On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Guan Yinping entered the palace of her past and saw, at a glance, the man lying in a pool of blood.
She walked over and closed his eyes for him.
In him, she seemed to see once more the determination of her father, her uncle, and Chancellor Zhuge.
But the Shu Han had fallen, and everything had vanished like smoke.
When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the fourth year of Jianxing, just after the chancellor had pacified the southern tribes and was preparing to launch a northern expedition.
Guan Yinping had been reborn. Like father, like daughter: this time, she donned her armor and joined the army on its northern campaign.
Beneath the walls of Tianshui, the young man was only twenty-seven, astride his horse and brimming with confidence as he boasted that he would capture Zhuge Liang alive.
Guan Yinping laughed, spurred her horse forward, and engaged him in battle.
Given another chance, Guan Yinping would never allow the legacy her uncle had worked so hard to build to be destroyed. Nor could she bear to see melancholy darken Jiang Wei's eyes, so lovely when he smiled.
Miss Guan clenched her fists.
About this story:
1. An alternate, fictional Three Kingdoms setting, not official history. Please don't nitpick the historical details.
2. Guan Yinping is reborn, and the pairing is Jiang Wei. Happy ending.
(Blurb written on April 27, 2023, and screenshotted.)
Theme: Hold fast to your distant goals, and don't turn back just yet.
