Life is like a road: the shortest route is often the worst one.
Li Yuqing was set on the longest road from birth, but it was also the best one.
Her parents raised her disguised as a boy, teaching her to study and take the imperial examinations.
She lived up to their hopes, passing the county and provincial exams, solving the troubles of merchant families, drafting plans for water management, and studying medicine to heal the sick.
In the end, she became a local official, established schools and clinics, governed with integrity, and gave the people a peaceful life.
When others grew jealous, she had her own ways of dealing with them.
She also wanted to see the splendor of the provincial capital with her own eyes.
As a woman, she achieved what men could not, repaying all those who had helped her along the way.
On the road to success, she would eventually meet someone who shared her ideals.
