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[Essential eBook] *The Hibiscus in Full Bloom* (Complete Collector's Edition)
The Emperor's Flower Withers (Beginning) 《Beginning》A Dream of the Past
"The Beginning" - A Dream of the Past. In the winter of 516, Emperor Hongsu of Yaochen Kingdom died suddenly in the palace at the young age of twenty. The cause of death is unknown.
The sudden death of Emperor Hongsu plunged Yaochen Kingdom into chaos. The Nalan Nan tribe had always been a single-lineage clan, and Emperor Hongsu had only given birth to one daughter, Princess Nalan Fengjin, four years after his marriage.
Amidst controversy and opposition from the ministers, the only remaining bloodline of the Nalan Nan clan, the three-year-old Princess Nalan Fengjin, ascended the throne, adopting the reign title Yanzai.
In the spring of 517, Emperor Hongsu's first wife, Empress Dugu, the mother of Empress Yanzai, committed suicide in Jiaotai Hall (the palace used for Emperor Hongsu and Empress Dugu's wedding).
Yaochen 526 years extended ten years
At the age of thirteen, Empress Yeonjae married the prime minister's eighteen-year-old eldest son. With the strong support of the prime minister's faction, Empress Yeonjae assumed personal rule.
Yao Chen 531 years later, fifteen years later
Empress Yanzai was intelligent from a young age, excelling in both literary and military arts. Under the joint rule of Empress Yanzai and her empress, Yaochen Kingdom flourished, and the people deeply loved and respected this second female emperor in Yaochen's history.
That year, a giant monster appeared in Bahuang County, southwest of Yaochen Kingdom. Empress Yanzai dispatched three Yaochen generals to lead large armies to suppress it, but none of the three generals survived, and their armies were completely wiped out.
Rumors spread like wildfire that the Empress's succession to the throne was against the will of Heaven, so Heaven sent messengers to punish the people, causing widespread panic.
Empress Yeonjae intended to send out generals again, but none of the military officers were willing to go.
Empress Yeonjae was furious and wanted to personally lead the army into battle. At this moment, a sixteen-year-old, nameless general volunteered to go. Empress Yeonjae naturally refused, but the general begged for permission with his life on the line. After much deliberation, the Empress reluctantly agreed.
Three months later, the general lost 3,000 soldiers but managed to slay all the monsters.
Empress Yanzai was overjoyed and bestowed upon the nameless general the title of "General King," granting him the salary of a prince, a hereditary title.
On the day the general returned to court, the empress personally went out of the city to greet him.
Among the crowd, General Wang, dressed in a gold-embroidered military uniform, exuded confidence and youthful vigor, surrounded by flowers and a dappled horse.
The empress was captivated by his beauty and from that moment on, she could not forget the general.
One day, in the court before the assembled officials, he proposed to the emperor and empress the matter of taking a prince as his concubine.
The usually gentle and refined emperor and empress were unusually firm at this moment: they refused.
The Empress was furious and swore on the spot that if she did not make General Wang her ruler, she would sever the bloodline of the Nalan Nan tribe and never consummate her marriage with anyone. Only then did everyone realize that the Empress and Empress had not consummated their marriage in the five years since their wedding.
The emperor and empress, pale-faced and embarrassed, looked at the officials below the court, concealing their helplessness and heartbreak as they discussed the matter of the empress taking a prince as her concubine.
The young general, having gained power at a young age, should have been full of vigor and ambition. However, at the height of his power, an imperial edict shattered his dreams and life like a bolt from the blue. Filled with shame and indignation, the general wanted to resist with his life, but to protect his 110 family members and ensure their survival, he entered the palace as the king with resentment.
In the same year, General Wang Jiebing entered the palace and was granted the title of Linde Noble Lady, a position second only to the Emperor and Empress.
Knowing that Consort Linde disliked the frivolous atmosphere of the harem, the Empress built a pavilion called Taiping Pavili
……