The Grand Commandant's residence.
The Grand Commandant's residence, once splendid and bustling with visitors, had begun to decline.
Silence hung over the residence. The occasional servants who passed kept their heads lowered, grief on their faces.
Zhuge Dan lay on the bed in the inner chamber, staring ahead as though his soul had left him, his face ashen, without a word.
"When the birds are gone, the fine bow is put away; when the cunning hare is dead, the hunting hound is boiled..."
Zhuge Dan murmured under his breath.
He remembered very clearly how respectfully His Majesty had once treated him, almost observing the courtesies owed to an elder. He had appointed him Grand Commandant and placed great power in his hands. Nor had he disappointed His Majesty's high expectations: he had led an army into Shu and destroyed the Shu Kingdom in a single stroke, winning success and renown.
But now His Majesty held supreme power, and there were no enemies left anywhere. Yet he, the Grand Commandant, had been reduced to this.
Only now had he finally gained a deeper understanding of those words.
But there was nothing he could do.
His son Zhuge Jing knelt beside him, personally holding a bowl of medicinal broth as he tended to him.
Ever since Cao Mao had humiliated him in public, Zhuge Dan's health had collapsed.
A man who cherished his reputation as much as he did could endure anything except humiliation like that.
Hearing his father's words, Zhuge Jing was startled too. He hurriedly said, "Father, you mustn't say such things... if His Majesty were to hear..."
Zhuge Dan gave a self-mocking smile. "And what if he did?"
"He's just waiting for me to die of illness..."
Zhuge Jing dared not say anything more.
Zhuge Dan slowly turned to