For several days, she was too frightened to sleep. She remembered the great fire in Liancheng, yet her aunt held her gently in her arms, coaxing her to sleep.
Later, her cousin became Crown Prince, and she became the Crown Princess. At that time, she was the only one in the Eastern Palace.
Her cousin treated her very well and would even let her accompany him in reviewing memorials from various regions.
Her cousin also took her out of the palace and to disaster relief efforts. It was then she realized how many people in Great Wei were suffering from hardship, unable to eat their fill or wear adequate clothing, and even resorting to cannibalism.
She learned that the prosperity of the noble clans was built upon the bones of the common people.
She told her aunt, but her aunt smiled and said that the noble clans had endured for hundreds of years because they were loved by the people.
The Central Plains had been in chaos for a century, yet in regions governed by noble clans like Liancheng, Jiangzhou, and Suzhou, the people lived in peace and prosperity. This was the achievement and glory of the noble clans.
For the imperial court to last forever and for the people to be supported, it had to govern alongside the noble families; only then could the world achieve peace.
That time, her aunt severely reprimanded her cousin, forbidding him from taking her out of the palace.
When she was applying medicine to her cousin's wounds at night, he held her hand and said, "Jiaojiao, Mother says she can help me ascend the throne, and she can also depose me."
At the time, she thought her cousin was afraid and kept comforting him. Later, she realized that in her cousin's heart, he had already completely broken ties with her aunt at that point.
Afterward, her cousin treated her even better, so much so that it made her uneasy, yet she still threw herself into it.
Later, the former Emperor passed away, and the Crown Prince ascended the throne. He was a good emperor who cared for the world and governed diligently, but he was no longer her cousin alone.
He no longer called her Jiaojiao, and she no longer called him cousin.
Besides the Empress, there were also Consort Shu, Consort Xian, Consort De, and Lady Yao in the palace... Princes were born one after another, only to die inexplicably.
Her most vivid memory was of the Fifth Prince, the child of Consort Shu.
She and Consort Shu had a very good relationship. After Consort Shu became pregnant, she spent more time in her palace than in her own.
On the day Consort Shu gave birth, she held her hand tightly. She watched her struggle to deliver the child, nearly sacrificing half her life.
In fact, she knew why Consort Shu was friendly with her and why she wanted her by her side during childbirth.
So what if it was exploitation? She only wanted to protect her child. What was wrong with that?
Such a cute child, who had just learned to walk, with so many palace maids and eunuchs around, how could he have fallen into the lotus pond in the imperial garden?
When she arrived, Consort Shu held the child, refusing to let go, no matter who tried to persuade her. The child, who had been acting spoiled in her arms that morning, had his eyes tightly closed, his face pale and ashen, and his belly distended.
Consort Shu did not cry, nor did she shed a tear. She only said, "Mother knows she cannot protect you. Mother should not have brought you into this world. Mother should not have..."
She still remembered the look in Consort Shu's eyes: despair, mockery, and boundless hatred.
She stumbled away, afraid to meet her gaze again.
That was the first time she had a huge argument with her aunt since entering the palace. She said she regretted entering the palace and regretted being born into the Wang family.
Her aunt was so angered by her that she vomited blood. She wanted to step forward, but ultimately did not.
At that time, she did not know that her aunt's time was running out. If she had known, if she had known...
She closed her eyes. If she had known, would she not have said those things?
She still would have.
She loved her aunt very much, very, very much, but she did not want to see her live like that.
Was she happy? No, her life was so bitter.
Husband and wife turned against each other, mother and son estranged, even tears were shed in silence alone.
On the night the former Emperor died, her aunt sat withered for a whole night, her hair turning white. She clearly loved the former Emperor.
They had been a couple who endured hardships together. Her aunt had once taken an arrow for the former Emperor, nearly losing her life. When her aunt was trapped in Fangcheng, her life hanging by a thread, the former Emperor, despite his own injuries, rode hundreds of miles overnight to rescue her without hesitation.
The two who had once entrusted their lives to each other had ultimately reached a point of scheming and suspicion.
Was power truly that good?