P.S. If you want to read about girls helping girls, check out My Sisters Rule the Martial Arts World [Quick Transmigration]. Some of its worlds have similar settings. The heroine, Huang Shang, helps her sisters from a more female perspective and writes her own legend as a powerful woman.
This story is also mainly about helping girls. The male lead, however, is a genuinely outstanding man who mercilessly crushes all kinds of scumbags, leaving them utterly defeated and ashamed in their competition for women~
Synopsis:
That day, Lin Shiyin stood outside a pleasure house, gazing up at her cousin Li Xunhuan, who was leaning against the railing, drinking and enjoying himself. She had no idea where in this vast world she could call home. Her heart sank, and she was too dispirited even to fend off Long Xiaoyun, who kept pestering her.
Just then, someone handed her a stack of deeds to businesses across Jiangnan and asked with a smile, "Daughter of the Lin family of Jiangnan, are you really content to be confined to the tiny Li Garden?"
Li Xunhuan had been confident that Li Garden would be a generous enough dowry to ensure his cousin a worry-free life. Then he learned she had become the richest person in Jiangnan: ???
Long Xiaoyun had been waiting to take both the beauty and Li Garden, without having to marry into her family or let his future son take the Lin surname. Then he learned that unless he married Li Xunhuan, he wouldn't even get Li Garden: ???
That day, Wang Yuyan leaned against a pavilion, gazing through the mist at the hazy outline of Swallow Cove in the distance. She thought of her cousin Murong Fu, who had told her to wait for him to reclaim his kingdom and marry her. With a bitter smile, she wondered how many more years of her youth she could waste waiting for something that might never happen.
Just then, a gleaming spear was held out before her. The person raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can't a woman with such a wealth of martial arts knowledge build a career of her own?"
Murong Fu had been pretending to be all kinds of people, bowing and scraping before petty officials in foreign lands as he bided his time. Then he learned his cousin had become a prince in her own right: ???
Duan Yu had been absorbed in Buddhist teachings, with no interest in the throne of Dali. Then he learned Dali had become a province of the Central Plains dynasty, and he'd never have to worry about the burdensome affairs of state again: ???
That day, Lin Chaoying stood atop a mountain, gazing at the incense smoke curling from the palaces of the Quanzhen Sect through the mountain mists. It reminded her of her relationship with Wang Chongyang: deep affection, yet ill-fated. She gave a self-mocking smile, resenting how a woman who had always been strong had lowered her head for him.
Just then, a set of magnificent armor was placed on a tray. The person sneered and asked, "A heroine who rules the martial world, yet all she wants is for the man she loves to lay down his armor and retire?"
Wang Chongyang had casually remarked that Lin Chaoying truly loved him deeply. Then he learned she had driven the Jurchen, whom he could never defeat, out of their homeland in a rout: ???
Ouyang Feng had secretly cultivated poisonous snakes to help him dominate the martial world, while coercing his sister-in-law to give in to him behind his brother's back. Then he learned White Camel Mountain Manor had become a territory governed by the Central Plains court and had to pay annual taxes on its animal-breeding business: ???
That day, Zhou Zhiruo hid in the cabin, peeking at the Mongol soldiers raising their blades to strike her father. Her little pupils contracted with fear. She couldn't understand why her family, though living quietly and minding their own business, had to endure oppression and poverty, and now face such despair.
Just then, a sword came flying through the air and pierced the heart of a bandit. The person raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can't a girl from a humble background defend her country and drive out the invaders?"
Zhang Sanfeng had been living as an immortal in the mountains, keeping to himself amid a world of suffering. Then he learned the Central Plains had changed dynasties, and Wudang Mountain was about to be developed as a scenic area: ???
Zhang Wuji had taken Yang Buhui to the Bright Peak in the Western Regions, hoping she'd reunite with her father, the man who had forced himself on her mother and cuckolded her sixth uncle, Yin Liting. Then he learned the new Central Plains court had officially branded the Ming Cult a criminal organization and wiped it out; Yang Xiao, a rapist, had been sent to the home of his victim, Ji Xiaofu, for her parents to take their revenge, while Zhang Wuji himself, a homeless child in the district, would be raised by an orphanage until adulthood: ???
That day, Lin Daiyu rested in the green gauze chamber, gazing at the four-cornered sky enclosed by red walls and green tiles. The landscapes of Jiangnan she'd once seen were gradually fading from memory. Ignoring Jia Baoyu, who had once again started whining and fretting for some reason, she ran her fingers over the poems in her book, wondering when she might see the wide, distant world again.
Just then, a lavish sedan chair was brought into the Jia residence. The person frowned and asked her, "If a woman is so well-read, why can't she openly display her talent before the world?"
Jia Baoyu had been immersed in the inner chambers, idly consorting with pretty maids and handsome young men, knowing nothing useful. Then he learned his cousin had followed the example of a corrupt man, sat the imperial exams, entered the palace, become the top scholar, and risen to high office. The Jia family wanted him to marry into her household, but she flatly refused: ???
The Fairy Disenchantment, the Bald-headed Monk, and the Lame Taoist had been waiting to collect the Crimson Pearl Fairy's tears to help themselves attain immortality. Then they discovered that whether Lin Daiyu entered the civil service or Xue Baochai went into business, both had accumulated so much merit that their plans fell through and they suffered a backlash: ???
The male lead is named Zhang San. He is a man who can gently hold an umbrella for girls. He's the Zhang San who is an important but nameless passerby in the girls' lives. He's also the rebel Zhang San, who gets attacked by scumbags and overconfident men after they suffer a blow, then sets off to change the world.
Theme: Wake up! Dignity and freedom matter more than love!