‘I hear that Princess Hua Yang is fond of jewellery. Tomorrow let us go and purchase for her the rarest gems and brightest jade. I shall travel to Xianyang, the capital of Qin, next month and give them to her as a special gift from you. Hopefully, she will be persuaded to put in a good word for you to your father.’
‘But you don’t even know Princess Hua Yang. How will you make her acquaintance?’
Lü laughed, ‘That is no problem at all! I have contacts who know Princess Hua Yang’s older sister and brother. I hear that the princess and her siblings are very close and see each other regularly. In any case, leave all that to me and don’t worry. First let me present you with five hundred pieces of gold for living expenses and for entertaining the noble lords here at Handan. Make some good contacts. I’ll be back soon and everything will be arranged for you.’
Prince Zi Chu knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Lü. Then he said, ‘Should you succeed in making me King of Qin, I shall rule my kingdom together with you.’
A few months later, Lü returned from Xianyang in the best of spirits and immediately sought out Zi Chu. ‘Congratulations!’ he began. ‘I met Princess Hua Yang’s sister and asked her to present some gifts to the princess, telling her that they were from you. Then I said to her, “King Zao is getting old. When he dies, your sister’s husband Prince An Guo will be king. At present, Prince An Guo loves your sister deeply even though she is barren. Princess Hua Yang is a beautiful woman but I have heard that when a woman ages, her husband’s love vanishes along with her beauty. And since she has no son, there will be no one left to protect her after Prince An Guo’s death. Her position will become more and more precarious as she gets older and feebler. Who will be there to look after her at that stage of her life?”
‘I could see that she was getting interested. Now I brought out the jewellery and said, “All these jewels were specially purchased for Princess Hua Yang by Prince Zi Chu. Please give them to her. Prince Zi Chu is a worthy and filial son and loves your sister like a second mother. Life is hard for him. The people of Qin have largely forgotten Prince Zi Chu, and he has languished in the foreign state of Zhao as a hostage for over five years. In spite of this, he remains good-hearted and honest. What a fine young man! He is worthy and filial and everyone in Zhao holds him in the highest esteem!
“When I think of it, since Princess Hua Yang has no son of her own, why doesn’t she adopt Zi Chu as her heir and persuade Prince An Guo to make Zi Chu his successor? This way, your sister, you and your family will always be protected and honoured, even after Prince An Guo’s death. When Zi Chu ascends the throne, Princess Hua Yang will be the Queen Mother. Even after her death, Prince Zi Chu will honour your sister’s memory and the memory of her family. This is called yi yan er wan shi zhi li (speaking one sentence that results in ten thousand generations of gain).”
‘I’m glad to report that after lengthy discussions with her sister, Princess Hua Yang became convinced of the truth of my advice. She waited for the appropriate moment and praised you to your father, saying what a worthy man you are. Then with tears in her eyes, she begged your father to allow her to adopt you as her son and set you up as his rightful heir so that her own future would be secure. Your father gave his consent and even had a jade tally engraved with words to this effect. He broke the tally in two and gave one half to Princess Hua Yang, retaining the other half for himself. This means that you are now your father’s rightful heir. Congratulations!’
‘What you have done is incredible!’ Prince Zi Chu exclaimed. ‘But why did my father not make a public announcement that I am now his heir?’
‘How can he do that? Remember, your grandfather is still very much alive and sits on the throne at this very moment. Your father is only the crown prince, not yet the king. But the fact that he had a jade tally engraved to this effect and divided it with Princess Hua Yang means that he has made a solemn promise. Here! I almost forgot! Your father and Princess Hua Yang also asked me to be your tutor and entrusted me to bring you all these rich gifts. Just look at them! I have no doubt that all the noble lords in Handan will soon look at you with different eyes and your fame will spread far and wide from now on.’
‘I shall always be grateful to you,’ Zi Chu exclaimed. ‘How can I ever repay you?’
‘Don’t even think of it!’ Merchant Lü replied. ‘Why don’t you come to my house tonight to celebrate? I have many concubines who can entertain us. Tonight, they will sing for us while we dine.’
Over the next five years, the two men became best friends and spent much time together. Though Merchant Lü had many concubines, he was particularly fond of one named Zhao Ji who was very beautiful and had great skill in dancing. One day in 260 BC, Prince Zi Chu happened to catch sight of her. As she danced and sang, Prince Zi Chu could not take his eyes off her. Throughout the dinner, he thought of her. Finally, when it was time for him to leave, he stood up and proposed a toast.
‘I drink to your long life!’ Prince Zi Chu said to Merchant Lü. ‘You have done so much for me. May I ask for one more favour?’
‘Of course! Whatever I have also belongs to you. Just ask and it will be yours.’
‘In the last five years, I have been to your house many times and seen many of your concubines,’ Prince Zi Chu began. ‘Even though they are all very pretty, I have never been tempted. But tonight, I have met someone who is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Please, will you give Zhao Ji to me?’
At first, Lü was outraged. He thought of lashing out, but instead held his tongue, took a long drink of wine and thought deeply. By now, he had invested all his wealth in Prince Zi Chu and could no longer afford to break with him. Unbeknown to anyone else, Zhao Ji had just told him that morning that she was pregnant. The thought occurred to him that if they concealed her pregnancy and Prince Zi Chu married her, his son would one day be King of Qin.
He forced a laugh and said to Prince Zi Chu, ‘I would not do it for anyone else but you! You are my best friend and I can refuse you nothing. Give her a few days to pack her belongings and I will send her to you.’
Zhao Ji successfully concealed her pregnancy from Prince Zi Chu. When she delivered in the next year, Prince Zi Chu assumed the child was his and promoted Zhao Ji to the level of a proper wife. He named the boy Prince Zheng.
Two years later, hostilities between Qin and Zhao escalated to such an extent that the Qin army laid siege to the city of Handan. This infuriated the men of Zhao and they wanted to kill Prince Zi Chu. With the help of Merchant Lü, the prince successfully bribed the officers acting as his guards with 600 catties of gold and the two friends managed to escape. They made their way outside the city gates of Handan to the Qin army and were escorted back to Qin.
Back in Xianyang, Prince Zi Chu was hailed as a war hero. Since his adoptive mother Princess Hua Yang was originally from Chu, Merchant Lü urged Prince Zi Chu to dress in the costume worn by Chu noblemen when he went to pay his respects to her and his father, Prince An Guo. Princess Hua Yang was very much impressed by this thoughtful gesture and advised Prince An Guo to grant Zi Chu even greater riches.
Meanwhile, in Handan, Prince Zi Chu’s wife Zhao Ji, and son Prince Zheng, were in a vulnerable position. Over the years however, through the assistance of Merchant Lü, Zhao Ji’s parents had become wealthy in their own right. They paid heavy bribes for Zhao Ji and Prince Zheng to go into hiding. Mother and son lived quietly by themselves for a number of years close to the home of another royal hostage, a prince from Yan. This prince had a baby son, Prince Dan, who was approximately the same age as Prince Zheng. The two princelings often played together and developed a close friendship as they grew into boyhood.
In reading Shiji, I am repeatedly struck by the extensive role played by family ties, close friendships and personal commitments throughout the course of Chinese history, leading