Huaman (2)
The wine cup shattered, and the warm camaraderie of the banquet froze over in an instant.
Meng Huo and the tribal chieftains, who knew nothing of the two women's relationship or the history behind it, furrowed their brows. They were every bit as startled as everyone else — they simply saw no reason for a reaction quite so violent.
The generals of Shu, however, understood her perfectly. A strange woman had just proposed a political marriage in front of the man's own fiancée. Who in her position wouldn't be furious?
Po Sanniang was utterly devoted to Guan Suo, but she was hardly a gentle soul toward anyone else. Back when she had wandered as a sword-for-hire, she had made a habit of kicking men who harassed her square between the legs — hard enough to qualify them as eunuch candidates on the spot.
The real reason for her fury, though, ran deeper than that.
...I'm the one who said he could take as many concubines as he wanted.
When Po Sanniang had asked for his hand, Guan Suo had refused her once. Unwilling to lose the man she loved, she had agreed to the marriage on the condition that he could take as many concubines as he pleased. She knew perfectly well that this outburst was a betrayal of that promise.
And yet the reason she was this enraged...
She said she'd make my lord her breeding stallion — and now she wants to marry him?
The sheer shamelessness of it was staggering. Meng Huaman had shown Guan Suo nothing but interest from the start, openly declaring she would take him as her stud. By any reasonable standard, a woman who announced she intended to use your man as breeding stock was never going to look good. If Zhuge Liang hadn't been set on bringing Nanzhong into the fold, Po Sanniang would have cut that woman down with her own hands.
...Calm down.
Po Sanniang swallowed the rage boiling in her gut, conscious of every eye in the hall. She had smashed a wine cup because she couldn't contain her indignation — but this was a banquet meant to celebrate the union of Shu and Nanzhong. Personal feelings had no place in affairs of state. Of course, understanding something with your head and acting on it were two different things. People were creatures of emotion, after all.
She set down the broken cup and bowed first to Zhuge Liang.
"I apologize for that unseemly display, Prime Minister."
"Think nothing of it. The remark came without warning. Your reaction is entirely understandable."
Zhuge Liang, who knew the full story, forgave her with a generous wave of his hand.
"I would like a word with that woman, if you would permit it."
"By all means."
This was a banquet, not a war council. There was nothing unusual about two people stepping aside to talk. Meng Huo, however — who knew nothing of Guan Suo and Po Sanniang's relationship — fixed her with a cold glare.
"And just who do you think you are, girl? Matters of state are being discussed here. Why are you inserting yourself and raising your voice?"
"I am Po Sanniang, a junior officer of Shu — and the fiancée of Guan Suo, the Flying General."
At the word "fiancée," Meng Huo shut his mouth and sat back down. He had a wife of his own. He understood her feelings well enough — and he knew this was something worth being furious about.
"Oh?"
A gleam lit Huaman's eyes at the word.
She does call him 'my lord'... I thought they seemed closer than a commander and his aide.
Their relationship had always looked too intimate to dismiss as merely professional.
"I didn't know he already had a partner."
Then again, a man like that was hardly common. It made sense. Even so, Huaman had no intention of quietly stepping aside just because he was engaged. Compared to the strapping but empty-headed men of Nanzhong, Guan Suo was solid. Dependable. He had rescued his own fiancée from capture, then fought Huaman and her mother at the same time.
When everyone else had recoiled from the rampaging Curly-haired Red Hare, he had charged in without hesitation. And above all — he had defeated her father, the King of Nanman, the strongest warrior in all of Nanzhong.
It would be stranger if a man like that didn't have a wife.
Huaman nodded to herself, as if that settled something. Then Po Sanniang came toward her. They had crossed blades once before. They knew each other's faces. Their eyes collided in midair, fierce and unyielding, and those watching from the sidelines felt a chill they couldn't quite name.
"I'm sorry, but I must ask you to abandon any thought of marriage."
The words themselves were soft. The thorns beneath them were not. Meng Huaman was not the type to be intimidated by that.
"Strange."
"What is?"
"You're his fiancée, not his lawfully wedded wife — and you're already trying to manage your husband?"
Whether a man took concubines or not was his decision. She had seen it often enough among the other chieftains, and she had heard the Han people did much the same. Her own father, Meng Huo, had never taken a secondary wife — but that was only because he was devoted to Zhurong alone.
"You're right. It's not my place to dictate that."
Po Sanniang smiled, sweet and sharp.
"But I have already been promised the position of principal wife."
She made it clear to Huaman that Guan Suo had pledged her the status of first wife. And there was another reason she couldn't accept her: the girl had gone around announcing she would use him as a breeding stallion. Po Sanniang questioned the sincerity of anyone who talked like that — and she opposed the match on those grounds.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I understand how you feel, but he already has someone—"
"...What?"
For a moment, Po Sanniang couldn't process what she had just heard. Had this girl not understood a single word?
"There's no law that says a man can't take concubines, is there?"
Po Sanniang was the daughter of a distinguished clan and an officer of Shu in her own right. Her status was by no means low. But Huaman was a princess, and there was a difference — one Huaman made sure to imply.
Before Po Sanniang could retort, Meng Huo surged to his feet in hearty agreement.
"Of course! How could the Princess of Nanzhong — Meng Huo's own daughter — be taken as a mere concubine? I will never accept—"
Thud!
Zhurong stomped on Meng Huo's instep, silencing him before he could make things any worse.
"Be quiet. Don't complicate this."
She surveyed the situation with a complicated look in her eyes.
...I knew Huaman had set her heart on that man.
They had lost the war. They were the ones submitting to Shu. Had they been the victors, perhaps they could afford to be this arrogant — but they were in no position to act this way now.
The Prime Minister treats us as friends, but would he forgive such rudeness?
Still, Zhurong was a mother. If her daughter had found someone she cared for, of course she wanted to support her.
"Come to think of it, you and I crossed blades once before."
Huaman folded her arms. She had struck Po Sanniang's horse with a throwing dagger and nearly taken her prisoner. In Huaman's mind, that made the victory hers. The Nanman lived by the law of the jungle. The strong took everything. That was the truth of the world.
"Don't tell me you're opposing me because I beat you last time?"
She brought up the incident — the time Po Sanniang had nearly been captured — wondering if humiliation and shame were the real reason for this fierce opposition. The implication made Po Sanniang feel as though she were being painted as a petty woman nursing an old grudge.
"...Hah."
Po Sanniang let out a sigh, her brow beginning to furrow — and that was when Zhuge Liang stepped in, seeing the temperature in the room start to climb.
"Now, now. Calm yourself, Sanniang."
"...Yes, Prime Minister. Forgive me for the discourtesy."
Po Sanniang bowed at once. She had let herself get carried away over Guan Suo, but she was an officer of upright character. Disrespecting Zhuge Liang was unthinkable.
"Huaman. As you can see, Guan Suo already has a fiancée."
Zhuge Liang's tone made his discomfort plain, and he offered a gentle suggestion.
"...I would be willing to introduce you to another man, if you wish."
"I refuse."
Huaman declined without a moment's thought.
"Hmm. In that case, the decision rests with Guan Suo. Grant us a little time."
"Very well."
And so the banquet, convened to celebrate the union of Shu and Nanzhong, drew to a close beneath a distinctly frosty atmosphere.
"...What am I supposed to do?"
I stared up at the night sky and let out a long, heavy sigh. The arrow had come full circle and landed squarely on me.
I can't say I didn't see this coming.
In The Tale of Hua Guan Suo, Guan Suo took Meng Huo's daughter Huaman as his wife. I had considered the possibility that it might happen here too. But even if I was possessing his body, I was not Guan Suo.
Honestly, we were just fighting each other as enemies. It's not like feelings just spring up overnight.
With Po Sanniang, two years of sharing meals and hardships had turned an awkward acquaintance into something close and familiar. But even that hadn't immediately become love.
That's why I asked to postpone the wedding.
Po Sanniang had every right to feel hurt, but she had understood — he had lost his memories, after all.
In a situation like this, can I really accept a marriage with Huaman?
If I refused and wounded her feelings, the worst-case scenario was that she might turn against Shu all over again. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.
I'd rather be fighting the Rattan Armor Army or a pack of war-beasts. At least that would be straightforward.
I was clutching my head, staring at the stars and turning the problem over and over, when a voice cut through my thoughts.
"What's troubling you so much?"
Yao Hua came up beside me as I sat there, lost in thought.
"General Yao Hua."
"I may not be the sharpest mind in the camp, but I am older than you. If something's weighing on you, I'll hear it."
After Po Sanniang, he was the person closest to me in the army. I laid the problem out for him.
"That's hardly a serious problem."
Yao Hua said it as if it were nothing at all.
"Why not start by asking Huaman how she came to take an interest in you?"
I hadn't actually asked her that.
Is she proposing marriage because she's anxious about how Nanzhong will be treated... or has she genuinely fallen for me?
I should meet her tomorrow and sound her out.
"...And if her feelings turn out to be real?"
"That's a foolish question."
"Pardon?"
"Take them both. What's the issue?"
I stared at him, momentarily speechless.
"...Excuse me?"
"Isn't it only natural for a hero of great deeds to keep many women?"
A man of outstanding ability could have three wives and four concubines. That was what Yao Hua was saying.
"Isn't that only when there's a problem with producing an heir?"
"If both parties agree to the marriage, there's no great difficulty."
......In a certain sense, that was actually quite helpful advice. Thanks to Yao Hua, the tangle in my head loosened a little.
The next day, before I could go to her, Huaman came to my quarters herself.