Hairpins and Honor - A. Introduction

My parents had me late in life and spoiled me rotten.

On the day my sister-in-law married into the family, I tripped her.

When no one was watching, she gave me a sinister smile. “Just you wait, you little brat.”

When I was five, I beat up the Vice Censor-in-Chief’s son, and his family came to demand an explanation.

At last, my sister-in-law had a chance to take me down a peg. She sat there sipping her tea, in no hurry to help.

I plunged headfirst into her arms and shouted, “This is my mother! Hit her first if you dare!”

She spat out her tea.

She hauled me up and threatened to throw me away. I clung to her leg and howled.

“Mother! Don’t abandon me!”

She gritted her teeth. From then on, she kept me on a very short leash.

The year I turned ten, my father and both my brothers died in battle.

An old family enemy came to offer his condolences and greeted her with a sneer. “Madam, how have you aged so much?”

With everyone watching, I drew a deep breath and bellowed,

“Sir! You’ve got greens stuck in your teeth!”