The tragic life of the Second Empress of the Tan Dynasty
Tan Vu De, whose real name is Tu Ma Viem, was the first Emperor of the Tan Dynasty in Chinese history. His reign lasted from 266 to 290, a total of 24 years.
He is one of the most famous Emperors in Chinese history, credited with unifying China after nearly 100 years of civil war during the Three Kingdoms period. Despite his remarkable achievements, along with his remarkable intelligence and talent for ruling the country, he was also known as a wasteful and lustful Emperor, with a harem of over ten thousand women.
Duong Diem possessed extraordinary beauty and was the most beautiful woman of the Tan Dynasty. She was the original consort of Tan Vu De, Tu Ma Viem, and the first official Empress of the Tan Dynasty. In Tan Vu De’s harem, there were many beautiful concubines, but Duong Diem still held an important position in the Emperor’s heart.
In the 10th year of Thai Thuy, Empress Duong Diem fell seriously ill. Before her death, she carefully planned everything for her family, preventing Tan Vu De from establishing Hồ Thi as the heir. To ensure the prosperity of the Duong family and the safety of her foolish son, Tu Ma Trung, she recommended her cousin, Duong Chi, to enter the palace.
According to Duong Diem’s original plan, when Duong Chi entered the palace and later became Empress, this cousin would retain the position of Crown Prince for her son. But she did not expect that her decision would lead Duong Chi to a tragic end.
Duong Chi entered the palace at the age of 15, with her charming beauty, she quickly gained the Emperor’s favor and became the Second Empress of the Tan Dynasty. Later, Duong Chi gave birth to a prince, but unfortunately, the weak child died at the age of 2. This incident caused her great heartache for a long time, and she never conceived again. Therefore, she devoted all her thoughts to her nephew, Tu Ma Trung, the son of her cousin. She constantly protected Tu Ma Trung in front of the Emperor. While Duong Chi was working hard for Tu Ma Trung, the wife of the latter (Gia Nam Phong) had improper thoughts.
Phi Gia Nam Phong, the concubine of the Crown Prince, was intelligent and had helped Crown Prince Tu Ma Trung many times. Because the Crown Prince was not outstanding, Tan Vu De worried about the successor, so he carried out a test: He asked the Crown Prince to approve a music composition. Gia Nam Phong found someone to play the music for her husband, causing the Emperor to temporarily set aside the replacement of the Crown Prince.
According to historical records, Gia Nam Phong was not physically attractive, short and jealous. Since she did not have a son of her own, whenever the concubine of the Crown Prince became pregnant, Gia Nam Phong would harm her. When Tan Vu De learned about this, he was very angry and saw Gia Nam Phong for who she was, so he ordered her to be sent to the isolated palace. At that time, Duong Chi once again came forward to help the nephew’s family. Although Duong Chi did not have a good impression of Gia Nam Phong, because this person was the legal wife of her nephew, she tried her best to persuade Tan Vu De. As a result, Gia Nam Phong still held onto her position as the Crown Prince’s consort, but instead of being grateful, she believed that everything was caused by Duong Chi’s scheming and held a grudge, thinking of ways to seek revenge.
In the 10th year of Thai Hi, Tan Vu De passed away. By that time, Duong Chi had lived in the palace for 16 years, enjoying all kinds of favors and experiencing various emotions of joy and sorrow. With the help of Duong Chi, Tu Ma Trung ascended the throne and became Emperor Tan Hue, and Gia Nam Phong became the Empress. Duong Chi finally fulfilled the wishes of her elder sister, Duong Diem. It seemed that she would live a peaceful life until the end, but the truth was extremely cruel. A year later, Gia Nam Phong conspired to kill the biological father of Empress Duong Chi and then imprisoned Duong Chi. In the second year of Thai Hi, under the control of Gia Nam Phong, Duong Chi was starved in the isolated palace. Some time later, Duong Chi passed away in loneliness, ending her tragic life.
