The Legend of Zhao Ying

In the first year of Yuanqi of the Great Yan Dynasty, seventeen-year-old Cui Zhaoying entered the palace according to the imperial decree and was granted the title of queen and took the throne in the middle palace. She thought this was just a marriage weighing the pros and cons - the Cui family was clear, the Queen Mother was powerful, and she was just a pawn who was pushed to the phoenix throne. The emperor was young and calm, and was polite and distant to her. The concubines in the harem were eyeing her, and there was an undercurrent surging. She told herself that it was enough to do her duty. But the harem is never a place where you can survive by sticking to your duties. Concubine Shu used saffron to cause Zhou Changzai to almost have a miscarriage, Xiao Meiren's child disappeared inexplicably, and Hui Jieyu put saffron in the soup at the full moon banquet with the intention of murdering the emperor's heir. One by one, Cui Zhaoying moved step by step amid hidden arrows, sending opponents one after another into the cold palace. It's not that she won't harm others, it's that she is disdainful. But no one can harm her. From the initial alienation of the emperor, to the subsequent stay at Kunning Palace every day, the two walked side by side in the wind and rain. She was pregnant with her eldest son, gave birth to a prince, appointed a crown prince, and her position in the middle palace was as stable as Mount Tai. But Beidi invaded the border, and 300,000 troops pressed on the border. The emperor decided to lead the expedition in person and entrusted the court and harem to her. He fought bloody battles at the border, while she listened to politics behind the curtain of the court, killing decisively. Two years later, the emperor returned triumphantly, and she handed over the government in its entirety. After decades of ups and downs, she grew from a young girl to a queen, and from a queen to a queen mother. The palace wall is deep, and she always stands there, neither humble nor arrogant, impartial. Someone asked her what her secret was in life. She thought about it and said, "I don't harm others, and I'm not afraid of others harming me."