Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

The administrative offices were thrown into turmoil – a catastrophic incident sparked by Lady Sun after the relative calm following my confrontation with her.
Not due to any lapse in security, for the guards were led by Zhao Yun himself, with Zhuge Liang personally overseeing the administrative safeguards.
Yet despite Liu Bei’s vaunted peerless civil and martial deputies, Lady Sun had succeeded in abducting the Crown Prince.

When the vanguard departed, gaps inevitably emerged in the remaining manpower. With an almost preternatural intuition, Lady Sun had exploited that precise window of maximum vulnerability.
Brandishing her armed maids as physical might alongside her status as Liu Bei’s wife, Lady Sun secured the Crown Prince before immediately heading towards her prearranged maritime escape route.

But those awaiting her arrival were not the subordinates dispatched by her brother Sun Quan, but rather:
“You’re late, my lady.”
An unforgettable sight – the young maiden who had subdued Lady Sun’s assumed boatmen escorts, addressing her with those mocking words accompanied by an armed contingent.
“Zhang…Ran…”
Lady Sun uttered the girl’s name in a low, grating tone laced with discomfort at having her movements anticipated yet again by this denigrating child who had once humiliated her so.
“I must bid you farewell. But you’ll have to leave that bundle behind.”
“Hmph, a farewell? You intend to extend ‘iron courtesies’ once more? Yet where could you have stationed an ambush with this paltry force of merely ten men to obstruct me?”

True to Lady Sun’s words, Zhang Ran’s accompanying warriors numbered few. This unsanctioned operation lacked official approval.
Even accounting for the still-incomplete Shu military structure reducing most warlords’ retinues to little more than militia bands, moving over a hundred armed troops into Chengdu’s vicinity would invite undue scrutiny.
The scant ten soldiers presently were those wholly devoted to following Zhang Ran’s orders – effectively considered deserters risking punishment solely to aid her cause.

Yet Zhang Ran’s reply remained undaunted:
“Those who grasped the true situation will soon dispatch a pursuit squad. Time favors us. Simply relinquish the young master, and I shall permit your unobstructed passage.”
“We shall see how long you can keep spouting such arrogance!”

Forsaking her marriage to Liu Bei, the newly rechristened Sun Rin drew her sword, its well-honed steel blade glinting viciously in the sunlight.
As her maids followed suit unsheathing their own weapons, Zhang Ran and her men likewise armed themselves in response.
Despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage, neither Zhang Ran nor her soldiers betrayed any trepidation – as men they held greater physical stature, with their backs to the river limiting their vulnerable frontage so long as they withstood the initial charges.

All that remained was to endure. With neither side intending to withdraw, conflict became inevitable.
“Attack!”

§

My opponent was Lady Sun herself. In stark contrast to two years prior when the then ten-year-old me had dismissed her by sending the handmaid Chokupak, this time Lady Sun closed the distance while genuinely regarding me with wary caution.
Understandably so – the disparity between that past self and my current abilities proved nigh-unbelievable.

The average adult male height in this era barely exceeded 150cm, with generous estimates capping around 160cm at most while conservative figures dipped as low as the 140cm range. Genetically shorter than men compounded by the deprivations of this chaotic period stunting female development, even the supremely nourished Lady Sun from the privileged Sun lineage stood only around 160cm tall.

In contrast, my own 11-year-old stature already approached 150cm – dwarfing this era’s norms as if I still retained my 21st century heritage, though objectively a mere 5-6cm above the modern average at best. Yet here, such growth represented transcendent lineage.
Recalling my nearly 190cm father, superior genes trumped any era, it seemed.

But I had not been the sole recipient of such favorable heredity.

Kaang!
“Kuh!”
“Tch!”

The instant our blades first clashed, Zhang Ran and Lady Sun simultaneously realized:
‘This woman/girl is ridiculously strong!’

To Lady Sun, I remained a mere adolescent brat. Yet to me, she embodied the era’s formidable unenhanced humanity.
Our mutual underestimations clashed as our respective expectations collided, disbelief rippling outwards. But I recovered from that momentary shock first.

Since relocating to Jingzhou, Lady Sun’s only regular sparring opposition consisted of her fellow maids – none her equal, otherwise they would have already penetrated my defensive line to board that ship.
My circumstances differed drastically:
‘I spar daily against the monster Zhang Fei himself!’

Kagaang!
Blade slid along blade – swordsmanship encompassed far more than merely crossing steel.
Directly deflecting strikes proved an amateur blunder – without comprehending the techniques to control that initial blade-binding, mutual striking indeed ensued by default.

Yet Lady Sun, true daughter of the famed Tiger of Jiangdong, swiftly disengaged my blade with a deft shove.
She seemed to hold a marginal advantage in raw strength, or perhaps adrenaline had amplified her might in the heat of this life-or-death crisis.
‘We are likely comparative equals all told.’

Seizing a lull as Lady Sun temporarily disengaged, I quickly surveyed the broader battlefield:
My soldiers still firmly held their own against the maids, the lack of lethal force granting us the upper hand as neither side could fully commit.

An unspoken understanding that inflicting casualties would irreversibly escalate this into a formal incident clearly restrained both factions. Yet growing agitated by my obstructing presence, Lady Sun’s lips curled back as she spat:
“Kill them if you must! Clear a path at all costs!”

Having finally crossed that line, Lady Sun attacked with murderous ferocity unlike before.
“Show them no quarter! Cut them down to get through!”

She raged – I could not afford losing even one of my precious few followers, cherished individuals placing their faith in me despite serving under my notoriously harsh father.
Too invaluable, too irreplaceable to abandon here.
This time I took the offensive first. I had dismissed time as our ally, but that presumed non-lethality – should my men fall, merely delaying solved nothing.
Inflicted utterly unacceptable losses.
‘I won’t let any of you die.’

Despite my abrupt assault, Lady Sun remained admirably composed, our mutually taut emotional tethers straining towards the breaking point.
Blades clashed and parted, steel ringing as we traded blows while simultaneously evading, followed by grueling tests of sheer strength whenever our weapons interlocked.

Then, in one such grappling surge, Lady Sun deftly angled her blade using an intricate technique I had not anticipated – a fluid counterattack belying her brute force focus.
Though her maids had been cleared to kill, Lady Sun seemed to balk at such finality, her blade instead lancing towards my shoulder in what would constitute a grievous yet non-lethal strike for her.
A consummate killer blow from one clearly operating under intense time constraints, the attack mirrored the pragmatic ferocity I had so often faced in my earliest days.

‘But you overplayed your hand.’

Taang!
Lady Sun’s arcing slash fell short as my extended cross-guard deflected the blow.
While other swords incorporated stubby cruciform protrusions, mine featured an elongated variant tailored for the European longsword techniques I had mastered – an unconventional design granting me a decisive defensive edge in this era.

Employing Lichtenauer’s comprehensive combat system integrating grappling and disarming counter-strikes, I deftly trapped and wrenched Lady Sun’s sword-arm, leaving her momentarily helpless as my own blade threatened her exposed throat.

“Stand down, all of you!!”
My resounding bellow channeling Zhang Fei’s sonorous timbre reverberated across the docks. Verifying their mistress decisively subdued at blade-point, the maids’ defiant resistance crumbled as their weapons clattered to the ground in stunned capitulation.
However pivotal their mission, Lady Sun had remained their ultimate principal – with her life hostage, further combat became untenable.

“Drop your weapons and step aside.”
The maids hesitated, furtively exchanging glances as if questioning prioritizing their charge over Lady Sun’s personal jeopardy. But their mistress remained ominously mute, seemingly aware her demise could not be so casually discounted despite my present advantage.
The tense standoff persisted until that distant cadence heralded the looming shift in fortunes:

Dudududu!
“They’ve arrived.”
That faint drumming of hoofbeats – the sparse Shu-Han cavalry signaling our inevitable victory, the deadline to Lady Sun’s gambit.
Even Lady Sun seemed to grasp her chance had utterly lapsed, her previously taut frame slumping in visible resignation at that telltale cadence.

“It’s over. Surrender your blade.”
Only then did the maids begrudgingly let their weapons drop one by one.
Cheng… chingrang…cheching…

Relieving Lady Sun of her own sword, I released her into the custody of two soldiers, though hardly granting her free rein. Stepping past the disarmed maids, I approached the small bound figure who had constituted their entire objective.
Six years my junior, the five-year-old Liu Shan appeared appropriately diminutive – had this saga not unfolded before me, I may have doubted such a tiny mite could foster such momentous tumult.

‘Though ultimately, royal blood will out regardless of ability.’
Even those unfamiliar with the Records understood Liu Shan’s subsequent infamy, his reign’s shortcomings immortalized through that derisive moniker ‘A-dou’ emerging as a byword for foolish incompetence.
Yet the clear-eyed, articulate child presently regarding me with such guileless curiosity seemed a far cry from the inept ruler etched into my past memories.

“Young Master Liu.”
Kneeling to his eye level, the boy’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ of wonder as he studied my face intently:
“A…pretty older sister…”

Liu Shan’s murmured assessment prompted an inadvertent scowl across my features as an audible snort of laughter rang out from an all-too-familiar source – Zhang Yan hastily averted his openly amused gaze upon realizing I had tracked his muffled outburst.
Even if destined to watch this saga unfold as a bemused auntie, Zhang Yan persisted in finding endless entertainment merely observing my interactions.

Yet events refused to indulge such mirth, the thunderous declamation announcing the vanguard’s arrival ringing across the docks:
“Lady Sun, lay down your arms at once!!”

Accompanied by that commanding baritone bellow strode the unmistakable valorous figure – the peerless commander whose imposing stature and chiseled masculinity rivaled even Zhang Fei astride his magnificent white steed.
Zhao Yun had arrived.

Despite his dramatic entrance, no further actions proved necessary – the crisis already resolved, his sole remaining duty being to retrieve the recovered Liu Shan.
After verifying the Crown Prince’s wellbeing, Zhao Yun finally addressed me with an appraising gaze:
“But who might you be, young lady?”

It dawned on me that this marked my first encounter with Zhao Yun despite two years having nearly elapsed into the third year since my reawakening. The flickering recognition across his furrowed brow as he struggled to place my familiar yet unrecognizable countenance drove home just how drastically I had matured.

Brushing aside such nostalgic reflections for later, I responded with a ceremonial bow:
“Zhang Ran, the eldest daughter of General Zhang Fei.”
“Zhang Ran? General Zhang’s daughter, you say? Ah…to think the little girl has grown so. My apologies, I failed to recognize you at first.”
“Think nothing of it, the passage of time accounts for the change. But first we should attend to restoring order here.”
“Wise counsel. We can trade tales of your exploits on our return journey.”

Zhao Yun directed his soldiers to confiscate the maids’ weaponry before respectfully addressing Lady Sun himself.
Despite her egregious transgression, Zhao Yun’s demeanor remained appropriately deferential to Liu Bei’s wife – though his tone betrayed his underlying displeasure:
“This action represented a step too far.”
“Hmph! So you intend to place me under arrest as well?”
“Return to your residence. And convey this message – this matter shall be overlooked, just this once.”
“…You dare threaten a member of the Sun family?!”

Lady Sun bared her teeth in outraged defiance, sheer fury contorting her features. While Zhao Yun’s words remained nominally polite, their very courtesy carried an undercurrent of smoldering resentment.
Yet the apex predator does not cower before a raging wildcat – Zhao Yun simply advanced implacably towards the seething Lady Sun, his unbending tones brooking no further dissent:
“Convey the message. Clearly.”

“……”
Outmatched in sheer commanding presence, Lady Sun flinched away from Zhao Yun’s unyielding glare before rounding furiously upon her cowering maids.
“What are you useless fools waiting for?! Release those men and prepare to embark at once!”

With the maids hastening to free my captured boatmen decoys and ready the ship for departure, the necessary preparations swiftly concluded given their numbers.
Yet as Lady Sun made to board, she shot me one final venomous look devoid of the remote civility gracing our first encounter – only undisguised malice and bitterness remained.

“You’ve certainly trained that Chokupak girl well.”
The handmaid I had claimed as the prize from our previous wager – though her true purpose as a monitor over myself and Father required little elaboration.
“I could hardly have anticipated Your Ladyship’s willingess to go to such lengths.”
“Had you not intervened, I would have succeeded.”

I offered no rebuttal to her words. For in truth, only Zhang Fei’s personal intervention had tipped the scales against this meticulously plotted and very nearly accomplished gambit – her assessment rang credible.
So I accepted Lady Sun’s statement at face value, neither denying her claims nor indulging in empty boasts undercutting my own credited achievements in preempting this crisis.
“Perhaps so.”

Seemingly realizing any further rebuttals would only appear peevish, Lady Sun wordlessly turned to board her craft. As the sails unfurled and anchors raised, the ship began its steady departure.
The pursuit squad remained mounted, watching in silence as the vessel carried Liu Bei’s erstwhile wife into the unknown future awaiting her.
A final gesture of respect towards one who had occupied that honored position, however briefly – allowable now that the Crown Prince’s recovery rendered such courtesy affordable.

Only once the ship had receded into the distant horizon did Zhao Yun finally address the assembled warriors:
“Make your preparations to return.”
At his crisp command, the elite pursuit squad remounted with disciplined alacrity befitting their elite veteran status.

“Zhang Ran, what are your intentions? It may be advisable to accompany us directly.”
An understandable precaution – ordinarily an incident of this magnitude would mandate conveying even the instrumental parties under strict supervision for a formal debriefing. Zhao Yun extended a deferential suggestion rather than an overt order out of consideration for my person.
“I shall accompany you willingly.”
“Very well. An extra mount can be spared for you.”

The pursuit squad had brought surplus horses to allow switching fresh remounts for a protracted high-speed chase – naturally spares remained even after outfitting our modest contingent.
“You have my gratitude. However, my men seem unfamiliar with riding and may struggle to keep pace. Might I be permitted to lead them behind at a more measured rate?”
“Do as you will. I shall press ahead to brief the Marquis of the situation.”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

From the pursuit squad I secured horses and distributed them among my men, the most even-tempered mounts having been selected to ease their inexperienced handling.
Conducting the requisite procedures, my soldiers managed to attain functional if ungainly mastery of equitation – sufficient to follow, if unrefined.

As I prepared to mount my own steed, an unexpected commotion erupted from the rear – what fresh grievance could persist after such a decisive resolution?
“No!”
“Your Highness, it is time for us to depart.”
“No!”

The newly-recovered Crown Prince had transformed into a petulant brat, Liu Shan’s whining refusals undercutting the dignity Zhao Yun had so painstakingly preserved throughout this crisis.
Having safeguarded the nascent Han within his burgeoning reign through such harrowing perils, Zhao Yun now found his august authority disregarded as the cherished scion outright defied his summons.

“If Your Highness wishes to indulge in some games upon our return, I shall gladly entreat the Marquis…”
“That’s not it!”
I stifled an amused giggle – ah yes, this was the authentic Liu Shan. Articulate and preternaturally poised for a five-year-old, yet still very much an unrepentant child at his core.

Just as I assumed Zhao Yun’s seasoned command would inevitably rein in the boyish tantrum, Liu Shan’s clear childish tones pierced the air with a demand shocking in its naive naivete:
“I want to go with the pretty older sister!”
“…Pardon?”