Chapter 1: Prologue, Brainstorm, and Warning
【Warning】

I honestly don’t know what tags to use… This is just for fun, not really for new readers##Writing, plot, and ideas are all pretty rough#

First, is it true that “Zhuge Liang and Lady Huang were a lifelong couple”?

It’s highly likely that Zhuge Zhan was not Lady Huang’s child. Ignoring her age and Zhuge Liang’s letter mentioning financial limits, the Wu Shu compares Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang: “Although Jin’s talent is less than his brother, his virtue is purer. After his wife’s death he did not remarry; he had favored concubines but did not recognize their children—he was cautious and devoted.” Talent aside, virtue counts here, shown by his fidelity after his wife’s death.

If you feel that Zhuge Liang marrying again or taking concubines would make him “impure” or less heroic… well, that’s the author’s choice OTL.

Also, some think Zhuge Liang was a super-advanced feminist. But in Sixteen Stratagems for Convenience, unless proven a forgery, the line “A woman admires wealth and marries to preserve her virtue” is actually the Chancellor’s own words. His character is already perfect—no need to shoehorn modern values onto him.

As for why the female lead appears as Zhuge Liang’s concubine: the timeline is too late and the Shu Han state too weak. Without a narrative “cheat,” Zhuge Liang likely couldn’t outlast Sima Yi. She has to gain time to improve farming tools and weaving machines to give Shu a population boom, which takes at least a decade to show results, boosting the success of northern campaigns. Giving her blueprints to Zhuge Liang rather than having her randomly follow Zhang Lu makes this feasible. Early on, she’s basically a time-traveling fangirl helping out, and Zhuge Liang sees her as an annoying child—call her a concubine if you must.

Why does Lady Huang “exit” early? Most likely mid-to-late period anyway. If the female lead tried to bring the Han emperor back around 225, the logistics would be insanely difficult, effectively turning the emperor into a divine figure and creating major problems. The rebellion of Geng Ji and Wei Huang represents the last opportunity to retrieve the emperor without buffing him too much.

Why not have the female lead secretly stay in Chengdu after rescuing the emperor, waiting for Lady Huang’s exit? Because with her “nine-ring divine skill” and knowledge of Lady Huang’s poor health, inaction is impossible. Acting too early would sever any ties with Zhuge Liang’s mission. The story isn’t meant to be CP-less or for the female lead to become a “player” with Ma Chao; it’s a love-driven narrative.

Regarding mid-to-late “female virtue” issues: don’t judge by time-traveler logic. The female lead isn’t following a Confucian women’s script, but she doesn’t need to turn Zhuge Liang into a modern revolutionary either. If someone like Emperor Zhaolie’s wife came back, the fangirls would probably attack her with bricks.

To be honest, I think the story is chaotic and poorly plotted. I cut several “Mary Sue” lines in the middle, fully expecting criticism. But constantly labeling the female lead as a homewrecker and forcing a devoted-love trope onto an otherwise indifferent Zhuge Liang seems unnecessary.

【Destructive Brainstorm 1】

The weather was very cold.

On the small road north of Maicheng, the dry grass reached waist-high, and when the north wind blew, a desolate rustling filled the air.

You gave yourself a mental nudge to endure the environment, activated your levitation, and slowly walked through the air.

Invisibility magic didn’t exist—you didn’t have that skill—but it was a dark, windy night perfect for killing; no one had the inclination to look up at the moon.

Night vision didn’t exist either, but you weren’t worried. From what you knew, most soldiers’ night vision wasn’t better than yours. Although you didn’t know exactly where the ambush point was, you just had to follow the firelight.

…It was actually not too hard to find. Hovering above this mountain path for a while, you indeed spotted a group moving quickly north through the darkness. They ran into a mountain hollow, where flames rose and the sounds of battle and shouting filled the air!

“Traitors! How dare you!”
…Although you had never seen Second Master in person, that shout made you jump from 800 feet away!

Levitating, you activated your “Formless Wind” and dashed over. You spotted a net on the ground surrounded by a group of Eastern Wu soldiers. The leading general had to be Ma Zhong. As you approached, a soldier caught sight of you in the corner of his eye and, screaming “Ahhh!”, collapsed to the ground.

…Yes, it was awkward, but scaring them off directly would save so much trouble! You glanced briefly—Second Master was trapped in the net, his face smeared with blood… Sixty-year-old Grand Master was being tortured like this? Damn these Eastern Wu dogs!

“Who are you?! Stop your sorcery here!” Ma Zhong shouted, brandishing his spear, yet he remained fearless.

In those few seconds, you realized—posing as a sorcerer wasn’t going to work.

So you dropped five feet and hovered about twenty feet above him. In your mind, you prepped today’s spell slots.

Then you spoke. Unlike Ma Zhong, your voice carried true power.

As your voice left your mouth, faint golden ripples spread outward rapidly, like a gust sweeping through dry grass, and everything around fell silent.

…You didn’t expect that not a single Eastern Wu NPC was of class G. It wasn’t targeting you—it was just a Holy Word spell.

“…Immortal!”
The Martial Saint fell to his knees with a thud! You quickly dodged to the side—if he had actually performed this courtesy, you might have been struck by lightning!

“General Guan, please rise quickly…” You hurriedly helped Second Master up. The old general’s eyes were full of tears—besides the relief and joy of surviving a disaster, there was also a dazed confusion as his worldview shattered completely.

…You were at fault.

【Destructive Brainstorm 2】

[Psionics] Imbue Army Special Ability (ImbueArmySpecialAbility)

Level: Cleric/Seer 9
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a silver mirror worth 100 gp)
Range: 1 square
Area: One army
Duration: 1 battle
Saving Throw: None or Will; success negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes

You grant the target an army special ability that a military commander would possess (see Ultimate Campaign, p. 242). The army is considered to consist entirely of units that possess the selected special ability. This special ability is in addition to any innate abilities the army already had prior to casting.

Friend A: This spell gives the whole army the commander’s trait. I’m not kidding—dimension-lowering strike.jpg

Author: Let me see… what if we “borrowed” something… like incorporeal?

Friend A: Haha, haven’t even “borrowed” Corpse-Eater yet, lol 6666

Author: …This isn’t what a righteous Ji-Han army would look like.

Friend A: For example, you cast a spell, and suddenly the whole army is magical warriors.

Friend A: Or you give them teleportation, and Sima Yi flips the table.

Author: Sounds like infinite ramen—basically high-magic vs. no-magic.

Friend A: If you “borrow” incorporeal, then it’s basically the Battle of Minas Tirith.
Author: That’s way too over the top.

(10 minutes later)

Author: No, this divine spell list is too broken. Most incorporeal buffs are tied to levels! Does the all-powerful mage have any solution?

Friend B: …You’re planning a ghost army siege, aren’t you?

Me: No, just supporting the Han dynasty.

【Prologue】

You are a Mary Sue—without a doubt—but you have even more justification, because you’re a Mary Sue who spent heavily in a time-travel game.

Compared to you, those girls trying to clear the game for free are complete amateurs!

Spending money means that the body you chose—both in looks and temperament—must be the most perfect embodiment of the world’s time-travel aesthetics.
Of course, you couldn’t possibly be the daughter of a lowly household—you were preparing to travel to the Three Kingdoms, and you had no desire to be someone’s human jerky.

You had a built-in MeowSearch engine, and you even selected a whole set of “see-ghost” two-dimensional magic systems, which belonged neither to the real world nor to the Three Kingdoms. This system consumed your brand-new MK bag, but of course, you were more than happy about it.

You also had to have a “first access” kind of relationship with your male idol—naturally, for the reasons above, you definitely couldn’t be the servant girl lighting fires and sweeping floors for him!

Although, as a die-hard fan, you just wanted to observe, you knew that if you were a shut-in who only knew how to use a washing machine, order takeout, and rely on housekeeping to clean, you wouldn’t survive without being labeled a parasite.

So after finalizing all the details, you excitedly entered the world. A wave of dizziness passed, and at first glance, you saw your male idol—the great Chancellor of Shu Han, the long-awaited Mr. Wolong whom countless admirers had yearned for day and night!

But your male idol didn’t look very happy! Isn’t he supposed to be Zhuge Liang—the calm, unflappable lord who doesn’t cause trouble?
This usually calm male idol was in a room surrounded by folding screens, lamps, and a Shu brocade mat that was clearly valuable. Beside him were two people: one, just by the size of his ears, you could tell was Emperor Zhaolie; the other, a middle-aged man, looked worried. You didn’t know who he was at first—but when he spoke, you were shocked!

“Sir, it doesn’t matter if you are already married. I, the young lady Liu Chi, wish to serve Master Zhuge…”

—It really is Chi-Chi?!

Before you could fully react, your “benefactor father” grimly added the next line:

“Being a concubine is fine as well.”
Wake up, benefactor father! You’re totally OOC! Even if you’ve lost all ambition, you were still a member of the Han imperial clan and the former lord of Yi Province—how can you just say “being a concubine is fine”? Customer service, where are you—this makes no sense—!

Even more shocked than you was your male idol. But while you were flustered, the big-eared gentleman grabbed the strategist’s hand!

“Strategist…” Liu Ban, the crafty artisan, escape expert, and husband of a formidable wife, completely ignored the strategist’s hesitation and spoke with deep emotion: “Ji Yu is my brother, and A-Chi is my niece. This journey to Jingzhou is long and dangerous. I intend to arrange a proper marriage for her and settle her in Chengdu. Since Ji Yu has this intention, strategist, you must not refuse.”

………………………………………………

You didn’t really care whether the Three Kingdoms had distinctions between main wives, secondary wives, concubines, or handmaidens—you’d come to terms with it.
You wore a flowing robe made from Shu brocade, a jade hairpin in your hair, pearls dangling by your ears. Stepping forward gracefully, you faced the thirty-three-year-old, spirited, unscathed Zhuge Liang—who had yet to be betrayed by Wang Sun’s tens of thousands or tormented by the arsonist Lu Xun—and gave him a polite curtsy.

He looked reluctant to offer even a supporting hand, but in the end, he furrowed his brows, steadied you lightly, then shook his head and let out a long sigh.

You thought this opening was utterly terrible.