The Grandmaster Strategist

>The madam thought that Liang Wan would not harm Lady Liu, and could not afford to offend a guest who was from Great Yong, and thus reluctantly had Lady Liu go.
I’ve already investigated Bright Moon Pavilion, but did not see any honored guest.
But I did capture one of the servants and after interrogation learned that Lady Liu was indeed killed at the Bright Moon Pavilion.
If I’m not mistaken, it’s likely that Liang Wan was the murderer.
I ambushed her to test her martial arts.
Her internal energy was the same as the energy traces left on Lady Liu’s body.” 

”Liang Wan! Good, good,” I replied distressed, “Xiaoshunzi, help me up so that I can go see Piaoxiang.” 

Xiaoshunzi helped me to a side room.
Inside was a coffin containing Piaoxiang’s body.
I looked at her seemingly still living appearance, I cried loudly full of wrath and regret.
She was really dead.
My beloved.
The woman that I was going to marry was murdered.
In a pained voice, I screamed the name, “Liang Wan.” 

Over the following days, I was numb like a walking corpse.
After properly burying Piaoxiang, I fell ill.
This illness lasted half a year.
I had not fully recovered from the illness that I had suffered in Sichuan and it returned with a vengeance.
Afterwards, I only began to recover after re-cultivating qigong to maintain my health.
Although my appearance also recovered, one could clearly see sorrow on my face. 

After I fell ill, I had heard that Zhao Jue had been rewarded by the King, receiving permission to carry his sword into the palace and exempting him from kneeling.7 It’s no wonder, the Prince of De was the Royal Uncle and was the Chief Commander.
At this point, there was really any further titles or positions that could be bestowed.
I persisted and wrote Zhao Jue a letter that Chen Zhen delivered.
Not long afterwards, Zhao Jue submitted a memorial declining these honors, arguing that as he was already the Royal Uncle, he already had honor and glory.
There was no need for these rewards.
If the King felt that meritorious service must be rewarded in order to protect the state’s dignity, then land and treasure would be sufficient.
Extremely happy, the King heavily rewarded the Prince of De.
After a while, the Prince of De requested permission to defend the Jingxiang region.
The King gladly approved. 

Before he departed for the Jingxiang region, the Prince of De came to see me.
Seeing my deeply ill, he specifically ordered the royal physicians to heal me.
After he arrived in the Jingxiang region, he would often send medicine and supplements.
From Xiaoshunzi, I learned that the Prince of De had also dispatched people to keep an eye on me.
I could care less, especially since I was in bed recovering.
It was unlikely those spies would be keeping track of those individuals by my side.
As for Xiaoshunzi, there were very few people who could keep track of his whereabouts. 

There was something that left me worried.
The King had originally wanted to restore the empire and declare himself emperor.
He faced strenuous opposition from the ranking officials who argued that with Shu newly conquered and having suffered heavy losses, Southern Chu should wait.
The King was extremely unhappy.
Afterwards, he received a letter from the Prince of Qi.
Only then did he sadly abandon these plans.
From then on, the King drowned himself in alcohol and women, especially indulging himself with the court musicians from Shu.
Accompanied by literati, he would drink and make merry, composing poems.
He also had all of the calligraphy, paintings, and books recorded and delivered to the Palace of Sublime Culture.
Although I admired this last action of his, the rest of his behavior was that of an incapable ruler, including handing over all government affairs to Prime Minister Shang Weijun.
The King argued that with his Royal Uncle handling external affairs and Prime Minister Shang handling internal matters, he could drink and feast from dawn till dusk.
Under the leadership of the King, many officials began to increasingly do as they pleased.
I sent people to collect the poems and verses that they had composed and found that they were all gaudy in nature, all of them too horrible to even read. 

Fortunately while Southern Chu was in a drunken stupor, Great Yong was also finding it difficult.
Rumors of the Prince of Yong’s intentions to declare independence reached the ear of the Crown Prince, Li An.
Li An personally went before Yong Emperor Li Yuan to complain tearfully.
Li Yuan recalled the Prince of Yong, keeping him idle.
For the last half year, Li Zhi had stayed in Chang’an, unable to find peace.
He faced several assassination attempts.
After I had heard this news, a mysterious person came to call upon me.
The man was travel-worn and claimed that he was a guard for the Prince of Yong.
I accepted the Prince’s letter.
In the letter, the Prince lamented that he had been slandered, most likely the result of one of my strategies.
Recalling my early promise to help advise him when needed and since this matter had nothing to do with Southern Chu, the Prince asked for my help to protect himself.
I flashed a faint, but bitter smile.
The Prince of Yong really was using everything to acquire me.
After thinking it over, I wrote a letter in response.
For my safety, I used my left hand to write the characters, purposely leaving out the header and the closing inscription:

Take the advantage and strike first, with strong external enemies, there will be no internal misery.

The Prince of Yong was indeed highly intelligent.
I later learned that during a banquet hosted by the Yong Emperor, the Prince of Yong, Li Zhi, drank poisoned wine.
Afterwards, Li Zhi unceasingly vomited blood.
If it weren’t for the coincidental presence of the Medical Sage, Sang Chen, in Chang’an, Li Zhi would likely have died.
Because of this, the Yong Emperor erupted with indignation, implicating numerous individuals.
Li An could only restrain himself.
Soon afterwards, Northern Han began to plunder the frontier.
Li Zhi immediately memorialized his father, requesting permission to defend against Northern Han.
The request was swiftly approved.
The Yong Emperor wished to temporarily separate his two sons, allowing both of them time to calm down.
After hearing the news, I smiled faintly.
To me, this was killing two birds with one stone.
The battle between Prince of Yong and Northern Han will likely last for several years.
With Crown Prince Li An in control of the supplies, he will likely make things difficult for Li Zhi.
In this way, Great Yong will be constrained, preventing them from launching a campaign south.
When the time came for me to take revenge, with the backing of the Prince of Yong, as long as my methods were brilliant, no one would make things difficult for me. 

While I was ill, Xiaoshunzi personally investigated the murder of Piaoxiang.
Ultimately he told me that if I wanted to kill Liang Wan, he could take advantage of some of the holes in the defenses and murder her.
I refused.
Although Liang Wan could not be forgiven for her crimes, there was another culprit who took part in Piaoxiang’s murder.
While Liang Wan was guilty, her main role was to serve as his procurer (of women) and to clean up after him.
This person’s identity was definitely not ordinary.
Under normal circumstances, Liang Wan would never reveal it.
I knew that although this woman was a radiant beauty,8, she was as venomous as a snake or a scorpion.
Even if I were to capture her, I could not have her obediently divulge the other killer’s name.
I must place her in a situation will die with regrets.9 Only then, will I be able to force her to speak the truth.
Because of this, I currently could not kill her. 

Liang Wan was truly malicious.
After Piaoxiang’s death, to pull wool over others’ eyes, I hid myself, only allowing the madam to secretly bury Piaoxiang.
I had indicated to Chen Zhen to have Piaoxiang’s savings be split, giving the madam one portion, while splitting the rest between Piaoxiang’s serving girls, helping them leave Jianye and start new lives.
This was the result of the secret discussions between Chen Zhen and the madam.
Although the madam knew that Piaoxiang was to be married, she had no idea who was going to be husband, let alone remembering my existence.
Seeing that the husband was so generous, the madam was happy.
After she arranged everything, Liang Wan’s assassins arrived.
Liang Wan had earlier dispatched agents to keep an eye on the madam.
Seeing that the madam took care of everything clearly and orderly, Liang Wan did not strike immediately, waiting until everything was settled before sending assassins to kill the madam.
Seeing that Liang Wan did not send anyone to target Chen Zhen, I was able to confirm that Piaoxiang did not divulge who I was.
Xiaoshunzi secretly followed the assassins back and personally watched and listened to them report back to Liang Wan.
In Liang Wan’s eyes, the trail of evidence had been completely severed.
For her, the departure of Piaoxiang’s serving girls, was the best way to settle this matter.
Finding and then killing them all would likely arouse suspicion. 

After listening to Xiaoshunzi, I took a deep breath.
Liang Wan, you truly deserve death.
Regardless of your background, I will definitely ensure that you meet a tragic end.10 

After some time, my health gradually improved.
One night, I set an incense burner table in the rear courtyard to properly pay my respects to Piaoxiang.
Thinking back to our affection, I felt as if my spirit was broken and my mood grew morose.
I silently prayed, “Beloved, you and I fell in love at first sight, bound by deep understanding and emotions.
Who knew that fortune was as unpredictable as the weather, and my love would suffer calamity and perish, the jade shatters and the pearl submerges, leaving nothing of your beautiful image, making it difficult to find a trace of your lingering fragrance.
If beloved’s spirit is there, help me find the true culprit and along with his accomplice, Liang Wan, kill them both to comfort beloved’s departed spirit in the underworld.” 

After finishing my prayer, I picked up a small brocade box on the table.
Inside were the golden hairpin and bracelet that I had intended to gift to Piaoxiang.
Seeing these pieces of jewelry made me miss their owner even more.
I became more melancholic.
Inside the box was a jade finger ring.
Piaoxiang had specifically found this ring with the intention of gifting it to me.
I made the decision to gift her jewelry to her serving girls, leaving only this ring behind.
This finger ring had been purchased by Piaoxiang.
Originally, she loved its dark green color and luster, and its pure texture.
It was slightly too big for her and she could not wear it, leaving it in her jewelry container.
I placed the finger ring on my middle finger.
This was an item left to me by my beloved.
Also inside the box where two poems that had been written the last time I had seen her.
Taking them out, I began to read them.
When I read her poem, reaching the sentence, “I long to be his wife, / Though pitilessly I’m disclaimed, / I would not feel shame,” I could not but shed tears in silence. 

Footnotes:

吏部, libu – the Ministry of Personnel was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles 车船店脚牙，无罪也该杀, chechuandianjiaoya, wuzuiyegaisha – those who work as coachmen, boatmen, waiters, menial laborers, trade intermediaries, should be killed even if they are innocent.
This means that these individuals are untrustworthy and can easily be bought.
They should be silenced to prevent any secret information from leaking out. 分身碎骨, fenshensuigu – idiom, lit.
torn body and crushed bones; fig.
to die horribly; to sacrifice one’s life This is a poem by the Song Dynasty poet, Qin Guan and is about the mythical love story of “the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.” Their love was forbidden and they were banished to the opposite sides of the Celestial River (symbolizing the Milky Way).
Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, they are reunited by a bridge of magpies for one day.
The tale is celebrated throughout Asia as the Qixi Festival in China, the Tanabata Festival in Japan, and the Chilseok Festival in Korea. This is a poem entitled “Thinking of Imperial Land” by the late Tang Dynasty and early Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms poet, Wei Zhuang. 栩栩如生, xuxurusheng – idiom, vivid and lifelike; true to life, realistic. Both of these are great honors, as it meant eliminating two of the most important aspects of propriety when a subject is before a King or Emperor – being unarmed and kneeling to properly pay one’s respects. 艳如桃李, yanrutaoli – idiom, lit.
beautiful as peach and prune; fig.
radiant beauty 死不瞑目, sibumingmu – idiom, lit.
to die with being able to one’s eyes; means dying with regret 死无葬身之地, siwuzangshenzhidi – lit.
to die without a burial site; to die a pauper; to meet a tragic end