Epic Historical Tales

A loyal retainer of Zhao Dun named Gongsun Chujiu had planned to die alongside Cheng Ying when the Zhao residence was surrounded that day. Cheng Ying said, “Madam Zhao is pregnant. If she gives birth to a boy, I must raise him well. If it’s a girl, we can die later.” Gongsun Chujiu wholeheartedly agreed with Cheng Ying’s reasoning. Later, when he heard that the princess had given birth to a girl, Gongsun Chujiu burst into tears. “Heavens! Are you really going to wipe out the Zhao family?” Cheng Ying tried to reassure him. “We can’t be sure. I’ll go and find out first!” He then did everything he could to contact the princess. As they had agreed, a boy would mean “martial,” and a girl “civil.” The princess gave him a piece of paper with just one character on it: “martial.” Only then did the two men learn that the princess had given birth to a boy. They were overjoyed. When Tu'an Gu searched the palace and found nothing, the two men began discussing their next move.