Lady Hu 胡氏

According to the Biography of Liu Yan, Liu Yan, courtesy name Weishuo, was a man of Lu State. When Liu Bei was in Yu Province he summoned him as an Attendant Official, and because Liu Yan shared the imperial clan surname, had refinement and was good at conversation, treated him generously. When Liu Bei pacified Yi Province, Liu Yan became Administrator of Guling, and when the Later Sovereign, Liu Shan, ascended the throne he was enfeoffed as Marquis of a Chief District, his rank and position always coming next after Li Yan. Passing through the posts of Commandant of the Guards, Central Military Adviser and General of the Rear, he was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry. Records, Shu 10 §52

Liu Yan took no part in affairs of state; he merely commanded over a thousand troops and followed the Chancellor Zhuge Liang, offering oblique counsel. He was known for the extravagance of his carriages, clothing and food, and his several dozen maidservants were all skilled in song and music. In the 10th year of Jianxing (232), being on bad terms with the Front Military Adviser Wei Yan, he spoke wild and baseless words and was rebuked by Zhuge Liang, and Liu Yan sent Zhuge Liang a letter of apology saying that he suffered from an affliction of drunkenness. Zhuge Liang sent Liu Yan back to Chengdu with his office and rank unchanged, but Liu Yan lost heart and lived as if dazed. Records, Shu 10 §53–55

In the 1st month of the 12th year of Jianxing (234), Liu Yan's wife, Lady Hu, entered the palace to offer congratulations to the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager specially kept Lady Hu there, so that she came out only after a month. Because Lady Hu was beautiful, Liu Yan suspected that she had had an affair with the Later Sovereign; he summoned his 'five hundred' (wubai) attendants to beat Lady Hu, went so far as to strike her face with a shoe, and then cast her out. Records, Shu 10 §55

Lady Hu accused Liu Yan, laying out the matter in full, and Liu Yan was convicted and imprisoned. The officials in charge deliberated that 'soldiers are not the ones to beat a wife, and a face is not a place to receive a shoe,' and Liu Yan was finally executed in the marketplace. From then on, the custom of the wives and mothers of high ministers entering the court to offer congratulations came to an end. Records, Shu 10 §55

In Chen Shou's main text this passage is the only place Lady Hu appears, and her origins, later life and death are not recorded. In his assessment at the end of the volume, Chen Shou said that Liu Yan, as a long-serving retainer, was honored and valued, but that the misfortune he invited and the blame he incurred all came from himself. Records, Shu 10 §51–55 · 74