I was the empress of the Great Jin and the legitimate daughter of the prime minister, once sitting atop the world.
However, due to my father's crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, I was sent to the Cold Palace.
The emperor decreed to confer on me the title of the princess for peace - marriage.
When I bid farewell, I wished him long - lasting reign and told him to guard his throne well.
01.
"Receive the imperial edict, the deposed empress Wen Jingsi!"
When the imperial edict of Emperor Jinning, Pei Huai, was delivered, I was still washing clothes in the Cold Palace.
My hands were soaking in the winter pool water, freezing to the bone.
Holding the bright yellow imperial edict in my hand, I knelt on the cold stone floor and couldn't help laughing.
As the former empress of the Great Jin, a deposed empress in the Cold Palace and the daughter of a guilty minister, I was actually conferred the title of the emperor's adopted sister, Princess Jiayi, and was to be sent for a peace - marriage to the Changying Tribe.
It was simply absurd!
Eunuch Ming, who came to read the imperial edict, waved the whisk in his hand and looked down at me.
"His Majesty said that if you agree to the peace - marriage, he will spare Lord Wen's life. You'd better think it over carefully!"
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Half a month ago, the Changying Tribe in the northern border suddenly attacked the border of the Great Jin and captured three cities in succession.
General Xiao Youning, the Cavalry General, was ordered to march north to fight the enemy, but he walked into a trap and was besieged in the Beihuang Mountain for three days and three nights. Eventually, he died for the country.
The news of Xiao Youning's death spread to the capital, and the whole country mourned.
Bai You, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, reported that my father, the prime minister, had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, which led to General Xiao's sacrifice.
Moreover, several personal letters between Prime Minister Wen Zhao and the Changying Tribe were found in the study of the Wen Mansion, which confirmed the charge.
Pei Huai was furious, and the entire Wen family was sentenced to be beheaded.
Only my father, Wen Zhao, was still locked in the death cell, suffering all kinds of torture, on the pretext of "slow investigation" by Bai You.
Pei Huai deposed me from the position of empress and threw me into the Cold Palace.
Perhaps he finally managed to trample me under his feet. When I first entered the Cold Palace, Consort Bai Zhirong came to see me specially. There was a smug smile on her extremely beautiful face.
"Oh, isn't this the empress? The one who used to be above everyone else, how come you've ended up like this?"
At that time, Pei Huai stood beside her, holding her waist, and looked at me with disgust.
"She only managed to ascend to the position of empress by bewitching people with her words. If the late emperor hadn't believed the rumor that 'whoever marries a daughter of the Wen family will obtain the world' when he was alive, I would never have made her the empress!"
Looking at Bai Zhirong's face as she arrogantly raised her eyebrows at me, I smiled faintly. "Consort, you're favored because of your face, but don't forget that beauty fades and hearts change easily."
Sure enough, Pei Huai and Bai Zhirong's expressions changed.
Pei Huai flung his sleeves and left on the spot.
Bai Zhirong reached out and slapped me hard, shouting angrily, "So what? I've been favored for many years and have everything I want. Unlike you, even though you were the empress, you couldn't hold on to the position. You deserve to be deposed!"
02.
Bai Zhirong's face resembled Pei Huai's deceased true love by about seventy percent.
It was also because of this face that she was able to rise from a concubine daughter of the Minister's Mansion to the position of consort.
But it also made her become more and more domineering, and she began to covet the position of empress.
Unfortunately, I had the imperial edict of the late emperor to protect me, and the position of empress could only be mine.
As a result, Bai Zhirong hated me more and more.
Pei Huai's true love was the legitimate daughter of the Minister's Mansion, Bai Jinshu, who was also Bai Zhirong's eldest legitimate sister.
Pei Huai once met her by chance in the Fayun Temple, and they fell in love with each other.
At that time, Pei Huai, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, was just a prince, and he promised to marry her as his principal wife.
I didn't know much about her. I only saw her from afar at a banquet.
She was really beautiful. No wonder Pei Huai fell in love with her at first sight and had remembered her for so many years.
The late emperor had few offspring, and Pei Huai was the only one who grew up safely, so he was made the crown prince.
When I was born, auspicious clouds filled the sky. The great master in the Fayun Temple said that I had a noble fate and was born with the fate of a phoenix.
Whoever marries a daughter of the Wen family will obtain the world.
After hearing this, the late emperor directly issued an imperial edict to confer on me the title of the future crown princess. No matter who became the crown prince, he had to marry me.
Since childhood, I had learned to behave according to the standards of a future empress. My mother specially invited a retired old maid from the palace to teach me.
When Pei Huai was seventeen years old, he was made the crown prince. After he entered the Eastern Palace, the late emperor bestowed a marriage on us, and I became the crown princess.
I heard that Pei Huai knelt in front of the imperial study for a whole day and night, but he couldn't persuade the late emperor to take back his order.
As soon as the news of the betrothal spread, Bai Jinshu, who was already in poor health, fell seriously ill.
Pei Huai wanted to visit her many times, but he was always refused entry.
After catching a cold, Bai Jinshu couldn't recover and passed away.
Because of this, Pei Huai became more and more annoyed with me.
He thought that if it weren't for me, he would definitely be able to stay with the one he loved for the rest of his life.
It was all my fault that I had separated the loving couple.
The so - called "whoever marries a daughter of the Wen family will obtain the world" was just a rumor!
On our wedding night, he left me alone in the bridal chamber and slept outside for the whole night.
But the late emperor didn't care about these things. As long as I was the crown princess, the future empress, and the one who could stabilize the national fortune of the Great Jin, it didn't matter whether I was favored or not.
I had been married to Pei Huai for eight years, and besides the palace banquets, I could count on my fingers the number of times I saw him.
03.
After the late emperor passed away and Pei Huai ascended the throne as the emperor in his first year, Minister Bai You sent his concubine daughter, Bai Zhirong, into the palace.
Her face, which was extremely similar to Bai Jinshu's, instantly caught Pei Huai's attention.
He directly promoted Bai Zhirong to Consort Rong.
He even once wanted to depose me from the position of empress, but he couldn't resist the persuasion of the officials, so he temporarily gave up this idea.
When the late emperor was alive, Pei Huai could suppress his true nature and work diligently as a "seemingly good crown prince".
But perhaps he had been suppressing himself too much. After becoming the emperor, Pei Huai became more and more wanton and gradually revealed his true nature.
Most of the time, he was accompanied by Consort Bai Zhirong, drinking and having fun, ignoring the great country and the common people.
Moreover, in recent years, Pei Huai had become more and more tyrannical. He imposed too many taxes and harsh punishments, which caused complaints among the people.
My father once asked me to admonish Pei Huai, saying that it was my responsibility as the empress. But the result was that Pei Huai confined me with the words "the harem shall not interfere in politics".
Every time this happened, Bai Zhirong would laugh smugly behind Pei Huai and then pull him to watch the "hot dance".
The so - called "hot dance" was to let the dancers take off their shoes and dance bare - footed on an iron plate. Then someone was ordered to put charcoal under the iron plate and heat it slowly.
The red - hot iron plate would stick the skin on their feet. Watching the dancers fall to the ground in pain and roll, with the exposed skin giving off the smell of roasted meat, Bai Zhirong and Pei Huai laughed wildly.
Later, Pei Huai became bolder.
The ministers who had openly offended him in the court were all handed over to Bai You, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, for disposal. They were thrown into prison and suffered a living hell.
I heard that there were rebel armies in various places, but the news was suppressed by Bai You. Pei Huai still indulged in pleasure every day, lying in the gentle embrace happily.
Maybe this was the end of the Great Jin's world?
04.
After Xiao Youning's death, there was no one in the Great Jin who could resist the attack of the Changying Tribe.
The Changying Tribe pressed forward step by step and encroached on many lands in the north of the Great Jin.
On Bai You's suggestion, Pei Huai decided to cede territory to seek peace.
The old tribal king sent an envoy, saying that he had heard that the women in the Central Plains were extremely beautiful, especially the princesses of the Great Jin, so he wanted to marry a princess to show friendship.
But unfortunately, there were no princesses in the royal family.
Bai Zhirong came up with an idea to confer the title of princess on someone to go for the peace - marriage on behalf of the royal family.
Originally, because of the Wen family's crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, Pei Huai could depose me, this annoying empress.
Bai Zhirong thought that she could finally ascend to the position of empress.
But after waiting for half a month, there was still no imperial edict to confer the title of empress.
Bai Zhirong thought it was because I was still in the palace, so she asked Pei Huai to confer on me the title of the princess for peace - marriage and send me far away to the Changying Tribe.
She looked at Pei Huai with tearful eyes and said aggrievedly, "Back then, elder sister died of anger because Wen Jingsi married Your Majesty. If Your Majesty sends Wen Jingsi away from the Great Jin, elder sister in the afterlife will surely know that Your Majesty is the most affectionate and loyal person. Moreover, it can also resolve the current crisis of the Great Jin. It's really a good thing that kills two birds with one stone!"
So Pei Huai issued an imperial edict.
I agreed.
After all, Pei Huai said that as long as I went for the peace - marriage, he would spare my father's life.
Pei Huai didn't care about the life of this former prime minister at all. Even though my father was his teacher when he was a child, he didn't show any mercy.
He only cared about whether there were beautiful women dancing and whether there was good wine to drink today.
He just wanted to muddle through.
05.
I knelt in the Chengan Palace. Pei Huai, who was sitting on the upper seat, was lying on Bai Zhirong's lap.
Perhaps all the fatuous emperors in history loved to eat grapes?
He was drinking wine and eating the grapes peeled by his beloved concubine while squinting at me.
The indulgence in wine and lust had made him lose his former delicate and innocent appearance and become a bit overweight.
When he heard that I agreed to go for the peace - marriage, he was a little surprised.
I looked at him and said solemnly, "Your Majesty promised to spare my father's life. Will you keep your word?"
He drank up the wine in his cup and threw it casually.
The crystal cup hit the marble floor and shattered with a "bang".
"Of course, I always keep my promise."
I bowed my head and kowtowed to him, performing a solemn ceremony.
"Okay, your younger sister, Princess Jiayi, bids farewell to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live long and prosperous."
Pei Huai, I wish you can guard your country, your beloved concubine, and your good wine.
06.
On the day I got on the carriage to start my journey, my father didn't come to see me off.
Bai Zhirong unexpectedly showed up in front of me.
She still looked as arrogant as ever, wearing a mink - fur cloak, gorgeous clothes, and a head full of hairpins and jewelry that jingled.
With a smug smile on her lips, she leaned against the sedan chair, propping her head with one hand. "Do you know why Wen Zhao didn't come to see off his only daughter? He thinks you're too much of a disgrace to the Wen family! The Wen family has always been loyal and upright. Who would have thought that the daughter they raised would go for a peace - marriage to the northern barbarians just to survive. It's really a laughingstock!"
I clenched my fists tightly, and my knuckles turned pale.
My fingernails dug into the flesh of my palm, drawing blood that quietly dripped onto the ground.
Bai Zhirong's voice still rang in my ears. "Wen Jingsi, the people of the Changying Tribe are all as wild as tigers and wolves. The women there are even worse than livestock. Instead of letting you die, it's better to let you rot there!"
The sky was overcast and gloomy, as if it was going to rain.
The sharp and cold north wind howled on people's faces like a knife.
Looking at Bai Zhirong's over - excited face, I rushed forward and, in front of the stunned crowd, grabbed her neck tightly. "Bai Zhirong, your biggest mistake was to let me live."
In the half - month since I entered the Cold Palace, I had done countless rough jobs, and my strength had increased a lot.
I used about 80% of my strength when I grabbed Bai Zhirong's neck, making her face turn red and forcing her to bend over and cough uncontrollably.
I felt the greatest satisfaction so far.
Bai Zhirong struggled to break free from my hand and said angrily, "Guards! Arrest her and beat her severely!"