My Worthy Husband Helps Me Reach for the Clouds (Matriarchal Society)

Chang Ying was an ordinary, honest woman. One day, on her way to work, she suddenly transmigrated to an ancient world where women were honored and men were subordinate. She became the burden her father brought along when he married into the powerful Xi clan.

For a long time, Chang Ying couldn't accept that she had transmigrated. She thought she was mentally ill, because in this world, the Zhou Matriarch, not the Duke of Zhou, had established the rites of Zhou. The famous thinkers of the Hundred Schools were Confucius Matriarch, Mencius Matriarch, Laozi Matriarch, Zhuangzi Matriarch, Mozi Matriarch, and so on. Every person in power she saw was a woman.

After transmigrating, Chang Ying's delicate-looking father constantly urged her to study hard, become an official, and make something of herself, so she could earn him a noble title.

The efforts of Chang Ying and the ambitions of her father caught the attention of the Xi clan matriarch's sons, who began making trouble for her.

The eldest young master Xi, a beautiful man with phoenix eyes who had been widowed while waiting for a match, raised his eyes at her. "With that ugly, rat-faced mug of yours, you think you can become an official?"

The stern and rigid second young master Xi said, "A toad dreaming of eating swan meat. What makes a nobody like you think you can marry a noble man?"

The rakish, charming third young master Xi said, "Given my little sister's qualities... Since she'll be marrying into another family anyway, why not let me have her?"

Only the fourth young master Xi blinked his dewy eyes as he stuffed money into Chang Ying's arms. "I believe my big sister can pass the imperial exams! When you do, you have to come back and marry me!"

The gentle and considerate fourth young master Xi even prepared a personal attendant for Chang Ying who could serve as both bodyguard and bed warmer. Before Chang Ying set out, he used both persuasion and pressure to make her take the attendant as her own.

After Chang Ying passed the imperial exam, the head of the Xi family was overjoyed and prepared to hold a grand wedding. But the four brothers nearly came to blows over who would marry into her family.

The eldest young master Xi said, "I'm the eldest. How can a younger brother marry into her family before his older brothers?"

The second young master Xi said, "Elder brother already got one wife killed. Are you going to get another one killed too? Stay home and look after Mother and Father!"

The third young master Xi said, "Our two older brothers are harder than stones in a latrine. How could they serve a woman? If they married into another family, they'd only make enemies!"

The fourth young master Xi burst into tears. "But I was here first!"

The only son of the Guangyang Prince, the emperor's only younger sister, declared, "What's all this arguing? I'm the only one who'll marry into Ying Niang's family! The rest of you, get lost!"

Later, the young personal attendant was acknowledged by the emperor as a member of the imperial clan and became the only imperial prince of the dynasty. He stole Chang Ying away from his cousin, saying, "Ying Niang, unlike my cousin, I know what a man's duty is! A man who can't give a woman children is a jealous, spiteful man! Focus on your career, Ying Niang. Whatever you want in the household, I'll find them for you!"

Later still, a son born to Chang Ying married into the imperial family and served the crown prince, giving birth to the crown prince's grandson. The crown prince died young barely a year after ascending the throne, and his infant son became emperor.

As the young emperor's maternal grandmother, Chang Ying naturally became a regent with power over the entire court.

The men in her household celebrated, saying, "We really did marry into the right family!"

The only downside was probably...

That a bare-waisted, bewitching man from the Miao borderlands in the southwest and a dark-skinned regent from the northwest had both shown up at the Chang family estate!

Potential points to be aware of: 1. Women can have children; 2. The heroine will not become emperor, but will reach the pinnacle of power as a minister; 3. All male love interests are virgins; 4. The story includes high-martial-arts elements; 5. The worldbuilding includes a matrilineal culture that reveres childbirth; 6. Some sons who marry into other families are buried beside their mothers; 7. More notes may be added.

Theme: Enjoy the very best life!