The Deer and the Cauldron

At the beginning of the Third Book, we find our old friend Trinket on an important mission in Kunming, the capital city of scenic Yunnan Province and seat of Satrap Wu Sangui, warlord of south-western China. The Satrap's imminent bid for Imperial power, and his ultimate defeat (1681), dominate much of the 'official' plot of the book. But the real interest, as always, lies in Trinket's increasingly complex attempts to balance his own multiple identities: as friend and confidant of the Emperor Kang Xi, as the White Dragon Marshal of the Mystic Dragon Sect, and as one of the Lodge Masters of the Triad Secret Society. His love life poses even more challenges, as he simultaneously juggles several beautiful women and unwittingly comes face to face with the beautiful Chen Yuanyuan, known as the Peerless Consort. In one of the most intriguing of his liaisons, he accidentally encounters the Russian Princess Sophia, a young lady of easy virtue, travels with her to Moscow, and becomes her lover. This adventure later qualifies him (in the Emperor's eyes) to be nominated as the Chinese Imperial Plenipotentiary for the border negotiations with Russia leading to the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), a diplomatic event as riotously convoluted as it is grand. But our anti-hero was never cut out to be a Prince of the Realm. He finally decides that it is 'Time for Trink to quit!' Rejecting once and for all the glamour of worldly glory and wealth, he returns with his seven beautiful wives to his old home in the south, opting for a life of simple pleasure, his ultimate destiny shrouded in mystery ...