I once thought that my affection for Feng Qingchuan surpassed everything.
His patience and gentleness made me feel very comfortable when we first met.
Later, at the wedding banquet of the young master of the Lu family, we met for the second time, and he helped me out of an awkward situation.
The third time was during the imperial examination. He stood among a group of candidates and, because of his youth and outstanding appearance, was chosen by his father, the emperor, to be the third-ranked scholar.
The youngest third-place finisher!
Later, when my father and mother were choosing a husband for me, Feng Qingchuan's face immediately popped into my mind, so I just said it out loud.
The emperor was furious and wanted to punish the Feng family for their lax discipline. It took the empress dowager a long time to persuade him to stay.
My mother asked me how we met, and I honestly recounted the several times we had met.
The Empress Dowager pondered deeply, and finally asked me.
Do you like him?
I nodded without hesitation.
"like."
Are you sure you'll always like him?
The Empress Dowager asked again.
I am absolutely certain that my feelings will never change.
But what in this world remains unchanged?
But no matter what happened later, at that time I had unwavering faith in myself.
So, the emperor issued an edict to grant the marriage, and the Feng family happily accepted the decree.
My father wanted me to get married when I was eighteen. During this time, Feng Qingchuan would send me things from time to time, and I would occasionally go out of the palace to see him.
I feel very comfortable with him and I look forward to marrying him.
My younger brother didn't like him at first.
Later, my younger brother also found someone he liked, and I gradually came to understand.
My younger brother, as the crown prince, got married a year earlier than me.
At the age of seventeen, the Crown Prince got married to the granddaughter of the newly appointed Grand Secretary Zhang.
That is, the shy young girl he met during the Lantern Festival.
Her younger brother loved her very much, and after their marriage, he refused to marry anyone else. This caused many discontent among the court officials, but the emperor suppressed them all.
The following year, I married Feng Qingchuan.
We moved into the princess's residence and started living a quiet life together.
Less than three months after the wedding, I became pregnant.
Ten months later, I gave birth to a son.
The Feng family was overjoyed.
The Emperor and Empress were overjoyed, and various rewards were sent to the Princess's residence in a continuous stream.
However, the younger brother and the Crown Princess have never had children.
They were both very worried, but their mother advised them to relax and even cited their father as an example.
My father was twenty-four or twenty-five when he had my brother and me!
Three years later, the Crown Princess finally had good news.
Everyone was focused on the Crown Princess's pregnancy, hoping she would give birth to her eldest son.
She did not disappoint and gave birth to a healthy son.
After the crown prince turned one year old, the emperor's health deteriorated due to years of overwork. At the urging of his mother, he decided to abdicate and take his mother out of the palace to travel and recuperate.
The Empress Dowager never liked staying in the inner palace; she longed for life outside the palace.
The Emperor said that the Empress Dowager had been with him for over twenty years, and now it was his turn to accompany her in doing what she liked.
They moved incredibly fast.
He announced his abdication that day and left the palace three days later.
I didn't tell anyone!
She only brought Granny Wei Hong and two guards with her.
The younger brother was so angry that he hugged the Crown Princess and cried, "Father and Mother are too cruel."
Being an emperor is exhausting. My younger brother couldn't handle it all by himself, so he asked me to come and help.
I used to think that the bond between my siblings and me would never change, and would last for a very long time...
Unfortunately, I only guessed the first half, but I couldn't have predicted the second half.
In the third month after the younger brother ascended the throne as the new emperor, something happened in the palace.
The young prince was poisoned.
The young prince drank two mouthfuls of that poisoned porridge, and the new emperor ate the rest.
Overnight, everything changed.
The palace gates were guarded by Meng Weishi and his men, and no one was allowed to enter.
Enraged, I summoned the Yan Yun Guards and forced my way in.
Then, I saw my younger brother, who had died.
My younger brother was frail from childhood and not good at martial arts, but he was kind-hearted, loved talent and the people, and always tried his best to do his best.
But he died at the age of twenty-three.
Holding my brother's corpse, I was in a bloodthirsty frenzy.
The person who poisoned the woman was quickly identified as a palace maid sent by the Crown Princess's family—no, the new Empress's family.
The new queen was unaware of all this.
But I hate that she was foolish and ignorant and was taken advantage of.
I slaughtered her entire maternal family, wiped out her nine generations of relatives, and left her all alone.
She tried to kill herself several times, but my men stopped her each time.
I thought I was doing the right thing.
Unexpectedly, the investigation into the poisoning case led back to the Feng family.
I never knew the Feng family's ambitions were so great!
The Feng family's intentions changed when I gave birth to my son.
They secretly plotted for three years to get rid of my two younger brothers and nephew so that my son could take over.
No, that's not my son, it's the Feng family's son.
I sat there in the Qianqing Palace for a very long time.
As the sunlight streamed through the plaque and fell on the steps in front of the dragon throne, I thought of my younger brother's unseeing eyes in death.
I stood up and personally led my troops to surround the Feng family.
The Feng family was executed along with their entire clan.
After the Feng family was killed, the steward of the princess's residence came to report.
Feng Qingchuan held his son and committed suicide.
I believe that the path to becoming an emperor is destined to be lonely.
I once thought that Feng Qingchuan and I could be as loving and devoted as my father and mother.
But things are unpredictable. He has his family to worry about, and I have my loved ones to protect.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager rushed back upon receiving the news.
When I saw them in the palace, the moment my mother saw me, she suddenly burst into tears.
Father aged ten years in an instant.
Perhaps he regrets leaving the palace.
Or perhaps, he regrets not teaching his younger brother to be wary of his partner.
The death of his younger brother became a source of heartache for his father for the rest of his life.
His health deteriorated, and he passed away five years later.
During these five years, my nephew ascended the throne, and I served as regent. With the support of my father and mother, I stabilized the court.
Ten years later, someone urged his nephew to take over the reins of government.
The child who used to snuggle in my arms has suddenly become a stranger.
I remembered what my mother had said about the rebellious phase, and without the slightest hesitation, I deposed him from the throne and imprisoned him in a manor in the western suburbs.
He should marry and have children, but he should never think of having any power in this lifetime.
I had considered adopting my second brother's child.
But then, during the competition, my mother, whose hair was gray, suddenly asked me a question.
"Now that you're in power, why are you supporting others? If you choose the second son's child, aren't you just repeating the Feng family's mistakes?"
Ambition is uncontrollable.
I understand what my mother means.
So, in my thirty-eighth year, I stepped out of a river of blood, sat on the dragon throne, and became the first female emperor of the Great Yin Dynasty.
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