The Fake Empress: A Reign of Madness and Blood
"After the deaths of her parents, Su Qingqing, daughter of a merchant family in Great Xia, is taken in by her uncle’s household in Nanzhou Prefecture. Facing financial ruin, her uncle forces her into marriage during her mourning period to fund his son’s wedding. Fleeing the arrangement, Su Qingqing disrupts the imperial procession of Emperor Xiao He, who—moved by her plight and reminded of his beloved Shen Min’s similar hardships—grants her a token of favor, permitting her to serve in the palace after her filial mourning ends. Misinterpreting the emperor’s compassion as romantic interest, Su Qingqing storms the palace with two friends, Zhao Jiaojiao and Fang Yuanyuan, expelling court ladies, presiding over morning court from the throne, executing officials, and appointing her unqualified friends as Ministers of Revenue and War. Her reckless actions escalate: she castrates the Crown Prince of Great Liang, sabotages a diplomatic marriage alliance, and declares war on multiple nations in front of both emperors. A bedridden Emperor Xiao He watches helplessly as Su Qingqing seizes the throne, humiliates his uncle Prince Yu with the imperial disciplinary rod, and later deposes the Dowager Empress, sending her and the true empress Shen Min to a brothel. When Great Liang invades in retaliation, Su Qingqing’s disastrous ""campaign""—a lavish sightseeing tour—ends in her capture and the annihilation of 100,000 troops. To save herself, she betrays Great Xia, leading the enemy army to the capital. Only Emperor Xiao He’s last-minute recovery and heroic speech rally the people to repel the invaders. Su Qingqing is sentenced to marry a Xiongnu chieftain as punishment, while her accomplices are publicly executed. "
