Word of the child healer reached a passing general. When bandits attacked
the nearby province, Li Xian — only thirteen — helped treat injured soldiers.
She stitched wounds, fed crushed lotus to the fevered, and mapped a trail
for safe retreat using her father's compass.
Impressed, the general brought her to the capital.
Chang'an gleamed like a city of stars. Gold-roofed palaces, lotus ponds the
size of lakes, and walkways filled with robed scholars and guards in
vermillion armor. Her eyes drank it in.
The imperial court was vast — jade columns, bronze incense dragons,
officials in embroidered silk.
When she bowed before the emperor, her voice did not tremble.
> "I am Li Xian, daughter of the late magistrate of Luoyang. I do not seek
riches — only a place to prove my worth.