[Three Kingdoms] The Goddess Who Dwelt in Wu

In the third year of Jiahe, she was eight. Her father drove her and her older sister out of their home, and they became street wanderers, working as servants for a merchant family. Her sister scrimped and saved to teach her a little reading and writing.

In the first year of Chiwu, she was twelve. Her father was executed for breaking the law, and she and her sister were implicated and sent to the weaving house. As it turned out, their misfortune gave them a place to stay.

In the second year of Chiwu, she was thirteen. Her beauty became famous throughout the Wu palace, and the servants called her the "Goddess."

In the third year of Chiwu, she was fourteen. She made friends through books and met a "young nobleman of the imperial clan." Using her beauty as bait, she treated him as a stepping-stone to get herself and her sister out of the weaving house.

In the fourth year of Chiwu, she was fifteen. Her beauty reached the ears of the Wu emperor, who took her as a consort. She devoted herself to serving him, only to discover that the young nobleman she'd met was none other than Crown Prince Sun Deng. She saw Lady Wang of Langya scheme against the crown prince with her own eyes. Terrified, she could not sleep night or day, but she also resolved to eliminate the Langya Wang clan.

In the fifth year of Chiwu, she was sixteen. She became pregnant, and the emperor's favor toward her grew even greater.

In the sixth year of Chiwu, she was seventeen. She dreamed that a deity bestowed a dragon's head upon her, then gave birth to the emperor's seventh son, Sun Liang. Her ambition grew by the day. She wanted her son to become crown prince, then emperor, and she wanted to become empress, then empress dowager.

In the ninth year of Chiwu, she was twenty. She heard from the palace attendants of the Wu emperor's deep devotion to Empress Bu. Knowing she could not rely on the old man, she became even more determined to seize power herself.

In the twelfth year of Chiwu, she was twenty-three. She joined forces with Princess Quan, who also detested the Langya Wang clan, and plotted to eliminate Wang and her son. "Thanks to you, the Crown Prince Xuan is dead. Today, I'll destroy your son." Thus, she brought the famous historical struggle between the two palaces, the Southern Lu factional conflict, to its climax.

In the thirteenth year of Chiwu, she was twenty-four. Crown Prince Sun He was deposed, Prince of Lu Sun Ba was ordered to die, and the appointed empress, Lady Wang, died of fear and grief. Her A Liang became crown prince. The struggle ended in a sweeping victory for her and Princess Quan.

In the fourteenth year of Chiwu, she was twenty-five. She became empress as she had wished, then asked the Wu emperor to let her sister leave the palace and marry.

In the first year of Shenfeng, she was twenty-six. She asked Sun Hong, the Secretariat Director, about Empress Lu's history of ruling as regent. When the Wu emperor learned of it, he ordered the palace maids to strangle her. Not long afterward, the Wu emperor Sun Quan died, and Crown Prince Sun Liang ascended the throne. Her wish had come true, and yet it had been shattered.

Her life, Pan Shu's, was very short: only twenty-six years. The cause of her death is uncertain. I am more inclined to believe that Sun Quan followed the example of Emperor Wu of Han and killed the mother to preserve the son. Whatever the truth, this young empress had her own charm. She had ambition and aspirations, but no political experience or support, which is a cause for regret.

Theme: Some plot details are fictional, but the story generally follows the historical record. Forgive me, history buffs.