Her father said that for the safety of the Wang family and their descendants’ social status, the empress-to-be must practice “endurance” in everything: endure when possible, tolerate when necessary, even when it seems impossible. Endure in character, in cultivation, in preserving life.
The young girl remembered this firmly.
After Wan Zhen’er provoked the young Wang girl several times and saw her ability to survive in the margins, meekly tolerating without fighting back or spreading gossip, Wan Zhen’er retreated, no longer trying to nitpick.
Wan Zhen’er thought she was never destined to be empress, no matter how many empresses were deposed, it would never be her – because she was seventeen years older than the emperor.
But if Wan Zhen’er were only seventeen days older, how could she have accompanied the emperor through those difficult years? Because of those years, the emperor’s reward to Wan Zhen’er was unwavering love.
In the Emperor’s mind, from the first moment he was entangled with Wan Zhen’er, he regarded her as his wife, his empress. Wan Zhen’er’s happiness was his happiness, her pain was his pain, and he lived only to see her every day.
Wan Zhen’er was intelligent, charming, and warm-hearted. In the Emperor’s eyes, she was like a fully ripened grape – plump, full, crystal-clear, sparkling with an alluring radiance. All the women in the palace combined could not compare to her charm.
No one understood why the Emperor was so obsessed with Wan Zhen’er.
The Emperor did not need others to understand.
To make Wan Zhen’er happy and let the world know that she was the woman he loved, whenever the Emperor needed to attend important occasions or ceremonies that required bringing a partner, he never brought the Empress Wang, completely ignoring her existence. The one always by the Emperor’s side was Wan Zhen’er.
Wan Zhen’er enjoyed accompanying the Emperor on outings outside the palace, which felt less oppressive than the palace itself.
Every time they went out, Wan Zhen’er would wear military attire, riding a tall and magnificent white horse. She liked to protect the Emperor, clearing the way for him or riding alongside him in places with clear mountains and green waters. Those were the moments when they were both happiest.
