[A spoiled, willful consort vs. an indulgent, doting emperor]
Li Lingzi had been spoiled rotten since childhood.
Two years in the palace, and she had not learned a bit of virtue or decorum.
The court officials called her jealous, and the Empress Dowager thought her arrogant, but Zhao Zhen loved that about her. When she smashed porcelain, he sent her ten more sets, with a note: "Take a break when you're tired of smashing things. Don't hurt your hands."
When she drove away a palace lady, he did not even ask why. "If Lingzi doesn't like someone, I have no interest in seeing them either."
Then, one year, the court officials joined forces to petition him, kneeling for three days and begging him to depose his consort. She packed her things in the middle of the night and waited for him, eyes red.
He pushed open the door, but he was not holding an edict to depose her.
"Zhao Zhen," she said first, her voice trembling. "If this puts you in a difficult position, I'll leave."
He set what he was holding in front of her: an edict appointing her empress.
"What difficult position?" He crouched down to meet her eyes. "I just went and demoted everyone who insulted you."
Nice! Nice!