The Path to Winning Over Emperor Wu's White Moonlight

A female PhD from Tsinghua or Peking University transmigrates into the Han Dynasty as the "male" secretary at Emperor Wu of Han's side.

Armed with knowledge of history, she develops infrastructure, battles political rivals, defeats the Xiongnu, and helps Liu Che build his empire.

She only wanted to focus on her career, but the emperor's gaze grows more and more unsettling!

On one side is Liu Che's intense, curious stare; on the other, Empress Dowager Dou and the powerful relatives of the imperial clan watching her like hawks.

She just wants to keep her head down and survive, but keeps getting forced into the spotlight:

She brings warmth to Wei Qing, is seen as a love rival by Han Yan, helps Dong Zhongshu revise his policy essays, and nearly changes the history of warfare ahead of its time with stirrups and repeating crossbows.

This is the story of an ordinary person taking each careful step through the currents of history and growing along the way. It is also a feast of political intrigue, where intelligence and ambition intertwine. Wei Qing, Han Yan, Zhang Qian, Dongfang Shuo, Dou Ying... Famous ministers and mighty generals all become pieces on the board.

📜 Reading guide

◆ A serious political intrigue with an ensemble cast and character growth. The main focus is her career, with feelings simmering beneath the surface. A slow burn.

◆ Research draws on Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han, but this is not strict historical fiction and includes original worldbuilding.

◆ Both leads are formidable and intelligent. This is not a wish-fulfillment power fantasy, and there is no System, only the weight of history and the choices people make.

◆ The joke about the Han imperial family's traditional tastes is played for fun, but the story still has heart and substance.

◆ A new writer, driven by sheer longing for the Han Dynasty. I know my skills are limited, but I hope to stay true to my original vision.

The land is the board, the years are the game.

She only wanted to quietly plot a prosperous age,

but accidentally plotted her way into the emperor's heart.

🎬 Bonus scenes

[Is this what the Han imperial family likes?]

One day, after a court audience, Liu Che remarked as if in passing, "Li Yan, I hear that in the Spring and Autumn period, there was a story of sharing a peach..."

Li Yan's scalp prickled. "Your Majesty! I'm straight!"

Liu Che raised an eyebrow. "I haven't finished speaking. Why are you panicking?"

He pulled a scroll of Notes on the Han Imperial Household from beneath the desk and tapped it with a finger. "Emperor Wen had Deng Tong, and Emperor Jing had Zhou Ren. Every emperor of the Han has had a taste for this."

Li Yan was falling apart inside. Can I still resign at this point?!

(Outside the window, Han Yan, who had been eavesdropping, shook his head with a sigh: This generation of attendants is hopeless. He can't even keep up with His Majesty.)

[The straight-man persona must not crack]

Wei Qing frowned. "Wenxin, why do you never bathe with us?"

Li Yan replied solemnly, "I have a cleanliness obsession."

Han Yan smiled behind his fan. "Could it be... that you have a hidden affliction?"

Li Yan: "...Would Attendant Han care to try my crossbow? It's newly modified and can fire ten bolts in a row."

Dong Zhongshu passed by and sighed, shaking his head. "The rites have fallen into ruin. People are no longer what they used to be!"

[Hidden bonus joke]

Later, Li Yan's secret identity was exposed.

Liu Che held up the cloth binding her chest and laughed angrily. "Li. Wenxin. You're something else."

Li Yan clung to his leg. "Your Majesty, the Han laws don't say women can't disguise themselves as men to take the civil service exam..."

Liu Che: "...But they do say that deceiving the emperor means your entire clan will be executed."

Li Yan: "My clan is two thousand years in the future..."

Theme: With the soul of modern wisdom, light up the obscure corners of history. With the strength of a woman's body, shake the iron laws of the age. Beyond the grand annals of history, tell a legend about how knowledge, courage, and the true self can cut through the currents of an established world and ultimately define one's own destiny.