xīn心huái怀pǒ叵cè测
To harbor evil intentions; to have ulterior motives; to be ill-intentioned and unpredictable.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was preparing to lead his army south to attack Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Fearing that Ma Teng, the Governor of Liangzhou, might seize the opportunity to cause trouble, he adopted the advice of his strategist Xun You.
Cao Cao deceitfully appointed Ma Teng as the General Who Conquers the South and tricked him into coming to Xuchang, intending to assassinate him there.
Ma Teng did not believe his nephew Ma Dai, who warned him that Cao Cao was a man harboring evil intentions (心怀叵测). Thus, Ma Teng went to Xuchang with his son Ma Xiu, where he was subsequently killed by Cao Cao.