Rebuilding the Han Dynasty [Three Kingdoms]

You are an empress from history.

But you are not Wu Zetian of the Li-Tang dynasty.

You are Chen Shuo Zhen, the forgotten Emperor Wenjia.

You are the shadow cast by a golden age,

a lowborn goddess,

the nobles' furious humiliation,

and an unknowable figure to later generations.

You are a spirit, disgraced in life and unable to rest in death.

Unable to be guided to the afterlife or reborn, by chance you travel back through time to the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty,

where you once again become a lowborn commoner.

With a bowl carrying a floating talisman in your hands, you join the commoners in crying out:

"The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise!"

You look up, take command of the Yellow Turbans, and become the leader of the rebels throwing the realm into chaos.

Rituals collapse, heroes rise from every quarter: this is an age of turmoil.

And you are the beginning of that turmoil.

Others call you a witch and a rebel, saying everyone should kill you.

So you don a crown, lead the Han prince Liu by the hand, and enter court armed with sword and boots. You take the name Wenjia once more.

"This is an age of chaos. No one asks where a hero comes from." You look at the assembled officials and smile. "Who says a woman can't vie for the throne? And who says the Son of Heaven of the Great Han must be surnamed Liu?"

"The Great Han has long since been reduced to a name in the hands of the feudal lords. The emperor has lost his power, the poor are displaced, and they have no place to call home or means to survive."

"I am not bringing down the Han."

"I am rebuilding it."

*

Liu Xuande visits the thatched cottage three times.

Chen Shuo Zhen toys with Guo Jia three times.

Later generations tell the tale with fondness.

The first time, rebel meets loyal subject, hero saves hero. You steal his jade pendant and tease him with brazen words.

The second time, enemy meets enemy, scoundrel appreciates scoundrel. With a nosebleed, you pull together the lapels of someone's wide-open robe.

The third time, a fresh start meets a life of failure, loser despises loser. You can't stand each other, yet you're forced together, sharing life and death.

"We drink together and talk of heroes, and the realm divides into three." You use dew for wine and a leaf for a cup. "Cao Cao already has Xun Lingjun. Liu Bei will soon have Zhuge Liang."

Guo Jia asks, "And what do you have?"

You smile proudly. "I have Guo Fengxiao."

Dawn breaks, and the sun rises.

Guo Jia smiles in silence, throwing his letter of recommendation to Cao Cao into the blazing bonfire.

You become tutor to the emperor of the Later Han.

[Before You Read]

1. A chaotic mash-up of Tang history and the Records of the Three Kingdoms, with Guo Jia as the love interest

2. A story about vying for the throne, but with plenty of romance. Please keep that in mind!

Theme: Put the people first