Xiahou Lingnü (夏侯令女) was a Chinese noblewoman, member of the aristocrat Xiahou clan during the Three Kingdoms period. Alongside her family, she served her entire life the state of Cao Wei, a major faction in Three Kingdoms era. She is best known for her role in events before the Incident at the Gaoping Tombs; she remained loyal to the Cao Wei and protested her family's wishes to remarry and joins Sima Yi's coup d'état against Cao Shuang, cutting off one of her facial organs each time she was asked. Her actions were admired by her potential rival, Sima Yi, who gave her the role to continue the legacy of the Cao lineage. The most notable information about her comes from Huangfu Mi's Biographies of Exemplary Women (Lienü Zhuan), which was supposed to be an instructional text for confucian women. Due to her heroic act of remaining loyal to the Cao family even when them was in disgrace, she was immortalized as one of the most memorable acts of loyalty performed by a woman in Chinese history. Genealogy and arrival to the Cao family Xiahou Lingnü born was born as the daughter of Xiahou Wenning. Among her relatives are the famous generals Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, who served Cao Cao the founder of the state of Cao Wei. Other possible relatives of her are; Lady Xiahou, who married Zhang Fei from Shu Han state; Xiahou Ba, a Cao Wei general who defected to Shu State shortly after the Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions; and Xiahou Hui, member of the Cao family and wife of Sima Shi (Sima Yi's son), her death could have started tensions between the Sima clan and the Cao clan. The daughters of Lady Xiahou (wife of Zhang Fei and niece of Xiahou Yuan), Empress Jing'ai and Empress Zhang became empresses of the state of Shu Han, making the Xiahou clan divided between the two factions. Lingnu entered a political marriage with the regent Cao Shuang's cousin Cao Wenshu (曹文叔), making her an upper class aristocrat. During the marriage she had no children. Incident at Gaoping Tombs Shortly before a coup d'état against Cao Shuang began, Xiahou Lingnü's husband died. Due to the growing contention against the members of the Cao clan and the growing popularity of the Sima clan, Lingnu's father joined the traitorous forces against Cao Wei. In order to sever ties with Cao Wei, Xiahou