A Noble Daughter Rises from a Humble Family

In her previous life, Jiang Wan was a top computer science student with razor-sharp logic and ironclad resolve. When she opens her eyes, she has become a penniless orphan in the Great Jing dynasty, living in a drafty shack with her twin younger siblings, Jiang He and Jiang Ji, who are so thin a gust of wind could knock them over. As if their leaky roof weren't enough, their cruel neighbor, butcher Zhang, wants their broken-down home for himself and plans to drive them out to freeze and starve to death at the mountain god's temple! “I, Jiang Wan, could tackle mountains of code in my last life. Are you telling me I can't earn enough for one full meal and a safe home in this one?” Seeing her siblings' tear-reddened eyes and feeling the despair of an empty stomach, Jiang Wan grits her teeth. She has no golden finger, only the “cleverness” of a modern mind, a stubborn refusal to lose, and a fierce determination to protect her family. From wracking her brain to trade wild fruit and needlework for food, to improving embroidery and carving out a small business in the marketplace; from being lectured by village women and looked down on by gentry, to stepping into a bookshop and drawing the attention of a down-on-his-luck scholar with her photographic memory and original insights: Jiang Wan gathers around her a group of little people, each fighting their own battles. There is Chun Tao, a fiery embroiderer; Liu Mingwei, a concubine-born young woman of great talent but ill fortune; and Shi Tou, a taciturn carpenter's apprentice with nimble hands. Because Jiang Wan is different, they come together like a flame, supporting and lighting the way for one another. From the filth and strife of the countryside, to the infighting of the county town, the constraints of the prefectural city, and the treachery of the capital, Jiang Wan climbs from a poor family's humble home toward the mansions of the powerful, bringing her companions along with her. She will carve out a brilliant future for herself and her family!