Chapter 1: The Betrayal

It had been three years since Fu Jiurong entered the Cold Palace.

The once-favored empress of Emperor Qian Ze could now only sit alone on the icy ground of her empty bedroom and look up at the bright moon hanging in the sky. There were cheers all around, and the usually quiet night was full of joy and festivity. Fu Jiurong smiled secretly and glanced at the night sky where thousands of fireworks exploded against the background of darkness. The emperor had just married a concubine today, and Fu Jiurong also heard that the blessed young woman was a princess from a foreign land. Apparently, she was beautiful as frost, cute, and admirably clever - which man would not sacrifice everything for her? Maybe Fu Jiurong should be happy for the emperor and wish the couple a happy life.

But it was all lies and farce - she knew this better than anyone after staying by the emperor's side for so many years.

The sound of distant drums echoed in the cold palace, creating such a beautiful and moving rhythm. She laughed again.

Such a happy night.

Accompanied by the music resounding through the cold palace, dozens of footsteps were heard outside. Her heart pounded rapidly against her chest at the sound. They had finally arrived.

Three years ago, she gave birth to a princess for Emperor Qianze. It should have been the happiest day of her life, but it was ruined because of her husband, a man whom she devoted her entire being to please. And on that day, she was sent to the cold palace by the ruthless emperor and forced to spend the rest of her life in loneliness. What a tragic, pitiful ending.

She was once the most powerful woman in the Nanyun Kingdom and the emperor's greatest ally. She had spent her life studying poison in order to defeat any threats that stood in the way of her beloved husband. She had promised herself that she would ensure that the second prince, the man who she served wholeheartedly, would lead a peaceful and wealthy life until he finally ascended the throne and became the emperor of the Nanyun Kingdom - Emperor Qian Ze, who now ruled the world.

Fu Jiurong looked away from the window facing her, ignoring the dim moonlight illuminating her narrow bedroom, and turned her gaze to the figure standing at the door now. She smiled in the dark.

"You've finally come." After so many years of isolation, her voice became hoarse.

Emperor Qian Ze stared at her solemnly, wearing the best gold thread hanfu the kingdom could afford. His smooth black hair had been combed thoroughly by his servant, and a simple jade hairpin had been eased into place between all the dark strands. How predictable.

He never liked delicate accessories.

"What is it? Even a whole palace can't satisfy the emperor enough that he has come to Cold Palace?"

"Rong'er, you misunderstand my intentions." Rong'er. Ah, how long had it been since the emperor called her by that name?

Emperor Qian Ze stepped across the threshold of her bedroom, followed by countless servants and a eunuch who stood next to him. She had known Eunuch Li for several years and it hurt a little to see a look of disgust imprinted on his face.

Emperor Qian Ze looked at her expressionlessly with an evil gleam in his jet-black eyes. "I'm not here tonight for your nonesense."

Fu Jiurong smiled at the emperor "Oh? Does the emperor think tonight's banquet is too boring? If you are tired of playing around, aren't there many other concubines in your palace to keep you entertained? Why are you here in this gloomy place?"

"Shut up." The emperor roared angrily.

"The emperor can't possibly be afraid, can he?"

Emperor Qian Ze stared at her motionless, a smile slowly emerging from the corner of his mouth. The hairs on Fu Jiurong's neck stood up, and before she could say a word, a little girl who was holding hands with a pair of palace maids suddenly appeared beside the emperor. She was wearing a red embroidered hanfu with pink flowers sewn on the sleeves. She wasn't smiling, nor did her little eyes show any emotion. Looking at her ruddy face, this girl must only be a few years old. But Fu Jiurong recognized her at a glance.

The Empress of Nanyun Kingdom crawled to her knees on the ground, and with trembling hands, she reached out to touch her daughter's face.

"Xue'er," she whispered, taking the girl's hand in her own. "You've come to see mother again."

The girl sniffed, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Mother," she replied.

Fu Jiurong glanced at the emperor, then back to her daughter, her smile slowly getting brighter. "Does your father treat you well?"

The girl nodded. "Xue'er is fine. Xue'er just misses Mother." The young third princess of Nanyun Kingdom frowned and pursed her lips unhappily. "Mother, when will you come and visit Xue'er?"

Fu Jiurong felt that his heart was about to be broken, and grief welled up in his heart. "Xue'er, when the time is right, Mother will definitely come to see you. I promise, okay?"

The princess nodded again, her black hair framing her pretty face. She has both the facial features of her father and mother, but the eyes that Fu Jiurong stared at — they were the eyes of the emperor. Another stinging pain hit her heart.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the emperor wave his hand, and behind him, another pair of maids appeared, suddenly grabbing the princess' arm. Fu Jiurong's daughter was dragged away from her.

"Mother!" Xue'er screamed with wide eyes. Eunuch Li next to the emperor nodded slightly, and one of the servants who followed the emperor to the Cold Palace stepped forward, holding a long knife in his hand. Fu Jiurong was all of a sudden out of breath.

With furrowed brows and panicked eyes, she turned to face the emperor. There was a cruel smile on the corner of Emperor Qian Ze's mouth. Fu Jiurong gritted her teeth, hatred boiling in her blood. "Mo Yehui," she shouted, "what are you trying to do?"

He flinched a little at the sound of his real name - a name he had not heard for a long, long while.

"Fu Jiurong, you deserve to die." The emperor looked down at her. "I spared your life before for the sake of our relationship as husband and wife, but this time you crossed the line."

"Mo Yehui, let Xue'er go first. This has nothing to do with her!"

"You have taken so much away, yet you still dare take advantage of your power. I should have executed you long ago," her husband sneered.

Fu Jiurong clenched her fists, her heart beating wildly.

"Empress doesn't have to look at me like this. I have already sent someone to investigate the matter: Mo Xue'er, the third princess of Nanyun Kingdom, is not my child at all."

This — how is this possible?

Emperor Qian Ze raised his eyebrows and smiled grimly. "Why is the empress suddenly speechless?"

"Mo Yehui, I warn you: if you dare touch Xue'er, you won't hear the end of it from me!" She felt the anger in her chest grow fiercer.

The emperor raised his head and laughed loudly, his eyes like black gems. "Is it really up to you? Fu Jiurong, if I want to destroy your entire family now, what can you do to stop me? If I, Mo Yehui, the dignified Emperor Qian Ze of Nanyun Kingdom, want to take everything from you, what can you do to stop me? What can you possibly do?" His long, nimble fingers pinched her face hard. "I am the Son of Heaven, and you are just a tiny ant under my feet."

Fu Jiurong bit her tongue in disgust.

How hateful.

She fought back tears, nails digging into her palms. "Yehui, you clearly know that it isn't true. I've been with you for so many years and I have sacrificed so much for you - I would never do anything like that to hurt you. But if you insist on believing this lie, please at least spare Xue'er. She is still innocent after all."

"Innocent? Mo Xue'er is a bastard. In this world, she has no value at all. She will destroy the royal family and destroy the world. I should have her killed for the sake of the Heavens."

She gritted her teeth at the emperor, her face full of anger. "Mo Yehui, you can hit me, scold me, or even kill me. But I will never allow you to hurt Xue'er."

She knew that her words were worthless to the emperor of the Nanyun Kingdom, but Fu Jiurong still glared at him.

"Mother..." Xue'er whimpered in front of her.

"Fu Jiurong, why don't you still understand yet?" Mo Yehui squatted down in front of her, his eyes flashing with an evil light. "You have lost."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of the blade being pulled out of its sheathe echoed in Fu Jiurong's ears.

Before anyone in the palace could react, Mo Xue'er, the third princess of Nanyun Kingdom, fell heavily to the ground. Blood splattered on the walls and on the floor, leaving permanent traces of death in the Cold Palace.

Fu Jiurong crawled over to her daughter's lifeless body. Her throat was dry with grief and tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart felt like it had been dug out of her body.

Fu Jiurong hugged the dead child tightly, her face contorted in immense agony. She raised her head to look at the emperor. "What did I do wrong to make you hate me so much and be so cruel? You are even willing to kill our child!"

"I just hate you. Since we were children, you will be loved by the majority of the people, and I could only hide behind you, silently envy you and fear you. Because one day you, Fu Jiurong, will snatch away my throne and everything that should belong to me."

"Yehui, I never thought of taking anything you. All I wanted was for you to look at me and tell me that you love me."

Fu Jiurong never thought that he would look down on her so much. Everything she did was for him, and now he accused her of plotting to overthrow him!

The emperor burst into laughter in disbelief. "Fu Jiurong, you can only blame yourself for being too naive. I have never loved you."

Those words — why did her heart hurt so much?

"But I do want to say thank you." The emperor looked her in the eye and an emotionless smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Rong'er, everything you've done for me in the past few years is a blessing. I appreciate it all."

Mo Yehui was laughing at her. He even—

Fu Jiurong suddenly let out a wry smile. How ironic all this is.

"Who would have thought that Fu Jiurong of Nanyun Kingdom would end up like this today," she said to herself.

After everything she had done, she had still lost to Mo Yehui.

"Mo Yehui," she cried miserably, "I, Fu Jiurong, will never forgive you in this life, in the next life, or even being a ghost. I hate you."

The emperor casually waved his hand back, turned, and walked towards the door.

"Kill her."

Fu Jiurong closed her eyes and tears rolled down her face.

In the next life, she would make him pay a hundred times, a thousand times the price for what he had done. She wouldn't let him off so easily.

The sound of retreating footsteps reached her ears, and she still watched helplessly as the vague figure of the emperor disappeared from the door, her heart shattered forever.

When the pain finally came to greet her, the sky shed tears of sadness.

The snow outside the palace fell like petals.