Short Tragic Stories with a Touch of Angst

Shangguan Jingyue was the daughter of a great general.

Though born to a military family, she was gentle and refined, and her reputation for beauty spread throughout the capital.

She met the uncherished Sixth Prince at a secluded mountain temple as they listened to the rain.

She fell for him and married him.

She devoted her family's strength to helping him ascend the throne. At the empress's enthronement ceremony, the emperor and empress stood side by side, gazing down upon the realm.

But their happy days did not last. Court officials exerted pressure, and his position on the throne was unstable.

In the end, you took two consorts.

And I tasted, for the first time, the bitter ache of a night that would not end.

You went south to Jiangnan while I managed the imperial harem. When you returned to the palace, you brought three beauties with you.

The emperor and empress were no longer united. You favored your concubines and put me in my place.

That night, we lay side by side, but the bed had gone cold.

A favored concubine became pregnant and secretly plotted to use the child in her womb to frame me.

Beneath the blazing sun, I knelt outside the hall for a long time, my heart sinking into an icy pool.

The Cold Palace was silent. My family was wiped out.

That night, I set the fire and watched coldly as anguish tore through your heart.

"Shangguan Jingyue and Tantai Gong will never meet again in this life."

Later, I enjoyed the scenery of Jiangnan alone.

When I heard the current emperor was making a tour of the south, I kept well out of his way.

You stood outside a family's home, looking lost. You had the supreme throne, but no one in your harem, and your palpitations often returned.

After you left, I went home.

I never break my word. We will never meet again in this life, not in life or death.

Tantai Gong, this time too, Shangguan Jingyue will keep her word.

Theme: Even in adversity, keep your heart turned toward the light.