My name is Lü Zhi, and my greatest wish is to meet a good man and spend our lives together. I ask for neither wealth nor status, only that he give me his whole heart and stay by my side until our hair turns white.
Yet in this world, wishes are rarely granted.
I married Liu Bang, the head of a village pavilion. At first, he treated me wonderfully, cherishing me like a precious jewel and caring for me in every way. I loved him, too, and did my best to fulfill my duties as a wife. I thought we would grow old together like that, didn’t I?
But later, I realized I had been wrong. Liu Bang did not love me as deeply as I had imagined.
Later still, he became the King of Han, while I became a hostage.
Two years later, I returned to his side, but everything had changed. Before I could recover from my grief, one blow after another came my way.
He once promised that I would enjoy endless happiness and live free from worry for the rest of my life.
He once promised that if one day he became king and emperor, he would build Weiyang Palace and share in ruling the empire with me.
But time, in the end, takes so much away.
I changed little by little. I had no choice but to change. I was no longer the person I had once been, and I became the cruel woman in everyone’s eyes.
I think back to those days when I was kind and warm, gentle and dignified, and wanted no part in worldly struggles...
I can’t help but sigh at the way fate toys with us.
