Bianjing's Arena: The Lady Steals the Show

In the spring breezes of Bianjing, the city is never short of bustling entertainment quarters and theaters, yet there is nowhere for women to break free of their shackles and show what they can do. On her third day after transmigrating, Su Wantang left a hole half a foot deep in the cuju field in her family’s backyard. The original owner was the legitimate daughter of a merchant family in Bianjing, pampered for eighteen years and skilled at painting flower designs on her forehead, yet she had a heart that preferred sports to finery. Su Wantang had meant to rein herself in and play the part of a well-behaved young lady in ancient times, but she gave herself away during a street disturbance. When a runaway cuju ball was about to hit a child, she instinctively hooked her leg over her head and kicked it away. Not only did she save the child, but her deft move also caught the eye of Shen Yanqing, the manager of Bianjing’s Women’s Sports Club. Shen Yanqing was famous in the city as an oddball. Born into a prominent family, he had turned his back on an official career to devote himself to women’s sports, and refused to back down even when his relatives accused him of disgracing the family. One was a transmigrated woman with an unconventional streak and an imagination to match; the other was a stubborn young master from a distinguished family with a soft heart. Together, they turned the neglected Women’s Sports Club into a lively, chaotic hub of activity. They played cuju, raced horses, and competed at pitch-pot. Su Wantang led a group of young women hemmed in by Confucian propriety