Chapter 10

“Yes, I am Chang-ran. But who are you, madam, to step into someone else’s house so rudely?”

“Hmph. You must have heard who I am.”

“Well, the Lady Son I know is the wife of Liu Bei and the sister of General at Gogi. How could such a noble lady act so rudely?”

In the novel, Lady Son is the pure love heroine who falls for Liu Bei, but in real history, Lady Son was essentially a spy planted by Sun Quan to keep an eye on Liu Bei.

She openly carries a sword, travels with armed maids, and recently even built a new castle to live separately from Liu Bei.

After all, she was the one who would eventually part ways with Liu Bei, while I was the one who would stay with him till the end, so there was no need to tread carefully.

Even though she was the wife of my lord, her face twisted when I bluntly said I didn’t know someone as rude as her. Tsk, the sound of her clicking her tongue reached me.

But she didn’t fly into a rage as I expected, so I thought she might have regained her composure. Just then, Lady Son opened her mouth.

“I’ve heard of a young girl who, despite her age, fought on the battlefield against enemy generals. But all I see is a mere child. They say Zhang Fei’s daughter inherited his heroic spirit and is called a tiger among women, but seeing you, I can tell his reputation is overblown.”

Crossing the line. I did mention family, but my words were meant to elevate my family while subtly criticizing her. However, Lady Son’s remarks were an attempt to tarnish my father’s reputation through me.

How arrogant. Even though I don’t 100% consider Zhang Fei my father, through Chang-ran’s memories and experiences, I’ve come to regard him as a precious stepfather. To have him insulted to my face was extremely unpleasant.

But I suppressed my anger. Reason must always remain cold. I recalled Zhang Fei’s words.

And more importantly, if I were to lose my temper first, it would feel like losing the verbal battle with Lady Son. So, I laughed.

“Hahaha!”

“You’re laughing?”

“Your words are like spitting at the sky, so I can’t help but laugh.”

Before Lady Son could respond, I continued.

“You call someone who speaks first to a rude person a ‘mere scholar,’ so allow me to borrow Confucius’ words: ‘To forget oneself in a moment of anger and bring harm to one’s family—is that not foolish?'”

“What?”

“Lady Wu, who successfully arranged the marriage that Sun Jian had rejected, or when Sun Ce passed his legacy to General at Gogi, leaving his will to Zhang Zhao—would you say they were not heroes because they valued learning and rhetoric over martial prowess?”

The phrase “to forget oneself in a moment of anger and bring harm to one’s family” sounds grand, but it simply means that if you speak so recklessly, your family will suffer.

To add further interpretation, ‘If you call me a mere scholar, then Zhang Zhao, whom your elder brother entrusted with his younger brother, isn’t a hero either? Then your elder brother must have been someone who couldn’t recognize a hero, by your logic.’

Bringing up her mother might have been too much, but she started by mentioning my father.

And to add, the term ‘hero’ in this context originally referred to an outstanding individual, not just a brave warrior. In Mencius, it was used to describe those who upheld virtue alone, so from a Confucian perspective, a ‘mere scholar’ might be closer to a hero than a ‘warrior.’

Anyway, Lady Son seemed to understand the underlying meaning and raised an eyebrow. No wonder Liu Bei felt fear whenever he shared a room with her.

As Lady Son’s expression twisted, one of her maids, perhaps inferring her mistress’s reaction, shouted angrily.

“How dare you speak such nonsense!”

“Enough.”

As the maid beside Lady Son tried to rush forward, Lady Son extended her arm to stop her. Though the action and voice were small, the maid immediately bowed her head and apologized.

“My lady, but…”

“I said enough.”

“Yes… I apologize.”

Listening to their conversation, which felt more like a general and subordinate than a mistress and maid, I paid attention to the maid’s address.

‘My lady,’ not ‘madam.’ Seeing that Lady Son didn’t correct her, it must have been her instruction. Clearly, Lady Son was dissatisfied with her marriage to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei, who was second to none in insight, couldn’t possibly be unaware of Lady Son’s true feelings. Even if she ran to Liu Bei or Sun Quan to report my words, people would blame her actions, not mine.

Perhaps aware of this, Lady Son suppressed her anger, her lips twitching, but she didn’t cross the final line.

“Truly, you’re no different from the old men called the ‘Two Generals of Jiangdong.’ All talk and no action. Following the words of dead men like Confucius and Mencius, flaunting your learning. Fine. I’ve wasted my time. Let’s go.”

Even if this ended here, this incident would become a tale of a young girl who stood up to the rude Lady Son who barged into her home.

The people of Jing Province, already tired of Lady Son’s overbearing behavior, would spread this refreshing story far and wide.

But I had no intention of ending it here.

“Where are you going? You came without my master’s permission, and now you’re leaving without even a farewell?”

At my words, Lady Son stopped. She turned her body slightly, tilting her head to look back at me, a glint in her eye.

“Oh? A farewell?”

“Yes. In our Zhang family, even unwelcome guests are not sent away without a proper farewell.”

Lady Son finally turned fully, lifting her chin slightly. The gesture was unbearably arrogant, but it suited her haughty appearance perfectly.

“Fine. What kind of farewell? Shall I say, ‘I’ll take my leave now’?”

“Of course not.”

There’s no way we’d exchange polite farewells like ‘Take care’ or ‘Be safe’ at this point.

There’s only one kind of farewell we can have.

“A farewell of steel.”

At my words, Lady Son’s eyes lit up, and she curled her lips into a fierce smile.

“A farewell of steel… How interesting.”

As her lips formed what could almost be called a smile, she took a step closer to me.

“I like it.”

Lady Son’s hand moved toward the sword at her waist. But her hand, which had been about to grasp the well-worn hilt, stopped mid-air.

“But how can the master give a farewell when there are servants? My farewell will be given by my attendant.”

“Using subordinates is also a measure of one’s ability.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t complain later that the farewell was insincere.”

Truly, she’s not just a woman but a warrior. Calling her a tomboy would be too cute. She’s too wild to be called a heroine, and her actions are too bold to be called a ruffian.

The displeasure I felt earlier was completely washed away by Lady Son’s face, which now showed anticipation and a kind of longing instead of arrogance.

“Chuk-baek, come out.”

“Yes, my lady.”

At Lady Son’s call, a young girl around my age stepped forward. Like the other maids who followed Lady Son, Chuk-baek also carried a sword. However, it was shorter than those used by adults and was carried on her back rather than at her waist.

“You’ll give the farewell in my place.”

Instead of a polite bow, Chuk-baek responded with a formal martial salute and strode confidently toward me. Though I was a head taller than most girls my age, Chuk-baek wasn’t much shorter than me. Still, she was slightly smaller.

Lady Son proudly said, “That child is the one I have the highest hopes for. She’ll be a suitable opponent for a farewell of steel.”

Well, not bad.

Her balance is good, and there are signs of rigorous training.

But Lady Son’s fondness for Chuk-baek likely wasn’t just due to her martial talent. Chuk-baek was quite pretty.

As Lady Son’s favored protégé, she naturally received support, but even considering that, her fair, smooth skin and delicate nose stood out in this era.

As I scrutinized Chuk-baek, Lady Son suddenly clapped her hands as if struck by an idea and said, “Right. Since we’ve both pointed out each other’s rudeness, let’s make it so that the one who finishes the farewell first is in the right. How about that?”

Lady Son’s confident proposal exuded certainty of victory. Was Chuk-baek really such a remarkable talent?

At a young age, girls often grow faster and are stronger than boys, so it’s possible. Chuk-baek must have been undefeated against boys her age.

I smiled inwardly at Lady Son’s confident offer.

“Agreed.”

Seeing my immediate acceptance, Lady Son added, “Your confidence is admirable. Then how about this? If your farewell is late, you become my attendant.”

I had to suppress a laugh.

In gambling, cheaters give their marks good hands to make them confident they can win, enticing them to bet more. This situation was exactly like that. Though unintentional, Lady Son had great faith in Chuk-baek, and when I readily agreed, she raised the stakes.

Without knowing what the outcome would be.

“Then you must have considered the opposite case, right?”

“Oh? The opposite? I hadn’t thought of it, but what do you think?”

Her arrogance, not even considering defeat. The spirit and competitive nature inherited from her father would later lead to the near-successful plan to kidnap Liu Shan, but underestimating her opponent led to failure.

After a moment of thought, I said, “Since you want to take me as your attendant, I will return your maids. Send them to General at Gogi.”

“Don’t you think the stakes are uneven? You are one, and my maids number a hundred.”

“Because my value is greater than those hundred.”

It’s not wrong. This isn’t Europe, where noble daughters were taken as maids. This is the era of the Three Kingdoms. Even if those maids were daughters of powerful families, how noble could their bloodlines be?

On the other hand, I am the eldest daughter of Zhang Fei, a core figure in Liu Bei’s army, and the woman Liu Bei and Zhou Yu wanted as a daughter-in-law.

Hmm, saying it like this gives me a strange sense of pride, but also some discomfort. The strong perception of being male still lingers.

“But if I have no maids, who will attend to me? I can’t agree to that.”

I didn’t expect her to accept. Lady Son was, after all, a spy sent by Sun Quan to keep Liu Bei in check. Sending her maids away would mean failing her mission.

‘Since she won’t give up her weapons, it’s better to choose to build my reputation here.’

“Take this as a lesson and respect the laws and customs of Jing Province from now on.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. And as a token of my promise to keep your condition, I’ll give you that child as your attendant.”

If I win, you’ll attach a watchdog to me? Whatever. Lady Son won’t stay with Liu Bei’s side forever anyway.

“Let it be so.”