1. Empress Teng and the “Nan Zi Rebellion”
In the Huan Kingdom, due to Emperor Yuan’s deposing of Emperor Shun and the subsequent “Nan Zi Rebellion,” many events during Emperor Wei Yu Wen Jinglun’s reign were obscured in later historical records. However, the accounts of Empress Teng were quite detailed.
It was rumored that although Emperor Yuan had deposed Emperor Shun, he greatly respected Emperor Shun’s mother, the former Empress Teng. He privately often sighed, “Although Empress Teng is from the South, she truly deserves the title ‘Mother of the Nation.'”
Empress Teng was from the Hua Dynasty, with clear and elegant features, gentle and dignified. Emperor Wei Yu Wen Jinglun, with the help of her father Teng Rui’s strategies, ascended to the throne and immediately established her as the Empress.
Empress Teng loved reading, understood etiquette, was frugal by nature, and diligent in her duties. She was insightful and often offered wise counsel. Emperor Wei, supported by Teng Rui and other Southern scholars, implemented sweeping reforms in the Huan Kingdom’s military and government. Whenever he encountered resistance and became irritable, he would visit Empress Teng’s palace. After her careful consolation, his mood would improve, leading Emperor Wei to deeply respect and love Empress Teng.
However, rumors in the palace persisted that Emperor Wei Yu Wen Jinglun’s true love was not Empress Teng, but a woman from the Yue Rong Kingdom. This woman had reportedly given birth to a son for Emperor Wei, a baby boy he had brought back from the Yue Rong Kingdom before ascending to the throne. Emperor Wei never acknowledged this, but adopted the boy, Ba Yefeng, as his son and later granted him the title of Prince Zheng.
Empress Teng dismissed such rumors with a smile. She treated her son, the children of Emperor Wei’s consorts, and the adopted son Ba Yefeng equally, personally educating them all.
Emperor Yuan, who had lost his mother at a young age, was also taken under Empress Teng’s care and raised with love. This is why, even after deposing Emperor Shun, Emperor Yuan always maintained a deep respect for Empress Teng.
In the fourth year of Guangzhai, Empress Teng fell gravely ill. On her deathbed, she held Emperor Wei’s hand and advised him not to wage unnecessary wars, saying, “The Hua Dynasty’s military is strong. The Huan Kingdom has undergone more than a decade of reforms, and the hearts of the noble tribes are unsettled. It’s unwise to invade the South. Remember this!” She also tearfully implored her father, Left Prime Minister Teng Rui, to abandon his obsession and stop persuading Emperor Wei to invade the South.
Unfortunately, Emperor Wei and Teng Rui did not heed her words. They still launched a southern invasion the following year, only to be defeated by Pei Yan once again.
Teng Rui’s old wounds reopened, and he died on the way back to the capital.
Emperor Wei, having first lost Empress Teng, then suffering the pain of defeat, and finally losing Teng Rui, was heartbroken. Upon returning to the capital, he sat before Empress Teng’s tomb for three days and nights, weeping bitterly. Stroking the tombstone, he cried, “I am ashamed for not listening to the Empress’s words. Only now do I realize that the one I truly loved was the Empress!”
From then on, Emperor Wei became melancholic and often neglected state affairs. The reforms he had implemented in the early years of his reign gradually stalled due to Teng Rui’s death.
After Emperor Wei’s death, Empress Teng’s son ascended to the throne, becoming Emperor Shun.
However, the five noble tribes of the Huan Kingdom had long harbored resentment against Emperor Wei’s Sinicization policies. In the fourth year of Daye, they convened the long-abandoned Five Tribes Alliance meeting. They accused the late Empress Teng’s eldest son, Emperor Shun of Huan, of having Southern blood, deposed him, and placed King Helan on the throne as Emperor Yuan.
After ascending to the throne, Emperor Yuan immediately abolished the various reform decrees issued during Emperor Wei’s reign.
Teng Rui’s disciples and Huan Kingdom scholars protested, leading to fierce conflicts with the Huan nobility. The scholars staged a sit-in before the imperial palace and published a manifesto denouncing Emperor Yuan’s usurpation.
Emperor Yuan ordered the five tribes to enter the capital and suppress the scholars. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the capital ran red with blood, and countless scholars were killed or injured. The deposed Emperor Shun was forced to drink poison in front of the palace gates.
This upheaval was recorded in history as the “Nan Zi Rebellion.”
Emperor Yuan’s bloody suppression finally stabilized the situation, and the Huan Kingdom once again fell under the control of the tribal nobles. However, to pacify the people, some of the laws from Emperor Wei’s era were gradually restored.
2. Ba Yefeng
Prince Zheng Ba Yefeng was the adopted son Emperor Wei brought back from the Yue Rong Kingdom. There were many rumors among the people that this child was born to Emperor Wei and a Yue Rong woman.
Ba Yefeng was later raised by Empress Teng, who treated all of Emperor Wei’s children as her own and personally educated them. However, Ba Yefeng had a natural inclination towards martial arts and found poetry and literature challenging. When Emperor Wei heard this, he laughed heartily and said, “The wild colt’s nature is yet untamed. Very well, let him be.” Empress Teng smiled and no longer forced the issue. Emperor Wei then personally taught him martial arts. Ba Yefeng showed great talent in martial studies and, coupled with his diligence, became one of the top martial artists in the Huan Kingdom by his early twenties.
As an adult, Prince Zheng was handsome and dignified, with a steady and resolute character. He excelled in both horsemanship and martial arts. Emperor Wei once patted his back and said, “This boy takes after me.” However, Ba Yefeng always maintained the utmost respect for Empress Teng, regarding her as his mother. He also had good relationships with Empress Teng’s children, especially Princess Youlan Yu Wen Hui, with whom he was closest. The siblings were inseparable, whether riding horses on the grasslands or sparring with swords. There were rumors in the palace that Emperor Wei intended to betroth Princess Youlan to Prince Zheng.
After Empress Teng’s death, Prince Zheng was inconsolable. He swore before the Empress’s spirit tablet to devote his life to protecting his younger siblings. When Princess Youlan went missing during the southern expedition, Prince Zheng was heartbroken but remained convinced that the princess was still alive. He decided to go south to search for her. From then on, Ba Yefeng traversed every mountain and river in the Hua Dynasty, searching for Princess Youlan.
Later, when Emperor Wei passed away and Emperor Shun ascended to the throne, the five great tribes of the Huan Kingdom soon rebelled. Emperor Shun was deposed, and King Helan ascended the throne as Emperor Yuan. By the time Ba Yefeng received the news and rushed back, Emperor Shun had already perished in the Nan Zi Rebellion.
Unable to arrive in time to save Emperor Shun, Ba Yefeng was filled with regret, feeling he had failed both the late emperor and empress. In his anger, he broke into the palace to assassinate Emperor Yuan. However, fearing such attempts, Emperor Yuan had already stationed many skilled fighters in the palace. Ba Yefeng, fighting alone, battled over a hundred elite guards, killing or injuring dozens. He managed to wound Emperor Yuan in the right chest with the White Deer Blade passed down from Emperor Wei, but outnumbered and severely injured, Ba Yefeng was forced to flee. From then on, his whereabouts remained unknown. Emperor Wei’s White Deer Blade also disappeared. Emperor Yuan was left with a chronic chest condition from the injury.
Years later, on the grasslands bordering the Yue Rong Kingdom and the Huan Kingdom, a group of bandits appeared who came and went like the wind. They were elusive, repeatedly raiding Huan Kingdom military supply lines but never harming passing merchants. Huan Kingdom troops attempted to encircle and eliminate them several times but were always defeated. The leader of these bandits was a masked figure wielding a large blade, possessing the valor of ten thousand men. The local people said it was Emperor Wei’s White Deer Blade.
3. Princess Youlan
Empress Teng had one son and one daughter. The son later became Emperor Shun of Huan and died in the “Nan Zi Rebellion.” However, regarding her daughter, historical records merely state: “Princess Youlan, aged seventeen, deceased.”
There were many folktales about Princess Youlan in the Huan Kingdom. It was said that when she was born, the palace was filled with a delicate fragrance, so Emperor Wei named her “Princess Youlan” (Secluded Orchid).
Princess Youlan loved martial arts and had an open-minded personality. From a young age, she studied under Yi Hanmen, the master of Yipin Hall, and learned excellent swordsmanship. Her horsemanship was particularly outstanding, surpassing her brothers and rivaling Prince Zheng Ba Yefeng.
After Empress Teng’s death, when Emperor Wei led a large army south, Princess Youlan accompanied the troops. Her original intention seemed to be to broaden her horizons and see the South that her mother had always spoken of. But according to her personal maid’s later recollections, during the southern expedition, Princess Youlan witnessed many tragic scenes of war and repeatedly advised Emperor Wei to cease hostilities. However, neither Emperor Wei nor Teng Rui changed their minds.
In the Battle of Cheng Prefecture, Prince Zheng fell into Frost Moon General Xiao Yao’s trap and was surrounded by the Wild Boar Forest. Princess Youlan led troops to rescue him and fought fiercely with Xiao Yao for hundreds of rounds. She was lured into the dense forest by Xiao Yao but, fortunately, her familiarity with celestial navigation allowed her to escape safely and return to the army alone.
In the Battle of Qilin Valley, Teng Rui employed a clever strategy to lure Xiao Yao into the valley. Princess Youlan, following Teng Rui’s orders, guarded Yue Ma Rapids. When Xiao Yao escaped to the rapids, Princess Youlan shot him with an arrow, causing him to fall into the swift current. However, Princess Youlan was also caught by a rope Xiao Yao had thrown and fell into the deep gorge.
Xiao Yao later escaped and returned to the Chang Feng Cavalry, but Princess Youlan vanished without a trace, never to be seen in the world again.
Upon learning of his beloved daughter’s misfortune, Emperor Wei wept uncontrollably. Teng Rui also shed tears of sorrow, which triggered his old illness, ultimately leading to his death on the journey back to the kingdom.
After the Huan army’s defeat and return to the kingdom, Emperor Wei attempted to make peace with the Hua Dynasty. He wrote a letter imploring the Loyal and Filial King Pei Yan of Hua to help search for his beloved daughter’s remains. Pei Yan did send people to search around Yue Ma Rapids, but to no avail.
Thus, a generation’s secluded orchid eternally rested in a foreign land.