Love in the Great Qin

She was the most honored and respected woman in Great Qin. Her husband was its first king, and her son was the longest-reigning king in its history. She was the first empress dowager in Chinese history to receive a posthumous title: Empress Dowager Xuan. She held the reins of power for more than forty years, appointed trusted aides, and never let the government descend into chaos. To consolidate the king’s authority, she killed her own kin with her hands, staining the land with blood. She devoted her entire life to Great Qin’s bright moon, all for a promise she had once made to her husband. Yet the emperor who had lavished her with boundless affection broke his oath for the sake of Great Qin’s eternal stability, and once tried to kill her with his own hands. Who truly loved her? And where was her love? In her later years, secluded deep within the palace, she looked back on her tumultuous life and wondered how wonderful it would have been if she had married that graceful young man whose writing was so dazzling.