Zetian developed an abuse addiction to Qin Zheng in Heavenly Tyrant, in this essay I will...
The first and most obvious way this occours is through parallels to Shimin's alcohol addiction. Shimin becomes alcoholic and uses it as a coping mechanism after a combination of killing his family, killing Wende and killing women whilst piloting, Zetian develops an abuse addiction to Qin Zheng after dealing with the combined trauma of killing her family, the loss of both Shimin and Yizhi and killing her first innocent male pilot whilst piloting. Of course, both Shimin and Zetian have no agency in how they develop these addictions. Shimin is forced to drink alcohol in an IRL parallel to minorities from Xinjiang, whilst Zetian's marriage to Qin Zheng is forced on both sides, with Qin Zheng assuming the power in the relationship.
When Qin Zheng is threatening to force-feed Zetian during her hunger-strike, it directly reminds her of Shimin being forced to alcohol. Similiarly, when Zetian is having sex with Qin Zheng, she remarks that she now "understands" Shimin's alcohol addiction.
Likewise, the way in which Zetian engages in sex with Qin Zheng draws further parallels to alcoholism and addiction. When Qin Zheng is seducing her, he entices her with fake wine to make her think that she is drunk, and she remarks internally that she has never drunk alcohol other than when she was with Gao Qiu, who sexually assaulted her. Her father and grandfather's own use of alcohol is an important thing to also consider, with alcohol almost always having a link to trauma or abuse within the narrative. Zetian also suggests that it's "easier" to "drown" in their relationship than to think about Yizhi's vanishing and her killing of Di Renjie.
Even outside the parallels to Shimin's alcoholism, Zetian is more likely to develop abuse addiction than others because she has survived an incredibly abusive childhood, is implied to have depression and is explicitly suicidal. Addictions are most likely to occour in reaction to trauma, and childhood abuse can literally rewire the brain. Although Zetian has a concept of a safe relationship, her 18 years trapped with her abusive family versus her several months with Yizhi and Shimin means that for her brain, abuse is the norm. Safe relationships are desirable, but not normal. The various consent related plot twists in Heavenly Tyrant further affect Zetian's perspective of relationships because she can no longer trust Yizhi.
It's also worth considering that Zetian can not escape her relationship with Qin Zheng. She can't kill him, because she needs his piloting and political power; she can't run away, because she needs his piloting and political power; she can't divorce him, because women still have so few rights in Huaxia; she can't have an affair, because Qin Zheng can see her memories, albeit not perfectly; she can't even talk shit about him without him learning and potentially getting angry. Even when they are not together, he engages in stalking behavior by constantly asking for updates via messages and by training to track her spirit signature. Both physical and mental escape are impossible.
Mental escape, however ironically, is possible during sex with Qin Zheng. It is the only activity he actively asks for consent for. Zetian's knowledge of his past makes it so that is the only thing she can trust him to keep his word with. During sex, where Zetian can participate as more-or-less an equal (i.e. scratching and pegging him), Zetian can release her tension and frustrations in a way that will not lead to later harm or retaliation. Literally, she describes their sex as "taking their frustrations out on each other".
In addition to this, Qin Zheng doubly provides psychological safety in terms of piloting. Killing a co-pilot in the mind-link is traumatic, and Zetian is absolutely horrified when she kills Di Renjie. This is when piloting has already become stressful after learning the truth of the Hundun's origins. However, when piloting with Qin Zheng, Zetian does not have to worry about killing him. In a world where piloting = power, Qin Zheng becomes the psychologically safest way for Zetian to access power.
The relationship is also a coping mechanism towards Zetian's sense of impending doom. Their raid on the Heavenly Court, in Zetian's perspective, should not end in them being alive. Zetian explicitly states that the concept of there being a time-limit on their relationship makes it more feasible for her.
When Zetian is confronted with the fact that she is still alive, it is then that she takes action and recklessly (but understandably) stabs Qin Zheng. Yet at the end of the book, Zetian can't bring herself to throw their matching necklace away. She justifies it by saying that the necklace represents her claim to being Empress of Huaxia, but that's not what the necklace actually represents. The necklace represents their relationship - whether it is or isn't romantic isn't the point. What matters is that Zetian can not conceptualise a world without needing her and Qin Zheng's relationship for distraction and safety.
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