Chapter 4: Huang Wan

Huang Wan had not expected that the one to speak up for her and intervene so gallantly would be the new Governor of Yizhou, Liu Zhang, also known as Liu Jiyu. She had heard rumors in the streets and discussed this new governor with her brother; all accounts painted Liu Zhang as benevolent and gentle, yet somewhat cowardly in nature.

However, seeing him step forward today to defend her with such righteous indignation, he appeared peerlessly heroic. It was clear that street rumors were not to be trusted—to truly know a person, one had to see them for oneself.

Once the dust had settled, she stepped forward gracefully, bowed, and offered a respectful salute to both Liu Zhang and Gan Ning.

"I, a woman of the Huang family, offer my deepest thanks to the Governor and the Assistant Administrator for your righteous intervention, which spared me from humiliation."

Observing the young woman who had not fled, who, though only sixteen, carried herself with such poise and dignity, showing not a hint of fear as she bowed with sparkling eyes, Liu Zhang—still influenced by the habits of his past life—blurted out, "Oh, why have you not yet departed, young lady?"

Huang Wan offered a faint smile, her expression blooming like a flower. She answered without hesitation, "The matter was not yet resolved, so how could I have left? I had intended to wait for the market warden to arrive and serve as a witness."

"I did not expect the Governor himself to be here; it seems my caution was unnecessary."

Faced with such candor, Liu Zhang felt a bit diminished. Feeling a twinge of shame, he turned to his steward, Pang Jing, and instructed, "Uncle Pang, I still have matters to attend to; please see the young lady home on my behalf."

After speaking, he looked at the empty-handed pair and seemed to recall something. He gestured for Huang Wan to wait a moment, then walked a dozen paces to a shop selling Shu silk. He picked out a piece of elegant, understated fabric, paid for it, and returned to place it in Huang Wan’s hands.

Huang Wan was surprised, failing to understand his intent. Holding the silk in one hand, she covered her cherry-red lips with the other, asking, "What is the meaning of this, Governor?"

"An act of atonement."

"Atonement? Of what are you guilty, Governor?"

Liu Zhang smiled apologetically, explaining, "As the Governor of Yizhou, I failed to restrain my subordinates, and today you were nearly humiliated because of it. Please, do not refuse."

In truth, Liu Zhang was atoning for his own dark impulses; he should not have projected the cynical perspectives of the twenty-first century onto a sheltered lady of antiquity.

After seeing the two off, Liu Zhang looked at Gan Ning with burning enthusiasm. Women were of no consequence to him compared to Gan Ning. A hundred noble maidens could not compare to one Gan Ning; Xingba was a peerless warrior of the Three Kingdoms, and he was determined to secure his loyalty today.

He issued an invitation: "Xingba, would you be willing to visit my estate for a conversation?"

Gan Ning bowed. "How could I refuse, my lord?"

The Governor’s carriage arrived, and Liu Zhang pulled the slightly hesitant Gan Ning into the vehicle with him.

"Drive!" At Pang Que’s command, the carriage creaked forward over the flagstones, escorted by armored guards wielding halberds, the clashing of their armor creating a crisp, metallic rhythm.

Gan Ning sat upright, not daring to move. Many citizens of Yizhou were watching them from the sides of the road, whispering and pointing, which made him careful not to appear frivolous and compromise his own reputation.

Sharing a carriage with the Governor was a supreme honor. As an Assistant Administrator, Gan Ning felt he had reached the pinnacle of his life. In a matter of days, his name would likely spread throughout Chengdu, and before long, it might be known across the entire land of Ba and Shu.

To make a name for himself and be recorded in history—this was Gan Ning’s dream.

He turned his head slightly to glance at Liu Zhang, who sat upright in the carriage, staring straight ahead. Liu Zhang remained silent, his expression stern, his refined features carrying an unquestionable air of authority, his brows like sharp swords piercing Gan Ning’s heart.

At that moment, a thought took root in Gan Ning’s mind.

Liu Zhang might be the man he had been looking for. His true master.

***

The Zhao Residence.

This was the estate of Zhao Wei, a Sima serving under the high officials of Yizhou. A heated argument was underway.

"Father, why did you push for that good-for-nothing Liu Zhang to become the Governor of Yizhou?"

Zhao Wei’s son, Zhao Xi, asked indignantly, "The Third Young Master, Liu Mao, is shrewd, capable, and courageous. Would it not have been better for him to be Governor?"

"Furthermore, there is a clear order of seniority; it should never have fallen to that coward, Liu Zhang."

Zhao Xi could not fathom why his father and Wang Shang, the Chancellor, had insisted on Liu Zhang. Compared to Liu Mao, who was superior in both character and conduct, Liu Zhang was like mud compared to the clouds. He could not understand why his father, instead of choosing the clouds in the sky, had chosen the muck on the ground.

Having just returned to Chengdu from his home in Ba Commandery, Zhao Xi had rushed to his father’s study without even washing up, desperate for an answer.

Zhao Wei, who was reading, frowned at his son’s blustering and transparent emotions. *Still useless,* he thought. He could see the first layer of things, but never the second.

Still, he was his son—his only son. Setting aside his book, Zhao Wei replied with a rhetorical question:

"The late Governor Liu Yan was also shrewd and capable. Did you enjoy having him as the Governor of Yizhou?"

Zhao Xi shook his head. Liu Yan was overbearing; upon arriving in Yizhou, he had executed the Prefect of Ba Commandery, Wang Xian, and a prominent local clan leader, Li Quan, to establish his authority. As locals of Ba Commandery, the Zhao family was linked by marriage to these clans, and they could not help but feel a sense of shared grief.

"Therefore, between Liu Mao and Liu Zhang, I naturally prefer the weak Liu Zhang. If he is the Governor, our people of Shu will suffer less."

Zhao Xi pondered this, and it sank in. But soon, another thought emerged: "Father, can we not take the reins of power ourselves?"

"Although the 'Three Mutuals' law prevents us from being Governor, we could recommend someone of Shu origin who is not a native of Yizhou."

"Why must we insist on these foreigners? They have never held us in any regard, constantly insulting us, calling us vermin in the belly, unworthy of being proper men."

Zhao Wei sighed helplessly. Besides the two brothers, what other choices did they have? What other choices dared they make?

"Do you know that when Liu Yan suddenly passed away without naming a successor, while we officials were deliberating..."

"The Dongzhou soldiers heard the news. Clad in armor and carrying halberds, bows, and arrows, they rushed to the courtyard where we were meeting. They nearly stormed the very steps of the hall."

"Those ruffians from Dongzhou shouted that they owed a great debt to Governor Liu, and that if we did not install his son as the new Governor, they would burn everything to the ground."

Zhao Xi fell silent. He had not realized the situation had been so dire. In such an emergency, installing Liu Zhang was indeed the best choice for the people of Shu.

At this, Zhao Wei recalled how, when the officials finished their deliberations and invited Liu Zhang to succeed his father, the boy had been terrified, stammering, 'You... you have ruined me.'

Zhao Wei squinted, feeling a sense of triumph. A mediocre, cowardly person like Liu Zhang was the perfect figurehead for Yizhou; otherwise, how would he himself have an opportunity? He would let the boy sit on the throne for a while.

Just then, the steward of the Zhao household entered after requesting an audience, reporting news from a spy in the Chengdu markets: the Dongzhou soldiers were causing trouble again.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xi began to curse: "In broad daylight! Under the open sky! The Dongzhou soldiers dare to act so lawlessly, bullying us people of Shu!"

"Father, as the Military Sima, you cannot let these Dongzhou soldiers continue to run wild. You must strike hard and teach them a lesson!"

Zhao Wei, however, stroked his goatee with a look of contentment. The matter did not trouble him; rather, it pleased him. "What do you know? The Dongzhou soldiers are paving the way for you and me."

"Paving the way?" Zhao Xi was confused, failing to grasp his father’s meaning.

It was indeed paving the way. Zhao Wei offered no further explanation. His heart was light, and he thought with pleasure that the Dongzhou soldiers were paving his own path to the Governor’s seat.

Let them cause trouble, he thought. Let them stir up chaos until it could no longer be contained, until the people of Shu could no longer bear the oppression, until the hearts of the people across the land of Ba and Shu burned with rage. That would be his moment.

And then, Yizhou would truly become the Yizhou of the Shu people—the Yizhou of *him*.