After Fleeing Famine, I Became a Female Duke

Lu Tao transmigrated into the body of Lu Sanniang.

She took it in stride. So what if she'd transmigrated? Was she the female lead?

Oh, no. She had transmigrated into a 38-year-old grandmother who was already enjoying her grandchildren!

It was a turbulent time, as one dynasty gave way to another. Natural and man-made disasters struck together. Floods, fires, war, and plagues ravaged the land. People traded children for food and even cut up corpses to eat. Everywhere she looked, the land was scarred, and thousands of miles lay barren.

The original Lu Sanniang was a widow who had raised six children. After catching a cold, she didn't want to burden them, so she hanged herself in her room.

Lu Tao: ...

Luckily, she had brought a step-counting System with her.

10,000 steps for a bottle of mineral water; 20,000 steps for a ham sausage; 30,000 steps for three jin of flour; 40,000 steps for four jin of rice; 50,000 steps for Huoxiang Zhengqi water...

And so, holding to the idea that a wretched life was better than a good death, Lu Tao led her family on a journey to escape the famine.

The journey was arduous, but in the end they found a beautiful place in the mountains to settle down. Lu Tao started a small business and opened a private school. She became Teacher Lu, and before long her name was known throughout the land. Then Teacher Lu became Headmaster Lu.

Yang Zhen was originally called Yang Sanniu, and passed the imperial examinations in the eighth year of the Shengyuan era.

They say heaven, earth, ruler, parents, and teacher are the five most important things. For him, his grandmother was all five.

In the twelfth year of the Shengyuan era, Yang Zhen was promoted to Attendant Lecturer, a fifth-rank official. The following year, Lu Tao was granted the title of Duke of Ning for improving farming tools, raising an imperial princess, and her achievements in education. She became the first female duke of the Qing dynasty.

However, when an imperial censor protested, Yang Zhen answered the emperor in the Golden Throne Hall: "Without my grandmother, I would not be here. As a woman, she founded Hengxi Academy. Peach and plum trees flourish beside it. She is far beyond the likes of petty, envious people."

Yang Zhen's career went smoothly. He passed the provincial examination as a teenager and the metropolitan examination at twenty, rising from Hanlin editor to a minister of the dynasty in just twenty years.

People said that Yang Zhen was sharp-tongued, cold-faced, and hard-hearted. He had once executed a clansman to admonish the emperor. Yet he was utterly devoted to his grandmother and obeyed her in everything.

P.S. A slow-paced, everyday farming story set in an alternate historical world!

It follows three stages: escaping famine, settling down, and building a livelihood.

The story focuses on Lu Tao and Yang Zhen, a grandmother and grandson, with a large ensemble cast and lots of family affection. There are many relatives, so proceed with caution if that's not your thing. The female lead has no romantic pairing, while the male lead does.

Theme: Cherish life, no matter the circumstances.