The sunlight slipped into the window of the courtyard and sprinkled on the wooden table with mottled marks.

With a creaky sound, the door opened.

"Teacher Liu, I'm Xiao He, a reporter from Summer Interview. I'm very happy to interview you today."

The reporter was dressed in professional attire, holding a notebook and a pen in his hands, followed by a photographer. Both of them were very polite.

In the camera, the gentle, gray-haired woman nodded and smiled, inviting them into her study: "Hello, come in and sit down. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

The female reporter sat on a rose chair and opened her notebook. Her young face was full of vigor and she said calmly, "Teacher Liu, I know you are busy, let's get straight to the point. We all know that as a senior in the archaeological community, you have made outstanding contributions to the archaeological research during the Zhaohui period. Can you tell me about your motivation?"

Liu Qiuyue stroked the loose hair at her temples, her eyes falling on the books on the table - a series of books including the True Records of Empress Zhaohui, The True Records of Noble Ladies of the Xia Dynasty, The True Records of Princes of the Xia Dynasty, and Have the Gods Believed in the Xia Dynasty Come?

That was a whole set of books she wrote, using up all her life's sadness and tears.

She curved her lips in relief and said, "I had a dream during a class in college. I dreamed that I went to Daxia, became a noble lady, and married the prince. Later, I was awakened by fear."

"Did you dream of something terrible?"

Seeing the young reporter's curiosity, Liu Qiyue's smile became more affectionate, and she shook her head gently: "I dreamed of being respectful to that handsome and gentle prince. Although there was no love, we had plenty of food and clothing, which was much better than ordinary people."

The reporter wondered: “Is this a nightmare?”

"I guess so." Liu Qiyue's smile faded a little, and her not-so-cloudy eyes dimmed a little. "In my dream, the prince discussed government affairs in his study, and I and the women in the prince's mansion admired flowers and drank tea while discussing the affairs of each family, or comparing favors and children."

"No. I dreamed about the empress. I dreamed about how she grew from a playful little girl to a ruthless empress." Liu Qiyue lowered her eyelids and chose a suitable excuse. "Maybe it was fate. I was under a lot of pressure during that time and didn't know what to do when I graduated. It was that dream that made me extremely curious about the empress. It was she who guided my anxiety and helped me grasp the direction of my life."

"It seems that Mr. Liu and the empress have a deep connection." The reporter drew a few lines on his notebook and asked, "I am also a fan of Mr. Liu's books. I like your book The True Records of the Empress Zhaohui the most. I think your writing is very real and vivid! However, at the request of fans, I would like to ask you a presumptuous question. According to historical records, the empress had close personal relationships with many handsome officials and was suspected of being lovers. Why do you want to whitewash the relationship between the empress and these officials? Does this include your own concept of love? Do you have a love cleanliness obsession? Is this a denial and distortion of the empress's complex personality?"

Liu Qiuyue had heard a lot of such voices in the early years. They would rather believe the misinterpreted facts than believe in the purity of the empress herself.

However, it is not difficult to understand that after thousands of years, the distinction between right and wrong, merits and demerits has long been blurred

In today's fast-paced era of entertainment to death, the empress's own achievements are far less attractive than the groundless rumors between her and officials.

Liu Qiyue had expected this and was not annoyed: "I have checked all the history books of Daxia and compared the time periods. There is no clear statement about which official the empress had an affair with."

"This is exactly the second question of the book fans. If the empress had no lover, how did she give birth to Empress Qingning? Is it true that she was a goddess sent by heaven as recorded in the history books?"

"Through comparisons in historical books, the records of the empress's daily life show that during the time when the empress was pregnant, she did not have any close contact with any officials or sons. As for the goddess given by heaven..." Liu Qiyue picked up the teacup, "I don't agree with it. It's not scientific. I personally guess that the empress hid a man in the palace, but archaeological excavations have not found any traces. Therefore, I hope that those girls who are interested in the mysterious man of Empress Zhaohui will work hard to get into the Xia history major of Beijing University and dig out more mysteries of the empress."

"I didn't expect that Teacher Liu also had some private information."

The reporter smiled and asked some usual questions about the significance, impact, and direction for the next stage, then left.

After sending the reporters away, Liu Qiyue took out the "Records of Empress Zhaohui" on the table and sighed: "I still don't understand why you want to hide the existence of the Imperial Master..."