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墨書 Inktalez
As soon as the words were spoken, Mu Junqi merely chuckled lightly, as if all of this had nothing to do with her. She met Mo Xiao Li's gaze and said, "If you had thought this way back then, wouldn't we have avoided reaching this point?"
Mo Xiao Li stood silently to the side, but inside, it felt like a needle was piercing her heart. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she turned to look out the window, tightly closing her eyes, desperately suppressing the urge to cry.
At that moment, the Empress Dowager walked in, her face gloomy. She shot a cold glare at Mu Junqi and turned to Mo Xiao Li, saying, "My child, this woman has done so much; I have decided to grant her three feet of white silk!"
Mo Xiao Li looked at the Empress Dowager in shock, her eyes filled with pain. Seeing that Mu Junqi remained expressionless, she took a deep breath and turned to Li Fusheng, saying, "Convey my decree: imprison the Empress in the Cold Palace."
Huixin and Ziyue hurriedly knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please think twice! The Empress has always been in poor health; if she stays in the Cold Palace, she will surely suffer. The Empress is not at all what you think she is."
"Bold and shameless servants! Now that the evidence is conclusive, if you dare to plead for mercy, you will be punished alongside her!"
Mu Junqi stepped forward and knelt before Mo Xiao Li, deeply bowing her head as she said, "Consort thanks Your Majesty." Then she looked at Huixin and Ziyue and said, "You don't need to plead anymore." Without waiting for a response, she stood up and cast one last deep glance at Mo Xiao Li before walking out.
As she exited Tianming Palace, she was greeted by the golden-yellow sunset. The tears that had been suppressed for so long finally flowed down. This was originally what she had hoped for most; however, when that moment truly arrived, it felt unbearably painful.
Slowly walking forward with two palace maids following behind her, everything ahead seemed so unfamiliar, as if it were her first time there. She couldn't find the words to describe how she felt inside; it was as if her thoughts had vanished entirely, leaving her unsure of what to do next.
The palace maids and eunuchs they encountered along the way seemed unaware of what had happened and still bowed to her with puzzled expressions. After an unknown amount of time, they arrived at the Cold Palace. As soon as they entered, an old maid approached them; after exchanging a few words with the two palace maids, she left.
Mu Junqi sat dazedly on a rickety chair to the side, staring blankly into the distance. The old maid sneered at her and said, "Still thinking of yourself as the Empress? Here I am in charge! From now on, you must listen to me in everything. Do you understand?"
Mu Junqi raised her eyes to look at the old maid with some confusion but soon understood. She smiled faintly and replied, "I understand."
The old woman had nothing more to say and, after a few words, left the room.
The Cold Palace was a place of utter silence, where sitting there seemed to calm the heart as well. It wasn't until she felt extremely cold that she moved to the side to lie on the dilapidated bed, covering herself with the foul-smelling quilt.
Although she had once been the Empress, for some reason, the managing maid assigned her the task of chopping firewood. Every day, she had to chop a large pile of wood and her meals were quite poor.
After a few days, her hands were chafed and cracked, but her mood had calmed significantly. Although it was hard work, she no longer had to think about other matters and instead found a rare sense of peace.
According to the old woman, the Emperor's illness had completely healed, which led everyone to believe even more that the Emperor had fallen ill due to the Empress's witchcraft. The harem had entirely become the domain of Consort Xi and Consort Qian.
Even though she did not want to concern herself with everything outside, it did not mean that others would not take this opportunity to trouble her.
One day, after Mu Junqi finished chopping the firewood and returned to her room, she ate a few cold steamed buns and a plate of leftovers before going to bed. Just as she was dozing off, she felt someone standing in front of her. Being a light sleeper, she woke up immediately and saw a man standing before her.
At that moment, she couldn't be sure what the man intended to do, so she pretended to continue sleeping, tensing all her nerves. However, after a long while without any movement, she quietly opened her eyes only to find that there was no one in the room. Confused, she sat up but still heard nothing. After some time passed, she lay back down.
The next morning, when she woke up, everything seemed normal as usual. Based on what happened last night, she couldn't determine who it was right away. However, it served as a warning; looking around at the dilapidated surroundings made her realize that if someone truly wanted to harm her, she would be helpless.
Thinking this, she hurriedly called out, "Is anyone there?"
The old woman came over grumbling and scolding, "What are you making such a fuss about? Do you still think you're the Empress? Let me tell you, if you don't finish chopping that firewood today, you won't get any food."
"Did anyone come by last night?" she continued to ask despite the woman's angry remarks.
The old woman seemed to have heard something funny, sneering as she said, "Do you think this is some kind of place? Who would want to come here? Enough talk, hurry up and get to work!" With that, she left.
Unable to ask anything further, she could only walk out slowly. The cold wind blowing towards her made her shiver involuntarily, but she continued walking towards the distance. After these few days, her hands had already developed calluses.
Meanwhile, Mo Xiao Li sat on the throne in Yun Jin Palace with a cold gaze, looking down at the civil and military officials. However, his mind was elsewhere. Li Fusheng watched him with concern; for some time now, the Emperor had been listless every day, and any small mistake could provoke his wrath, causing those who served him to suffer greatly.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?" General Mu called out to the distracted Mo Xiao Li.
Mo Xiao Li came back to his senses and looked at the crowd below. Thinking the meeting was over, he stood up without hesitation and walked out. The remaining officials looked at him with confusion written all over their faces, whispering among themselves.
After leaving Yun Jin Palace, Mo Xiao Li walked forward recklessly. Li Fusheng followed behind with a cloak in hand, watching him head down that path with a heavy heart. He wanted to speak up but didn't know how, so he could only quietly follow behind, as that path led directly to Qinxiang Garden.
As he reached the Imperial Garden, he saw Consort Qian and several other concubines chatting and laughing ahead. Consort Qian spotted Mo Xiao Li from a distance and hurriedly approached him with a smile while everyone else bowed.
At that moment, Mo Xiao Li realized how lost he had been earlier. For these past few days, he felt like he had no soul, drifting through each day in a daze. He knew she didn't love him and wished for his death, yet he couldn't bring himself to hate her.
"Your Majesty, how is your health?"
"I'm fine. If you all are well, then I shall take my leave," he said lightly before turning to leave.
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