Li Yuxin remembered that over a month after the autumn examinations in her previous life, news of Empress Jing'an's passing spread through the city. At the time, she was living with Wei'er and Yun'er at a farm in the countryside. One day, the farm's housekeepers were sitting together, chatting, while she was sewing in the courtyard across the wall.
At that time, she vaguely heard that Empress Jing'an was killed by the imperial concubines and that the emperor had killed many people. Later, after she and her children had regained their power, she learned the whole story when the second wife returned to the ancestral home.
Empress Jing'an, secluded in her courtyard, developing a mirror, was poisoned by her close friend, Concubine Zhuang. She was given a chronic poison for three years, and if the Emperor hadn't repeatedly requested an autopsy, the cause would have been unknown.
The Emperor ordered the death of the Imperial Noble Consort and the execution of her entire family. Consort Shu and Consort Li committed suicide, and Consort Zhuang was imprisoned and tortured to death. Of the high-ranking concubines, only Consort Xian and Consort Wang Chongyi escaped, but they also met a bad end a few years later, one died and the other went insane.
He even killed more than a thousand slaves and eunuchs in the palace, and the blood flowed like a river in the deep palace, turning it into a Shura hell.
The maternal families of the concubines were also implicated, with officials being thrown into prison one after another. Confiscation of property and stripping of titles were minor punishments; one could easily lose their heads. This turmoil lasted for three years, only finally subsiding when the emperor became obsessed with sorcerers' necromancy.
Li Yuxin was thinking of Empress Jing'an, who was currently busy in her room. She wore a fine cotton gown, her brows slightly furrowed, her face bare of makeup, her black hair tied up with a single jade hairpin. Yet, this simple attire didn't diminish her beauty in the slightest, but rather, enhanced her innocence.
Empress Jing'an flipped through the manuscript in her hands and muttered to herself, "Where did I go wrong? This shouldn't be the case."
Outside the door, a palace maid named Yan knocked gently. Empress Jing'an answered and Ziyan pushed the door open and reported, "Your Majesty, Concubine Zhuang has brought the sugar water as usual."
Queen Jing'an touched her chest, feeling a wave of pain inside, and ordered, "Bring the sugar water, and the person will disappear. Don't let her in again in the future."
Zi Yan nodded, bowed, stepped back and gently closed the door.
Queen Jing'an looked at the closed door, her eyes drifting away for a while, then she sat back in her original position and continued to read.
A quarter of an hour later, Zi Yan came in again with a bowl of Tremella soup in her hand. Queen Jing'an took it and drank it all, then waved her hand to let Zi Yan leave.
At night, Queen Jing'an lay on the luxurious step-out bed, staring at the silk curtains above her head, thinking about her life before she came to ancient times.
She had been here for thirty-seven years; in modern times, she would have only lived to the age of twenty-five. Since entering the palace, she had become more and more like a woman from the past. She had thought herself different, unmoved by a man with a dirty cucumber. She had underestimated others and overestimated herself. After losing two sons, she realized that, despite her outward appearance, she was still a modern person.
She refused to be a woman, believing that the reason women would come to her for trouble was because men gave them the courage. She always blamed men for any trouble she had. She watched the women fighting in the palace and always wanted them to live in peace.
She thought she had succeeded, but when her two sons died in quick succession, she realized the absurdity of her mistakes. Adapting to local conditions, she had forgotten that this was never a peaceful time for her. She pitied the women and couldn't bear to punish them, often only requiring them to copy scriptures, only to have such tragedy unfold.
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