Emperor's Armed Forces in the Warring States

Interlude 2 - Do I Take My Mother or My Adoptive Father?

In this interlude, we get the perspective of the daughter, Yoshiko, who is a bit removed from the main story.

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That day made a lasting impression on Tansanee (Yoshiko), Pricha's eldest daughter, until the day she passed away. From that day on, her mother, Pricha, wanted to pass on her cooking to her, and that is exactly what she did, she began to teach herself how to cook hands-on. It was true that she was now 11 years old, and it would have been natural for her to learn to cook. But then it happened.

"If something were to happen to me, I wouldn't be able to pass on the taste of my cooking to my daughter."

That's what Pricha said before starting to teach her how to cook. At that time, her mother was carrying her third child with her adoptive father (who at that time she did not know that his real name was Shoichi Kamisato and not Zhang Songyi). Accidents are not uncommon during pregnancy and childbirth. So it is never surprising that Tansanee's mother would think about what if.

She felt a certain sense of disgust when she heard her say that. She knew this may sound naïve, but her biological father disappeared when she was five years old, and she could not recall his face. The only face of her father that she can remember is that of her adoptive father. Because of this, she had always had the thought in the back of her mind that she had little connection with her biological parents.

After all, her mother, Pricha, was only her adoptive father's concubine. Even she knew at the time that her adoptive father had another fiancée. He loved her so much that he even publicly announced that he wanted to adopt Tansanee as his daughter (she was also told that it was only in his name and that even if he did so, she would still live with her mother). However, if she became the adopted daughter of the main family, rather than the daughter of a concubine, she would be looked upon differently by others.

After all, Tansanee was supposed to be the daughter of a peasant couple from the rural areas of Siam, but she was now the daughter of the owner of one of the biggest stores in Ayutthaya. She was now being approached, albeit privately, with an offer to marry into families in the future. Her mother was frankly happy about it, but she felt that she wanted her to be sad. Tansanee felt that if she became the adopted daughter of her new father and his wife, her relationship with her mother would be severed. But the fact that her mother was so honestly happy about it made Tansanee wonder if she did not really love her.

As Tansanee grew older, she learned that her mother was deeply concerned about whether or not her children would be able to adjust to her adoptive father. Especially for Tansanee, who (supposedly) remembered her biological father's face. She was worried that her father and Tansanee would not approve of her adoptive father and she had adjusted to each other as if they were a real parent and child.

But the irony of it all was that this later gave birth to a disconnect between Tansanee and her mother.

Yes, at that time.

"I won't follow you, mother. The one person I can call my parent is my father, Shoichi. My brother, Katsutoshi, will also side with me and won't follow you. And my name is Yoshiko, which I got it from my father from today. I will abandon my birth name Tansanee. My father Shoichi is my only parent."

Now that she is an adult, she regretted why she said such a cruel thing to her own mother. However...

"I will leave Shoichi and this house. Tansanee, decide what you are going to do. Are you going to follow me or Shoichi?" her mother said.

Her mother and her adoptive father, who had seemed so close, were splitting up, and her mother was leaving this house. Why did she make such a decision?

She did not want to understand at that time.