Diao Chan, One of the Four Great Beauties: FulFilling a Vow (Part III)

Translated and Compiled by Michelle Guo

Lü Bu hurriedly pulled Diao Chan back and held her in his arms, tears streaming down his face, and said, "I've long understood your feelings. I only regret not having the chance to express my own to you." 

Diao Chan, still weeping, clutched Lü Bu's hand and said, "In this life, I cannot be your wife, but I hope we can meet again in the next life!" 

Lü Bu, his blood boiling with passion, declared, "If I cannot marry you in this life, I am no hero!"

Diao Chan pleaded, "My days pass like years. Please, General, have mercy on me and save me quickly!"

 Lü Bu hesitated and then said, "I snuck out to come here today. If I stay too long, the old scoundrel will grow suspicious. I must leave quickly." 

As he spoke, he attempted to pull away. Diao Chan held onto the corner of Lü Bu's robe, crying, "If you are so afraid of that old scoundrel, I will never see the light of day!" 

Lü Bu stopped and said, "Let me think of a way." 

With that, he picked up his halberd and was about to leave. 

Diao Chan cried out, "I heard of your name while growing up secluded in the inner chambers. It was like thunder striking my ears. I believed you were a peerless hero, but who would have thought you'd be oppressed by others!" 

As she finished speaking, tears fell like rain. Lü Bu’s face turned red with shame. Feeling utterly humiliated, he threw down his halberd, turned back, and embraced Diao Chan again. The two held each other, unwilling to part.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Dong Zhuo noticed that Lü Bu was nowhere to be seen and became suspicious. He quickly took his leave from the Emperor and returned home. As he reached the gate of his residence, he saw Lü Bu's horse tied by the roadside. When he asked the servants, they said that Lü Bu had gone to the back hall. Dong Zhuo's heart sank, and he hurriedly went alone to the back hall, but Lü Bu was nowhere to be found. He called for Diao Chan, but she was also missing. A maidservant then told him that Diao Chan had said she was going to the back garden to see the flowers. Hearing this, Dong Zhuo's face darkened as he quickly made his way to the back garden. 

Winding his way to the Fengyi Pavilion, he saw Lü Bu and Diao Chan leaning close to each other, whispering. Dong Zhuo's rage erupted, and he let out a thunderous shout. Lü Bu was startled, let go of Diao Chan, and ran. Dong Zhuo grabbed Lü Bu's halberd, which had been set aside, and chased after him. However, being heavy and slow, Dong Zhuo couldn’t keep up. He then used all his strength to hurl the halberd at Lü Bu. But Lü Bu, being highly skilled in martial arts, turned and easily deflected the weapon. Dong Zhuo caught up, picked up the halberd, and wanted to strike again, but Lü Bu was already far away.

Dong Zhuo, still unwilling to give up, chased after him out of the garden, only to be knocked down by someone. It was Li Ru. As Li Ru arrived, he saw Lü Bu fleeing in a panic, who shouted, "The Grand Commandant wants to kill me!" 

Li Ru, seeing this, quickly guessed what had happened. As expected, Dong Zhuo furiously exclaimed, "That traitor dared to flirt with my beloved concubine! I must kill him!" 

Li Ru hurriedly advised, "Years ago, during a banquet hosted by King Zhuang of Chu, the candle flames were suddenly blown out by the wind, and in the darkness, there was a scuffle. The king's beloved concubine cried out that someone had touched her inappropriately in the darkness, and that she managed to break off the top tassel from his hat. King Zhuang, after a moment of thought, ordered all the ministers to break the tassels on their hats before the candles were relit, and the banquet continued without anyone being held accountable. Later, when King Zhuang was in a life-threatening situation, this man, out of gratitude, risked his life to save the king. Now, Diao Chan is just a woman, but Lü Bu is your loyal and fierce general. If you take this opportunity to give Diao Chan to him, he will surely be deeply grateful and will risk his life to repay you in the future." 

Dong Zhuo pondered for a long time before finally saying, "You're right. Let me think about it."

Dong Zhuo returned to the inner hall and summoned Diao Chan. He asked her why she had secretly consorted with Lü Bu. Diao Chan wept like a rain-soaked pear blossom and replied, "I was watching the flowers in the back garden when Lü Bu suddenly burst in. I quickly tried to avoid him, but he said, 'I am the son of the Grand Commandant; why should you avoid me?' He then grabbed his halberd and chased me to the Fengyi Pavilion. Realizing his ill intentions and fearing he would force himself upon me, I was about to throw myself into the pond to commit suicide when he caught me. At that critical moment, you returned and saved my life." 

Dong Zhuo, half-believing her story, asked, "What if I gave you to Lü Bu?" 

Diao Chan looked shocked, her face pale with fear, and she cried out, "I have already served a great lord. Now, you suddenly want to give me to a mere servant? I would rather die than suffer such humiliation!" 

With that, she stood up, rushed to the wall, grabbed a sword, and was about to kill herself. Dong Zhuo, finally convinced of Diao Chan's sincerity, hurriedly grabbed the sword and threw it aside, embracing her and comforting her, saying, "I was only joking." 

Diao Chan fell into Dong Zhuo's arms, covering her face as she wept bitterly and said, "This must be Li Ru's wicked plot. Li Ru is close to Lü Bu, so he must have come up with this plan, disregarding both the Grand Commandant's dignity and my life. I wish I could tear him to pieces!" 

Dong Zhuo, feeling heartbroken, comforted her, saying, "How could I ever bear to give you away?" 

Diao Chan cried, "Though the Grand Commandant cares for me, if I stay here, I will surely be harmed by Lü Bu!" 

Dong Zhuo, now only concerned with pleasing his beloved, immediately promised, "Tomorrow, I will take you to Meiwu Fort, where we can enjoy our time together. You need not worry anymore." 

Only then did Diao Chan stop her tears and gratefully bowed to the Grand Commandant .

The next day, Li Ru, fearing Dong Zhuo might change his mind, came early to see him and suggested that it was an auspicious day to send Diao Chan to Lü Bu’s residence immediately.

Dong Zhuo, displeased, coldly replied, "Lü Bu and I are like father and son; it wouldn’t be appropriate to give him one of my concubines. Not punishing him for his crime is already a grace. Convey this to him and comfort him well." 

Li Ru quickly advised, "Grand Commandant, you must not be swayed by a woman!" 

Dong Zhuo’s expression darkened, and he scolded, "Would you be willing to give your wife to Lü Bu? Enough about Diao Chan! Say one more word, and I will have you beheaded!" 

Li Ru had no choice but to leave. Once outside, he looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, "Now we are all doomed because of a woman!"

Dong Zhuo immediately ordered a return to Meiwu Fort, and all the civil and military officials came to see him off. Diao Chan, sitting in her carriage, saw Lü Bu in the distance, craning his neck to look at her among the crowd. Diao Chan covered her face and pretended to weep bitterly, causing Lü Bu to feel as if his heart was being pierced, filled with anger and resentment.

Suddenly, someone behind Lü Bu said, "Why doesn’t the Marquis of Wen accompany the Grand Commandant? Why are you sighing here instead?" 

Lü Bu turned around to see that it was Minister Wang Yun. Wang Yun said, "I have been resting at home, recovering from illness, which is why I haven’t seen you in a long time. Today, I came despite my illness to bid farewell to the Grand Commandant, but I didn’t expect to see you sighing here. May I ask why?" 

Lü Bu replied, "It's all because of your daughter!" 

Wang Yun pretended to be surprised and asked, "What? After all this time, she still hasn't been sent to you?" 

Lü Bu, enraged, said, "That old scoundrel has long since taken Diao Chan for himself!" 

Wang Yun feigned disbelief, so Lü Bu recounted the whole story. Upon hearing it, Wang Yun beat his chest and stomped his feet, exclaiming, "Who would have thought the Grand Commandant would commit such beastly acts!" 

He then took Lü Bu’s hand and invited him to his home to discuss the matter.

In a secret room at Wang Yun's residence, the two drank wine and conversed. Knowing Lü Bu was proud and self-centered, Wang Yun deliberately provoked him, saying, "The Grand Commandant violated my daughter and forcibly took the general's wife. This has become a joke to the whole world. People are not mocking the Grand Commandant, but the two of us! I am old and feeble; if people laugh at me, so be it. But it’s a pity that a hero like you, General, has to endure such humiliation!" 

Lü Bu, who had been suppressing his anger out of fear of Dong Zhuo, was infuriated by Wang Yun's words and slammed the table, shouting, "I, Lü Bu, swear by the heavens, I will kill that old scoundrel to wash away my shame!" 

Wang Yun pretended to be frightened, hurriedly covered Lü Bu's mouth, and whispered, "General, don't speak so rashly, or you might implicate an old man like me!" 

Lü Bu, still angry, said, "I am a man born under heaven and earth; how can I continue to live under that old scoundrel? But I am bound to him by the ties of father and son, and if I kill him, I fear being condemned by future generations." 

Wang Yun smiled and said, "You are Lü, and the Grand Commandant is Dong. When he hurled the halberd at you, where was the father-son bond then?" 

Lü Bu, suddenly realizing the truth of these words, jumped up and said, "If it weren't for the Minister's guidance, I might have remained confused for a lifetime!"

Seeing that the time was ripe, Wang Yun seized the opportunity to persuade Lü Bu to support the Han Dynasty and kill Dong Zhuo, promising him eternal glory. By this point, Lü Bu was determined to kill Dong Zhuo, so he broke an arrow as a vow and joined Wang Yun and others in plotting Dong Zhuo's assassination. 

Not long after, Lü Bu indeed stabbed Dong Zhuo to death with a single thrust in the palace. At that time, the citizens of Chang'an, who had long suffered under Dong Zhuo's tyranny, rejoiced upon hearing the news of his death, clapping their hands and raising their foreheads in celebration.

******

Diao Chan's story was widely circulated among the people, though it is not recorded in official history. There are various folk legends about Diao Chan's origins, the events of her story, and her ultimate fate, with no consensus among them. However, the most popular version comes from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. 

The name "Diao Chan" was not her real name. "Diao Chan" refers to the "Diao Chan Crown," also known as the Huì Wén Crown, which was initially a crown worn by high-ranking military officers in ancient times and later by the Emperor's close ministers and scholars. The crown was adorned with the image of a cicada (Chan), with mink (Diao) tails on top. The cicada symbolizes purity and high moral character because it emerges from the mud but lives its life high up the branch. "Nobly drinking dew," it never consumes anything impure. The mink symbolizes being strong yet gentle, quick, and agile. In the story, Diao Chan, despite being a weak woman, bore the heavy burden of the nation's fate, enduring humiliation to serve the traitor for the sake of repaying her adoptive father's kindness. She skillfully maneuvered between two powerful men, and ultimately accomplished her mission without dishonor. The name "Diao Chan" is indeed fitting for her character.