Spring Light

When I was Empress, my reputation was abysmal.

The Empress Dowager denounced me for being childless and jealous, while the court officials cursed me for being power-hungry and overbearing.

Even my husband, Wei Yan, wrote of me after my death:

[My only regret is our meeting; we did nothing but destroy one another.]

With those eight words, he negated our ten years of marriage and half a lifetime of entanglement.

When I opened my eyes after being reborn, it was the day of the Spring Banquet. He had just fallen into the water and was calling for help in a pathetic state.

I simply tucked my hands into my sleeves and turned away, walking step by step toward the bright spring light on the embankment.