Everyone said Pei Yan and I were a devoted couple. Back when he was a down-and-out prince, I fought alongside him with my spear, carving a path to the throne through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. When I fell off a cliff and broke my leg, he broke one of his own ribs to set it for me. When I was poisoned by witchcraft, he gave me the blood from his heart to keep me alive. It was because he once held my hand before the beacon tower and pointed to the vast realm before us, saying, “A Yan, half this empire is yours.” So even after I became empress, I spent most of my time guarding the northern frontier and defending him against foreign enemies. But after returning from six months of fighting in the north, I found the palace attendants kneeling in terror, telling me someone else had taken my place in Kunning Palace. I smiled. Then I pointed coolly at a palace maid. “Tell Xiao Yan to come collect a corpse.” With that, I put on my armor and drew my blade, fighting my way from the gates of Kunning Palace to the woman’s bedside. Heads rolled in the corridors, and blood ran everywhere. By the time Xiao Yan hurried over with the imperial guards, I already had the woman by the hair. I raised my blade and brought it down.
