The Road Ahead
“Is this truly the minimum blood price, Lord Xun? Do you really believe so?”
“After the exemplary executions of those whose crimes could not be overlooked, everyone else was released.”
“Are you saying far fewer actually died than it appeared?”
“Did I not already explain? It was the minimum necessary to consolidate the regime from within. Only those from each clan who had committed truly grave offenses were singled out.”
No matter how one looked at it, striking entire clans like this would have caused an uproar. The wailing must have been deafening.
“Still, the spark must be completely extinguished here. If it spreads any further, a true storm of blood will follow.”
“Is there a greater storm of blood than this?”
“For example, if among the fifty captured this time, the clan heads and all their sons were executed.”
“!”
“Young Master Zayul, that is something I do not wish for either. That is why I went only as far as the distant relatives, retainers, and in-laws connected by political marriages—so the fire would not spread. With this, there will be no major rebellion in Xudu. You may rest easy for a while.”
At least Xun Yu was the most moderate among them. That much was fortunate.
I heard many more stories in that villa. Each one Xun Yu told was weighty, and I realized that while I had been away on campaign, the situation inside the capital had been just as turbulent.
“I truly have no talent for this sort of thing. I would rather face an army of a hundred thousand on the battlefield.”
“Young Master Zayul, you are the purest martial man among all of Lord Cao’s kin.”
“That is only because I demand so much from my uncle after every victory. This time I even took two concubines during the campaign…”
“When it comes to taking concubines, my nephew is no less enthusiastic. Every time he goes on reconnaissance, he indulges himself thoroughly in the local area. I pay it no mind.”
So Xun You was indeed more of a pleasure-seeker than Xun Yu. After our conversation, I left the villa. Xun Yu saw me off, and as I headed home with the gifts he had given me, I encountered a tall scholar walking in the same direction.
“Well now, if it isn’t Young Master Zayul.”
“Ah, Director Cheng.”
It was Cheng Yu, who now held the rank of Zhonglangjiang after Xun Yu’s recent appointment as Director of the Secretariat. Though older and longer in service, he claimed his talent did not match Xun Yu’s and showed no dissatisfaction with his current post.
“It has been a while. I heard the campaign in Lujiang went well.”
“Thank you, Master Zhongde.”
Our paths coincided, so we walked together. Cheng Yu, like Xun Yu before him, spoke of events in Xudu.
“I see you visited the villa where the Director of the Secretariat resides. You must have heard the gist of it. Thanks to that, things have become quite lively.”
“They say fifty clans were shaken. Were there any that escaped unscathed?”
Cheng Yu gave a small laugh at my question.
“The Xun clan of Yingchuan, the Yang clan of Hongnong, the Dong clan of Langya, and the Gong clan of Luguo—those would be the ones.”
Just hearing the names and clans, I could guess why they had been spared. The Xun clan of Yingchuan, which included Xun Yu; the Yang clan of Hongnong, spared because Yang Xiu had become my advisor after Yang Biao was removed; the Dong clan of Dong Guiren and Dong Cheng; and the Gong clan of Luguo, the lineage of Confucius that included Kong Rong…
“Ah, and Yang Dezuo, who went on campaign with you this time.”
“You mean Yang Xiu?”
“The Chancellor seems to have taken notice of him. He is considering a post as an assistant in the Chancellery. I wonder if the fellow is truly capable.”
“He is more than competent.”
“Guo Fengxiao throwing away his own position as Military Advisor in the Chancellery was a big loss. Tch. At this rate, that fellow ought to be dragged before the Court of Judicial Review to come to his senses.”
Come to think of it, Guo Jia had not yet returned. Thanks to that, he was living comfortably without stress, but I wondered how much that would affect his lifespan going forward.
After our conversation, Cheng Yu reached his residence first and we parted. I continued home. The main gate was already open, and as I entered, a voice suddenly called out to me.
“Zayul!”
“Ah, Aunt.”
It was Lady Ding this time. She looked haggard; dark spots had appeared on her face that had not been there before, and she had lost considerable weight. Even the formidable Lady Ding must have suffered greatly from recent events.
“Come into the main hall for a moment.”
“Yes, Aunt.”
When I entered, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Zhen, as well as Zhen Lang and He Yan, were all present and greeted me.
“Second Brother, you have returned.”
“Mm. Yes.”
Though I was a year older than Cao Ang, they still called me Second Brother… Well, it did not matter.
Inside Lady Ding’s chambers, it was not Lady Bian but Lady Du who had come to attend her.
“Ah, Aunt Du.”
“Young Master Zayul, it has been a long time since Xuzhou. Congratulations on taking a wife from Jiangdong this time.”
Lady Du smiled with her crescent-moon eyes, radiating a gentle, maternal aura despite her striking figure. Yet Lady Ding showed none of her former sharp reactions toward concubines.
“Leave that and go.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Unlike Lady Bian, Lady Du withdrew quietly. While Lady Ding sipped her tea, she spoke.
“I heard you spent a great deal of money during this campaign.”
“It was military funds obtained during battle.”
“All of it from Yanzhou… Haah. No, I will speak no more of that now.”
After all, Lady Ding’s own family had also suffered when her younger brother was accused of corruption and nearly divorced. “Your younger brother has been released safely, I hear.”
“I am glad to hear it, Aunt.”
“Also, Lady Bian is not here at the moment. After my younger sister, the Lady of Duxiang, was released, she took her daughter and returned to her family home. She has likely decided to relinquish all her official posts.”
In the end, even Cao Cao’s maternal relatives had been caught up in the affair, large and small. The one saving grace was that no one had died after the investigation, and the questionable funds had all been spent during the campaign, so the matter would likely pass quietly.
“Zisu must return from Henei soon. My heart is in turmoil.”
Lady Ding was confiding in me with genuine distress. Cao Cao had gone to visit his father Cao Song, and this conversation had arisen in his absence. What could I do in such a situation? I could only comfort her and promise that Cao Ang and I would look after her.
After unburdening herself at length, Lady Ding presented me with several pieces of jewelry as gifts for my wives, saying they were tokens of celebration for my safe return from the battlefield.
Truly, on my very first day back, I had heard far too many unsettling stories.
After receiving the gifts, I returned to our separate residence. All the other wives were already asleep. Only Cai Yan remained awake, a candle lit as she wrote something in a book.
“Ah, you have returned, my lord.”
“At this hour… No, that is not important right now.”
I immediately took the brush from her hand, pulled her into my arms, and pushed her down onto the bed. Cai Yan looked startled for a moment before embracing me and slowly untying her sash. We kissed. I savored the breathtaking figure beneath the flowing silk, and we made love fiercely, keeping our voices as low as possible. It was our first passionate night together since the war, and we did not stop until dawn.
“Haa… haa…”
We wiped the sweat from each other’s bodies. Cai Yan nestled into my arms with a gentle smile, accepting everything. As I caressed her, my hand drifted to her lower abdomen. Her waist and belly were smooth, without a trace of excess flesh. When I pressed gently, she reacted.
“I am sorry.”
“Suddenly?”
“Because nothing has taken root here yet… It is because this humble wife lacks virtue.”
“Ah, that is not it…”
The moment I touched her lower abdomen, Cai Yan had reflexively assumed I was disappointed that she had not conceived. I quickly withdrew my hand, pulled her into an embrace, and comforted her. After a moment, she spoke softly.
“In truth, my monthly courses failed to come once before.”
“!”
“But when I consulted a physician, there was no child in my womb. My courses returned afterward, yet…”
Irregular menstruation, then. There could be many causes, but fatigue and stress were likely culprits.
“It seems my wife has been working far too hard. Managing the entire household, rising at dawn, sleeping little, teaching the children and the other wives, and from what I saw earlier, staying up all night writing.”
“Earlier… I was preparing to compile the poems and prose my father once taught me into a book.”
“Ah, compiling Master Cai Yong’s writings?”
Cai Yan nodded in my arms.
“I have also been teaching literacy to the courtesans of the Wei merchant guild who once had ties with you. For the compilation, we will need many women who can read and write.”
Though we had not been intimate often lately, Cai Yan was still teaching literacy to Hua Yan and the other courtesans of the Wei guild, as well as to Yuan Jing and Lu Ming, in preparation for compiling a great work. With the household already demanding so much of her, this additional burden was clearly taking its toll.
“Still, you must rest properly. Though I have no right to say that when I keep increasing the number of mouths to feed.”
“Pay it no mind. I am still young.”
She said that simply being acknowledged for her efforts was enough, then nestled against me and drifted off to sleep.
Until the next campaign, I would have to help with household matters and reduce her workload as much as possible.
***
At the same hour, another soul in the imperial palace was also unable to sleep.
“Your Majesty, your countenance is dark. Why do you still not rest at this late hour?”
“…Haa.”
Emperor Liu Xie lay in his bedchamber, sighing repeatedly. Seeing the Son of Heaven so agitated, Lady Fu, lying beside him, patted his back with a worried expression.
“Your Majesty, what troubles you so?”
“My lady, I have no face to show you. Your father, my father-in-law Lord Fu, and his household have suffered greatly this time, have they not?”
“It is not so. This happened because we are imperial relatives and some of our kin made the wrong judgment.”
Cao Cao’s blade had reached even the imperial in-laws. Though General of Chariots and Cavalry Dong Cheng’s faction had barely escaped catastrophe, the faction of Grand Master of the Palace Fu Wan had been dragged away en masse and barely survived. Fu Wan himself, the emperor’s father-in-law, along with his sons Fu De and Fu Xing, had all their property confiscated and were interrogated in the Court of Judicial Review, their lives hanging by a thread.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao had brazenly submitted a memorial stating that he intended to eradicate corruption throughout the Han starting with his own household, and forced the emperor to personally approve the punishments.
The emperor’s anxiety gradually turned to anger.
“Am I truly the emperor? In my youth it was Dong Zhuo, and now it is Cao Cao who treats me like a puppet.”
“Your Majesty, that is not so. No matter what anyone says, you are the Son of Heaven and the supreme ruler of the Han.”
“And how long will that remain true?”
The emperor stroked Lady Fu’s hair, unable to shake off his sorrow. She had once been someone he truly relied upon. Moreover, the Cao clan—including the eunuch Cao Teng, once called the “Capable Minister,” and four generations of officials who had served as Grand Tutor, Chancellor, and Assistant Chancellor—had long been nourished by the imperial house.
Yet the more their power grew, the greater the emperor’s unease became. At the center of it all, Cao Cao grew increasingly intoxicated with authority, striking down political enemies at will and becoming ever more arrogant. This time, when the emperor had tried to appoint his own choices to the positions of Grand Commandant, General of the Agile Cavalry, Minister over the Masses, and Censor-in-Chief before departing on campaign, Cao Cao had instead arrested the candidates’ entire households and installed his own people.
In the end, it was the emperor who grew angry first. And if only the right spark were provided, the emperor too seemed poised to spiral into an uncontrollable rampage.