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In the history of the Three Kingdoms, there was a great beauty named Zhen Mi.

This person's life can be described as full of legends. At the beginning, she was the wife of Yuan Shao's son Yuan Xi.

Later, after Yuan Xi was defeated, she became the wife of Cao Pi.

Even Cao Cao was amazed at Zhen Mi's beauty, which was enough to show that Zhen Mi was extraordinary.

However, such a woman who was extremely favored by both Cao Cao and Cao Pi did not accompany Cao Pi to enjoy wealth and glory. Instead, she was executed two years after Cao Pi ascended the throne.

"Zhen Mi was known in history as Madam Zhen or Empress Zhen. She was from Wuji County, Zhongshan Prefecture, and was the daughter of Zhen Yi, the prefect of Shangcai."

"The wife of Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, and the mother of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui."

"Zhen lost her father when she was three years old. In the middle of Jian'an, Yuan Shao married her to his second son Yuan Xi."

"In the fourth year of Jian'an, Yuan Xi was appointed governor of Youzhou, and Zhen stayed in Jizhou to serve Yuan Shao's wife Liu."

"In the ninth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao led his army to capture Yecheng."

"Zhen was taken in by Cao Pi because of her extraordinary beauty. She was greatly favored and gave birth to a son, Cao Rui, and a daughter, Cao."

"Cao Pi succeeded to the throne as King of Wei and led his army south in June. Zhen was left in Yecheng."

"In the first year of Huangchu, Cao Pi became emperor."

"Shanyang Duke Liu Xie presented his two daughters as concubines to Cao Pi, and Empress Wende Guo, Concubine Li, and Concubine Yin were all favored in the harem."

"Zhen became increasingly frustrated and expressed some resentful words, which made Cao Pi furious."

"In the sixth month of the second year of Huangchu, an envoy was sent to execute Zhen and bury her in Yecheng."

"In May of the seventh year of Huangchu, Cao Pi was seriously ill and appointed Zhen's son, Prince of Pingyuan Cao Rui, as the crown prince."

"After Cao Rui ascended the throne, he posthumously named Zhen Empress Wen Zhao."

"In the fourth year of Taihe, Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, reburied Zhen in Chaoyang."

"Zhen was born in 183 and is a descendant of Zhen Han, the Grand Tutor of the Han Dynasty."

"Zhen Han's father-in-law, Kong Guang, the Marquis of Boshan, was the 14th generation grandson of Confucius and the son of the Grand Tutor Kong Ba. He served as the general, prime minister, grand tutor, and grand tutor."

"He served as a minister of government for four dynasties, was virtuous, well versed in Confucian classics, and held the highest position among officials."

"He was revered by Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, Emperor Cheng of Han, and Emperor Ai of Han, and was later appointed as the teacher of Emperor Ping of Han, Liu Xin, as a famous scholar in the world."

"Zhen Han and his clan members were appointed officials in the imperial court, and because of their talents, they were trusted by the powerful official Wang Mang."

"Zhen Feng was promoted from a local official to the Minister of the Imperial Palace, and later to the position of Grand Marshal and was granted the title of Marquis of Guangyang."

"Zhen Han was appointed Grand Marshal and granted the titles of Marquis of Chengyang and Duke of Chengxin."

"He was later appointed as the Grand Protector of the Han Dynasty, in charge of the military power of the country."

"Zhen Feng's son Zhen Xun was appointed as the Minister of the Interior and the Prefect of Jingzhao."

"Zhen Xin was a Guanglu Xun, known as the Four Zhens, and became a new noble in the court, with great power in the court and the country."

"From then on, the Wuji Zhen family became a powerful and prestigious family in Zhongshan, and their successive generations inherited the county governor-level official position with a salary of 2,000 stones."

"Zhen's father, Zhen Yi, was once the magistrate of Shangcai. Her mother, Zhang, was from Changshan. She had three sons and five daughters, all of whom were famous."

"It can be said that Zhen Mi is a real lady from a wealthy family."

Liu Rushi: Cao Pi married Zhen not only for her appearance, but also for her family strength.

Empress Zhen was born into the Zhen family of Zhongshan, a family whose prominence could be traced back to Zhen Han in the late Western Han Dynasty.

Zhen Han was the son-in-law of Kong Guang, a great Confucian scholar in the Han Dynasty, who was a descendant of Confucius.

His reputation was so high that even Wang Mang at that time tried to curry his favor with him.

Zhen Han and his fellow clan member Zhen Feng were both close confidants of Wang Mang, and both served as Grand Marshal.

During Wang Mang's reign, Zhen Handan was one of the Three Dukes, and Zhen Feng was one of the Four Assistants, ranking above the Three Dukes.

At the same time, both of them were conferred the title of Duke by Wang Mang, and they were the talents that Wang Mang relied on most besides his own relatives.

Although Wang Mang was defeated and killed soon, the Zhen family still maintained a high level of influence and was a family of 2,000 stones for generations during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Empress Zhen's father had three sons and five daughters, and Empress Zhen was the youngest.

Except for her eldest brother who died early, her second and third brothers were both recommended as filial and honest officials, and her second brother Zhen Yan was even appointed as a clerk of the general.

The world was in chaos when Empress Zhen was in her teens, and there was famine everywhere, but the Zhen family had a large amount of food reserves.

The Zhen family accumulated a lot of wealth by reselling grain, and later used part of the grain to help disaster victims.

At this time, Yuan Shao's army in Jizhou started eating mulberries.

Cao Cao even used dried human flesh as military rations because of the locust plague, and Xiahou Yuan even starved his young son to death due to lack of food.

The Zhen family was extremely powerful, and Yuan Shao chose to marry into the Zhen family probably because he was attracted by their influence in Hebei.

Later, Cao Cao let his eldest son marry Zhen, who was five years older than him and was married for the second time, in order to win over this big family in Hebei.

There are two more stories that can prove how much the Cao family values ​​the Zhen family.

One was after Cao Cao's beloved son Cao Chong died, because Cao Chong was young and had not yet married.

Cao Cao, who loved Cao Chong very much, asked for the deceased daughter of the Zhen family to be buried with Cao Chong, forming a ghost marriage. Cao Pi even wrote a eulogy specifically for this matter.

The second is that after Cao Rui's daughter Princess Pingyuan Cao Shu died, Cao Rui built a temple for her and buried his deceased younger generations Zhen Huang and Cao Shu together.

In addition, the queen of Cao Rui's adopted son Cao Fang was also from the Zhen family.

From this we can see that the Zhongshan Zhen family was also one of the top families in the Cao Wei court.

After Empress Zhen was executed by Cao Pi, the power of the Zhen family did not decline.

Many of his descendants became prominent, and this continued until the Western Jin Dynasty.

Empress Zhen's nephew Zhen Xiang once led the army on an expedition to the east and was later promoted to the rank of special advancement.

He also briefly served as acting Grand Marshal and was posthumously awarded the title of General Wei.

Zhen Xiang's son Zhen Chang inherited Zhen Xiang's title and was posthumously awarded the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry. Zhen Chang's younger brother Zhen Wen served as the General of the Auxiliary State during the Western Jin Dynasty.

Guo De, the cousin of Cao Rui's queen Guo, was adopted by the Zhen family and renamed Zhen De. He married the daughters of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao successively.

He was granted the title of County Duke during the reign of Sima Zhao, and rose to the rank of Nine Ministers during the Western Jin Dynasty. He was posthumously awarded the title of General of the Central Army.

As for those from the Zhen family who were granted titles of nobility and served as generals of the imperial guards, there were too many of them to count. Even when Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang, he had to drag people from the Zhen family to sign as well.

Even after the Five Barbarians' Invasion and the chaos in the Central Plains, the Zhongshan Zhen family still stood firm in Hebei.

It was still a prominent family during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and many members of the family held high positions in the government.

"It is said that Zhen Mi was different from ordinary people since she was a child."

"Every night when Zhen went to sleep, the family seemed to see someone covering her with a jade garment, and everyone found it miraculous."

"When they grew up a little, the fortune teller Liu Liang read the fortunes of Zhen Yi and his children."

"After Liu Liang saw Zhen Mi, he said that this girl would be extremely valuable in the future."

"At the end of the Han Dynasty, the country was in chaos and famines occurred year after year. In order to survive, the people sold their valuables at home."

"At that time, the Zhen family had a large amount of grain reserves, and took the opportunity to acquire a lot of gold and silver treasures."

"Zhen was only a teenager at the time, and when she saw this, she was angry with her mother."

"Seeking treasure in troubled times is not a good strategy. An innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure. This is what is called losing one's life for wealth."

"Now that many people are starving, it would be better to open your warehouse and give the grain to your neighbors. This is a virtue that benefits everyone."

"The whole family thought what she said made sense, so they distributed all the food in their home to their neighbors for free."

"When Zhen was fourteen, her second brother Zhen Yan passed away."

"Mrs. Zhen was very sad and treated her widowed sister-in-law with respect and humility."

"He always helped her with household chores and took good care of the children left behind by Zhen Yan, loving them very much."

"Zhen's mother had a strict personality and often imposed strict rules on her daughter-in-law. Zhen advised her mother several times."

"My second brother unfortunately died young, and my second sister-in-law became a widow at a young age, and she has to take care of the children she left behind."

"Although she is your daughter-in-law, you should love her like your own daughter."

"My mother was so moved by Zhen's words that she shed tears. After that, she allowed Zhen and my second sister-in-law to visit each other frequently and live together. They became very close."

"Perhaps it was because of the words that this girl will be invaluable in the future that Zhen Mi reached the age of marriage."

"Yuan Shao, who was a minister for four generations, married Zhen Mi to his second son Yuan Xi, regardless of their family background."

"Then in the third year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan."

"Appoint Zhen's husband Yuan Xi as the governor of Youzhou, and Zhen will stay in Yecheng to serve her mother-in-law Liu."

"But Zhen Mi's nobility did not last long in the Yuan family."

"A few years later, the famous Battle of Guandu took place."

"Yuan Shao was defeated and suffered a great loss of vitality."

"Ye City in Jizhou was conquered by Cao Cao, and Zhen was taken in by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi."

"There was a saying at the time that after Cao Cao conquered Ye, Cao Pi entered Yuan's mansion first."

"I saw a young woman with disheveled hair and a dirty face, hiding behind Madam Liu and crying."

"Then Cao Pi helped her put her hair up and wiped her face with a towel, and found that she was extremely beautiful."

"So Cao Pi took Zhen in as his wife and doted on her."

Li Shishi: Zhen Mi, a beauty in troubled times who started with Yuan and ended with Cao.

Zhen Mi was born into an official family and received a relatively good education since childhood.

Therefore, she was quite good in both literary accomplishment and personal cultivation. In addition, Zhen Mi was naturally beautiful, which attracted the attention of many dignitaries.

It was for this reason that Zhen Mi was chosen by Yuan Shao as the wife of his son Yuan Xi.

After Zhen Mi married Yuan Xi, the couple lived a pretty good life.

Moreover, both Yuan Shao and his wife Liu were particularly satisfied with Zhen Mi.

After Yuan Xi went to fight in another place, Zhen Mi stayed in Yecheng to take care of her mother-in-law Liu.

This person was a ruthless character. After Yuan Shao's death, she disfigured several of Yuan Shao's beautiful concubines and then killed them.

The fact that she could live with such a person and receive his praise was enough to show how special Zhen Mi was.

Not only that, in order to protect Zhen Mi, when Cao Pi's army attacked Yecheng.

Liu also smeared some stains on Zhen Mi's face and used her hair to cover up her beauty. The purpose of Liu doing this was to prevent Zhen Mi from being raped by the soldiers.

Seeing that she and her mother-in-law were about to pass away, Zhen Mi couldn't help but burst into tears.

The tears wiped away some of the stains, revealing a little of the beautiful face.

When Cao Pi entered Yecheng and saw Zhen Mi, he was very curious and asked Zhen Mi to push her hair aside.

After seeing Zhen Mi's beauty, Cao Pi's eyes widened.

Liu saw all of this and was glad that she and Zhen Mi were finally able to survive.

As expected, Cao Pi brought Zhen Mi directly back to the camp and asked Cao Cao for permission to marry her.

After seeing Zhen Mi, Cao Cao was very satisfied and agreed to the marriage.

Some even say that Cao Cao had actually set his eyes on Zhen Mi a long time ago, but Cao Pi got there first in the Battle of Yecheng, so Cao Cao could only help his son.

After all, it is not honorable to compete with his son for a woman, and Cao Cao could not do that.

After Zhen Mi married Cao Pi, she won the love of Cao Pi, Madam Bian and the ministers in the court with her true abilities.

Everyone thought that Zhen Mi should be Cao Pi's main wife. If Cao Pi could succeed to the throne in the future, everyone would definitely hope that Cao Pi would make Zhen Mi his main wife.

At that time, Cao Pi was very fond of Zhen Mi, and Zhen Mi gave birth to a son and a daughter for Cao Pi. The son was Cao Rui, who later inherited Cao Pi's throne.

Considering various factors, whether it is because of the mother's status as a son or from Zhen Mi's own ability, Cao Pi should continue to favor Zhen Mi.

Unfortunately, Zhen Mi was too upright and had no bad intentions.

This gave another woman the opportunity to intercept, and this woman was Empress Guo, who was later made queen by Cao Pi.

She was already thirty years old when she married Cao Pi.

But she was still favored by Cao Pi, which is enough to show that Queen Guo was not an ordinary person.

"There is another saying that Cao Cao loved married women, and when he captured the city, he wanted to take Zhen Mi for himself."

"Unfortunately, Cao Pi, who entered Yuan's mansion earlier, saw Zhen Mi, who was wearing coarse clothes and had a dirty face but still looked beautiful, and he fell in love with her."

"Cao Cao heard of Cao Pi's intentions and arranged for him to marry Zhen."

"After Zhen married Cao Pi, she was favored by him for several years and gave birth to a son, Cao Rui, and a daughter, Cao."

"But she also showed her filial piety, gentleness and tolerance, allowing all the bystanders to see that this second-married woman was sensible, virtuous and knew when to act."

"In the 16th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao went on a western expedition. Lady Bian, who was accompanying him, fell ill on the way and stayed in Mengjin. Cao Pi and Zhen stayed in Yecheng."

"At that time, Madam Bian was ill, and Zhen was unable to take care of her in time. She was so anxious that she couldn't sleep or eat, and often cried secretly."

"The servants around her told her that Madam Bian had recovered from her illness, but Zhen still didn't believe it, so she became even more worried."

"Later, Mrs. Bian wrote back, saying that she had recovered, and Zhen was relieved."

"In the 17th year of Jian'an, the army returned to Ye, and Zhen went to greet them."

"When I saw Madam Bian, I felt mixed emotions of sadness and joy, and everyone around me was deeply moved."

"Madam Bian couldn't help crying when she saw how much Zhen cared about her."

"Zhen encouraged the concubines who were favored by Cao Pi to work hard and make progress, and comforted and enlightened the concubines who were not favored, and often advised Cao Pi."

"In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor had many descendants because he had many wives and concubines."

"So husbands should marry more virtuous and beautiful women so that they can have many children."

"But when the gears of fate are constantly pushed, the love and beauty of the past will eventually fade away with the wind."

"In 220 AD, Cao Pi ascended the throne and conferred the title of Marquis of Wude on Cao Rui."

"In June, he led his army southward, and Zhen Mi stayed in Yecheng."

"In October, Emperor Xian of Han abdicated the throne to Cao Pi."

"After abdicating, Liu Xie, who was relegated to the position of Duke of Shanyang, betrothed his two daughters to Cao Pi as concubines."

"In addition, Concubine Guo and the two noble ladies Li and Yin were also favored at the same time. Zhen Mi became increasingly frustrated and expressed some complaints."

"In 221 AD, Guo was in favor and she slandered Cao Pi."

"I have heard that Madam Zhen has no self-respect and has many complaints against the Emperor."

"Cao Pi took this opportunity to send an envoy to Yecheng and gave Zhen Mi poisoned wine."

"Poor Zhen Mi died like this. She did not win back Cao Pi's true love, but was only served a cup of poisoned wine that killed her miserably."

"Only Cao Zhi's "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River" remains, which has been passed down through the ages and has become the last song of Jiancheng."

Chen Yuanyuan: After Cao Pi sentenced Zhen Mi to death, he stuffed something dirty into her mouth.

Empress Guo was also born into a family of officials. The difference between her and Zhen Mi was that Zhen Mi received orthodox education in Confucianism since childhood.

Empress Guo was exposed to political struggles from a young age, which formed her unique personality traits and her own strategies.

It just so happened that this strategy had the opportunity to be fully utilized in a specific historical context.

In the dispute between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi for the position of crown prince, the reason why Cao Pi was able to achieve ultimate victory was closely related to Queen Guo.

During Cao Pi's fight for the throne, Empress Guo made great contributions and therefore received more favor from Cao Pi.

In contrast, Zhen Mi was gradually neglected by Cao Pi because she did not participate in it.

Cao Pi left Zhen Mi to take care of his mother, while he continued to live a carefree life with Empress Guo and others.

And this absence lasted for a long time, until Cao Cao died and Cao Pi succeeded to the throne.

Cao Pi did not bring Zhen Mi to the capital, which made many people dissatisfied.

After Cao Pi replaced Emperor Xian of Han and ascended the throne, one of the immediate challenges he faced was to establish a queen.

At that time, the ministers in the court suggested to make Zhen Mi the queen, but the best candidate in Cao Pi's mind was Queen Guo.

After all, this person helped him the most in his fight for the throne and his ascension to the throne, so Cao Pi naturally favored Queen Guo.

Originally, there was no conflict of interest between Queen Guo and Zhen Mi.

However, a huge conflict immediately arose over the issue of establishing a queen.

Only by getting rid of Zhen Mi could Queen Guo get the support of the ministers and become the queen smoothly. Queen Guo gradually developed a treacherous plan in her mind.

In order to get rid of Zhen Mi, Queen Guo took great pains and kept looking for Zhen Mi's shortcomings.

However, he never found a place to attack Zhen Mi until Zhen Mi was angry because Cao Pi did not take her back to the capital for a long time.

After complaining a few words, Queen Guo finally found the opportunity and evidence to deal with Zhen Mi.

Queen Guo took advantage of the situation and kept saying bad things about Zhen Mi in Cao Pi's ear.

So much so that Cao Pi, in a fit of impulse, sent someone to order the execution of Zhen Mi.

However, not long after this person left, Cao Pi regretted his decision because of a dream and wanted to stop him from killing Zhen Mi.

Unfortunately, it was too late. By the time Cao Pi wanted to stop it, Zhen Mi had already committed suicide.

Cao Pi dealt with Zhen Mi's funeral with endless fear and guilt.

Originally, he could have given Zhen Mi a grand funeral, but the issue of establishing the queen had not yet been settled.

Besides, it was Zhen Mi herself who sent people to order her death. If she were buried with great ceremony, wouldn't it mean that she was wrongly killed?

As an emperor, Cao Pi certainly could not admit his mistakes and could only make the best of it.

But after all, Zhen Mi was killed by him wrongly. Cao Pi was worried that Zhen Mi would blame him for her mistake in the underworld. He was also worried that he would not be able to face Zhen Mi a hundred years later.

So Cao Pi followed some superstitious practices and covered Zhen Mi's face with her hair and stuffed her mouth with bran.

Covering her face with hair was to prevent Zhen Mi from seeing others accusing her, and stuffing her mouth with chaff was to prevent Zhen Mi from speaking in the underworld.

After all, only by blocking her mouth could Zhen Mi be prevented from telling the truth. It must be said that Cao Pi's approach was vicious and cruel enough.

While Cao Pi was doing all this, there was someone who had been watching silently. This person was Zhen Mi's son Cao Rui.

Cao Rui was already in his teens at the time and was particularly impressed by Zhen Mi's death.

After Zhen Mi died, Queen Guo became the queen as she wished, but later she had no children.

She was worried that her position as queen would be lost, so she adopted Cao Rui.

Cao Rui understood Empress Guo's character. After being raised by her, he always showed his filial and obedient side, which made him deeply loved by Empress Guo.

With the help of Queen Guo, Cao Pi finally made Cao Rui the crown prince.

However, after Cao Pi's death and Cao Rui's ascension to the throne, Cao Rui immediately changed his attitude towards Queen Guo.

Instead, he kept forcing Queen Guo to commit suicide, because Cao Rui had never forgotten the scene of his mother's suicide.

Under the pressure of Cao Rui, Queen Guo had no choice but to commit suicide.

After her death, Cao Rui treated Empress Guo in the same way Cao Pi treated Zhen Mi, covering her face with her hair and stuffing her mouth with chaff. (End of this chapter)