After Discovering The Emperor Was A Woman… - Chapter 1

It was the fifth year of the Jingsheng era, at the beginning of spring in the third lunar month.

Although fresh buds had begun to sprout from the branches, a chill still lingered in the air. Instead of shedding layers, people had to bundle up even more.

This was Liu Jiuning’s fourteenth year since transmigrating.

Wrapped in so many layers that she resembled a ball, she sat on the swing in her courtyard, eating pastries while gazing up at the boundless blue sky.

Her soft, fair cheeks puffed in and out as she chewed.

The way she blinked innocently at the sky made her look adorably sweet and guileless.

Unfortunately, the thoughts running through her head had absolutely nothing to do with innocence, sweetness, or cuteness.

She was wondering what sort of Buddhist nunnery she should settle down in.

As a modern teenager from a new era who had been exposed to all kinds of ideas, she might have died a little young, but she had still learned enough to understand how vast the world was.

After all, she had studied Chinese, mathematics, English, politics, history, geography, chemistry, and physics—and she had always ranked either first or second in the entire city! Given a little more time, she might even have started debating whether to attend Tsinghua University or Peking University.

Unfortunately, the former Liu Ning was already dead.

At the age of fifteen, before she had even reached the point in high school where students were divided into arts and science tracks, she had been struck one evening by a drunk driver who veered onto the sidewalk.

Before losing consciousness, she had clearly seen the horrifying sight of her own mangled body and the blood covering the ground.

In the end, all she could do was cry until her tears blurred her vision.

At that moment, countless thoughts had rushed through her mind, along with countless regrets.

Before she could grieve any further, she closed her eyes and never opened them again.

Then she became the newly born ninth young lady of Chancellor Liu’s household in the Great Zhao Empire.

Everything that had happened before belonged to her previous life.

Now, she could only be Liu Jiuning.

Naturally optimistic, she did not dwell on it for long. She quickly accepted her new identity and grew into a rather clever child who knew how to charm her elders.

Liu Jiuning had no grand ambitions. Heaven had granted her another lifetime, so she intended to spend it living freely and happily.

Then, five years ago, a new emperor ascended the throne.

The emperor changed the era name to Jingsheng.

Only then did Liu Jiuning realize that she had transmigrated into a novel!

Worse, it was an online novel she had finished reading—and passionately criticized—right before her death!

It was a romance novel told mainly from the male lead’s perspective.

The story opened with the emperor being impotent and deciding to choose an heir from among the children of the various imperial princes. The male lead was the most dazzling child among the dozens of candidates.

There would have been nothing particularly wrong with the story if it had simply followed the male lead until he ascended the throne.

The problem was that after the male lead fought his way through the other candidates and stood on the verge of becoming crown prince, he chose to abandon everything and wander the martial world with the female lead instead.

Even more interestingly, on the day the male and female leads married, one of the emperor’s female shadow guards delivered a wedding gift on the emperor’s behalf, specifically stating that it carried the emperor’s blessing.

The female lead then affectionately embraced the shadow guard and called her “Eldest Aunt.”

That alone might not have meant much.

But in the bonus chapter, the emperor summoned the male and female leads’ obedient, sensible child back to the palace and supported the child’s ascension as the next emperor.

…

Liu Jiuning had every reason to suspect that everything had been part of the emperor’s scheme, while the male and female leads were merely tools.

Overcome with passion, she had left a lengthy comment and even written a short essay from the emperor’s perspective, laying bare all the hidden schemes and calculations behind the plot.

And then she died, only to transmigrate directly into the Great Zhao Empire from the book.

With another ten or even twenty years before the original plot began, however, the advantages of knowing the story seemed temporarily useless.

Liu Jiuning had neither ambition nor a desire for power. In her previous life, she had wanted to work hard and enter a good university. In this life, all she wanted was to treasure this hard-won second chance.

After confirming that everyone in her family’s vast estate would safely survive all the events of the novel, she gave up struggling altogether.

She vowed to become a happy, carefree layabout.

Fortunately, Liu Jiuning had been born into a wonderful family this time. The household was wealthy and influential, and she was the only legitimate daughter of the third branch.

Her parents were quite affectionate. Her mother was devoted to the art of tea, while her father was obsessed with calligraphy. Neither of them had any time to stir up battles involving concubines, illegitimate sons, or illegitimate daughters.

As for the other branches, things were admittedly a little messier. With so many people under one roof, a certain amount of underhanded behavior was inevitable.

Fortunately, the principal wives who had married into the family were all formidable women, and Liu Jiuning’s uncles respected their wives. Nothing truly disastrous ever happened.

More importantly, there were so many handsome older brothers and beautiful older sisters in the family that political marriages would never fall to Liu Jiuning, the childish little girl who cared only about eating and playing.

She was certain she had crafted her image perfectly.

Even so, as Liu Jiuning drew closer to marriageable age, she could not help worrying. Her elders kept saying they wanted to keep her at home for a few more years, but that did not stop them from secretly looking into suitable young men outside the family!

The very thought of getting engaged first was enough to drive her mad.

After finishing the last peach pastry, Liu Jiuning leaned back in the rocking chair, peacefully folded her hands over her stomach, and silently sighed at the sky.

She was only fourteen.

She was still a minor!

“Why is Young Miss sighing again?” her senior maid, Lühe, asked as she presented Liu Jiuning with a cup of tea that had cooled to the perfect temperature. “Don’t you always tell us that sighing is bad for your health?”

“I’m just feeling a little stifled.”

Unable to explain the true source of her distress, Liu Jiuning accepted the tea and took a large gulp. Once it washed away the sweetness lingering in her mouth, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

Her eyes brightened.

“Is Second Brother going out today?”

“Yes,” another maid, Cuizhu, answered respectfully. “Several young masters from Director Chen’s family have invited more than half their classmates from the academy to Xinlin Retreat to enjoy the spring scenery. Since Second Young Master is close friends with them, he will naturally be going as well.”

Liu Jiuning immediately sprang out of the rocking chair.

After straightening her skirt, she said, “I just remembered that the Imperial Preceptor invited me to sample the new tea a few days ago. Xinlin Retreat is nearby, isn’t it? I’ll ask Second Brother to take me part of the way. Otherwise, once the Imperial Preceptor leaves on his travels, I’ll have broken my promise. Quickly, prepare some simple, elegant clothes for me.”

It was an extremely convenient excuse.

The old monk had indeed invited her to taste this year’s new tea. He simply had not specified exactly when she should visit.

She remembered there was a Buddhist nunnery nearby. She could inspect it first, then use the old monk’s claim that she was “fated with Buddhism” to have her name temporarily registered at a nunnery near the capital. That way, her elders would be less likely to object.

Once enough time had passed, she could find a beautiful, secluded place in the mountains and build a nunnery of her own.

Then she could shut the gates, and no one outside would ever know how free and happy she was within.

Another ten or twenty years later, she could return as an enlightened master.

Aside from having to pretend that eating vegetarian meals was a hardship, nothing else would pose much of a problem.

Liu Jiuning was fortunate to have become unlikely friends with the old monk who held the title of Imperial Preceptor when she was still a child. Without a suitable excuse, she would not only have been unable to register herself at a nunnery, but might also have earned herself some unpleasant reputation.

She had once mentioned her plan to the old monk, who was said to possess a profound understanding of Buddhist teachings.

He had replied with only one sentence.

“Everything is governed by fate. Amitabha.”

As expected of an old monk. His words were so mysterious and profound that despite seemingly saying nothing, they also seemed to say everything.

She needed to study his technique carefully. It might come in handy a few decades from now.

As for why Liu Jiuning was so determined to find a Buddhist nunnery…

Naturally, it was because she did not like men!

In her previous life, she had planned to wait until she was admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University before sitting down with her family and discussing the matter properly.

Unfortunately, she never got the chance.

In this life, coming out was impossible.

No matter how much her elders doted on her, they would never allow her to do something they considered a disgrace to the family.

At best, she would be forced into a bridal sedan or locked away in some unknown nunnery to become a real nun.

At worst, she might be poisoned, declared dead from illness, or drowned…

Love was not particularly important.

Although Liu Jiuning admired the young ladies of ancient times—whether they were delicate beauties or spirited women who rode horses and cracked whips—her life was ultimately more important.

She was willing to remain alone until old age and become a deeply learned Buddhist master who offered advice and comfort to the resentful women trapped within the imperial harem.

With that thought in mind, she hurried toward the front courtyard.

She could practically see her wonderful future waiting just ahead.