The light of dawn filters gently through the windows of my room, scattering golden specks across the table and the book in front of me. Despite the story the book tells, I can hardly concentrate. Even now, the scene of the trial the other day and, above all, my stepbrother's condition still fill my mind and many of my dreams, as I have had some nightmares in which I begin to practice the famous Skin Tempering and share my stepbrother's fate.

  I know it can't be that dangerous, given that everyone around me has done it and you only have to look at the perfection of their skin, but without more information on the subject of cultivation, I can't help my fears. I think it was Plato who said that what is most feared is what is unknown, or at least something similar.

  As I try to read the book in front of me despite my thoughts, my bedroom door opens with a soft creak, and when I look up, I see my mother, dressed in an embroidered silk gown that clearly indicates she is leaving the pavilion, and Lianhua, who is similarly dressed for some event.

  "Sun Wen, dear, I have important news for you”, my mother begins, her voice as melodious as ever. "The Son of Heaven has decided that it is time for you to begin your formal studies. He has assigned a tutor for you who is waiting for us at the Imperial Library."

  The mention of the Imperial Library sparks a flicker of excitement in me. If I can gain access to it, not only will I have something to entertain myself with, but I will be able to search for the answers to all the questions I have. But then I remember the state of my legs and sigh dejectedly, as I will have to rely on someone else to find the books I want.

  My mother gestures, and two maids who were standing at the door come in and begin to dress me. Before they start, I tell them that I want to go to the bathroom before we leave, as the indignity of always having someone in the bathroom to help me is not something I want to experience outside our home.

  After finishing my business, Lianhua picks me up and, accompanied by my mother, we leave the pavilion escorted by a group of Nei Wei. We head to an area of the palace I have not visited before, and soon we approach a building that stands majestically before us. The effigies of intertwined dragons adorn its large bronze doors, and the curved roofs seem to caress the sky. The gardens surrounding what I assume is the library are meticulously manicured, with chrysanthemums and peonies blooming in an explosion of color.

  Upon reaching the entrance, we are greeted by the Jin Wei, who allow us to enter with a respectful bow, opening the way to the heart of imperial knowledge.

  The interior of the Imperial Library is even more impressive than its facade. Dark wooden shelves, carved with scenes of what I assume to be history and mythology, fill the three floors that can be glimpsed through the opening of the building's central courtyard. Silk scrolls, books, and ancient parchments line up like soldiers in formation, guarding the knowledge accumulated by the empire over the centuries, while several people, whom I assume to be librarians, seem busy reviewing everything, even though they glance briefly in our direction as we enter.

  There, in the middle of this temple of knowledge, a short, plump man dressed in blue and white clothes that look like some kind of uniform awaits us. He is sitting at one of the tables with a pile of books on it, reading a book, but he stands up when he sees us enter and introduces himself with a bow.

  "I am Xueshi Wenxue, assigned by the Guozijian as tutor to the young princess”, he says with a warm smile.

  "I am Guifei Xiang, dear Xueshi Wenxue”, my mother replies. "And this girl is Zhāohuán Wen, your pupil."

  She then points to Lianhua and continues “And this is RuNu Lianhua. She will stay with her the entire time she is here to attend to any needs she may have due to her special situation."

  Xueshi Wenxue waves his hand dismissively "As long as she doesn't bother me or my pupil, she can stay as long as she likes."

  He then points to a nearby table that I hadn't noticed and, to my amazement, I see that both it and a chair next to it are designed for my height and condition "A little while ago, some servants brought this furniture, saying it was for Zhāohuán Wen's studies. If RuNu Lianhua can sit her in the chair, we can begin, as I first want to check how advanced her reading skills are."

  After these words, Lianhua helps me settle into the chair in front of the table, and then Xueshi Wenxue places a book in front of me.

  "Try to read it, Zhāohuán, and then we'll talk about what you understood and what you couldn't read”, he says kindly.

  I flip through the book, which looks like a version of Qianzi Wen, a text commonly used to teach words to schoolchildren in China, while listening to the conversation between the scholar, my mother, and Lianhua about my precocious reading ability.

  "Is it normal for someone blessed by the heavens to learn to read so early?" my mother asks, her voice tinged with pride and curiosity.

  The scholar chuckles softly before replying “It is quite remarkable, but it is nothing compared to some Heavenly Blessed Ones, Guifei. For example, about two hundred years ago, a Heavenly Blessed named Long Chen began speaking at six months old and reading by the age of one in one of the neighboring Empires. Even the Emperor of that place invited the child's family to educate him as a future official of his government."

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  His words hit me like a bolt of lightning. Talking at six months? Reading at one year? The shock leaves me speechless. All this time pretending to be a slightly more precocious than normal girl for fear that they would think I was possessed and kill me or something similar, when it would have been quite the opposite. If I had known this before, I would have spoken much earlier and would not have been bored to death and wasting my time in my two years of life.

  I drop my head onto the book as I question my entire existence when I notice someone standing next to me.

  "Are you okay, dear Zhāohuán?" asks Xueshi Wenxue, who has approached me without my noticing while I was wallowing in my misery.

  "Yes, Xueshi Wenxue. I was just resting for a moment before continuing”, I reply, hiding my embarrassment at having been caught in that state.

  "When you finish reading the book, let me know so we can check your reading level”, he said before sitting down in the chair where he had been when we entered to continue reading the book he was reading.

  Looking around the library, I see that Lianhua has stayed at the side of the room, waiting in case I call her, and my mother has already left. I turn my gaze to Xueshi Wenxue with a skeptical raised eyebrow, wondering what kind of unreliable teacher my father had sent, who seemed more interested in reading his own books than in helping his pupil, before turning to my own book and beginning to read so I could surprise everyone with how clearly Heaven-blessed I was going to be from this moment on.

  Seriously, I begin to read the text in front of me, and using all my knowledge, I begin to analyze it. Let it not be said that my studies in Historical Linguistics and various Master's degrees were done for nothing.

  As I delve deeper into the text, I notice how I concentrate and, surprisingly, enter a state of mental flow. This has only happened to me a few times before, but on those other occasions my mind was never as clear as it is now. I quickly begin to read the characters in the text, and when I don't know one, I begin to break it down into its radicals and decipher its meaning by comparing it with other characters that share the same radicals and with Mandarin Chinese characters that seem to share the same root.

  Without noticing the passage of time, I continue to enjoy analyzing and deciphering the text, something that has only happened to me before when I was in my office trying to translate fragments of ancient texts taken from excavations around the world. But just when I am enjoying the moment the most, I stop abruptly when I realize that I have finished the text and there is nothing left for me to do.

  And as I blink and look at the book in front of me, the realization of what I have just done hits me. What I have done is impossible. To do the same thing in my previous world, I would have had to use multiple dictionaries for days of searching and note-taking, or even a computer program specialized in the task. But now I had done it myself, from memory, and considering that no one interrupted me for spending too much time on it, in just a few hours. Moreover, with just a little reflection, I clearly remember everything I have read in the text. It does not seem to be the much-questioned eidetic memory, but rather hypermnesia. And the strangest thing of all is that I am sure I did not have it before I started analyzing the book.

  I can't help thinking about everything I knew about the Heavenly Blessed, what just happened to me, and everything I had noticed when I was learning the spoken language and was putting aside, thinking it was only because of my previous knowledge of Chinese. It's clear that something is happening to me and that I really may be one of the Blessed, beyond remembering my past life. Apart from the fact that the whole subject of seems to be something more serious than just being a genius, but without further references to compare, I can't come to any clear conclusion.

  Looking up from the book, I discreetly glance around me and see that my unreliable tutor is still sitting there reading a book, while Lianhua has gotten caught up in the atmosphere and found something to read while she waits to see if I need her for anything.

  As I consider whether or not to call my tutor over because I finished so quickly, I remember the earlier conversation about Long Chen and decisively look at him and say “Xueshi Wenxue, I've finished reading the book."

  Xueshi Wenxue looks up from his book and blinks a couple of times in surprise as he looks at me and asks “Already, dear Zhāohuán? It would be better if you reviewed the text to see if you understand any more characters."

  "Xueshi Wenxue, I mean that I have already finished reading the entire text of the book”, I reply decisively.

  I see him look surprised and, putting the book he is reading on the table, he quickly comes over to me.

  "Dear Zhāohuán, if you don't mind, may I ask you some questions about the text to check how deeply you have understood it?" he asks, picking up the book from the table.

  "Of course, Xueshi Wenxue”, I reply.

  He begins to ask me about the text, and I answer decisively. At first, he asks me easy questions, but as time goes by, he asks me increasingly difficult questions about the rarest characters in the book. Thanks to my new memory, I can easily answer all his questions, and as I answer, his face betrays his growing surprise.

  When he finishes, he closes the book with a sigh and stares at me.

  "Zhāohuán, I'm sorry to say that we're done for today. The curriculum I had planned considered that it would take a few days to finish understanding this book, but your brilliance has surpassed me”, he says, conveying exceptional seriousness with his words. "I have to consider how to continue from here and give you an education that lives up to your Blessing."

  I look at him as I blink a couple of times and, putting on a puppy dog face, I ask “Can I take a book with me to read until tomorrow?"

  "Of course, Zhāohuán, since you asked. But you should know that the penalties for damaging a library book are severe”, he replies.

  Lianhua suddenly replies to my tutor, as she has approached us without me noticing. "Don't worry, Xueshi Wenxue, I'll be by her side the whole time to make sure nothing happens to the book."

  "Perfect”, my tutor replies, turning back to me. "What kind of book would you like to take, Zhāohuán?

  "Is there a book that has a lot of words and tells me their meaning?" I ask, clearly pointing to some kind of dictionary.

  He rubs his chin as he thinks and after a moment says “Wait a second, Zhāohuán, I'll go find what you're asking for."

  He goes deep into the library shelves and after a moment returns with a large book and gives it to Lianhua, saying “This will keep you reading for a while. When I have created your new study plan, I will notify your pavilion to come back."

  Nodding, Lianhua takes the book with one arm and then picks me up with the other in what I consider an act of impossible juggling and strength, but I've seen and experienced enough strange things to not be surprised by something like this now.

  The only thing I can think about as we leave the Library is that when I can get my hands on that book, I'm going to test this supposed Blessing I have and see how far it can take me.