Xing Yuan woke up in the lush imperial garden, a heavily made-up foreign woman kneeling beside her, feeding her fruit.
It was only after swallowing the fruit that Xing Yuan realized something was wrong. Startled, she immediately stood up and snapped, "Get away!"
The woman's face was filled with panic, and she knelt down trembling.
His Majesty had been ill for more than a day or two. Although she had long prepared for death, she hadn't expected it to come so soon!
As soon as Xing Yuan stood up, she felt dizzy. She sat down again and rubbed her temples, her eyes gradually clearing. She had died suddenly and found herself in a new world the moment she regained consciousness, still struggling to accept the reality.
She looked up and surveyed her surroundings. In front of her, a group of dancing girls knelt on the ground, trembling and awaiting her judgment.
The guards around her had their hands on their sword hilts, as if ready to strike off their heads at her command.
Xing Yuan gave a wry smile. It seemed she was an emperor this time. However, this beginning did not seem friendly!
She forced herself to appear majestic and ordered, "Take them away to await their punishment!"
"Yes!" The guards responded in unison.
Clearly, they did not question her decision.
Xing Yuan's head throbbed. She waved her hand and commanded, "Prepare the imperial carriage back to the palace!"
"Yes!"
Several young men with pale complexions quickly brought over the carriage. Xing Yuan naturally got into it and began to absorb memories within the carriage.
This was a world where women were superior. Just as she had thought, she was the current emperor of the Feng Nian Kingdom.
However, her life could be described as polarized.
In her youth, she was the Crown Princess, the object of everyone's attention in the palace, born at the pinnacle. Her maternal clan was powerful, leaving no room for other imperial daughters to compete with her.
Her mother, the Empress, doted on her, granting her every wish. But everything changed when she was six years old.
Her maternal clan was accused of corruption and bribery overnight, with evidence of rebellion. That night, blood flowed like a river inside and outside the palace. She suddenly lost all her relatives, falling from the esteemed position of a favored daughter of heaven to the dust.
The Empress, because she was her own blood, spared her life and cast her into the cold palace to fend for herself.
This was, after all, the imperial palace, where people treated others based on their status. Moreover, over the years, her father-consort had offended many people, both openly and secretly, in his efforts to secure his position. Now that he had fallen from grace.
If he had died, there would have been nothing to worry about. But she, a young child, was forced to bear the bitter consequences left by her father-consort.
Her mother, the Empress, felt some familial affection for her, or perhaps guilt. Therefore, even though she did not wish to see this child, she wanted to preserve a bloodline for the person who sacrificed his entire family to pave the way for her status.
Thus, she issued a death order: she would not interfere with how those in the harem treated the child, but under no circumstances was she to be killed.
Yet, she would have preferred to die directly. But since she couldn't die, she clung to life, like a venomous snake hidden in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
She had been educated as the future Crown Princess since childhood, so in terms of strategy, she was not much inferior to those concubines.
Her pretense of obedience pleased them to some extent, especially her face, which increasingly resembled her father-consort's. When they punished her, the proud image of that man would occasionally flash through their minds.
These concubines already had their own grievances, after all, there was only one Empress.
Xing Yuan secretly sowed discord among them, occasionally extracting a bit of the poison they administered to her and keeping it. Over time, it was enough to be fatal.
Everyone knew she was already useless. Even if she harbored any thoughts of revenge, she lacked the ability. This unknowingly helped her. Who would suspect a helpless, useless person?
The medicines they obtained from the Imperial Hospital became her leverage.
If they suffered a miscarriage or an injury, it was naturally not worth the Empress risking a confrontation with an entire clan to seek the truth. But if they lost their lives, even if only to provide an explanation to the clans behind them, she would have to investigate.
If she were to act, she would not do so alone; she would spread her influence everywhere. A breath of resentment was held within her, a breath that would drag them down with her even if she died.
She appeared humble and weak externally, but she killed the Empress's daughters one by one, until only she, the one her mother disliked the most, remained.
The Empress gradually began to suspect her daughter.
But by then, she had grown strong, gaining the support of nearly half the court officials. Coupled with some connections left by her maternal clan, and with most of the Empress's children dead, the oldest surviving one besides her was no more than seven years old, incapable of competing with her.
She acted meticulously, erasing all traces. The Empress had no evidence and no absolute certainty to depose her, so she treated her as a transparent figure in court.
She rebelled!
Relying on the military power of the General of the State, she directly stormed in, personally throwing her mother's head out, and then executing a group of resisting officials on the spot.
Blood flowed in the great hall, making her look like a demon crawling out from hell.
Years passed, and her mind, through constant torment, had become almost insane. Therefore, after usurping the throne and killing her mother, she did not properly manage state affairs. Instead, she began to indulge in the life of an emperor, unashamedly becoming a tyrant.
When Xing Yuan arrived, she had recently ascended the throne and was watching a performance by dancers in the imperial garden.
A flicker of envy, no, of pain, flashed in Xing Yuan's eyes. Actually, this time was not bad; she didn't have to struggle anymore.
As Xing Yuan thought this, a radiant woman appeared in her mind.
Through their identical appearances, Xing Yuan confirmed that this person was herself.
The woman chuckled lightly, her gaze melancholic, "I have an unfulfilled obsession. Since we are one, you shall repay my debts for me!"
"I have never regretted anything I have done, but there is one thing I feel guilty about. I have wronged someone."
"I once promised her that if I ascended the throne one day, I would make her a general and let her conquer the Xiongnu. However, I broke my word, and even tore up that promise with my own hands."
"I have taken countless poisons since childhood, but I survived due to my martial arts training. However, since my ascension, my health has deteriorated. I did not wish to live, but I did not want to leave alone and lonely, so I took her with me."
Xing Yuan: "(*Д*)"
It's over, this person must be my sister. So she dragged someone to die with her this time? What a sin!
The woman sighed, her head lowering as if in guilt. "I know what I did was not proper, but at that time, the poison had entered my heart and lungs, and no medicine could cure it."
"I am different from others. I knew from childhood that I was not a complete person. Therefore, I personally ordered the carving of a blood array to summon you to mend my deficiencies, and even preserved this wisp of soul to explain everything to you."