Chapter 1

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the early summer, when evening arrived, torrential rain would always arrive suddenly.

The sky was dark and gloomy, and dark clouds were pressing down on the dignified and imposing palace walls. The originally magnificent palace was shrouded in dark clouds, like a huge cage, trapping the people inside.

In the spacious sleeping chamber, the curtains seemed to be very old and were covered with a thick layer of dust. It was originally a hot day, but it actually felt a little cold. The floor was scattered with clothes and accessories, as if a disaster just happened.

The woman got down one of her knees on the ground and looked up at the person in front of her.

This woman was only 30 years old, but her face was as old as an old woman’s. Her eyes were deep and vicious, like a pool of stagnant water. She looked like a dried well that had been left behind for a long time. Tears could not flow out of her eyes, but they carried a bottomless hatred.

“Your Highness, please.” The eunuch beside her held a white silk cloth in his hands, his tone impatient. “I still have to report to His Majesty.”

Shen Miao’s gaze landed on the eunuch. After a moment of silence, she slowly spoke with a hoarse voice, “Little Li, when I first promoted you, you were still a dog by Eunuch Gao’s side.”

The eunuch raised his head slightly. “Your Highness, times are different now.”

“Times are different now…” Shen Miao muttered, suddenly raising her head and laughing. “Times are indeed different now!”

Just because times were indeed different now, those servants and officials who had treated her with respect in the past could now shout at her. Because times were indeed different now, she would be beheaded. When did it all start? From when Concubine Mei entered the palace, or from when the Crown Prince was disqualified, or from when the Eldest Princess died? Or from when she was held hostage in the State of Qin for five years before returning to the palace?

A word from Fu Xiuyi could determine whether it was a good time or a bad time. It could turn everyone in the imperial court to turn against Shen Miao and make her step down as empress.

The door opened with a creak, and a pair of green boots with dragon patterns on them stopped in front of Shen Miao. Looking up, it was a bright yellow robe.

“Since you have been with me for twenty years, I will grant you an intact corpse,” the Emperor said.

Shen Miao slowly raised her head and looked at the mighty man. Time did not leave any marks on his face, just like how handsome he was back then. He was the ruler of the world, the rightful Son of Heaven, the man she had been infatuated with for twenty years, the husband who had helped her through thick and thin. Now, he said to her, “I will grant you an intact corpse.”

“Why?” Shen Miao asked with difficulty.

He didn’t answer.

“Why do you want to exterminate the entire Shen family?” she asked.

The late emperor had nine sons. Each of the nine sons had their own merits. When the crown prince was ill, the late emperor refused to appoint a new crown prince, so the princes fought for the throne. Shen Miao admired Fu Xiuyi’s unparalleled look and insisted on marrying him,

It was precisely because of this that she did her best to assist the Crown Prince. From a pampered girl who knew nothing to the Princess Consort who would also participate in the matters of the royal court, she came up with strategies to help the Crown Prince ascend the throne successfully. On the day Fu Xiuyi ascended the throne, she was appointed as the empress, a motherly figure of the world. How glorious.

She thought that she was the most glorious empress. After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Ming Qi was faced with threats coming from the Xiunu, and the neighboring countries were waiting to take over Ming Qi. In order to borrow troops, Shen Miao voluntarily went to the State of Qin to be a hostage. When she left, her daughter and son were still young. Fu Xiuyi even said to her, “I will definitely bring you back.”

Five years later, she finally returned to Ming Qi, but her place had long been taken by a new concubine called Mei.