Qingqiu Courtyard. Cold Palace.
Chiying woke up from a nightmare, only to find herself surrounded by flames, which instantly petrified her.
"What... What's happening?" She looked around in terror, seeing window frames, doors, curtains—all flammable items—burning fiercely. "Help! Xiaoqiu! Xiaoqiu!"
She called out for her personal maid but received no response. She struggled to move her limbs and crawled out of bed.
Her body was still weak from a recent miscarriage, and the past few days' meals had been meager leftovers. Chiying couldn't even stand, so she stumbled forward, using tables and chairs for support until she reached the door and tried to open it.
The burning door remained immovable. Chiying felt a chill run down her spine as she shook the door again, to no avail.
The door was locked from the outside.
In the dry winter air, the wooden structures and fabrics in the room quickly fueled the fire. Realizing the futility of trying to escape through the door, Chiying gritted her teeth, grabbed a small stool, and smashed it against the window with all her strength.
"Crash!" The window shattered, beads of sweat covering Chiying's smooth forehead as she staggered to the broken window and looked outside. Instantly, her blood ran cold.
Her personal maid, Xiaoqiu, lay dead on the corridor, her throat sl*t, half of her clothes already ablaze. The flickering flames cast a ghastly light on her lifeless face, making the scene seem like a nightmare.
How could this be... How could it happen... What is this...
Chiying covered her mouth with both hands, swayed, and then collapsed to the ground, unable to hold herself up.
Why did things turn out this way? In just three days, her child was gone, she went from being the Empress to an abandoned concubine, the daughter of a disgraced minister. That man... that man who had treated her with respect and love, promised that despite the evidence of treason against the Changsun family and the Seventh Prince, he would take her back to Yaohua Palace once the storm passed. Even if she couldn't remain as Empress, she could at least become a Noble Consort, retaining all her former glory. But why...
"Oh, Your Highness has woken up?" Eunuch Fude's voice came from outside the broken window.
Chiying shuddered violently and scrambled to the window. "What's going on? Who sent you to kill me? Where is the Emperor? I want to see him!"
Fude folded his hands and smiled. "Your Highness, I'm standing right here; what more do you need to see the Emperor for?"
Chiying leaned against the windowsill, trembling. "What... What do you mean by that?"
Fude said, "Your Highness, have you not considered that without the Emperor's command, even if I had the guts of heaven, I wouldn't dare to come here to murder and set fires? We thought you'd sleep forever after drinking the medicine, sparing you some pain. Why did you wake up?"
Chiying's eyes widened. "The Emperor ordered you to kill me? No... Impossible, impossible! He promised he wouldn't kill me! Where is the Emperor? I want to hear it from him!"
Suddenly choking on black smoke, she coughed until tears streamed down her face.
"Your Highness comes from an official family, how can you not know that the imperial family has no mercy? When the Emperor says he won't kill you, it's for the sake of the court officials and the people. Can you really believe it?" Fude sighed regretfully. "Since Your Highness is awake, let me tell you one more thing. The Emperor has long planned to eliminate the Seventh Prince and Minister Changsun. The bowl of bird's nest porridge you drank two days ago, laced with safflower, was also prepared on the Emperor's orders."
Impossible... This can't be true... He said... He said...
Chiying shook her head in denial while another voice screamed inside her: "How can it not be true? Didn't you already suspect it when you saw Xiaoqiu die? He could kill his own father and brothers; you're just a woman, a pawn to control and use your father. Now that your father is dead, why would he keep you alive?"
"No, I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" Chiying shouted hysterically, struggling to crawl out the window. "I want to see the Emperor! I want to hear it from him!"
At that moment, the front beam of the house was burned through, causing part of the roof to collapse and bury her mercilessly.
Fude showed a grotesque expression in the front yard, shaking his head and sighing.
"Do you feel remorseful?" A man's voice came from outside the courtyard, carrying a faint hint of murderous intent.
Fude hurriedly smiled. "Your Majesty, I dare not. I just think it's a pity that Her Highness remains stubborn until the end, truly wasting her reputation as a talented woman."
The man laughed coldly. "A talented woman? Talent in women is useless virtue, Fude."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"The Emperor will return first. You arrange for someone to clean up tomorrow. Lady Changsun Tai's betrayal has caused great distress to the Empress. Although setting herself on fire is a bit extreme, since she is already dead, there's no need to pursue it further. Bury her with the honors of an Empress."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
So cruel... Truly cruel... Buried under the rubble, Chiying's flesh was scorched by the flames, yet she felt no pain, for the agony in her heart far surpassed any physical suffering.
After six years of marriage, sharing the same bed, she was discarded like trash, dying alone in the cold palace. To preserve his image as a benevolent ruler, he would even claim she committed suicide by setting herself on fire!
"Cui Renyu... How cruel your heart is..." In her final moments, Chiying whispered amidst the collapsing palace, "If there is an afterlife, I swear I will make you... wish you were dead!"
In the third year of Qisheng, on the twenty-sixth day of the first month, Lady Changsun Chongrong died. Emperor Qisheng, moved by their marital bond, buried her with the honors of an Empress, posthumously naming her "Empress Duan Shu Yi De," interred in the royal mausoleum.
On a cold winter night, under a sky devoid of stars, the fire in Qingqiu Courtyard ended Changsun Chiying's life at the tender age of twenty-two, reducing her beauty and talent to ashes.
If there is an afterlife, I will make you wish you were dead!
...
"C*ck-a-doodle-doo—"
Amidst the rooster's crow, Chiying suddenly opened her eyes, gasping for breath.
Am I still alive? Where am I... She struggled to focus, seeing embroidered patterns of mandarin ducks playing in water and dragons presenting pearls on the canopy above, unable to determine where she was.
As she tried to sit up, she felt something heavy on her chest. Reaching out, she found it was a man's arm.
Chiying was puzzled—wasn't she supposed to be dead in the cold palace fire? How did she end up here?
She lifted the canopy and saw a well-lit room with leftover food and wine on the table. A faint sweet fragrance lingered in the air.
Touching her abdomen, she felt no discomfort.
Had her miscarriage, demotion, and the fire in the cold palace been merely a dream? If so, when did it start? Or was she dreaming now? Chiying frowned, pushing the arm away and sitting up.
Feeling a sticky sensation between her legs, she assumed it was from last night's activities. Chiying tried to recall when she and Cui Jie had come to such a place but drew a blank. Hastily tying her bodice, she bent down to pick up her scattered clothes.
Just as her fingers touched her garments, the door burst open, and a group of people rushed in, led by her father, Changsun Tai.
Changsun Tai entered and immediately saw his daughter's disheveled appearance, enraged. "Beast! Utterly shameless!"
Chiying was momentarily stunned by his words and didn't respond. Her mother, Lady Fan, sobbed into her handkerchief. "My poor child, how could you do this to yourself? How can I live with this disgrace?"
Chiying was even more confused. "Father, Mother, what are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? Do you still dare ask?" Changsun Tai lunged forward and slapped her. "As a lady of noble birth, you actually ran off to a brothel with a man. Are you trying to drive me to my grave?"
Chiying's lips quivered, her mind still foggy, but she grasped something vaguely.
Just then, the man beside her yawned and sat up.
Chiying turned her head and gasped, nearly falling off the bed.
How could it be him?!
Chiying never imagined that the man sleeping next to her was none other than Wu Wang Cui Yi, who supposedly died two years ago in the Battle of Bailonggang!
Not her husband, Emperor Cui Jie, but his second brother, Cui Yi, a man who should have been dead. What was going on?
Cui Yi burped, reeking of alcohol, and asked sleepily, "What time is it?"
Seeing it was him, Changsun Tai fell to his knees. "Your Highness—!"
Cui Yi frowned, his sharp gaze flashing with predatory light. "What's the matter, Minister Changsun?"
Chiying felt as if struck by lightning, countless thoughts racing through her mind.
Wasn't he dead? Why was he in bed with her? Was she dead, and this was the afterlife? But her mother and stepmother shouldn't be dead either, as they were sentenced to serve in the Imperial Music Bureau. Why were they here? And her stepmother mentioned this was a brothel? Why would she be in a brothel? She had never set foot in one!
Cui Yi rubbed his hair roughly, his bare torso revealing muscular physique. "What's going on, Minister Changsun?"
Changsun Tai looked utterly devastated, but knowing better than to defy a prince, he explained, "Your Highness, my daughter... Chiying, did not return home last night. I sent people to search and learned she entered this... Flower Carving Tower. I... never expected Your Highness to be here."
Cui Yi thought for a moment, then said, "Is this your daughter, Minister Changsun?"
Changsun Tai wiped his tears. "Yes..."
Cui Yi relaxed and got out of bed. "Since she is your daughter, I'll marry her." He quickly dressed, picked up his sword from the screen, and prepared to leave.
Changsun Tai hurriedly tried to stop him. "Your Highness, but... the Crown Prince's wedding is imminent. If you propose now, it might..."
Cui Yi raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll wait until after His Majesty's wedding."
"Uh, this..."
"Minister Changsun, do you doubt my word?"
Changsun Tai quickly assured him otherwise. Cui Yi grunted impatiently. "It's settled then. Send someone to discuss the wedding arrangements with my steward later. I need to go to the Western Training Ground for military drills. Excuse me." Without waiting for objections, he left.