Later generations of scholars said that Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei, was skilled at political maneuvering, calculating, ruthless, faithless, and cold-hearted.
They knew nothing of the desolation and sorrow within that proud, elegant heir to the throne. They knew nothing of how he was, in truth, a woman, fated from the moment of birth to become a pawn in the Sima clan's pursuit of power.
The truth was buried by time, never to see the light of day.
Many years later, after Cao Pi had changed identities and names countless times, whenever snow filled the sky, she could not help thinking of someone. Not Zhen Ji, but Guo Zhao: the brilliant, sharp-witted woman who hid her keen edge within, the woman of incomparable beauty who deliberately concealed it. The only woman who knew how to appreciate her boundless ambition, the only one who could accompany her to the ninth-tiered Phoenix Palace. Only after losing her did she realize that Guo Zhao had filled her heart.
A few things for readers to note:
First, this novel has three volumes. The first volume directly incorporates some historical facts. Anything for which I haven't cited a source should be treated as part of the fictional plot. Please don't let me mislead you, or your history teacher might come after me.
Second, the protagonists and many of the supporting characters in the first volume are based on historical figures. The author has tried to shape their personalities in accordance with the accounts in the Twenty-Four Histories and to write their fates according to historical fact. As a result, the pacing of the first volume is constrained by both the outline and history: the first half is mostly slow-paced, while the latter half suddenly speeds up and rushes straight to the climax. The next two volumes are no longer bound by history, so the overall pace will clearly pick up. To all the readers who have messaged me asking for Fengxiao, or wanting Gongjin to come back to life after he dies, to all those eager to see the two leads get together, and to those who are still in the first-volume chapters and already think I'm moving too slowly, I have to say: This concubine truly cannot do it! Historical fiction is hard to write! History keeps getting in the way! Am I right?! Why did I have to be so foolish and write a story with a historical setting? Now I'm suffering the consequences! I should have written an alternate-world story where I make the rules! Am I right?! Now I can't use a single Tang poem, Song lyric, or Yuan drama. Instead, I'm forced to turn to the Strategies of the Warring States, the Zuo Zhuan, the Records of the Grand Historian, the Book of Han, the Book of the Later Han, and the Records of the Three Kingdoms. It's so miserable having to write schemes and sound profound! Am I right?!
Readers who started reading before 2015, please note: I discovered that I had left out an entire chapter, so I've added a section between chapters 57 and 58 to make the plot flow smoothly. I hadn't noticed before. I'm very sorry! >_<
Thank you to the author for coming back to fill in the gaps after the tenth anniversary of the publication of the article. I shed tears.
I read it when I was a freshman in high school. I didn't expect that by the time I read it again, it would have been three years already.
It feels like the next few chapters don't feel like a novel like the previous chapters, which looks weird.
Mrs. Wuwu, think of it quickly, I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next! Ball ball ball ball!
I cried. I clicked in and suddenly found an update.
They are finally in the same frame! Every bite of candy before was carried with a knife woo woo woo
? ? ? ? ? ! ! ! The author showed up in a big way!
Oh my god, it's a scam! ! ! !
Do you remember that you need to fill in the pits that have been left for many years? I can't even remember the plot chapter after inserting the synopsis. . .
Thank you to the author for coming back to fill in the gaps after the tenth anniversary of the publication of the article. I shed tears.
I read it when I was a freshman in high school. I didn't expect that by the time I read it again, it would have been three years already.
It feels like the next few chapters don't feel like a novel like the previous chapters, which looks weird.
Mrs. Wuwu, think of it quickly, I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next! Ball ball ball ball!
I cried. I clicked in and suddenly found an update.
They are finally in the same frame! Every bite of candy before was carried with a knife woo woo woo
? ? ? ? ? ! ! ! The author showed up in a big way!
Oh my god, it's a scam! ! ! !
Do you remember that you need to fill in the pits that have been left for many years? I can't even remember the plot chapter after inserting the synopsis. . .
Back! Thanks to the author?