As Medea, the princess who had helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece, said: among all creatures endowed with reason and spirit, we women were the most unfortunate. It was unfortunate for a woman to reach marrying age and still remain unmarried. Yet to marry, she had to bring a lavishly purchased dowry, only to find herself a master. Worse still, marrying a bad man made life even more unbearable. Divorce was disgraceful, yet women could not throw a bad husband out of the house. Thus, the first thing a woman had to learn after marriage was how to control her husband. If she succeeded, her life would be enviable; if not, death would be preferable.
Women were always afraid. When they went onto a battlefield and saw blades and weapons, they trembled with fear. Yet when they were bullied by their husbands, no heart was more vicious than theirs.
An emperor's harem naturally contained more than one woman. The Han emperor cherished A'Jiao and kept her in a Golden House. Her cough and spit fell from the nine heavens; pearls and jade sprang forth in the wind. At the height of favor, love still faded; deep jealousy only drove affection away. Though Changmen Palace was but a step away, he would not turn his carriage back even briefly. Rain that fell could not return to heaven; water once spilled could not be gathered again. Your feelings and mine flowed east and west, each on its own course. Once a lotus flower, now grass with severed roots. Serving another with beauty—how long could such favor last?
Because she had grown arrogant in her favor and could not bear a child, Chen Ajiao, who had once helped Liu Che ascend the throne, lost her position as empress after Grand Empress Dowager Dou