She had once been the regent of the Xia Dynasty. To fulfill the late emperor’s wish of reunifying the realm, she ruled half the dynasty and commanded its armies. Yet after a war that nearly brought the realm to ruin, the ruler of Xia married her off to Su Qing, the Third Prince of the Zhao Kingdom, under the title of Princess Chang of Rongyang.
On the day Su Qing married her, an iron-clad army lined the bridal road, while crimson brocade stretched from the Regent’s Residence in Xia all the way to Prince Rui’s Residence in Zhao. For his sake, she got rid of the crown prince, who had cherished her and treated her with great kindness, and helped Su Qing seize the throne. She led a million troops from Xia to attack her own homeland. The upright ministers of Xia cursed her as a faithless traitor. That day, she personally slaughtered every minister at court, and blood drenched the glorious palace hall. He merely watched from the side, smiling faintly like a peach blossom as her homeland and her ministers died by her hand.
The Crown Prince of Xifeng brought down his kingdom for her, hoping only that Su Qing would learn to cherish and love her. Standing beside her, Su Qing drove his sword into the Crown Prince of Xifeng. She turned a blind eye.
Several of her loyal subordinates, who had followed her through life and death, could not stomach Su Qing taking another wife and caused a scene at the wedding. Su Qing nearly had them executed. She turned a deaf ear, while her heart quietly crumbled to dust.
Yelü Feng, king of the great grasslands, offered to submit to Su Qing on the condition that she marry him and become his queen. Su Qing sent a million troops to strike the grasslands. She thought that must be love.
Yelü Feng had submitted for her sake, but all he got in return was a red bridal sedan carrying a dream. He asked her whether it was worth it. She only smiled faintly and said nothing.
She had thought that with the realm finally at peace, she could be happy at last. But Su Qing rewarded her with a bowl of poison. That day, countless hidden guards stained the Phoenix Palace with blood… She smiled calmly, raising one hand as a hundred icy blossoms bloomed, while blood soaked her clothes. “Since ancient times, emperors have been heartless. Su Qing, perhaps you had already planned this day when you decided to marry me. Now that the realm is at peace, let me leave you with one thing: with the people, there is a realm. Without them, the realm will fall. Su Qing, I hope that in my next life, I can be without a heart and without feelings.” She plunged from the sheer cliff behind the Phoenix Palace, and no body was ever found. His heart was cut to pieces, but he would never see her tender, soulful eyes again. He announced that the empress had died of illness. For half a month, not a trace of red was seen at court.
His hidden guards reported that she was still alive. He abandoned the throne and the court to search for her, but someone got to her first. His peach-blossom eyes lifted slightly as he swept his brocade robe, and the assembled ministers fell to their knees. He smiled at her like a crafty fox. “Feng Qing, come back.”
She turned a blind eye.
