Chapter 107
— The Ruler of Wei Hands Over The Power To Sima Yi; Jiang Wei Is Defeated At Ox Head Hills.
The chapter gives her its longest single digression and a poem. Widowed young and childless by Wen Shu, a second cousin of Cao Shuang, she cut off her ears when her father first pressed her to remarry; when the whole Cao house was put to death and he arranged another match, she cut off her nose. Asked for whom she was keeping a vow now that there was nothing left to keep it for — 'Man is but as the light dust upon the tender grass' — she answered 'While the house of Cao enjoyed prosperity, I remained faithful; how much more should I be true now that it has fallen upon evil days? Can I act like a mere beast of the field?' Sima Yi praised her and let her adopt a son to continue the family.