Everyone at the Great Yan court knew that Princess Yan Wushuang had a poisonous tongue sharp enough to kill.
She first cursed the empress from her phoenix throne into the dirt, then exposed a shocking scandal beneath the dragon bed. The emperor was so afraid to defend his wife that he even pretended to be ill, while Yan Wushuang cursed the empress who had wreaked havoc in the harem to death. The officials trembled, the consorts gave her a wide berth, and even the emperor got a headache whenever he saw her.
Then the Xiongnu cavalry swept toward the northern border, and the three armies were routed. An old general threw caution to the wind and submitted an outrageous memorial: “Your Majesty, since the princess has such a formidable tongue, why not send her to the front to curse the Xiongnu into retreating?”
It was meant as a joke, but Yan Wushuang really did take her place atop the city wall.
In the time it took three incense sticks to burn, she cursed the Xiongnu vanguard general until he spat blood and fell from his horse. Before half a day had passed, she had cursed two more Xiongnu generals to drop dead on the spot. Terrified and driven mad, the Xiongnu commander ordered a volley of arrows, just to silence her: “Loose the arrows! Quickly! Don’t let her speak again!”
She became famous after a single battle, the Great Yan’s most unlikely hero and defender of the realm, honored with a golden plaque bestowed by the emperor and revered by all the people.
