The Heir and the Golden-Haired Sister
In the era where people from the distant Western Regions were treated as exotic curiosities, status was an absolutely sacred matter. This world was nothing like modern Earth, where the class system had long since vanished. In an age where myths and monstrous strength were still very real, one’s bloodline truly meant something special.
In such a world, the legitimate heir of the prestigious Yuan family openly declaring that he would treat a woman of lowly birth as his elder sister was more than enough to spark controversy. No matter what justification he had used when he first beat those branch family dogs, the way he continued to treat Yuan Shao like a true older sister became the very heart of the scandal.
And it wasn’t just a problem in this world alone. Even in the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Shao had only earned widespread recognition after enduring six full years of mourning—two separate three-year periods—to overcome the limits of her humble origins. The weight of status in this era remained just as heavy, even in a world far removed from ordinary history… but the ultimate alpha male Yuan Shu couldn’t have cared less about any of that nonsense.
He simply didn’t give a single damn what outsiders whispered behind his back. If he had been the type to shrink away from such talk, he never would have beaten the branch families black and blue to rescue her in the first place!
“Those pathetic insects who can’t even reach the soles of our Yuan family’s feet are just cracking pumpkin seeds and gossiping! Hahaha!”
As Yuan Shu gradually came to understand the true extent of his family’s prestige, influence, wealth, and the monstrous martial talent blooming within him lately, the opinions of the world meant absolutely nothing. Who would dare say a word against the legitimate heir of a clan so exalted that only the Emperor and the imperial bloodline ranked above them? Especially in an age where the Emperor himself was obsessed with playing merchant, and bribery and the selling of offices ran rampant.
In times like these, the power of great noble houses only grew stronger. Of course, that was a different story when it came to Yuan Shu’s father and mother…
His father had been deeply moved by Yuan Shu’s declaration that the Yuan bloodline would never be tainted by such trivial concerns, and had at least begun treating him like a proper son. His gentle, frail mother had simply smiled and accepted her son’s wishes without much fuss. Naturally, that didn’t mean she treated Yuan Shao as a true legitimate heir, but Yuan Shao herself didn’t mind in the slightest.
From the beginning, she had regarded Yuan Shu as her benefactor for giving her even that much dignity. And as time passed and Yuan Shao began to display her own remarkable talents, their father eventually decided it was for the best. While he wasn’t particularly displeased that Yuan Shu focused more on martial arts than scholarship, he had worried it might become an obstacle later. Now an unexpected path had opened.
He hoped Yuan Shao would support Yuan Shu well, and she gladly accepted the role. Their relationship remained harmonious at all times. On top of that, both siblings were strikingly beautiful, drawing quite a bit of attention wherever they went.
And so, while the outside world remained chaotic, the Yuan household continued to flow with quiet peace and tranquility today as well.
Living as Yuan Shu was honestly pretty damn great.
First of all, being born into a prestigious noble house meant he lacked for nothing. He could get almost anything he wanted, received excellent treatment, and had good relationships with his parents. There wasn’t a single thing to complain about.
Receiving treatment he had never experienced in his previous life felt incredibly satisfying.
Anyway, even though I had pushed my studies aside for a while, lately I had been flipping through books in a rather uncharacteristic manner. And what was I reading, you ask? History books.
“Whoa… Even that famous archer Li Guang who shot an arrow into a rock and hunted tigers was a woman?”
After learning that Yuan Shao was female, I had already realized this wasn’t an ordinary Romance of the Three Kingdoms world.
…Well, to be honest, I had known that long before. The fact that we had dragon bloodlines, people with animal ears, and all sorts of special individuals meant it was never going to be a normal Three Kingdoms setting anyway. Still, the rigid class system and the unusually high number of women appearing prominently in history were quite surprising.
Curious after discovering Yuan Shao was a woman, I started looking into it and found that quite a few historical figures had been gender-swapped. Even among current government officials, there were quite a lot of women. It wasn’t a complete gender-reversed world, but still…
That curiosity led me to dive deeper into the history books, checking which other famous people had been turned into women. For reference, even the greatest generals of the Chu-Han Contention—Han Xin and Fan Zeng, whom Xiang Yu had called “Father” and followed—were now women. The legendary general Huo Qubing, who crushed the Xiongnu, was also female.
Quite a lot of people had been changed.
“In that case, calling her Big Sis Yuan Shao isn’t weird at all.”
Still, I’m glad I wasn’t gender-swapped… I much prefer having the equipment than not. The idea of reincarnating as a beautiful girl is someone else’s fantasy. That’s not my style! Besides, I’m currently a very healthy, strapping young man.
These days I’m often surprised myself when I wake up in the morning and see my third leg standing tall and proud, pitching a massive tent in my pants.
Ah, but while reading these history books, I discovered one interesting fact…
‘Now that I think about it, there’s no Xiang Yu in this world’s history?’
The one who called Fan Zeng “Father” and followed him. The Hegemon-King of Western Chu. The human butcher whose personal martial prowess had no equal. Even Lu Bu would have had to concede several moves against that monster of a warrior. Yet Xiang Yu did not exist in this world.
There were other people with the Xiang surname, but strangely, Xiang Yu herself was nowhere to be found.
‘I may not know the Chu-Han Contention that well, but I definitely know the names of Han Xin, Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang. Especially Liu Bang—that’s not a name you easily forget… Heh heh!’
Come to think of it, many names from ancient China sounded pretty hilarious from a modern perspective. Starting with Gao Gan, Yuan Shao’s cousin, and then there were names like Shi Jin (wet rash) and Cao Lu (premature ejaculation). To think those were actual names… it was almost pitiful.
I wasn’t exactly an expert on the Three Kingdoms, but names like those were so ridiculous that they stuck in my memory. I mean, how could anyone forget names like Premature Ejaculation, Wet Rash, and High Dick? Seriously… Pfft, hahaha!
I was sitting at a desk in my spacious room, reading and chuckling to myself, when the door slid open with a rattle and someone entered.
“I heard you took some books, so I thought you were finally studying for once. What’s so funny, Gonglu? Were you looking at spring pictures? If it’s something good, let’s enjoy it together.”
The one who entered was a beauty with hair that seemed braided from pure gold, matching golden eyes, and a gentle smile—my older sister, Yuan Shao.
“Ah, it was you, Big Sis! Wahaha! If it had been spring pictures I wouldn’t be laughing like this! I just remembered something funny while reading!”
“Seeing that it’s a history book, I suppose you’re telling the truth. Here, drink this. I brought your favorite, nice and cold.”
Yuan Shao naturally sat down across from me and offered a cup of luxurious porcelain filled with sweet honey water.
“Aish, you should have the servants do things like this.”
“Hehe, who would dare complain if I personally serve my dear little brother? Besides, I brought it so we could drink together. There’s no need to make a fuss.”
Smiling, Yuan Shao set down a bowl for herself as well and held it out toward me.
“Shall we have a drink?”
“Haha, I can never win against you, Big Sis!”
I lifted my own cup and lightly clinked it against hers.
Unlike the modern era that boasted a hundred-year lifespan, this age had many who died young and a short average life expectancy. Therefore, the age considered adulthood was also much lower than in modern times. As such, both the current Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao had already come of age.
“By the way, Big Sis, studying is fine, but you’re keeping up with your physical training too, right? I keep telling you—studying requires a strong body to do properly, and you need stamina to live a long life.”
“Normally it should be me nagging the boy who only cares about physical strength to study more…”
“Ehehe! Let’s put that boring stuff aside!”
“Ufufu… Don’t worry. How could I ignore my beloved little brother’s request? I may never reach your level of martial skill, but I am training hard enough to at least protect myself.”
“That’s a relief then!”
Since Yuan Shao never spoke empty words to Yuan Shu, he simply took her at her word.
“Ah, that’s right. I actually came to fetch you.”
“Hm? Did something happen?”
“Not at all. Mother said a gift she bought for you, Gonglu, has finally arrived.”
“A gift? My birthday was a long time ago!”
“She originally wanted to give it to you on your birthday, but it took a long time to bring it here. Probably because she tried to obtain a rare slave from far away.”
“A slave? You’re telling me the gift is a person?”
“She said it’s a person from the distant Western Regions with a very unusual appearance, so she thought it would suit you.”
It wasn’t as if there were no slaves, servants, or bondsmen in this world. Bandits buying and selling people wasn’t unheard of either. In an era where social status was strictly divided, it wasn’t strange at all.
‘But our family already has golden hair and eyes. Would a Westerner really look that exotic to us…?’
Still, since it was a gift from Mother, I got up to go see it. Whether it was a slave or whatever, I could just treat them decently. Once you receive a gift, you’re free to use it however you like.
Following Yuan Shao, we arrived at a place where a slender woman with pale white skin, golden hair, and blue eyes was tightly bound.
“Ah, Young Master! This is the one! She was so fierce we had to tie her up for now…”
“What are you worried about while I’m here? Untie her. From the looks of it, you didn’t just tie her up—you starved her to drain her strength too, didn’t you?”
“Understood!”
She certainly didn’t look ordinary, but Yuan Shu simply grinned and told them to release her. The Western woman, who had been calmly regulating her breathing while staring at Yuan Shu, suddenly—
SWOOSH!
“Whoa?!”
“…!!”
The moment she was freed, she moved with terrifying speed, instantly circling behind Yuan Shu, wrapping her arm around his neck in a perfect rear choke, and shouted,
“Don’t move! You bastards! Back off before I snap all your necks!”
“Heh heh, this one really is fierce, just like they said.”
Even though his life was being threatened, Yuan Shu simply laughed in a relaxed manner.
“But you’re so starved you can barely stand, and you think I look like an easy target?!”
With that, he used pure core strength to lift the woman clinging to his back high into the air, then grabbed her arm and collar, forcefully breaking the chokehold before slamming her straight into the ground.