The Empress Enforces a Code of Virtue for Men in Her Wealthy Family

Yin Xiu was the ruler of a matriarchal kingdom. After an accident sent her tumbling down a cliff, she opened her eyes to find herself the eldest daughter of a wealthy Yin family, with the same name and appearance as before. To outsiders, the Yin family seemed to have a loving marriage and a harmonious household, but to her, nothing about it was right. Strong men and weak women? A wife who can't keep her husband in line? Yin Xiu: As the eldest legitimate daughter of this family, I'll shoulder the burden. Yin Xiu's father favored sons over daughters. He would rather put an unfamiliar relative in a managerial position than give Yin Xiu anything but a low-ranking job. Yin Xiu argued her case: "Women are the ones who can uphold a family. My journey is to the stars and the sea." Her father scoffed. "If you can get results at this Cheese Company, I'll take your surname." A month later, company profits doubled. Her father sprawled at home and said, "I have a daughter now. I don't want to work hard anymore." * Her younger sister often used sweet, manipulative words to compete for the family's affection. Yin Xiu was fed up with her. "As a woman, why are you so focused on scheming within the household? Your horizons are too narrow. Starting today, you're working with me." Years later, at the Golden Elephant Awards, the newly crowned Best Actress gazed tenderly into the camera. "I owe everything I've achieved to my older sister." * The youngest boy in the family had been raised to be spoiled and domineering, and liked to tease people. Li Xin picked him up and reprimanded him with a frown. "As a man, how can you be so willful and unruly? Copy Male Virtues three times." The little boy, only five years old and still unable to recognize the characters: ? Later, the genius boy, icy cold in front of outsiders, hugged Yin Xiu's leg with stars in his eyes. "Big Sister is right!" Yin Xiu was surrounded by admirers, radiant and dazzling. Young men from prestigious families got drunk over her late into the night, an award-winning actor fussed with the hem of her skirt, and even the fresh-faced young heartthrob was desperate to offer her his whole sincere heart. Yet he, untouchable in the eyes of others, like a flower atop a high mountain, tugged at her clothes with red-rimmed eyes, like a pitiful little thing. "My Empress, just look at me a little more." Across two lifetimes, Yin Xiu always had the graceful figure of a man by her side. Fu Chen: "You are the one my heart is devoted to. After all my careful scheming, you alone are what I seek, my darling." Theme: Women should have broad minds and a graceful, open spirit.