Chapter 3 — That Year's Snow Buried the Royal Dynasty

A group of eunuchs rushed into the inner palace and ransacked it all. Very quickly, Cong Ly ran out holding a small scarecrow covered in needles.

"The Queen Mother! Found it! It was found under the pillow of that maid! On it was written... the eight characters of the Queen Mother's birthday!"

Brazenly slandering. The Queen Mother was so angry that she was shaking:

"Very good! What a cruel monster! How dare you curse anyone!"

"Where are you? Pull that maid out! I want to interrogate myself!"

“Who dares!”

I jumped up and blocked the door of the inner palace.

“Treason! Treason!” The Queen Mother was so angry that she laughed, "Fight for anyone! If you kill me, there will be no impeachment!"

The guards pulled out their knives and rushed forward. I'm empty-handed and basically can't support that many people. In the chaos, I was pressed to the ground, watching helplessly as two midwives rushed into the inner hall, like dragging a dead dog, and pulled Lam Uyen out.

“Don't… don't…”

Lam Uyen screamed in panic, the wound was dragged on the ground into a long trail of blood. Lieu Nhi stepped forward, stepped on Lam Uyen's hand with one foot, and crushed it with force.

“Ah…!”

The screams were deafening. The Queen Mother coldly looked at that scene.

“Bring this servant back to Tu Ninh Palace, everyone must ‘exorcise’ the evil spirit from his body properly.”

"As for the Imperial Concubine, you are confined to Canh Nhan Palace. Without anyone's will, no one is allowed to visit!"

I tried my best to struggle but it was useless, I could only watch Lam Uyen being dragged away. Her desperate eyes pierced the crowd, staring at me. That's asking for help. It's also a farewell.

04

It was the third day since Lam Uyen was taken away. During these three days, I ran like crazy and knocked on the door, but no one paid attention. Tieu Canh came once, away from the door, his voice full of helplessness:

“My dear, admit your mistake, I really like you, don't let things turn out like this.”

“The queen is angry, as long as she is willing to calm down, I will go and beg again, that girl... can still keep her life.”

Save one life. Page Nguyet Hoa Cac I leaned my back against the door, slid down to sit on the ground, and laughed out loud.

“Your Majesty, please come back.”

That night, the system suddenly sounded a shrill alarm. 【Warning! Warning! The target character's life goes to zero! The target character's life goes to zero!】 The tight wire in my head... snapped. Not knowing where the strength came from, I undid the window latch with my bare hands, flipped open the door, escaped, and stumbled all the way to Tu Ninh Palace. There were bright lights and warmth filling the room, even with the smell of alcohol and laughter. Before I could step in, I heard Lieu Nhi's charming laugh:

“Your Majesty, do you look at its appearance, does it look like a rash dog?”

"But Master Hou has a way. To treat this type of hard bone, you have to use this trick."

I pushed the door in, a stream of hot air and strong charcoal scent hit my face. In the room, burning premium quality silver charcoal, the Queen Mother sat in the chair, twirling the rosary, Co Truong Phong and Lieu Nhi were sitting next to her, laughing and talking. As for my Uyen Uyen... She was chained around her neck with a rough iron rope, kneeling next to a pot of red coals. The thin clothes on her body had been torn to pieces by the whip, and there was no visible skin left intact—full of bruises and blisters. Her ten fingers were still swollen, red and ulcerated, and people pressed them harshly into hot tea to "warm them up".

“Oh, you're here already?”

Lieu Nhi carried a bowl of bird's nest Just finished cooking, he smiled brightly at me. Then, its wrist turned slightly. The hot bowl of bird's nest was splashed straight on Lam Uyen's face!

“Ah…”

Lam Uyen let out a weak and hoarse cry. Her body instinctively twitched, but because she was being pulled by the chain, she could only struggle like a dog lying on the ground. Co Truong Phong looked coldly and kicked her in disgust:

"What are you hiding? This is your reward, why don't you lick it all up?"

I felt the blood in my body freeze. I looked at the girl who once lived in modern times, radiant with spirit, vowing to lead me to flight. Now, because I want to live, I have to crawl on the ground, stick out my tongue and lick the bird's nest stains and dirt on the carpet. Licking and crying at the same time.

“Uyen Uyen…”

I let out a broken cry. Lam Uyen's movements were stiff. She struggled to raise her head, her face had been tortured to the point of deformity, her eyes were cloudy. Seeing clearly that it was me, her whole body trembled violently, desperately wanting to bury her head in her messy dirty hair. She doesn't want me to see myself like this. The most beautiful, most dignified girl in love, right now just wants to dig a hole in the ground and crawl down.

"Don't look at me... Tell... don't look at me..."

Her voice was as hoarse as a torn bellows, every word mixed with blood.

“I'm dirty… I'm really dirty…”

I rushed forward, pushed away Co Truong Phong blocking the way, knelt down and hugged her tightly.

"It's not dirty, Uyen Uyen is not dirty, I'm late..."

I want to remove the iron chain on her neck, but it's a dead knot and can't be opened at all. Lam Uyen leaned in my arms, her body as light as a dry leaf. Her temperature is dropping very quickly.

"Bao..." she struggled to grab my sleeve, "I didn't do anything wrong to you... Lieu Nhi said I seduced Marquis... I didn't..."

“I know, I know everything…” I cried until my eyes were blurred.

"I'm in so much pain... it hurts all over..."

“I want to go home… I want to take painkillers… the medicine here is so bitter…”

Her voice became smaller and smaller, her eyes began to dissolve, looking at a certain point in space.

“Mom… I want to go home…”

Besides, Co Truong Phong smiled coldly:

"What are you pretending to be dead? The Queen Mother hasn't spoken yet, who told you to stop? Keep crawling!"