Based on unofficial records—ah no, based on this copy of the Book of Han in Mengde’s hands—it turns out that both Han Xin and Xiang Yu were actually girls.
More precisely, Han Xin was a petite little girl under 1.5 meters tall, while Xiang Yu was a tall young woman about 1.7 meters.
Their appearances are described in detail in their respective chapters.
For example, in Han Xin’s section, Ban Gu writes that she had “fair skin like congealed fat, a body not even five chi tall, like a young girl—absolutely beautiful.”
He even notes that her appearance remained unchanged even at the age of fifty, which was rather miraculous.
Naturally, with their genders reversed, the fates of Han Xin and Xiang Yu in this world differ greatly from those in Mengde’s past-life history books.
First, let’s talk about Han Xin.
Because she was a girl, when she encountered Liu Bang—who had overwhelming charisma and the attitude of a seasoned scoundrel—she inevitably fell for him.
Even in history, the male Han Xin admired Liu Bang far more than he resented him.
As the Records of the Grand Historian notes: “The King of Han gave me the seal of Commander-in-Chief, granted me tens of thousands of troops, shared his clothes and food with me, listened to my advice and followed my strategies.”
“This is how I achieved all I did. For a man to have such intimate trust in me, it would be treacherous not to repay it. I would rather die than betray him.”
So, in this timeline, the loli version of Han Xin not only became the Commander-in-Chief, but also became one of Liu Bang’s wives.
This decision caused a cascade of events.
First, Han Xin did not attack the Qi Kingdom after its initial surrender, so Qi did not rebel again, and the Han envoy Li Shiji was not thrown into a boiling pot.
Second, after unifying the realm, Liu Bang did not grant Han Xin the title of King of Chu.
Instead, as a sign of his affection, he made her the Marquis of Chang’an and kept her by his side.
Lastly, with Han Xin around, Liu Bang’s later campaigns to eliminate the regional warlords proceeded much more smoothly.
When Ying Bu rebelled, it was easily crushed, and Liu Bang avoided the injuries that in history would eventually lead to his death.
Like his father Liu Taigong, he lived a long and healthy life, eating heartily and making it to the ripe old age of eighty-five.
At seventy, Liu Bang abdicated, proclaiming himself Grand Emperor, and passed the throne to his son Liu Ying.
In this timeline, Liu Ying lived a few years longer than he did in recorded history but still died young at thirty-six.
After Liu Ying’s death, Liu Bang believed the empire should not be ruled by a child.
After evaluating his many sons, he chose Liu Heng as his successor—thus, history realigned with its original course.
According to the Book of Han, Han Xin lived into her sixties.
Her appearance did not change much until she hit sixty, after which she suddenly aged rapidly.
Eventually, she died as an old woman.
As for Xiang Yu, this version of the young woman did not meet the same tragic end as her historical counterpart, who was dismembered.
Instead, she was captured alive by Liu Bang—and then vanished from public record.
According to unofficial sources—yes, this time really from wild historical accounts, especially from the well-known Tales from the Western Capital—Xiang Yu was not executed.
Instead, she was kept at Liu Bang’s side as a concubine.
Later, during a war with the Xiongnu, Liu Bang recklessly advanced and triggered the famous Battle of Baideng.
It was Xiang Yu who went full “war goddess mode,” tearing through enemy ranks and breaking the siege, carrying Liu Bang and his army to safety.
Reading the Book of Han’s account of Liu Bang personally leading his troops out of the encirclement, Mengde suddenly felt like there might be some truth to the wild legend about Xiang Yu.
After all, if Liu Bang was truly so capable, why didn’t he break out of the siege in the original history?
Clearly, something—or someone—was different.
In this alternate history, although Han Xin was still alive, she wasn’t by Liu Bang’s side.
She was in the rear lines commanding the army.
So apart from Xiang Yu, there couldn’t have been any other variables.
***
Damn!
Mengde found herself deeply envious of this alternate timeline’s Liu Bang.
Han Xin on the left, Xiang Yu on the right—both beautiful girls who never aged.
‘What kind of divine bachelor lifestyle was that?’
But since the book claimed that neither Han Xin nor Xiang Yu aged, Mengde became curious about their true identities.
She turned to her father, Cao Song, with a puzzled look.
“Father, why don’t these two ladies—Han Xin and Xiang Yu—ever get old?”
“Han Xin and Xiang Yu?” Cao Song glanced at the section Mengde was pointing to and replied, “That’s because they’re both ‘Fated Maidens.’”
“Fated Maidens? What’s that?”
“Ah, well, to explain that, we have to start with Emperor Yu the Great…”
Cao Song began telling Mengde a story from a history she had never encountered in her previous life.
Fated Maidens—are those born bearing the Mandate of Heaven.
The name literally means “women of fate” or “mandated girls.”
The first of them, according to legend, was Yu the Great’s wife, Tushan-shi.
The first Fated Maiden recorded in official history was the wife of King Tang of Shang—Xuanniao, or the Black Bird.
The Book of Songs says: “Heaven’s decree was the black bird, which descended and gave birth to Shang.”
The black bird in this case referred to both a mythical creature and a real person.
In truth, the “black bird” in the historical sense was not a literal bird, but the name of the Fated Maiden.
Fated Maidens tend to appear around the same time as Sage Kings and are often their wives.
Yu the Great and King Tang both had Fated Maidens as their spouses.
In later periods, many historical figures familiar to Mengde from her past life had also, in this world, been transformed into Fated Maidens.
Among the most notable were Duke Dan of Zhou, Guan Zhong, Wu Qi, Li Si, Han Xin, Xiang Yu, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Huo Guang, Wang Mang, Dou Xian, and Deng Zhi.
There were also naturally-born female Fated Maidens like Yin Lihua, the wife of Emperor Guangwu.
Each Fated Maiden possessed a unique supernatural ability.
For instance, Tushan-shi could control water, which helped Yu the Great in his flood control efforts.
Duke Dan could predict the future, allowing him to create the Zhou Rites that lasted 400 years.
Guan Zhong could sense the flow of wealth and had extraordinary talent in commerce.
Other Fated Maidens were the same—each endowed with their own distinct powers.
However, despite all that Cao Song explained, Mengde noticed something odd.
Some of these women didn’t really seem like the typical “assist the king, birth an empire” type of characters at all…
“Father, were Xiang Yu and Wang Mang also fate-bound women?” she asked.
“Didn’t they usurp the throne and proclaim themselves overlord and emperor?”
Cao Song chuckled and praised his daughter.
“For someone your age, that’s a very sharp observation. You’re absolutely right—Xiang Yu and Wang Mang both killed their monarchs and took power for themselves. But have you considered that even in ordinary households, husbands and wives can fall out of harmony?”
“Fate-bound women are born with Heaven’s mandate to assist a sage king, but that doesn’t mean they’re merely puppets of fate. They have their own thoughts, their own personalities, and they choose whether to stay loyal to the king before them.”
“If the king fails to win their loyalty, then it’s only natural that a fate-bound woman might turn against him. That would be the king’s own failure.”
“I see…”
A serious look appeared on Mengde’s little face as she nodded thoughtfully.
Then, her thoughts drifted to herself.
A historical figure.
Gender-swapped.
‘So I’m probably this generation’s fate-bound woman, aren’t I?’
‘Then who am I supposed to assist in the future? Emperor Xian of Han? Wasn’t he eventually overthrown by my own son, Cao Pi, in the original timeline?’
‘Ugh… looks like my role is more like Xiang Yu or Wang Mang’s after all.’
Mengde’s feelings were complicated as she came to that conclusion.
Just as she was pondering what special powers a fate-bound woman might possess, she suddenly yawned.
After all, she was only a little over a year old.
Babies get sleepy easily, so her sudden yawn wasn’t unusual.
Seeing this, Cao Song gently patted her on the back and said, “Haste makes waste. You’ve already finished your reading and even gone through the Records of the Grand Historian: The Annals of Gaozu. That’s impressive enough for one day. We’ll save the rest for later. For now, get some rest.”
“Okay!”
Mengde obediently closed her eyes and fell asleep.
***
When she opened her eyes again, the view outside the window was already dyed in the golden hues of dusk.
She was lying in a cradle, and not far away was the maid assigned to look after her.
Mengde crossed her arms and picked up the train of thought she’d left off at midday.
‘So I’m most likely the fate-bound woman Father was talking about.’
‘Then what kind of power do I have?’
Suddenly, she remembered the dream her father had on the night before she was born.
‘An OGAS supercomputer?’
‘Could my powers be related to computers?’
The moment that idea surfaced, something inside her seemed to awaken.
Her mind entered a strange and indescribable state.
Her brain began to operate at an astonishing speed.
Any question involving numbers, she could answer in an instant.
Every memory from her past life to now was stored neatly in her mind, like files in a computer.
She could recall even a single sentence she once said at a precise time and date.
It was as if her brain had become a real computer.
But she had only stayed in that state for a few seconds before her brain felt utterly exhausted, forcing her to shut down the ability.
‘So that’s it… My mental strength is still too immature, huh?’
‘Well, I am still a child. How fast can a baby’s brain really work?’
Even though she was now so tired her eyelids could barely stay open, she felt exhilarated inside.
‘I really am a fate-bound woman! And I even have a unique ability!’
‘But this power… The original Cao Mengde certainly wouldn’t have had a computer-based ability. Considering I was programming in front of a computer right before I transmigrated, it’s probably something I brought with me.’
‘So… I can treat my brain like a computer and write code inside it?’
Mengde thought with growing excitement.
Unfortunately, her infant mind was far too fragile.
After using the ability for just a short moment, she already felt completely drained.
There was no way she could test any further theories now.
She would have to wait until she was well-rested.
But just before she drifted off to sleep again, Mengde made a secret vow to herself.
She had to keep her identity as a fate-bound woman hidden—especially from the emperor.
Fate-bound women were said to be born under Heaven’s decree.
‘If the emperor found out that one had been born, what would his first reaction be?’
Naturally—control.
The birth of a fate-bound woman often heralded the coming of a true sage king.
No emperor would willingly admit he wasn’t that sage king.
He would be convinced that Heaven’s mandate pointed to him, and that the fate-bound woman should be his wife and serve loyally at his side.
If Mengde didn’t want to end up in the palace as a child bride to the emperor or crown prince, she had to protect her secret at all costs.
She wasn’t born again just to be someone’s wife.
She was Cao Mengde—the woman who slept with married women and overthrew the Han!
With that conviction in her heart, the recently awakened girl once again closed her eyes and fell asleep.