The Greatest Woman of All Time: Empress Lü, Lü Zhi

Lü Zhi accidentally saw another version of herself in a mirror: the cruelty and instinct for survival suppressed deep within her, which surfaced only in life-or-death crises to fight her for control. Held hostage in the Chu camp for two years, the reflection in the mirror kept urging her to abandon tenderness and seize power. In the struggle over the succession and the elimination of kings from other clans, she was repeatedly torn between her conscience and her shadow. After Liu Bang died, Lady Qi closed in at every turn. The reflection in the mirror brought about a tragedy that drove Liu Ying to collapse and an early death. Lü Zhi ruled as regent, allowing the people to recover and rebuild, while enfeoffing members of the Lü clan to protect herself. She knew that the killings had sown the seeds of disaster, and on her deathbed she urged her clan to hold on to military power. When she died, the reflection vanished with her. The world remembered only Empress Lü's cruelty, unaware that all her life she had struggled against the evil within herself.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.