Early in the Yongyuan era of the Great Jin, the young emperor was still a child. By order of the late emperor, Princess Mingjia took the imperial seal to court, managed state affairs on the emperor’s behalf, and oversaw the military in Fuzhou. Every petition submitted by the officials was brought to the princess for her decision.
For a time, Chang Xi held power over the entire court, her influence unrivaled. But a woman ruling the country earned plenty of resentment. The old schemers opposed her, arguing that “there is no precedent for a princess acting as regent, and it goes against proper etiquette,” and demanded that she return power to the emperor. Yan Fu’an was their ringleader, and Chang Xi saw him as her greatest threat and sworn enemy.
During the years she governed, factional strife raged, and she and the old ministers attacked each other without pause. The tensions lurking beneath the court’s surface were ignited in the year the young emperor came of age, setting off a coup that would usher in a changing of the guard...
In the sixth year of Yongyuan, the emperor took personal control of the government. It was obvious who had won the struggle. As the defeated party, Chang Xi was charged with “disregarding the rules and discipline of the palace and usurping a man’s place in government,” and was sentenced to drink poisoned wine.
Before she drank it, Yan Fu’an even dared to taunt her. Under the guise of justice, he abused his power and stabbed her to settle an old score from the Lantern Festival years ago. The wound was not fatal, but it erased their old enmity. Before she lost consciousness, she clearly saw the smile on the face of Yan Fu’an, that hypocrite with a rotten heart. So be it. They had fought for so many years. She was tired, and it was time to rest. With tears she had no right to shed in her eyes, Chang Xi slowly closed them.
When she opened them again, she awoke in the present day, with the enemy she had fought for years right beside her. They were only inches apart, yet a thousand years separated them. The world of the past, the splendor of Jin, was all gone. Later, all she heard him say was, “My feelings for the princess have been true since our previous life. I regret the sword that parted us, and yet I do not.”
