The Record of Burning Pepper

Empress Xiao Guanyin, the wife of Emperor Daozong of Liao, tried to win back the emperor’s heart with her poem “Song of the Returning Heart.” But a powerful minister framed her for “having an affair with an actor,” using the forged “Ten Fragrances Song” as evidence. The three characters “Zhao Weiyi,” supposedly hidden in her poem “Remembering the Past,” became irrefutable proof. The talented empress was condemned to death despite her innocence. Crown Prince Yelü Jun was murdered soon afterward. After her grandson, Emperor Tianzuo, took the throne, he had Yelü Yixin’s corpse mutilated, but by then it was all too late.