Ask Danzhu

Great Xia was founded by Emperor Gao, who enfeoffed his five sons as kings in the states of Qi, Wu, Zhou, Yan, and Lu. Over the decades, the princes grew increasingly powerful, controlling more than half the empire. Succession disputes and internal strife led to the War of the Five Kingdoms, followed by the Rebellion of the Three Kings. Eventually, the emperor crushed the rebellions, executing Prince Zhou and Prince Wu, while Prince Qi surrendered his lands. Ten years later, the realm was pacified under the central throne, but the remnants of the defeated Wu nobility remained stigmatized.

Chen Danzhu, the youngest daughter of Grand Tutor Chen Lietu, survived the massacre of her clan by hiding in a Daoist temple on Tao Mountain for ten years. Her family had been executed by Prince Wu on charges of treason, a crime orchestrated by Li Liang, Chen Danzhu’s brother-in-law and the general who had betrayed Wu to the emperor. In her previous life, Chen Danzhu believed Li Liang was a hero who avenged her brother, only to discover after his death that he had killed her entire family to secure his position. She died regretting her ignorance. Upon waking, she finds herself ten years in the past, before the fall of Wu, with the knowledge of future events.

Yang Jing, a childhood friend and survivor of the Wu court, returns to Tao Mountain and reveals the truth: Li Liang had already pledged loyalty to the emperor before the rebellion. He manipulated Chen Danzhu’s sister, Chen Danyan, into stealing the military token, and killed Chen Danzhu’s brother, Chen Danyang, to prove his allegiance. Enraged, Chen Danzhu resolves to kill Li Liang. She returns to the capital, where her elder sister is currently pregnant and living with Li Liang. Chen Danzhu drugs her sister to steal the military token and travels to Li Liang’s camp under the guise of delivering news of the pregnancy.

At the camp, Chen Danzhu poisons Li Liang using herbs she prepared, ensuring he falls into a coma from which he will not recover. She attempts to seize control of his fifty-thousand-strong army to prevent the impending war, but discovers that Li Liang’s inner circle and the imperial court have already infiltrated the ranks. A court physician exposes her poisoning but offers her a choice: die or cooperate. Chen Danzhu requests to see the Iron-Faced General, the commander of the imperial forces, whom she knows from her past life led the conquest of Wu.

The Iron-Faced General reveals himself to be the emperor’s most trusted commander. He acknowledges that Chen Danzhu has ruined his plan to use Li Liang as a traitor within Wu, but sees potential in her. Chen Danzhu proposes a substitution: she will take Li Liang’s place and lead the imperial army into Wu’s capital, using the military token to bypass defenses. In exchange, she demands that the general not breach the river dikes, sparing the civilian population from flooding, and that he spare the city for ten days to allow for negotiation.

The Iron-Faced General agrees to her terms, recognizing that her identity as the Grand Tutor’s daughter gives her unique access and authority. Chen Danzhu is escorted back to the capital with imperial soldiers, carrying the military token and the burden of betraying her own state. She must now navigate the political landscape of Wu, facing her father’s loyalty to Prince Wu and the entrenched forces of the court, while trying to avert the catastrophic war that destroyed her family in her previous life. Her journey transforms her from a vengeful girl into a key player in the fate of the empire.