Caishi

Caishi (蔡氏, onyomi: Saishi) is the second wife of Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province during the later Han Dynasty era. Her brothers served as generals under Liu Biao. Although Caishi bore no sons, she supported Liu Cong in hopes of making him succeed his father instead of Liu Qi.

Role in Games
Caishi appears as a minor character in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. As a female officer, she has no talent for war nor does she have enough leadership qualities to lead armies effectively. Instead, her strengths lie more on domestic affairs. In the eleventh title, she only appears during the first to fifth scenarios. The twelfth title lists her birth and death years as 159 and 208 respectively.

Historical Information
Born in Nan Commandery, Lady Cai's marriage to Liu Biao made her clan a powerful influence within his court. She constantly favored Liu Cong and slandered Liu Qi just as much due to the former's wife being her niece, thus securing her family's position. By collaborating with her younger brother Cai Mao, the two of them were able to install Liu Cong as the new governor of Jing before Cao Cao's invasion.

Romance of Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Lady Cai is considered the biological mother of Liu Cong, hence fueling her motivation to instate her son. When Liu Bei was welcomed to Jing by Liu Biao, she and Cai Mao feared his presence would jeopardize their clan's standing. Lady Cai in particular became more distrustful of Liu Bei upon overhearing his private conversation with her husband. She passed this information to her brother who made plans to assassinate their guest. However, the plot backfired when Liu Bei caught wind of it and fled. Liu Biao, who had been deceived by the Cai faction regarding this incident, became indignant upon learning the truth and would have executed Cai Mao if not for Sun Qian's intervention.

When Liu Biao grew ill, he assigned Liu Bei stewardship over his chosen successor Liu Qi. This infuriated Lady Cai who confided with her cohorts to prevent father and son from meeting. After Liu Biao's passing, they created a forged document to ensure that Liu Cong would become governor instead. Their machinations would not last as news of Cao Cao's army approaching Jing reached the ears of the Cai faction. Eavesdropping on her son's concerns with his advisers, Lady Cai implored him to follow their advice and surrender. After meeting Cao Cao, she and Liu Cong were relocated to Qing Province in northern China. On their way there, both were killed by Yu Jin who had been ordered by Cao Cao to assassinate them.