In the winter of the eleventh year of Yuan Chun Jingji, Piao Lichun, Madam Murong, once the most favored woman in the imperial harem, died. Her beloved husband was not by her side when she died. A cup of poisoned wine left her face contorted in agony, and eunuchs hastily wrapped up her body and tossed it into a mass grave.
In life, she had been the emperor's most beloved woman. On the battlefield, she reveled in the thrill of battle and pleasure, swaggered with a bow in hand, and drove out bandits and Xiongnu alike, proving every bit as formidable as any man. In the inner palace, she was gentle and dignified, keeping her lord company through countless nights of drunken laughter, never speaking of parting.
In the spring of the tenth year of Yuan Chun Jingji, she finally won the world for her lord, her husband, through iron and blood. Staying in a border town, she sent a letter to the capital in the middle of the night, announcing her victorious return.
