Chapter Thirteen: Each Moves Their Own Pawn

That night was a sleepless one for many.

Yuan Wei had just sent his servants away, leaving himself alone in the study. He set up a chessboard and began placing pieces slowly. Before long, a complex endgame was laid out before him.

Though the Han dynasty had yet to formally establish the Eight Methods of Qi Nourishment, the Confucian practice of calming the mind and nurturing one’s qi was already a fundamental tenet for every student of Confucianism. The art of Go gradually flourished during this period, becoming one of the refined scholar-gentry’s ways to cultivate their qi. Even Ban Gu wrote a dedicated essay, “The Essence of Go,” solidifying the game’s esteemed status among the elite.

Influenced by his elder brother Yuan Feng, Yuan Wei too favored this path. There was a time when the two brothers frequently sat facing each other, playing Go—not for victory or defeat, but out of brotherly affection.

Staring at the endgame before him, Yuan Wei’s aged eyes glistened with moisture.

This was the unfinished match between him and his late brother Yuan Feng, one he was finally resolving tonight.

That very night coincided with the outbreak of the Disasters of the Partisans. The entire city of Luoyang was engulfed in flames throughout the night, clanging armor and battle cries filled the air. Countless upright scholars suffered ruin and death, their lives brutally severed.

Yuan Wei and Yuan Feng sat with pounding hearts, forcing calm as they played in the hall, awaiting an unpredictable verdict. Fortunately, Emperor Ling of Han did not approve the eunuchs’ harsh judgment against Yuan Feng, sparing the family’s fate. Yet afterward, though his brother was never officially dismissed, Yuan Feng was deeply implicated and never recovered, ultimately dying a sorrowful death.

Since then, Yuan Wei harbored a deep hatred for the eunuchs, yet was powerless against their overwhelming influence. He could only endure in silence.

Tonight was much the same—flames illuminating Luoyang, soldiers rushing everywhere—but this time, those falling were the once-untouchable eunuchs.

Years of careful plotting were finally reaching their climax.

Yuan Wei bore no personal grudge against He Jin. Strictly speaking, the refined scholar-gentry often vented their contempt for the imperial relatives, but few truly regarded them as mortal enemies.

They knew the truth: imperial relatives frequently changed. Their glory might last a few years at most, but when the favored palace figure aged and faded, even the most powerful imperial kin would fall.

But eunuchs were different. Beauties came and went, but eunuchs remained constant.

Yuan Wei had waited patiently for this moment. Seizing the opportunity during the new emperor’s enthronement—while the old generation of eunuchs had yet to cement ties with him—he stirred the conflict between imperial relatives and eunuchs, fanning the flames relentlessly. He even deployed hidden agents long prepared. At last, all his adversaries were dragged into the abyss of death.

The grand general He Jin was dead.

The eunuchs—Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and their cohorts—were dead.

Yuan Wei reached out, lifting the large black dragon piece that had been sealed off one by one, tossing them to the ground carelessly. He lifted his head high, contemptuous, watching the black stones scatter.

A cold smile played at the corners of his lips.

“Pity the victory is not complete…” he murmured, tapping two small black pieces stubbornly surviving at the board’s edges. “Very well, after all, the Great Way has fifty steps; the heavens have forty-nine. Let us say these two have had their fortune this time…”

“However… in the next game, will you still be so lucky?”

****************

A formidable column of troops wound its way forward—it was the army under Dong Zhuo of Xiliang.

Inside a carriage, Li Ru and Li Wenyou lit a lantern and set up a Go board. Black and white stones clashed fiercely, each move entangling the other in a deadly cycle of capture and counter-capture.

A fifty-fifty battle?

Li Ru studied the board carefully. Indeed, no more moves were possible. With a cold snort, he swept the stones aside.

Since the old game could no longer continue, let us start anew!

Throwing open the carriage’s curtain, Li Ru commanded sharply, “Issue my orders: the left and right wings spread out twenty li each, raising torches and banners to intimidate! The entire army must hasten toward Luoyang! We must arrive before dawn! Anyone who fails shall be executed!”

Instantly, Dong Zhuo’s forces swelled, spreading rapidly like a great net toward Luoyang.

***********

Within a small courtyard hall, Fei Qian and Cui Hou sat down to a game of Go.

Though the city’s clamor gradually subsided, the two found no sleep after the night’s chaos. By mutual agreement, they passed the time with a game.

“My worthy younger brother brought back two children who look either rich or noble. I wonder which family’s scions they are, fallen on hard times…” Cui Hou placed a piece casually, not really concerned about the two children. He assumed they were merely runaway sons from some household caught in a fire.

Fei Qian answered casually, “I do not know either. They are young and clearly shaken; best not to question them now. We shall wait until dawn.”

Cui Hou laughed, teasing, “You call them young? Pray tell, how old are you yourself?”

“Though I appear youthful, I am actually sixty-five,” Fei Qian replied, adopting a solemn expression.

Cui Hou laughed heartily, scattering a handful of pieces on the board. “Very well, I concede. You win…” He waved over a serving maid to fetch freshly brewed tea and some pastries.

Once the maid retreated, Cui Hou wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, rose, and bowed formally to Fei Qian. “On behalf of my family, I thank you, young sir! The Cui family today accepts this favor. Should you ever call upon us, we shall obey!”

Fei Qian hastened to help him up. “I cannot accept such grand ceremony.”

“It is deserved! To be frank, your presence is like sweet rain after drought for my family,” Cui Hou smiled bitterly, nodding around. “Though all seems well, the Cui family is hollow inside.”

“How so?”

Cui Hou explained slowly.

Every family faces its own struggles.

The Cui family originally bore the Jiang surname, descended from Jiang Ziya, with a lineage tracing back to the Yan Emperor Shennong. During the Western Zhou, the ruler of Qi, Duke Ding Gong Ji, was granted the fief of Cui. His descendants took the name from this place, making the Cui surname’s origins in Linzi, Shandong.

As the Cui family branched out, the line of Cui Lie excelled in commerce, gradually accumulating wealth and expanding from Shandong into the Heluo region, settling firmly in Luoyang.

By Cui Lie’s generation, the Shandong branch had declined, and the family headship passed to Cui Lie’s branch.

There was fierce competition for this position, though the details remain unknown.

Victorious, Cui Lie once held vast wealth and, having transitioned from merchant to official, rose to the esteemed post of Minister over the Masses. His star once shone brightly but soon faded. Targeted by eunuchs, he lost office and suffered the confiscation of much of his estate. His wealth dwindled to barely two-tenths, and he fell ill, passing away soon after.

Though he bequeathed the family headship to Cui Yi, the position was now a hot potato, as rival branches eyed the title.

The family head held supreme authority—controlling the clan’s genealogy and ancestral hall, wielding the power to expel members from the family, a power akin to life and death for aristocratic lineages.

Having lost office and fortune, losing the headship would mean total ruin for Cui Yi’s branch, extinguishing any hope of revival.

Fortunately, Cui Lie had many allies at court, allowing Cui Yi to retain his position temporarily. But favors fade, and debts must be repaid.

To maintain Cui Yi’s status, the family had spent lavishly over the years—funding their estates and currying favor with ministers—nearly exhausting their reserves.

Yet court officials cared little for mere gold and silver; they desired rare treasures, which were no common field weeds, but scarce and precious.

Thus, the Cui family scoured far and wide, offering every rare find as tribute to powerful officials.

Fei Qian nodded silently. No wonder rumors circulated that the Cui family dealt in dubious treasures. Now he understood the root cause.

Having acquired Fei Qian’s improved glassmaking formula, the Cui family had, in effect, found a golden goose.

Firstly, no longer would they scramble blindly for rare treasures; their own glassware was itself a treasure.

Secondly, it opened a new revenue stream, reversing their net losses and strengthening their hold on the headship.

Perhaps Fei Qian possessed other secrets, but for now, the Cui family valued consolidation above all.

After their chief craftsman confirmed the remarkable improvements in glass color and luster brought by Fei Qian’s formula, Cui Yi decisively chose to cultivate good relations with Fei Qian.

This aligned with the timeless law of noble families—family first.

Had Fei Qian been a direct branch of the Fei family, Cui Yi might have even thanked him in person.

Cui Hou’s thorough explanation of the family’s rise and fall contained no questions about how Fei Qian obtained the formula or other methods, conveying two key messages: gratitude and trust, and a promise to keep the secret safe.

Should Fei Qian require anything in the future, the Cui family would weigh the formula’s value and respond accordingly.

Of course, such reciprocity depended on their respective standings at that time. Like a starving pauper and a satiated rich man, the same meal holds vastly different meanings.

At that moment, a maid brought fresh tea and pastries and asked if they wished to prepare for washing now that dawn approached.

Only then did Fei Qian and Cui Hou realize the long night had quietly slipped away, and a new day was dawning.

Raising his cup, Fei Qian proposed, “Brother Yongyuan, why not join me in bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new with this tea?”

Cui Hou responded instantly, raising his cup as well. “Indeed, young sir! Let us bid farewell to the old and celebrate the new!”