Astrid travels back to a lost dynasty of China, and becomes Mei.
She was accused of murder in the modern world, but now the dangers that lie in the imperial harem are greater than she'd imagine. Mei is forced to adapt to a world of performance, ma...
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FLASHBACK: TWO DAYS AGO.LI'S HOME
"Little Mei. You may not remember much from before your accident, but I'll help you," Li carefully speaks to me. He stares at me with intention, and I quietly nod.
Li cleared his throat before talking, "Your dad was the long respected General Liu of the Southern Army. He fought many wars for the Crown Prince's father, our dying emperor, and helped the Tian Dynasty establish military power against Qing Emperors..."
The Tian Dynasty? My mother taught me all about Chinese history, and its many dynasties: the Tian Dynasty wasn't one of them.
I interrupt Li and question him with a raised eyebrow, "The Tian Dynasty." I take his word that we were in 17th century China, "Don't you mean the Qing Dynasty?"
Li only shakes his head, and his eyes start seeing a faraway memory that can never be forgotten.
I analyze this sudden change closely, and he finally comes back, Li shrugs, "Times change, and the Qing Emperors were pinning heavy taxes on the nation and oppressing the citizens of China. The final straw was when the Qing Emperor's soldiers started charging into villages, and slaughtering innocent women and children."
He pauses, and the room was dead silent. "Then, many military warlords, including your father, fought against the Qing tyranny. We were only kids when the war happened. My father was an imperial doctor that left the Qing palace to take care of the wounded rebel soldiers. However, your father was the great general that won the most battles alongside our current emperor. Great bloodshed came out of the battles, but eventually, everyone that fought against the Qin Dynasty received great honor."
I go through Li's words, and assume, "Is this when the Tian Dynasty was formed?"
Li smiles at my guess, "Yes. The Tian Dynasty was formed."
I do recall this now. Back in the present, I was twelve when I read on the news that historians suspected a certain period in Chinese History was lost. All tax records, population censuses, and anything that made up a complicated civilization could not be recovered. This China in time was lost to the modern world.
Everything told to me by Li only leads me to one question.
Did I land in the Lost Dynasty?
END OF FLASHBACK. EVOLVE AGAIN.
IN this dynasty, they named me Liu Mei, but I was just Astrid on May 20th, 2016.
I've shed my identity. Instead of jeans and a band t-shirt, I'm wearing a simple white dress that the girls of 17th Century China wore, and the journey of time has allowed my hair to grow past my waist.
Mei has never formally introduced herself to me. She just became a part of me the moment I got here.
Meanwhile, there are ten other girls like Mei that Jun has led into the room. Their chatter fills the room They all dress similar to each other, and wear their hair in similar ways.
