Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

“Yes, I am Zhang Ran. But who are you to trespass across another’s Chuihualingmen without permission?”
“Hmph. Have you not already heard who I am?”
“Perhaps. From what I know, you are Lady Sun, the wife of Lord Regent Liu Bei and General Sun Quan’s sister. Yet how could such an esteemed personage behave in such a discourteous manner?”

In the Romance, Lady Sun was portrayed as Liu Bei’s devoted lover, but historically she essentially functioned as Sun Quan’s watchdog over Liu Bei.
Did she not brazenly carry a sword, flanked by armed maids? Recent rumors even claimed she had a separate palace constructed to avoid co-habiting with Liu Bei.

In any case, she was destined to separate from Liu Bei eventually, while I intended to remain by his side till the end. There was no need to mince words.

Openly rebuking her rudeness before her lord’s wife contorted Lady Sun’s face into a scowl, an audible “Tch!” of disdain reaching my ears.
Yet rather than erupting as I braced for, when she spoke her words seemed relatively restrained, likely intending to size me up first.

“I have heard tales of a young female warrior who ventured onto battlefields, even confronting enemy commanders despite her tender age. Yet here I find but a mere unripe seedling. The vaunted ‘Matchless Beauty’ hailed as Zhang Fei’s heir, brimming with a hero’s bearing? Seeing you in the flesh, I can only conclude his reputation is mere empty renown.”

She crossed a line. While I too had invoked family, it was to extol hers as esteemed folk, employing reverse sarcasm to chide her unbecoming conduct.
But Lady Sun’s retort directly besmirched my father’s honor, using me as a mere pretext.
Audacious. Though I did not wholeheartedly view Zhang Fei as my biological father, through Zhang Ran’s memories and my lived experiences, he had become a cherished father figure of sorts.
To denigrate such a person to my face proved immensely, utterly vexing.

Yet I suppressed my indignation. Composure must always prevail, per Zhang Fei’s teachings.
Moreover, losing my temper first would effectively cede this battle of words to Lady Sun. So I laughed instead.

“Ahahahaha!”
“You laugh?”
“Your words are akin to spitting skyward, leaving me no choice but to laugh.”
Not allowing Lady Sun to interject, I pressed on:

“You decry me as an ‘unripe seedling’ for daring to speak first to one displaying such disrespect. Then allow me to quote Confucius: ‘Is it not a case of that of which the Book of Poetry says: “He smarted inwardly and showed it outwardly, committing unfilial acts which went so far that they rendered him liable to be punished?”‘”

“What did you say?”
“The tale of Lady Wu securing the marriage proposal the Senior Marquis Sun Jian had initially rejected. Or how when General Sun Ce inherited the family legacy from Lord Sun, he left behind prose writings to your elder brother Kong Ming, demonstrating he too was no mere martial hero, but a man of literary refinement.”

The Confucian Analects quote, while lofty-sounding, essentially meant: ‘Your unrestrained insults will only bring shame upon your family.’
Elaborating further: ‘If you decry me as an unripe seedling, does that not impugn Kong Ming as unable to recognize true heroism when entrusting Sun Ce’s legacy to Zhang Liao, whom you deem a mere bookworm by your own logic?’

Perhaps invoking her mother went too far. But she had brought up my father first.
Additionally, in this era the term ‘heroic paragon’ did not solely connote martial valor as in modern times, but referred to extraordinarily eminent individuals in general – the Mencius text which coined the term even applied it to those who singularly awakened to propriety. From a Confucian perspective, the ‘unripe seedling’ better exemplified such a paragon than a common brute.

Understanding my implied meaning, Lady Sun’s eyes narrowed menacingly. Truly, no wonder Liu Bei cowered whenever sharing her bedchambers.
As her face contorted, one of her maids seemed to grasp my intentions despite not comprehending my words, bellowing furiously:
“How dare a mere servant girl utter such insolence!”

“Enough.”
Lady Sun raised her arm, halting the maid poised to charge me with that single, softly uttered word. Though a minor gesture, the maid immediately lowered her head deferentially.
“But my lady…”

Observing their exchange, more akin to a general and adjutant than a noblewoman and maidservant, I noted the subordinate’s form of address.
‘My lady’, rather than the typical honorific ‘Lady’. Lady Sun made no correction, likely her own preferred manner of being addressed – further indicating her dissatisfaction with the marriage to Liu Bei.

Even accounting for her prestigious birth as Sun Quan’s sister, her openly arrogant defiance practically screamed her displeasure at being relegated beneath Liu Bei. While he could hardly remain ignorant of Lady Sun’s true feelings, even reporting my words to Liu Bei or Sun Quan would only condemn her unbecoming behavior, not mine.

Perhaps recognizing this, Lady Sun refrained from any final unforgivable breach despite visibly restraining her rage, merely sneering:
“You truly echo those Confucian pedants, spouting sophisticated words while flaunting your knowledge of the long-dead sayings of Confucius and Mencius which commoners can scarcely comprehend. So be it. This was a wasted visit. Let us depart.”

Had she ended matters there, this incident would become mere anecdotal fodder elevating my reputation: the young maiden who skilfully rebuked the rude, unwanted intrusion into her home by the arrogant Lady Sun.
The citizens of Jingzhou already exasperated by Lady Sun’s unbridled conduct would eagerly disseminate this story like a refreshing draught quenching their frustrations.

Yet I had no intention of concluding here.
“And where might you be going? You arrived without the master’s permission, and now depart without so much as a farewell?”

My words halted Lady Sun’s retreat. Glancing sidelong over her shoulder, a glint flashed across her narrowed eyes.
“Oh? A farewell, is it?”
“Indeed. In my family, even uninvited guests are not simply chased away without courtesy.”

Lady Sun fully turned to face me then, her chin raised in a haughty tilt perfectly befitting her imperious countenance as she challenged:
“Very well. What manner of ‘farewell’ did you have in mind? Shall I simply say ‘I take my leave’ and be done with it?”
“Of course not.”

At this juncture, exchanging polite bows and ‘travel safely’ pleasantries would be farcical.
There was only one farewell we could offer each other.

“We shall bid iron farewells.”
My words prompted Lady Sun’s eyes to gleam as the corners of her mouth curled into a savage grin.
“Iron farewells…indeed.”

As her smile blossomed into a full predatory leer, Lady Sun advanced a step towards me.
“I rather like that proposal.”
Her hand drifted towards the sword at her hip. Yet the fingers poised to grasp the well-worn hilt hesitated, instead waving dismissively.

“But why should the master offer farewells when her servants are present? Allow my handmaid to extend the courtesies on my behalf.”
“Deploying subordinates is also a measure of one’s caliber.”
“Fear not. There will be no complaints afterwards about any lack of sincerity in the送辞.”

Truly, she was no heavenly beauty but a heavenly demoness – the term ‘sharp-tongued’ seemed almost endearing to describe her unrestrained ferocity. Too unrefined to be called a ‘heroine’, yet too formidable and audacious to dismiss as a mere ‘ruffian’.

Any previous ill feelings faded from Lady Sun’s countenance, replaced not by arrogance but keen anticipation intermingled with an almost wistful yearning.

“Chokupak, come forth.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The handmaid who emerged was a girl around my age. Like Lady Sun’s other maids, Chokupak too was armed with a blade – though hers was shorter than the adults’, worn across her back rather than at the hip.

“You shall offer the courtesies in my stead.”
Instead of verbal acknowledgment, Chokupak responded with a formal bow before striding briskly towards me. Despite being taller than my peers, she was only slightly shorter than me at most.

Observing Chokupak’s assured approach, Lady Sun boasted proudly:
“This child is my greatest prospect. A most suitable counterpart for you to exchange iron courtesies with.”

Not a bad match, all things considered.
Chokupak demonstrated excellent balance and diligent training.
Yet Lady Sun’s obvious affection for her stemmed from more than just prodigious martial talent – Chokupak, for this era, was stunningly beautiful with fair, unblemished skin and a delicate, shapely nose.

As I appraised Chokupak, Lady Sun suddenly clapped her hands as if struck by a thought.
“Ah yes. Since we have both voiced grievances over disappointments and disrespect shown, let the one who completes their courtesies first be deemed in the right. What say you?”

Lady Sun’s proposal brimmed with absolute certainty of victory. Was this Chokupak truly such an exceptional genius?
In childhood, girls did tend to mature faster and exhibit greater strength than boys initially. Chokupak had likely dominated her male peers through sheer precocity.

Inwardly harboring private amusement at Lady Sun’s overconfident gambit, I readily agreed:
“I accept.”

Seeing my unhesitating acceptance, Lady Sun pushed further:
“Your confidence is admirable. Then how about this addendum: should your courtesies prove lacking, you shall become my handmaid.”

I struggled to stifle my laughter.
Veteran hustlers would intentionally gift their marks seemingly strong hands, fostering the illusion of favorable odds to compel recklessly raising the stakes.
The present situation perfectly mirrored that – while unintentional on my part, Lady Sun was heavily invested in this Chokupak, secure enough in her abilities that my easy acquiescence emboldened her to raise the ante even higher.

Utterly oblivious to the ultimate consequences awaiting her overconfidence.

“Then you have considered the opposite scenario as well?”
“Oh? The opposite, you say? I had not given it much thought. What did you have in mind?”

The arrogance of never even entertaining the possibility of defeat. An inherited reckless streak from her father which would later culminate in nearly succeeding with the Liu Shan abduction plot, only failing due to underestimating her adversaries.

After a momentary pause to gather my thoughts, I stated:
“If I am to be taken as your handmaid, then conversely I shall send your maids away – directly to General Guan.”

“You do not find the numbers imbalanced? You stand alone against my hundred maids.”
“Because my worth exceeds their combined total.”

No falsehood there. We were not in aristocratic Europe employing well-bred noble maidens, but the waning Han era of the Records. Even from esteemed clans, how exalted could those maidservants’ pedigrees possibly be?
In contrast, I was the legitimate daughter of Zhang Fei, a core member of Liu Bei’s inner circle, as well as the prospective daughter-in-law both Liu Bei and Zhou Yu had sought.

Hmm, articulating it that way instilled an odd sense of pride tinged with discomfort – my lingering masculine mindset still created discordance.

“But without servants, who shall attend to my needs? That, I cannot accept.”
I had expected her to reject that stipulation. As an agent dispatched by Sun Quan to monitor Liu Bei, dismissing her maidservant entourage would undermine Lady Sun’s very purpose.

‘Since disarming her is undoubtedly unacceptable, elevating my reputation seems the wiser choice here.’

“Then let this incident serve as a lesson – uphold Jingzhou’s laws and etiquette henceforth.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. And as a token that I shall abide by your terms, I shall gift you that girl as your own handmaid.”

You would appoint a watchdog over me as a figure of concern? No matter, Lady Sun would not remain attached to Liu Bei’s camp indefinitely regardless.

“Then let us proceed accordingly.”