Chapter 48: Plain Letters Drenched in Tears, Love and Hate as Chronic Ailments

Within the grim, icy, and treacherous depths of the inner palace, Mingyue was like a solitary leaf fluttering in a fierce gale—seemingly frail, yet harboring an unyielding determination for vengeance.

Her figure was slender, and her plain silk dress only served to make her appear all the more pitiful. Yet, the cold gleam that occasionally flashed through her phoenix-like eyes betrayed the deep-seated tenacity and resentment hidden within her heart.

During every silent, lonely night, she sat alone in the desolate chambers of her dwelling. The dim, flickering candlelight illuminated her pale, resolute face.

Her delicate fingers unconsciously stroked the hem of her garment as she endlessly weighed the perilous scheme in her mind. At times, she bit her lower lip so hard that it bled, a silent testament to the fierce struggle waging against her own inner anguish and hesitation.

Finally, on a night when the moonlight was as murky as if it had been soaked in ink, Mingyue hardened her heart and set her plan in motion.

Closing her eyes, her hands trembling slightly, she swallowed the medicine that would inevitably trigger a tragic miscarriage.

Moments later, a stabbing pain tore through her abdomen, engulfing her like a rising tide. She uttered a heartbreaking cry of agony that echoed throughout the entire palace.

Startled servants rushed to the scene in a panic, only to be met with a floor covered in glaring, vivid blood. Mingyue lay collapsed across the bed, her complexion as pale as paper, beads of sweat the size of peas rolling down her forehead, clinging to her last ragged breaths.

Gathering the last ounce of her strength, her trembling finger pointed in the direction of the Empress's residence. The fingernails that had once been carefully manicured and smoothed were now broken and jagged.

Weeping uncontrollably, she denounced the Empress's numerous heinous crimes, claiming that the Empress had sent assassins to harm her and murder her innocent child. Her mournful cries were laden with boundless hatred and despair.

When the Emperor heard of this, his imperial wrath was instantly provoked. His majestic and stern countenance twisted with fury, his eyes dilated wide as if they might spew fire.

He immediately issued a decree confining the Empress to a remote corner of the palace, forbidding anyone from visiting her. His voice was as chilling as the icy blades of deep winter, sending a shiver of terror through everyone present.

Mingyue curled up alone in the freezing palace, her tears cascading like a breached levee, soaking the front of her gown.

Her body shook violently from excessive grief. The romantic illusions she had once held and her aspirations for the future had all vanished like bubbles, dissolving away within this freezing imperial palace.

The Emperor hurried to her side. Looking at the heartbroken Mingyue before him, a pang of guilt and tenderness stirred within his heart.

Mingyue's eyes were swollen like walnuts, her gaze vacant and desolate. Her once rosy cheeks were now puffy and stained with tear tracks from weeping, and her raven-black hair hung in disarray over her shoulders.

Lifting her tear-filled eyes to look upon the Emperor, the words she had suppressed within her heart for so long poured forth like a torrent.

She spoke of her initial innocence and apprehension upon first entering the palace—how she had carried a flicker of hope for the future, treading carefully amidst a web of traps.

She recounted the trivial moments spent together with the Emperor, those fleeting instances she once believed to be love, which now served as sharp blades piercing her own heart.

She recalled the Emperor's gentle glances and caring words, only to realize now that they were nothing more than a meticulously crafted deception. She bewailed the cruel twists of fate that had plunged her into such utter despair, having fallen in love with a sovereign who viewed her merely as a pawn.

The Emperor listened in silence, a complex storm of emotions churning in his chest. As he gazed upon Mingyue's haggard visage, memories of their time together involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Perhaps, unawares, he had indeed developed genuine feelings for Mingyue. Yet, his status as Emperor and the machinations of power buried deep within his soul had prevented him from ever facing his own heart.

His brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of remorse and anguish flashing through his eyes. His lips trembled faintly, as if he wished to say something, yet words failed him.

The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight struggled to pierce the heavy clouds and cast their light upon the palace, they illuminated a cold, lifeless body.

The terrified shrieks of palace maids shattered the quiet of the morning. Hearing the news as if struck by a thunderbolt, the Emperor rushed with stumbling steps to Mingyue's chambers.

What met his eyes was Mingyue, suspended from the rafters. Her expression was serene yet tinged with boundless sorrow, as if she had finally found release from this painful mortal coil.

She was dressed in pristine white, the hem of her gown swaying gently in the morning breeze. The form that had once been so full of life was now stiff and cold.

The Emperor stood frozen in place, feeling as though his heart had been gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, aching to the point of suffocation.

His complexion instantly drained of color, his lips devoid of blood, and his eyes filled with shock and torment. His body swayed slightly, nearly collapsing under his own weight.

In the days that followed, the Emperor drowned himself in profound sorrow and self-reproach.

He often sat alone in the empty, echoing halls, the air around him seemingly frozen. His vacant gaze stared fixedly into the distance, while the sound of Mingyue's voice, her laughter, her despairing eyes, and her sorrowful tears endlessly haunted him like a nightmare.

At times, he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white with the pressure, his heart overflowing with yearning and guilt for Mingyue. Yet all of this had vanished forever with her departure, swallowed by the cold, merciless depths of the palace.

In the end, the Emperor's internal anguish transformed into a raging fury directed at the Empress.

He ordered every single one of the Empress's vile deeds to be meticulously documented and proclaimed to the entire realm.

The once lofty Empress, mother of the nation, was instantly reduced to a pariah reviled by all.

Without a shred of mercy, the Emperor stripped her of her imperial title and cast her into the Cold Palace for the rest of her days.