Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

Although Ma Dai had joined, there was still a shortage of talent. There were people who came seeking me after hearing of my reputation, but perhaps because my standards were high, none of them seemed satisfactory.

In fact, there was a very simple way to solve this problem. I just had to leave Chengdu. If I followed my father to Baxi, there were talents I had been eyeing waiting for me, but there were two reasons why I was staying in Chengdu.

First, to avoid giving the impression that I was relying on my father’s influence. Liu Bei had strongly warned against it, and because I had performed well in the battle for Luo Castle and the Hanzhong rescue mission, there were no words of doubt or complaint towards me now, but the future is uncertain. In a little while, I’ll turn 15 and receive my courtesy name, becoming an adult, but it’s still a very young age. It’s better not to create any reasons for people to find fault.

Second, it was to meet my family coming from Jingzhou. My father had left for his post in Baxi, but the family had made a new home in the safe Chengdu. Not only my mother and younger sister, but even my two older brothers who had married and whom I had only seen a few times were coming together.

Because I had committed a wrong, I was planning to go greet them directly this time. My mother would probably scold me but understand, but I was worried about how my younger sister Yeni would react. I had already told her I wouldn’t go, but then suddenly went to Yi Province, and Ban Jun said she cried for almost three days.

‘This is really serious.’

For me, who would have to go to Baxi again soon, how to console Yeni was more worrying than the immediate organization of the military.

As time passed like this, when I heard that my family had almost arrived in Chengdu, I went out of the city to greet them personally.

But it seems that was far from enough to calm my family’s anger. Yeni turned her head away without even greeting me when she saw me, exuding an ‘I’m upset’ atmosphere, and even my mother spoke in a colder tone than usual.

“It’s understandable to pursue merit as a person, but you should never prioritize it over people. Moreover, was there a need to achieve merits by lying to your family?”

It was a scathing rebuke that left me speechless even with two mouths, as I had told Yeni I wouldn’t go to war but then persistently went into battle.

“Well, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this…”

I tried to make excuses, but my mother cut me off, furrowing her brow even more:

“Ran. Excuses are not good. Will you make excuses in the future if you lead soldiers and are defeated?”

“…I have no face to show.”

“Yeni is very angry. Your brothers, having married, don’t know you well, so she followed you a lot, but you left her alone too, so how lonely and desolate must she have felt. I heard you’re also going to Baxi with your father, but until you leave, spend time with Yeni.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…”

“Have you greeted Po and So?”

“No, I came to you first.”

“I see. Go to the two of them now.”

“Then I’ll come back again shortly. Yeni, I’ll be back in a little bit, okay?”

“Hmph! Liar…”

It seems Yeni is really upset. Later when we get to Chengdu, I should take her to see the market and treat her to some delicious food.

Yi Province, where Chengdu is located, will be called Sichuan in the future and be famous for its spicy and stimulating cuisine, but at this time, sweet dishes using lots of honey and malt sugar were mainstream. There should be many sweet snacks that a young child like Yeni would like.

After greeting my mother and coming out of the carriage, Zhang Shao, who was driving a horse next to it, spoke to me with a light smile:

“It seems Yeni is not just ordinarily upset.”

“Yes, that’s right. Have you been well, second brother?”

“I’m always healthy. I’m more worried about our older brother. I think it might have been better for him to stay in Jingzhou.”

Zhang Shao, the second son, although a civil official, was extremely healthy, true to his genes. Needless to say for me, and Yeni too, inheriting the blood of our father and mother, had never been sickly, but only the eldest son Zhang Po was unusually weak and a concern for the family.

In fact, when our father was assassinated by traitors, Zhang Po had died early and Zhang Shao succeeded him, so it wasn’t a groundless worry. This wasn’t something I could do anything about, so although it pained me too, I could only watch.

Zhang Po was riding in a separate carriage like mother and Yeni. After finishing the short conversation with Zhang Shao, I entered Zhang Po’s carriage to find him lying down and my sister-in-law taking care of him.

“Eldest brother.”

“Ah… is that Ran? It’s been a long time.”

Zhang Po, with a pale face, raised himself with the help of my sister-in-law.

“Please lie down.”

“No, it’s not good to just lie down all the time either. Well, I’ve always been hearing about you.”

As if it was tiring to speak much, Zhang Po took a breath and spoke again.

“I only feel sorry towards you.”

“Pardon?”

“Due to my inadequacy, I’ve placed a heavy burden on you. Born as the eldest son, even if I couldn’t display martial prowess like you, I should at least contribute a little to the great cause like So, but… cough, cough.”

As if he had spoken too much, my sister-in-law brought Zhang Po a cup of water as he coughed, seeming accustomed to it.

“If only you had been born as the eldest…”

“Please don’t say such things.”

Zhang Po, seeming to realize he had spoken carelessly, changed the subject.

“When you go to Chengdu, won’t you tell me your story?”

“Yes, I will. Brother, just focus on getting better.”

“Yes. I’ve kept you too long. You should go now. Yeni must be waiting.”

“I’m sure good things will happen when you recuperate in Chengdu. When you recover, I’ll come visit you.”

“Thank you.”

After exchanging brief greetings with my sister-in-law as well, I left the carriage.

Since there are records of him having a son named Zhang Jun, Zhang Po will safely arrive in Chengdu and regain some strength. Remembering to make time once that happens, I returned to my younger sister.

Yeni, while exuding an air of being upset, actually clung to me tightly and wouldn’t let go. Because of that, I had to ride in the carriage too, but that’s nothing. There will be plenty of time for horse riding practice in the future.

Arriving in Chengdu, I went to the market with Yeni as planned.

Although the military unit issue wasn’t completely resolved yet, the remaining positions could be filled with talents from Baxi later, so I planned to focus on my family during the remaining time.

With Ma Dai’s signboard, if I promote those who have achieved some merit to fill the middle positions, I shouldn’t be greatly faulted. Thinking of one of the talents I’ll bring from Baxi, it might give unnecessary grounds to say I relied on my father, but what can I do? It’s better to be gossiped about a little than to accept just anyone.

Rather, it might be better to promote those who have been with me for a long time, like Zhang San, to Dunzhang for the currently empty positions.

Anyway, thanks to the cooperation of Ma Chao and Ma Dai, I was able to alleviate my worries and focus on exploring the market with Yeni.

“Sister, I want that!”

“Okay, shall we go look at that?”

Although still young, Yeni seems to have an eye for accessories, perhaps because she’s a girl.
The accessories sold in the market are of lower quality than what Yeni, as a noble, would wear, but why would a child need to care about such things? Unless she becomes a real empress by marrying Liu Shan later, she should just do what she likes.

The accessories of this era were mainly of two types: earrings and hairpins. Especially for hairpins, there were more elaborate decorations called boyo and huasheng, but unlike those of the nobility which used gold, jade, or pearls, most of those sold in the market were made of wood.

Some slightly more expensive ones had silver decorations added, giving a clean rather than flashy impression.

The one Yeni was looking at was a wooden hairpin painted orange with jade decorations added, which looked quite good in quality for something sold in the market.

“Yena, do you want it?”

“Yes~ No? I want to give it to Chubai sister as a gift.”

Ah, come to think of it, I had forgotten about Chubai too. I heard that Yeni had taken in Chubai as her maid after I suddenly left and became a general in the army, leaving Chubai in a precarious position.

Feeling sorry for neglecting her, I thought about giving her a gift like Yeni.
Since Yeni was looking at hairpins, it might be better for me to go with earrings.

But looking around the market, nothing really caught my eye. Having become accustomed to the splendor created by cutting-edge technology after thousands of years of pursuit of beauty in the 21st century, how could wooden earrings made by cottage industry satisfy my eyes?

Since they said they brought our family’s jewelry too, there should be some accessories that I received but didn’t use? I should give her something suitable from those.

After spending the whole day eating sweet snacks and shopping with Yeni, she forgot to act upset and chattered vibrantly as usual.
When I added my secret weapon on top of this, Yeni forgave me, blooming with smiles.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes!”

“Be careful when eating. You might poke yourself.”

My secret weapon was tanghulu. Although there was no sugar, I made it using honey and malt sugar, which are often used in Yi Province cuisine, with tangerines that were in season.
Although there were similar foods, there was no method of putting them on skewers one by one and coating them with a thin, transparent layer, so in the future, I might become the origin of tanghulu. As far as I know, it was created during the Song Dynasty or something.

Unlike the simple method, it’s surprisingly difficult to make it properly in a pretty shape, but with my innate dexterity plus the experience from my previous life, it was harder to fail.

Anyway, as I was watching Yeni eagerly munching on the tanghulu with her small mouth, a sound broke this small peace of mine.

They say the most interesting things to watch are fights and fires, don’t they? As soon as the sound of a fight broke out, people gathered in the market rushed over.

“Should I stop it?”

“Sister, are you going to fight again?”

“Again… No. I’m going to stop it. This time.”

I wonder what kind of image I have to Yeni. I hope it’s not just a troublemaker sister who fights all the time.

Holding Yeni’s hand tightly, I pushed through the crowd to get inside, where I found a situation just before several men were about to lynch one person.

Looking at the majority side, they seemed to be soldiers judging by their armor. That’s convenient. It’ll be easier to talk.

“Stop. What’s this commotion in the market in broad daylight?”

“Huh? What bi…”

The soldier was about to spit out a curse hearing a woman’s voice, but seeing my face, he shut his mouth with a “hup”. Right. I am quite famous among the soldiers. I’ll generously overlook a mere soldier unknowingly spitting out vulgar language to a general.

That’s what I thought and was about to soothe him when:

“Ahem, look here, are you a young lady out sightseeing the market? There’s no need for a precious miss like you to get involved in the business of these lowlifes, so hurry along now. What if you get a scar on that pretty face for meddling unnecessarily?”

The soldier lowered his voice, blushing.
Is this really Liu Bei’s army? No, even if it’s Liu Zhang’s army, don’t they know me?

My face burned hot with shame at my own presumption. For the first time, I found Yeni annoying as she giggled beside me, finding it funny that her sister wasn’t getting treated like a general.

This sister prepared tanghulu by renting a store in advance to appease your anger…

Just as I was about to explode all my accumulated shame and anger at the soldier who not only failed to recognize me but even looked me up and down with a lewd gaze, another interloper cut in besides me.

“The young lady’s words are correct. With such solemn laws in place, how dare there be violence in broad daylight?”