Tang Ji felt as though she had wandered through a long, disjointed dream.
At first, everything swayed gently—like drifting on a boat.Then came a rumbling, as if she were riding in a carriage.After that, the motion returned, unsteady and uneven.
Then—stillness.
But the stillness did not bring peace.
It felt as though she had been thrown into a furnace. Flames scorched her body, searing and unbearable. Just as the pain peaked, it shifted—she seemed to fall into an icy abyss, her entire body freezing.
Heat and cold alternated again and again, endlessly tormenting her.
Finally… it faded.
"Mm…"
Tang Ji slowly opened her eyes.
"You're awake!"
A wrinkled, smiling face—like a blooming chrysanthemum—filled her vision.
"Ah!"
She screamed and sat upright instantly, her heart pounding. Her body trembled, weak and unsteady, as she instinctively clutched the blanket to her chest.
"Madam, don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!" the old man hurriedly said. "It's me! Don't you recognize me?"
Tang Ji stared at him, breathing rapidly.
"Madam… Madam…"
The man kept repeating himself, even referring to himself as "this servant."
That word made her pause.
Looking closer, the face did seem familiar.
"You are… Zhang Changshi?" she asked hesitantly.
"Hehe—yes, yes!" Zhang Rang beamed with relief.
But Tang Ji's gaze shifted to his beard. "Why do you have a beard?"
"Fake."
With a quick motion, Zhang Rang tore it off.
Only then did Tang Ji relax slightly.
"Where… is this?" she asked.
"Qingzhou," Zhang Rang replied.
"Qingzhou?" She was stunned. "After the late emperor's death, you vanished. How did you end up here?"
Zhang Rang looked embarrassed.
How could he explain everything in a few words?
"Madam, please wait. I'll fetch General Wei at once!"
Without another word, he hurried out.
"General Wei?"
Curiosity flickered in Tang Ji's eyes.
She had heard of this man—Zhang Xin. Months ago, he had been granted the title of General of the Guards and Marquis of Ten Thousand Households. She had witnessed the decree herself.
Soon, Zhang Rang returned—bringing with him two young men and an older one nearing fifty.
Tang Ji glanced up.
She ignored the elder instinctively. She knew Zhang Xin was young.
Of the two younger men, she recognized one—Zhao Yun.
Then the other stepped forward and bowed.
"Your servant, Zhang Xin, greets Madam."
Tang Ji frowned slightly at his wording.
Zhang Rang quickly reminded him, "Lord Xuanwei, Lady Tang is the Emperor's principal consort. You should address yourself properly."
Zhang Xin sighed softly.
"That… is no longer appropriate."
He continued calmly, "News has come from Luoyang. On the first day of the ninth month, Dong Zhuo, in collusion with the Yuan clan, deposed the emperor—demoting him to Prince of Hongnong—and installed the Prince of Chenliu as the new emperor, changing the era to Yonghan."
"Madam… you are now the Princess Consort of Hongnong. How can I call myself your subject?"
"Wh—what?!"
Zhang Rang was both shocked and furious.
The throne had changed hands—but at the hands of Dong Zhuo?
Impossible!
Tang Ji's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That can't be true! Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has committed no wrongdoing. The Empress Dowager is his birth mother—how could he be deposed?!"
"Please read this, Madam."
Zhang Xin handed her a letter.
Her hands trembled as she took it.
It was from Tian Kai.
The letter detailed everything.
After Yuan Shao's rebellion, chaos engulfed Luoyang through the night.
At dawn, Min Gong escorted Liu Bian back—but at the foot of Beimang Mountain, they encountered Dong Zhuo's army.
From that moment, everything changed.
Dong Zhuo entered the city alongside them.
Liu Bian, upon returning, renamed the era in hopes of restoring order—but it was already too late.
Yuan Shao secretly approached Dong Zhuo, proposing the unthinkable:
Depose the emperor. Install Liu Xie.
Only by doing so could he erase the stain of rebellion.
Dong Zhuo agreed without hesitation.
When he had first encountered the imperial brothers, Liu Bian had been terrified and incoherent—while Liu Xie, though younger, spoke clearly and calmly.
Dong Zhuo favored him immediately.
Moreover, Liu Xie had been raised by Empress Dowager Dong—and Dong Zhuo, sharing the same surname, felt an inexplicable affinity.
But more than that—
He had come to Luoyang for power.
To control the court, he needed prestige.
And nothing brought greater prestige than deposing and enthroning emperors.
Thus, the two sides aligned perfectly.
Dong Zhuo moved swiftly.
He first eliminated He Miao, seizing control of He Jin's former forces.
Then he won over generals like Tian Kai.
Next, he summoned Lü Bu—who, trusting Dong Zhuo and acting under imperial pretense, killed Ding Yuan and surrendered his troops.
With the Imperial Guards, Ding Yuan's forces, and his own western armies combined, Dong Zhuo's strength surged.
On the first day of the ninth month, he acted.
In the Chongde Hall, before all officials, he forced Empress Dowager He to issue an edict of abdication.
None dared speak.
She wrote it in tears.
Yuan Wei personally removed the imperial seal from Liu Bian and placed it upon Liu Xie.
The former emperor was dragged from the throne and made to bow.
Thus, without ceremony, Liu Xie ascended.
Dong Zhuo then proclaimed an edict:
—A general amnesty—A new era name—And most notably…
He declared Yuan Shao's rebellion an act of loyalty—his slaughter a "purge of corrupt officials."
An attempt to cleanse the Yuan family's name.
Tang Ji's hands trembled as she finished reading.
The room fell silent.
Somewhere deep inside, disbelief and grief collided.
History might be written by victors—
But in the hearts of men, truth could not be erased.