A Little Maid in the Northern Song Dynasty

New story: The Little Eateries of Bianjing, see below

Bi Luo was a country girl from the outskirts of Bianjing. She followed her aunt around the countryside, catering banquets for people.

As it happened, the kitchen at the Marquis of Chengping's estate needed a low-ranking maid. Her cousin, who worked as a gatekeeper there, brought Bi Luo along.

It was Bi Luo's first time in a grand manor, and she didn't know what to do with herself. As soon as she arrived, the other kitchen maids began ordering her around. Luckily, her skills as a country cook gradually helped her find her footing.

There were three young ladies in the Marquis of Chengping's household. The eldest was said to be both beautiful and talented, and had long ago been promised to the imperial family.

The second young lady was gentle by nature. She was the daughter of the late marquis and his wife, and after losing her parents' protection, she was said to be so powerless that even the servants could push her around.

The third young lady fell ill and came back a changed person. She had transmigrated from another world as a high school student. Lively and cheerful, she was often given extra money by the mistress of the house, and lived quite comfortably in her little courtyard. Plenty of maids wanted to work there.

Bi Luo didn't think that far ahead. She just wanted to work in peace and return to her hometown once her contract was up, so she could open a little eatery. But her greedy father sold her to the marquis's estate, and now Bi Luo had no choice but to struggle free of its schemes and rivalries.

The marchioness wanted to sell her off, while Concubine Liu wanted to lure her into becoming a bedchamber maid for the dissolute second young master. Even if Bi Luo refused, she would probably end up married off to a servant anyway...

Bi Luo wanted none of it...

Years later, the marquis's estate fell into ruin, and the marchioness became a destitute woman living among the commoners.

Meanwhile, a lovely little eatery opened on a bustling street in Bianjing...

A sunny little maid from the marquis's estate x Ji, the young doctor from the Jinzi Clinic

Reading guide:

1. A supporting female character transmigrates.

2. Set in an alternate Northern Song. No need to fact-check the history.

3. The romance develops later.

---Coming soon: The Little Eateries of Bianjing---

Shen Xiaowan opened her eyes and found herself in bustling Bianjing.

The good news: This time, she had a city household registration.

The bad news: Her family was so poor they were crammed into a dilapidated courtyard.

Her father was a soft-hearted man, and her mother was a low-class matchmaker.

Shen Xiaowan had an older brother who worked as a tiler, a second brother who did odd jobs, and a little sister who had just lost her baby teeth. Then there was Shen Xiaowan herself, who had just been jilted. She was so worried she could hardly stand it.

Bianjing was prosperous, but prices were high too, so Shen Xiaowan took her little basket and went into business.

From tofu with sauce, tea eggs, and osmanthus sticky rice lotus root, to a little food stall selling egg-filled pancakes, grilled meat skewers, and milk tea with tapioca pearls, and eventually the Shen Family Eatery...

Her family could afford meat and a new house, and their lives kept getting better.

But Shen Xiaowan's mother was worried. Her daughter was old enough to marry, but she just couldn't find a suitable match. A certain Lord Xie from the Court of Judicial Review often came by, and he was as handsome as a jade tree in the wind, but their families were worlds apart. She wouldn't even dare to dream about it.

Theme: Grow through adversity, and bravely break free of your chains