Is “The clever honey fly case and the plot to kill Sun Chen” true?
attested in history
Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu, Biography of Sun Liang, and the Biographies of Jiang Biao record Sun Liang's wisdom in examining the honey fly case and the historical fact of his failed plot against the powerful minister Sun Chen, which led to his deposition. The novel copies this entirely.
Sun Liang
Both official history and fiction record his clever solving of the honey fly case and his failed plot to kill the powerful minister Sun Chen, leading to his deposition.