At six, Shen Mingzhao wore boys' clothes and sat at the last seat, her feet still dangling above the floor.
When the teacher slighted her father, she picked up her brush and wrote a poem that dazzled everyone in the room. From then on, Qingxi Town had a jade-faced young gentleman whom everyone clamored to see.
She entered the academy, won the literary championship, rode horses, and drew a bow. She learned everything quickly, except the bamboo flute: the moment her friends heard her play, they ran away.
Later, the young scholar passed the imperial examinations, and blossoms filled the city. The world saw only the new top scholar's unmatched beauty and world-shaking talent, never knowing that beneath his purple robes and jade belt was a woman.
She had wanted to use her talent to escape her little town. Who could have guessed that, along the way, she would manage floods, quell rebellions, and fight powerful ministers, eventually rising to the head of all officials?
In this lifetime, she sought far more than a mere title earned through scholarship.
