The heavy rain kept pouring down, making a layer of veil on the entire imperial city. Shen Ninghua knelt on the ground and raised her head to look at the woman sitting on the throne of Fengyi Palace. And her eyes were cold as ice. "Shen Linghan, I really didn't expect you to be so impatient. I had handed over my power to Baili Jinze no sooner than he asked you to deal with me."
Someone had long advised her that emperors were ruthless, that she shouldn't trust Baili Jinze, and that she must keep the last trump card in her hand. Unfortunately, she wanted to offer her trust in exchange for his true love. She didn't expect that she was simply offering her heart for him to trample.
The woman smiled lightly, the hairpin on her head glowing. "Deal with you? Sister, you're kidding. You deserve everything that you get. His Majesty has instructed me that your crimes are enough for you to be sliced into pieces. However, you and I are sisters and considering that I had paid respects to you as Empress for so many years, I should beg his Majesty to spare your life."
Rain ran down from the top of her head, and her dark long hair scattered all over the ground. Shen Ninghua felt a bone-piercing chill. "My position as Empress is due to the contribution to the Great An Dynasty! I risked my life several times for the Emperor and accompanied him all the way. It's reasonable for his Majesty to grant me the title of Empress. After all these years, have I done anything that disappointed Baili Jinze? Have I done anything that betrayed the Great An Dynasty? What am I guilty of?”
"You think you are innocent? The entire Great An Dynasty knows that you've poisoned the Emperor's brothers, murdered the Emperor's sons, and framed cases against the imperial concubines. You've also ordered crafty officials to dominate the court! Haha, shame on you to think you are innocent. " With an elegant smile on her face, Shen Linghan looked down at Shen Ninghua, her eyes filled with joy.
Shen Ninghua gritted her teeth. "If I hadn't helped Baili Jinze get rid of his brothers, how could he have taken the throne? Those officials sent their daughters to the imperial Harem. If I hadn't gotten rid of them, how could peace have been maintained in the Harem?"
Baili Jinze had actually made her the culprit of everything… Back then, he had vowed to become her patron and protect her for the rest of her life. Just because of these promises, she didn't hesitate to dye her hands with blood, only to fulfill his ambition. The oath was still echoing in her ears, but his attitude had completely changed. Now she became the scapegoat of so many crimes, which were enough to make her forever doomed. If she really wanted to control the court, how could she hand over all the power to Baili Jinze?
"His Majesty is a man of great talent. It's the people's desire for him to sit on the throne. What does it have to do with a vicious woman like you? Sister, you take yourself too seriously. But speaking of that, there really is a fool who has been trying his best to refute these charges, and even went to find evidence to prove your innocence. Unfortunately… Tsk-tsk…” Shen Linghan's eyes curved, and her red lips were full of smiles.
"Yun Chuan… What did you do to Yun Chuan?" Shen Ninghua suddenly raised her head. She saved Yun Chuan in a disaster relief mission. Just because she gave him a good meal, he followed her back to the capital and remained loyal to her, risking his life to protect her many times.
"No big fuss. I had meant to do him a favor and let him die without pain, but it was a pity that he was so disobedient. He said that even if he had no hands, feet, and teeth, as long as he had a breath, he would definitely seek justice for his sister. I was so touched by his words that I cut off his hands and feet and pulled out his eyes, ears, nose, tongue and teeth. I would like to see if he could help you this time with that breath I gave him."
Shen Ninghua's body trembled, and her eyes expressed her wish for nothing other than to slice Shen Linghan to pieces. She shrilled, "Yun Chuan has always been pure-hearted. He is only a sixteen-year-old boy. He not only saved my life in the war, but also saved Baili Jinze's life. When Baili encountered an assassination in Shang Prefecture, Yun Chuan got thirteen knife cuts but he still carried Baili on his back and managed to escape. If it hadn't for him, how could Baili Jinze be still alive? How could you hurt him like this?"
"My sister, being able to die to protect the Emperor is naturally an honor for that silly kid. He should be happy even if he died. Why wouldn't I hurt him? I am the kindest person. For fear that he will die alone, I let your good maids, Si Qin and Si Qi accompany him. They all followed you all the way. I would never leave the two of them behind. These two girls are really tough. I have tried all sorts of ways but failed to make them say anything against you."
Shen Ninghua suddenly stood up and threw herself at Shen Linghan without the slightest hesitation. However, the guard kicked her in the chest and she spat out a mouthful of blood instantly. She growled,
"Shen Linghan, Si Qin is married. She's pregnant. She's going to have a baby in two months. How dare you torture her? You're a venomous woman. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"Retribution? Funny! There is no such thing. Even if there is, sister, you can't see it. I'm telling you, that girl Si Qin watched as the baby was aborted out of her belly and still refused to sign the confession. So, after I asked someone to get rid of her baby, I cut off her hand and pressed it on the confession."
Shen Ninghua's face was pale as she bit her lips tightly. Her heart was already scarred. She raised her head and stared at Shen Linghan. She wanted to engrave her in her heart. Even if she had turned into a vengeful spirit, she would come to take her life!
However, Shen Linghan was enraged by her gaze. She suddenly stood up, ignored the rain, walked up to Shen Ninghua, and slapped her on the face with her heart filled with hatred. "Why are you looking at me like that, bitch? I tell you, from today, I will be the master of the Fengyi Palace and the Empress of the Great An Dynasty. You will never win!"
She hated the look in Shen Ninghua's eyes the most because they seemed calm and indifferent at any time. Even if she was trampled into the mud like this now, that calm look in her eyes did not change a bit.
"Shen Linghan, if there is no retribution from Heaven, I'll personally give you a taste of retribution."
Shen Linghan slammed the bright yellow imperial edict on Shen Ninghua's face and said coldly, "Then we'll have to wait to see if you can survive. Here is the Imperial decree. Shen Ninghua plotted against the Emperor’s offspring and gossiped about affairs of the imperial state. She is immediately deprived of the title of Empress and put into the Cold Palace. By the way, in order to allow her to think about her sins, let her lie on the bed tamely. Don't kill her."
Heavy rain filled the sky over the palace. Shen Ninghua listened to the noise outside the window, and her hollow eyes gleamed with a trace of light. She had lived in the Cold Palace for almost ten years, and because of one sentence of Shen Linghan, all her bones were shattered. Her body was weak and limp like mud and she was thrown into bed. Every day, she was treated like a beast and fed with rancid food.
Nevertheless, she still wanted to live and see if Heaven could see her misery and make Shen Linghan and Baili Jinze suffer! Unfortunately, Heaven hasn't opened his eyes.
In the sound of the rain, she heard footsteps gradually coming.
"Shen, today the new Emperor has ascended to the throne. The Empress dowager is so kind that she gave you some good stuff. If it wasn't for the Empress's mercy of not seeing blood on the big day, your life wouldn't be worth the money of this medicine at all. Don't forget to kowtow and thank Her Majesty when you get to the Underworld."
Her tongue had been cut off, and she couldn't say anything. She stared at the smiling imperial maid with her eyes wide open. The imperial maid took a small bottle and poured the liquid on her body.
Heart-wrenching pain spread out from her legs, causing Shen Ninghua's entire body to twitch, and the veins on her neck popped out prominently.
"Haha, this is corpse-melting water. The Empress dowager said that your body would contaminate the place if you were to be thrown into a mass grave. She didn’t want you to spoil the stomach of livestock in the wild. So she let you die in a clean way. The Ex-Emperor had also given an oral decree that it was a great misfortune for the Great An Dynasty to have you, a base-born person, as its Empress. You can't be buried in the royal mausoleum. After you turn into ashes, you will be thrown into the livestock shed. Even in your next life you won't have a good fate. That's what you deserve!"
Shen Ninghua's eyes bulged as she recalled the scene of Baili Jinze dressed in an imperial robe in front of the Fengyi Palace, gently hugging Shen Linghan. Blood dripped from her heart.
She hated them! She hated them so much! Baili Jinze, Shen Linghan, if there is a future life, I, Shen Ninghua, will surely have you destroyed and smashed to pieces. You must repay blood with blood!