Cao Jie sat on her throne, her young face full of serenity and calamity. She was once a part of the proud and strong Cao family but it was her that made the decision to turn her back on them. Her dear brother Cao Pi always used to get whatever he desired, no matter the cost.

Raven black hair contrasted nicely with her white as show face and she added this envoy to the list. Pi was not being lenient and mother Bian was not on her side, father was long dead and Jie had never particularly clicked on that well with the lady Zhen Ji.

While she wore a dark blue robe and had many other blue on her clothing, the traditional colour of the Cao family and it's supporters or shall she way, the Wei dynasty, she did not support it. She was an Empress, albeit one with little power and influence but she was not going to give in.

Calculating and cold eyes scanned the crowd but none of the people drew in any interest, they were all mindless and obedient to her brother. Her husband Emperor Xian was a puppet and had been manipulated and used by a numerous amount of people and she was one of them.

Daddy Cao Cao asked to her marry him to spy and keep him under control, she complied and within the year she was the new Empress but she had a change of heart and she switched sides from Cao to Han. From the winners to the losers, sometimes she questioned why.

Dark brown eyes that had been hardened by both recent and past events narrowed their gaze on the Wei envoy. The conceited and irritating He Yan, dressed in bright garments of green and blue. Cao Jie would of snorted if it wasn't improper, after all she had been raised and educated to be prim, proper and always in control of the situation.

Her lips remained tight and shut and she rolled her eyes as He Yan babbled on about nothing. Raising her right hand, silence was in the court. "I refuse." He Yan's mouth opened with with shock and with a grunt and some comment muttered under his breath, he rose disgruntled and left to report news of his failure.

Her imperial seal was not going to belong to anyone other than her. She would remain loyal to the Han. Jie would not bow down to her brother's will. The ministers in her chambers attempted to convert her mind, talk her into reconsidering but it was too late. Her mind would not be swayed.

Her big, slightly ridiculously large and elaborate golden headdress titled as did her pretty face when she glared down at the ministers of the court, the Han court and those who were supposed to be loyal to the Empire and her husband. "Please leave." Her voice wasn't meek nor was it weak and the ministers did as she asked.

Days passed and more envoys were sent, her brother was clutching at strays as he had sent in the likes of Cai Wenji, fellow woman who he believed could change her mind but she knew would have absolutely no sway on her. Wang Yi was also brought in to tactfully convert her mind and he had the guts to send in his wife Zhen Ji! Cao Jie merely rolled her eyes when she saw that woman enter.

While the three woman's words, tactics and expressions had all been completely different, Cao Jie's response remained the same. "I am loyal to the Han, my brother Cao Pi will not have my seal." Cai Wenji exited with a solemn, saddened expression, Wang Yi folded her arms and frowned at the Empress as she left but Zhen Ji smiled coyly and spoke a thinly veiled threat before exiting the chambers.

More days passed, Cao Jie's emotions remained constantly sad and repressed as she struggled to keep her cool. How come her brother always had to be so stubborn! How come he had to be power hungry and how come he was willing to sacrifice their relationship just to be called an Emperor!

Tears leaked from her eyes and she furiously rubbed them away as yet another envoy was sent to her room. Zhu Ling, an extraordinary officer who was strongly disliked by her father and the eccentric but legendary Zhang He. Jie knew Pi was not happy with her not cooperating with his wishes.

"If my brother wants my seal! He can come into my chamber and ask for it himself! I will not bow down to the likes of this Wei empire! I will not have my mind swayed by any envoys! I will not see the Han dynasty crumble before my eyes! And I will not surrender."

Cao Jie was a young woman, in her early twenties and she was childless and under these circumstances dreaded the idea of having a child. Her brother would seize that and use it against her, knowing that if a child was threatened, Cao Jie would cave. She had a heart unlike many of her relatives.

The ministers tried and tried to convert her mind and they used logic that they thought she'd barely understand because woman were not meant to be intelligent but oh Jie was quite smart. "I know the Han dynasty is ending but I am loyal, I value loyalty and it is integral to the survival of a kingdom. I'm shocked it's lasted so long with ministers like you around."

And in the next day, a large envoy was sent to the court and all the ministers gathered around and Cao Jie knew her brother had become fed up and tired of waiting for her. He needed to take upon action on her. Kie felt herself shake and she took a deep breath to rid herself of any nerves as she regally walked into court and sat on her large golden throne.

Once she gazed down to see who her brother had sent now, her calm and controlled expression faltered into one of shock for a very brief moment. Regaining control and taking another deep breath to calm down, she allowed her eyes to narrow down at the envoy.

Zhen Ji stood up tall and proud, her frail arms were wrapped around a much larger arm. Zhang He stood directly behind and slightly to the left of the person lady Zhen was clinging to, he was almost invisible. Zhu Ling along with his precious scarf that Cao Jie was admittedly, in private of course, fond of was also obscured from her sight by the man and Zhen Ji.

Her eyes meet his and she took in his confident, border line arrogant, strong and steely features and a lump was formed in her throat. Never did she expect her brother Cao Pi would have the confidence to demand for her seal in person.

If she wasn't stubborn and strong willed, she'd of given in and surrendered immediately. "Empress, my dear sister Cao Jie, it is unfortunate to see you under these political circumstances but I believed it was time for a meeting of sorts and for us to come to an agreement."

His voice reflected his cocky posture and Jie frowned. "What is it that you want?" She spoke calmly, with a head held high as she refused to break eye contact. "Your seal. I will have it today, the Wei dynasty will be strong, why won't you support your family?"

Cao Jie rose to her feet steadily. "I am supporting my family, the Han is my family and I am loyal to my family and by default I am loyal to the Han. If you supported the Han, we wouldn't need to create a new strong empire, it'd already be strong."

Her voice betrayed her and broke up a little bit as her chest started rising and her heart began to pump inconsistently and faster. Breathing was also unsteady and Jie hated the fact her body bretrayed her mind and showed signs of her weakness.

Pi smiled widely and maliciously. "Cao Jie, I will not ask again. Give me the seal or consequences will be arranged." Ministers gasped and even Zhen Ji looked at Cao Pi with a shocked expression at the threat he just made to his sister.

The tension in the room was thick, it was deathly silent and thoughts could practically be heard and Cao Jie reached into her robe and pulled out the seal, gazing at it with a soulful expression before hardening her eyes and glaring down at her brother.

Questions such as who would prevail? Who would cave? Would Cao Jie surrender at long last to her brother? Will Cao Pi leave only with a furious expression on his face? Cao Jie sighed as she calmly walked down the steps and approached her brother.

Cao Cao had raised her to be intelligent, calculating and to never give away her opinion. The ministers watched with breath held in their lungs and Cao Jie gripped the seal tightly as she seized it with both of her hands and raised it above her head.

Tears sprung to her eyes and covered her face as she tossed the seal onto the groud and she dabbed the falling tears with her robe, disgusted that she was displaying such a weak emotion. Teary brown eyes clashed with emotionless brown eyes as Cao Jie tore her gaze off of her smirking brother and towards everyone watching.

Mustering up her strength and with a might shout, she gave her final command and verdict as an Empress. "May Heaven not protect your reign!" It stirred such emotion, all the ministers were unable to look at anything other than the ground, Zhu Ling and Zhang He couldn't find the strength to look at the torn Empress and even Zhen Ji was looking away and clutched onto Pi tighter.

Empress He looked at her brother one last time and he smiled at her smugly, with a shake of her head and a slight sniffle, she sucked in her breath and walked regally towards her chambers, each step was killing her internal and her feet were about to give way.

Cao Jie was raised to be a strong, independent and calculating woman. Her actions today proved that she was raised right but the Cao family did not give in easily, they rarely surrendered and her dear older brother Cao Pi always got his way, no matter how much it would cost him.