Chapter 1

Nan Yan once again tried to break free from the ribbon tightly tied around her wrists, but it was still useless.

Her movement caused the thin blanket covering her to slide down, revealing her thin shoulders. Her smooth skin was as white as jade, and reflected by the candlelight beside the bed, it added a strange temptation.

Except for her exposed shoulders, her whole body was actually naked. Her naked skin was completely pressed against the cold silk quilt, which didn't feel good. It was like being scratched by ice. She shuddered, and the quilt slid down a few inches. This time, not only her shoulders, but also her bony collarbone were exposed. She didn't dare to move anymore.

Tonight is her first night in the emperor's bedchamber.

It has been more than three months since Nan Yan entered the palace as a concubine. She counted the days on her fingers. Although she did not stretch her neck like the other concubines, looking forward to the day when the emperor would visit her, she knew that this day would eventually come.

She couldn't say she was looking forward to it, and naturally she had no right to resist. But the sisters around her tried their best, some even bribed the eunuchs and maids in charge to get the chance to sleep with him.

However, the situation changed after the third concubine served the emperor in bed.

Because she—did not come back alive.

The two concubines who had served in the emperor's bed were sent back, their bodies covered with wounds. One of them was even in a coma for several days and had not woken up. The other one was still conscious, but seemed to be in a state of dementia. She had a high fever, wrapped in a quilt and talking nonsense every day, and did not allow anyone to get close to her. Within two days, she was taken away by the people from the Yunting.

From then on, no one was so eager to sleep with the emperor anymore, and instead avoided it like the plague. The emperor's bedroom was like the bloody mouth of a wild beast, and whoever entered it would never come out safely.

But today, the nanny came to tell her that Nan Yan should sleep with her tonight.

When everyone heard the news, they first breathed a sigh of relief, feeling lucky that they had escaped a disaster. But then, everyone looked at her with a bit more pity, as if they were looking at a dead person.

Although Nan Yan was frightened, she could not disobey the emperor's order. She could only let the palace maids bathe her and then bring her to this tall and magnificent bedroom. They asked her to take off her last layer of clothes and lie on the bed covered with a thin quilt. Before leaving, two expressionless palace maids tied her wrists tightly with two ribbons on both sides of the bed, saying that this was how it was when serving the emperor in bed.

Nan Yan is now like meat on a chopping board, just waiting to be slaughtered.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but turn her head and look out the window. It was pitch black outside, there was no one around, not even the sound of the wind. She could only see the shadows of the trees outside projected on the window paper, swaying, making her more and more uneasy.

When will the emperor come tonight?

I wish he hadn't come.

Perhaps the emperor is busy with affairs tonight and has no time to come here to visit her. In this case, perhaps she can still save her life.

She kept repeating this in her heart, as if God had heard her prayers. Time passed by little by little. Although she could not see the hourglass in the corner of the room, she estimated that it was almost midnight, but the emperor still had not come.

Is he really not coming?

Thinking of this, a glimmer of hope rose in Nan Yan's heart. Perhaps if she could survive the next few hours, she would be saved.

However, just as she was still daydreaming like this, there was a loud noise outside.