Chapter 01
To Return to a Daughter’s Identity or Not**
*[This book is written for a female audience, intended for girls to read. Male readers who are fans of the Three Kingdoms era need not continue reading. Mutual respect, peace and prosperity to all.]*
The morning sun was clear and bright, the breeze gentle and pleasant.
It was the season of autumn harvest. Bundles of freshly reaped grain were loaded onto carts one after another, and the very air was filled with the fragrance of wheat.
Liu Yi, dressed as a young nobleman, darted through the farmland. Her hair was tied in a loose bun, and the hem of her long robe was tucked up around her legs, making her steps light and nimble.
“It’s Master Yi!” The laborers working in the fields saw her, dropped their hoes, and crowded around. “Master Yi, thanks to you, we have a bountiful harvest this year!”
“The yield is several times higher than in previous years!”
The farmers were simple and honest. Their foreheads glistened with sweat, and their eyes sparkled as they looked at Liu Yi with the devotion usually reserved for immortals.
Liu Yi strolled around, offering advice: “When it’s time to fertilize during the fruiting period, remember to separate the sunny slopes from the shady ones. For sunny slopes, use cool-natured fertilizers like pig and cow manure. For shady slopes and low-lying wetlands, use warm-natured fertilizers like horse and mule manure. Be careful not to mix them up.”
The farmers had no idea what the difference was between pig manure and horse manure, but whatever Master Yi said, they followed.
After all, he was the son of the commandery governorânot only handsome and talented at such a young age, but also incredibly approachable. He often came down to the fields in person to teach them farming, never minding the sun or the hard work.
“Yes, yes!” They thanked him joyfully, and some were so moved they wanted to kneel and kowtow. Liu Yi quickly stopped them.
Even after more than a decade of being transported to ancient times, she still couldn’t get used to people kneeling and kowtowing at the drop of a hat.
“Miss… Master!”
Suddenly, a patch of cool shade fell over her head. Her maidservant Xiao Shan had caught up, holding up a parasol and panting from the run. “Master, the madam sent word for you to return.”
“The sun isn’t even out, and there’s no rain either. Why the parasol?” Liu Yi took it casually and held it over both of them.
Xiao Shan looked around nervously: “Even without sun, you shouldn’t be out in it too long. In a few days, it’ll be your coming-of-age ceremony. What if you get tanned?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Stop worrying so much.” Liu Yi tapped her on the forehead. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Ancient women placed great importance on appearance, especially valuing skin as fair and smooth as fine white jade. Liu Yi, however, didn’t care much about it.
Back when she was working on her doctorate, she often followed her advisor and fellow students on field trips to the countryside. For research, they’d be out in the sun for at least half a month. Even if her face and arms turned wheat-colored, she never thought it was a big deal.
Unfortunately, she never finished her doctorate. After an accident, she opened her eyes again to find herself over a thousand years in the past, in the Han Dynasty, as a newborn baby.
Because she retained her modern memories, even though she tried her best to act like a child, the intelligence she inadvertently revealed made her parents treat her like a child prodigy.
Her father was a commandery governorâroughly equivalent to a modern-day mayor. Her mother was a noblewoman from an aristocratic family. Both were terrified of raising their little prodigy wrong.
To make it easier for her to learn to read and study, and to study astronomy and geography, they raised her as a boy from childhood. They hired tutors under the guise of teaching a son, and let her run freely through the fields and streets, learning and gaining experience.
So she had naturally played the role of a boy for over a decade. Apart from her family and close servants, no one knew her secret.
And she certainly lived up to the title of prodigy. Using her identity as the governor’s son, she tinkered with everythingâon land, in the water, everywhere. Besides improving farming, she built waterwheels and developed fish ponds. Over the years, Yuyang Commandery had grown considerably wealthier, and the villagers practically worshipped her like a deity.
But peace and beauty never last. The era she had transmigrated into was the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Han dynasty’s time was running out, and soon would come the era of warring warlords, chaos, and the Three Kingdoms.
Once the wars began, countless lives would be lost, and all the peace and happiness of the present would turn to ashes.
“Mother, I’m back.” Liu Yi returned to the manor.
“Out since before dawn, and now you’re hungry, aren’t you?” Her mother, Madam Qian, came out of the kitchen in a brightly colored dress. “Sister Sun from west of the river sent over two mandarin fish this morning. I’ve already had someone make soup for you. She said she wanted to thank you for teaching her that… cage fish farming?”
“Didn’t I tell her several times not to send things anymore?”
“She leaves the fish at the gatehouse and runs off every time. What can we do?” Madam Qian looked proud as she straightened Liu Yi’s bun and collar. “Alright, come with me to see your father first. He said he had a big gift for you and has been looking for you all morning.”
Governor Liu was not yet forty, but his belly had already begun to round out a little. Today, however, he was dressed meticulously, with his belt and cuffs neatly fastenedâlooking quite spirited.
“Dressed so formally today? Are we expecting guests?” Liu Yi was a little surprised.
“Nothing to do with guests.” Governor Liu beamed at his daughter’s compliment. “But you can try to guess.”
“Then are you giving me a big gift?” Liu Yi asked.
Governor Liu was first taken aback, then he glared indignantly at his wife, who had clearly tattled. She shot him a white-eyed look in return.
“Yes, there is a big gift. But before I give it, I have a serious question for you.”
He pulled Liu Yi over to sit by the low table.
“My child, in just a few days, you will turn fifteen. Have you made up your mind? Do you want to return to being a daughter?”
“If you do, the coming-of-age ceremony is the perfect opportunity.”
