Summary
When Wei Xun was fighting for control of the realm, he married me to win the support of the great clans.
For seven years, I was his wife.
I managed his household and won people to his cause.
Only after he became emperor did I learn that he already had a wife.
She had stepped aside for me and endured years of war and hardship that had left her sickly.
Wei Xun felt he owed her.
“The position of empress is hers by right.”
I endured it all until grief wore me down and I died.
Then I woke on the day Marquis Wei came to ask for my hand.
With every courtesy observed and all our guests looking on, I said quietly,
“I won’t marry him.”