Already enough...
Already enough...
"Why are you doing this?"
Yuan Shu had reined in his earlier excitement and now asked the question in a calm voice.
Watching him ask what reason lay behind such generous goodwill, Wang Yun gave a small, internal nod.
'He may still be young, but he is the next Family Head of the Yuan Clan. His instincts are sharp when it comes to matters like this...'
Nothing in the world is free.
Goodwill without a reason does not exist; if someone offers something, they invariably wish to receive something in return.
For those in politics, this was a fundamental way of thinking,
and Wang Yun, who placed great importance on integrity, understood this principle perfectly as well.
The only difference was that while corrupt men granted favors in exchange for something that benefited themselves,
men like Wang Yun who prized uprightness granted favors in exchange for something that would benefit the realm.
And now, Wang Yun knew that Yuan Shu's question carried precisely that implication.
Why are you offering me such a beauty?
What do you want from me?
Truth be told, even if he had not grasped it, Wang Yun had intended to steer the conversation that way himself, but the man before him had made that unnecessary.
Pleased that the conversation was moving quickly, Wang Yun raised his estimation of Yuan Shu yet again and spoke with a placid smile.
"Did I not already say? My daughter has admired General Yuan for a long time. As her father, my foremost wish is to grant what my child desires."
"... Is that all?"
Yuan Shu asked cautiously.
Sensing the unspoken demand within it—Get to the point already—Wang Yun decided he had hedged enough.
"Naturally, it is not solely that. This is only a secondary matter, but I will not deny that I personally wish to become closer to General Yuan."
"Closer, you say..."
"Indeed. As you well know, Her Majesty the Emperor is still young, and the realm remains mired in chaos. Is it not a time when people like ourselves must join our strength together all the more firmly?"
"Hmm..."
Yuan Shu nodded cautiously at Wang Yun's words.
The man had spoken of pooling their strength,
but since it was Yuan Shu who actually possessed the strength, the remark effectively meant: take good care of me from now on.
One could call it a petition, with an adopted daughter offered as the price.
However,
in this era, even this much barely qualified as a petition at all.
At a time when the civil examination system had yet to be created, the basic method for recruiting talent was the Xiaolian (Filial and Incorrupt) system.
Simply put, it was a system in which a person in a high position recommended someone they deemed useful, granting that person an office.
In modern terms, one could say that rising to office through school ties, regional ties, and blood ties—through so-called connections—was the standard path in this era.
The immense power wielded by the Yuan Clan and other great aristocratic houses also stemmed from the network of connections that stretched across the Han Dynasty through this very Xiaolian system.
That Yuan Shao could lead a single group of followers and seize Nanyang in an instant was likewise because the local governors and county magistrates there had all gained their posts through the Yuan Clan's recommendations.
In any case, in a world where advancement through such connections was perfectly natural,
it was hardly uncommon for great houses to send their children to one another in order to join hands.
Strategic marriages were not especially encouraged, but they were a recurring occurrence.
And confronted with Wang Yun's request to join hands, Yuan Shu hesitated for a moment.
Yet,
in that moment, Wang Yun already knew.
That Yuan Shu had no reason to refuse an offer like this.
As Minister of the Masses, one of the elder ministers who had long safeguarded the court, Wang Yun possessed a certain degree of influence.
Beyond that,
what man would not prostrate himself in gratitude when offered his adopted daughter Diaochan, whose beauty was peerless under heaven?
From Yuan Shu's standpoint, it looked like an offer with no downside, overflowing with nothing but gain.
But.
Dissolved thickly within this honey-sweet offer
was the stratagem that Diaochan and Wang Yun had prepared.
At a glance, Diaochan's overwhelming beauty was all that stood out.
Yet, as her father, Wang Yun understood very well.
The true terror that Diaochan possessed lay in the wisdom and cunning hidden behind her lovely features.
Diaochan possessed an intellect and insight that shone brighter than any woman Wang Yun had ever seen.
If such a woman served at Yuan Shu's side, it would not be long before she grasped his true intentions.
Moreover, should those intentions prove crooked, her talents were more than sufficient to devise a counter-plan in advance.
And if, through this opportunity, Wang Yun could complete a cooperative framework at Yuan Shu's side as well, then depending on the circumstances, removing him would also become far simpler.
The logic was the same as finding a way to cause collapse from within when no opening is visible from without.
Of course, if Yuan Shu's heart held no such dark designs, then they could simply assist him as they were and work toward the Han dynasty's revival, so that path held no particular problem either.
Having braced himself with his own resolve, Wang Yun waited for the consent that would come from Yuan Shu's lips.
But.
"I understand your intentions well, Elder. I ask that you please continue to instruct a man of my shallow experience. However... I must ask you to withdraw the matter of accepting Lady Diaochan."
"Hmm... Is that so? Well, in that case... Eh?"
At a reply he had not anticipated in the slightest, Wang Yun could not help but let out a dumbfounded noise.
"... N-no. One moment... What did you just say? You want me to withdraw... offering Diaochan?"
"Yes. Though I am grateful for your intention, Elder, please withdraw it."
Honestly speaking, even granting a hundred concessions, there had been a small chance he might refuse the request for cooperation.
If he wished to build an independent political power base, keeping some distance from Wang Yun and the other elder officials was a possible choice.
But.
What actually came out of Yuan Shu's mouth was that he accepted joining hands but would not accept Diaochan.
Faced with a wholly unexpected answer, not only Wang Yun but even Diaochan, who had kept her expression fixed in a gentle smile the entire time, was seized by a moment of bewilderment.
Yuan Shu's declaration was no different from eating only the watermelon rind and handing the flesh back untouched.
It was just then, as Wang Yun remained silent, a fine crack running through his composure, unable to speak,
"W-why, General? Could it be... that you do not find me attractive?"
Diaochan asked, her voice betraying considerable fluster and even urgency.
To this, Yuan Shu slowly shook his head.
"That is not it. How could I dislike beauty of such peerless splendor as yours?"
"Then why..."
"Even so, I cannot accept you in this manner. Affairs between man and woman require affection and devotion. Without such feelings, I cannot allow my own desire to force a virtuous maiden to serve someone she does not love."
"G-General... Th-that is..."
Diaochan tried to say something in a trembling voice.
But before she could finish, Yuan Shu looked at Wang Yun and spoke in a resolute voice.
"I well understand your intention, Elder, but I cannot accept your daughter like this. I ask that you please withdraw this matter."
"... Hmm..."
Still in a dazed state of mind, Wang Yun let out a groan.
It was true that such strategic male-female arrangements were hardly encouraged.
Had not Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang also left records plainly stating that there must be affection between a man and a woman?
But if things stood like this, more than eighty percent of the plan that Diaochan and Wang Yun had laid would be shattered.
Even if Wang Yun assisted Yuan Shu, compared to eyes that watched him from within his own household, there would be clear limits.
Yet... even knowing this,
faced with Yuan Shu's unbendingly firm attitude, Wang Yun in the end let slip an answer without meaning to.
"S-sorry... If that is what you think..."
Wang Yun replied haltingly.
And, watching that sight, Diaochan unconsciously found herself frowning.
*
Wang Yun had approached me with a petition(?) that simply meant "let us be on good terms."
To this, I gave the answer that immediately rose in my mind.
An expression of intent: cooperation was fine, but I would not accept Diaochan.
It was partly because my knowledge of the Original Timeline—the possibility that the Chain Stratagem might unfold one way or another—had left me on razor-edged alert,
but at the same time, there was another reason as well.
'Because I don't want to watch a person's life be destroyed over something like this.'
In the Original Timeline, Diaochan's deeds could certainly be called a noble sacrifice for the fate of the nation.
But as a result, Diaochan's life eventually met a wretched bad ending.
In some accounts, she took her own life right after the Chain Stratagem succeeded;
in others, she became Lü Bu's wife only to meet her death when Lü Bu was ultimately defeated.
In either version, Diaochan lived a tragic life and died young.
Knowing that original history, I had long felt sympathy for Diaochan,
and the feeling only grew stronger when I saw the woman herself before my own eyes.
That a person this beautiful should have had to serve someone she did not even like over things like power.
It was my modest wish—that in this world, Diaochan might meet someone she truly loved and live out her days in peace.
After the banquet came to an end in that somewhat awkward atmosphere,
I left Wang Yun's residence.
*
"Are you all right, Diaochan?"
"... Yes. I am fine. General Yuan did not do so out of ill intent, did he? It was done out of consideration for me, so I have resolved to think well of it."
"It is a relief that you see it that way. Rest well for today. Let us discuss other methods in the future."
"Yes, Father..."
After Wang Yun departed, Diaochan remained alone in the room.
She then drew from within her robes a cloth the size of a palm.
A scrap of fabric, worn and frayed by the passage of years.
Cradling it as carefully as a treasure,
Diaochan thought quietly.
'I already... have more than enough... of affection.'