the one hoping to bring a man like that under my banner—I'd have wanted to lay eyes on him at least once myself.
I turned to Zhang Liao, who was smiling lightly at my side.
"Did he ask anything specific? Anything he was curious about?"
"No, my lord. He said nothing beyond remarks like, 'I would like to speak with him as soon as possible...'"
Zhang Liao continued in her soft, mellow voice.
"Even when he met with me, he simply burst into hearty laughter out of nowhere, so I could not discern his intentions."
"Hmm... And besides that? Anything else?"
"He remarked that you carry an excellent vigor, befitting a true general."
What kind of out-of-left-field comment was that supposed to be? Could he perhaps be the type who lived and died by honor?
I couldn't fathom his exact intentions, but one thing was clear: Zhang Liao had left a fine impression on him.
So this was that old saying about heroes recognizing heroes, was it? Like the famous account of how, before the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao summoned Liu Bei—who had been driven from her lands by Lü Bu—and declared that the only true heroes under heaven were the two of them.
There was no point wracking my brain over it now, I supposed. How could I possibly know the mind of a man who wasn't even present?
Arms still crossed and deep in thought, I tossed another question Zhang Liao's way.
"I can't set foot outside Luoyang until this year is out, at the very least. Did you tell him that?"
It was in line with the order the Emperor herself had handed down: devotion to statecraft was all well and good, but for now, my family came first.
Her Majesty was a woman who did exactly as she said she would, so the instant I stepped beyond Luoyang's walls, an imperial decree ordering me straight back would no doubt come flying after me.
...Though I had to wonder—was that really the proper use of an imperial decree?
Zhang Liao answered my question with perfect composure.
"I did. And when I told him so, he declared that he would come to see you in person."
"……."
In other words, he meant to travel all the way into what was, for him, practically enemy territory—all for a single look at my face.
Was I supposed to call that brave, or simply foolhardy?
Since I had no intention of harming Yu Chong, it was, if anything, a convenient turn of events. After all, in terms of official rank alone, he stood far above me.
The General-in-Chief murdering a prince of the realm in cold blood, without so much as a pretext? One shuddered to imagine the political fallout, surely.
With Her Majesty firmly taking my side, no other official would dare harm me outright. But there would certainly be those who nursed quiet grudges against me, thinking me a dangerous man—for I would have slain a prince-king for one reason and one reason alone: that he might someday pose a threat to me.
I had no intention of becoming some tyrant who ruled through terror, and thus no reason to dispose of Yu Chong.
Had he been one of those corrupt vultures fleecing his own subjects, I would have had his head even if it meant invoking an imperial decree—but by every account I'd heard, that wasn't the case either.
Having sorted the whole matter out in my head, I nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. You've earned your rest—go and take it."
"……."
"...?"
Even after I'd ordered her to withdraw, Zhang Liao held her place, and I regarded her with open puzzlement before asking.
"Is there some remaining business you have with me?"
"Have you forgotten what I told you before, my lord?"
"What on earth are you—... Ah."
As the words left my mouth, a scene came flashing back to me.
'Once the task you've entrusted to me is complete, my lord, may I request a private audience with you, just as we have now?'
The words Zhang Liao had spoken to me before marching out at the head of the army for Ye Province.
'And whatever comes after that—I'll be collecting it later as my reward.'
She had said it in that pure, bright voice of hers, and then she was gone—leaving nothing on my lips but the lingering freshness of her scent.
"……."
Zhang Liao's eyes met mine, and she merely flashed me the same easy smile she always wore.
I deliberated for a moment, then addressed Seo Yeo and Lü Bu, who stood close by.
"Wait outside the room for a bit."
At my words, Lü Bu narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.
"And it really will be just a bit?"
"...Who knows?"
That, I honestly couldn't tell her.
Whether my evasive answer was the spark or not, Lü Bu erupted just as she always did.
"'Who knows'? What do you mean, 'who knows'?! You're going to be going 'ooh-ooh' all night long again, just like with that silver-haired girl, aren't you?!"
"……."
'Ooh-ooh'? Honestly—'ooh-ooh'? Her choice of words was nothing short of adorable.
As for who the silver-haired girl in question was: none other than that person.
'M-my lord—!'
'...Ma Chao?'
Ma Chao Mengqi.
The beautiful warrior maiden born of Xiliang had, back then, come barreling into my arms the very moment I summoned her.
Gone was the girl who used to wither in embarrassment at the mere sight of me; now Ma Chao clung boldly to my chest and spoke in a voice tight with anxiety.
'I thought you'd gone and forgotten all about me...! Sniff!'
'O-okay, okay, I get it, so stop crying.'
In all honesty, the fault was largely mine for leaving Ma Chao unattended for so long, and so I had no choice but to soothe her until the tears finally stopped.
And what happened after that... well, need I explain it in detail?
I had summoned her with precisely that intent in the first place, and Ma Chao had come to me with her heart brimming over with the very same thought. When a man and a woman in the full flower of their youth lock eyes, only one outcome is possible.
I'm too embarrassed to recount exactly what took place inside that room, so let's move on.
I'll simply note this much: Ma Chao liked nothing more than having the initiative snatched away from her.
'Yes, yeees...! Please, do treat me like one of your horses...!'
Frankly, that particular metaphor took me aback. What could you expect from a child of the horse-riding tribes? Even her figures of speech came trained to the saddle.
It had been difficult to believe that was Ma Chao's first time.
Naturally, even the Ma Chao who'd been shouting all that hadn't held out for long, and afterward I went and hauled in Seo Yeo and Lü Bu, who had been eavesdropping on every last piece of unseemly dialogue through the door.
Lü Bu flushing was one thing, but the sight of even Seo Yeo tinged faintly pink had been more than enough to astonish me.
"Anyway—no! Absolutely not!"
Given that Lü Bu still hadn't forgotten that shocking(?) tableau, it was hardly a surprise that she was carrying on like this.
I sidled up close to Lü Bu and whispered in a low voice.
"Then I'll simply torment you and you alone for a while."
"...!"
"And no matter how much you beg me to stop, I won't show you an ounce of mercy."
The first time our bodies had joined, my accuracy rate had been inexplicably high and she'd conceived on the spot, but this time, that seemed unlikely to repeat itself.
Even in the original history, after all, Lü Bu had only ever had the one child.
Considering the case of Liu Bei, who even now had failed to conceive, Lü Bu had been extraordinarily fortunate.
I gave Lü Bu my most winning smile.
"Choose. What'll it be?"
"...H-have a good time!"
Lü Bu knew full well I was not a man who bluffed. Whatever image had sprung to her mind, it set her shuddering from head to toe, and she beat a swift retreat from the room.
Quick on the uptake, that one. Had she dug in her heels to the very end, I'd been planning to rouse her every time she fainted and test exactly how many rounds she could endure.
"……."
"...I shall take my leave as well."
Meeting my eyes, Seo Yeo offered a small bow and headed straight for the door.
At this historic feat of sending both the Matchless Throughout the Ages and the Peerless Under Heaven into flight, Zhang Liao showed a flicker of bewilderment.
"...Have I perhaps touched upon something I was not meant to touch?"
"Hm? No? As if."
Seeing that the day was melting toward evening, I slowly closed the distance to Zhang Liao.
"Those two are a special case. So there's no need to worry."
"I... I see."
Call it my imagination, but I could have sworn her voice trembled, if only slightly.
Nah. Couldn't be. What reason could Zhang Liao, of all people, possibly have to fear me? This was a woman who, if she truly put her mind to it, could snap my neck bare-handed this very instant.
"This is your last chance."
"……."
"Even now, it isn't too late. Decide with care."
I held Zhang Liao's gaze and asked.
"Do you truly wish to pick up where that kiss left off?"
This was a question of great importance. If she had merely acted on impulse and came to regret it down the road, the only ones left miserable would be the two of us.
"……."
At my question, Zhang Liao sank briefly into thought before slowly opening her mouth.
"I have wandered every corner of the realm at your side for long, long years, my lord."
Long before the common folk tied on yellow turbans and rose in revolt, she had stood against every manner of foreign tribe and roving bandit. When the kingdom descended into chaos, she had clashed with the warlords who seized upon the confusion to occupy the court and inflict every tyranny imaginable. For years upon years, she had watched him crush every faction that bared its ambitions and steady a realm sinking into the mire.
'I have faith in you all.'
Gazing upon the back of a lord who had never once wavered through all those long years, Zhang Liao could not help but arrive at a single conclusion:
—If not this man, then whom?
He showed reverence to those above him and extended grace to those beneath him. Her lord did seem genuinely puzzled as to why he was so popular—but it was only natural that women would flock to a man of his charm.
"……."
Zhang Liao opened her mouth to the lord who stood waiting for her answer.
"Please... take good care of me."
"...Very well. If that is your choice."
At last face to face with the heart Zhang Liao had kept hidden for so long, I began, slowly, to undress as I drew near her.
It did make me wonder—just how many women would I hold in my arms by the time I closed my eyes for the last time?
Even now, the barracks were whispering about the General-in-Chief who 'unifies the realm by night,' and the like—and frankly, I trembled to think how posterity would come to judge me.