From selling herself for the price of three dou of coarse rice to being personally appointed a first-rank female official by the new emperor, she never wanted to spend her life as a slave. She wanted to bring lasting peace to the world for all women.
In the thirty-sixth year of Yongchang, drought had ravaged the land for three years, and starving corpses littered the ground.
Chen Wanqing was reborn on the day she sold herself. She knew that the Li family, who would buy her, would be condemned to execution three years later. In this life, she willingly stepped into this deadly game. Armed with the foresight of one who had been reborn, she rose from servant to the eldest Li daughter's chief advisor, helping the family escape disaster when their home was confiscated. In the treacherous struggle over the succession, she also made a timely investment in the future emperor.
From secluded mansions to princely estates, from fleeing famine to the imperial court, she proceeded carefully with a clear head and resolved countless crises with schemes so ingenious they seemed almost demonic. When the new emperor ascended the throne, she had rendered unparalleled service, yet she refused the title of imperial consort in the golden hall, asking only for an edict to establish the imperial examinations for women.
This is more than the story of a female official's rise through the ranks. It is an ultimate challenge to a thousand years of ritual law. Watch as she advances step by step from an orphan of famine, ultimately attaining the highest rank and becoming the guiding example for women throughout the realm for generations to come.
