"Considering that Lady Leng has served you for a long time, I will not implicate you for the time being."
The young eunuch continued reading, his tone icy, "However, the Leng family has failed in disciplining its members, allowing her father and brothers to reach this state; she too cannot escape blame. Effective immediately, she is stripped of her title of Imperial Concubine, demoted to the rank of Consort, and relocated to the Jingsi Garden. She is not to leave without an imperial edict! So be it—"
"No...impossible..." After hearing this, Leng Zhen seemed to have all her strength drained away, collapsing to the ground. The jeweled hairpins on her head scattered all over the ground, making a crisp but jarring sound.
Demoted to the rank of concubine?
Relocated to a cold palace?
Cannot leave without an imperial edict?
This is tantamount to completely severing all her hopes and future!
"Your Majesty! I want to see Your Majesty! I want to see Your Majesty!" Leng Zhen suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her face, her voice shrill. "Eunuch Feng, please, let me see His Majesty! My father and brother deserved their punishment, but I... I have a heart full of love for Your Majesty! Your Majesty cannot be so heartless!"
The young eunuch closed the imperial edict, his eyes devoid of any emotion, only displaying a perfunctory indifference: "Consort Leng, His Majesty is currently in a fit of rage; no amount of pleading will be of any use. You should obey the decree to avoid putting your servants in a difficult position. All the supplies in Xiuzhen Palace will be inventoried and reduced later. As for you…"
The young eunuch paused for a moment, then said, "Please move to Jingsi Garden immediately. The West Garden has already been prepared."
He waved his hand, and two imperial guards behind him stepped forward. Although they did not use force, their oppressive posture indicated that if Leng Zhen disobeyed the order, they would carry it out by force.
Xiuzhu cried out and hugged Lengzhen, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Looking at the cold-hearted face of the little eunuch, and then at the two iron-tower-like imperial guards, Leng Zhen finally understood that her fate was sealed.
The Emperor not only wanted to eliminate the Leng family, but also to completely humiliate her. All the favor and affection she had received in the past seemed so ridiculous at this moment.
All her pride and dignity collapsed at that moment.
She stopped crying and screaming, and just laughed foolishly, her laughter filled with endless sorrow and mockery: "True heart? Heh... The heart of an emperor is the most fickle... I should have known... I should have known..."
She let Xiuzhu and another palace maid help her up, her eyes vacant, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, as she walked step by step toward the palace gate, toward the deep and cold West Garden Cold Palace.
The once bustling and prosperous Xiuzhen Palace is now nothing but desolation and the impending clamor of a raid.
Outside the palace gates, the setting sun was like blood, casting a long, long shadow of her back, yet it could no longer bring in a trace of warmth.
Meanwhile, Li Tianyou had already strode out of the palace gate, where a carriage from the Prince An's residence was already waiting.
He almost stumbled as he jumped into the carriage, urging the driver to hurry up.
"Master Li, His Highness has instructed this old servant to wait for you here." It was Liu Ming, the steward of the Prince's mansion, who came to pick up Li Tianyou.
"Where is my daughter?" Li Tianyou asked anxiously.
"Master Li, the Prince has sent the Princess back to the Prince's residence. This old servant will take you back now," Liu Ming said quickly.
Prince An's Mansion
"Zhiwei, don't be afraid, it's all over now." The old princess hugged Li Zhiwei with a look of heartache.
He was cursing Leng Qi to death in his heart.
Thinking back, when she went to the Leng family, Madam Leng still had an arrogant look on her face.
The old princess cursed inwardly, "You heartless bastard!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
