When Ah Jiao finally awoke, Liu Che did not bring up the incident again, nor did he utter a word of reproach. He simply remained firm in his refusal to apologize to her aunt, Princess Guantao.
This tension simmered, unresolved, until the day the Wei woman gave birth.
It was a daughter.
A look of relief and joy that she could not hide spread across Guantao’s face. Ah Jiao smiled as well, relieved that it was not a prince. Yet, for reasons she could not name, a faint, inexplicable sense of disappointment stirred within her—a tiny, trace amount of letdown whose origin she could not fathom. Ah Jiao began to feel a gnawing unease.
However, that disappointment did not dissipate. Instead, it grew richer and more suffocating with the birth of every subsequent baby girl in the palace. As Liu Che grew older, the prolonged absence of an imperial heir made him increasingly irritable.
In the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, the Grand Empress Dowager passed away and was buried alongside Emperor Xiaowen at Baling.
Guantao was devastated, weeping until she fainted before the funeral bier. Ah Jiao held her mother in a daze, feeling as though the very foundations of her world had been overturned.
This was only the beginning. Without the Grand Empress Dowager to shield them, the Empress Dowager became the supreme authority in the inner palace.
One day, Wang Zhi specifically sought out a diviner to perform a reading within the palace. The results claimed that the current arrangement of the Jiaofang Hall was detrimental to the production of heirs.
Thus, Liu Ying led the Empress Dowager’s decree, marching toward the Jiaofang Hall with an air of haughty triumph. Once Ah Jiao heard the decree, she stood her ground, refusing to let anyone touch her belongings.
The ensuing commotion eventually drew Liu Che to the scene. He read the diviner’s report several times, then frowned at Ah Jiao. "Jiao Jiao, this is for the sake of the Han Empire. Step aside."
Ah Jiao looked at him in disbelief. "Many of the things in here were gifts given to me by the Grand Empress Dowager herself!"
Liu Che stood with his hands behind his back, pulling Ah Jiao to his side. "I know. We are only moving them, not throwing them away. You can find another hall to store them in. Is that not enough?"
His voice was soft, falling on her ears like the tender murmurs of a lover, yet Ah Jiao felt her heart sink to the very bottom of an abyss.
She still refused.
Liu Che tried to persuade her several more times before his patience finally snapped. "I see now—you are simply consumed by jealousy, terrified that someone else might give birth to a son." He then commanded the Grand Manager and the Supervisor of the Empress's Household to pull the Empress away, ordering the palace servants to overhaul the layout of the Jiaofang Hall.
Watching her familiar belongings being carried away one by one, seeing the place where she lived transformed into a completely alien environment, Ah Jiao felt a fire burning in her chest.
She stared at the figure chatting animatedly with the diviner and suddenly broke free from those restraining her.
Liu Che had only just heard the gasps of the attendants when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Startled, he turned to see Ah Jiao, her eyes bloodshot, wielding a heavy candlestick.
Wang Zhi rushed forward and shoved Ah Jiao aside, screaming for the imperial physicians. The Emperor clutched his shoulder, claiming he was fine, though his face was flushed red with pain.
Wang Zhi stared at her son for a moment before suddenly erupting into a torrent of abuse directed at Ah Jiao. Ah Jiao closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. When she opened them, her expression was one of pure, savage fury. "Whoever dares touch the Grand Empress Dowager’s things, I shall send them to meet her in the afterlife!"
Liu Che was shaken by the sight. He reprimanded Ah Jiao even as he ordered his carriage to be prepared.
If it could be said that a lingering sense of affection had remained between them over the past few years despite their growing coldness, it vanished that day. Liu Che stopped visiting the Jiaofang Hall entirely. He was utterly incensed by the woman who dared to defy him so brazenly and even lay hands on him.
They had argued many times over the years, but this time, Liu Che felt truly finished. Nevertheless, he did not forget to insist on the new layout for the Jiaofang Hall; he simply didn't cast out the Grand Empress Dowager’s items, choosing instead to set aside a side hall within the palace to store them.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Under Guantao’s insistent demands, Ah Jiao was forced to swallow her pride and seek out Liu Che. Before she departed, Guantao forced her to drink a bowl of medicine, claiming it would aid conception.
Her mother had said, "Jiao Jiao, you can quarrel with Ah Che, but only on the condition that you have a child!"
The medicine was incredibly bitter. The bitterness seeped into Ah Jiao’s very soul, so much so that by the time she reached the Xuanshi Hall, she couldn't even muster a half-smile.
Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other in six months, Liu Che surprisingly didn't comment on her sour expression. He ordered the Empress to stay the night. That evening, when the palace servants prepared to lead her to the side hall, her expression shifted drastically. In the end, it was Liu Che who swept her up in his arms and carried her into the main hall.
As she lay upon that bed, she began to weep uncontrollably. Her mother, the Empress Dowager, Liu Che—everyone told her she must have a child. And so, she too said she wanted a child.
The Emperor was somewhat surprised by Ah Jiao’s sudden, sobbing embrace, but he found it rather agreeable. Listening to the woman’s cries, he felt a different sort of arousal stir within him.
Yet, in the end, Ah Jiao cried herself to sleep.
Liu Che knew Ah Jiao suffered because she had no children, but he felt it wasn't his fault. It wasn't as if he never visited the Jiaofang Hall; it was simply that Ah Jiao never conceived.
The Emperor and Empress seemed to have reconciled. When the autumn hunt arrived, Liu Che went to Shanglin Park to hunt, bringing his bevy of consorts along with him.
The restored Empress drew countless inquisitive gazes, but Ah Jiao had no heart to care. She was too exhausted. Lately, she had to allow the Chief Imperial Physician and the female doctors to regulate her body every single day, eating and drinking medicine day after day.
She had almost lost her sense of taste entirely.
Wang Zhi, hearing of Ah Jiao’s return to favor, put on a show of great happiness. While chatting and laughing with Ah Jiao, she remarked to the Emperor, "The Empress’s hall is cluttered with too many miscellaneous things. Look at those little trinkets she loves to play with—knives and chisels. How can such things be conducive to nurturing one’s health and seeking a child?"
Liu Che agreed. He had never liked those things anyway. With a single decree, he forbade such items from the Jiaofang Hall. Lying on the great bed of the Jiaofang Hall, he felt quite pleased seeing the place arranged exactly to his liking.
During this autumn hunt, the Emperor was certain to take to the field, and he even permitted the consorts to try their hand. Watching the vigorous figures of the others, Ah Jiao allowed a rare smile to touch her lips. Those people on horseback looked as though they were about to fly away, far from this place. She wanted to try as well.
The Grand Charioteer quickly selected a group of sturdy yet gentle horses. Ah Jiao was about to mount with the help of her attendants when someone called out to her. She turned to see Wang Zhi approaching, surrounded by a cluster of concubines.
Wang Zhi sighed. "Empress, look at the inner palace. Who else is as playful as you?"
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ah Jiao felt a surge of resentment, yet her expression remained gentle. She replied, "His Majesty said that those who wish to try may mount a horse."
Wang Zhi sighed again. "His Majesty is a man; how could he know how delicate a woman’s body is? You have never conceived; could it not be due to your usual negligence? You have been attending the Emperor recently. Think—if you were already with child at this moment, wouldn't this ride cause you to lose it?" She sighed repeatedly, making it seem as though her daughter-in-law was utterly ignorant of her duties.
The various ladies-in-waiting all echoed the Empress Dowager’s words. Ah Jiao turned to look at her mother, her eyes full of pleading, only to see the same look of disapproval in her mother’s gaze. She felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her heart.
She felt suffocated.
Ignoring the gasps around her, she flipped herself onto the horse and prepared to gallop away. She felt that if she couldn't ride just once, she would do something even she couldn't understand.
However, she was blocked. Behind her came Wang Zhi’s stern reprimand.
Sitting atop the horse, Ah Jiao looked down from her height, yet she felt as though those people were a massive mountain pressing down on her head, making it impossible to breathe. She didn't want to be reminded of a child every single moment of her life.
Child, child—every day it was about the child. Everyone was talking about the child!
"Chen Ajiao, as the Empress of a nation, how can you be so willful? Do you not consider the great matter of the imperial succession?" Wang Zhi cried out in pained indignation.
Tears burst from her eyes as Ah Jiao let out a cold laugh. "I am not the only one in the inner palace. Have I ever stopped His Majesty from fathering children elsewhere? Is it also my fault that none of the others can produce one? Ha!"
A heavy silence fell over the crowd. Wang Zhi’s face was pale with rage, but there was someone whose expression was even more terrifying.
"Chen Ajiao!" A whip lashed out, grazing Ah Jiao’s leg and striking the horse. The sound of teeth-gritting fury made Ah Jiao’s mind go blank as the startled horse began to bolt wildly across the field.
She looked at Liu Che, whose face was twisted with rage in front of everyone. The fear in her heart slowly ebbed away, replaced by an endless, unprecedented sense of catharsis.
She laughed. "Did I say something wrong? I haven't given birth to a son, but has anyone else in the palace managed it?" That catharsis spread through her entire being, so much so that she didn't even realize she had let go of the reins.
The result was that the Empress was injured and sent back to the Weiyang Palace ahead of schedule. Ah Jiao ignored Guantao’s look of mingled fury and fear, choosing instead to stare out the window. The sky was high, and the clouds were far away.
She thought it was over between her and Liu Che. That was until Cun Mo mentioned in a letter smuggled into the palace that someone from the palace was trying to buy aphrodisiacs and "bedchamber medicines" from outside pharmacies. She didn't think much of it at first; such things had always existed in the palace, and people in Liu Che’s harem used them. Her mother had even sent her some, which remained unopened to this day.
She acknowledged the message, but Cun Mo sent another letter saying that while these things were common in the palace shadows, they were not good medicines—they would deplete a person’s lifespan and vital essence.
She clutched the letter and suffered through a night of nightmares. In her dreams, Liu Che’s body was ruined by the drugs because she had turned a blind eye, and he died prematurely. She woke up with a face full of tears and slapped herself.
She could choose not to seek out that man, but in the end, she could not let go of his safety. Early the next morning, while the sky was still grey, she ordered the Commandant of the Guards to seal the Weiyang Palace and search every hall and chamber.
The commotion was significant. Perhaps someone had been tipped off, for they found quite a lot of contraband, even on the Empress Dowager’s own niece. Wang Zhi was incensed, and she and Ah Jiao clashed once more.
Liu Che was frustrated that his inner palace could never find peace, and he was not surprised to find that Chen Ajiao was at the center of it again.
However, when Ah Jiao tearfully explained her reasons, his heart softened slightly. Since these things were harmful to the imperial person, then if Ah Jiao wanted to ban them, so be it—even if the imperial physicians hadn't diagnosed anything yet, it was better to be safe.
As for those women, Wang Zhi did not want to punish them severely, and neither did Liu Che. Ah Jiao became stubborn again; those who disregarded Ah Che’s health and cared only for his favor should not be spared. Seeing the situation reach another stalemate, Guantao, who had rushed in from outside the palace, stepped in to concede on her behalf.
That night, as Guantao had hoped, Liu Che stayed at the Jiaofang Hall. In the midst of their intimacy, Ah Jiao could not bear Liu Che’s assumption that she was merely acting out of jealousy to seek revenge, and she quarreled with the Emperor once more.
After that, the Emperor pointedly neglected her. He visited her once a month, on a fixed day that never changed. There was no anticipation, no joy, and no sorrow.
Ah Jiao thought she could accept this life. She only needed to bear one child, and then no one would pressure her like this again. Her days were calculated to coincide with her most fertile times. But in the end, she couldn't even hold onto that hope.
When she finally learned the truth, she was heartbroken—so heartbroken that she eventually listened to the words of Chu Fu. She had thought she didn't care.
Looking at her haggard reflection in the mirror, she applied powder and rouge and went to the Xuanshi Hall to obtain a lock of the Emperor’s hair.
The Emperor was quite pleased with her submissive appearance. In his drunken state, he pulled her to him to take his pleasure. She felt a surge of revulsion, but fearing she would anger Liu Che and fail to get the hair, she endured it all in silence despite her visceral discomfort.
Liu Che seemed possessed, taking her with a ferocity that suggested he was venting long-suppressed emotions. She was turned over and over by the man until both were utterly spent.
As the Emperor’s breathing became steady and deep, Ah Jiao finally released her bitten tongue. She carefully took a lock of Liu Che’s hair and tucked it into the sachet she carried.
In the morning, Liu Che woke before her. While she was still in a daze, he bit her nose playfully. When the man’s tongue brushed against her throat, her whole body trembled.
Liu Che laughed softly and pulled her into his arms once more.
As she was leaving, Liu Che instructed, "Come back tonight."
Ah Jiao clutched the pouch at her waist, not really hearing his words. She left, and only the next day did she hear that the Emperor had been angry the previous night and had favored a palace maid instead.
Liu Che’s temper was getting worse and worse, she noted, but she couldn't be bothered to care. There were already plenty of women in his harem; one more made no difference.
She never set foot in the Xuanshi Hall again, and Liu Che never returned to the Jiaofang Hall.
Until the incident of the cursed dolls came to light.
Her mother wept, saying it wasn't a curse, only a prayer to win back the Emperor’s love. But Liu Che said, "To attempt to use the power of ghosts and gods to manipulate the Emperor’s likes and dislikes—how is that any different from treason?" With that, he threw the wooden doll into the fire.
She didn't know if being deposed was a terrifying prospect. She only knew that as the flames swallowed the wooden doll, her entire world dissolved into chaos.
Everyone had told her that once she had a child, this kind of life would end. But now, even the last shred of hope was gone.
Ah Jiao covered her face and laughed. It was over. Everything had finally come to an end!
***
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The Han Dynasty Empress is a Ghost | Chapter 150 | The Empress's Despair | Novela.app | Novela.app
