Chapter Text
On the day that Cao Cao was due to kill the tyrant, he woke up at dawn but did not set off for Dong Zhuo's residency until it was well past noon. By then, the sun had reached its zenith, and the city felt warm, over-bright and sleepy. The streets were much quieter, and Cao Cao was able to ride through at his leisure, taking time to admire the scenery.
His plan required him to be noticeably late but not enough to be disrespectful, he did not want to risk incurring the wrath of his host. Cao Cao had spent the past year building up as much goodwill as he could with the Prime Minister, but not even that was assured. Dong Zhuo had become dangerously volatile of late, swinging wildly between jovial and enraged in a heartbeat. The talk around court was that he slept in armour and kept a sword by his bed. One might almost call him paranoid, Cao Cao mused with a smile, except paranoia was defined as an irrational belief that everyone was out to get you…
"Hey, Lord Cao is here!"
"Good afternoon, Lord Cao!"
"We were beginning to think His Lordship wasn't coming."
Dong Zhuo's household guards greeted him by name as he dismounted his horse. Cao Cao had been plying them with little gifts for the past year; expensive snacks from lunches that he conveniently couldn't finish, sending them pots of wine when his favourite concubine birthed a son, and turning up roaring drunk on his father’s birthday, tossing out coin by the fistful. That was the trick to bribery, making it look subtle. He had won the lot over before the second month was out. Well, most of them.
"May I ask why Lord Cao was late today?" asked grim-faced Captain Li. He was as sober as a monk and twice as devoted. It took just one stern look from him to silence the pack and bring them to heel.
"I was purchasing a gift for your esteemed master," Cao Cao said, "I had to queue for quite a bit, but as my father always said, if it's worth having, it's worth waiting for."
With that, he reached into the saddlebag and pulled a bundle wrapped in scarlet silk. Just as he expected, the guards followed it curiously with their eyes.
"Any guesses as to what's inside?" said he.
"Jewelry?" said one.
Said another, "Lord Cao is a man of learning; it's for sure a book!"
"It's a dagger," said Captain Li, recognizing the shape.
"Correct!" Cao Cao unwrapped the cloth and showed them the Seven-Star Dagger. He had visited a craftsman earlier that day and had the plain leather sheath replaced with an ornate, silver one encrusted with gems. The guards all oohed and aahed appreciatively at this gaudy display of wealth. It was a little risky to display the murder weapon out in the open like this, but that was the basis of all good magic tricks; hide something in plain sight and distract the audience with something shiny.
Captain Li was very little moved by the splendour; "may I take your sword, Lord Cao?"
"Thank you, Captain," Cao Cao said, unhooking the scabbard from his belt. They had gone through this routine many times. Dong Zhuo was a paranoid old fool and did not even permit a gentleman's sword to be carried in his presence. It boggled the mind that any idiot would actually try to assassinate someone with a sword. It was terribly unwieldy—and good luck getting it unsheathed with any subtlety—The victim would see it coming from a mile away and have the guards on you in seconds.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, Lord Cao," Captain Li said by rote, "but I must also search your person for weapons."
"A moment, Captain." Cao Cao handed the wrapped dagger to another guard. "Hold it carefully, and mind you don't get it dirty."
"Yes, m'lord!" The man looked thrilled to be entrusted with something worth eighty times his yearly salary.
Cao Cao opened his arms like he was going in for a hug and allowed Captain Li to pat him down. The Captain was a head shorter than Cao Cao but thickset and formidable, not someone he could take in a fight, although he might be able to outrun him. Cao Cao eyed the broadsword at his hip. He did not doubt that Captain Li would strike him down without hesitation if ordered to.
Cao Cao had been paying fortnightly visits to Dong Zhuo for the better part of a year, and never once in twelve months did the paranoid frisking let up. Every time he visited, the Captain combed him over so thoroughly that Cao Cao doubted he'd get even a sewing needle past him. Moving briskly and meticulously, Captain Li ran his hands along Cao Cao's chest, back, belly and armpits, searching for any irregularities. With the same dry professionalism, he knelt before Cao Cao and felt around his crotch. Cao Cao might have found this a little off-putting if he hadn't spent three years in the army.
"Any weapons on me, Captain?" he teased.
"None, Lord Cao."
"What?" Cao Cao cried in mock indignation, "I daresay the ladies would disagree!"
That got some laughs, but Captain Li just replied seriously, "Lord Cao is permitted to enter now."
Cao Cao couldn't help but smile. What the Captain lacked in imagination, he made up for with his dutiful nature. Under better circumstances, Cao Cao would have liked to hire him for his own use—good men were so hard to come by these days—and he had grown rather fond of this bunch. It was a shame that come sunset, all of these guards would find their necks on the block because of Cao Mengde.
"Keep up the good work, men." Cao Cao took his dagger back from the guard and walked right into Dong Zhuo's courtyard, openly carrying the weapon he would assassinate him with.