The Betrayed Empress and Her Husband

Prologue

The night the Emperor married the chancellor's daughter, they all said the Empress had gone mad.

Under that hundred-year tree at Duanyang Hall, the palace maids stood in a row. Every face was tight with panic.

"Empress, come down. It is too dangerous up there!"

"Empress, the Emperor must have his bitter reasons. Hear him explain!"

I listened to the soft, sweet voices rising from below and only found them noisy.

I dug at my ear, impatient, and let out a great boast. "The Emperor's eyes have wandered.

He likes the new and tires of the old. He casts off wife and child.

Today I jump from here, hit my head, lose my memory, and forget that faithless man! "

"Empress, think thrice!"

"Empress, the Storybook is all fake. You will only end short an arm and a leg. You will not lose your memory!"

At those words I began to hesitate. A missing arm or a broken leg would not look good.

While I was still hesitating, a eunuch's cry of "The Emperor arrives" startled me. My foot slipped. I fell straight down.

In an instant a mess of voices rushed into my ears. Warm liquid ran down from my forehead. I only knew that someone gathered me up at the end. Through the blur I heard one line. "Burn every Storybook in the palace for me!"

My mind grew unclear. I leaned at the side of his neck and sank into sleep.