Summer Lingers, Autumn Has Yet to Come

“Who says a woman has to accept her fate at forty?” “Heavens above! A woman at forty is like the start of autumn. Even the grasshoppers can’t hop around for much longer after autumn begins, let alone a woman!” “Then I’ll make summer last and refuse to let autumn begin. Let’s see what Heaven can do about it!” Huaixiang, a military officer from the Daughter Kingdom, had bad luck when she was reborn in another land. She was born into a family with a deep-rooted preference for sons, and after her marriage went badly, she fled her hometown to make her way in Beijing. Waiting for her there were Bai Lu, who had been the Daughter Kingdom’s queen in her previous life, and Ding Xiang, a civil official. Together, these three women approaching forty act out a comedy of life’s joys and sorrows. One refuses to submit to fate and bravely pursues self-fulfillment; another thinks differently from most, marches to her own beat, and refuses to follow the beaten path; the third works tirelessly to raise her children, care for the elderly, and manage an ordinary little household in this vast world. Together, they tell a colorful story of life.