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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Threads of Gratitude
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Duseon began helping the maids with their sewing from dawn the very next day after staying with the Jin Clan.
Old Lady Sunju's eyes widened at the sight.
"How could someone in your condition possibly handle housework? Stop that and go rest inside."
Duseon gave an awkward smile but didn't stop her hands.
"Sitting idle only makes my body feel heavier. Doing familiar work like this actually perks me up."
Even with Baek strapped to her back, her skill in seamlessly mending torn silk drew gasps of admiration from the maids.
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A few days passed.
Duseon seemed determined. Before the morning sun rose, she gathered the outer garments of the still-sleepy maids.
Her heart ached at the sight of clothes with frayed threads everywhere and faded colors, so she settled in and began sewing.
Under her touch, the crudely patched spots bloomed into delicate floral patterns, one by one.
They were elegant and refined.
The awakened maids folded laundry around Duseon as she sewed, chattering away.
"How can her needlework be so exquisite? I'd believe she was a noble lady from a scholarly house."
As sunset dyed the hillsides red, Sunju sat on the porch, turning the pages of a book.
Her gaze lingered amid the maids' laughter carried on the breeze and the sight of them shaking out bedding.
A faint floral pattern blooming at the hem of a mud-colored cloth.
"This... did you embroider it?"
Sunju asked a maid passing by.
The maid stopped and beamed.
"No, ma'am. It was the lady staying in the back quarters."
Sunju sat there for a long while, quietly gazing at the floral pattern in the fading light of the setting sun.
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That evening, Duseon neatly tied her hair, straightened her collar, and sought out Sunju.
She bowed deeply and cautiously spoke.
"My health has improved considerably now. I'll never forget your kindness, but it's not right for me to impose any longer... So I plan to prepare to leave starting tomorrow."
"Is that why you mended the children's clothes before going?"
"It was embarrassing work, but I wanted to offer even a small token of repayment."
"I see. Have you figured out how you'll support yourself and the child once you're out there?"
Duseon appeared composed on the outside, but her heart was a tangle of worries.
Thinking of how she and her child would survive this harsh world once she left made everything seem hopeless.
Yet she couldn't bear to burden the Jin household further, knowing their circumstances weren't abundant.
Sunju watched her silently, staring into her teacup.
As steam rose like a veil over her face, she let a long pause hang in the air.
In the ensuing silence, the nearby maids grew restless first and spoke up.
"Ma'am, couldn't she stay with us longer? Her sewing is so refined and skillful—there's so much we could learn."
In any other house, a maid daring to interject in the matriarch's decision would warrant punishment.
It spoke volumes about Sunju's broad-mindedness and the warm atmosphere of the Jin household.
"Go on."
As Sunju quietly gave her the space to continue, the maid's eyes reddened.
"The world's so chaotic these days, it roughens the heart, but since she arrived, things feel warmer somehow..."
"Couldn't we cut back on our shares to make room for her? Please, ma'am."
"How dare I impose like that? How could I cause you such trouble?"
Duseon flustered, trying to hush the maids.
Sunju lifted her teacup and took a quiet sip.
Then, slowly looking at Duseon, she said,
"Someone as genuine as you is rare. Our means aren't overflowing, but we can afford to shelter two more mouths."
Duseon's eyes welled up with gratitude as she bowed wordlessly.
Sunju smiled faintly and nodded.
"Stay here with the child. There are plenty in this house who can help you, and plenty you can help in turn."
A warm aura somehow enveloped the room, easing everyone's hearts, if only for a moment.
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Dark shadows were creeping toward Xiangyang as well.
Rumors spread that Yellow Turban banners had crossed the Huai River and appeared in Jing Province lands.
"The whole village across the way burned down."
"They say beasts with yellow bands on their heads slaughter young and old alike."
As danger drew perilously close, more and more people packed up and fled the village.
Anxiety soon breached the walls of the Jin estate.
In better times, imperial troops would deploy, with prefects or administrators leading the charge.
But now, even that hope felt like a luxury.
The yamen had long stood empty, and few remembered the face of the local official.
Yet nature abhors a vacuum—someone always fills the void.
Seizing the gap were none other than the Great Clans.
They rallied their retainer forces and guests, raising walls higher and distributing weapons.
Even soldiers from the regular army no longer awaited official orders; they flocked to the banners of clans offering rice.
The Jin estate was no exception.
Sunju procured spears and bows she'd never held in her life and distributed them to the able-bodied men, setting rotating night watches.
At night, the maids gathered under lantern light to sew undergarments for inside armor, guided by Duseon.
"Stitch the ties like this—it won't bind the waist when moving."
Duseon spoke softly as she pulled the fabric taut evenly; the maids nodded breathlessly.
'How is she so proficient? Is it because her father was a soldier, like she told Grandmother before?'
Baek watched the scene over Duseon's shoulder, then drifted to sleep with the sewing sounds and clinking of weapon maintenance as his lullaby.
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As Yellow Turban banners threatened even Luoyang, the court could no longer stand idle and began to act.
Lifting the Party Prohibitions that had barred many from office, it mobilized under Colonel General Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi to suppress the rebels.
In response, militias across the land and clan-armed retainers scattered Yellow Turban remnants everywhere.
Dust clouds cleared, and smoke from cooking fires rose again in plundered villages.
But the real trouble came afterward.
Those who had once gripped weapons refused to let go.
With imperial troops absent, power flowed to the provinces—to those who already held it.
Militias and clans that aided in suppression now ignored prefect orders and dismissed administrator edicts.
Especially the Cai Clan, which held the most land, wealth, and retainers in Xiangyang—no one dared touch them, and their might grew daily.
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Spring of Zhongping 4 (187 AD)—years after the Yellow Turban flames had died down, the world remained tumultuous.
Yet a modest peace lingered within the Jin estate in Xiangyang.
Duseon now attended Sunju even more closely.
Her sewing remained impeccable, but she was no longer just a needlewoman.
At Sunju's direction, she organized books and land ledgers from the estate library, copying them character by character.
In an era when literacy was rare, Sunju treasured her all the more.
Still, Duseon never lost her humility.
Thanks to her, Baek drew Sunju's special attention too.
He was still too young for chores, but sensing his quick mind, Sunju seated him on the back porch to teach him letters, easing her lonely old age.
Placing an inkstone and brush on the tea table, she gently clasped his small hand and said,
"Today, let's write '' (loyalty). It has '' (heart) right in the middle of '' (center). Do you know what that means?"
"Loyalty to one's lord."
Sunju stroked his head fondly at Baek's firm reply.
"Yes, that's right. But at its core, the character means an upright heart. It doesn't always point to a lord—remember that well."
"Yes, I'll keep it in mind."
Baek nodded solemnly and moved the brush tip steadily.
Sunju watched him with an unconscious gentle smile.
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Hoofbeats thundered along the muddy road before the autumn rain had fully dried.
As the Cai Clan banner rose before the Jin estate's main gate, the servants bowed their heads in unison.
A black field embroidered with a golden apricot blossom fluttered, slicing the wind.
The gates opened, and a man in black armor strode into the courtyard with three or four escort warriors.
The man's name was Cai Xun, second son of Cai Feng, head of the Cai Clan—his presence was formidable.
"I come to pay respects to the lady of the Jin house!"
His words were polite, but his demeanor dripped arrogance.
As Sunju appeared on the porch, Cai Xun grandly unrolled a wooden tablet.
A few lines were inscribed in brush script.
-For wall repairs and military provisions, the Jin Clan shall contribute ten able-bodied men and ten shi of grain.
Should you refuse, we will conscript by force of arms.
Cai Clan Head, Cai Feng.-
Sunju narrowed her eyes coldly, but Cai Xun paid no heed.
"The Yellow Turbans have quieted a bit, but with bandits rampant, isn't our Cai Clan protecting the people in the government's stead?"
The estate folk murmured at his words.
Sunju exhaled like a sigh.
"We've already contributed grain since winter—our storerooms are empty. We have no able-bodied men, only boys awaiting marriage. Ten is impossible."
Cai Xun smirked faintly, whether in amusement or scorn.
"Then I've heard you have skilled seamstresses here. Make a hundred undergarments for under armor, and we'll call it even."
As Sunju hesitated at the outrageous demand, Cai Xun signaled his men subtly.
Soon, one private soldier kicked over the water jar in the courtyard center.
Pottery shattered, water splashed, and startled maids screamed.
"If we withdraw our protection, can this rabble defend the house?"
Cai Xun swept his gaze over the Jin servants, mocking their ragged state.
"And if we turn our spears on you instead?"
Faces paled instantly at his threat.
"We'll wait until sunset tomorrow. After that, even I can't take responsibility."
After the Cai group left, maids picked up the broken shards, clucking their tongues.
"Good grief, these nobodies without office acting like prefects now."
"Protecting from bandits? They're the real thieves!"
Outrage swelled in every heart of the estate, but there was nothing to be done.
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That night, the estate elders busied themselves preparing tribute for the Cai Clan.
Baek, in the back quarters, turned toward the noisy commotion beyond the wall.
Curiosity piqued, he climbed the wall and peeked over.
"This won't cut it!"
Under moonlight, Cai retainers dragged men to the riverbank, binding and beating them with clubs.
Flesh tore and blood sprayed with each blow on swollen shoulders.
Terrified women clutched scant grain, kneeling in a line.
In the corner, emaciated children with bellies bloated from hunger huddled, clutching their mothers' hems.
Baek ground his teeth silently.
In his past life, he'd read of Han's fall as merely corrupt eunuchs like the Ten Attendants or regent consorts.
That sparked the Yellow Turban Rebellion, leading to ruin.
But witnessing this reality before his eyes, he understood.
Corruption and chaos were mere sparks—the real blaze was fed by clans like these, weapons in hand.