Unlike Madam Zhu, when Grandmother spoke these words, her tone sounded no different from usual, and she showed no signs of the expected excitement.

If there was anything different from the norm, it was the glimmer of pride that Xiao Qiao noticed in her single eye.

These heroes and ambitious figures shaped this chaotic era, and in turn, this era forged new heroes and ambitious figures.

Wei Shao’s grandmother indeed had reason to be proud, Xiao Qiao thought to herself. Having a grandson like Wei Shao, who had become a regional hegemon at the tender age of twenty, was no small feat. Moreover, he had now captured Jinyang. From a military perspective, Jinyang was far more than just a city. Its incorporation into Wei Shao’s domain meant more than just truly unifying the North and becoming the undisputed Northern hegemon. Most importantly, he had acquired this precious land known as the granary of the world.

Having a guaranteed supply of ample provisions was the greatest assurance for future designs on the Central Plains. The Chen clan, father and son, had possessed this treasure but ended up paving the way for others. They could only blame their incompetence.

The future that had haunted her like a nightmare since the day she arrived in this world was unfolding step by step along its predetermined path, with the appearance of the woman named Su E’huang and Wei Shao’s steps towards unifying the North.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, her husband, Wei Shao, should eventually ascend to the throne.

This conclusion wasn’t based solely on her nightmare or some mystical notion of the Mandate of Heaven. Since coming to the Wei family, she had personally witnessed in Wei Shao the man’s burning ambition, abundant energy, unrivaled self-confidence, and relentless advancement.

For such a man to emerge victorious in the chaos of this era’s alliances and conflicts was no mere coincidence.

Therefore, Xiao Qiao couldn’t help but feel increasingly doubtful. In this life, Wei Shao’s wife was no longer Da Qiao. With the wife changed, would the Su woman, who had finally appeared before her during this trip to Zhongshan, still follow the trajectory of her previous life as Xiao Qiao knew it? Would she eventually stand beside him as the founding empress of this beautiful land?

All her knowledge of the previous life abruptly ended with Wei Shao’s ascension to the throne, Da Qiao’s suicide, Su’s enthronement as empress, and the fall of Liu Yan’s city.

She suddenly wanted to know if, in the previous life, after Wei Shao had achieved his desire to become emperor, married his love, and finally destroyed the Qiao family he hated so deeply, would there be even a shred of pity or guilt in his iron heart when he occasionally thought of that poor woman he had neglected all her life and who couldn’t even be buried in the Wei family mausoleum after death?

What would his final fate be?

…

(Previous life.)

Three months ago, Wei Shao’s army had stormed into Luoyang and forced its way into the imperial palace through the Vermilion Bird Gate. Xing Xun, who had previously deposed the last Han emperor and declared himself emperor, found himself surrounded with nowhere to escape. He ultimately self-immolated in the Northern Palace.

The great fire in the Northern Palace burned for three days and nights before it was finally extinguished.

Half a month later, Wei Shao performed sacrifices in the northern suburbs, reported to Heaven, and then ascended the throne in the Thousand Autumns, Ten Thousand Years Hall, establishing the dynasty of “Yan.”

That year, he was just over thirty years old, becoming the new master of Luoyang, the imperial capital with a population of a million.

He established ancestral temples and altars of soil and grain, set up ministries and departments, rewarded merits, and punished crimes, but the position of empress remained vacant.

In his current harem, there were two women.

One was Da Qiao, his principal wife whom he had married ten years ago.

The other was Su, his favored concubine who had been by his side for many years.

He had unified the North years ago, and now the warlords of the Central Plains, including Luoyang, had all been conquered. The few remaining stragglers were merely struggling to survive and posed no threat, so he paid them no mind.

The only territory that caught his eye but wasn’t yet in his grasp was Yong.

Two years ago, to resist Xing Xun’s usurpation, some officials loyal to the Han house welcomed the original Prince of Langya, Liu Yan, to Yong and established a small Han court there, with Yong as its capital.

Once he took down this small court in Yong, the entire world would be in Wei Shao’s hands.

Just days after Wei Shao had stormed into Luoyang and Xing Xun had self-immolated, envoys had brought an edict from the small court, appointing him as Grand Chancellor and Grand Marshal, inviting him to Yong to escort the emperor back to Luoyang and to serve Liu Yan as the rightful emperor of the world.

Wei Shao had laughed heartily at the time, his contempt and arrogance evident to all.

He said, “To refuse Heaven’s gift is to invite calamity.”

Half a month later, he launched an attack on the small court.

Before setting out, he still hadn’t made Da Qiao empress, nor had he elevated Su, whom he had favored for many years, to that position as some had speculated.

He did only one thing. He bestowed the title of Madam on Su.

This was the highest rank for imperial consorts below the empress in the harem.

Then he left Luoyang to personally lead the campaign against Yong.

The day after he left, Su E’huang came to the Chongde Hall in the Northern Palace.

…

The imperial palace of Luoyang was magnificent and grand, divided into southern and northern courts. The Southern Court was where the emperor held audiences and discussed state affairs, while the Northern Court housed the living quarters of the emperor and his consorts.

The great fire set by Xing Xun half a month ago had destroyed most of the palaces in the Northern Court, leaving only a few remaining structures. Eager to eliminate the small court, Wei Shao hadn’t immediately ordered repairs, only commanding that the few surviving palace rooms be cleaned up for temporary use.

Su E’huang resided in the most splendid Yanxiu Hall, while the surviving consorts and palace maids from Xing Xun’s and the former Han emperor’s harems were all housed in the Zengxi Temple to the east. Da Qiao was placed in the most remote Chongde Hall.

She had been ill for a long time. Only an old woman attended to her, serving her medicine and meals.

Long ago, before she was married, back in her hometown in the Eastern Commandery, she and her younger sister Xiao Qiao were known as the “Two Qiaos” for their beauty.

Now she was twenty-five or twenty-six, an age when a woman should be in the prime of her life, radiating charm. But she had wasted away to skin and bones. The hand resting on the bed was so thin that one could see the blue veins beneath the skin, like a spider’s web. Only when she opened her eyes could one faintly discern a trace of the beauty she once was in the light of those eyes?

Da Qiao felt very thirsty. She had been thirsty for a long time. She knew that the old woman was unwilling to serve her, and she had tried to struggle out of bed earlier to pour water for herself. But she simply couldn’t get up. It was as if every ounce of strength had left her body bit by bit.

She called out to the old woman again in a weak voice. The old woman finally walked in, her footsteps making a harsh pattering sound on the polished brick floor.

The old woman poured a cup of already cold water and brought it to the bedside, roughly setting the cup down on the edge of the bed.

Half the water spilled out, wetting the bedding.

“I’m busy brewing your medicine! Unless it’s urgent, it’s best not to call so often.”

The old woman grumbled and turned to leave.

This woman assigned to serve her might nominally be the principal wife of the Yan Emperor, but everyone knew that the emperor had never once visited her.

They whispered among themselves that not only did the emperor never look at her, but in all these years, he had never even touched her with a finger.

For a woman to be reduced to such a state, even living was a kind of shame.

Da Qiao struggled to slowly sit up.

She was so thin that even this simple act of sitting up made her feel the pain of her bones pressing against her skin.

As she reached out to take the cup of water she had finally managed to summon, she suddenly felt as if the room brightened. The dim, lightless chamber seemed to be suddenly illuminated.

It was a woman walking towards her bed.

The woman was over thirty, but extremely well-maintained, her skin glowing and full, forming a stark contrast with Da Qiao on the bed. Her hair was styled in an intricate and exquisite nine-ring welcoming immortal bun, adorned with clear, bright phoenix head ornaments. The glass beads hanging from the phoenix’s mouth made a soft, pleasant tinkling sound as she walked.

This hairstyle alone would have required two maids to spend half an hour styling it. She wore a magnificent purple dress made of kesi silk, embroidered with hundreds of flowers and phoenixes. This type of kesi brocade, with its complex patterns, was now extremely precious – twenty skilled weavers could only produce one bolt in a year. Men of status usually only used it for belt decorations.

Yet she had used it for an entire dress. The embroidered shoes on her feet had three-inch high soles, with gold thread woven into the sides. The shoe uppers were covered in identical large pearls, and at the tip of each shoe was an exquisite gold and jade butterfly. As she walked, the butterfly wings seemed to flutter slightly, captivating the eye.

This was Lady Su, Wei Shao’s favored concubine, now the highest-ranking lady in the harem, and for many years, the only woman on Wei Shao’s side.

Seeing Lady Su, the old woman’s face immediately showed a fawning expression as she knelt and kowtowed.

Su E’huang told the old woman to leave. The old woman retreated, leaving only Da Qiao and Su E’huang in the room.

Su E’huang walked to the bedside, sat down, and personally lifted the cup of cold water to Da Qiao’s lips, smiling as she said, “I heard you were quite ill. With His Majesty away conquering Yong, we sisters should look out for each other. I’ve come to see you.”

Da Qiao remained motionless.

Su E’huang glanced at her cracked lips and frowned slightly.

Though well-preserved for a woman in her thirties, this unconscious small gesture still caused several fine lines of varying lengths to appear between her brows and at the corners of her eyes.

She said, “These insolent servants, how dare they serve you like this! To bring such cold water for you to drink in winter!” With that, she threw the cup. The bamboo-carved cup clattered oddly as it rolled across the floor, leaving a puddle of water on the blue brick floor.

Da Qiao still didn’t move.

Su E’huang studied Da Qiao for a moment. “Before His Majesty left the capital, he bestowed upon me the title of Madam. You must know this, right?”

Of course, Da Qiao didn’t know. No one had told her. Nor did she care about such things.

“His Majesty should have done one more thing. He should have made you Empress. But he didn’t. Of course, His Majesty could never make you Empress. But as long as you live, I can’t become His Majesty’s Empress either.”

Finally, she sighed and looked at Da Qiao with a gaze of pity and sympathy. “So, I don’t understand. Having reached this state, why do you still cling to life, refusing to die?”

…

Indeed, why still cling to life, refusing to die?

Da Qiao asked herself this question.

Perhaps what kept her alive at this point was just the lingering moonlight from the back garden of her home in the Eastern Commandery, and the image of the green-eyed man watching her leave under that moonlight.

…

Seeing that Da Qiao didn’t respond, Su E’huang stared at her.

“Lady Qiao,” she said in a casual tone, “in this world, everyone has something they want. Men seek high office and rich rewards, to bring glory to their ancestors. Women seek to be honored as wives of noble husbands, or at the very least, to win one man’s heart and marry a suitable husband. But I suspect you don’t know that in this world, nothing comes easily. Even if heaven bestows a gift, one must reach out and take it. I know you must hate me deeply, but you don’t know that everything I have today didn’t come easily.”

Her red lips slowly curved into a smile, followed by a soft sigh that seemed tinged with self-pity.

“I never thought I’d have the chance to say these things to anyone in my lifetime,” she said. “But for some reason, I suddenly want to tell you now.”

She fell silent for a moment as if lost in memories of the past.

“I was born into the Marquis of Zhongshan’s family and knew His Majesty since childhood. I’m two years older than him. By the time I was fourteen, I had already decided in my heart that he would be my husband one day. But fate had other plans. The Wei family fell on hard times, and when I was seventeen, my parents arranged for me to marry Liu Li instead. Naturally, I was reluctant. But I also knew that even if I defied my parents’ wishes and His Majesty was willing to marry me, the Wei family wouldn’t accept me because I wasn’t favored by His Majesty’s grandmother, whom he deeply respected and loved…”

At the mention of “His Majesty’s grandmother,” a strange, disgusted expression briefly flashed across her lips before disappearing.

“After weighing my options, I obeyed my parents and married Liu Li. I endured that incompetent Liu man for nearly ten years. In the end, not only did he fail to ascend the throne, but he died a coward’s death. When I became a young widow, that old lecher Xing Xun, who had taken control of Luoyang, coveted my beauty and wanted to take me as his wife. How could I submit to him? I returned to the state of Zhongshan, and after much difficulty, I finally saw His Majesty again…”

She fixed her gaze on Da Qiao. “When we met, His Majesty was surprised and asked why my voice had been ruined. I told him that I knew he loved my singing voice, so before I married, I had poisoned it myself. Even if I couldn’t keep my body for His Majesty, I could at least preserve my voice for him. His Majesty was moved at that moment. What he didn’t know was that my throat had been damaged by accidentally taking the wrong medicine when I was ill…”

“Lady Qiao, from that moment on, I knew I had rekindled His Majesty’s old feelings. When His Majesty married you at twenty-two, there were no other concubines in his chambers. Do you know why? Because years ago, I had joked with him, asking why men could have multiple wives and concubines even after finding their true love, while women had to remain faithful to their husbands. We had been apart for many years, yet why did he abstain from women? It must have been because he remembered my casual words from back then, and thus viewed all other women as worthless…”

Su E’huang laughed a hint of smugness in her eyes.

“Even though we parted ways years ago, what of it? He was just a young man then. The things I, his elder sister by two years, left in his heart, he could never forget in his lifetime. Moreover, when he was seriously injured back then, and his mother fell ill, I stayed with the Wei family for half a year, tirelessly caring for both mother and son every day. With such a bond, even if I committed a great wrong, he couldn’t bring himself to treat me harshly.”

Da Qiao stared at her blankly.

Su E’huang’s gaze gradually turned cold.

“Lady Qiao, your fate is indeed pitiful. Seeing your current state, I originally didn’t want to do anything to you. But unfortunately, if you don’t die, I fear His Majesty’s position of Empress will remain vacant. It’s not that I lack patience and can’t wait a while longer. But do you know that with the Empress position vacant, my being named Madam is a kind of humiliation? I’ve gone to great lengths to reach where I am today. What have you done, other than occupy the position of His Majesty’s principal wife for ten years, merely because you’re the daughter of the Wei family’s enemy? It’s only because you were the one His Majesty’s grandmother chose for him! Only when you die will His Majesty make me Empress.”

“So, why do you still refuse to die?”

Finally, she stood up, looking down at Da Qiao with cold eyes, and slowly repeated her question one last time.