The winter of the twenty-eighth year of Qianyuan was extremely cold, so cold that even memory seemed to freeze. I stood blankly outside the execution ground, watching the heads of my loved ones rolling down in the snow, leaving bright red trails on the ground. Fear and despair made my mind go blank, and I didn't want to remember anything. As a result, all the memories about the Xie family were condensed into the last unwilling look in my mother's eyes. It is like a seed planted in my heart, waiting for the watering of hatred in the future to bloom into a vicious demon flower. If you want to impose a crime, there is no need to hesitate. The one hundred and seventy-two members of the Xie family were all sentenced to prison for treason and collaborating with the enemy, leaving me alone as an orphan. Xiang Hua, the director of the Inspectorate, personally took me out of prison on the emperor's orders and sent me to the Palace Clothing Bureau for a secret settlement. I can't figure it out. If the emperor intends to destroy the Xie family, why would he spare my life? Even though I was only six years old that year. Perhaps God arranged for me to survive the catastrophe just to punish this twisted world. Many years later, when I stood at the top of this dynasty with blood on my hands, my heart was as sad as the day when the Xie family was killed. Destiny is a circle that cannot be jumped out of. You fight desperately for your life, but you are always played by it. I once wanted to escape from this deep palace that would devour humanity, but there were always some bonds that I couldn't let go of. In the first half of my life, I was the daughter of a guilty minister, and I was a slave and maidservant here with a blood feud. For the rest of my life, I will be the demon queen who brings disaster to the country, causing trouble here with a heart full of loneliness. The towering red wall is like my obsession. I refuse to let others go, and it always tortures me. If I had known earlier, I would have told him that I would like to have the person of my heart and stay together forever. ——Xie Zhiyan