A Commoner Woman in Northern Song

[Please add this to your collection ovo~~] Starts 7/23

Pei Yihuan is the eldest daughter of a minor official's family in Bianjing.

Bianjing is dazzlingly prosperous, but life is expensive, and her father's salary is meager. Hoping to buy a house sooner, her beautiful mother takes a casual job at a duke's manor.

They say there are four refined pastimes: burning incense, brewing tea, hanging paintings, and arranging flowers. These are also taught at the girls' school, and naturally, the young ladies of the duke's manor must learn them all.

Pei Yihuan's mother works as a tutor at the manor, teaching these elegant arts.

Pei Yihuan looks to her left at her little brother, who has just turned three and is still nursing, then to her right at her workaholic father, an academic official at the Imperial Academy. She grabs her mother's skirt and declares that she wants to go along, too!

**

Where there are lots of people, there's bound to be trouble.

The duke's manor is no exception: it's caught up in a case of mistaken identities involving a true and a false heiress. One was raised by farmers, the other in luxury. There's a new spectacle every day.

Pei Yihuan had thought she would simply be a companion student at the manor, with nothing to do with the feud between the two heiresses. But with the spring imperial examinations approaching, the duke's family is preparing to find husbands among the successful candidates, and both heiresses turn their attention to Pei Yihuan.

Pei Yihuan's poetry and painting are excellent, and her older brother often takes her to gatherings with students from the Imperial Academy. She must know which candidates are likely to pass, or which ones are the most handsome, right?

Pei Yihuan: ...

Both heiresses are after her now? Please, leave me out of this!

**

A slow-paced story that unfolds gradually, with everyday life in the city, business, and a little domestic intrigue. Set in an invented world, so please don't nitpick the historical details.

Blurb screenshot dated 2025/09/29.

Theme: Live with determination, and love yourself.