The moment she opened her eyes, Jiang Xiaoya, a top student from Northeast China, had become Jiang Xiaohu, the only legitimate princess of the Dayu Dynasty. She had eight older brothers doting on her, and a father and mother who indulged her at every turn.
Faced with the bland palace meals, she hefted an iron wok. “Let’s make something hearty!” The aroma of chicken stewed with mushrooms wafted through the court, crispy pork won over diplomatic envoys, and Northeast slang, led by “Oh my goodness!”, quickly took the entire palace by storm.
But good food was only the beginning. When lead-based face powder ruined the concubines’ complexions, she developed safe cosmetics. When the people shivered through the bitter winter, she drew up plans for heated brick beds. When harvests failed across the country, she cultivated high-yield rice.
From iron woks to plowshares, rouge to cement, the imperial gardens to the vast lands of the realm. In eight years, she made it possible for women to study and do business, filled the granaries with millet, and connected the north and south with roads. Northeast slang became the official “second language,” iron-pot stews became all the rage in neighboring countries, and under her energetic reforms, Dayu raced toward a golden age.
When a prince came seeking her hand, she grinned. “Courtship? No time! My boiler’s hot, the railway needs building, and vaccine research is at a critical stage. What’s romance compared to infrastructure?”
This is a hard-core tale of infrastructure development, as a top student uses scientific thinking to overhaul the ancient world. It is also a heartwarming family story about a daughter adored by her whole family and brothers who become her biggest fans, as well as a passionate legend about one person’s words and deeds completely changing the course of civilization.
See how the princess from Northeast China leads the entire court astray with a simple “Just get it done,” and stews up a whole new world.
