The Truth Behind the Femme Fatale: The Tale of Bao Si

Since ancient times, beautiful women have been blamed for bringing disaster. Bao Si of the Western Zhou Dynasty could topple a city with a single smile. Everyone knows that King You of Zhou neglected affairs of state to please Bao Si. Everyone knows that he killed his wife and son so he could make Bao Si his queen. Everyone knows that he lit the beacon fires to make the feudal lords rush to his aid, all to win Bao Si’s smile, sacrificing the century-old Zhou dynasty in the process! Everyone curses her as a femme fatale, yet envies her for having King You’s misguided devotion. No one knows that, living atop the jade terrace, she escaped a mountain of bones with her life, covered in wounds. No one knows that, phoenix-like and honored as empress of the realm, she broke her clan’s sworn pact and sacrificed an arm to survive. No one knows how much unwillingness and misfortune lay beneath the height of her glory, or how much filthy blood stained the smile on her face. Who knows, and who pities her? Everyone knows she never smiles, but no one knows it’s because she has nothing to be happy about...