The Stirrup's Secret
They say humans are creatures of adaptation. After a single day, the initial shock had begun to fade. “……Ugh.” Of course, that didn’t mean the morning sickness had vanished.
‘I hope I don’t end up bedridden.’ Resting thoroughly during early pregnancy was common sense in both my past and present lives. Unfortunately, the turbulent times surrounding me offered no such luxury.
Once again, I dressed for an outing early in the morning. After checking on the soundly sleeping Liu Fei, I stepped out of the bedroom. Lady Cao, who had been crouching by the stove tending the fire, immediately turned to look at me.
“Heading out again today?”
“Yes. I have a small favor to ask of Lord Xiahou.”
It was about the stirrup test that had been left unfinished yesterday. Lady Cao studied me with an endlessly worried expression, then carefully approached and took my hand.
“My lady, I understand you’re busy, but… you must rest when you can. As I’ve told you many times, the period before the child settles is the most dangerous time for a mother.”
She gently stroked the back of my hand. Even when I had revealed my pregnancy last night, I hadn’t sensed any wariness or jealousy from her. ‘In history, Lady Cao was the only one of Liu Bang’s women that Empress Lü never touched.’ It seemed she no longer held any lingering feelings for him. Liu Bang himself had mentioned that he had completely ended his relationship with her before even meeting me.
“I will. If anything feels even slightly off, I’ll come straight home.”
I smiled softly and clasped her rough hand in return. Lady Cao watched me a moment longer with concern before finally nodding with a light smile.
“Very well. Please be safe. In the meantime, I’ll head to the large market in the neighboring village to buy some carp.”
“Carp?”
“Yes. Boiling carp thoroughly is said to be very good for pregnant women. I ate it often myself when I was carrying Bi’a.”
“Oh?”
Essentially carp stew, then. Fortunately, even with my current queasy stomach, I thought I could manage something like that. I asked with a hint of anticipation, “How do you season it? With Sichuan peppercorns?”
“We don’t.”
“……Pardon?”
“You simply place the whole carp into plain water and boil it for several hours until the bones soften and turn the broth white.”
“But… wouldn’t it smell of mud…?”
“You’ll have to endure it.”
Lady Cao nodded with a distinctly serious expression. ‘……Oh no.’ I could already imagine it—the distinctive fishy, earthy smell of freshwater fish, boiled in plain water with no spices, leaving a murky broth with floating grease. ‘Absolutely not.’
I hesitated, lips moving soundlessly, then blurted out as if suddenly remembering, “Ah, right! I recall that my constitution actually agrees better with red meat!”
“Your constitution…?”
“Yes. As you know, my father is rather particular. Every year he would summon skilled physicians to examine his daughters’ constitutions.”
The all-purpose ‘eldest daughter of the Lü family’ shield activated once more.
“Hmm… I see.”
Fortunately, in an era where the Five Elements theory was considered cutting-edge science, Lady Cao accepted it without much protest. After pondering for a moment, her eyes soon sparkled again.
“Then I’ll have to fetch lamb legs instead.”
“Lamb legs… as in sheep legs?”
“Yes. I’ll boil them thoroughly for you. They’re not quite as effective as carp, but lamb legs are excellent for restoring vitality and promoting lactation.”
Lady Cao’s expression grew resolute once more—the fierce determination of a senior in pregnancy, resolved to safeguard the mother’s health.
“Um… will the lamb legs also be prepared without any seasoning…?”
“Yes. They’ll be boiled in clean water as well.”
“And… the meat and broth too…?”
“Of course. The point is to suck out every bit of marrow.”
“……”
A wave of nausea suddenly rose from deep in my stomach. Not beef bone broth, not pork trotters—this was sheep trotters, something I had never even heard of in the twenty-first century. ‘This is insane.’ But there was nowhere left to retreat. Lady Cao wore a terrifying expression that suggested she would force-feed me if I refused again.
“……Yes. I’ll look forward to it.”
In the end, I nodded helplessly. Only then did Lady Cao relax her expression and release my hand.
“Please be careful on your way. My lady.”
She looked quite pleased with herself. I forced an awkward smile and left the house.
※※
I headed straight for the stables on the outskirts of Peixian, where Xiahou Ying was entrusted with raising the county’s official horses. A simple wooden building. The wholesome scent of straw. And the cheerful neighing of horses that somehow lifted the spirits could be heard from all around.
“Oh? Sister-in-law?”
Xiahou Ying, who had been grooming a horse’s mane in a corner of the yard, spotted me and immediately stopped what he was doing to run over. Even after delivering goods to the neighboring village since dawn, his face remained full of energy.
“I’m sorry for visiting so suddenly when you must be busy.”
“Not at all. I didn’t have much to do anyway.”
Xiahou Ying brushed the straw from his clothes, his eyes sparkling. “So what brings you all the way out here, sister-in-law? Did something urgent come up that needs delivering?”
“No. I’d like to ask for something else today.”
I took out a heavy cloth bundle from my robes and untied it. Under the morning sunlight, two sturdy iron rings appeared side by side. Xiahou Ying stared at them for a moment before tilting his head in confusion.
“What are these for? They don’t look like horseshoes…”
“These are called stirrups.”
“Stirrups…?”
“Yes. They hang from either side of the saddle to support the rider’s feet while riding.”
I explained how to use the stirrups and their revolutionary benefits. Simply attach them to the saddle with leather straps and slip your feet in. This would stabilize balance on horseback far better than relying solely on thigh strength, and most importantly, allow both hands to be freed from the reins to wield weapons freely.
“Oh?”
Xiahou Ying examined the stirrups in his hands while listening. The puzzled look on his face soon gave way to a deep, professional curiosity.
“Indeed. An interesting approach.”
He bent down and tried inserting his foot between the stirrups. “If you shift your center of gravity from the thighs to the feet, it should certainly be easier to maintain balance on horseback. You might even be able to stand up while riding.”
“Do you have a sense of how to use them?”
“Yes. May I test them?”
“Of course. That’s why I brought them.”
I nodded with a smile. Whether his instincts as a horseman had kicked in, Xiahou Ying immediately dashed into the stables and led out a horse.
“This one is called Hongniang. She’s a gentle mare, easy to handle.”
“Hongniang… what a lovely name.”
When I stroked the horse’s smooth chestnut coat, she snorted contentedly. At that moment, images of twenty-first-century Thoroughbreds I had seen in videos flashed through my mind. ‘But the horses of this era are incredibly small.’ In centimeters, her height was probably around 140cm. Compared to twenty-first-century racehorses at 160–170cm, she was practically a pony.
“See? Very docile, isn’t she?”
Xiahou Ying chuckled lightly as he pulled on the reins. He tied Hongniang to a nearby post and began attaching the stirrups I had given him to the saddle.
“Like this?”
“Yes. Please adjust the straps so they’re taut.”
“Understood.”
Xiahou Ying skillfully adjusted the length of the leather straps. “Hmm… Will this do?”
He lifted the saddle above his head once, then nodded in satisfaction and secured it onto Hongniang’s back. I approached the post and untied the rope.
“Thank you, sister-in-law.”
Xiahou Ying gave me a slight bow before placing his hand on the saddle and leaping up. At the same time—
“Ooh…!”
A voice of admiration burst out. “This… is actually incredible!”
His feet were snugly fitted inside the stirrups. Thanks to his natural talent, the properly adjusted straps clung firmly to the saddle without swaying, supporting him perfectly.
“It’s far more comfortable than I expected. To think that just adding footrests could provide such stability!”
“Is it that noticeable?”
“Of course. Let me show you.”
Xiahou Ying immediately began circling the yard on Hongniang. After taking a deep breath, he suddenly stood up in the saddle.
“How about that? Impressive, isn’t it?”
He turned to look at me with a boastful expression. ‘……Is it?’ I stared blankly for a moment before carefully asking, “Is that really so remarkable?”
“Ah… right. You wouldn’t understand, sister-in-law. You’ve never ridden a horse before.”
“Well… no.”
Though Liu Bang had ridden one about three times. I couldn’t help but smile wryly. Xiahou Ying carefully released the reins and mimed drawing a bowstring.
“Look! I could even shoot a bow like this!”
He exclaimed with a brighter expression. “What do you think, sister-in-law? Isn’t it amazing?”
Now standing upright on the horse with the reins released, drawing an imaginary bow, Xiahou Ying certainly looked impressive even to my eyes. It felt almost like watching a circus performance.
“Yes, it does look quite good.”
Only then did I smile as well. Xiahou Ying laughed heartily like a child before leaning forward to grasp the reins again.
“Then I’ll go for a proper run!”
He immediately loosened the reins and shouted, “Hya!” Hongniang accelerated instantly, kicking up dust as she galloped out of the stable enclosure.
“It’s just a prototype, so don’t push yourself too hard!”
I called out loudly toward his retreating back. About five minutes later, the sound of powerful hoofbeats returned, and Xiahou Ying came back with an almost ecstatic expression.
“Sister-in-law, this is… truly incredible! It really is!”
He was so impressed that even his vocabulary had broken down. I smiled gently and approached to take Hongniang’s reins.
“Any discomfort or points for improvement while using them?”
“Hmm… If I had to say, placing thick leather underneath when making the footrests to distribute balance would be even better. Like wearing shoes.”
“Balance… noted.”
Indeed, the wider the contact area for the feet, the easier it would be to maintain balance and the less fatigue one would feel. Xiahou Ying carefully brought Hongniang to a stop before lightly jumping down.
“That aside, how on earth did you come up with this? You’ve never even ridden a horse before, sister-in-law.”
“I read in a book that the northern Di tribes beyond the Great Wall can shoot arrows freely while on horseback. Since they wouldn’t be balancing with their hands, the secret naturally had to be in their feet.”
In reality, there were records that the northern barbarians, such as the Xiongnu, had used stirrups since the fourth century BCE. It was also the reason Liu Bang would later be completely overwhelmed in cavalry warfare during the Battle of Baideng against Modu Chanyu.
“I see… So instead of simply thinking they were born horsemen, you dug into the underlying principle.”
“Yes. No matter how much the northern tribes live with horses from birth, they are still human.”
“Oh…”
Xiahou Ying didn’t press further. He merely looked at me with respectful eyes that seemed to say, ‘As expected of our sister-in-law!’
“Anyway, it’s a truly remarkable idea! With these, even untrained soldiers could quickly become cavalry!”
Xiahou Ying raised his voice further as he reached for the saddle. Then he suddenly paused, turning to me with an expression that suggested he had just had a good idea.
“Um… sister-in-law?”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you learn to ride while we’re at it?”
“……Me?”
With these slender arms? I looked at him as if he had said something absurd.
“With these stirrups, even a beginner like you should be able to maintain balance on horseback.”
Xiahou Ying’s expression grew quite serious. “Besides, we never know what might happen in the future. There may come a time when you have to flee on your own without me around.”
“……Hmm.”
It was true that knowing how to ride would greatly expand one’s range of movement and increase survival chances. Moreover, riding might become an essential skill if I were to accompany Liu Bang through the long Chu-Han Contention. ‘And with Xiahou Ying as the instructor, this is a rare opportunity.’
I glanced briefly at Xiahou Ying’s face, then at Hongniang’s gentle eyes watching me blankly. Fortunately, the decision wasn’t difficult. It was a matter of survival.
“Alright. I’ll learn the basics.”
When I nodded, Xiahou Ying’s face lit up. He immediately knelt on one knee and interlaced his hands to form a step, looking up at me.
“I’ll give you a boost. Step on my hands and climb up.”
“Oh… really?”
“Of course. This is how everyone does it on the battlefield.”
Xiahou Ying nodded as if it were obvious. I reluctantly lifted the hem of my skirt slightly and carefully approached him. ‘Never thought I’d ride a horse in this lifetime.’ Just as I was about to step on his hands… a small but critical fact suddenly occurred to me. ‘……Wait.’
Riding a horse → shaking → impact to the abdomen → ……miscarriage?
My foot stopped in midair. A chill ran down my spine.
“Sister-in-law? What’s wrong?”
When I froze, Xiahou Ying looked up in confusion. I carefully looked down at him and asked, “By the way, Lord Xiahou.”
“Yes, sister-in-law.”
“Is it… all right to ride a horse while pregnant?”
“……Pardon?”
Xiahou Ying tilted his head as if he hadn’t heard correctly. There was no point in hiding it anyway. I stopped in my tracks and placed a hand on my stomach. Then, quite calmly, I explained what had happened that day.
“Well… actually…”
And so on.
“……Gasp.”
The moment I finished, Xiahou Ying’s mouth fell open.