[The making of an empress, strong heroine and weaker hero, political intrigue]
In the first year of Fuyuan, with the realm newly pacified, the emperor rewarded his meritorious officials. Princess Li Yuanjiang was granted the title of Grand Princess Who Guards the Nation for her military achievements, along with three commanderies and twenty-four counties in Chu as her fief, placing her on a par with the regional kings.
In the fourth year of Fuyuan, her husband, Commandant of the Imperial Princess’s Guard Liu Zhen, was defeated in battle and defected to the enemy. The Grand Princess pleaded for mercy for the Liu family. The emperor was enraged, stripped her of her title, took away half her fief, and banished her from the eastern capital to take up her fief in Chu.
In the fourteenth year of Fuyuan, the Grand Princess returned to the eastern capital and stood at the very pinnacle of power. Only then did Li Yuanjiang’s story truly begin.
Good looking, good looking.