Having served as the mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion for many years, Queen Guo thought that Cao Pi's obsession with her was just the noble prince's whim. He declared his possession when he was drunk, and threw the jade cup angrily because she looked at others too much, but he was indifferent when she obeyed, as if he only enjoyed the process of "taming".
When her 19-year-old brother Guo Bin was arrested for being involved in a "scholar slander case", even though he was just a bystander at the banquet, he was still convicted of a felony by the school affairs office. She bribed the jailer to see her brother, but was unable to save him. The Yangdan family, who took in the Guo family's sisters and brothers since childhood, although they came from a clean background, had no authority and were helpless. In desperation, she broke into Cao Pi's study and asked for help.
Cao Pi already knew that Leng Yan's case was so involved that saving people would be like going against the will of heaven. Queen Guo fell to the ground and begged, willing to sacrifice her life in exchange for the pity of the Fourth Young Master. "Cao Pi stroked his lips and stared: "I want you to look at me and say - 'Guo Zhaojue will never leave Cao Zihuan in this life'. "
She finally understood that this was not a game, but a transaction of freedom in exchange for family affection. Trembling, she must make a choice: her brother's life, or lifelong bondage?
Purpose: To criticize the simplification of women's fate in historical writing and to expose the buried individual struggles.