[Zhou Yu] Silken Tresses

“When the Han Emperor Gaozu granted titles in the past, he swore: ‘May the Yellow River become as narrow as a belt, and Mount Tai as thin as a whetstone. May the state endure forever, passed down to our descendants.’ Gongjin was a founding hero and one of my trusted ministers, but it is a pity he died young.”…

“Gongjin was mighty and renowned, with both courage and insight. His achievements were immense, and few among those who came after could match him. When the Prince of Changsha, Huan, died, I was only nineteen. Empress Wu Lie instructed me to treat Gongjin with the same respect I would show my elder brother. Gongjin had the makings of a great minister; without him, I would never have become emperor.”

…

Many guests came to pay their respects, including Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun. Sun Quan knew they had more than condolences in mind, but he did not stop them. The day of the funeral was clear, and the emerald sky was utterly pure. Dressed in white mourning clothes, Sun Quan grieved. For the second time, someone he cherished had left him. Zhuge Liang deliberately smashed his zither, playing the part of a man who had lost a kindred spirit. Zhao Yun, serving as his bodyguard, stood silently behind him, gazing at the newly erected gravestone. For some reason, Sun Quan thought of the scene ten years earlier, when Gongjin had stood before a grave.

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