A tall, wide thin curtain divided the empty hall in two. A group of musicians and dancers were playing and dancing energetically, while two blurry figures sat behind the curtain.
"Yu Shi...you should rest early tonight!" Emperor Zhaowu's voice was very gentle.
"Hmm!" Wang Yushi simply replied with a brief "Hmm."
The musicians and dancers retreated as if granted a pardon. In recent days, several musicians and dancers had been beaten to death for the slightest mistake.
After everyone had left, Emperor Zhaowu sat there for a long time before saying in a low voice, "Go down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Yuling takes her leave!"
The figure who had been sitting with Emperor Zhaowu withdrew and went into a side hall, where several eunuchs with gleaming eyes were watching her every move.
Yu Ling was not Wang Yu Shi; she was just a palace maid whose voice resembled Wang Yu Shi's.
When Yuling learned that she had been summoned by Emperor Zhaowu, she thought her chance had come and that she would be the next Consort Liu.
But now? She's numb. She knows her fate will most likely be death, she just doesn't know when.
She had tried her best; even a brief encounter could have offered a glimmer of hope! But after so many days, it seemed the Emperor hadn't even remembered her name.
Yu Ling stood there blankly for a long time, then sighed and prepared to go to sleep. She hoped that in her dreams she could still see the osmanthus tree in her hometown and her old mother bending over to dry osmanthus tea.
A gentle breeze drifted silently into the side hall, and a cold voice asked, "Who allowed you to stay here?"
Yu Ling turned her head sharply and saw a spirited woman staring at her sternly.
Yu Ling fell to her knees with a thud, crying out in anguish, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty... save me!"
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