My father forced me to drink an aphrodisiac and threw me onto the emperor’s bed.
That night, the drunken emperor returned to his room and mistook me for my late elder sister. He forced himself on me.
When he came to his senses, the man glared at me, my clothes half open, and accused me of shamelessness.
For the next five years, I endured his favor every night until my whole body ached, then rose before dawn to bake the prince’s favorite pastries.
I trod carefully, terrified of making the slightest mistake and displeasing the father and son.
But five years later, when the Xianbei and Great Zhou made peace, the khan of the grasslands called me out in front of everyone and demanded that I become his wife.
Helpless, I knelt on the ground and pleaded with the emperor.
But the man who was my husband in name wouldn’t look at me, and the child I had raised since he was little only clapped in delight.
Watching the scene before me, I suddenly realized how pointless all my sacrifices had been.
So, the day after I brought my mother’s ashes home,
I boarded the bridal carriage for the grasslands in the dead of night.
Yet the father and son who hated me to the core chased after me, begging:
“Consort, come home with me.”
