The First Lady

The former Imperial Preceptor once said that Hua Zhuyu, daughter of the Duke of Wu, was born destined to be empress. No one ever questioned his pronouncement.

But the emperor’s only two sons died one after another, and by the time Hua Zhuyu turned fourteen, there was still no good news from the palace.

People began to doubt the Imperial Preceptor’s prediction. Could he have been wrong? Was Hua Zhuyu really a cursed star destined to bring death to princes?

Eligible men in the capital were terrified at the mere mention of her. Every man avoided her as if she were a plague.

Her parents hated her for bringing shame upon the family and bad luck to the clan, and repeatedly abused and scolded her.

Her brothers and sisters from the other branches of the family tried to steal her place, using every despicable trick and scheme against her, hoping she would die as soon as possible.

Even the top scholar, whom she had loved with all her heart, fell for someone else and left her in a very public manner.

At last, she could no longer endure the cruelty of the world and dashed her head against a wall...

When she miraculously survived and opened her eyes again, she burst out laughing. It was good to be alive. Everyone in this world wanted her dead, whatever their reasons. Well, here she was, standing beneath the bright sky in broad daylight. Let every demon and monster come try to tear out her tendons, eat her flesh, and drink her blood!

Before, I gave you a lifetime of sweetness, and you fed me a bowl of poison.

From now on, if you feed me a bowl of poison, I’ll give you a riot of color and a world in full bloom!

[Comedic Excerpt]

Hua Zhuyu jumped down from the roof beam and accidentally landed on some kind of flower. The flowery young man clutched his chest and cried out. “Who are you?”

Hua Zhuyu looked around impatiently. “A gentleman on the roof.”

“But you seem to be a woman.”

“What’s it to you?”

The flowery young man choked. After finally scrambling out from under her, he asked curiously, “What are you looking for, glancing around like that? Maybe I can help.”

“You can?” Hua Zhuyu turned and looked him up and down. What a handsome fellow. She decided to mess with him. “I’m looking for a charlatan.”

The flowery young man didn’t seem to notice. He asked foolishly, “What’s a charlatan?”

Hua Zhuyu smiled faintly. “A charlatan isn’t a thing. He’s our famous Imperial Preceptor of Great Tang.”

The flowery young man drew out a long “Oh.” “So the Imperial Preceptor is a charlatan, and not a thing either... I just saw him pretending to perform magic in the ritual chamber over there. Why don’t you look for him there?”

Hua Zhuyu said and did nothing.

The flowery young man helpfully added, “Even though the Imperial Preceptor is a charlatan, he seems to have some abilities. So before you get close to him, you’d better keep playing the gentleman on the roof, or something might happen.”

“You sure know a lot about him.” Hua Zhuyu circled him. “But why does your warning make you sound so devious?”

The flowery young man looked innocent. “I’m a good person.”

Hua Zhuyu sneered, then suddenly chopped him down with the edge of her hand. She strode confidently across the ground toward the ritual chamber, where incense smoke curled into the air. But the instant she stepped onto the stone stairs, the ground suddenly gave way beneath her. She jolted and twisted her body to leap clear, but before she could get far, a black rope sprang from the pit and coiled around her feet like a living snake.

The flowery young man, who should have been lying unconscious, strolled over and elegantly used the rope to tie her up.

“Who are you, really?”

“A charlatan.”

Hua Zhuyu was stunned. Once she recovered, she asked, “How did you know I’d go by the ground?”

“Your eyes tell me you’re naturally suspicious. Even if I were kind, you’d still doubt me. So even if I told you the truth, you’d still be suspicious.”

Hua Zhuyu nearly spat blood. He called that being kind? He really was a charlatan, no doubt about it.