Story of Minglan: I Awaken in the Sheng Family as the Seventh Daughter

In the Song dynasty, a time of literary figures like Li Qingzhao, Tang Wan, Zhu Shuzhen, and Zhang Yuniang; warriors like Liang Hongyu, Mu Guiying, and Lady Bian of Chenliu; powerful women at court like Liu E, Cao Danshu, and Yang Meizi; and women among the common folk like Zhao Pan'er, who rescued women from brothels, Song Sao, famous for her fish soup, and Granny Cao, who sold meat pies, women could read and write, manage households and finances, go out and do business, and ride fearlessly through armies to seize enemy commanders. If life treated them poorly, they could divorce, own property in their own right, and at the very least take half their dowry with them.

They could, like Li Qingzhao, go boating late in life and become so drunk they lost their way home; like Zhao Pan'er, rescue her sisters from misery and beat up a faithless man; or like Liang Hongyu and Lady Bian, don red tassels and iron armor and ride out with a spear in hand. They could also, like Empress Liu, Empress Cao, and Empress Yang, dominate the political stage and look down on the world.

With such a vast world before them, why waste away in the cramped inner quarters, letting the years slip by and their youth fade? While gathering historical materials on the Song dynasty, I read about Liang Hongyu, Lady Bian of Chenliu, and Empress Yang, and my heart surged. Yes, they were the ones. They were the light I had been looking for. Xiao Yue'ou is an overworked office drone, in poor health and mildly depressed. She can't lift a finger, has no particular talents, and isn't especially intelligent or socially adept. After transmigrating into the Sheng family of the Song dynasty, can she make it through safely? Or even make it home in one piece?