The Grudge of the Pepper Chamber

Emperor Liang Xian was gravely ill. Empress Zheng Miaoheng waited for news of her husband's death while dreaming of becoming the Empress Dowager and ruling from behind the curtain.

Who could have guessed that before she heard the emperor's funeral bell, she would receive an imperial edict ordering her to be buried alive with him?

How could Zheng Miaoheng accept such a fate? She raged, cursed him with every malediction she could think of, and struggled in every way, but in the end she died full of hatred.

After her death, Zheng Miaoheng was posthumously given the title "Ling," and history remembers her as Empress Ling.

"Heng" means a gathering of beauty and virtue.

How could the fate of an "Empress Ling" satisfy Zheng Miaoheng? She believed she deserved the very best the world had to offer.

[Historical RPF Divination: What Did Empress Ling Herself Think of Liang Xian?]

[Historical RPF Divination: Did Empress Ling Really Have an Affair with Zheng Shouheng?]

[Historical RPF Divination: What Did Empress Ling Think of the Xianling Ship (Liang Xian x Empress Ling)?]

What was this "Xianling" business? The Empress Ling in question, Zheng Miaoheng herself, was starting to wonder if she could manifest as a spirit.

Unwilling to be reborn, Zheng Miaoheng drifted through a long, hazy sleep. A buzzing sound seemed to fill her ears, as if people kept asking her all kinds of questions. When she woke, the world had changed beyond recognition. The interests of people in later generations were truly bizarre.

Then she looked at the discussion threads about herself on a history forum, and nearly blacked out.

[Hot take: Was Empress Ling Zheng the woman Emperor Wu of Yu loved most?]

[Definitely. Before she turned sixteen, Empress Ling was just a dancer in the Zheng household. Emperor Wu of Yu fell in love at first sight and insisted on marrying her as his princess consort, so the Zheng family adopted her as their daughter.

As soon as he ascended the throne, he made her empress. Less than two years later, she was deposed, and under pressure, Emperor Wu appointed Lady Xie, daughter of the Grand Princess Chongwen, as empress.

After defeating the Grand Princess and his uncle-king, the first thing Emperor Wu of Yu did was bring Empress Ling back to the palace and make her empress again. By ancient standards, that's definitely true love.]

[As the emperor's true love, Empress Ling really played a winning hand terribly. After returning to the palace, she was arrogant and domineering, had affairs with palace servants, and was rumored to be involved with Zheng Shouheng, her brother in name. The emperor forgave her, and yet she still tried to poison him. When she was found out, she was buried with him. I really don't understand what Emperor Wu of Yu saw in her.]

[Empress Ling and her brother were involved too? Isn't that just some unofficial history?]

[Look up the latest archaeological discoveries and you'll see it wasn't just unofficial history. All I can say is, Empress Ling had a talent for stirring up storms.]

So in later generations, not only had her real name been lost, she had also become a decorative empress who squandered a winning hand and betrayed an emperor's true love.

She had been a dancer, deposed and reinstated, and caused so much trouble in her lifetime. And all posterity cared about were the rumors of her sex life?

It seemed her life had simply been too short. She would live without being anyone's supporting character. She would be written in bold strokes in the history books, and everyone would see her first!

With that obsession in her heart, Zheng Miaoheng was reborn.

The moon is high and far away, while spouses can be both closest and most distant.

Reborn, Zheng Miaoheng once again became Liang Xian's first wife.

Fifteen-year-old Liang Xian seemed destined to fall in love with her at first sight and overcome every obstacle to make her his princess consort. But thirty-two-year-old Liang Xian would order her to die with him.

Across two lifetimes, she and Liang Xian shared a debt of gratitude for his support, as well as a deadly feud.

In her previous life, she and Liang Xian had already been "together for all their lives," and had "lived and died together."

People in later generations said she had lost to "fate."

Fate? Even if Liang Xian ordered her to die in this life, she would live. She, Zheng Miaoheng, could haunt the world as a ghost for a thousand years. Why couldn't she live to a ripe old age and enjoy a vast empire as a living person?

*

The empress was deposed and demoted to become a Taoist nun at Yaohua Abbey.

Zheng Shouheng, the Zheng family's third son, went to Yaohua Abbey to visit his adoptive younger sister, only to be struck by the madwoman's aphrodisiac incense. The lofty moon, clear as an abyss and pure as jade, was dragged into the mud by the deposed empress.

From being forced into the affair to losing himself in it with open eyes, Zheng Shouheng watched the deposed empress return from her life as a Taoist nun to the palace as empress, watched her live boldly, dazzling and domineering.

Zheng Shouheng resolved to put this power-hungry woman out of his heart for good. But when he next heard news of her, it was news of her death.

After she died, she was posthumously given the title "Ling," and her tomb was called the Ling Empress Garden. Zheng Shouheng filled the garden with her favorite peonies.

When he woke again, he was still the Zheng family's third son, and Zheng Miaoheng had become the Zheng family's adopted daughter, soon to marry the imperial grandson Liang Xian as his consort.

He had no intention of interfering in her life, but one drunken night, his feelings slipped out. He looked at her sadly. "Your Highness, my greatest regret is letting you leave Yaohua Abbey."

A reverent kiss fell between her brows, and at the same time his tears fell on her face, like rain destined to fall.

Zheng Miaoheng faltered for a moment. Zheng Shouheng caught her expression, and his heart leapt with joy. She had returned too. Perhaps this time they could still stay together.

But then he heard Zheng Miaoheng say, as if it were only natural, "Since you know you wronged me, Chancellor Zheng, you should help me secure my position as empress. I intend to become the most powerful woman of this age. No, the most powerful person!"

1. The palace intrigue is so intense because of the political rewards behind it. In this story, palace intrigue is political struggle. The heroine is a woman who dares to storm the imperial household, and her battles with the other women are all about power and position.

2. The heroine is not a good person in either her previous or current life. In her previous life, she went after everyone indiscriminately, sparing herself the anguish and inflicting it on others. In this life, she grows wild, wants everything, and is consumed by ambition. Readers who expect the heroine to be highly virtuous should look elsewhere.

3. This is not a strong-female-lead story. The characters' thoughts all bear the imprint of their era.

4. The romance is a tangled mess, a love-and-hate saga about power. Specific content warnings would involve spoilers, so this is not a complete list. If this is not for you, please drop the story.

5. This is a fictional setting. Please don't nitpick the history.

Theme: Nothing in the world belongs to me, but everything in the world can be put to use by me.