Spring was nearing its end, and early summer was about to arrive.

The air was still a bit damp, but not to the point of being stuffy. Instead, each breath carried the fresh scent of grass and trees. Peeking out from the propped-open latticed window, one could see the apricot tree laden with blossoms, clusters of pink like snow touched with rouge, exquisitely translucent and lovely.

In another month or two, these flowers would transform into plump apricots, a thought that couldn't help but bring joy. Then, the apricots could be eaten fresh, made into sweet and sour preserved apricots and apricot jam, the kernels could be cracked open and eaten, and the leaves, which seemed to have medicinal properties, could probably be eaten as wild vegetables too.

Oh, right, and the apricot blossoms right now. Pluck them, blanch them in boiling water, then plunge them into ice water to cool. Add some sliced cucumber, a bit of sesame oil and salt, and tsk tsk, it would be a delicacy of the mortal world!

Just imagining it, Liu Zhen couldn't stop her mouth from watering.

If someone were to pass by the window at that moment and see a little girl resting her chin on her hands, leaning on the windowsill, they would surely assume she was lost in the beautiful spring scenery, never guessing that such thoughts were running through her mind.

But when she looked back at the bowl of steamed bean rice on the low table, she couldn't help but sigh melancholically.

“Ah Zhen!” The voice calling her name was accompanied by footsteps drawing nearer.

Liu Zhen straightened up and turned her head to answer.

A young woman stepped over the threshold. Her steps were not fast, one hand resting on her lower back, her belly showing a slight curve.

The large lapel and narrow sleeves of her clothing were a distinct feature of the era. Every time Liu Zhen saw such attire, she was reminded time and again: this was not some fleeting dream, but a real world.

“Mother.” Liu Zhen went over to support the woman.

Madam Zhang waved her hand. Her gaze fell on the untouched bowl of bean rice, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly. “You don't like bean rice again?”

Liu Zhen, not at all embarrassed, grinned and said, “Mother, I see the apricot blossoms outside are in full bloom. Why don't we pick some to make a cold dish? We can mix them with cucumber and eat it with congee.”

Madam Zhang was puzzled. “What is a 'cucumber'? Are you talking about a 'gourd'?”

Liu Zhen's cute smile froze.

She had almost forgotten again. Never mind that cucumbers weren't in season, even if they were, they wouldn't appear for another hundred years or so, after Zhang Qian's journey to the Western Regions. Sesame oil was even more distant, seemingly not appearing until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Hehe, wake up, kid. This world is incredibly cruel.

The 'gourd' Madam Zhang mentioned was actually a bottle gourd.

“I guess so...” Liu Zhen's eyes darted around as she tried to be evasive.

Madam Zhang smiled. “Gourd leaves are bitter. I've only heard they can be used as medicine, never that they could be made into food. If you want, we could mix in some shepherd's purse. But I've never tasted apricot blossoms before. Ah Zhen, where did you learn these methods?”

By now, Liu Zhen had recovered and thought of an excuse. “I heard it from Grandfather. It just so happens we have an apricot tree at home, so we don't need to go out into the wilds to pick them. If Mother agrees, I'll go pick some for Father, Mother, and my younger sisters to try.”

The little girl's voice was clear and melodious, exceptionally pleasant to the ear.

Madam Zhang smiled and stroked her braids. “Since Grandfather said so, we'll do as you say. Perhaps you can wait for your father or elder brother to come back and have them help you. We still have to go pay our respects to your grandfather today. You should finish your bean rice before we leave.”

In this era, filial piety from children to parents was already an accepted custom. Thus, Liu Yuan's family would go to pay their respects to his parents every five days or so.

Liu Zhen: “I respectfully obey.”

As soon as Madam Zhang left, her shoulders slumped again. Facing the long-neglected bowl of bean rice, she sighed once more, resignedly picking up her wooden chopsticks to eat, all the while imagining she was actually eating a delicious bowl of braised beef noodles.

In reality, the common people of this time mostly ate bean rice and bean leaf soup. Although the Liu family was not destitute, they couldn't afford to eat millet rice at every meal like the nobility. Poorer families couldn't even afford bean rice and had to eat wheat rice or chaff.

Although Liu Zhen understood this, understanding was one thing. If you had to eat this kind of steamed soybean rice every day for five years, anyone would find it unbearable. It was no wonder she had been drooling over the apricot blossoms outside since early in the morning.

Speaking of which, the Liu family was not only far from being a destitute household, but they were even considered to have a small reputation in the local area.

The Liu family resided in Xiang Town. Liu Zhen had made a point to learn about it: the place was currently part of Changshe County, under the jurisdiction of Yingchuan Commandery. During the Warring States period, it was the territory of the Han State. After Qin Shi Huang unified the six states and established the commandery-county system nationwide, Xiang Town came under the jurisdiction of Yingchuan Commandery.

And Liu Yun, Liu Zhen's great-grandfather, had served as the Elder San of Xiang Town during his lifetime. In later eras, this would be equivalent to a town mayor.

At that time, there were no civil service examinations, much less the imperial examination system. The state appointed talented individuals based on recommendations. As the town's leader, Liu Yun had the power to recommend virtuous young men from Xiang Town for official positions. Therefore, in the current Liu family, almost everyone held an official post, with the exception of Liu Zhen's father.

For example, Liu Zhen's grandfather, Liu Xin, was currently the Town Officer of Xiang Town, a subordinate official to the town mayor who encouraged agriculture, collected taxes, mediated disputes—basically, he could manage all sorts of miscellaneous affairs.

Liu Zhen's paternal uncle, Liu Chi, was a County Clerk in the county seat. He was responsible for managing documents, somewhat like a director of a historical archives in later eras. But no matter what, he was an official in the county seat, and thus considered a pillar of the Liu family.

Although his father and elder brother were both lower-ranking officials, Liu Zhen's father, Liu Yuan, had not sought a position in the government. Both wives he married came from merchant families.

His first wife, Madam Zhou, who was Liu Zhen's birth mother, had injured her health while giving birth to her and passed away that same year. His current wife, Madam Zhang, was Liu Zhen's stepmother.

Although she was a stepmother, Madam Zhang was kind and amiable to the siblings Liu Nan and Liu Zhen, and had dutifully fulfilled her role. Their relationship was quite harmonious. Even though it was impossible for Liu Zhen to be as intimately close with her as she would have been with her own birth mother, she had to admit that not all stepmothers were wicked and cruel.

Liu Zhen's impression of her birth mother was already very vague, even though her memory was much stronger than that of an ordinary child. In fact, she only remembered her original name. She was supposed to be named Liu Zhen, with 'Zhen' (贞) meaning female chastity. But at that time, her father, Liu Yuan, had just come in from outside, heard Madam Zhou's plan, and picked up the swaddled Liu Zhen, saying with a laugh, “'Zhen' (桢) means sturdy wood. Why not change 'Zhen' (贞) to 'Zhen' (桢)? It would also correspond with Ah Nan's name.”

Ah Nan was Liu Nan, Liu Zhen's full-blooded elder brother.

And so, her name changed from Liu Zhen (刘贞) to Liu Zhen (刘桢).

In this regard, Liu Zhen was very grateful to her old man. Although the two characters were homophones, whether in meaning or in writing, 'Zhen' (桢) was far better than 'Zhen' (贞).

Besides Liu Zhen, the two daughters Madam Zhang had given birth to were named Wan (婉) and Zhuang (妆), both of which were related to the character for 'woman' (女). Liu Zhen secretly felt that her name sounded better.

However, having two wives with merchant backgrounds also brought Liu Yuan a great deal of criticism.

Because at this time, the status of merchants had become very low.

Ever since Shang Yang's reforms in the Qin State, in order to encourage agriculture, they went against the mainstream of the other six states and implemented a policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce. Even later, when Lu Buwei, a mere merchant, held the reins of the Qin State's government, this general policy direction did not change.

After Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, the policy of one state became the policy of the entire realm. To prevent the undying ambitions of the six states to revive and collude with merchants, and also to prevent everyone from flocking to business, the old emperor once again emphasized the lowly status of merchants, classifying them as the lowest rank of commoners.

Although Liu Zhen had long known that the Qin Dynasty's policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was severe, she had never felt it so directly. It was precisely because Liu Yuan had married two merchants' daughters in a row, coupled with the fact that he was the son of a household servant and not the son of the main wife, that his position in the Liu family was also very awkward. He was even forced to separate from the main family and live on his own, unable to benefit in the slightest from his father's and brother's positions.

But then again, Liu Yuan was not favored and was a concubine's son. If he hadn't married merchants' daughters, his financial situation would definitely be several times more dire than it was now. The reason Liu Zhen could still eat bean rice and the family could maintain a middle-class standard of living was entirely due to the dowries brought by her birth mother, Madam Zhou, and her stepmother, Madam Zhang.

Liu Zhen privately guessed that her old man probably understood this reality, so he very cleverly chose practical wives instead of trying to climb the social ladder and marry a woman from some prestigious family. After all, having a full stomach was more important than anything.

This wasn't the Ming or Qing dynasty. Forget the beginnings of capitalism; even the feudal system was just getting started. A woman's dowry couldn't possibly include manors or shops. The families of both Madam Zhou and Madam Zhang were relatively well-off, so their dowries consisted of some money and livestock. Over the years, to maintain the family's livelihood, not only had Madam Zhou's dowry been used up, but even the subsequently married Madam Zhang had contributed a considerable amount.

Tastelessly finishing the bowl of uniquely flavored, faintly salty bean rice, Liu Zhen, with the air of a world-weary adult, thumped her small, tender waist and climbed up from the mat.

No matter how much time passed, she estimated she would never get used to this kneeling posture. Gods, why couldn't she have been born a few hundred years later? At least in an era where chairs had already been invented!

Liu Zhen was weeping a river of tears internally.

As the first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang undoubtedly had countless fans in later generations. Due to the dominance of Confucianism after Emperor Wu of Han, coupled with the influence of Sima Qian, historical records of Qin Shi Huang were mostly mixed, with more criticism than praise. It wasn't until modern times that a trend of rehabilitating the First Emperor's reputation gradually emerged.

When she first learned which dynasty she was in, she had been quite excited. The Great Wall, the Twelve Metal Colossi, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, the Epang Palace—just think, these magnificent creations were all still intact, existing in the same era as her, or were about to be erected under her witness.

However, after a few years, Liu Zhen's fervent enthusiasm had gradually worn away. The reasons were simple. First, no matter how great Qin Shi Huang was, she couldn't meet him in person, making him a distant idol, to be looked at but not reached. Second, no matter how great the Great Wall, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, and the Epang Palace were... the reason was the same as above. Third, and most importantly—the bean rice was just too awful to eat! And please note, the people of this era, especially commoners, generally ate only two meals a day, not three!

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel. Even if she wasn't a foodie to begin with, after five years here, Liu Zhen had been forcibly turned into one.

As a commoner struggling to get by, nothing was more important than eating. If she couldn't even solve the problem of food, she had no mood to consider other issues. The economic base determines the superstructure—Liu Zhen felt this statement was absolutely true.

Instead of fantasizing about when she might get to see the Emperor of the country in person, she'd be better off thinking hard about how to improve the quality of her meals.

Looking at the apricot blossoms outside the window, Liu Zhen sighed for the third time.

This wish, the burden is heavy and the road is long!