I Don't Want to Be Empress

“Dagger, poison, or silken cord, Your Majesty—please choose one.”

Half-asleep, Xue Fanzhi heard the eunuch Bao Hui calling her. She knew then her end had come. In truth, she'd sensed it days ago.

Ever since Xiao Yi confined her to reflect on her behavior, she’d dreamt nightly of Xue Jiaoyue, dead for a decade, coming to find her.

In her dreams, it was as if they were both girls again, seated side by side at their coming-of-age ceremony, Xue Jiaoyue dressed in finery. Suddenly, a dark figure approached, intent on killing Xue Jiaoyue. Yet, with those fair and gentle hands, unseen by others, Xue Jiaoyue pushed her forward. The assailant’s sharp dagger plunged through her embroidered sash and into her belly…

“Your Majesty? The imperial decree of death—please, no more pretending to sleep!”

Xue Fanzhi slowly sat up. Before her stood Bao Hui and three young eunuchs, impatiently holding the three instruments of death.

She raised her hand. “Wait. I dreamt of Xue Jiaoyue again. Do you know my elder sister? Clearly, I took the blade for her, yet in my dreams, she was the one who pushed me. What do you make of that?”

Everyone knew the Empress had a twin, Xue Jiaoyue, who married Prince Yu, Xiao Jian. Ten years ago, Xiao Jian rebelled, and with him, the Xue family was destroyed by Xiao Yi—her sister, her kin, all dead.

Back then, Bao Hui and the others hadn’t yet entered the palace.

Bao Hui pursed his lips. “The Empress shielding someone else from a blade? Aren’t you only skilled in underhanded deeds?”

At sixteen, Xue F