My name is Yuan Zhaojing.
As the eldest and only daughter of Emperor Wenzong of the Great Yin Dynasty, I was the most favored child in the palace from a young age.
While my good-for-nothing younger brother was still crying over the death of the little bird, I had already learned to ride a horse for the first time under the guidance of my father.
Although it was a foal.
I was five years old then.
My father praised me, saying that I am a woman who is no less capable than any man.
My mother was holding my younger brother, who was less than a year old, and asked me with a smile.
"Does Zhaojing want to become a general in the future?"
Although I was young at the time, I knew that girls couldn't be generals, so I shook my head.
My mother asked me again.
"What does Zhaojing want to be when he grows up?"
I thought about it very seriously, and then announced it loudly.
"I want to marry the most intelligent and talented man in the world!"
Then I saw my mother burst into laughter, while my father's face darkened.
Later I learned that girls cannot marry men, they can only marry other men.
But why?
They clearly told their younger brother that he could marry whomever he wanted when he grew up!
Later, my mother held me and explained to me in detail the differences between men and women.
I don't quite understand, but I know that men pee standing up, not squatting; men can't have babies, they have to rely on women to carry on the family line; and also, men's bodies are very fragile, especially in several key areas.
I thought to myself: Men are so useless.
My mother stroked my head and said, "Zhaojing is the most noble girl in the world. You can do whatever you want."
I nodded vigorously.
I still want to marry the smartest and most talented man in the world!
This wish came true when I was sixteen.
At sixteen, his mother had been promoted to Empress, and his father, the Emperor, had a long beard and spent all his time watching over his younger brother's studies.
My younger brother is not in good health and has never liked fighting with weapons; he prefers reading and writing poetry.
His father disliked this about him and stipulated that he must spend half a day every day practicing horseback riding, archery, and other physical exercises.
My younger brother was so annoyed by me that he asked me to sneak out and play during the Lantern Festival.
Every year during the Lantern Festival, my father and mother would go out of the palace to admire the lanterns, but after I turned eight, they refused to take us with them anymore.
The Queen Mother said we were third wheels.
What is a light bulb?
My younger brother asked me about it, but I didn't know either.
That night, my brother and I changed our clothes, slipped out of the palace gates, and ran to the busiest street.
The streets were packed with people!
There are almost more people than when people pay respects to their ancestors on the first day of the Lunar New Year!
The streets were lined with all sorts of beautiful lanterns, and there were many food stalls, as well as competitions for solving lantern riddles, matching couplets, and composing poems.
I was captivated by a lantern and stood there for a long time, then I took my younger brother's hand and asked him a question.
"Do you think these lanterns look like lotus flowers from Taiye Pond?"
But the one who answered me wasn't my brother, but a strange, pleasant voice.
"Miss, I have never seen the lotus flowers in Taiye Pond."
I turned around abruptly and saw a fair and gentle face.
My face turned pale.
My younger brother is missing!
What about my younger brother who's that big?
I panicked and ran around like a headless fly.
But they forgot that their younger brother was already sixteen years old, not a six-year-old child, and no one would kidnap him.
The scholar kindly helped me search, and when we finally found my younger brother, he was talking to a shy little girl.
I was so angry I was practically fuming.
That was the first time the four of us met.
Many years later, when I recall that time, I always feel somewhat dazed.
No matter how hard I try, I can't remember Feng Qingchuan's face.
Feng Qingchuan is my husband.
He died at the age of twenty-seven.
He died in the fifth year of our marriage.
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