April 2024, afternoon. In a small supermarket on the outskirts of Yu City, Xia Mengchen looked speechlessly at the lightbulb that flickered twice and went dark. Hadn't she just changed it not long ago? Maybe half a year? Why did it break again?
There was no male employee in the store, only her. She had no choice but to grab the tools and change it herself.
The ceiling in the shop was quite high. Standing on a chair wasn't enough, so she had to stack a plastic stool on top of the chair to barely reach it.
She slowly unscrewed the old bulb and set it aside, then put in the new one. She felt a sense of accomplishment when it was done. Living alone for a while, she had learned to fix lightbulbs, clear drains, and change faucets all by herself.
Just as she was about to get down, she felt the stool wobble a little.
Xia Mengchen felt a sharp pain on the back of her head as she fell. She must have hit the shelf behind her. Then everything went black and she lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, rubbing her aching head, the first thing she saw was a pale yellow canopy. Something was definitely wrong.
In this modern age with mosquito coils, repellents, and electric devices, she had never even used a mosquito net. So how could there be a canopy?
And hadn't she fallen while changing the bulb? Who brought her to bed without taking her to a hospital?
Xia Mengchen pushed herself up and found she was in a room with a classical style.
She was lying on a carved canopy bed surrounded by pale yellow curtains. She lifted the half-open canopy and looked around carefully.
The room was quite large, and the paper-covered windows let in dim light, so it wasn't very bright.
By the window was a big dressing table with a large bronze mirror, combs, and some delicate hairpins and jewelry.
They seemed to be what the owner took off before going to bed. The table also had two makeup boxes and three small drawers underneath, probably for holding accessories.
In the middle of the room stood a wooden tea table. She couldn't tell what kind of wood it was, but it looked solid and well made.
There was a tea set on top, including a pot and a few small cups. Around the table were four matching small stools.
Farther in was a couch that looked like a chaise lounge.
Where was this place? Why was she here? Xia Mengchen shook her head and tried to focus.
Suddenly, some fragmented memories flashed through her mind.
It took her ten minutes to fully absorb everything.
She was completely speechless.
It turned out she had fallen and died, then somehow ended up in a place called the Dayu Dynasty.
The body she now inhabited was also named Xia Mengchen, a girl who had just turned fifteen.
Yesterday afternoon, while walking by the lotus pond in the garden, she had slipped and fallen in.
The water in April was still cold. To prevent illness, a doctor had been called, and she had taken medicine.
But she still developed a high fever that night and probably died. That was when her soul took over.
She had searched all through history and found no mention of this Dayu Dynasty, so it was likely an alternate world.
Right now, it was a time of peace and prosperity with no wars.
Surrounding it were small countries, and the Dayu Dynasty was considered the strongest among them.
The customs here were fairly open, and the clothing style resembled the Tang Dynasty.
What Xia Mengchen couldn't accept was that this was a country where women were in charge.
Hundreds of years ago, a plague broke out, killing more women than men.
Men had stronger immunity and most survived, so the gender ratio became unbalanced, reaching 3:1.
That wasn't even the worst part. After the epidemic, fewer and fewer girls were born.
Eventually, the ratio stabilized, but it had reached an extreme level of 6:1.
To increase fertility, the emperor and his ministers had discussed the matter for a long time. In the end, they decided women should marry multiple husbands and established a series of national policies to protect women. After several dynasties of adjustments, the current policies are as follows.
First, once a woman turns fifteen, she can marry. Before she turns eighteen, she must marry at least one husband, or she must pay taxes — ten taels the first year, one hundred the second, one thousand the third, and so on. Before the age of twenty-five, she must marry three husbands.
If she doesn't, a government matchmaker will arrange it for her. She can take more than three, but not fewer. After that, she can take on attendants with no limit in number.
Second, giving birth to a baby girl grants the family a three-year tax exemption. The family also receives fifty taels for each baby girl, distributed over ten years. If the baby dies, the payments stop.
Men are not allowed to insult or disrespect women. The punishment is three months in prison and a fine of ten taels. Hitting a woman results in a three-year sentence and a fine of one hundred taels.
Assaulting a woman leads to execution. When a woman marries, she only needs to provide a marital home. The man must bring half his assets as a dowry.
If she divorces him, she keeps it all. If they separate peacefully, he gets half back. Only when the woman is at fault and the man has a child may the man ask for a separation.
If a woman has talent, she can take the exam to become a court official. The job benefits are generous, though most of these positions are light, like working in archives. There are more rules not listed here.
Men who remain unmarried at twenty must also pay taxes. Ten taels the first year, increasing tenfold each year. At twenty-five, the government will arrange a match for them too.
This... Being a woman here seems like a pretty good deal. Yaelle had read similar stories before and even envied the female lead being adored by so many people.
She never thought she'd really end up in such a world. In the 21st century, she was taught that marriage should be monogamous. Having multiple partners could even be a criminal offense.
In modern times, Yaelle was a divorced woman. She had married her boyfriend impulsively right after graduation, despite her family's disapproval. She was rebellious then.
They didn't even hold a wedding, just got the certificate. Two months later, she became pregnant, but she didn't know at the time. It was longan season, and she ate three pounds of it in one afternoon.
Afterward, she had stomach pain and bleeding, and at the hospital she found out she was pregnant. Unfortunately, she lost the baby due to overeating longan. In the following year and more, she became pregnant twice again but couldn't carry either to term.
The constant emotional and physical toll left her exhausted. The first two years of marriage were sweet, but later, they argued more and more about everyday matters. Love faded slowly.
Her in-laws pressured her to have a child and made hurtful comments. In the end, they let each other go and ended the five-year marriage. She had quarreled with her parents back then and deeply regretted not listening to them.
There was too much gossip in the village, and she didn't want to give people more to talk about. She found a place she liked, used her savings from the past few years to open a small grocery store, and only went home during holidays or occasionally sent money back. That shop lasted another five years.
Her life had become dull and uneventful. Now that she was gone, she didn't know if her parents would be heartbroken. They were her only real attachment.
Thankfully, her older sister had settled in the nearby town, and her brother-in-law was a filial man. They could take care of her parents.