The Empress Laughs at the Sleepy Emperor
Initially, Emperor Minh The Tong was regarded as a good ruler. However, after a long period of dealing with court affairs, he began to find life dull. Then, he came across a rumor that said one could become an immortal through practicing meditation.
From that point on, Emperor Minh The Tong became obsessed with Taoist practices (a sect founded by Zhang Dao Ling during the Eastern Han dynasty). Every day, he would sit in meditation, recite scriptures, and order the palace maids to gather morning dew for him to drink.
One day, while he was reciting scriptures as usual, Emperor Minh The Tong suddenly fell asleep. Seeing the emperor in this state, none of the attending palace maids dared to speak or remind him. The atmosphere in the palace fell into silence, until one of the palace maids couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
Perhaps it was the emperor’s sleeping appearance that made this palace maid laugh uncontrollably. The laughter immediately woke up Emperor Minh The Tong. The palace maids, fearing the emperor’s reaction, were filled with anxiety. They were worried about the punishment the laughing maid would receive.
A Strange Punishment
However, Emperor Minh The Tong’s reaction was completely different from what everyone else in the palace expected. After waking up, he looked in the direction of the laughter. It turned out to be a young palace maid of only 13 or 14 years old. What surprised everyone the most was that the emperor didn’t punish the young maid, but instead favored her and brought her into the harem, granting her the title of a beauty.
Many speculated that perhaps it was the young maid’s extraordinary beauty that touched Emperor Minh The Tong’s heart and saved her from punishment. However, according to historical records, the concubine Shang Shi (the favored young maid) had dark complexion and was not the fair-skinned beauty that many imagined.
Some speculated that perhaps it was Shang Shi’s genuine and innocent display of emotions, characteristic of a 13 or 14-year-old girl, that captivated Emperor Minh The Tong. It made him feel as if he had returned to his youth.
Since being favored after the incident of “laughing out loud,” Shang Shi had always been deeply loved by Emperor Minh The Tong. One day, while playing in the palace, Shang Shi asked Minh The Tong to let her play with fireworks. To please his beloved concubine, Minh The Tong readily agreed.
Unexpectedly, while playing with fireworks, Shang Shi accidentally set a curtain inside the palace on fire. The fire quickly spread and engulfed everything around it. Once again, Shang Shi had committed a mistake that seemed deserving of severe punishment. However, Emperor Minh The Tong pardoned her. Shortly after this incident, Minh The Tong passed away. Shang Shi continued her life in the palace and died at the age of 62.
