Theme #44- You will die and I will take over
#44: You will die and I will take over
General: Cao Cao/Young Cao Pi (Like anyone DOESN’T think of Cao Pi (or Sima Yi) when they read this prompt)
Rating: G (It’s not incest/pedo either, not even if you squint… SO STOP SQUINTING.)
Notes: Zihuan is Cao Pi’s style name.
~~~~~
As much as the young boy enjoyed being the center of attention, he disliked being involved in pure groundless gossip and endless speculation. The maids and servants didn’t really bother him to any measurable degree, though his mother never believed his pleas and kept comforting him with words and an occasional rub on the back. Lady Bian was strong yet caring, refined and collected, a woman that he respected. Zihuan often wondered if his father, whom he had never met, possessed the same qualities. However, every time he would ask, Lady Bian would smile, and he would immediately shy away from his curiosity, not wanting to seem like a child who longed for his father’s love.
It was clear to Zihuan, in any case, that he was more skilled at running from his father’s affection, which had currently taken the form of a personal tutor Cao Cao had hired personally for the young prince. Stealing a glance at his surroundings before he dared to emerge from behind the pillar, he quickly crossed the garden, taking special care to not slip over the wet rocks as he crossed over the small river. As his feet met with marble floors again, he quickly slipped behind another pillar as two strikingly contrasting figures walked past.
“…but man, divorcing her right after her son died, it doesn’t seem right.”*
“Our lord has no need for a depressed woman.”
“…I see now why you can’t get any women, Brother Dun.”
Zihuan almost sighed upon over hearing yet another conversation about the recent chain of events. Half expecting the one addressed as “Brother Dun” to answer in retaliation, Zihuan was surprised to hear, “You there, why are you hiding?” Quickly deciding that he didn’t want to get involved in the process of explaining himself (not that he should have to anyhow), he dashed off in the opposite direction but not without first shooting a small glance towards the men before he completely vanished out of sight.
Xiahou Yuan looked at his elder brother, “Call me crazy but did that kid’s eyes remind you of…?”
“Yes... they were eerily similar to Cao Cao’s...”
~~~~
Zihuan took a deep breath as he stepped up on a raised section of the pathway, barely grasping onto the rail ahead in an attempt to pull himself up. Narrowing his eyes in response to the incoming breeze, he tiptoed, hoping to catch a glimpse of the town below. The most elevated area of his home was somehow his favorite place to be ever since his mother had casually introduced the place two years ago. He often indulged in writing poetry when he visited this area, for it gave him great inspiration. Other times, he would simply wander about, sometimes attaching himself to the rail to catch the incoming winds or kicking his toy ball against the doors just opposite of it.
A series of footsteps soon distracted him from his activity. About to hide again, he stopped when he realized that it was his mother accompanied by her chambermaids. “Mother,” he greeted.
Lady Bian sighed. “I thought I’d find you here, Zihuan. Why are you skipping your lessons again? Teacher Li is most displeased about the whole matter. Do you not understand the value of education?”
About to respond, an unfamiliar, deep voice interrupted the scene. “I would like to hear your answer as well, Zihuan.”
Lady Bian turned, Zihuan not failing to take notice of her fast changing expression and the curtsies of the chambermaids. “My L--”
She was quickly cut off by the stranger, who had raised a hand. Elegant hues of blue and purple with patterns of gold decorated the attire of the man who emerged, his face displaying no signs of the amusement that accompanied his words earlier. Slight facial hair and strong, dark eyes-seemingly the same rich black as his hair--- graced his features. Zihuan eyed the stranger carefully, studied him, but felt no need to hold back his thoughts, despite the noticeable tension between them. He had his speculations, but kept his emotions from surfacing.
“Don’t misunderstand me, Mother. Teacher Li keeps on repeating concepts I already understand and won’t listen when I tell him I want to move on. His lessons were a waste of time and so I avoided them.”
“Zihuan…!”
The man showed no change in expression. “So, the tutor I personally hired for you is inadequate, is that what you are telling me?”
As he allowed the confirmation of his suspicions to sink in, Zihuan met the stranger’s gaze. “Yes… Father,” he replied, feeling a strange sensation as he allowed the last word to slip from his mouth.
Lady Bian wasted no time in defending her son, for fear of her husband’s anger. “You must forgive him, my Lord, he is only a child.”
At this, Cao Cao suddenly smiled, “Indeed, and he is definitely my child.” He knelt to meet his son face to face and Zihuan merely stared back, unsure of how to react. He initially stiffened when Cao Cao hoisted him up into the air, but managed to grasp his father’s garment as he was neatly set into the bend of his left arm. Saying nothing, Cao Cao advanced towards the railing while Lady Bian curiously looked on in the background. A small breeze passed through and Zihuan took the opportunity to glance towards his father, who was staring off into the distance.
“Are you thinking about Brother Ang, Father?”**
Cao Cao, somewhat surprised by the question, took a moment to answer. “No. It does one no good to constantly dwell on the past. One must always look towards the future, towards one’s own path. Tell me, my son, what do you believe your path to be?”
Zihuan looked up at the sky. A few lone clouds were drifting idly. “To become your heir,” he responded.
“Being my heir is not enough. You must become the future, a chance for the people.”***
The young prince frowned. “I don’t understand what you mean, Father.”
Cao Cao turned his attention towards his son and smiled. Zihuan felt himself being lowered to the ground again and found it strange that he loathed the feeling of the action. An unexpected ruffling of his hair caused him to close his eyes and when he re-opened them his father had already begun walking away accompanied by his mother. The statement, “I hope the new tutor meets your expectations,” and a quick smile from Lady Bian.
Zihuan looked on until they were out of sight and then turned his attention again towards the sky. His father was peculiar; there was no need for such complicated expectations. The day Cao Cao was gone from this world would be the day his son Cao Pi took over.
He knew that was simply the way it was going to be, and not a moment before then.
~~~~~
*Cao Cao had disposed of his first wife, who was the adoptive mother of Cao Ang, his eldest son. The assumption that he divorced her because of her in-ability to get over her son’s death is mine.
**While on a campaign for Jingzhou, Cao Ang was killed by the enemy after giving his horse up to Cao Cao so that he could escape a sudden attack.
*** I’m sorta alluding to Cao Pi’s DW5 ending.
I'm such a history geek. Aha. I'm sorry the setting is probably not 100% accurate since Cao Cao didn't really have any real status around this time but w/e Cao Pi rolls better as a prince anyhoo.
~Brizz (Who really needs to write some pron)