In the Huachang Kingdom, unlike previous dynasties, two empresses were simultaneously enthroned.
The first empress was the principal wife from her ancestral estate, and the second was from a family with substantial influence within the imperial court. It was rumored that the late emperor, after much deliberation and to secure his son's reign, had agreed to the ministers' proposal of having two empresses.
Alternatively, he could have deposed the principal wife and elevated the woman with stronger political backing. This would have provided support for the new emperor after his death.
However, Emperor Huachang refused to adopt the policy of two empresses, unwilling to part with his principal wife upon his ascension.
Only at the moment the late emperor drew his last breath did he alter the former emperor's decree, stripping the empress who interfered in state affairs of her title and demoting her to Consort Chang. From then on, Consort Chang remained only a consort until her death.
Emperor Huachang used a character from the kingdom's name, "Chang," as her title, seemingly bestowing great honor upon Consort Chang. In reality, it was to silence the public outcry against defying the late emperor's posthumous decree.
This book recounts the life of Consort Chang.
She hailed from a distinguished military family, a daughter of a general's household. At that time, General Meng Lie, who had swept across four kingdoms and pacified them, was her own brother.
Her younger brother, Meng Jie, commanded eighty million troops in the northern deserts, conquering the Xiongnu.
Their father was a founding general of the previous dynasty. The Meng family held considerable sway in court, controlling more than half of the imperial military power and having rendered invaluable services to the late emperor.
Consort Chang was not only proficient in military strategy and skilled in martial arts but had also been immersed in the management of state affairs and governance from a young age.
Upon her ascension, she proposed reform policies that dismantled the absolute control of regional officials. Every prefect was required to submit their proposals for approval.
Numerous local grievances and issues concerning the populace, both large and small, could reach the imperial court directly.
However, some censors interpreted this as the empress attempting to expand her family's influence and monopolize power, thereby interfering with imperial authority.
Three years after Emperor Huachang, swayed by these accusations, relegated the Regent Consort to the cold palace, a border uprising forced him to recall her.
This allowed the Meng family to fight his battles without reservation.
Three years later, after the two Meng generals had led their troops to pacify the four directions, Emperor Huachang felt their influence was still too great to ignore and too valuable to discard. He therefore devised various excuses, fabricating charges, and placed Consort Chang under house arrest.
Over a span of fifteen years, Consort Chang penned five hundred strategies of military tactics during her confinement.
Later, the emperor, using numerous pretexts, had the Meng brothers, who had rendered great service, torn apart by five horses, the reason being that the Meng family's power had become too formidable.
Feeling a pang of guilt, he visited the Chuyang Palace to appease Consort Chang. After fifteen years, he deigned to visit her.
Consort Chang subsequently became pregnant. During her pregnancy, she meticulously revised this collection of military strategies for the twentieth time. It was only as her due date approached that she learned Emperor Huachang had ruthlessly eliminated her entire Meng family.
Consort Chang, confined and consumed by rage, vomited blood and went into premature labor.
After giving birth, she knew her heart had died. She personally strangled her own child and then took her own life. She only managed to dispatch her loyal personal maid, Ning'er, to carry this book out.
A Jiu gasped, her breath catching. Strangled her own child? How desperate must a mother have been at that moment.
Thus, the glorious legacy of a heroic woman and her family tragically ended.
A Jiu collected herself and continued reading, growing increasingly astonished. Consort Chang's military strategies, her grasp of the political landscape, and her deductive reasoning were remarkable.
Especially her mastery of stratagems: stratagem within stratagem, double deception, deception within deception, and stratagem within stratagem within stratagem—this was truly unfathomable.
She finished the book unconsciously. Looking up, she saw the sky outside had turned white.
The last page bore a single line: Those who do much injustice will surely perish.
A Jiu suddenly felt a profound understanding. This line seemed to be addressed to A Jiu, and also to Consort Chang herself.
In turbulent times, one should not stand out; in times of peace, one should hide among the populace. It seemed that during her confinement, she had desperately wished she were not born into the Meng family, but rather an ordinary woman of the common folk.
A Jiu closed the book and carefully placed it back on the bookshelf, her heart filled with reverence for Consort Chang.
Impulsively today, she had used the spiritual spring water to wipe down the bookshelf.
It now looked significantly more polished.
Indeed, this mistress of the house truly loved books. They spanned everything from ancient and modern foreign curiosities and heresies to etiquette and military strategy.
There were even bamboo slips inscribed with seal script, and piles of ink brushes.
She was a young woman of great learning, so why had she been content to become a concubine to the Gao family's prefect?
A Jiu could almost imagine her presence in every corner of the room. Unable to leave, and with nothing to do while waiting for the man's favor, her despair had deepened, hence her vast collection of books to pass the time.
A Jiu sighed and returned to her room to catch up on sleep. Upon entering, she noticed a piece of paper on the dressing table.
Curious, A Jiu opened it. The handwriting was familiar; it was Xue Zhen's.
The bold, flowing strokes exuded an unrestrained pride and a spirit of carefree elegance amidst the turbulent ups and downs of life.
Upon reading it, A Jiu's eyes lit up. She hurried out, "Zhao Kun, quickly take me to Tuoba Yan."