There is a traditional joke:
A woman had no choice but to marry the creditor because her father owed money. On the first night of their wedding, the woman said to the proud groom: "I married you because of the money my father owed you. Don't be too proud!"
In the early morning of the next day, the woman opened her eyes and woke up from a deep sleep. The groom said, "How much does my father owe us? We can't just let it go."
Isn't this different, when she married the emperor. She has become a part of the imperial power, and even her son has a high probability of inheriting the throne. And she will be the Queen Mother. "Queen Mother" is the highest status a woman can achieve in a patriarchal society. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the empress dowager and the emperor were both emperors. When did her father usurp the throne? She is the eldest princess. Simply heaven and earth. There are also such examples in history, that is Yang Lihua, the daughter of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.
In the second year of the Elephant Year (580), Yuwen Yun passed away, Yuwen Chan Yang Lihua was the empress dowager and lived in Hongsheng Palace. At first, when Yu Wenyun fell ill, he ordered Yang Lihua's father Yang Jian to accompany him in the palace. When Yu Wenyun was critically ill, Liu Fang, Zheng Yi and others took the opportunity to falsely convey the decree and appoint Yang Jian to assist in the government. Although Yang Lihua did not participate in this matter at first, because the successor Yuwen Chan was young, he was worried that power would fall to other families, which would be detrimental to him. He was very happy to learn that Liu Fang, Zheng Yi and others had conveyed this edict.
Yang Lihua later learned that her father Yang Jian had different intentions, and she was very dissatisfied, which showed in her words and demeanor. In the first year of Kaihuang (581), Yang Jian usurped the Northern Zhou Dynasty and established the Sui Dynasty as Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Lihua could not accept it for a while and became even more resentful about it. Although Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty could not blame her, he felt very guilty for her.
In the sixth year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign (586), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty granted Yang Lihua the title of Princess Leping. Later, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty discussed remarrying Yang Lihua, but Yang Lihua firmly disagreed, so the matter was dropped.
Yang Lihua’s later experience also proved this point. When Yang Jian was alive, she still looked like a princess. After Yang Jian's death, her younger brother Yang Guang succeeded to the throne and was not used to her.
It is said that the world is hot and cold. In order to survive, she can only learn from others to please Yang Guang and offer beautiful women. If her father had not usurped the throne and she was the Queen Mother, she needed to please Yang Guang?
