The Chronicle of Empress Wenzhao

The Empress and Emperor Worshipping the Buddha, carved inside the Longmen Grottoes, has inspired legends and beauty for a thousand years.

Power, love, sincerity, entanglement, devotion: all intertwined in a knot too tangled to undo.

We supported and understood one another, cherishing each other. I have no one else to rely on, and only wish to stay by your side forever.

Standing atop the empire, to gain is also to lose. It is loneliness, and helplessness. Rong'er, thank goodness you were with me all this way.

I gained so much in this life, but what I lost can never come back. Old and alone, I must eventually give up power, yet there is so much I cannot accept. I only wanted to preserve the Feng family's honor. Was I truly wrong, or was this simply too much retribution?

Bearing the title of empress and the burden of my family's prosperity, I lived in a stupor for so many years. Like a dream, it all came to nothing. So what if I was deposed? At least it was a rare chance to be free. From now on, I will live for myself.

I've had enough of suffering and humiliation. From now on, I want only supreme power. As I close my eyes, Feng Run, you schemed your whole life, but were you ever happy for even one day? You were so tired, and so foolish.

I, Princess Pengcheng, have always dared to love and hate, never bound by those dead rules. Since Heaven has given me the chance to choose again, I will be reborn from the ashes and follow my heart alone.

The Empress Wen Zhao: Love and Hatred in the Northern Wei Palace