Diaochan 貂蟬

In Chapter 8 of the Romance, on the night of the day Dong Zhuo has the Minister of Works Zhang Wen dragged from among the assembled officials and beheaded, the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, weeping as he gazes up at the sky in the rear garden, sees Diaochan sighing long beside the Peony Pavilion. When he scolds her, Diaochan answers that she has been raised by his kindness and could not repay it even if her bones were ground to powder, that she sighed because she has lately seen his anxiety, and that if he has any use for her she will not refuse though she die ten thousand deaths. Saying, 'Who would have thought that the realm of the Han lay in your hands!', Wang Yun takes her to the painted chamber, seats her and bows to her, knocking his head on the ground. Romance, Ch. 8 §6–10

Wang Yun reveals his chain stratagem: Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo are both lovers of women, so he will first promise Diaochan in marriage to Lü Bu and then present her to Dong Zhuo, and she is to set father and son against each other from between them so that Lü Bu kills Dong Zhuo. When Wang Yun says that if the matter leaks his whole family will be wiped out, Diaochan says that if she fails to repay this great cause, she will die beneath ten thousand blades. Romance, Ch. 8 §11–13

Wang Yun has Diaochan, whom he calls 'my daughter', offer a cup of wine to Lü Bu, who has come to thank him, and promises to send her to him as a concubine. A few days later he invites Dong Zhuo and has Diaochan dance and sing outside the screen, and when Dong Zhuo asks her age and Diaochan answers that she is just sixteen, Wang Yun says he will present her to the Grand Preceptor and sends her to the chancellor's residence in a felt-curtained carriage. To Lü Bu, who comes to confront him, he explains it away by saying that the Grand Preceptor took her in order to match her with Fengxian. Romance, Ch. 8 §14–18 · 21 · 23–28

Seeing Lü Bu peering in from behind the bedchamber, Diaochan deliberately knits her brows and wipes away tears, and when Dong Zhuo is ill she leans half out from behind the bed, points with her hand to her own heart and then to Dong Zhuo, and weeps. Seeing this, Dong Zhuo drives Lü Bu out, saying, 'How dare you trifle with my beloved concubine!', but then, on Li Ru's advice, placates him with gifts of gold and silk. Romance, Ch. 8 §29–30 · 32–34

When Lü Bu comes to the residence while Dong Zhuo is at court, Diaochan calls him out to the Phoenix Pavilion and, saying that her body has been defiled and she will die before him to make her resolve plain, tries to leap into the pond; and to Lü Bu, who fears the old traitor, she weeps that she never imagined he would be at another man's mercy. Dong Zhuo returns, sees the two of them, hurls the halberd and chases Lü Bu, but collides with Li Ru and falls down. Romance, Ch. 8 §35–40Romance, Ch. 9 §1

In Chapter 9, Li Ru advises Dong Zhuo to give Diaochan to Lü Bu. Diaochan tells Dong Zhuo in tears that Lü Bu chased her with his halberd and that she tried to throw herself into the pond, and when he asks what she would think of being given to Lü Bu, she draws the precious sword from the wall and tries to cut her own throat, saying that this is surely Li Ru's scheme. When Dong Zhuo says he will behead anyone who speaks of the Diaochan matter again, Li Ru sighs, 'We shall all die at the hands of a woman!' Romance, Ch. 9 §2–7

From the carriage leaving for the Mei Fortress, Diaochan sees Lü Bu among the crowd and makes a show of weeping bitterly; Wang Yun works on the sighing Lü Bu, and Lü Bu stabs his arm to draw blood and swears an oath. When Dong Zhuo says that once he becomes Son of Heaven he will make her Noble Consort, Diaochan, though she knows what is really afoot, bows in feigned delight. After Dong Zhuo's death, Lü Bu, on reaching the Mei Fortress, takes Diaochan away before anything else. Romance, Ch. 9 §8–10 · 13–14 · 19 · 29

Chapter 16 records that Lü Bu took Lady Yan as his principal wife, later Diaochan as his concubine, and at Xiaopei the daughter of Cao Bao as his second wife, and that Diaochan too had no children. In Chapter 19, when the city of Xiapi is surrounded by Cao Cao, Chen Gong urges Lü Bu to go out and camp outside the city or to cut off Cao Cao's supply line, but when Lady Yan weeps and holds him back, Lü Bu tells Diaochan of it. Diaochan says, 'Be my mainstay, and do not lightly go out yourself,' and Lü Bu does nothing but drink with Lady Yan and Diaochan. Romance, Ch. 16 §20Romance, Ch. 19 §27–31