Empress Phung of the Northern Wei Dynasty was one of the most scandalous empresses in the history of feudal China.
This beauty is named Phung Nhuan, also known in history as Queen Phung, wife of Emperor Hieu Van of Northern Wei Dynasty during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Win the throne with your sister
According to the Chinese history website Qulishi, Phung Nhuan was born in 469, before being brought into the palace, she was the granddaughter of Empress Dowager Feng. Judging by her position in the family, Phung Nhuan could be called the emperor’s cousin.
However, Phung Nhuan is 2 years younger than Emperor Hieu Van, so in terms of age, it is still relatively suitable.
In 483, at the age of 14, she and her half-sister entered the palace as the emperor’s concubine, becoming the leading beauty in the harem. Phung Nhuan was described as an exceptionally beautiful person, with the beauty of “turning the water into the city”, especially intelligent and having interests in tune with the emperor.
Emperor Hieu Van also adored Phung Nhuan and spent a lot of time with this concubine. But the barrier preventing Phung Nhuan from taking the throne was because the Queen Mother chose Phung Thanh’s sister, not her.
After Phung Thai Hau died, Phung Thanh’s younger sister became the empress. At that time, Phung Nhuan suffered from a strange disease, sometimes coughing up blood, so he had to leave the palace to recuperate.
Phung Nhuan usurped his sister’s throne, and had fornication with a servant, causing a stir in Chinese history.
In his hometown, Phung Nhuan relied on a medical god named Cao, who was a Bodhisattva, to cure him. The two gradually secretly interacted with each other, having an above-average relationship.
A year later, in 494, Phung Nhuan returned to the palace, was promoted to be a lieutenant, and ranked second only to the empress. Cao Bo Bodhisattva also joined the palace as a servant, sneaking close at times when Emperor Hieu Van wasn’t paying attention.
Since returning to the palace, Phung Nhuan was favored by the emperor far more than before, causing other concubines to be estranged, including the empress.
Phung Nhuan thinks that she is the sister, does not accept the inferior role, so she finds ways to compete for the queen position with her sister. Two years later, in 496, Emperor Hieu Van issued a decree to depose Phung Thanh, forcing him to live in a temple as a nun for the rest of his life.
In 497, Emperor Hieu Van made Phung Nhuan empress, making her the most noble woman in the world.
Causing forbidden palace vibrations and tragic endings
In front of the emperor, Empress Phung always appeared obedient, polite behavior, soft voice. But once the emperor left the palace, Empress Phung immediately changed to another face.
Empress Phung is said to have poisoned Cao Beau, the concubine who gave birth to Crown Prince Nguyen Khac and adopted the crown prince.
In the fall of 497, Emperor Hieu Van personally led a large army to attack Southern Qi, focusing on Wancheng, now in Nanyang (Henan province, China).
While Emperor Hieu Van was absent, Empress Phung made public his relationship with Cao Bo Bodhisattva, the god of medicine who was brought into the palace as a servant.
Empress Phung and Cao Bo Bodhisattva tried to build their own power in the palace, putting pressure on those who knew about the queen’s adultery not to dare to say a word.
Everything was like that until Empress Phung caused trouble with Princess Peng Thanh, the younger sister of Emperor Hieu Van.
Phung Nhuan’s biological brother, Phung Tuc, is very infatuated with Peng Thanh, many times he has been rejected. Empress Phung thinks she has power, so she can force this predestined relationship.
The princess, in horror, brought up the story of Empress Phung’s fornication to Emperor Hieu Van. The Emperor heard this, both stunned and angry, but thought that because his sister did not want to marry Phung Tuc, he thought of this.
Phung Nhuan in the last years of his life was kept in solitary confinement in the palace.
Empress Phung was informed by her eyes and ears that the emperor was suspicious and sought out her birth mother to find a way to assassinate the emperor. The mother and daughter surnamed Phung invited a witch to the palace to try to cast spells and curse Emperor Hieu Van.
The queen also prepared a sword to carry with her, thinking that when the opportunity came, she would strike. But it was unexpected that the emperor acted first.
Once, after suddenly returning to the capital Luoyang, Emperor Hieu Van ordered the arrest of Cao Bo Bodhisattva and all his confidants. That night, the emperor interrogated, forced Cao Bo-slapped to confess all the lewd stories to the queen, and then sent someone to kill him.
As for Empress Phung, the emperor respected that he was a member of the Phung family, so he did not order to kill, but only kept in solitary confinement in the palace.
According to the Book of Wei, a history book of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Hieu Van said: “I respect you as a member of the Phung family, but you did not depose, only imprisoned in the palace. If she had any dignity left, she would have found death by herself. Don’t think that I still have feelings for you.”
In 499, Emperor Hieu Van suddenly fell seriously ill and died at the age of 32. Before his death, he ordered someone to force Empress Phung to drink poison to prevent disaster, but allowed a burial according to the empress rite.
According to Wei Shu, Empress Phung definitely refused to drink poison, forcing her subordinates to use strong measures to control and pour poison into her mouth.
In the end, the queen who caused many concubines of the Northern Wei dynasty experienced a painful death.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Eva.vn – Read the original article here
