During the Warring States period, King Huiwen of Zhao died, leaving his wife, Queen Wei, to rule. Seizing the opportunity, Qin attacked Zhao, forcing Zhao to seek aid from Qi. Qi agreed to send troops only if Queen Wei's youngest son, Lord Chang'an, was sent as a hostage. Queen Wei refused. When her ministers urged her to reconsider, she snapped, "Anyone who dares mention sending Lord Chang'an as a hostage will get a face full of my spit!"
When the senior advisor Chu Long learned of the situation, he went to see Queen Wei
"Feeling unwell these past few days, I haven't come to pay my respects. How is Her Majesty's health?" Chu Long asked with a gentle smile. "My health is poor too," Queen Wei replied, her face stern. "And your appetite?" he pressed. "I can only manage a little congee," she said. "To improve my appetite, I take a walk every day," Chu Long remarked. "Alas, I'm old and can't walk much anymore," the Queen sighed, now thinking Chu Long likely wasn't there to persuade her, and much of her anger faded.
Actually, Chu Long had come to see Queen Wei with the same goal—to persuade her to send Chang'an Jun as a hostage for the nation's safety. Seeing that the queen had let her guard down, he said, "I love my youngest son Shuqi dearly, and before I die, I wish to entrust him to you as a palace guard. I risk death to make this request—may I?"
“Do you men also love your own children?” the Queen Dowager Wei asked in surprise. “Our love for children surpasses that of women!” Chancellor Chu Long replied. The queen laughed and said, “That’s impossible!” Seeing the moment for persuasion had arrived, Chu Long remarked, “It seems to me that your love for your daughter, the Queen of Yan, exceeds your love for your son, the Lord of Chang’an.” “No, my dearest is the Lord of Chang’an,” the queen argued.
Chu Long said, "When your daughter married into the State of Yan as queen, you wept bitterly, unable to bear her leaving. After she left, you hoped she wouldn't be sent back by the King of Yan. Why? You were making long-term plans for her, wishing she would bear children there, so that her descendants would forever rule Yan. You truly love your daughter."
"Whatever you say, my dearest is still Lord Chang'an."
“I don’t believe you love Chang’an Jun the most,” Chu Long said. “Your love for him is merely giving him high rank and wealth, never considering what he can contribute to the state. There are many examples in Zhao and other feudal states where rulers ruined their kingdoms and met violent ends because they doted on their sons. By spoiling Chang’an Jun like this, you’re not planning for his long-term future—you’re harming him. How will he ever earn respect in Zhao? That’s why I say you love your daughter more than your son!”
Queen Wei then agreed to let her son, the Lord of Chang'an, go to the State of Qi as a hostage.
Later, the idiom "risking death to report" came to be used to express extreme trepidation.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "House of Zhao"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "昧死以闻" came to describe extreme trepidation.