According to the old records of the Southern Dynasty, Princess Ningyuan, née Chen, was Chen Shubao's half-sister. Clever and peerlessly beautiful, she entered the Sui after Chen fell and was taken as a consort by Emperor Wen. Empress Dugu was famously jealous, and few consorts were summoned to the emperor's chambers; only Lady Chen was favored. The Prince of Jin, Xuan, plotted to seize the throne and regarded her as a key ally, cultivating her favor by every means. From the Crown Prince Yong's deposition to the upheaval at Renshou Palace, Lady Chen was privy to every secret and turning point. When Emperor Wen fell gravely ill, his final edict appointed her Lady Shunhua. Once the new emperor ascended the throne, he summoned her into the palace. That winter, she died at the age of twenty-nine. The emperor mourned bitterly and personally composed "An Ode of Grief" in her memory.
What a grand drama of father and son vying for power, tangled with love and hate! If Chen Yi had read it in a book, she would have applauded with delight. Unfortunately, one day she woke up transmigrated into the very person of Princess Ningyuan, with Jiankang in ruins before her eyes, engulfed in flames and smoke.
Chen Yi: "...They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do, but I refuse to accept a fate of dying young and beautiful."
Everyone knew that Empress Dugu and Emperor Wen were hailed as the Two Sages, and she was praised as a female Yao and Shun, with power over the court. She could even endure Ningyuan's having stolen her husband, so surely she could tolerate other things too.
After entering the Sui palace, Chen Yi stopped pretending to humor the Prince of Jin. Instead, she declared her intentions before Empress Dugu: "Birds love the distant green hills, and fish swim in the depths of the sea. I wish to serve a wise ruler and fulfill my dream of pursuing a worthy cause!"
Thus began the voyage of a remarkable woman.
P.S. An alternate-history Sui Dynasty. The complete manuscript is in progress.
Theme: I make my own fate and seek my own blessings.
