How cold the north wind blows

Seriously, it's 2020, and I still got caught up in this cliché transmigration trope... My name is Mi Lu. I was originally a sophomore in modern university, just starting to get the hang of college life, when I did something utterly stereotypical – visiting a historical site. And then, I transmigrated. It was summer vacation. I was traveling around Xi'an with my best friend when, somehow, I passed out on the road. When I woke up, I found myself as a princess of the Chu State, who-knows-how-many-years BCE. After waking up and realizing it was transmigration, I pretended my body hadn't fully recovered. I said nothing and slowly gathered information by listening to the people around me. This princess looked exactly like my original self, though she was younger, only about seventeen now. Her name was Mi Lu (**), the youngest legitimate princess of the King of Chu, with the title "Princess Yeyang". The King of Chu had already decided to marry her off to the King of Qin as his queen consort. The two states had exchanged formal documents, and she was soon to depart for Qin for the political marriage. Unexpectedly, however, this princess, unwilling to marry into the distant Qin, had died of melancholy... I suspect it might have been what modern people call "broken heart syndrome" or something similar – intense emotional resistance causing cardiovascular problems or the like. Her collapse caused an uproar. The king and his ministers were frantic. The documents were exchanged, the wedding date in Qin was set, and the Qin side was preparing to welcome "Princess Yeyang" as their queen... only for the bride-to-be to be dying. The King of Chu and his ministers tried every possible remedy and finally managed to revive her. Little did they know the original soul was long gone, replaced by me, the modern transplant. But even if Mi Lu (now me) acted very differently, no one truly cared. All they needed was for this person to arrive in Qin alive. What happened to her *after* that wasn't their problem. "A-Yue, when are we leaving for Qin?"*I asked my personal maid. Once I had a grasp of most things, I gradually started interacting with those around me. I didn't remember the past, and I acted quite differently in many ways, but they all chalked it up to my previous grief damaging my mind. As long as I went to Qin peacefully, they considered everything fine. "Princess, we depart in two days." "Then... what is the King of Qin like?"What I really wanted to know was his age. Marrying someone I'd never met – what if he was old enough to be my father? But thinking it over, directly asking his age didn't seem appropriate. I also wasn't sure how much the original Princess Yeyang had known about the Qin king. "This servant doesn't know either, Princess. However, the King of Qin's mother was once a famous beauty of Chu. Surely her son can't be too bad?"* A-Yue's reply at least gave me a sliver of hope. They say sons take after their mothers; if the mother was beautiful, the son should be decent too, right?... Two days passed quickly. Early in the morning, A-Yue and the others started dressing me up. Layer upon layer of garishly colored clothes were piled onto me. Since dyeing techniques weren't as advanced as in later times, some colors looked downright weird. Faced with this ancient aesthetic, I wanted to cry – it was so ugly... After being trussed up like a holiday goose, I had to go to the palace gate for some kind of sacrificial ceremony. Supposedly, this would invoke the blessings of the Great Director of Fate (Da Siming) and the Lesser Director of Fate (Shao Siming) for a safe journey. Clanking and jingling in my elaborate attire, I finally reached the palace gate. Looking out, a sea of dark figures crowded the area. The man at the front wearing the nine-tasseled royal crown was probably my nominal father, the King of Chu. Seeing me approach, this "father" actually wiped away a tear, pretending he was so reluctant to part with his daughter. If he was so reluctant, how could he have pushed his own daughter to her death? That left only one possibility: this legendary Qin State was quite powerful. Marrying into it meant clinging to a powerful patron , but Chu couldn't afford any problems with the alliance. Now, he was practically thrilled to be offloading this hot potato, weeping tears of joy. Well, if this nominal father was putting on such a show, I couldn't just stand there blankly. I had to play my part too, a final grand gesture for the few minutes of our "father-daughter affection." "Father King..."*I imitated the etiquette A-Yue had taught me, bowing to him. I wore an expression of sorrowful reluctance on my face. If only I could squeeze out a tear, it would have been the perfect picture of a "benevolent father and filial daughter." Before I could even finish the bow, he hurried over to help me up. "A-Lu, your father has no choice... Qin is a nation of wolves and tigers. If I don't do this, how can I protect the whole of Chu? But the King of Qin has only recently ascended the throne. You're close in age; young husband and wife, that's different after all."Hearing this, I secretly breathed a long sigh of relief. Not much older was good. Seeing someone much older every day would have been unpleasant. "Your daughter understands. As a princess, this is my duty."* I mimicked the lines heroines said in such scenes from TV dramas. Many people present actually bowed their heads in sorrow, as if I were marching off to my doom. An ancient long-distance marriage basically meant never setting foot on your homeland again. Fortunately, I had no attachment to this "homeland." Leaving quickly was better, lest someone discover I was a fake – that would be big trouble. Then the ceremony began. Bored, I let my eyes wander. Among the people accompanying me, I saw many women also dressed very formally. Though not as extravagantly as me, you could easily believe they were getting married too. "A-Yue, are those people coming to Qin with us too?"I had to ask A-Yue. Right now, I was utterly blind, knowing nothing, understanding nothing, not even the exact era I was in. "Yes, Princess. Those are your 'ying'attendants (**), accompanying you to Qin."By now, A-Yue was used to my endless questions, simply attributing them to my unrecovered wits. "Ying" attendants? I froze for a second, remembering that in ancient times, marrying a wife often came with a package deal of potential concubines. When a woman married a man as the principal wife, she brought along a bunch of "concubines-in-waiting" for him. Suddenly, I felt like blood was choking my heart. Even if this wasn't a monogamous society, I couldn't just *voluntarily* deliver concubines to the man! "Then... who is that man?"I discreetly pointed at a middle-aged man. He seemed the happiest person there, his expression relaxed, even looking eager to leave for Qin as soon as possible. "That is Mi Rong (**), the King of Qin's uncle. He is the one escorting the Princess to Qin. The Queen Dowager of Qin has already enfeoffed him as 'Lord Huayang' (***). Once in Qin, he will serve as an official there."No wonder he was so happy! His nephew was the King of Qin. Going to Qin was undoubtedly a hundred times better than staying in Chu. Of course he wanted to leave quickly. Suddenly, something clicked: Mi Rong, King of Qin, Queen Dowager... Earlier, the King of Chu called Qin a "nation of wolves and tigers"... Could this be the late Warring States period with the Seven Hegemons? And that King of Qin... was he the infamous villain from the history books, King Zhao of Qin (****)?"