In her previous life, Wei Caiwei was the second daughter of Imperial Guard He Qianhu’s family. She had a sister ten years older than her. Their mother died early, and their father, missing his wife, never remarried. With the eldest sister like a mother, she had always been cared for by her sister.
When her elder sister turned seventeen, their father He Qianhu arranged a suitable match for her—the eldest son Chen Dalang of Chen Qianhu’s family, who was also an Imperial Guard Commander.
Both were comrades and close friends who knew each other well, making this marriage arrangement natural and fitting.
The betrothal took place in the twenty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign, the Gengxu year.
On the fourteenth day of the eighth month that year, while the people of Beijing were preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival the next day, Altan Khan, leader of the Mongol Tümed tribe, suddenly invaded Daming with eighty thousand cavalry. Meeting almost no resistance along the way, they reached the capital of Daming, Beijing.
Since the last Battle of Tumu Fort against the Mongols, Daming had not fought a war for over a hundred years.
After prolonged peace, people no longer knew what war was. Beijing’s defenses were weak, with only forty thousand Imperial Guards defending the city—and most were old, weak, sick, or ghost soldiers drawing empty pay.
With enemy troops at the gates, the Imperial Guards couldn’t fight, and reinforcements from various regions would take time to reach Beijing. With Emperor Jiajing’s tacit approval, Grand Secretary Yan Song ordered the gates closed without engaging in battle, allowing the Mongol army to burn, kill, and plunder outside Beijing, even saying “Altan Khan will withdraw naturally once he’s plundered enough.”
Altan Khan plundered for half a month until Emperor Jiajing agreed to tribute and trade with the Mongols and reinforcements from various regions arrived. Only then did Altan Khan withdraw.
In just half a month, the area outside the capital was reduced to scorched earth, with two million people and livestock plundered, historically known as the “Gengxu Incident.”
Emperor Jiajing viewed the Gengxu Incident as a humiliation. Grand Secretary Yan Song deflected responsibility and found scapegoats to take the blame. Some were imprisoned, some beheaded, some had their entire families exterminated.
Among them, Wei Caiwei’s father He Qianhu was beheaded on charges of “providing false intelligence and delaying military affairs,” his family property confiscated, and his two daughters reduced to official slaves and sold.
Chen Qianhu, remembering their comradeship and in-law relationship, paid fifty taels of silver to buy the sisters and housed them in a rural estate, promising to support them for life.
Official slaves had base status, and good and base could not intermarry. The elder sister’s engagement to Chen Dalang was naturally voided.
Living under another’s roof, the elder sister had self-respect. She learned to raise chickens and weave cloth like a peasant woman, working hard to support herself and her younger sister with her own hands.
One day, former fiancé Chen Dalang came to the estate with rice, flour, grain, oil, and salt that the sisters urgently needed. His servant took Wei Caiwei by the hand to browse the market, returning only at dusk.
By then Chen Dalang had already left, and the elder sister was crouched by the river washing bed sheets.
Wei Caiwei was only seven years old, naive and innocent. She ran over excitedly, “Sister! I bought you so many delicious things! There’s tiger-eye candy—I didn’t steal even one piece and brought them all back!”
For a seven-year-old girl who hadn’t eaten sweets for half a year to resist the temptation of candy required tremendous self-control and love for her elder sister.
The elder sister held her tightly, murmuring, “I want to… leave, but if I go, what will happen to you?”
Wei Caiwei didn’t understand. “Naturally, wherever sister goes, I’ll go too.”
The elder sister said, “You don’t understand. You’re still so young—sister must protect you.”
After that, each time Chen Dalang came to the estate, his servant would take Wei Caiwei out to play until suddenly the sister began gaining weight, her belly growing larger. Chen Dalang disappeared from then on, but a matron suddenly arrived at the house, monitoring the sisters day and night and forbidding them from leaving.
One night, Wei Caiwei was awakened by her sister’s agonized screams. She ran out barefoot calling for help, “Help! My sister’s stomach hurts!”
The matron shut the doors and scolded her, “What a foolish girl. Your shameless sister seduced the young master during her mourning period, and now she’s about to give birth.”
Wei Caiwei lunged forward and knocked the matron down with her head. “Don’t scold my sister! You’re the shameless one!”
“Little slut!” The matron stood up and slapped her unconscious.
When Wei Caiwei awoke and went to find her sister, she found her lying on the bed with her large belly, the bedding soaked with fresh blood, eyes wide open, body already cold.
Wei Caiwei stood there like a wooden doll. Hearing footsteps outside, she quickly crawled under the bed to hide.
The matron said, “Young Master, please see—the slut is completely dead. As agreed, one corpse, two lives. The child cannot be born lest it pollute the Chen family bloodline. You owe me the remaining ten taels of silver.”
Former fiancé Chen Dalang’s voice rang out, “Well done. Tell others she died of consumption. The family is arranging a marriage for me. If people knew a lowly official slave carried Chen family blood, it would be troublesome.”
The matron said, “The little slut is restless. Young Master, pay a bit more and I’ll prepare a muting drug for the little slut to prevent future troubles. We’ll say she cried herself mute from grief over her sister’s death, so the little slut can’t babble nonsense later.”
“Good idea,” Chen Dalang said. “Originally I wanted to eliminate the little one today too, but father said if two died in one day, outsiders might gossip. Once the little one is muted, raise her a few more years… she’s quite a beauty in the making. She’ll surely be prettier than her sister. After I enjoy her for a few years, I’ll dispose of her then.”
Chen Dalang paid the silver and left. The matron went out to buy medicine. Wei Caiwei crawled out from under the bed, wrapped up her sister’s jewelry box, carried it on her back, and secretly slipped away.
When fortune turns, on her escape route, she was saved by a benefactor and changed her name. Originally surnamed He, the character Wei when broken down becomes “He woman ghost.”
The female ghost of the He family, to commemorate her sister who died tragically—raped and violated by Chen Dalang, and even after death bearing the shame of climbing into bed for advancement during mourning.
Caiwei came from the “Book of Songs,” Minor Elegance: “Gathering vetch, gathering vetch, the vetch is tender yet. We speak of returning, speak of returning, but the year will not end. Without house or home, because of the Xianyun. No time for rest, because of the Xianyun.”
It meant: I gather handfuls of bean sprouts, the bean sprouts have grown large, but I cannot return home because I must fight enemies, without even time to catch my breath.
Wei Caiwei hid her hatred in her name, reminding herself never to forget revenge.
In her first life’s revenge, she also killed Chen Dalang first, but then she lacked experience and was too grief-stricken and agitated. Her first attempt was full of flaws and nearly failed.
After killing Chen Dalang, to escape Chen Qianhu’s and the authorities’ investigation, she joined the palace maid selection and entered the Forbidden City.
She understood medicine and was quickly noticed by the Imperial Medical Bureau, becoming a female physician. Among the palace maids who entered with her was a thirteen-year-old girl surnamed Shang who was enthusiastic and cheerful, becoming her closest friend.
One day Emperor Jiajing was playing chimes and made an error. Everyone was too frightened to breathe, but this Shang palace maid laughed out loud with delight.
A humble palace maid dared to openly mock the emperor. Everyone, including Wei Caiwei, thought she was doomed, but Emperor Jiajing summoned her to serve him in bed. From then on she dominated the harem, receiving the title Noble Consort Shou.
When one person attains enlightenment, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Wei Caiwei became the head female official of Noble Consort Shou’s Yunde Palace, instantly becoming a favored person in the harem.
Emperor Jiajing was nearly sixty years old but still played house games with Noble Consort Shou, indulging in her “childish innocence” and innocent girlish sentiments, fulfilling all her requests.
Noble Consort Shou even whimsically wanted to play with fireworks on the bed. Despite his age, Emperor Jiajing went crazy with her, setting off fireworks within the bed curtains, resulting in burning down the entire Yunde Palace!
After burning down a palace, Emperor Jiajing favored her even more, having all ministers who called Noble Consort Shou a nation-destroying demon consort beaten with court rods, dismissing some, demoting others.
In the harem, Wei Caiwei never forgot revenge. She wanted to eliminate Chen Qianhu, but the harem couldn’t interfere in politics. She needed to borrow others’ hands.
In the harem, palace maids and eunuchs married, called “eating together.” High-ranking female officials never lacked pursuit from eunuchs, especially prominent figures like Wei Caiwei. They all wanted to curry favor with the most favored Noble Consort Shou through her, hoping to gain face before Emperor Jiajing and rise rapidly.