The fate of empresses in history is various, some enjoy eternal wealth, some are deposed in the middle, some are usurped as emperors, some are chaotic harems, some are virtuous and auxiliary, and thousands of lives are born. Zhang Yan, the protagonist of this article, can be described as involuntary.
Zhang Yan was the daughter of Princess Lu yuan, the sister of Emperor Hui of Han, the niece of Emperor Hui of Han, who was her uncle. After Liu Bang's death, Lü Hou became a dictatorship, wantonly murdered Liu Bang's descendants and their concubines, and made his own son Liu Ying emperor. In 192 BC, Zhang Yan's grandmother Lü Hou made the twelve-year-old Zhang Yan empress of Emperor Hui of Han. This marriage is contrary to human morality, and Emperor Hui of Han is quite embarrassed, and he has always been unable to accept it, and naturally cannot raise sexual interest. Until her death, she did not approach Empress Zhang.
When she became an empress, the natural birth of dragon species was the most important thing, because the little empress was too young, coupled with the disgust of Emperor Hui of Han, Empress Zhang did not allow Emperor Hui to be lucky, so she has not been pregnant. Lü Hou instigated Zhang Shi to say that she was pregnant, and then forcibly seized the son of the palace maid and Emperor Hui and made him crown prince, but his birth mother was brutally killed by Lü Hou. The story developed to this point, which was also perfect, the husband was the emperor, and the "son" was also there, but The Hui Emperor Liu Ying had a weak personality and was often stimulated by the cruel actions of his mother. Once, in the latrine, she saw that Mrs. Qi was mutilated by Lü Hou and became a "human yan" (Mrs. Qi was cut off by her limbs, her ears were deaf, and her eyes were blind). Frightened, he then poured wine to cause a fatal illness, and finally died of illness. Zhang Yan became a widow.
Later, her mother Princess Lu Yuan died, Zhang Yan lost the protection of her mother's family, and then Lü Hou also fell ill and died, and Zhang Yan lost her political backer. In the past, Lü Hou ruled exclusively and killed the descendants of Liu, but after Lü Hou's death, Zhu Lü was killed, and a group of old courtiers succeeded Liu Heng the Prince of Fudai. Zhang Yan, a weak woman, naturally also has to face a cruel political reckoning. Although Zhang Yan survived death, she was implicated and deposed and placed in the North Palace. The North Palace is a very quiet courtyard behind Weiyang Palace, and this place has become the last destination of her life, silent, sunrise and sunset for seventeen years, no relatives, no friends, and she has become a superfluous person. Although life is not her choice, she can only go on the other way.
In 163 BC, Zhang Yan completed her tragic life, and at the age of forty, she was buried with Emperor Hui of Han and was given the title of Empress Xiaohui. When Zhang Yan was buried, the palace ladies cleaned her body and were surprised to find that she was still a virgin. The news did not go away, the people did not have different feelings about her, they built temples for her, regularly enjoyed sacrifices, honored her as the god of flowers, and the temple built for her was called the flower temple.
