In ancient times, there was a patriarchal society where men dominated the world, so women often sought ways to maintain their beauty and maintain their continued freshness, in order to bind men’s desires and achieve the goal of being continuously favored. The sisters of Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede used this method to make Emperor Cheng of Han want to die.
In the Biography of Flying Swallows written by Ling Yuan of the Han Dynasty, it is recorded in detail that Emperor Cheng was infatuated with Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede’s sisters. One of them is that Zhao’s sisters took “breathing muscle pills” to enhance their femininity. Because Xiji Pill is a secret formula made from various medicinal herbs, when incorporated into the navel and melted into the body, it will make the face tender, the skin as thick as fat, youthful and not old, the lower body plump, and make the woman’s body emit a strange fragrance, making men unable to stop.
However, if used for a long time, “Xiji Pill” can have serious side effects and even damage the uterus, leading to menopause and infertility in women. This may be the main reason why Zhao’s sisters did not give birth to Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty. Women use every means to make men infatuated.
The “Biography of Flying Swallows” states that Zhao Feiyan: “Fortunately, Flying Swallows hold tightly with their eyes closed, tears exchanged with them, and tremble not to welcome the emperor. The emperor holds Flying Swallows, but cannot receive them on the third night of the lunar calendar, with little intention of punishment. Those who are fortunate in the palace calmly ask the emperor, and the emperor says, ‘If there is abundance, if there is softness, if there is no bone, if there is humility and fear, if there is distance, if there is near. Even those who are polite and righteous, would rather be evil compared to those who threaten their shoulders with female Cao maidservants?’
Zhao Feiyan was fortunate to have the special posture of Emperor Cheng of Han, which was “as abundant as a surplus, as soft as a boneless”, which is the key reason. This is somewhat different from what later generations usually thought of Zhao Feiyan as being as thin as a stick. In order to please Zhao Feiyan, Emperor Cheng not only abolished Empress Xu, but also alienated the famous talented woman Ban Jieyu and made Zhao Feiyan the queen.
In order to further stabilize Emperor Cheng, Zhao Feiyan asked the palace teacher Fan Jue to speak from the side, saying that his sister Zhao Hede was superior to Zhao Feiyan. Emperor Cheng followed his words, “It is the night when he enters Hede, and the emperor is greatly pleased. With the assistance of the body, everything is perfect, and he is called a gentle township.” Said Jue, “I am always a township, and I cannot follow the example of Emperor Wu to seek Baiyun Township.”… Hede is fortunate, and her name is Zhao Jieyu
After Emperor Cheng summoned Zhao Hede, he was overjoyed and couldn’t help but sigh that he had finally found a gentle hometown that could last in the world (hence the idiom “gentle hometown”). He even didn’t want to follow the example of Emperor Wu of Han to seek immortality, which shows the beauty and charm of Zhao Hede’s talent.
Even so, Zhao Hede did not lie in the gentle countryside and indulge himself, but did his utmost to invite favor. According to “Feiyan Waizhuan”: “(Zhao) He De Xin Mu, cream nine times the fragrance of sinking water. For curly hair, the name is Xinji; for thin eyebrows, the name is Yuanshan Dai; and for Shi Xiaozhu, the name is lazy to make up
I was already very fortunate, and I applied it in a thousand ways, dressed up in a thousand ways, and catered to it in a million minutes. So, later on, Emperor Cheng obediently followed Zhao Hede’s advice and even killed his own son at Zhao Hede’s request. The potential of women is truly immeasurable!