The Sky Mirrors My Home: Awkward Moments on a Livestream Through Time

I woke up to find Empress Zhangsun of the Tang, Empress Dowager Lu of the Han, Empress Dugu, and the female emperor of the Great Zhou gathered in my living room. As a historical novelist, I was forced to start a crash course in modern survival for the four empresses. From flush toilets to livestreaming short videos, every lesson was broadcast live through the sky screen to their respective dynasties. When Li Shimin saw Guanyin Bi learning to use a selfie stick, he crushed his wine cup. As Emperor Wu of Han watched Lu Hou shop to her heart’s content on Taobao, he pulled out his beard. Even more thrilling, every novel I wrote became a “required history textbook” in the dynasty it depicted. And the longer the women stayed at my place, the wider the cracks in time and space grew on the other side of the sky screen... Until four imperial edicts, from four different eras, were read aloud at once in my study.