Cheng Zhou wanted to give these fans a massive shocking visual impact.
When 'Empire Under Siege' first released some of their promotional preview pictures, Princess Qixia that was portrayed by Jin Sitian received severe critiques from the fans of the original novel. The characters in 'Empire Under Siege' were all very much alive and full of depth, there were practically no antagonists in it, only passionate and intense characters, which in itself was a highlight of the entire work.
Apart from the male lead who attracted the most fanbase, one of other female character—Princess Qixia, was also amazing. When the fans of the novel first read about the death of Princess Qixia, most of them were imagining skinning the author and chopping him up with a knife because it wasn't necessary for her to die in the first place.
