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"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Consort Nan, with a wicked heart, has harmed the imperial heir. Effective immediately, she is hereby stripped of her title, demoted to commoner status, given thirty strokes of the cane, and imprisoned in the Cold Palace. So be it!"

The eunuch's voice, shrill as he read the imperial edict, hurt Nan Zhiyun's ears.

"Commoner Nan, receive the imperial decree!" The eunuch who came to deliver the decree walked arrogantly to Nan Zhiyun. Nan Zhiyun's face was pale; she had been kneeling there for two hours. She looked at the three large characters "Zhiyun Palace" in front of her, and they burned her eyes.

This morning, Consort Yun summoned her to Zhiyun Palace, and then she miscarried. When the Emperor arrived, he ordered her to kneel there without saying a word. Unsurprisingly, Consort Yun, having just regained consciousness, immediately claimed that she was the one who caused the miscarriage, which is why the Emperor issued this imperial decree.

Nan Zhiyun's eyes were lifeless; the shattered light within them had vanished completely. She accepted the imperial edict, her voice filled with boundless sorrow: "This humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness."

She should have realized it long ago. The emperor had always despised her. She was demoted from one of the four concubines to a low-ranking concubine, and now she was directly punished and sent to the Cold Palace. This should have fulfilled his wish.

What's next? Will they just find some excuse to kill her? Nan Zhiyun barely managed to hold back her tears.

"By His Majesty's decree, the commoner Nan has harmed the imperial heir, a crime that cannot be forgiven. She shall be flogged thirty times as a warning to others. Let the punishment begin!" This eunuch was from Consort Yun's side.

Soon someone brought over the torture bench. Nan Zhiyun's outer robe was removed, and then she was pressed onto the bench by palace servants, and the torture rod fell mercilessly.

The excruciating pain in her back caused Nan Zhiyun's tears to fall in disarray.

"Stop!" A slightly aged voice suddenly rang out.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!" The palace servants knelt down.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager..." Nan Zhiyun looked over. The Empress Dowager was the Emperor's adoptive mother. Her own mother had given her life to save the Empress Dowager, so the Empress Dowager always regarded her as her own daughter.

"Where is the Emperor? Show the Emperor to me!" The Empress Dowager seemed furious. She had rushed over after hearing about this at Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager arrived in front of Nan Zhiyun.

"Yun'er has suffered so much, what are you all still doing? Hurry up and help her up!" The Empress Dowager looked at Nan Zhiyun with pity.

However, the palace servants remained unmoved upon hearing this. The Empress Dowager was about to lash out when she was interrupted by the Emperor's sudden voice.

"The Nan family has committed a heinous crime, an unforgivable offense. Is the Empress Dowager going to protect them?" The Emperor emerged from the inner chamber, his bright yellow dragon robe the final straw that broke Nan Zhiyun's back. With just a word from him, she would have to bear the blame, whether she wanted to or not!

"The matter has not yet been fully investigated. Does the Emperor intend to convict Yun'er based solely on Consort Yun's one-sided account?" the Empress Dowager roared.

"Consort Yun testified herself, how could it be false? Guards, continue the punishment! Anyone who dares to plead for mercy will be punished with twenty more strokes of the cane!" Emperor Yu Jingchen's order was not to be questioned.

"Emperor! Are you determined to oppose me?" How could the Empress Dowager not know that Yu Jingchen was doing this on purpose? He simply wanted to depose Nan Zhiyun. He never cared whether the charge was true or not.

"Execute!" Yu Jingchen gave the order.

The palace servants dared not delay any longer.

"You..." The Empress Dowager fainted from anger.

"The Empress Dowager is unwell. We will send her back to the palace to recuperate in Cixi Palace. Please ask the imperial physicians to take good care of her." Yu Jingchen's expression did not change at all.

Nan Zhiyun met Yu Jingchen's eyes, her heart growing increasingly desolate, while Yu Jingchen remained unmoved throughout. He had never had any feelings for her, or perhaps he had no feelings for anyone at all.

Nan Zhiyun could no longer bear it. In her dazed state, she heard a palace maid say, "Your Majesty, she has fainted."

"But are you done fighting? If not, keep fighting until it's over." Yu Jingchen's voice was devoid of warmth. Nan Zhiyun felt utterly hopeless and fainted completely.

When she woke up again, she was already in the cold palace.

The wounds on her back weren't treated, and no one came to check on them. Nan Zhiyun just lay there blankly. Suddenly, the door was pushed open.

“Miss…” A palace maid approached Nan Zhiyun with a sob in her voice.

"Miss, what happened to you? How could His Majesty treat you like this? How could he be so cruel?" The palace maid cried so hard she couldn't breathe.

She is Nan Zhiyun's personal maid, and also Qianxia, ​​the maid who has grown up with her since childhood.

"Why are you here? His Majesty won't let you off if he finds out. Go back now." Nan Zhiyun's face was pale, but she was smiling. She was always such a gentle person.

"It's alright. The Empress Dowager sent me to take care of you, Miss. She said she'll let you go out in a few days," Qianxia said, wiping away her tears.

"How could the Empress Dowager possibly go against His Majesty's wishes? Tell the Empress Dowager not to worry about me anymore, and don't let her lose the last bit of affection between him and His Majesty." Nan Zhiyun's heart was already dead.

"Miss, please don't think like that. Shall I help you apply the medicine first?" Qianxia was genuinely distressed.

"No need, let's just leave it at that." Nan Zhiyun felt that dying like this would be fine.

“Miss, please don’t be like this. Everything will be alright. Think about the General. He will be back soon. When he comes back, we’ll have him take you home, okay?” Qianxia said.

Nan Zhiyun's father, Nan Su, was a powerful general who commanded a large army and was a key minister who fought alongside the late emperor to establish the empire. However, because Nan Su was originally under the control of the Empress Dowager's father, after the Empress Dowager's father passed away, Nan Su became, in Yu Jingchen's eyes, a relative of the empress dowager.

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